Even at 167 years old, Max still rocks !
PS, BTW, if you really want to get down and dirty about stuff more pertinent to replica Speedsters, get a copy of Hot VWs. An article now and then about Speedsters can be found, w/ a picture of two once in a while, but man oh man, if you want ads for cool sh** that will actually fit in/on your car, this is the place.
And yes KCB is all over on Cobras, and a little of that goes a long way, IMHO. But fun to see some other kinds of madness nonetheless. And we do love Max, so all bow down . . .
And yes KCB is all over on Cobras, and a little of that goes a long way, IMHO. But fun to see some other kinds of madness nonetheless. And we do love Max, so all bow down . . .
http://www.kitcarclub.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=6
Over two thirds of the covers had cobras on them, nearly all of the issues had an article on cobras inside . . . time to re-name the rag "COBRA and kit car builders" I'd say.
I mean we ALL just LOVE Factory Five here in Massachusetts, we customize our State Laws to accommodate them for shit sake, but honestly there just isn't that much going on under the skin of a cobra copy to warrant this kind of coverage.
I wonder how much of the mag is actually left if the cobra pictorial coverage, ads for cobras and cobra related accessories, editorial content, and big news mentioning cobra related test and tune events were removed.
Probably enough for a brief news letter I'll betcha . . .
Honestly, if Max had a blog, would anyone still subscribe to the rag or would you just snag an occasional copy at the market?
Over two thirds of the covers had cobras on them, nearly all of the issues had an article on cobras inside . . . time to re-name the rag "COBRA and kit car builders" I'd say.
I mean we ALL just LOVE Factory Five here in Massachusetts, we customize our State Laws to accommodate them for shit sake, but honestly there just isn't that much going on under the skin of a cobra copy to warrant this kind of coverage.
I wonder how much of the mag is actually left if the cobra pictorial coverage, ads for cobras and cobra related accessories, editorial content, and big news mentioning cobra related test and tune events were removed.
Probably enough for a brief news letter I'll betcha . . .
Honestly, if Max had a blog, would anyone still subscribe to the rag or would you just snag an occasional copy at the market?
Yes there are a good number of Cobra advertisers in KKB and you really need to take into account i.e. the percent ratio of Cobra owners and the the rest of the replica melding pot.
IMHO KKB does in fact do a top notch job of representing the various elements regarding replicas. Yes I do know Jim and can honestly say he has a sincere desire to uphold the validity of the replicar hobby and is there on our behalf. Hence, most people here have good things to say about the magazine inclusive of myself. ~Alan
IMHO KKB does in fact do a top notch job of representing the various elements regarding replicas. Yes I do know Jim and can honestly say he has a sincere desire to uphold the validity of the replicar hobby and is there on our behalf. Hence, most people here have good things to say about the magazine inclusive of myself. ~Alan
. . . exclusive of myself. ~TC
hey
the old tc is back :)
the old tc is back :)
Yeah, the old TC is back.
Knock it off, Tom, or I'll send the boys over to dump another 4 feet of snow in your driveway.
and yes, I can certainly do it from here.......
Knock it off, Tom, or I'll send the boys over to dump another 4 feet of snow in your driveway.
and yes, I can certainly do it from here.......
Bwaaahahahaha !
TC --you were starting to show signs of---dare I say it-- civility.
We were happy to see the "Forum Prick" demonstrating signs of morphing into a sweeter and gentler T.C.
Lighten up on KCN--who else will help build our hobby as they did doing a great job covering the Speedsters at Morrow Bay---and the Pumpkin run last fall? Wonderful pictures and stories, everyone thought.
No. no . . . I'm STILL being a decent guy, REALLY. I just have a serious bone to pic with periodicals. I worked for one for a time and saw how much disdain they had for those who subscribe. Not the Editors, they're out of the loop, but the publishers. There's next to no money in subs or news stand purchases, it's all comin' from ad sales, BUT the ad rates are based on the subs. So you get screwed by subscribing while the advertisers get stroked by having the editorial content tailored to their wishes. You just plunck down the coin and HOPE that the next issue is better than the one that you just threw away. It's maddening ! ! !
