Double whammy!

Today is my one year blog-iversary and also happens to be my 100th post. I decided to make a list of ten groups with ten items in each (obviously totaling 100). All except for the last group are in rank order. It was difficult to come up with many of these, but I think I finally got it right. So without further a-do.................here's my "Top Ten-Top Ten":

Bands:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Pink Floyd
3. Queensryche
4. Alice in Chains
5. Ozzy Osbourne
6. The Beatles
7. Guns n’ Roses
8. Metallica
9. Van Halen
10. U2

Albums (Greatest Hits don’t count):
1. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin (I)
2. The Beatles – Abbey Road
3. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
4. Metallica – Master of Puppets
5. Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime
6. The Cars – The Cars
7. Guns n’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
8. Steely Dan – Aja
9. Alice in Chains – Dirt
10. Van Halen – Van Halen (I)

Songs:
1. Led Zeppelin – Kashmir
2. The Who – The Real Me
3. Metallica – Master of Puppets
4. Black Sabbath – War Pigs
5. Queensryche – Eyes of a Stranger
6. Alice in Chains – Would?
7. Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears
8. Whitesnake – Still of the Night
9. Yes – Roundabout
10. Soundgarden – Outshined

Movies:
1. The Cannonball Run (DUH!)
2. Star Wars Saga (“Empire Strikes Back” being the best)
3. The Lord of the Rings Saga (I’m sorry, but I can’t separate these)
4. Smokey and the Bandit
5. Goodfellas
6. Pulp Fiction
7. The Godfather Trilogy (Godfather II being the favorite)
8. Ghostbusters
9. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
10. Grease

Movie Quotes (How can I pick just 10!!):
1. “I don't care what you smell!” – Han Solo (Star Wars)
2. “Ssssh. Listen. Do you smell something?” – Dr. Ray Spangler (Ghostbusters)
3. “You get nothing! You lose! Good day sir!” – Willy Wonka (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
4. “You’ve committed one of the classic blunders……never go up against a Sicilian, when DEATH is on the line!!” – Vizzini (The Princess Bride)
5. “Why’d he call me shorty? ‘Cause you’re small, small, S. M. All.” – Fenderbaum & Jamie Blake (The Cannonball Run)
6. “Funny how? Like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh?” – Tommy DeVito (Goodfellas)
7. “I gotta stab her three times? NO! You don’t gotta stab her three times, you gotta stab her once!!” – Vincent Vega & Maynard (Pulp Fiction)
8. “There were horses, and man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.” – Brick Tamland (Anchorman)
9. “What? Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?............” – John Blutarski (Animal House)
10. “He’ll keep callin’ me……..he’ll keep callin’ me until I come over. Thi…….this is ridiculous. I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I'll go…………..SHIT!” – Cameron (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

Women (My wife is not included in this list. That wouldn’t be fair to the other women):
1. Alyssa Milano
2. Elisabeth Shue
3. Diane Lane
4. Jennifer Aniston
5. Charlize Theron
6. Christina Applegate
7. Christine Taylor
8. Marissa Tomei
9. Alicia Silverstone
10. Mena Suvari

Cars (Manual Transmissions whenever possible please!):
1. ANY original Shelby Cobra
2. 1967 Chevy Camaro RS/SS
3. 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo
4. 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am
5. 1994 Ferrari 512tr (Testarrosa)
6. 1996 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo
7. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T
8. 1966 Pontica GTO
9. 1968 Chevy Chevelle
10. 1955 Chevy BelAir

All Time Favorite TV Shows:
1. Seinfeld
2. Night Court
3. Friends
4. Happy Days
5. The Sopranos
6. The Dukes of Hazzard
7. Gilligan’s Island
8. Knight Rider
9. Batman
10. Brady Bunch

Places I Want to visit:
1. Australia
2. Italy
3. Ireland
4. England
5. Hawaii
6. Alaska
7. Greece
8. Germany
9. Egypt
10. France

Things about me:
1. I’m legally blind in my right eye. (Born that way)
2. Was at Yankee Stadium for Game 4 of 2001 World Series (NY vs. Ariz.)
3. My mother and I have the same birthday.
4. Been married three times (I’m very happy now, but learn from my mistakes. If you have any doubts, there’s probably a reason!)
5. Drove from NJ to California in 3 days 5 hours.
6. Got my first speeding ticket on my 17th birthday. (69 in a 45mph zone)
7. Had my first accident the day after my 17th birthday. (totalled the car 15 hours after the ticket)
8. Drove from Dallas, Texas to Northern NJ in 25 straight hours in a minivan with 5 other people.
9. Sang lead on five songs with a full band on stage at a club in Northern NJ.
10. Drove a stock car 165 mph on the Pocono Raceway for eight laps.

What's the big deal?!?!

