New Year's Resolutions

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year and share what I decided my resolutions will be going into it. Here goes...

1. Exercise Never

2. Overeat

3. Smoke Daily

4. Drink Often

Here's to a great New Year filled poor habits and gratuitous handgun use.

Thanks to all for your readership this year. Looking forward to a great new year and plenty of controversial posts and comments!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

In the words of Charlie Sykes - "Merry Christmas to everyone out there. And to all you atheists and non-Christians, have a nice day!"

I celebrate CHRISTMAS on this blog. If you are offended, tough. If you don't like it, you can kiss the angel on the top of my CHRISTMAS tree.

So to all, a heart felt Merry Christmas. See you next week!

Walken For President in 2008?!?

How is it that I never find out about these things until a couple of months after it happens? It is pretty clear that I am not in the loop.

Christopher Walken is running for president in 2008. This will be interesting.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see the guy debate the issues. His voice... oh, it's too easy.



HT: Neo

DeLorenzo On Fair Trade

A quote pulled from AutoExtremist. Taken from Peter DeLorenzo's column "Rants" in this weeks latest issue on the year in review.

"'Fair Trade? We don't need no stinkin' fair trade!' In a nationally televised speech to a conference organized by Fortune magazine, China President Hu Jintao insisted that China's growth would create "win-win results" for other economies. Right. Not that anyone believed a word of it, of course - as the Chinese government continues to look the other way as the copying of all goods continues unabated at a break neck pace. Add to this the fact that China's trading partners say the yuan is undervalued by 40 percent, giving Chinese exporters a decidedly unfair advantage. This story will get worse before it gets better, we're afraid."

Amen, Peter.

'Nuf Said!

HT: AutoExtremist - "Rants" by Peter DeLorenzo

For You Gun Nuts

Surely if we had CCW, you couldn't conceal a blast of this proportion. Not to mention the noise... Good pic. From what I am told it's a .44 mag.

I guess I am a Redneck

Thought my readers would enjoy this email I received from a good friend...

We have enjoyed Redneck jokes for years. It's time to take a reflective look at the core beliefs of a culture that values home, family, country and God.

If I had to stand before a dozen terrorists who threaten my life, I'd choose a half dozen or so Rednecks to back me up. Tire irons, squirrel guns, grit and guts -- that's what Rednecks are made of. I hope I measure up to one of those.

You might be a Redneck if:

-It never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase, "One Nation, Under God..."

-You've never protested about seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places.

-You still say "Christmas" instead of "Winter Festival."

-You bow your head in respect when someone prays.

-You stand and place your hand over your heart when they play the National Anthem.

-You treat all vets with great respect and always have.

-You've never burned an American flag and it makes you angry when you see it done.

-You know what you believe in and you ain't afraid to say so, no matter who is listening.

-You respect your elders and expect your kids to do the same.

-You'd give your last dollar to a friend.

God Bless the USA! God Bless us Rednecks!

HT: C. Montony

Corn-O-Hol Woes? I Can Help!

Are you fed up with the Wisconsin State Government shoving gasoline you don't want down your throat?

Are you fed up with terrible, unexpectedly low gas mileage?

Are you fed up with increasingly high emissions and a strange, popcorn smell coming from your tailpipe?

Well, my friend, you are in luck! I have the perfect solution for you!

Here at Disgruntled, we are also the purveyors of fine vehicles that burn on DIESEL. Yes, DIESEL. DIESEL is not affected buy the onslaught of Corn-O-Hol Gasoline. DIESEL is still the same.

And, it gets better.

DIESEL is available in many fine Volkswagen passenger sedans. DIESEL gets 50+ miles to the gallon. DIESEL is not smelly, loud or smoggy in the sedans like in big trucks. Furthermore, today's DIESEL fuel doesn't gel in the winter, so it starts without a hitch. In addition, the fine Volkswagen DIESELS are suprisingly peppy. While the engine only produces 100HP, it is more than compensated by the 177FT/LBS. of torque which gives you great acceleration.

Wait, there's more! DIESEL cars come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and equiptment packages.



There's the New Jetta...



The fun and cute New Beetle...



And coming soon, the all new 2006 Golf!

So, contact me and we'll set an appointment today!

The Marine and the Insurgent

A U.S. Marine squad was marching north of Barsa when they came upon an Iraqi terrorist badly injured and unconscious. On the opposite side of the road was an American Marine in a similar but less serious state.