They severely cater to the advertisers to the point that most smaller magazines (like KCB) are merely ad zines in the end. Which ever advertiser takes out the biggest ads for the longest time gets to pretty much own the magazine for that period of time.
I worked for a bus specialty repair shop a handful of years ago and they regularly had ads in the VW magazine the eventually stopped publishing. They used to offer to run a bus feature and cover if the place where I worked would up their ad space. Nothing to do with cool cars or cover/feature worthiness, just chasing the dollar.
Granted, the magazine(s) had to make a profit, but at what point is it time to just screw it, you know. Are they publishing an interesting periodical or really just putting out a color ad zine for the cobra kit car industry with a few odd ball interesting cars added to the mix.
Honestly, it's from knowing this business from the inside out that I react to all of your enthusiasm with a touch of anger that you're being taken advantage of here. And you/I really am. Paying that much coin for four issues and gambling that those four issues aren't just going to be a thirty two page cobra sales brochures with a funny editorial from a buddy . . . it truly pisses me off.
ANYWAY, no more to say, I'll hold my tongue, promise. 'Till I see Gordon at Carlisle, then he's gettin' a big ration of shit for putting all of this damned snow at the end of my driveway. Right now it's over six feet high and in two big piles, with more today and tonight.
They severely cater to the advertisers to the point that most smaller magazines (like KCB) are merely ad zines in the end. Which ever advertiser takes out the biggest ads for the longest time gets to pretty much own the magazine for that period of time.
I worked for a bus specialty repair shop a handful of years ago and they regularly had ads in the VW magazine the eventually stopped publishing. They used to offer to run a bus feature and cover if the place where I worked would up their ad space. Nothing to do with cool cars or cover/feature worthiness, just chasing the dollar.
Granted, the magazine(s) had to make a profit, but at what point is it time to just screw it, you know. Are they publishing an interesting periodical or really just putting out a color ad zine for the cobra kit car industry with a few odd ball interesting cars added to the mix.
Honestly, it's from knowing this business from the inside out that I react to all of your enthusiasm with a touch of anger that you're being taken advantage of here. And you/I really am. Paying that much coin for four issues and gambling that those four issues aren't just going to be a thirty two page cobra sales brochures with a funny editorial from a buddy . . . it truly pisses me off.
ANYWAY, no more to say, I'll hold my tongue, promise. 'Till I see Gordon at Carlisle, then he's gettin' a big ration of shit for putting all of this damned snow at the end of my driveway. Right now it's over six feet high and in two big piles, with more today and tonight.
Re. "'til I see Gordon at Carlisle" You coming this year? C'mon, you know you want to.
Yup ! So far it's on.
A handful of my buddies went last year and said that it was pretty good, the parts jumble was up and there was a lot of fun to be had.
I used to go regularly for British parts, but the internet has made it unnecessary. I guess that it's now about the bigger, more difficult to ship parts and the social aspects.
So far, so good. I'd really like to go down and check it out.
A handful of my buddies went last year and said that it was pretty good, the parts jumble was up and there was a lot of fun to be had.
I used to go regularly for British parts, but the internet has made it unnecessary. I guess that it's now about the bigger, more difficult to ship parts and the social aspects.
So far, so good. I'd really like to go down and check it out.
TC, I buy you das beer ...~Alan
TC, I'll buy the rest! Would love to meet your crankiness. Come on down! If you come via I84 you can meet up with me and LennyC, we caravan down on Thursday afternoon.
Excellent! I'll buy you an egg sammich.
Beer and egg sandwiches! Recipe for volatile airspace! Nice to see ya Tom,but could you stand over there?
That's why it's a good thing most of our Carlisle activities are outside.
Actually I'd like to thank TC for his insiders point of view. It seems to make a lot of sense. The whole market place for hardcopy publications of any kind is probably fading away in favor of online stuff. My local morning newspaper, in a city of one million and a county of 3.4 million, is slowly fading away due to the same reasons, with a very obvious drop in classified advertising volume.
That's the part of specilized enthusiast magazines that the buyer is largely unaware of. Personally, online magazines just won't do it for me.
That's the part of specilized enthusiast magazines that the buyer is largely unaware of. Personally, online magazines just won't do it for me.
I also liked the bit about how the magazine world is ad-driven.
