Ouch...methinks I struck a nerve.

Not that any of you have the time or inclination, but I do encourage to follow texexlax's suggestion to go back and reread all my posts, ...if you do so with an open mind you will see I've been as complimentary towards the car as I've been critical. Most of my criticism's haven't even been towards the car (but indeed a few have been), but to Chrysler for doing a poor job of marketing the thing. To that point, one other poster actually mentioned that I'm hard to pin down on my opinion of the car.

In other words, I've been pragmatic. I don't have the 'Johnson' for the car that texexlax does. But that's okay. Just like me, he's paid the price of admission and can enjoy his car anyway he wants. I just don't want to spend a weekend Zainoing the rotors on my brakes, then taking a picture of my reflection in them to post on my web site. But if that's what fills his tank, God Bless him.

There are some things about the car I like alot, there are some things about it that I don't care much for, and there are a lot of things about the way Chrysler appears to be marketing this car that concern me. That's what I've been focusing on.

If you DO go back and look at the posts (but please, do yourself a favor and don't, you REALLY have better things to do with your time...) you would see that my 'criticism' was always directed at either the car or Chrysler, but it was NOT personal. That began to change when Texexlax made it personal in a post when he decided it was his responsibility to put me in my place for 'ragging' on the car. Well, pigs will fly before someone like texexlax puts me in my place, but that was what he tried to do. He chose to take the discussion away from an inanimate object (until you floor it on the exit ramp) and make it personal. Obviously, once the line was crossed by yet another misguided Texan, being an alpha male I was up to the challenge...admittedly to the detriment of the board.

He says I've always been negative 24/7. He needs to reread my posts. He has selective amnesia. Mmmmm...didn't I send out a call to Xfire owners in the Mid atlantic area to go to a car show in Ocean City Maryland next month? Do you think I enquired about a DC area car owner so that I could directly 'attack' him (or her), or perhaps maybe to connect with a fellow Xfire owner?

About talking about Loti or other cars. Look, there's only so much to talk about when you talk about this or any other car in a vacuum. Ok, we now all know Zaino is the best. We know the tires wear out at 10K. We know how to fix the rattle in the rear hatch. We all agree we wish the display on the radio was brighter.

I want to think of the Xfire as a sports car. Can we talk about it as a sports car? Nobody wants to seem to talk about it as a machine to be thrashed, driven hard, and generally had fun with. Do any of you guys have fun with your cars besides checking out people who are checking it out?

The term 'sports' implies competition, competition leads to racing and bench racing. With cars, it also leads to the inevitable comparisons with other cars and it's competition. If we talk only about the 'poser' side of the car, well, texexlax you'll be more than happy to know that I will indeed 'fade away' as crossfiretech suggests. Now, in a way I'm sorry if this sarcasm is p*ssing people off. By day I'm a mild mannered banker who coaches my kid's soccer team, and who runs a martial arts school in the evenings, which my wife says I'm getting WAY to old to do, and who for free teaches self defense to women's groups. But what the heck, somebody else took the gloves off first...

Frankly, except for this last check-in to see what fury I hath wrought, I pretty much have stopped looking in here.

That said, the faulty drive-train thread is troublesome. But, good to see that some of you have continued the practice of eviscerating anyone who might bring up the slightest "the emperor has no clothes" observation. God forbid we look at this car as an object with pluses and minuses...let's put it up on the alter where it belongs. The poor slob who raised this question sure got his come-uppance. Well done!

Personally, I choose to take my car to Summit Point. It's going to get some serious stone chips when I spin it on turn 10 or in the carousel. I'm going to wash it three or four times a year, tops. Vacuum it even fewer times. Under the hood and in the drivetrain, though, it will be treated like a Swiss watch. That's just me, that's the buzz I get from owning a sports car. I won't change. I don't really diss you guys that want to enjoy it for it's 'wow' factor, I just don't understand it.

For that reason, I bid you adieu.

That said, open invitation to Mid-Atlantic Xfire owners to stay in touch...tlbrace2002@yahoo.com

If we get enough...maybe we can start a club. As long as we do some track days at Summit Point. Let's keep cruisin' nights at the Tastee Freeze to a minimum.

Have an Amazing Day!