The AutoAnything Blog

We're movin' on up

2006-05-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks George and Wheezy. For the latest AutoAnything blog posts, please visit http://autoblogs.autoanything.com/

Our new location features more content, images and links to everything automotive.

Thanks for visiting,

Rob

Test Drove the Toyota FJ Cruiser

2006-03-27T16:05:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, my wife and I test drove the new FJ. That was probably one of the smoothest rides I've had in a larger 4-wheel drive vehicle, if you can classify the FJ as one, cuz it's like no other.

My wife, who currently drives a VW Bug, loved it. She gave it some serious gas getting on to the interstate and we were going 70 mph in no time. For the size, the maneuverability wasn't too shabby either

The dealship we went to had 4 of them on Friday and by the time we stopped in on Saturday in the AM, they were down to their last one.

My prediction - these things are going to be all over the road (and off it).

Have a good one,
Rob

Make your own Tahoe commercial

2006-03-15T12:30:00.000-08:00

You have to visit this site and make your very own Chevy Tahoe commercial.

Check it out here http://chevyapprentice.com/

Be creative and enjoy,

Rob

Suspension and Brakes

2006-02-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give everybody a head’s up that we’ve added quite a line of suspension components and kits, as well as brakes to our site.

Check out what we have and let me know if we’re missing any brands you’d like to see.

Also, feel free to comment on how we’re selling them (the content and interface) – I want to know if we’re doing it the best way possible.

Thanks,
Rob

The Best Road Trip Songs

2006-01-27T14:29:00.000-08:00

On to lighter subject matter.

What do you consider to be the best road trip songs out there?

I'll start it off with a few of my favorites:

Radar Love - Golden Earring
In the days of my youth, I remember going to visit a certain redheaded girlfriend that lived several states away and blasting/singing this song in the wee hours just to keep me from falling asleep at the wheel.

Highway Star - Deep Purple
This one doesn't have a pretty girl story attached to it, but whenever I hear it and I'm driving, I feel like giving it just a bit more gas.

Born To Be Wild - Steppenwolf
Again, another one that just seems to "get your motor runnin'".

Detroit Rock City - Kiss
That little breakdown with the screeching tires followed by the crash always makes me pretend to crank the wheel one way, then the other, finally slamming into some imaginary barrier.

In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Not really a driving song, nor a tune I care for. But, I once saw Phil singing this dreamy ditty in the beams of my headlights as I was fighting off fatigue at 4am on a road trip between Cleveland, OH and Charlotte, NC - again going to visit that dern redhead.

Come on, I know you have a song and story. Everybody does.

Rob

In the news

2006-01-23T14:20:00.000-08:00

I read that Ford's profits are on the rise, yet they're cutting jobs http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=FT&Date=20060123&ID=5437449 .

The oil companies are showing record profits, but a gallon of gas costs so much more than it used to (see your local gas station for details).

I watched the Barrett-Jackson auto auction the other night and I saw a 1950 bus go for over $4 millon, but I'm struggling to scrape up the money for a new car http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/0123sr-auction23Z8.html .

I'm not sure how I feel about all if this, but I at least wanted to mention it. What do you think?

Have a good one,

Rob

Back in the saddle

2006-01-09T10:19:00.000-08:00

Wow! it's been a while. The Holiday Season will do that to you.

So, what's new.

Last week, I received the lastest issue of Motor Trend and really enjoyed the article on the Totyota FJ http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/fj_cruiser/. I saw one again at the San Diego Auto Show a couple of weeks back and I'm still thinking about it, but I'll tell ya, the rebirth of American Muscle cars is really starting to take hold of me. The Mustang http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/mustang/, the Challenger http://www.dodge.com/dodge_life/news/autoshow_news/, what to do. Too bad we all don't have the car budget of Leno.

Have a great day,

Rob

Customer Service Log Jam

2005-12-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

Today, I don't get to talk about cars.

Monica, our diligent Customer Service Manager, wanted me to let everybody know that we're backed up about 48 to 72 hours on Customer Service responses.

So, if you're trying to get through to us and not having much luck, don't worry, somebody will get back to you soon.

Oh, I saw an amazing, totally rebuilt, '65 Impala the other day - still wiping the drool off my lip (I know, I wasn't supposed talk about cars, oh well).

Have a great one,
Rob

Cool Kustoms

2005-12-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already, you must check out Barris Kustoms http://www.barris.com/gallery.html

This is the guy behind the Batmobile, the Munster Koach, and the Green Hornet car. Some great memories, for sure. Plus, he has a bunch of other great customs (guitar/music fans check out the Voxmobile).

Any thoughts?

Have a good one,

Rob

Thanksgiving Restored

2005-11-28T14:20:00.000-08:00

Welcome back everybody.

It turned out to be a very cool weekend. I got to check out my father-in-law's new garage.

He raised the ceiling and is putting in a lift. He’s doing it to work on an old bread truck that he’s been restoring for years.

I also saw a sweet old Austin Healey under a cover in his yard. I hope that one’s going into the new garage, too.

Anybody out there like to restore old cars? I’m not sure I’d have the patience or the skill. I did some work on my ’62 Ford Galaxy (my first car (1986)), but it was minor compared to what’s going to happen to the bread truck and Healey.

Have a good one,

Rob

P.S. Don't forget we're having a site-wide sale. "Buy now and save," as they say. It's 10% off almost any order (there are some manufactuerers that won't let us discount). Check the homepage for details. The keycode is Turkey4. Just enter it in at check out.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-23T15:30:00.000-08:00

I'm out through the weekend, so happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Talk to you all on Monday.