So, TC, now that you've returned, could you kindly put a TC back over top of your TeamEvil bit over there on the left? It looks a bit out of place without it.
I might also have to throw down $35 bucks (or whatever it is nowadays) for your membership smiley face thing, too.
It's good to see you 'round here more.
So, TC, now that you've returned, could you kindly put a TC back over top of your TeamEvil bit over there on the left? It looks a bit out of place without it.
I might also have to throw down $35 bucks (or whatever it is nowadays) for your membership smiley face thing, too.
It's good to see you 'round here more.
I already sent my coin in ages ago, I GOT a smiley face ! ! ! Can't quite figure out how to alter the "signature" thing though. If I could, I might even drop the TeamEvil since I'm not quite as evil as before, more curmudgeonly really . . .
One magazine that DOES impress me these days, both for continuous quality and balance between advertisements, features and auto diversity is Car Kulture Deluxe. They ALWAYS have a ton of great features and music and rides, PLUS they're always looking for writers, illustrators and cartoonists for the rag. (Cory take note, it's mentioned on they web site.)
And they DO have a nifty web site:
http://www.ckdeluxemag.com/
I would pretty much say that this publication was responsible for my deciding to build this for real:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/GhiaGasser.jpg
And buying this VW powered single seat sling shot-style dragster chassis to stick under it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/c7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/c4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/c2.jpg
Plus, I already have the most important things necessary to keep my interest and enthusiasm going. . . the Cheater Slicks ! ! !
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/slicks/3924daf2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/slicks/b4a08ee7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/slicks/e0973bce.jpg
One magazine that DOES impress me these days, both for continuous quality and balance between advertisements, features and auto diversity is Car Kulture Deluxe. They ALWAYS have a ton of great features and music and rides, PLUS they're always looking for writers, illustrators and cartoonists for the rag. (Cory take note, it's mentioned on they web site.)
And they DO have a nifty web site:
http://www.ckdeluxemag.com/
I would pretty much say that this publication was responsible for my deciding to build this for real:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/GhiaGasser.jpg
And buying this VW powered single seat sling shot-style dragster chassis to stick under it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/c7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/c4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/c2.jpg
Plus, I already have the most important things necessary to keep my interest and enthusiasm going. . . the Cheater Slicks ! ! !
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/slicks/3924daf2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/slicks/b4a08ee7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/slicks/e0973bce.jpg
Ok, I have a beef, and it's NOT with TC.
It ticks me off no end that you'll NEVER see anything bad said about substandard quality or workmanship coming from shops who advertise in the automotive mags. All you ever see in the Mags are glowing articles about how wonderful their products are and how many shows they've won with them.
I won't go so far as to name names, but we've ALL seen the aftermath on here of "builders" who deliver poor quality, even safety problems, and the lengths the owner has to go to just to get phone calls returned from them, let alone get their problems resolved, until it starts to get a lot of talk on forums like this or Shop Talk. Once they realize they might lose some business, they grudgingly make amends but you STILL never see anything about it in the published magazines.
A couple of these guys have been doing this for years and years and are still getting away with it. Curt Scott tried mightily to expose this and was crucified for his efforts (although he helped a lot of CMC owners get what was owed to them).
On the other hand, we also see, on here and STF, who the good guys are, like Henry Reisner, Roland Rascon, Carey Hines, Kirk and Mary Duncan and Steve Lawing (his quality is supurb, even if his leadtimes are forever) and a number of others. Maybe that's the answer - search the forums and see who has been providing good and bad product and avoid the bad ones, I guess, but not everyone is doing the searching. This may evolve as we go along.
So I'm with TC and David K - The published magazines are not "enthusiasts Magazines". They are simply advertising tools with occasional "how-to" articles or event coverage.
And yes, I have subscribed to one enthusiasts magazine since I was a kid: Street Scene, published by the National Street Rod Association, of which I've been a member since the '70's. An unabashed advertising rag with really good event coverage and lots of photos.
It ticks me off no end that you'll NEVER see anything bad said about substandard quality or workmanship coming from shops who advertise in the automotive mags. All you ever see in the Mags are glowing articles about how wonderful their products are and how many shows they've won with them.
