General J

Everything will be finalized tomorrow afternoon! the 'rents got a $4000 check from insurance to cover hail damage on the van that is only going to cost (drumroll please) about $700 to fix. So the rest is going for a down payment and taxes. It is supposed to be sunny and nice tomorrow afternoon, so I will get some pics with wax, wet-look tire, and the wheel shine on . The girlfriend already despises the thing, especially since I have plans for it already. The bug guard is going on almost immediately and soon will come some chrome step bars.

Thanks a lot guys! I had a great Bday. The big 18! I can't do too many stupid things anymore! Go check out the carz forum for my full bday wrap up!

GO SEE THIS MOVIE. Better Luck Tomorrow. It won the Sundance Film Festival, thus throwing into the big time. It was made by a bunch of Californian college students. I would have to say this is one the best movies I have seen in a very long time. It is the most original and outstanding movies I have seen. It doesn't rely on huge million dollar special effects to save it, nor does it rely on huge marketing to make it a success. This is an honest, straight shooting movie. Go see it. I hate paying $6 a ticket to see a movie, but I would pay to see this one again.

I have a new, totally refreshed view of birthdays. I knew I was going to be getting at least one form of transportation, but not 2. The day started with a card holding a $100 bill to buy some new shoes. After a trip to Finish Line, I was wearing a new pair of Nike Air Max Driven cross trainers, which I needed desperatly for running and lifting. So there ya go. My new form of transportation. I had no clue there were further plans for me that day. Let me start out by saying for the second time, my 89 celica did NOT pass Missouri's POS emissions test, which is a joke. (ask Playaa about it, although I don't know how he feel's about it) Anyhow, my mom says, "We are going to the Ford dealer to check into what kind of financing we could maybe get on a car. Then maybe we can start looking at cars soon, but you really don't need to go today." Ok, I was now thinking, wow exciting , and was more excited about my new shoes at this point. BUT THEN my dad calls and says, " Josh really should go with us." (Side note- When my dad wants to get something done, he gets it done. Example - the computer I am using and the $450 worth of floor speakers sitting behind me) So now I was a little more excited. Since we had a huge hail storm not too long ago, most of the trucks we looked at were 00-02's that had massive hail damage and around 30-40k miles. Then the salesman says, "but we have one truck we just got in about 2 days ago that hasn't even been cleaned up or looked at yet." To make an already long story short, J picked up his second mode of transportation that day. A Red 1996 Ford Ranger with 46k miles. Has every option you could get for that year and then some. 6cyl. auto, electric door locks, windows, remote locks, 6 disc changer, sport seats (special for that year, they are like the mustang seats. Matching hard bed cover. 17-inch cobra wheels and new tires. Only imperfection was on the passenger side of the hood and will be covered with a black bug guard soon. I will have some pictures soon, if anyone can host them that would be great. Then I will post em up.

older 3.0 cl's are sexy sexy. black with some dark tint and nice shiny rims... mmm mmm. Some kid (drug dealer) has like a 98-99 3.0 and it looks bad-donkey! Note- I am not, in any way, shape, or form, saying drug dealing is a way to buy a great car! So don't get any ideas (Goot!)

Goot... Base model Z starts at $26,000. Thats not giving up any performance. All models of Z's (track, enthusiast etc.) all have the same engines and tranny's. Only differences are the upgraded wheel package and Brembo brakes with (I believe) 17 inch cross-drilled rotars. But the only reason you would need those would be if you drive like a female, flying up to a stop light and slamming on the brakes at the last possible second (ask my girlfriend about THAT style of driving ) But the only complaints I have seen on the Z was the passenger side seat belt rattling against the door when not being occupied, and the oil dipstick is at a 90 degree angle and is almost impossible to get in and out. If you look into it though, every little import, due to the engine bay size and the use of space, has this problem. I dont know how many times I about burned my hand off trying to get to the dipstick in that Celica. But I don't have to do that EVER AGAIN.