First memory of a car

2005-11-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

Think back as far as you can.

What is your first memory of a vehicle? Either riding in it or just seeing it.

This will date me a bit, but I remember my father's '69 GTO. It was green with a black interior. Man, that was a long time ago. He bought it used, so it wasn't '69. It must have been 1970.

You know, now that I'm pushing my memory, I do remember some sort of brown or red car before that, but I couldn't tell you what it was.

Anyway, what can you guys (and/or gals) remember?

What do you think about the research guides?

2005-11-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

If you haven't checked them out yet, be sure to have a look at our product research guides.

You can find them on the lower left-hand side of the homepage.

We built the guides to help customers make an informed decision when purchasing products.

What do you think? Worth the effort? Where can we improve?

Thanks for your opinion.

BTW - There are some interesting and fun facts in those guides. Here's a good one. The first person that tells me in which guide and where, specifically, you can read about the Sword of Damocles gets a personalized 10% off discount coupon code. Good luck.

Enjoy,
Rob

Veteran's Day and my latest car obsession

2005-11-11T16:16:00.000-08:00

It’s Veteran’s Day and that means something to many of us. Thanks to everyone who is a veteran or has supported one in any way.

I’ve come out of the clouds on the Saturn Sky. As much as I like it, it’s a bit too small for all the things I do. So, my latest car obsession is the Toyota FJ.

Again, I saw a few at SEMA. There are some things about it that are really plasticy, but it reminds me of some sort of Japanese Gundam toy, which is pretty cool. And at the same time, th FJ has serious old school character. Check it out at http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/future/fj_cruiser/index.html .

Just an FYI – there’s a 10% off coupon "to honor our heroes". It’s ENV05011. Anyone can enter it in the Enter Coupon Code box in the shopping cart to enjoy the savings.

Have a great weekend,

Rob

Just got back from SEMA

2005-11-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

I just returned from SEMA. Man, what a time. I saw some really sweet rides, from blinged-out Bentleys to insanely smooth Foose overhauls.

Out of hand.

What really stood out though was the new Saturn Sky. Wow! Styling, performance, and best of all, the price, made this vehicle not only very cool, but realistically attainable. It’s supposed to be under $20k.

Here’s a link http://www.saturn.com/saturn/vehicles/futurevehicles/index.jsp . Be sure to check the Sky Experience link – you can change colors and do a bunch of other neat stuff.

The Pontiac Solstice is pretty much the same vehicle http://www.pontiac.com/ , but a bit more sporty.

Anyway, I have a lot more to say about the show, but I’ve got a million emails to answer.

I’ll be back,

Rob

What's your dream vehicle?

2005-10-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody,

I was zoning at my desk a few minutes ago thinking about my dream vehicle. The one that's really been on mind lately is the '67 Camaro RS/SS in black.

When my father told me he was going to buy me a car for my high school graduation, that Camaro is what I had my heart set on. And now it's stuck in my head again.

Of course, I didn't get the camaro, though the '62 Ford Galaxy I did end up with was pretty darn cool, but that's a story for another day.

So, what's your dream vehicle?

Have a good one,
Rob

An AutoAnything Weekend!

2005-10-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s almost quittin’ time on a Friday afternoon - that means we're heading out for the weekend. Woohoo!

Last week, I put a K&N air filter in my 4Runner and this weekend I'm going to take it out just to see what it caught in its cotton gauze. Probably not much considering it's only been in my vehicle for about 12 days, but I'm still curious.

I should mention that it’s giving me a bit more seat-of-the-pants power off the line. And, I'm pretty sure I'm getting better gas mileage, though, honestly, I haven't busted out the calculator to figure it out for sure.

Oh, just to see if any of you are tuning in this weekend, I'm going to post that 5% off coupon again. Here it is.

Save 5% on any purchase* between now and Monday, 10/17/2005. Just enter BLOGOC05 in the "Enter Coupon Code" box in your shopping cart and you'll get the discount. Feel free to tell your friends.

Have a great weekend,

Rob

*unfortunately, some of our manufacturing partners don’t allow us to discount their products. Therefore, the 5% off doesn’t apply to CoverCraft, WeatherTech, Beltronics, Flowmaster, Warn, Ramsey, MileMarker, Superchips, Zymol, and K&N Air Filter products.

Another day at AutoAnything

2005-10-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting.

So, what would you like to talk about here at the AutoAnything Blog? Comments are open. Try to keep it reasonable.

Oh, here's a head's up about tomorrow's email - Floor Mats are going on sale, so if you or anybody you know needs some, tell them to wait for the email to save a few bucks. The offer should be good thru Thursday, 10/13, at least that's what my sources tell me.

If you aren't signed up for the email deals, there's a sign up link on the right side of the homepage. I think you'll get a $10 off coupon for signing up, too.

Have a great day,

Rob

Welcome to the AutoAnything Blog

2005-10-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the AutoAnything Blog. It's new, it's different and it's certain to evolve over the course of the next several months.

Visit often to find out what's new, what's hot, and what's not at AutoAnything.

Plus, you never know when you'll find secret savings like this - Save 5% on any purchase* between now and Monday, 10/10/2005. Just enter BLOGOC05 in the "Enter Coupon Code" box in your shopping cart and you'll get the discount.

I posted the coupon code, just to see if anybody’s reading. Kind of neat, if you ask me.

Thanks for stopping,

Rob

*unfortunately, some of our manufacturing partners don’t allow us to discount their products. Therefore, the 5% off doesn’t apply to CoverCraft, WeatherTech, Beltronics, Flowmaster, Warn, Ramsey, MileMarker, Superchips, Zymol, and K&N Air Filter products.