So here is the obligatory car page, or at least a spot to put a few pictures of our past and current vehicles.
I purchased my 1991 Honda CBR 600F2 in May of 1991 (sophomore year in college) and kept it until the fall of 2000. This was an excellent bike and it was extremely hard to part ways, but I just wasn't riding it enough to justify keeping it around any longer. Most vehicles lose most of their value in the first few years, but I purchased this bike new for $5200 and sold it for about $3200 9.5 years later. That's about $200 a year....I wish our new cars were such a deal.
Next we have our trusty 1994 Nissan Altima SE,
a limited edition version in bright red. Only 1400 were produced in this
color. This car served us very well, handling about 120,000 miles over 8 years. We originally leased the Altima and then purchased it at the
end of the lease. The good news is that our beloved Altima remained in the family, as my brother
purchased it in the summer of
2002 and still drives it regularly.
In 1998, we finally decided we really needed a truck, so we leased a 1999
Dodge Ram
Quadcab
1500 4x4. This was the official dogmobile, as we got the Quadcab model so
Calvin would have his own seat. (Don't worry, Calvin never rode in the bed
and rarely rode on the hood...) Although we liked this truck and
really had no problems to speak of during our three years, we decided to turn it
in at the end of the lease. Part of this was due to Dodge's introduction
of....
Ok,
so this is actually a promo shot from Dodge, but that is exactly like our truck.
It's a 2002 Ram 1500 Quadcab 4x4 in Black, but this time it has four regular
doors. So Calvin is really a stylin' pooch now because he has his own
power windows and a bigger back seat. This new generation Ram is much
improved over the previous one, with better steering and suspension not
to mention a much nicer interior and amenities. The engine on
this Ram is actually a 4.7 compared to our last Ram with a 5.9, but the new
generation engine produces only 5HP less. Mileage has improved a bit as
well, though you don't drive these things for fuel economy. (But try
hauling 2000 pounds of rock around in your 40MPG Honda Civic... :-)
Back in 2002, I had been thinking about replacing the Altima for at least a year and a half,
and finally wore Karen
down
to the point where she agreed to let me do so. I looked at the Lexus GS
430, which I really liked, but we decided this was a little too "mature" of a
vehicle for us at that time. Then, in the fall of 2001, I had my
CEO's 1999 BMW M3 convertible for about a week, and discovered two things:
I really like the driving feel of BMWs and I still enjoy convertibles. So I decided to
pursue this option and ordered a BMW 330 cic:
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This is a 2002 330Cic in Topaz Blue with Grey Montana Leather and a black softtop. We ordered the following options:
Steptronic Transmission (clutchless manual or regular automatic in normal and Sport mode)
Premium Package (wood trim, rain-sensing windshield wipers, etc.)
Cold Weather Package (3 stage heated seats, headlight washers, ski bag)
Sport Package (sport suspensions, 10-way power seats, 225/245 M wheels, white lamps)
Bi-Xenon HID headlamps
Aftermarket Additions:
35% tint on all side windows (rear window untinted)
Sony 10 CD changer with MP3 (see install page)
Windscreen (if you don't have one of these, get it. Well worth the expensive price tag)
Removed the CD changer and opted for Sirius satellite radio instead. Fully integrated with OEM headunit.
iTop (remote lowering/raising of top)
During
the summer of 2004, I started missing being on two wheels, so I decided to
spring for another cycle. This time I opted to go a little more exotic
than the Japanese built CBR, and picked up a 2002 Ducati 749 Superbike.
This thing has a completely different feel from other sport bikes I've ridden,
and the most beautiful sounding exhaust note.
Ahhhh,
what terrible choices we must make. Bimmer, Duc, Bimmer, Duc.....
Update: November, 2005: Due to my medical problems (slipped disk in my upper back diagnosed in late 2004), I have been essentially unable to ride the Duc at all without fairly severe pain in my neck and right arm. So unfortunately, I made the decision to sell the bike, and am once again relegated to 4 wheels
Karen has finally grown tired of driving the truck to work every day, and so we've decided to break down and get another car. After having driven my 330, the "feel" of a BMW was too much to resist, and thus we will be adding another BMW in the garage to keep mine company.
This one will be another 330, but the new design 4-door (330i E90 for those of you that know BMW lingo). We have ordered it for European Delivery, so we'll be flying to Munich this winter to take delivery, and drive it on the Autobahn like it was intended. Once we drop it off, the car should get back to us at home in Colorado about 6-8 weeks later, probably mid February.
The picture above was taken in downtown Munich outside our hotel on the day we picked up the new ride. I am planning to post a detailed write-up of our European Delivery experience a little later, so check back!! For now, here are a few more pix:
Yes, that's 2 miles on the odometer.
(Note that the Electric Red color may help soften the loss of the Red Ducati...)
After 5+ years with my 2002 BMW330cic, I made the difficult decision to part ways and move on. Of course "moving on" is much easier when you're moving on to BMW's newest 3-series convertible. One with a retractable hardtop and a 300HP twin turbo engine. Karen and I went to Germany in August of 2007 to take delivery of my new baby in Munich, and put nearly1600 miles on the odometer driving up to Denmark, and then down through the Czech Republic for a visit to Prague on our return trip to Munich.
Some stats on the car:
2007 BMW 335i (e93) (BMW's website on the 335)
Here's a summary timeline of the process for those who might be interested in doing a European Delivery sometime:
Picked up the car in Munich on August 22 2007
Dropped off at the facility in Munich (Harms) on Wednesday, August 29th
Car arrived in Bremerhaven (port) on Sept 6
Loaded onto ship ("Maersk Wave") on Sept 7, set sail the same day
Stopped at ports in Belgium (9/8/07), UK (9/10/07), Panama (9/21/07)
Arrived in California's Port Hueneme (Oxnard) on 9/30/07, was discharged from the ship on October 1 at 1:45pm
Took re-delivery in Colorado on 10/16/07.
Modifications done to car thus far:
