You get what you pay for.<\/p>\n
I can no longer afford a BMW.\u00c2\u00a0 Not a new one anyway.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is probably why I
continued to drive the old one.\u00c2\u00a0 Funny the little things you don’t notice.\u00c2\u00a0
Like the quality of the carpet.\u00c2\u00a0 And the lack of road noise.\u00c2\u00a0 Just pop for the
Japanese econobox and see what you’ve been missing.\u00c2\u00a0 All the little things
that can bug you that you didn’t even contemplate.<\/p>\n
Yes, the car I bought is a Saab.\u00c2\u00a0 But really, it’s a Subaru.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a Subaru
WRX.\u00c2\u00a0 Rebadged as a Saab 9-2X.\u00c2\u00a0 Buy them while you can, because they’re not
gonna make them much longer.\u00c2\u00a0 Since GM sold its stake in Subaru to Toyota.<\/p>\n
You see they stop the Subaru line.\u00c2\u00a0 Whip off a bunch of Saabs.\u00c2\u00a0 And then
start making Subarus again.<\/p>\n
Not that they’re COMPLETELY identical.\u00c2\u00a0 First and foremost there’s different
sheet metal.\u00c2\u00a0 The Subaru’s been SABBERIZED.\u00c2\u00a0 In the front and back anyway.\u00c2\u00a0
And the 9-2X has the steering from the WRX STi.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is a $35,000 Subaru
equivalent to a race car.\u00c2\u00a0 And there’s a bit of sound insulation.\u00c2\u00a0 And, a slightly
softer suspension.\u00c2\u00a0 Which the car magazines say gives you BETTER performance.\u00c2\u00a0
Which is a conundrum to me.\u00c2\u00a0 But it was enough of a change that I decided to
buy the Saab.<\/p>\n
You see, after driving BMWs for thirty years, you become inured to handling.\u00c2\u00a0
You don’t want no front wheel drive puller, you want something that corners
like it’s glued on rails.\u00c2\u00a0 Like you’re on a roller coaster.\u00c2\u00a0 And the four wheel
drive Saabaru delivers this.<\/p>\n
But not much else.<\/p>\n
Oh, it’s DEADLY fast.\u00c2\u00a0 0-60 in the middle 6’s.\u00c2\u00a0 But there’s no trip computer.
\u00c2\u00a0No extras.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s BUILT for speed.<\/p>\n
I could do without the 17" wheels.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re no fun on the highway.\u00c2\u00a0 But they
came with the sunroof.<\/p>\n
Actually, the only option I didn’t get was the Cold Weather package.\u00c2\u00a0 Heated
seats, windshield wipers and mirrors.\u00c2\u00a0 Which I would have liked, being a
skier, but I was lucky to get a car at all.\u00c2\u00a0 Because of the discount.<\/p>\n
Yes, here’s the kicker.\u00c2\u00a0 I got my Saabaru for $9500 off.<\/p>\n
Oh, I had to pay $1000 to get it here.\u00c2\u00a0 From Florida of all places.\u00c2\u00a0 But
still, that’s a deal.\u00c2\u00a0 A percentage of which was offered to everybody, but I got
even more.\u00c2\u00a0 I couldn’t turn it down.\u00c2\u00a0 A brand new car with a no pay four year
warranty?\u00c2\u00a0 For the elimination of headaches to BEGIN with it was worth it.\u00c2\u00a0
AND, being a JAPANESE car, not an American or European one, it’ll probably last
longer than I want to drive it ANYWAY!<\/p>\n
But, even though I paid for an upgraded stereo, it sounded like shit.\u00c2\u00a0 Well,
not shit, but in comparison to the system in my BMW…<\/p>\n
Actually, the first journey I took in my BMW was to the car stereo emporium.\u00c2\u00a0
I loaded it up with $2600 of gear (including the alarm).\u00c2\u00a0 I was having a hard
time rationalizing it but my shrink told me it was an extravagance for most
people, but for me it was a NECESSITY!\u00c2\u00a0 Since what I liked to do most was to
drive around and listen to music.<\/p>\n
He was right.\u00c2\u00a0 To the degree where I was reluctant to get a new car.\u00c2\u00a0 This
was really the kicker.<\/p>\n
I drove the Saabaru for a month, trying to live with the factory gear.\u00c2\u00a0 But
the buzz in the speakers, I just couldn’t handle it.\u00c2\u00a0 So I drove over to
Automotive Entertainment.<\/p>\n
Cheap they’re not.\u00c2\u00a0 But the work they do is PHENOMENAL!\u00c2\u00a0 And that’s what
someone like me with OCD needs.\u00c2\u00a0 I put myself in their hands.<\/p>\n
Oh, I tried to cheap out.\u00c2\u00a0 Go with the less-expensive amp and speakers.\u00c2\u00a0 But
then Richard told me I wouldn’t be happy.\u00c2\u00a0 He’d sell me the shit, but I
wouldn’t like it.\u00c2\u00a0 Had I listened to the stuff?<\/p>\n
One note and I knew my wallet would be lighter.\u00c2\u00a0 You can hear the difference.
\u00c2\u00a0So, even though I have a cheap car, I’ve got an EXPENSIVE stereo.<\/p>\n
After dropping all that dough I tried to live without a subwoofer.<\/p>\n
But unlike the BMW, there’s no trunk.\u00c2\u00a0 Nowhere for the rear speakers to
resonate.\u00c2\u00a0 So, I took the car back.\u00c2\u00a0 It was ready today.<\/p>\n
The installation was better than they do at the factory.\u00c2\u00a0 And the SOUND!!!<\/p>\n
Not that I have the thing yet.\u00c2\u00a0 Turns out they’ve got to insulate the doors
more.\u00c2\u00a0 There’s a buzz.\u00c2\u00a0 Pay this much and you want no buzz.\u00c2\u00a0 You want PRISTINE
sound.<\/p>\n
And that’s what I’m getting.<\/p>\n
It’s so funny.\u00c2\u00a0 Places like Automotive Entertainment are the last bastion of
high end stereo.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s like all the guys have been driven from their homes and
can only turn it up in their cars.\u00c2\u00a0 And the sky’s the limit.<\/p>\n
I felt like a pauper.\u00c2\u00a0 They were outfitting two brand new Rolls Royces.\u00c2\u00a0 And
a Hummer.<\/p>\n
Still, I have better sound.\u00c2\u00a0 Because unlike the those driving the high end
jobs, I could rip out the complete factory system.\u00c2\u00a0 There were no fiber-optics.\u00c2\u00a0
All the electronics weren’t jumbled together.<\/p>\n
It’s so weird putting your brand new car in the hands of these guys.<\/p>\n
But I learned today they were experts.<\/p>\n
They wired my subwoofer 180 degrees out of phase.\u00c2\u00a0 So I wouldn’t get thumped
in the head, so it would mesh with the front speakers properly after the sound
traveled up front.<\/p>\n
God, you should see the head unit I’ve got.\u00c2\u00a0 You SLIDE YOUR FINGER to change
the controls.\u00c2\u00a0 Fuck, I can barely understand it.\u00c2\u00a0 But Tommy gave me a lesson.<\/p>\n
There are a variety of factory EQ settings.\u00c2\u00a0 Then there’s a graphic
equalizer.\u00c2\u00a0 And a parametric equalizer.\u00c2\u00a0 And TIME DELAY!\u00c2\u00a0 He was showing me the time delay.\u00c2\u00a0 How you can set the unit so the music is centered if you’re the DRIVER!<\/p>\n
And to demonstrate, he turned on the jazz channel.<\/p>\n
Yup, this car stereo tuner is a JAZZ freak.<\/p>\n
They listen to XM in the shop.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ve got a SkyFi right there.\u00c2\u00a0 But he said
Sirius’ jazz channel sounded MUCH better.\u00c2\u00a0 He put on XM 70, and sure as shit,
it SOUNDED like shit.\u00c2\u00a0 Even though the modern jazz station, 71, sounded great.<\/p>\n
Then Richard showed me what he was doing to HIS Mercedes.\u00c2\u00a0 Three Audison
amps.\u00c2\u00a0 AVIs all around.\u00c2\u00a0 But, even though he’s not even paying for the gear, he
couldn’t listen yet.\u00c2\u00a0 Because it’s not fully tweaked, it sounds like shit.\u00c2\u00a0 This
is MY KIND OF GUY!<\/p>\n
Then Richard said he wanted to talk to Sirius.\u00c2\u00a0 Since he sells their service.
\u00c2\u00a0He anticipates a huge backlash.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s getting it already.\u00c2\u00a0 You see, Sirius
keeps DROPPING OUT!\u00c2\u00a0 You can put the antenna for XM INSIDE, but even with the
Sirius antenna on the roof of your car, you’re constantly losing signal.<\/p>\n
I could have hung out there all afternoon.\u00c2\u00a0 You see, it’s a business, but
they’re into the SOUND!\u00c2\u00a0 They believe in their WORK!\u00c2\u00a0 They’re tech-savvy.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s
the way it was in the seventies.<\/p>\n
Except for the fact there are a few more zeros on the bill!!<\/p>\n