Apparently, the town of Bloomfield, NJ is having issues letting "The Soprano's" shoot the final scene in their town because the show depicts Italian-American's in a negative way. WHATEVER ASSHOLES!! It's a TV show! I'm of Italian decent and I don't give a fuck! People need to be more relaxed about things and not take everything so damn personal!!!

On a separate note, has anyone else seen the preview for the show "Drive" on Fox? It seems to be loosely based on my favorite movie (and my blog's name sake), "The Cannonball Run". From what I understand, it's not just a cross country race to get $32 million, but for some people an answer to a question, like "My wife is missing. What happened to her?". Since it's obviously going to be about driving fast and have some drama thrown in, I may have to give it a shot.

Songs in Commercials

Everyday I am reminded that I am getting older. Not OLD by any means, but older. A perfect example of this is the type of music that is used in commercials. Over the years, I am finding more and more that songs I grew up with and loved are becoming commercialized (no pun intended). Here are a few examples:

1. Van Halen: You Really Got Me – Back in 1996, when Nissan discontinued the 300ZX, they had made a tribute commercial to the famed “Z” car with Barbie, Ken and GI Joe. Barbie leaves Ken because GI Joe drives a “Z”.
2. The Cars: Just What I Needed – Circuit City has all but killed this song for me. It’s on The Cars debut album (which is their best in my opinion), but I now cringe when I see the commercial and hear the song.
3. Led Zeppelin: Rock & Roll – Cadillac used this song to promote its lineup of cars a couple of years ago. I guess they were trying to change their image. I remember Robert Plant saying that Caddy’s were the ultimate luxury car when he was younger and was honored that they wanted to use a Zep tune in their commercials.
4. The Who: Bargain – Nissan basically used this song to promote whatever deal they had going at the time.
5. AC/DC: Back in Black – When Motorola introduced the Razor phone, it featured this song in their commercial.
6. Black Sabbath: Iron Man – To give the impression of a tough, manly truck, Nissan got the rights to use Iron Man to push their Titan line-up. (Maybe we just need to have a little talk with Nissan).
7. Scorpions: Rock You Like a Hurricane – TGI Friday’s used this one to promote a line up of sizzling steaks they had launched.
8. Van Halen: Hot For Teacher – This one may not be as obvious, but when Dodge got back into NASCAR as few years back, the end of their commercials had a drum beat that was supposed to sound like the rumble of a big block V-8. It actually sounded more like the intro to this VH tune. I think Eddie probably realized it and made them stop because the commercials didn’t run with that ending very long.
9. Bob Seger: Like a Rock – I know everyone remembers this one. Chevrolet used this for a long time to promote their truck lineup.
   

Here’s a link to some others. Can you remember any?

(BTW - The "Z" commercial was one of my favorites)

Top 10 TV Cars

While surfing the internet, I came across this article on www.cars.com about the most memorable cars on TV. I agree with most of the list, but I think the Flintstone Mobile beats out the Maserati on Entourage. Am I wrong on this one?

Also, am I the only idiot that watches the Dukes of Hazzard movie every time it's on? At least half of the characters are played by the wrong actors (Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg? COME ON BURT!) But I still watch it.

WHOA!! Me Too!

Do you ever drive by someone’s house and notice that they have the two of the same vehicles in their driveway? Well I’m a freak with that stuff and I do. I’m always like, “Wow, I guess they really like that car. But why have two? That seems kinda boring.”

Well, we’re going to try to get out of the car payment business at some point so Jenn can stay home with our daughter (and eventually other kids), so we decided to buy a new car. You see, both of our cars are leases and my 2004 VW Jetta is worth more than her 2004 Jeep Liberty. Over the weekend, my wife and I went and bought a 2007 Liberty (crazy discounts on it now) and are trading in the Jetta. The new one is a totally different color and is an upgraded model. I’ll drive the 2004 Liberty until May when we return it and then I'll get something used. I want her and Allie to be in the newer, safer car.

Now I see how this could happen though. At least one will be in the garage!

BTW............she's still getting a real Christmas present too. This is just a coincidence.

Used Cars

A friend of mine is looking for an inexpensive used car to replace his old one that was the middle of a three car accident. We’ve been all over the place the past couple of weekends. Let me start off my saying that I used to sell cars a long time ago and worked for an auto manufacturer for almost 7 years, so I know all aspects of the industry.

