BMW 1 series

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by cpayne5

Awesome car. Gotta get some pics up here if/when you get it.

Shit, I got to sell the EVO first.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by angryssg

Hey J, this is a little off topic, but not really. I am looking into this as my next vehicle.
YouTube - Roadfly.com - 2008 Lexus IS-F from NAIAS

Holy crap dude, that car STARTS at 56k doesn't it? If I had that kind of money, I'd be driving a vette.
Nice car, that's for sure, but that's waaaaay out of my price range.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by jsarno

Holy crap dude, that car STARTS at 56k doesn't it? If I had that kind of money, I'd be driving a vette.
Nice car, that's for sure, but that's waaaaay out of my price range.

1. I don't like Vetts (the newer designs do not impress me).
2. I am looking for Speed, luxury, 4 doors, and an automatic.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by angryssg

1. I don't like Vetts (the newer designs do not impress me).

I think it's either you love em or leave em...I LOVE em. I am a Vette fanatic. The new designs are the best IMO. I always hated the flip up headlights and these new headlights are more Ferrari-esc.

2. I am looking for Speed, luxury, 4 doors, and an automatic.

Vette:
Speed - check
Luxury - check (the new ones are LOADED)
4 doors - no
automatic - could be, but that would be a sin.

I understand you'd be looking more to a family car. I do not need to do that. A vette works for me. Might as well chase the dream huh?

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by jsarno

I think it's either you love em or leave em...I LOVE em. I am a Vette fanatic. The new designs are the best IMO. I always hated the flip up headlights and these new headlights are more Ferrari-esc.



Vette:
Speed - check
Luxury - check (the new ones are LOADED)
4 doors - no
automatic - could be, but that would be a sin.

I understand you'd be looking more to a family car. I do not need to do that. A vette works for me. Might as well chase the dream huh?

You have to live for something.

[NM Redskin]

I would like to defend New Mexico and El Paso. If you are any kind of outdoors men, New Mexico is for you. It isn't all desert, I live about a 2 hour drive from beautiful mountains. If you love skiing and snow boarding, NM is awesome. You like camping and fishing, NM is great! Hunting ? Everywhere. I live and go to school in Las Cruces and the cost living is cheap and schooling is cheap. You can buy a nice 4 bedroom house for 150,000. Juarez is close and fun. Bit of a drug war going on, but hey that's not going to stop me from rooting on the US women against Mexico! Anyway, the only bad thing is, like jsarno said, is that you have to travel long distances to get anywhere.

As far ad El Paso being high in crime, that inst accurate at all.
"The National Crime Prevention Council ranked El Paso as one of "Six Safer Cities" across the nation. In 2001, Money Magazine ranked El Paso as the 3rd safest city with a population of over 500,000 in the US. In the same category, the Christian Science Monitor rated El Paso No. 1 in 1999."
El Paso Relocation

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by NM Redskin

I would like to defend New Mexico and El Paso. If you are any kind of outdoors men, New Mexico is for you. It isn't all desert, I live about a 2 hour drive from beautiful mountains. If you love skiing and snow boarding, NM is awesome. You like camping and fishing, NM is great! Hunting ? Everywhere. I live and go to school in Las Cruces and the cost living is cheap and schooling is cheap. You can buy a nice 4 bedroom house for 150,000. Juarez is close and fun. Bit of a drug war going on, but hey that's not going to stop me from rooting on the US women against Mexico! Anyway, the only bad thing is, like jsarno said, is that you have to travel long distances to get anywhere.

As far ad El Paso being high in crime, that inst accurate at all.
"The National Crime Prevention Council ranked El Paso as one of "Six Safer Cities" across the nation. In 2001, Money Magazine ranked El Paso as the 3rd safest city with a population of over 500,000 in the US. In the same category, the Christian Science Monitor rated El Paso No. 1 in 1999."
El Paso Relocation

Those numbers are a little unfair, because there is NOTHING outside of El Paso, while normal big cities have suburbs which means more people to inflate the numbers. For instance, Baltmore, Maryland has a similar population, but if you add in all the surrounding areas there are A LOT more people to do crime...by triple I'd wager. I lived in Billerica, MA which is 15 minutes northwest of Boston. If I went into Boston and committed a crime, their rate would go up even though I am not from there. There are NO towns outside of El Paso, it's in the middle of nowhere. So those numbers are not legit.
This is also the wrong time to be defending El Paso considering it's neighbor (juarez, mexico as you pointed out) just had 450 murders recently.
There is a reason people have bars on their windows, and it's not cause it's a safe city. Everyone that lives in these areas are fully aware of El Paso's issues...I know A LOT of people that live in Cruces simply cause they can't stand to live in El Paso due to crime. This is one time the numbers do not add up.