I won't go so far as to name names, but we've ALL seen the aftermath on here of "builders" who deliver poor quality, even safety problems, and the lengths the owner has to go to just to get phone calls returned from them, let alone get their problems resolved, until it starts to get a lot of talk on forums like this or Shop Talk. Once they realize they might lose some business, they grudgingly make amends but you STILL never see anything about it in the published magazines.
A couple of these guys have been doing this for years and years and are still getting away with it. Curt Scott tried mightily to expose this and was crucified for his efforts (although he helped a lot of CMC owners get what was owed to them).
On the other hand, we also see, on here and STF, who the good guys are, like Henry Reisner, Roland Rascon, Carey Hines, Kirk and Mary Duncan and Steve Lawing (his quality is supurb, even if his leadtimes are forever) and a number of others. Maybe that's the answer - search the forums and see who has been providing good and bad product and avoid the bad ones, I guess, but not everyone is doing the searching. This may evolve as we go along.
So I'm with TC and David K - The published magazines are not "enthusiasts Magazines". They are simply advertising tools with occasional "how-to" articles or event coverage.
And yes, I have subscribed to one enthusiasts magazine since I was a kid: Street Scene, published by the National Street Rod Association, of which I've been a member since the '70's. An unabashed advertising rag with really good event coverage and lots of photos.
TC, I seriously love that website. Thanks! I'll add it to my bookmarks.
Have any of you guys picked up any of the women's magazines? You want ads and nothing of substance thrown in with them? Holy Poop. So this advertisers running the show crap is nothing new by a long shot. Ads are what do it. In many cases, the pap applied as "articles" is just the SOS, reworded.
As to magazines vs news papers, I think they are going different ways. papers are defintely struggling to keep being "papers" vs on-line. On the other hand, magazines are proliferating. I take Scientific American, for example, and it has ads, for sure, but really does emphasize the info content of thought provoking articles. There are several mags in this class, actually, which includes TIME, NEWSWEEK, ETC. And the SA folks routinely run a page (an ad, really) from the magazine association's national society, or whatever it is called, about how magazines in general are doing very well, and are the MOST effective form of advertising around. So they say. When was the last time you stopped in to Borders, or Waldenbooks and scanned the mag rack? There are a zillion mags on every conceivable topic. And a new batch of them put out just about every month. The diversity blows my mind, actually.
As to magazines vs news papers, I think they are going different ways. papers are defintely struggling to keep being "papers" vs on-line. On the other hand, magazines are proliferating. I take Scientific American, for example, and it has ads, for sure, but really does emphasize the info content of thought provoking articles. There are several mags in this class, actually, which includes TIME, NEWSWEEK, ETC. And the SA folks routinely run a page (an ad, really) from the magazine association's national society, or whatever it is called, about how magazines in general are doing very well, and are the MOST effective form of advertising around. So they say. When was the last time you stopped in to Borders, or Waldenbooks and scanned the mag rack? There are a zillion mags on every conceivable topic. And a new batch of them put out just about every month. The diversity blows my mind, actually.
"Have any of you guys picked up any of the women's magazines? You want ads and nothing of substance thrown in with them?"
I have indeed ! ! ! And I thank Christ that the majority of those ads are for bras and panties modeled by young woman who have no need what-so-ever for a bra.
May I just say, "Yummy."
Shit, did I just say that out loud . . . . ? ! ? ! ?
I have indeed ! ! ! And I thank Christ that the majority of those ads are for bras and panties modeled by young woman who have no need what-so-ever for a bra.
May I just say, "Yummy."
Shit, did I just say that out loud . . . . ? ! ? ! ?
I really miss the Christmas TV buying scene. That's when all those Vicotria's Secret ads come on every few minutes.
I used to READ Readers Digest back when it was full of actual articles, not one continuous ad sequence for every conceivable drug for sale by every drug company.
I used to wonder if J.C. Whitney was really in the auto parts selling business or in the publishing business? A new catalog every few weeks. I guess the cost of computer publishing has realy lowered a lot of these rags operating costs?
I used to READ Readers Digest back when it was full of actual articles, not one continuous ad sequence for every conceivable drug for sale by every drug company.