Last week, we started by going to new car dealers and end up at a Nissan dealer, we get out of my car and before I even close the door to my car……….a salesman comes out of the showroom. We start walking around the lot trying to ignore him, but he’s our shadow. Finally we hear, “Hey guys, what kind of car are you looking for?” Both of us turn and explain the situation, price range and all. He says, “Well we have this Mitsubishi in the back. Let’s go take a look.” We walked back there and the car looks ok, but it’s locked and we can’t see the mileage. The salesman goes to get the keys and disappears for like 5 minutes. We start to walk back to the front of the lot and another salesman jumps on us. “What’s up guys? Let me help you find what you’re looking for.” We explain that Chris (or whoever) is already helping us. He walks away and 30 seconds later another guy comes out and tries to help us. WTF?!?!? We’ve got a salesman! Now were annoyed. Finally, Chris comes back out with the keys. We ask him how much the car is and he doesn’t know. Come on asshole! You were gone long enough to get all the info! So of course he wants us to follow him inside so he can find out. *sigh* Here we go………… He wants all of my friend’s info before he gets the price, this way he can bother us well after we leave. We’re being kind of short with him. The sales manager comes over and starts drilling us since the salesman is about to lose us because I’m giving him shit. I say, “Look, we’re not here to fuck around. We’ve been here for 20 minutes and no one can tell us how much the damn car is.” He finally tells us, we say, “OK, thanks.”.........and we walk out. Of course the two of them are following us the whole way trying to get us not to leave. We just get in the car and drive away. This repeated a couple of times throughout the day.

This past Saturday, we stopped by a Toyota dealer. Here it is, pouring rain, and there is a guy standing by the entrance stopping ever car that comes in. I put my window down and he says, “Hello. Service or Sales?” So I say, “Sales”. He then says, “OK, drive over to the left (*points*) and those two guys in the blue shirts will help you.” I put the window up and pull forward, I look at my friend and we both say “Fuck this place. They’re going to get us BEFORE I get out of the car?” So I do an immediate u-turn to leave and see that this guy is questioning people as they are trying to leave. There’s a line of cars three or four deep. Is he insane? So I drive around him going out thru the entrance and he looks at us in complete shock as we drive past him as if to say, “I don’t understand why they’re leaving?”

I love car shopping because I love cars. I know a lot about them mechanically and since I have professional experience in the industry, a lot of people ask me to go with them. I will never understand the high pressure tactics they use. Not every place we went was like this, and funny enough, the used car lots were the easiest to deal with. Needless to say, still no car…......

Cars, Cars, and more cars

I decided that since I've posted about my family, movies and music previously, it was time to give another one of my passions a turn. One of my favorite things in the world (after my wife and daughter of course) is cars. I am a total freak with product knowledge. After high school I actually sold cars for about a year; Ford's Lincoln's, Mercury's, Pontiac's, Saab's, GMC trucks and...................YUGO'S!! Remember those? I had two different ones as demos. I beat the piss out of them. They handled like shit and weren't very comfortable, but when you're 19, they don't give you a brand new Saab 900 to drive around in! It was just cool for me to have access to my car and another one that I didn't have to pay for. Basically, I drove whichever one had more gas in it. My girlfriend at the time only got in the Yugo once, and that was because she has no other choice. She wasn't happy.

I also have a mechanics degree (which I never did anything with) and I worked for a major car manufacturer for almost seven years, which is where I met my wife (lets see if you can figure out which one by the cars I owned). That was cool. I also worked the Auto Show in NYC one year. So anyway that got me thinking about all the cars I've had. Get ready, here comes the list:

1. 1982 Plymouth Horizon (automatic - white) - wrecked this one after 3 1/2 weeks; oops!
2. 1980 Datsun 200SX coupe (5 speed - midnight blue) - was my dad's car for 10 years and I wrecked it after 10 days, and it wasn't even my fault!!
3. 1984 Oldsmobile Firenza GT hatchback (auto - white)
4. 1987 Nissan 200SX coupe (auto - red)
5. 1995 Nissan 240SX SE (auto - maroon)
6. 1994 Nissan Sentra XE 2 door (5 speed - gray)
7. 1998 Volvo S70 T5 (high pressure turbo - 5 speed - blue)
8. 1998 Volvo C70 coupe (high pressure turbo - auto - black)
9. 2000 Volvo S70 (auto - dark blue)
10. 2000 Volvo S70 SE (5 speed - white)
11. 2000 Volvo C70 (high pressure turbo - 5 speed - dark blue) I loved this car!!!
12. 2001 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 extended cab (5 speed - black)
13. 2001 Ford Explorer Sport 4x4 (auto - maroon)
14. 2004 Volkswagen Jetta GLS 1.8T (5 speed - gray)

My all time favorite car is a black 1967 Chevy Camaro RS/SS, 396ci, 4 speed. If you don't know what this car looks like, click on the Camaro link above, or simply watch the 80's movie "Better Off Dead". I have come to terms with the fact that I will never have one, but I can still dream. I have no idea what my next car will be, but it definitely has to be bigger than the Jetta. I think it's going to be a truck again since I live in the mountains and can't get up my driveway when it snows!

So here's my questions:

1. What was your first car?
2. What do you drive now?
3. Do you have a dream car?