The Marine was conscious and alert and after first aid was given to both men, the squad leader asked the Marine what had happened.

The Marine reported, "I was heavily armed and moving north along the highway here, and coming south was that heavily armed insurgent. We saw each other and both took cover in the ditches along the road. I yelled to him that 'Saddam Hussein is a miserable, lowlife scumbag!' He then yelled back that 'Senator Ted Kennedy is a good for nothing, fat, left wing liberal drunken murderer!' So I yelled back that 'Osama bin Laden dresses and acts like a frigid mean spirited woman!' He retaliated by yelling 'Oh yeah? well so does Hillary Clinton!' And then, there we were standing in the middle of the road shaking hands, when a truck hit us."


HT: C. Montony

Best Car Ad Ever. Wait a Minute?!?

Chvala the Fresh Fish

While plowing the lot this morning and listening to a sitting in Jeff Wagner, I learned that Chvala is going to serve nine months in prison. HA!

And if that isn't a sharp stick in the eye, the judge gave him three more months than the prosecutors suggested.

In the words of the neighbor in the movie "Office Space," "Watch your cornhole bud!"

Hollywood Elitism and the Toyota Prius

From the boys over at AutoExtremist (scroll to the bottom of the page). Regarding "Hollywood Elitist" types and their decision in purchasing a Toyota Prius.

"Several Prius partisans emailed to say they purchased their cars not to save money but to save the earth, or at least make a statement about doing so. That's a perfectly good reason to buy a car (as is wanting to meet girls). However, we doubt their Hollywood coreligionists would be so keen on solidarity if it meant driving around town in a Ford Fiesta." - Holman W. Jenkins Jr.

'Nuf Said!

HT: AutoExtremist and DeLorenzo

The Death Spiral and the Consequences

As I write this, GM CEO Rick Wagoneer is on the Rush Limbaugh show making his pitch to the audience. I imagine it is something like this...

"Buy our product please. We are dying over here, and you, the American public, are letting us go to the wayside. Help, or we will all ride the death spiral to hell."

Cute. But true? Unfortunately yes. We are in a problem state. We have a burning issue that needs to be addressed. What are we going to do to save this company? Surely I don't suggest that we all start sending in cash donations. Surely I don't expect you to go out and buy one of their cars immediately (although you may want to consider what they have to offer when the time comes... What?!? Me, making a sales pitch for the competitor?!? You bet).

No, I suggest we make this an issue now. I suggest we get in the ears of our legislators. I suggest we have the government address this issue before it becomes an "economic suicide."

In the 2006 election run, I want to see this a big part of the platform. BIG. This is an issue that needs to be addressed. Legislators need to start weighing the possibilities of a tariff to save GM and the US manufacturing community.

I, for one, am afraid to see the results if this doesn't happen.

2006 Election Topics

This might seem a bit premature, but speculation is fun and I respect the opinion of the boys over at AutoExtremist enough to post this on my blog.

If you have read my blog lately, you'll plainly see that I bash GM on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. I suspect a fair amount comes from the patriot anger brewing inside of me. I would love to see GM be #1, and it kind of stings to see them falling off the horse. A lot of what you will hear me say is "poor quality" this and "high incentive" that. And a fair amount of these topics are related to the demise of this once great beast. But there is more to the story.

I missed it, but GM CEO Rick Wagoneer wrote a piece for The Wall Street Journal last week entitled "A Portrait of My Industry." In it, he delves into several different problems plaguing the US auto industry. Unfair trade, global competition, health care and legacy costs are a fair amount of what he believes are putting GM in it's current situation. And he is right. These things certainly play a role.

But this isn't why I brought this topic up. Peter DeLorenzo and the AutoExtremist staff think Wagoneer and Bill Ford will be in the ears of politicians next year for assistance in fighting these matters so these manufacturers don't flop. If two of the big three, wait, scratch that... if even ONE(probably GM) of the big three come tumbling down, the whole American economy might as well follow.

I realize that I am contradicting myself, especially when you consider where my product originates from. I am in a conundrum if you will. I can't sell something I don't believe in, and I don't believe in domestic product. Tough spot, but no one likes car salesmen anyway. But I do believe that it is vital to make this an issue now, and agree that the best way to do it is put it on the political platform in the next round of elections. An ignored problem does not go away, it gets bigger. And when that problem rears it's ugly head, it is going to be big trouble for all of us.

