areaseven

He's 30 and he has been in two accidents (not including the last one) within the past eight years. As far as tickets go, I never asked him, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if he got any with his WRX. He did get his wheels stolen once. And remember, we're talking about California, where your wallet gets raped on anything no matter what.

I forgot which magazine mentioned this, but the three most painful to insure are the following: 1. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 2. Subaru Impreza WRX/WRX STi 3. Dodge Neon SRT-4 Part of the reason why these cars are a pain to insure are because they're almost always involved in illegal street racing by teenagers. And more often than not, they're the cause of major accidents. BTW, my friend's policy was pretty low for any WRX owner here in the L.A. area (he's over 25, married and has children; he lived in Van Nuys, which is a pretty bad neighborhood). When he got the Fit, his insurance went down to the low $100's/mo. It got to around $75/mo. when he moved his family to Long Beach. I don't know how much he was paying for the Jetta before the accident, but that's gonna go to his record. (Those not living in the U.S., here's an explanation: if you're involved in an accident, whether or not it's your fault, your insurance rate will go up, no matter what. Insurance companies don't care if you're a good driver or not; they just want your money. One exception is AllState, which has an Accident Forgiveness program that supposedly will not change your rate in case of an accident. The downside is that AllState's rates are ridiculously high to begin with.) I once had a co-worker at RadioShack who is 19 and owned an EVO. He had to pay $410/mo. To no surprise, it got stolen. He did get compensated for it, but still got jipped (perhaps his own fault) because he put thousands of $$$ of aftermarket engine parts on it.

From the Anime News Network:

Yes, it's totaled. He told me he might switch back to a WRX, but I warned him about the insurance costs. (He previously owned a 2003 WRX, but traded it in for a Honda Fit because it cost him $250/month to insure. Then he traded in the Fit for the Jetta because he wanted something faster and more luxurious.)

A month ago, one of my friends told me he bought a brand new Volkswagen Jetta GLi Fahrenheit. Before I got a chance to visit him in Long Beach and test drive it, this happened yesterday:

Rock Band ( ロック・バンド ) Harmonix/MTV Games/EA Games, 2007 For the Sony PlayStation 3/Sony PlayStation 2/XBOX 360 Rated T (Teen) for mild lyrics (Review based on the PS2 game only version. Tested using the Guitar Hero III Kramer Striker wireless guitar controller.) Lowdown If there was one thing Guitar Hero lacked over the past two years, it was competition. But all that has changed after Harmonix, Inc., co-creator of Guitar Hero, was acquired by MTV Networks. Using what they've learned from developing Guitar Hero, Harmonix took the guitar game formula and expanded it further by adding drums and vocals. The result: Rock Band Gameplay: A- (Guitar/Bass Mode Only) To the untrained eye, Rock Band just looks like a Guitar Hero clone. You simply match the frets and strum to score points and win the crowd. Experienced players, however, will tell you that this is a completely different animal, despite similar elements. Instead of buttons, the notes are represented by thin bars. This results in a slightly steeper learning curve than with Guitar Hero, as the notes and Target Bar appear to be smaller. The Crowd Meter, located in the left corner, is the game's version of GH's Rock meter. On the upper right is the scoreboard; and under it is the Star Meter, which rates your performance in real-time. The Streak Meter/Multiplier is located under the Target Bar. The Energy Meter is located between the Target Bar and Streak Meter, and functions the same as GH's Star Power. Score Energy Notes, and your Energy Meter fills up. Once it's half-full, you can engage Overdrive, which doubles the points. However, unlike GH's Star Power, you can refill the Energy Meter while on Overdrive; thus, increasing your score further. On Bass mode, you have Bass Groove, which turns the Guitar Track blue and maximizes the Multiplier from 4X to 6X. And with Overdrive engaged, you can score up to 12X. A nifty incentive in playing Bass over Guitar. (At this time of review, I had no access to the Fender Stratocaster controller, so I am unable to review its features such as the Solo Fret buttons and the 5-way Effects switch. I also had no access to the drums or microphone.) Missing in the PS2 version are the Create-a-character mode and the Rock Shop. Therefore, you don't earn cash after your performance and you don't have rock stars to call your own. And unlike GH3, Rock Band does not use a storyline in Career Mode. It sticks to the simple formula of performing gigs as you go. And that's how most fans like it. Graphics: B+ This is where Rock Band has the full advantage over Guitar Hero III. In contrast to GH3's cartoonish characters, the in-game musicians in Rock Band are realistically designed with a slight anime look. And you're not limited to one male and one female singer. For instance, a guy with glasses tackles the New Wave and Weezer songs. A bearded hippie performs Rush and other Progressive Rock songs, while a redneck with a long beard and a flannel shirt sings Molly Hatchet and other Southern Rock songs. The layout is much cleaner than GH3. Since majority of the songs are from the '80s, the game incorporates '80s-themed colors and fonts. And even on the inferior PS2, the game looks really good. Soundtrack: A Guitar Hero III may have more songs, but Rock Band has more original songs on its playlist. Harmonix and MTV Games managed to secure the rights to use master tracks from five major recording labels. Like GH3 there's a song for everyone ranging from Classic Rock (i.e. "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who) to Hair Metal (i.e. "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi) to Punk Rock (i.e. "Blitzkrieg Bop" by The Ramones) to Progressive Metal (i.e. "Welcome Home" by Coheed and Cambria). Fans longing to bang their heads to Metallica will be delighted to know that "Enter Sandman" is in the playlist. Sadly, PS2 owners have no access to Downloadable Content that the PS3 and XBOX 360 versions have. At least the PS2 version has "Timmy & the Lords of the Underworld," which is probably the toughest song to beat. The Bottom Line If Guitar Hero III isn't entertaining enough for you, pick up Rock Band. It's enough fun to keep you at home during the Holidays. Links Official Rock Band Homepage Reference Wikipedia

