Lets try something just for fun! Take a moment and read the following piece without any preconceived knowledge of who wrote it or what it is from… Are you feeling the fire? Are you ready to explode? Are your dreams and desires Riding down an open road? I'm like a runaway a heart without a home Others can laugh and play I'll fight for every inch I take I'm desperate to the bone Be the hunter and the hunted Keep your target in your sight Don't be side tracked or shunted Let pretenders feel your bite And if you start to slide never show you're weak Don't feel you've got to hide Remember what you're fighting for, remember what you seek If your fire is faded And you can't feel it no more If you're tired and overrated Let me show you to the door Expect no sympathy there's none to be had Open your eyes and see There's no room for the wannabees the has beens or the bad Stay hungry feel the fire Stay hungry don't explode Stay hungry with desire Stay hungry you're alone Now, when I tell you that the above motivational words are the lyrics from a Heavy Metal song how many folks will automatically dismiss them as just nonsense because of the medium? How about when I say that the song is by the band Twisted Sister? From experience I know many folks would scoff at Dee and the boys from TS as freaks and never have ever heard the words in their original form simply because they dislike metal as a music style which is a shame because there are many, many great messages in some really great songs that get missed by non-fans. During the amazing 80’s I was a huge metal fan from my favorite singer/songwriter Ronnie James Dio to WASP and nearly all bands in between, the music is awesome yes but the messages of motivation very often got me through some tough times as well. That being said I have some friends that swear to me artists like Jay Z and Tupac are as incredible in their writing abilities and feel they too are not given as much credit as modern day poets that they may indeed deserve simply due to the delivery styles of their message. I am not a hip-hop fan but when I read some of the lyrics I was shown I did have to admit that there were some great songs I may have not heard simply due to me not listening to a particular radio station, which brings me in a long winded way to my point. How many messages do we miss because of the medium used to deliver them? Not just in music mind you but in all things. Do we sometimes dismiss a point of view or idea that may be awesome because it comes from a source that we may not find to our liking? I have been thinking a LOT about this and I’d like to get some input also, let me know what you think below….
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Often times in conversations both online and in person people tell me “you should have a blog” and mostly I just mumble back, “who would want to read this old car guys rambles?” I rarely take the time to explain that I DO have a blog; I just don’t keep it up as much as I could. I follow so many great folks both in my own industry, the car business, and other folks that are leaders in marketing and media and across the boards everyone seems to say the same thing; know who your audience and speak to them. Well, therein lays the crux I guess, I’m still not sure exactly WHO would read my writings? Sometimes I want to write about the experiences I have had in the car business working for car dealerships and I think, who would read that? Although sometimes humorous, my car biz stories wouldn't really be informative per say. Other times I feel compelled to share some awesome training tips but the think about how many ‘actual’ sales trainers there are with really great things to share and stop myself. I consider myself pretty much of an expert on early 80’s New Wave music but c’mon, does the world need yet another music blog?! I’m a Big fan of racing in all forms but as a Sales Manager for a car dealership time is something that limits my ability to follow racing well enough to write about it competently and though I grew up living for the next wave but I haven’t actually paddled out into the surf in years so blogging about surfing is out…. So my goal is to find myself so to speak, figure out who I want to talk to and then start talking! If you have checked out this lil rant page and even kinda like the stuff you see, please check back again soon and follow along as I try and figure this stuff out and really make a go of this blog of mine! Mike theCarGuy Ok, I am a Ford to the core pretty much. I mean I will only use Melling Oil Pumps on engine rebuilds and Valvoline Oil in my own cars because those names were emblazoned across my two favorite racing T-Birds while growing up and I have owned at least one Ford during my entire grown up life (seven actually). I started my career in the car business as a Ford Service Technician and have proudly sold them for a many years but.... I keep seeing Ford Motor Company refer to themselves as a 'Green' company and I have an issue with that. Not with the amazing Fusion Hybrid or the incredible C-Ma mind you, not the awesome electric vehicles either. In fact my beef, if it can even be called that, is with one of their business practices. Recently I received a bonus check from Ford for a 'job well done' in selling an increased amount of their fabulous cars. Many of my sales people also received them and it made me think as I watched my staff tear open envelopes and throw them away, then detach the checks from the stubs and throw those away also; how many checks does Ford still mail out regularly to sales managers and sales people at all the Ford/Lincoln dealers across the country? My guess would be in the thousands. I thought about it because just that very morning I listened to a radio report on how the Social Security Admin is moving everyone receiving payments to direct deposit OR debit cards due to the cost of printing and mailing checks. The government estimates it costs them about $1.80 per check written and mailed and only $0.10 for a deposit to a debit card. I have worked for more than a few dealers and I know companies like Honda and Kia use debit cards for their bonus programs, why not the best car company on the planet? In addition to the cost