Chet Parsons, Car Guy

I took a few minutes this evening and scrolled back in time to read some of my earlier posts on this here blog.  Only after this trip down memory lane did I notice that that the fifth anniversary of my writing endeavor was on January 1st of this year. I can't believe I've been plugging away at this for five years now.  And by plugging away, I mean occasionally remembering that I have this blog and adding a little something to it. Thanks to all my readers.  I think I'm up to 10 now!  Happy Anniversary and Happy New Year!

Thomas Edison may or may not have been misquoted, but the sentiment of his alleged statement about failure rings true no matter the situation.  It is often necessary to find the method, material, or path that does not work in order to find that which does. Alternately, this post could be titled "Well, That Didn't Last Long, Now Did It?" Only ninety days after starting a new chapter in my career, and I am on to the next chapter.  It seems I have changed, in ways which made my chosen course of action one which did not work.  My nearly mutually agreed upon, but definitely not planned, departure leaves me with great opportunities to find that which does work for me. Wish me luck.

I said in no uncertain terms, and on many occasions, that I would never get back into the car business.  Apparently, I was wrong. After a four year absence, I gave in to the dark side and started selling cars again.  The business was just fine without me.  Nothing has changed.  I am interacting with many of the same people I knew before.  The mechanics of selling a car are still the same.  I want to say that the only thing that has changed is me, but aside from being older and marginally wiser, I can't say that I have. I'm still an idealist when it comes to cars, but I'm practical when it comes to real life.  So here I am, doing again what I've done well for almost 20 years.  My blog will remain, but if I scribble anything about a new Aston Martin, be aware that I may be doing so with employment tinted glasses. Happy New Year to the handful of you who might actually read this.

I was once the caretaker and pilot of a 1986 Saab 900 Turbo.  With the well publicized demise of Saab and the subsequent reminiscences by the motoring press and in the blogosphere, my fond memories of that funky gray Swede came flooding back to me.  It was the last car to carry our family tradition of being named.  I affectionately dubbed it Astro, after the goofy gray dog from the Jetsons.  The styling was unique, in an elegant gray with rich tan leather, enhanced with a set of SPG wheels.  With Tardis-esque interior capacity and very comfortable seats, it was always a willing travel partner, be it road trips or evenings out with friends.  I have no doubt that I would find it equally as appealing today as I did all those years ago. I also remember driving a comparable BMW of that same vintage, a 318is.  I was disappointed in the Bimmer then, and given the choice between them now, I'd be hard pressed not to pick the Saab again.  And that sai...

I can't count how many times I have voluntarily and involuntarily watched that advertisement.  All those adorable computer generated hamsters rolling around in toasters and washing machines set to that infectious tune that drew us all in and bestowed pop culture credibility upon a little car from Korea. That clever bit of advertising used the images of toasters and washing machines to reference specific cars, but it reminded me of how often I referred to many less-than-entertaining automobiles as appliances.  I applied that term with a bit of condescension and even disdain.  I pondered the point of building a car or truck that had no real character or soul and who would care so little about these things that they would actually buy one.  Then I acquired two appliances of my own.    The first didn't strike me as an appliance until I had used it up and replaced it with another item just like it.  I'm on my fourth one now.  Just as my househo...

I have, on two separate occasions in the last two months, had the opportunity to spend some quality time behind the wheel of not one, but three Dodge Caravans.  All three were of similar specification and I believe all three were 2011 models.  All three were rentals, two from Enterprise, the third from Hertz.  I drove the two from Enterprise locally in the course of work over a four day period in the week leading up to Christmas.  The Hertz rental was used to carry a recliner from Houston to Dallas.  The last time I had driven a mini van of any kind was on a high school spring break trip with a girlfriend and her family back in the '90's. The funny thing about all these mini vans?  None of them were absolute crap. Granted, there was a great deal of torque steer, and plenty of understeer, and the steering in general was pretty numb, but overall not a horrible experience.   This may sound like faint praise, but I was truly impressed, and more importa...

Mom.  In a brown Porsche. Almost a year after my last post, and a month full of birthdays has come and gone.  Our family has at least a half a dozen birthdays in August as well as a handful of friends, but two birthdays in particular are very important to me in this month, my own on the 25th (shared with Sean Connery, no less) and my mother's on the 13th.  While being mother to such a wonderful son is a gift that keeps on giving, I'm never quite sure what to get Mom for her birthday.  My father generally takes care of bigger gifts and picks up the tab at her birthday dinner, leaving me to look for humorous cards or other tokens of my appreciation for my mommy. When I was a young lad, I had grand visions of what I was going to get her, but lacking the means to get them, I promised them to her when I was "older."  One such gift that I promised was a Porsche 928.  Mom had a thing for Porsches before I came along, a 912 Targa the first to catch her eye. ...