This was previously discussed on the old Automotive Thread, but I thought I'd bring it up again, because it's just sex on wheels. 2006 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione (Pre-Production) (French) Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Test Drive (another one in French) Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Test Drive (German) Make sure to crank up your speakers. The sound of that engine is priceless.

What's in store for Activision? Guitar Villain, Drum Villain, Keyboard Hero, Drum Hero and Band Hero Also, what's with The Romantics and their problem with Guitar Hero Encore Rocks the 80s? Activision: 1, Romantics: 0

I agree that the Strat looks better, but it's not well-built compared to RedOctane's controllers. It seems that Harmonix spent too much time and money on the Rock Band controller's looks rather than its build quality.

Actually, that was reported here on this thread over two months ago. (Link here)

Right. Next thing that's gonna happen is Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy CD actually hitting stores.

I just got GH3 for the PS2, and I'm very impressed with the Kramer Pacer controller. It looks and feels more solid than the old SG controller. Of course, it's not as good as the Les Pauls of the higher-end systems, but it's built way better than Rock Band's Fender Stratocaster controller.

You heard the man, Ratchet.

Actually, the races are not really the main focus of the anime at the moment. The first six or so episodes focus heavily on Akio Asakura and who he is, why the Devil Z is integral in his everyday living, and how the supporting cast are connected to all this. And unlike Initial D's Takumi, Akio is not a perfect driver. He crashes the Devil Z in his first two races with Blackbird. And he claims both as his fault and not the Devil Z's curse. Damn, I can't wait for episode 7 to be translated. I want to see

The film's gone through a title change. It's now simply known as Rambo "Let the bodies hit the floor..."

That looks sweet, MaveRick.

K.I.T.T. Featured on America's Got No Talent

Isamu test pilot, do you mind editing out the pictures on your post? It is unnecessary to repost all six of sqidd's pictures, since it's inconvenient for others to have to scroll down longer just to read your reply.

"Honda's men are no longer Street Fighters. They see this as a Mortal Kombat, and they have the Killer Instinct. If you do not help your friends, this may be their Final Fight." Best line of the show.

God, I hope they don't actually use that ricer wing. That's just as lame as the original K.I.T.T.'s Super Pursuit Mode.

600 bhp and 0-60 in 4.0 seconds. What more could you ask for? 2007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS

"New-wave tried to kill the metal But they failed, as they were stricken down to the ground" - Tenacious D

Car commercials that are just wrong. Opel Astra Ford StreetKa (Cat) Ford StreetKa (Pigeon) Volkswagen Polo

Not an exact replica of the Devil Z, but damn, it looks sweet. TunerZine - Twisted Sixx