If you are a hunter, yes the outdoors in New Mexico is perfect for you.
ps- Ruidoso is not a great mountain...I like going up there, but often times (like this year) there just isn't enough snow there. You have to drive beyond Santa Fe (like Taos) to get to a good mountain. It's fun if you're not used to good mountains.
I actually like Cruces. Not a bad town. There is a lot more to do there. I like Northern New Mexico too. If you haven't been to Carlsbad, you can't really comment on it. Carlsbad is THE hottest town in all of New Mexico too. It rivals Phoenix during the summer...usually we are only 5 degrees less.

[NM Redskin]

Originally Posted by jsarno

Those numbers are a little unfair, because there is NOTHING outside of El Paso, while normal big cities have suburbs which means more people to inflate the numbers.

I pretty much totally disagree with you. Combined with Juarez, Mexico, the metropolitan area forms the largest population center on any international border in the world. About 2.2 million live in the area, with 700,000 residents in El Paso.

El Paso looks dirty and is poor, so I think it gets a bad rap. But that doesn't mean that it's riddled with crime.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by NM Redskin

I pretty much totally disagree with you. Combined with Juarez, Mexico, the metropolitan area forms the largest population center on any international border in the world. About 2.2 million live in the area, with 700,000 residents in El Paso.

El Paso looks dirty and is poor, so I think it gets a bad rap. But that doesn't mean that it's riddled with crime.

According the 2006 US Census, El Paso had 609,415 residents.
City Mayors: Largest US cities 2007
you have to scroll down a little, but the top cities are listed.
Keep in mind those are counted as ONLY those that live within those city limits. For instance, Boston does not count Cambridge, or DC does not count Arlington.
You might be thinking of El Paso COUNTY that has 700,000 or so population, and seeing the size of El Paso county makes you realize how few people are there outside of the city.

I agree with you about Juarez making the area very populated, but you are talking about another country, and with the passports that are required to travel back and forth, that cuts down random visits.
Also, if an illegal alien, or non US resident makes a criminal act, it doesn't go against El Paso, it will go against his own country. I was told that by someone who worked in those statistics, not sure if it's accurate, but it makes sense.

Here is a map of El Paso, and people can see for themselves that it's in the middle of nowhere:
Map of El Paso, TX by MapQuest

I know we are going to disagree. But there is an actual reason El Paso has a bad rap, and it's not unjustified.
Again I ask you, why do SOOOO many houses have bars on the windows?

By the way, are you a hunter?

[jsarno]

BTW- after talking to salesmen, it looks as if in order to get what I want, it will take 3 months to get it ordered / delivered. That wasn't the deal breaker...the deal breaker was when they said that I wouldn't get what I deserved for my trade cause they have to "estimate" what my trade will be worth in 3 months.
I talked to my wife, and we decided to keep the truck and more than likely in a year or two (after the truck is paid off) I will make a solid run at a Corvette.

[cpayne5]

ZR1 will be hitting the showrooms soon, jsarno.

hess - with all due respect, it's not all the same.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by cpayne5

ZR1 will be hitting the showrooms soon, jsarno.

Oh yeah...fully aware. 600 horsepower and a top speed of over 200!!!!
Here is a link:
Chevrolet | 2009 Chevy Corvette ZR1 Sport Convertible

[jsarno]

I think I have reversed my thinking, cause this car caught my eye more so than any car in recent years:
Audi of America > See All Models > Audi A5/S5

MSRP comes to a lofty 48k after it's fully loaded (manual of course, and in deep blue sea pearl), but after my trade, and negotiations I should be financing around 35 or 36 which is quite affordable.

What do you think of the A5?

[saden1]

Originally Posted by jsarno

I think I have reversed my thinking, cause this car caught my eye more so than any car in recent years:
Audi of America > See All Models > Audi A5/S5

MSRP comes to a lofty 48k after it's fully loaded (manual of course, and in deep blue sea pearl), but after my trade, and negotiations I should be financing around 35 or 36 which is quite affordable.

What do you think of the A5?

Audis have electrical problems. For that kind of money I would consider Infinity M.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by saden1

Audis have electrical problems. For that kind of money I would consider Infinity M.

Damn it! Are there any cars out there that don't have issues?
Thanks for the link.

One of the reasons I turned my head to an Audi is because it just screamed to me "this is THE car." Have you ever just had that feeling where you saw something and said "OOOOOOOHHHHH" and you had to have it? That's what happened when I saw the A5.
Another was the fact that I had several friends and friends of friends that told me that Mercedes and BMW think their "shit don't stink." In other words, while there were no consistant issues, whenever they had issues they wouldn't seem to care and customer service lacked. But I heard that Audi tries VERY hard to please their customers.