I was watching the hometown St. Louis Cardinals the other day playing the Florida Marlins. The Cards were up 6-1 and blew the lead in the 9th. Now it's tied 6-6 and going to the 10th. 10 INNINGS LATER!!! we have a winner. After a 6 hour game, the Cardinals win 7-6. Would you have sat in the stands for 6 hours, through a few rain storms (one that caused a delay I believe), just to see your favorite sports team play? I would have gone insane after about the 15th when they started just having 1-2-3 out innings.

Hallu.. I went through a very rough time in my life when my parents went through their divorce. My mom tried making me go to counseling but I really didn't want to be there. So I didn't go. Counseling isn't for everyone. I guess what I am trying to tell you is that you have to find something that works for you, some way that you can have a bad day and take out frustration some how. I use music (drumming and listening) and weightlifting mainly. I also run, play some kind of sport, just something physical to get those emotions out. I have a friend who had contemplated suicide for a while too. He didn't ever attempt anything, but he would write his feelings in poems. As disturbing as some were to me, he was proud of his works and it let him get his emotions out. Another suggestion would be to make as many friends as possible. Even if you can't be the most popular kid at school (which is Bullpoop anyway, there is no such thing as popularity in that sense) you can atleast develop a few really close friendships. I found that feeling lonely doesn't help you. With friends, you always know you have people to talk to or that will be there for you. All you have to do is make an effort to find them. Hell, if you ever need anyone to talk to and I am online (SN Addidas777) IM me. I love to talk to people, and I can usually make time for anyone that needs to talk. I am sure pretty much everyone in the community would say the exact same thing. Just let someone know you want to talk.

Goot I would seriously buy that truck if I had the money!

Go to MP3.com they have a lot of Finch songs and many other good bands with free songs. even mainstream well known bands. That's where I found a lot of the punk music I listen to. Knew about a lot of bands before they got really big too ( New Found Glory, Ataris, Finch, many others)

I hear ya goot. New Found Glory is one of my favorite bands, but they sound a lot like Blink. I like Audioslave, Chris Cornell sounds nothing like in his past days. Chester Bennington's screams hold like 5 voices in one, which amazes me. 50 cent has a unique delivery in his raps. Charlie Daniels - thats all I gotta say...

Finch is awesome. I love pretty much all the Drive Thru Record bands!

Yes, that rattling sound of a bolted on muffler tip is a turn off! Oh and I love the sound of a nice bike revving and dropping those revs... Almost better than the sound of a nice BOV.

That YZF is my DREEEEAAAMMM bike! I plan on having, in the future, my truck, sports car, and my bike. Don't think I would be crazy enough to get to 100 on a bike though, but that could change very quickly! And I am with goot on the not liking to ride on the back of things. Riding on a waverunner with my girlfriend was driving me crazy because I didn't know what her crazy driving was gonna do to us next.

Dweezil - Your friends cars are BAD donkey! i love that 72 240z! tell him if he ever wants to dump a car or two for charity I would be more than happy to take them off his hands.

Concerts are awesome, and they remind you about where you have been when 2 days later your ears are still ringing. I have a few bands that I would suggest seeing and never missing - Linkin Park (awesome awesome shows) Disturbed (whole lotta energy) and Greenwheel (energy and emotion to equal a bands lifetime of concerts just in one show!)

Punk, rock, techno.. pretty much everything. Some country if I am in the mood. I would have to agree with goot on the drinkin music (*sings* why do you drink... ) umm.. some rap is ok, I do respect what they do and I love the heavy bass. I love new ideas in music like the style crossing (linkin park) and just original stuff in general (30 seconds to Mars) But for some reason it always ends back at punk and rock...

Bean has improved like 3 fold since the first time I ever played with the guy. We have seen our very own noob-to-veteran story right here with bean Keep up the killin bean!

Didn't think about altitude! 16's arent bad at all. His coronet was the smaller engine not a 440. But it was quick. So would I goot. I was behind some chick in a fully restored 73 Camaro! Beauty of a car and girl. Black with red stripes! (the car, not the girl )

About 105 in my car on straight away. probably somewhere around 120+ in a friends old 72 Dodge Dart Swinger.

Cars are awesome in general. I love the sound of a performance engine wind out in the higher RPM range. I also love that growl of a mean V-8..

