Thursday, January 29, 2009

Pimp My Ride

Well.... I did end up getting car, but it isn't American and it cost only a fraction of a brand new American car....

It is a 2005 Scion (made by Toyota) xB:






Pimped grills.


Thumpin' pimped amps and speakers. (but I kind of like that, lol)


Isn't it cute? It's my first foreign car. The guy who had it before us did all the cool customizations.

The main reason we got it, though, is because it gets 30-35 mpg which is more than twice what the beastly Expedition gets (about 14 mpg). If one is so-inclined he can accuse us of "going green", but in my world green = $$$ saved and not "saving the planet." ;-) We still have the Expedition (the beast) and still need it for hauling around all the extra kids that seem to congregate here. The xB only seats 5 compared to 8 with the beast. And it is paid for too.

Buying a car these days is almost as much hassle as buying a house, even when you pay with cash instead of getting a loan. You'd think if someone came in with a stack of cash they'd skip all the crap, but no, they still have all those forms and formalities. Blame it on the government. And it's just too bad for all the UAW people and the US automakers that we didn't buy one of their over-priced products. As I mentioned previously, we've already paid them enough (in bailouts) for a new car without actually getting anything.

And I finally got to do something that I've been thinking about for a while. I decided that the next time I have to fill out any kind of form that asked for "race" or "ethnicity" I would check the "other" box and specify that I am a "White Native American." Well, how many generations and centuries does it take to be considered "native"? I figure my people have been here pretty much since the beginning of the white "colonization" so probably I'm genetically separated enough from most Europeans to be considered ethnically distinct.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the new wheels. But I know inside you're thinking how much better that Challenger looks, no?

Guy said...

That's funny, "white native american" I wonder if you can get some affirmative action on that?

Glad things are going well for you, enjoy the new car.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your new car, Rae Ann! I LOVE your idea about filling out these ridiculous, invasive government forms with 'native white American'. I am going to follow your lead absolutely, next time I have to fill one out. Brilliant idea! thank you.

Andrei Kirilyuk said...

No, she's not a hoe, she's a brand new American car, rocketing ... where?! :)

Yeswecan, you did it, American car industry is severely punished for its excessive prices: not only you didn't buy their car, you bought a one from their worst competitors! Now they will know how to be polite with consumers! And that's how we can avoid crises: should be really cruel with all those “captains” because they cannot understand polite warnings, just hard punishment measures. It's even a little strange: the more “advanced” and (quantitatively) successful a business is, the more it is stupid in its attitudes...

From a European point of view, “ethnicity” is irrelevant to both “native” and “white American”. Ethnicity “native” would imply practically something like “disabled needing special approaches” :), while ethnicity white American, well ... what do you mean by “white American”? :) Is it more like English, or Flemish, or Germanic, or Scandinavian, or Polish? Just don't say “all of it and a little Jewish”. We can't understand such “ethnicity”! You're just the mixed ones out there and your mixture is a too recent one! For example, I am a completely white Ukrainian/European, but this perfection results from thousands of years of long and natural mixing between so much colours and traditions... Now Americans you're but a recently created over-seas branch of EU Incorporated, right? And here, in the main branch, everybody is still very much attached to those “natural” ethnicities and traditions... That's maybe why European Union has such a strange efficiency! :)

Back to cars, looking at the acoustic equipment of your new one, American roads gonna learn much more about Led Zeppelin!

Rae Ann said...

Thanks to you all!

Anonymous said...

BTW, nice woofers, Rae Ann. ;-)

e. l. wood said...

sweet ride! leet us know how you like it in the next six months to a year. just curious about the performance of the scions. also - what was the first cd you put through that tumpin' lookin' system?

e. l. wood said...

or just "let" us know, either one.

papertiger said...

"Tear drops on the city
Bad scooter searching for a groove
Seem like the whole world walking pretty
And you cant find the room to move
Well everybody better move over, thats all
Im running on the bad side
And I got my back to the wall
Tenth avenue freeze-out, tenth avenue freeze-out

Im stranded in the jungle
Taking all the heat they was giving
The night is dark but the sidewalks bright
And lined with the light of the living
From a tenement window a transistor blasts
Turn around the corner things got real quiet real fast
She hit me with a tenth avenue freeze-out
Tenth avenue freeze-out
And Im all alone, Im all alone
And kid you better get the picture
And Im on my own, Im on my own
And I cant go home

When the change was made uptown
And the big man joined the band
From the coastline to the city
All the little pretties raise their hands
Im gonna sit back right easy and laugh
When scooter and the big man bust this city in half
With a tenth avenue freeze-out, tenth avenue freeze-out
Tenth avenue freeze-out...
"

You ever have one of those days?

Rae Ann said...

e.l., thanks, I'll let you know how it goes, and actually, I don't have a good CD for it yet, lol. My son had an old rap one that was okay, but I should find something I like better.

papertiger, yeah, I sure have, great song! Thanks!