alone being reason, how about the tons of waste generated by sending thousands of paper checks out all the time? It may sound petty to some but I really don't think it is a small issue, if we are going to have pride in actually calling Ford a 'green' car company, couldn't Ford be doing more to actually be 'green'? Sorry about the rant, just my two green cents, carry on... :) Lets face it, So Cal is CAR COUNTRY! Spend enough time on the freeways around these parts and you will see one of everything that’s ever been on wheels. My commute has me racking up 20k + a year on my poor lil Accord so I am on the road a lot, and I have seen some stuff let me tell you! Back in early 2009 I was driving next to a semi camouflaged small coupe that I really thought was going to be the next generation Honda Civic, with some research I found out it was a Kia! I remember thinking then that Kia should use the tag line, “It’s the Civic that Honda SHOULD have built!” After all the fall out for NOT going far enough with the design of the latest version of the Civic perhaps Honda should have paid more attention to the hot little sedan from Korea! I have always tried to keep my phone handy for those unusual cars that I see on my drive; some really cools cars (like these) and sometimes catch a glimpse of something unknown. A couple of days ago, while stuck in traffic on the 60 freeway my attention was drawn to a really nice looking Mercedes wagon in the lane next to me. What is odd about that is that I am SOOO not a fan of Mercedes but this wagon had some really nice lines to it and as I was checking it out I noticed that it had NO model badges at all. All there was for identification was the Mercedes star on the grill and lift gate. Then I looked down to the plates and sure enough they were manufacture plates, usually a sure sign of something cool! In front of the mystery wagon was a matching one in white, I was definitely intrigued and out came the iPhone for pics! When I was able to get next to them I could see multiple display screens and test equipment if front of the drivers so I do know they were test mules of some sort. These shot are not up to Brenda Priddy quality but it was difficult to get anything better in traffic. I’m not sure what model these wagons are or what they are being tested for, my friend Woody (of WoodysCarSite, the best damn car site on the web) brought up an interesting thought that maybe they were being used for hybrid drive-train testing as Mercedes has been doing a lot in that area. I would like to find out what I can, it would be a drag to finally LIKE a Mercedes but not know which one it is that I like! Anyone have any ideas? Please feel free to leave me a comment; I look forward to hearing from you! Friends of theCarGuy know that my daily commute is roughly 78 miles each way, and in So Cal traffic that can mean as much as 2 1/2 hours some mornings! There are a few things that make my drive tolerable, one of them is called an iPod and the other is the cars of sunny So Cal! It rarely surprises me the cars I pass and am passed by here in the sunshine state, and recently I started keeping a photo journal of the very best ones. I must have 25 or more S2000 pictures, I love that little pocket rocket! Hot Rods abound on a sunny Sunday and there is always the random Ferrari sighting! My favorite pic is one I took with trembling hands though, as I crawled along in the car pool lane I heard thunder in the distance, my car pool buddy was yapping away and I quickly shhhhh’d him. “Shut up man”, I yelled, “do you HEAR that?” He looked around hopelessly and wondered if I had finally lost my mind completely, “what are you talking about weirdo?” As he spoke the rumble grew louder and soon I could feel it in my chest as we drew up alongside…. Yup, I was right, A/C Cobra with a 427 side oiler! I know that rumble ANYWHERE! Today as I try and support the internet blackout against SOPA I just wanted to share my daily drive with you all! Have a great ride home and if YOU spot something cool on the road, snap a pic and share it… CAREFULLY of course! :) As I started to work on consolidating my online image, I made a list of ALL the places I am visible online. While I am sure no Johhny Depp, hell for that matter I aint even at the Snookie level of visibility(!), there ARE quite a few sites I belong to and places I am seen. One of them is this ole blog page, formally theFleetGuy, but as you can see now its my site; MikethaCarGuy! After all, its what I am, at the deepest level. I am a Sales Manager for a car dealership yes, but more than that, i mean much more than that I am at heart a huge fan of cars and all things car related! Way back in the beginning of my career, (dont ask how long ago!), I got a job as a Tune Up Tech for a large Ford dealer here in So Cal and then moved to another one out in Colton, CA. I love cars and working on them, figuring out the problems and fixing them, makin 'em run better than they ever had was so much fun. After the first two years I realized that I wanted more, yes I loved cars but I also have a big mouth and cars dont listen to me as good as people do! I decided to combine my love of talking with my passion for cars and a career was born! Its been a really strange, but wildly fun ride so far and as I begin the next chapter I invite you all to join me as I enter the new world of technology, sharing and electronic expression. I love to share cool stuff about the cars I love so much, my opinions and memories and once in a while something actually important! So stay tuned friends, its gonna get AWESOME! :) |
Mike theCarGuy
Hey there, I'm Mike theCarGuy and here are some of my thoughts about cars, the car business and sales! Take a look around, maybe you will learn something or at the very least find your self smiling, and if you do... leave me a comment so I know I at least did something right! Thanks for stoppin by...
Need to reach me? Call or Text: (909) 206-4377 mikethecarguy@outlook.com Mike theCarGuy: 22400 Barton Rd Suite 21-451 Grand Terrace, CA 92313 Twitter: @MiketheCarGuy1 Instagram: MiketheCarGuy Follow Mike Correra on Quora
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March 2024
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