I voted enjoy the safe drive one... you need to change that to say "Enjoy the nice safe drive knowing I won't get a ticket on the way to wherever we are crawling"

Hey pants no hard feelings about the whole thing. Just thought you were gonna be another one of those "My mustang is faster than your stock civic" BSers. I agree totally with the ricer argument now that you stated your stance more. There is a kid at tech school with a 1st gen Integra - Front bumper and a HUGE aluminum wing- but here's the kicker! Stock suspension! THE THING SITS 12 INCHES OFF THE GROUND! It could be a 4x4 offroad vehicle! Guess my view is that modded imports are awesome. Ricers (body kit, muffler/tip, stickers, and rims but straight stock everything else) are just pure comedy. I just shake my head and laugh when one of them pulls up next to me and revs their "hardcore" engine.

What the hell kinda car do you run?! never ran at track but I am pretty sure my pos 89 celica can run better than an 18! My friends rusted out old Coronet ran 15's for heavens sake. thats just sad!

Ummm Goot... not trying to start fights in your forums but WOW... This reminds me a lot of those one sided, I-am-ALWAYS-right, You-are-wrong, I-can't-open-my-eyes people in the political forum. let me first state that by no means am I saying I just love every single import out there. Nor am I saying "I love the rice rocket." Let me start with the "250 lb" body kit you are referring to. These are not 250 lbs... They are made of light weight composite materials. Think of the normal bumper with a touch more to it. If your statement were true, why would class GT and GTS drivers use the damn things? Yeah, thats right, REAL Professional race teams with body kits! They are there for a purpose on race cars... It's called aerodynamics. As for the giant spoiler comment... Yes I agree with you. But only for a front-wheel drive car. On rear wheel drive they do serve a purpose. Now for your reasons you don't like them. 1) Looks- this is strictly opinion. I personally see most imports as much more styled than the majority of domestics. Look at the new accords, Nissan 350z, umm RX-7, RX-8, tiburons. You get my point. Don't get me wrong! Their are very pretty domestics, but some just don't look like a killer sports car. Oh yea and you contradicted yourself in this one. First you say imports are plain looking, aka ugly, without a body kit. Then you say how ugly body kits are. 2) I already went over my feeling on the big spoilers on front wheel drive cars. A nice clean spoiler serves the same purpose on these, and yes downforce can be used on a front wheel drive car. Thing about cornering and the back wheels lift and slide... And by the way! Some imports are front wheel drive... not all. Just like some domestics are front wheel drive. Just because they are made in America doesn't mean they are built any differently. 3) LMAO, this one was great because I have seen a lot of cars that are botched seriously. BUT! If by different colors you mean they are a white or blue still you need to think again. This could mean that they are being primed for the final paint. And oh yea, imports aren't the only things that can look like this. I am at Tech school right now, and right out front is a mustang with about 5 shades of greys and reds... The stickers... have you ever seen a car with a K&N Air filter sticker? That's just there to say, "look this is what I use." Not because the sticker is going to make it fast. It's to advertise what is under the hood. NOW! if they don't have a part made by the company from which they have a sticker, go ahead and laugh at them. 4)Oh man... this one REALLY got me. 4 cylinders are not designed to be fast? And no, this is not a fact. And that the only way they can be fast is to "turbo" them (lmao "turbo them" bet you use terms like NAWS too don't ya ) Go look at a Honda S-2000 before you ever say anything else about a car. What's that you say?! Oh yes, it's an import. It has an inline 4-cylinder engine. But guess what? It puts out 240 Hp. That sounds like a fast little four cylinder to me. My little celica was used to race a truck with a *GASP* V-8 in it, and it won. Guess what? Not all engines ARE made to go fast. Some are made to haul stuff, some to get you from place to place. Then you have the built engines. A V-8 in a mustang makes sense and goes fast because of the weight of that car. That same engine in a truck or van may only pull half as fast. Oh and that exhaust... Thats not always just the exhaust. That's how those engines sound naturally. The exhaust you are talking about isn't really exhaust. Its a muffler or tip that has a bigger opening to make louder sounds. If you were to hear a real exhaust system, say from Greddy or Stillen, then you would know what a tuned exhaust sounds like. Don't make your arguments one sided and think about what you type please. And yes I am glad you got tired of typing.