I used to wonder if J.C. Whitney was really in the auto parts selling business or in the publishing business? A new catalog every few weeks. I guess the cost of computer publishing has realy lowered a lot of these rags operating costs?
I get tickled when doing a phone order through JC Whitney and the bimbo girl says:
" Would you like to subscribe to a year of our Catalog ? "
Seriously ..the poor mailman gets a frig'n hernia delivering the freebie JC Whipme catalogs every few weeks .
Then when your part(s) do arrive there's another 2 lbs of paper #!~^ advertisement inside of the carton.
" Would you like to subscribe to a year of our Catalog ? "
Seriously ..the poor mailman gets a frig'n hernia delivering the freebie JC Whipme catalogs every few weeks .
Then when your part(s) do arrive there's another 2 lbs of paper #!~^ advertisement inside of the carton.
Since the subject is magazines and ads, I have to relate this recent experience.
I'm enjoying a burger and beer at a local roadhouse and I hear these guys talking about cars.
The conversation goes on about an ad for floor mats by a company called WeatherTech. You have likely seen them, big two page ads of the owner David MacNeil, a fine lady, and the line of floor mats they sell.
Seems some time ago the woman in the ad was his wife. According to this guy they divorced, the ankles belong his ex and the face on the latest ad is his new girl friend.
I don't have any old ads to prove this, maybe one of you can check your collection and confirm the story. Sounds like an 8 on a B.S. scale of 10 to me.
Meanwhile, this guy MacNeil is so hip, standing on the bottom of his extra long denims!
I'm enjoying a burger and beer at a local roadhouse and I hear these guys talking about cars.
The conversation goes on about an ad for floor mats by a company called WeatherTech. You have likely seen them, big two page ads of the owner David MacNeil, a fine lady, and the line of floor mats they sell.
Seems some time ago the woman in the ad was his wife. According to this guy they divorced, the ankles belong his ex and the face on the latest ad is his new girl friend.
I don't have any old ads to prove this, maybe one of you can check your collection and confirm the story. Sounds like an 8 on a B.S. scale of 10 to me.
Meanwhile, this guy MacNeil is so hip, standing on the bottom of his extra long denims!
I actually ordered some of those fancy mats for my Mazda -- gar-un-teed to fit. Well, not really; had to send them back. The only thing that truly fits by way of waterproof mats in that car are what the dealer sells, and they are very expensive, natch, and really do not last all that long, just BTW. But I did buy the dealer versions, and they looked and worked pretty good for a while. But they gave out due to an inherent design flaw, and for my second go 'round I went to the Autozone and picked up some cheapy rubber dealies that were a bit big, placed the old dealers mats over these, and cut them to same planform. Been working great since; don't look as nice, but work fine. And I REALLY could not care less whether or not the jerk in the two-page glossy ad walks on his jeans and has three wives and two girl friends.
BEWARE! Floor mats cause unintended acceleration . . . .
"Meanwhile, this guy MacNeil is so hip, standing on the bottom of his extra long denims!"
"And I REALLY could not care less whether or not the jerk in the two-page glossy ad walks on his jeans . . . "
And yet, isn't the way in which a man treats himself, indicative of the way in which he treats others?
If such a man walks all over the bottoms of his jeans, I fear that it's likely he may walk all over his customers as well.
Treat them, perhaps, like floor mats . . . . ?
Another Zen Moment brought to you by SOC.
"And I REALLY could not care less whether or not the jerk in the two-page glossy ad walks on his jeans . . . "
And yet, isn't the way in which a man treats himself, indicative of the way in which he treats others?
If such a man walks all over the bottoms of his jeans, I fear that it's likely he may walk all over his customers as well.
Treat them, perhaps, like floor mats . . . . ?
Another Zen Moment brought to you by SOC.
As usual, I
Then I looked inside
The last thing I
Eloquent as always. Thanks, Max.
One other thing to consider, folks: If we didn't have KCB we would have no resource for information other than the internet. I have found a lot of good info in the magazine that I wouldn't even know to search for otherwise.
The Cobra stuff doesn't bother me. That is what I was looking at first, anyway. After meeting the folks involved in Speedsters, my money went there.
One other thing to consider, folks: If we didn't have KCB we would have no resource for information other than the internet. I have found a lot of good info in the magazine that I wouldn't even know to search for otherwise.