To read the article, click on this link here and scroll to the second set of green arrows. A must read for a lot of you politically based bloggers out there, especially considering that these will be topics of interest in the political arena soon.

Happy Birthday Bob

The management here would like to take a moment to wish beloved Price Is Right host Bob Barker a happy birthday. In all of history there has never been a better game show than The Price is Right. To have had Bob Barker host this perennial game show favorite all these years is a treat. No one can say "A brand new car!" quite like him. Thanks for all the shows, and may we have 10 more years with you.



Happy Birthday Bob!

A Tribute to Warren Zevon

Complete with.....



Lawyers



Guns



and Money.

A New Pet Peeve

Besides BagManJimbo, liars, people who commit and cancel at the last second, namby pambies, bimbos, the Clintons, people who drive slow in the passing lane, liberals, hippies, pedophiles and crack heads, I have a new pet peeve.

I live in Wisconsin. I have for my entire life. I learned to drive in this state. Furthermore, every vehicle I learned to drive in was rear wheel drive sans ABS brakes and a traction control program (My favorite was the 1990 Chevy Caprice with a 305 V8 and RWD. We called it the "curb hopper."). Instead of ABS brakes, we pumped the brakes as not to lock them up. Instead of a traction control program, we put 200 lbs. of sand in sand bags at the rear of the vehicle. We also had regular tires, none of the fancy winter tires.

The point here is that I could drive just fine. No "dog walkin'," no "donuts" (or whippin' a shitty as some may call it), no slow starts, no excessive acceleration and burning of da' rubba. Why is it then that a middle aged man driving a Chrysler 300C with winter tires, ABS brakes, and a traction control program cannot make it through an intersection in under 1 minute? (for those here that don't know, a 300C is a V8 powered rear wheel drive car) Forgive me if I am wrong, but if you grew up and learned to drive in the sixties and seventies, most of the cars on the road were equipped like the one I learned to drive in. So why is it so friggin' difficult now?!?

Like riding a bike, you never forget. If you cannot comprehend this and wish to continue driving a car like that, stay home when it snows.

"XXX-Mas" by Rebecca Hagelin

Great article. Read it now. Do it. Click on this link and read the article. I found this on the sidebar at Neo-Contastic.

The article basically discusses the continuous moral breakdown of our society as it(our society) continues to except sexually explicit images in the media. Whether it be on television, online, or.... now on your I-Pod?

Yeah, that's right, your I-Pod. With the development of portable video devices like the new I-Pod and the Sony PSP, downloading of explicit video is now that much easier, and more portable.

Now I question the moron who has pornography on his portable video device. Where are you going to use it dumbass? On the back of the bus? And risk indecent exposure? Is it really that hard for you to wait?!?

See though, that's just me. That's what I think of. Some weirdo with a portable video device viewing it in public and *AHEM* committing acts of lewd and lascivious behavior. Sorry, I guess my mind is just in the gutter.

Hagelin brings up a better point though. Apparently an article cited in her column says that 90% of children online will run into pornography sooner or later. Wow. 90%. That's a lot. When I was a kid, I think I saw a pornographic magazine once. I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time and it was a Playboy stolen from some kid's dad that was from the late seventies. The pages were pretty wrinkled by that time and I don't recall being able to see the images that well. Besides, porn from the late seventies in Playboy was nowhere near as hardcore as it is now on the world wide web. (Not that I am justifying children having access to pornography as long as it is a wrinkled Playboy magazine from the late seventies.... so don't go there.)

The point is that children are rather tech savvy, and this is a new way to put inappropriate material in their hands. Like that kid in grade school who showed me that 'rag, there will the same kid nowadays who will download the video and bring it in. You know the one I am talking about. He thinks he will move up the playground food chain if he brings it in. He is the one who turns into an anti social geek in high school and his face is covered in acne. That, of course, is all besides the most important part.

The most important part is the continued degradation of children's innocence. Parents out there in the blogosphere who happen to stumble across my blog somehow, I implore you to keep an eye on your children. Like Hagelin, I ask you to keep close eye to what they pay attention to. If you heed this advice, you will not have to worry about "prostitots" taking over. You will not have to worry about the study covered in the halfway through the article related to "frequent exposures to erotica*."

Go. Go and watch ye over your children. Save the future generations from what very well could become the future "Sodom and Gomorrah."

*On a separate note, this study is REALLY interesting. If true, and we continue down this path, the world will be a very interesting place to live when I am 60. ASSuming of course that I will reach 60.

