Meeting of G8 and GTO owners last weekend

Yesterday's meet and tour was a lot of fun, and a great experience. We had 4 G8's and 4 GTO's show up in the morning at Downtown Campbell. Our cars did get noticed (thus having the desired affect). The group was very friendly, with the topic of Pontiacs dominating the conversation.

GTO's in Downtown Campbell, from G8 SF Bay Area Meet Jan 10th

We took off just before 11am to head up to Alice's Restaurant up in Woodside (not an actual city on the map, it is usually addressed as "Redwood City"). The goal was to take the scenic route through the hills on Highways 9 and 35. I lead the caravan of G8's and GTO's. Unfortunately, right away (before even getting out of Downtown Campbell) we lost a couple cars in our caravan. We stopped for quite awhile to try to find them, but could not. After guessing they would find their own way, we started up again.

Then, my great leadership lead us astray. Unfortunately, I missed a turn in Los Altos area and we ended up heading back to Campbell. After letting everyone know my bonehead move, we took the alternative route along 280, which is still very scenic. Even on this route, we got some fun hilly roads later on highway 84.

When we got to the rest'rant, we found that the others did indeed find their way. We also meet up with a couple other G8 owners. In all, our group was over 15 people, with 7 G8's and 3 GTO's (one GTO met us in Campbell, but did not come on our drive).

Fortunately, I called Alice's the day before to reserve space for our crew. We got a private room in the back, and had a great time. We had a great diversity of people, including (but not limited to) a couple of engineers, a manager of a valet company, and one person who is from Japan. There were individuals from the immediate area, and others who came from as far away as Napa. Everyone got along great...and the food was pretty good too!

Afterward, we lined up our cars and took pictures. Again, our cars were getting noticed by others.

Almost everyone in Woodside, from G8 SF Bay Area Meet Jan 10th

It seemed like everyone had something unique to show off, or was interested in seeing what someone else had done so far. One car had cool looking black rims. Another had the clear protective bra. I had the truck liner and splash guards. Some had the 2008 with the "Atari Gages" and others has the 2009 without. One had dimmed the brightness of those gages with an overlay. One thing that struck me (someone correct me if I'm wrong) is that it seemed like none of the G8 owners have tuned our cars (yet).

Checking the cars out, from G8 SF Bay Area Meet Jan 10th

When it was time for me to take off, I drove back home via the scenic route that I missed on the drive up. The G8 is so much fun on the windy roads, as it is on the freeway too!

Lessons learned for next time:

1. Bring walky-talkies
2. check out the route prior to the tour
3. pick a spot closer to freeway to meet before a tour

Things that did go right:

1. Fun drive√
2. Cool people√
3. great final destination√
4. calling a day ahead for a reservation at the rest'rant√
5. set up the date far enough ahead to get a good showing√
6. and finally, have great weather!√

Here's the link to the online photo albums available so far:

1. Matt's photos
2. Don's photos
3. Junya's photos of Matt's car and others

Here's a quick video of almost everyone that came:

Back in my day

The longest day of my life is when I was like 18 or so. It was the day I had my wisdom teeth removed. It did all of them at once. This is the one day of my life I was forced to do nothing but lay back and watch TV in dull by powerful pain. This was still in the early days of the Information Age, before serious portable games, smartphones and the Internet. I've had no days longer since that day. I've had many days that have left me wondering where the day has gone.

It's weird now to discuss a time before the Internet. Sure, it kinda existed before 1994, but not in any way that is meaningful to us today. What makes this kinda ironic is that my generation is one of those generations that is going to be able to talk about how things used to be. Not in some silly way like "candy used to cost 5 cents", but in a real paradigm shift sort, like those old-timers that used to talk about the horse and buggy in times before cars. From those old-timers we get the stereotypical story of having to "walk 10 miles in the snow to school up hill both ways." What will my tale be for my grandkids? I imagine it would be something like like "Back in my day, we didn't have the Internet. I used to have to drive in a car in bumper to bumper traffic to get to a building called a library in order to use my library card just read a book." I'm sure the question from my posterity will be, "What's a car, grampa?"

Death penalty reconsidered in Mexico

Coahuila lawmakers last week sent a bill to Mexico's Congress to change the constitution to allow the death penalty for kidnappers who kill their captives. -MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters)

The moral high ground that Mexico once prided for themself is not being reconsidered. Mexico has chided the U.S. for our policy regarding the death penalty. Now that they are actually dealing with the problems they've fostered for so long. Now, they realize the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, and the lack thereof is an open invitation for criminal activity of heinous acts.

Holiday Report

As long as the holiday feels, it never lasts long enough. Allie and I split Turkey Day between my aunt's and her parents'.

Friday, we did a little late morning shopping. Got some great deals. Then we headed up to the auto show in SF. We looked at practically every car being made today. I walked away with a better impression of Saab, and a worse impression of Audi. I'm also left wondering why someone would pay $60K for either a Lexus or a Cadillac, so I understand why someone would spend that much for a Mercedes.

In the evening we saw Australia. It was a throwback to classic romantic movies with an Australian twist. Pretty clear. The story backdrop is the Japanese attack on Darwin, though this is almost minor to the story, as it is really about ugliness of racism.

On Sat, we spend time with my friends Ronie, Fern and Miriam. It was nice being able to get together. It's been too long. Everyone has just been too busy.

Sunday was spent cleaning up a bit around the house.

Lunch Hour Rush

Today was one of those days where I spend the lunch hour running errands. First, I headed to the post office to mail off a package for my sister, then to the bank, then to Kragens to return a part. Fortunately, the location of each made for an easy loop around central Sunnyvale. I got lunch at In and Out Burger on the way back to the office.

What car did I end up getting?

I was at a Buick dealership on fine, early summer day checking out what Buick had to offer. My opinion is that this is a brand whose audience is quickly disappearing. I tried both major 2008/2009 offerings. I cannot image anyone under the age of 70 (currently) buying one of these cars. There is no attempt to even pretend to be modern. I cannot imagine myself being interested in these cars even when I reach 70. I imagine this brand will either need to be reinvented or will go the way of Plymouth.

Anyway, while I was at that dealership, I noticed this new car in the show room. I didn't even know what it was or what brand. It turned out to be the Pontiac G8 GT. I liked the car a lot. It had a lot of amenities while sporting one of the biggest engines on the road. Quick, tons of power, and very maneuverable. All that for a price tag in the high 20's to low 30's. By far, this car is the most bang for your buck! It is both fun and practical at the same time.

My wife and I didn't buy it that day, but it was definitely added to our list of options. We continued looking around for cars, as we've been doing for about 18 months so far. Near the end of summer, we were literally within a day or two from by the Chevy Malibu LTZ. This is another great car that is tremendous value for your money. It is more equipped than many luxury cars that cost 2 times as much, even sporting a reasonably powerful V6. But then I found out that the 2009 Pontiac G8 had been added to the GM Employee Pricing program, and the deal was sealed. We got a brand new 2009 Pontiac G8 GT that week.

It is a decision where we did not have to take as a comprise. This is something we really wanted, and for a great price. We tried several brands of the Japanese and American varieties. (Neither of us will touch European or Korean, though we prolly wouldn't mind getting a new BMW for free.) The only two makes that seem to make cars that interest us for the right prices are Infiniti and Chevrolet/Pontiac.

As part of my purchase, I traded in my old Acura TL-S. I liked that car, but I love my new Pontiac G8 GT. Given the huge problems I had with my not so old Acura car, I'm not too worried about the American vs. Japanese quality argument. Especially since the G8 is made in Australia anyway.