New Job!

  I've officially taken the plunge into the automotive profession! I've made a full time job of it, as well as keeping a part time job on the side. So far the first week of said new job has exponentially increased my knowledge base. Simple things and tricks that I would have never learned just poking around on my own car. You the reader can expect future posts on tips and tricks for basic automotive service car. In the above picture you can see my very own Miata on the lifts at work! Nothing beats getting paid to work on your own car!

US Top Gear Review

We all have our favorite shows of the UK's Top Gear. My personal favorite would have to be the episode where they tried to send a car to space. The first couple US Top Gears have been pretty fun to watch. That's not to say that there aren't a few out of place feelings between the hosts. Or that the humor seems forced and scripted. But Tanner Foust is soon going to become a big name in motorsports. I'm going to venture out and say that man's name will become synonymous with drifting. Picture the Tony Hawk or Tiger Woods of drifting. Let's wait and enjoy for some new car episodes! 

Ways to make money with a car

We could all use a little play money every now and then, thats why I've compiled this awesome list.

1. Lets get the ball rolling with the easiest one on here, get the spare change out of that beast! I once found 8 bucks worth of change in my car. The usual culprits are in your cup holders or any little holder on armrests or inside the center console. Places that I was surprised to find some supple coinage was underneath the seats, take a good look under it. One of my biggest shockers was in the trunk. I still to this day wonder how 54 cents found its way into my tiny little trunk. If your extra motivated I'd take a look under your center console carpeting as well!

2. I don't know about you, but I've got some pretty lazy friends, offer to wash/detail their cars. Here's what I did that made it a real money maker, tell them its proceeds will help fund your current car endeavors. If you can make it heartfelt people will really sympathize and shell out the cash-especially friends. I wouldn't just leave it to friends either. There are plenty of powerful and FREE tools that are already at your disposal. Craigslist is an excellent to post your services. With some good time and thought into your advertising you really start to set yourself away from the mainstream average Joe car washers! I would also recommend devoting a blog page and domain to your car wash service (don't worry there are plenty of free blogging sites that you can use). This way you can link it to your craigslist advertisement and look extra professional. Putting up some good old fashioned fliers will also do the trick. I'd recommend going to churches, community bulletin boards, and grocery stores to name a few. Just think of anywhere that large groups of people go. You know those 500 friends you have on facebook and/or myspace? Let them know about your new business! Offering a referral program is another great way to make current customers feel extra special. For them its simple, they get 2 or 3 of their friends to enlist in your services and they will get like 40% off the next detailing. A one size fits all approach to your washing or detailing isn't going to get you far, give different levels and options of service to your customer! Some people just want their car to be washed and the inside to be vacuumed. Other people want their baby's to be pampered with a clay barring, waxed, shampooed carpets, aka the works! This way you save time and money not waisting products on a car that just needs to be soaped and scrubbed. This one takes a lot of work but you can make some serious cash if your motivated enough. I'll have a blog posting that will have suggestions about detailing soon, don't touch that remote -err... URL?

3. Become a delivery driver. It's a great way to work on driving technique if you have the right kind of car!  I also found that it's a great way for me to learn some of the navigational skills that I inherently lacked. A fun car also helps with tips, especially convertibles! A word of caution: be ready to put a TON of miles of your car. Make sure your up with maintenance. I very quickly went through a set of tires with my slide happy nature.

4. Start a car club! This one probably won't make you a ton of money but its a great way for networking and being around people that share the same passion for cars that you do! Truthfully I haven't started a car club... yet. But I did start a bmx/skate club that had over 150 members and I managed to make a little bit. Here's how I did it, by establishing a brand name. My group, Northern VA BMX/skate had t-shirts, bumper, stickers, funny contests, and videos! I basically started handing out shirts to attractive girls at my high school and gave a few to elite members of my group.  Eventually I had people asking me where they could get their own! Making a custom shirt isn't as hard as you'd think! I did a quick google search and was making designs in five minutes! The biggest part was the initial investment in the shirts and other swagger. This one definitely takes a couple hundred your willing to risk. A fellow blogger of mine made an excellent posting on how to host a successful car meet, you can check it out here: http://www.drivendaily.org/owners/host-successful-car-meet/

Here's just a few ways that I've found to make money using that little mode of transportation. Do you have any suggestions/ideas/stories on how you made a buck with your car? Comment!

Weekend Track Visit!