The Ten Secrets to a Man's Brain.... Or Is It Eleven?

An article linked on MSN.com today claims to tell you the ten secrets of a man's brain revealed. Pretty good article.

However, I think that they missed one important part... the location. Some scientists and bar room experts would agree that the location of a man's brain is NOT in his skull. Rather, the *AHEM* member in question is located somewhere lower...

You may draw your own conclusions.

BagMan Jimbo Probes Non Boardroom Oil Reps

I thought that BagMan Jimbo wanted to get money back from the ever profiting oil companies for ALL Wisconsin consumers who were "gouged" at the pumps. Keyword here is ALL.

According to today's story in the Urinal Sentinel, Doyle is seeking money for a heating fund. Apparently, now he just wants the "vampiristic blood sucking" oil companies to contribute money to a fund that helps families pay their heating bills over the winter. You see, WE Energies can't shut off your heat and power in the winter even if you don't pay your bills. So this fund is really a load of crap. Especially considering the story in the Urinal Sentinel this past week that has parents of unfortunate families canceling their power bills and starting new ones in their children's names. So who is left with the bill? WE Energies.

Whom are you a BagMan for now, Jimbo? Take the "AC" off of WEAC and you get what? "WE" energies. I wonder, does "WE" energies really mean BagMan Jimbo and WE Energies Execs? Evidently, BagMan Jimbo, you are stealing from the rich to give ultimately to the, rich? Yeah, makes too much sense to me.

We haven't gotten to the real point yet. You were supposed to get money for ALL Wisconsin consumers, not just the ones who pump their tanks at the gas station and can't pay their energy bills. This is assuming that they actually have cars and have filled their tanks with gasoline in the last 3 months.

I fill up once every week. 16 Gallons. Where is my check? Hmmm?

You stink, BagMan Jimbo. I don't even want a check. Confirming your slimeball status is enough for me.

Domestic Winners and Losers

So who, in my great and highly respected opinion, are the domestic winners and losers for the end of the 2005 model year? What a great question, if I should say so myself. It is pretty obvious, and if it isn't to you, aren't you lucky to have me around to explain it.

Loser #1 - GM. Simply put, GM is the biggest loser of the three hands down. With a product line that is still boring and basically unchanged, GM still doesn't have anything really exciting to bring to the table outside of the Z06 Corvette and the Pontiac Solstice (which, by the way, still isn't better than the MX-5 Miata).

In addition, they have not adhered to the plan of Value Pricing. Value Pricing was the plan announced in the midst of the Employee Pricing plan. The idea was to rid the line of any high incentives and price the vehicles with a true price. By doing this, GM could stabilize their products and the resale/market value of their products in the long run. Instead, GM announced mid November their "Red Tag" event. The "Red Tag" event allows the buyer to see the lowest price of the vehicle in the window of the car and takes out all the calculations. This particular price is well under the MSRP and not a list price like the Value Pricing program would be.

Too bad GM. You will be dethroned in the American market by Toyota inside of six months.

Loser #2 - FoMoCo. Although FoMoCo is not as bad off as GM, they too have problems that need to be fixed. Unlike GM, FoMoCo has a real hit on their hands with the new Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan/Lincoln Zephyr (all built off of the Mazda 6 platform, a successful car in it's own right). With new competitive product available on the market and finally getting rid of the Taurus line of cars, FoMoCo can move on and compete.

However, they too need to adapt a Value Pricing plan to stabilize their market/resale values and put themselves on the right track. Like GM, they have a "Keep it Simple" pricing plan similar to the "Red Tag" event. With this particular plan, they will also continue to jeopardize themselves by continuing to allow the customer to expect high incentives to buy product. If they can get away from this after January 3rd, they too will move in the right direction.

The only Domestic winner - DamChry. That's right, Daimler Chrysler. Besides having the most intriguing product line available amongst the three domestic manufacturers, they have not succumbed to high incentive selling. Well, at least not as much.

DamChry has introduced their "Miles of Freedom." This plan is not a discount pricing plan, but rather an extended bumper to bumper warranty, free maintenance, and two years of free gasoline. Although still an incentive, it will not have a detrimental effect on the market/resale pricing of their vehicles, a crucial step in the right direction. To me, DamChry is #1 of the big three. Maybe not in volume, but definitely in terms of common sense.

MSN has a nice article outling the big three's promotions here. I advise you check it out should you choose to purchase a domestic vehicle this season.