The Cobra stuff doesn't bother me. That is what I was looking at first, anyway. After meeting the folks involved in Speedsters, my money went there.
Yo, Max,
I hope I did not say anything here that caused alarm. Sure did not mean to. KCB has a lot of Cobra stuff in it, true, and I think we all understand why. Just a differnt form of madness. It's all cool to me. I do understand that the name of the mag is KCB, not CCB. And as I have said before to you and Jim, and the others who make KCB appear every other month: Rave on!!! Fear not the idle rantings of TC.
I hope I did not say anything here that caused alarm. Sure did not mean to. KCB has a lot of Cobra stuff in it, true, and I think we all understand why. Just a differnt form of madness. It's all cool to me. I do understand that the name of the mag is KCB, not CCB. And as I have said before to you and Jim, and the others who make KCB appear every other month: Rave on!!! Fear not the idle rantings of TC.
Come on, TC, pity doesn't become you. You're a smart guy, and you like taking controversial stances, like many of us do. This site is not about a litmus test of identical opinions, it's about all of us having our own, even unpopular, opinions. Rave on, lunatic, you're in good company!
Thanks for the thorough homework, Max.
I think it's pretty easy for anyone in a hobby like ours to get sidelined into a tunnel-vision perspective about our particular flavor of car. You're in a fairly unique position to see this from both sides of the coin.
One of the things I like about the magazine is its homespun articles, but there's a fine line between what someone writes on a car they built and are attached to, and something a pen-in-hand critic evaluates as a whole, finished product.
The third-party perspective, like R&T or C&D take on new cars, can sometimes be a bit sterile to read. They can also be a lot more objective.
Objectivity in Jim's magazine could lead to fewer advertisers, which could make life more complicated for those looking for products and services. Even in the electronic age, there's something handy about having a magazine with a bunch of suppliers' numbers printed out, all in the same place.
I haven't said much here about the piece on the Hoopty, mostly because I'm not the best judge of any inherent value to the SOC in any of what I wrote -- and since the last two articles never appeared, I was a little gun-shy about mentioning the piece before it was official.
I'm glad for the opportunity to finally get the car some ink, and I can't thank you enough for pitching it to Jim. Depending on the reception it gets, I'll offer to anyone here to throw a couple words together about their cars as a public service.
It was fun for me to do, and I'm always up for furthering the hobby.
We'll have to see who reads (and likes) the piece, I suppose.
I think it's pretty easy for anyone in a hobby like ours to get sidelined into a tunnel-vision perspective about our particular flavor of car. You're in a fairly unique position to see this from both sides of the coin.
One of the things I like about the magazine is its homespun articles, but there's a fine line between what someone writes on a car they built and are attached to, and something a pen-in-hand critic evaluates as a whole, finished product.
The third-party perspective, like R&T or C&D take on new cars, can sometimes be a bit sterile to read. They can also be a lot more objective.
Objectivity in Jim's magazine could lead to fewer advertisers, which could make life more complicated for those looking for products and services. Even in the electronic age, there's something handy about having a magazine with a bunch of suppliers' numbers printed out, all in the same place.
I haven't said much here about the piece on the Hoopty, mostly because I'm not the best judge of any inherent value to the SOC in any of what I wrote -- and since the last two articles never appeared, I was a little gun-shy about mentioning the piece before it was official.
I'm glad for the opportunity to finally get the car some ink, and I can't thank you enough for pitching it to Jim. Depending on the reception it gets, I'll offer to anyone here to throw a couple words together about their cars as a public service.
It was fun for me to do, and I'm always up for furthering the hobby.
We'll have to see who reads (and likes) the piece, I suppose.
Hooptydriver: You need not be shy about your verbal, written and photojournalistic prowess -- all A+.
And what is this about needing to roll the tires now and then?? May be true, but not w/ salt all over the roads, I'd say. Oh, I forgot: you don't really have paint . . . ;-)
And what is this about needing to roll the tires now and then?? May be true, but not w/ salt all over the roads, I'd say. Oh, I forgot: you don't really have paint . . . ;-)
...and don't EVEN diss Cosmopolitan!!