This weekend will consist two things, work, and Summit Point Motorsports Park. On the drive there I decided to drop top and bake in the goodness that is Miata. Every time I'm at a track I feel more and more at home. I probably saw 50 different Miata's today! Most of them were fully specced out racecars but

I actually saw a few nice street cars. Another great thing about events like this is the great people, which almost rivals the levels of cool that some of the cars exude. People are proud of their cars and they'll gladly answer any questions you can muster the courage to ask.

  There is a good chance that I'll be doing a parade lap in a complete SSM spec miata! Stay tuned for more track stuff, I'll probably post more on Monday!

New Tattoo for Driver!

I'm sorry it's been a while since my last posting. I'm also sorry that this has nothing to do with cars but I thought I'd put it out here just because I'm under the impression that its the coolest thing since sliced bread!

Matt's new Tat

Who doesn't love a random posting? 

Top 39 reasons why your a gear head

      Before you is a list of what I would call the 39 reasons why your a gear head:

1. You know the whine of a supercharger 
2. You know what that "PSSSSST" means that comes from a BOV
3. You know the sound of a diesel 
4. You had (or have) a collection of hot wheels 
5. being able to name at least 4 out of every 10 cars you see
6. at one point in time you've made a dream cars list
7. at another point you've made a dream car list that one day you could actually own
8. you have a favorite form of racing 
9. you subscribe to car and driver 
10. you actually do the work on your car 
11. you know useless information and facts about your car 
12. you can bore bystanders just talking about all the stuff you've done to your car
13. people compliment you on your car even after 234K miles :) 
14. you made a blog about your car(s) 
15. joined forums about cars 
16. have a favorite brand of car cleaning products 
17. you use your exhaust with or instead of a horn
18. You know that the left lane of a highways is for passing, ONLY passing
19. before you die you will drive on the Autobahn 
20. attended at least one monster truck rally
21. you know of motorcycle brands like Ducatti and Buell  
22. attended car events 
23. have a driving playlist on your ipod
24. you freak out when you see exotic cars in everyday life 
25. you gasp while your freaking out
26. you know what heel toe means
27. you can actually heel toe 
28. you've been on a racetrack 
29. you've been in a racecar 
30. you've been a flagger for a SCCA sanctioned event. 
31. been in a car that goes 0-60 in five seconds or faster
32. you've actually gone 0-60 in five seconds or faster 
33. raced your car at a stop light full knowing that you will loose 
34. keep most of the stock parts on your car just to say you can put it back if needed (exactly why you would want to return it to stock specs is beyond me... but I still do it) 
35. have done a doughnut... in a parking garage... at 3am 
36. screaming Supras send chills down your spine 
37. driven an American muscle car (any year any type)
38. found out first hand that an American muscle car will not turn in any direction what so ever over 45mph
39. crossed the 100mph barrior

     Let me know if I need to add anything! Perhaps later on I will make a this a check list. 

Its Never Speed that Kills...

Its suddenly becoming stationary that gets you.

    I forget where I heard that, but I'm completely agree with it. You could go a screaming million billion miles an hour, break though sound barrier, and still not die. On the other hand you can go 60 and smack into a tree. I'd put my money on being dead. Street racing is popular amongst us youngsters. I can personally say I've been in at least 20. None of them have ever been in safe area. Some of them have been in daylight, others have been at 2 in the morning. There are so many things that can go wrong in a street race, you making mistakes, the dumbass in a riced out Honda thats now behind you, other cars, pedestrians, wild animals (its happened to me), and bad roads. I've lost count of how many close calls I've had. I'm expecting my luck to run out soon. Even with all this I've never managed to get a speeding ticket. Not even so much as a parking ticket. Almost makes you angry huh? I recently had a conversation with a friend and he manged to point out something that I'd known in the bike world for a long time, its translation over to cars just didn't occur to me. In a nut shell he said, it's not a matter of if your going to crash or not... it's when. Then it dawned on me. Every time I've been in a race I was flipping that coin. When will it be my turn? How bad will it be? Hopefully my car is the only thing that gets the damage.
   I can tribute most of my luck to one thing. Instinct. There were times where I just refused to take part in a race. Something just felt wrong. I remember one time where I point blank refused to get in my car and drive somewhere. I couldn't tell you why or how I get this feeling.
  I'm getting better about the racing thing. I've been doing it less. What's getting worse are my midnight drift runs though. ;)

I ♥ drifting at night. I'll post up some pictures of my spots in a future post!