If you could get a loan for this car, would you buy it?  Hyundai, who is the official auto sponsor for FIFA, is blessing the world with a special series of turf cars for the World Cup in South Africa this year.  Could I get that in baseball please?  Check out a quick article here.  

Check out this road sign practice test from dmv.org. 

The stereotypes are true.  If you are old, you are in the market for a Buick.  Perhaps that is changing.  It appears that Buick, mainly through the Lacrosse, is making its way into a younger market, seeing its average buyer age drop from 72 to 65.  Check out the article here. 

 

  

If you have ever crossed swords with the DMV in your state, you know how utterly and hopelessly confusing it can be.  Your worries are over my friend.  Welcome to dmv.org, the "unofficial" DMV guide, "helping you navigate the DMV since 1999."  There is information for every kind of citation under the sun in every state in these United States.  Give it a shot!  The site is quick to note that it is a privately owned website, not operated by any state or federal agency, so keep that in mind.

I live in Texas, so every time the temperature nears 40 degrees and below and there is a hint of precipitation in the air, the news channels are ablaze with Winter Storm 2010 features, as if the sky were falling.  Reporters are on site at major intersections to talk about, not traffic accidents, but the possibility of traffic accidents due to bad weather.  As ridiculous as this is, there is some warrant for it, for there is nobody more ignorant than a Texan driving in winter weather.  Take a leisurely drive down any major road or highway during and after a snow storm and you will see the freeway littered with abandoned vehicles who got carried away like Lenny from Of Mice and Men wanting to tend the rabbits but accidentally breaking their necks. Texas drivers, due to the crazy white stuff on the ground seem to forget that reality still exists, and drive as if the roads were normal.  Now I know it might seem strange to you on many levels for me to post Winter Weather Driving Tips from a Dallas Lawyer, but bear with me, the article is worth reading.  

I'm taking the family on a 2 day excursion into the great Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma.  In preparation, we have packed snacks, gps, a portable dvd player, and an ipod full of music.  But even with all of that, I find myself wishing I had a vehicle from this website. 

 

In the event that you are looking for military vehicles to purchase, or machine guns, sleeping bags, and army rations, then have a look here. 

You probably won't find these strange cars at your local KIA dealer, but they are worth a look.  My son's favorite is the sharkmobile...of course it is!  Here's to free time, extra cash, and insatiable passion!

 

I think I'm in love.  For those of you who dig off road vehicles, not just as eye candy, but as they were designed to be (actually go off road), I hereby introduce to you the Dakar Rally.  I was milling about on these here interwebs and came across the Dakar when looking on NASCAR's site, learning that Robby Gordon was racing in this year's event.  My interest sparked, I was opened up to a whole new world of coolness.  I have trouble enjoying NASCAR (thought that is changing) because I stereotypically don't like to watch cars go round in circles.  But this is different, as the race is run in multiple stages across thousands of miles of very rough terrain.  In addition, it appears that there are 4 types of vehicles, ranging from motorcycles, quads (4 wheelers), cars, and trucks.  It is post apocalyptic sci fi in the making!  I urge you to become a fan of this, as I am.  Check out the official site here.  

Recently a friend and I took our boys to see a monster truck rally.  I went with expectations stemming from my naive experiences with monster trucks as a child.  I left with my entire worldview shattered.  It was a bit like returning to your elementary school and being shocked by how small it is.  Here are some observations:

1.  The Arena: The arena was about the size of a high school gym (see picture), and 8 monster trucks were crammed in there.  Have you ever seen teenagers playing on a kids playground at the mall?  Its pretty awkward isn't it?  That is exactly how I would describe the setting.  There was hardly any room for the trucks to manouver. I realized then that the arena was small because the market is small.  There are only so many males out there with 5 year old sons.  

2.  The Return of Big Foot: I'm not sure where he went, but this event supposedly marked Big Foot's return to the circuit.  Big Foot (the truck) has an almost mythical quality in the mind of every American male.  It seemed that the entire event was rigged to perpetuate this very idea.  Big Foot won the awkward 20 yard dash over 4 cars, and the driver gave a rehearsed speech talking about how well all the trucks were running and how privileged he was to be among all of the great drivers out there.  He also had a power mullet.  Of course he did!  

3.  Exhibition: For some naive reason I thought that monster truck racing was like NASCAR, with standings and points and so on.  I'm not sure why I thought this.  As it turns out, it appears to be nothing more than Harlam Globetrotters in huge, loud trucks.  An exhibition if you will.  That's okay of course, but I felt like I'd discovered that Santa Claus didn't really exist, all over again.  These guys are just trying to make a buck!  Again, nothing wrong with that.  It was just a jarring discovery for some reason.  

4.  Marketing: While I was disappointed, I came to the shocking realization that I am now 32 years old, and that while some appeal to watching alcholol fueled trucks run over unsuspecting cars remains, I am not the demographic they are marketing to.  My son absolutely loved it.  He loved the fire coming out from the exhaust.  He loved that he had to wear ear muffs to pretect his ears.  He loved that one of the trucks blew out a tire when he almost flipped over.  He loved the crushing of the 1992 Isuzu Rodeo.  He loved talking about the possibility of machine gun mounted monster trucks when we got home. They hit their mark with my boy, and if he is happy, (most of the time) I'm happy.  

All in all it was a good time.  If you get a chance to take your kid to a monster truck rally, and you have the means, it will be a memorable experience.  Just don't go with any naive assumptions like I did.  Remember you are not 5 years old anymore.  Your kid is.  Big Foot, like the mythical creature, is a name and a legend.  That is all your kid really cares about anyways.  He doesn't care about points, standings, and so on.  He wants action, and that is what he will get.