The rear bench seat of my Jeep spent most of it's life in a Christmas tree storage bag... and I had a similar plan once I traded my Jeep in for a Bronco. But I was pretty bummed to learn that it was a lot more work to add/remove the rear Bronco seats (bolts, sensors, and tools? wtf!)... so, I just went scorched earth and ripped everything out, along with the seatbelts.

With the rear seats out of the bronco, the floor is pretty ugly, with random bolts, holes, and cuts in the floor liner. It was gonna be pretty annoying to use as a "truck bed" this way, so I did what many others have done, and started researching/designing a flat "bed."

Goose Gear's system looks nice but is frankly overpriced. I didn't need the modularity that they offered, …

As soon as Ford announced that they were re-releasing the Bronco, I knew that I wanted one. However, I’d just bought a Jeep that I really enjoyed, so I decided to wait a bit. This would allow the aftermarket to catch up and Ford to shake out any issues within the first couple years of launching. 2024 felt like the model year to go after. The vehicle should be relatively stable, the aftermarket would’ve had a few years to catch up and with any luck, they may launch their anticipated hybrid model along with some other mid-cycle refreshes.

If you’ve been following the rollout of the new Bronco, you know that it's been a shit show. Launching a vehicle during a pandemic and then dealing with the post-pandemic supply chain left folks …

I've always driven 2-door coupes and hatchbacks. My current car is BMW M4, which has been my only vehicle for the last few years. I live in Iowa and didn't wanna drive my M4 in the snow - so I decided to uber around town on bad weather days... Last year, we had a terrible winter where I wound up ubering for months.

... that winter is ultimately what led me to buy a Jeep.

First, I decided that I wanted to find a cheap 4WD vehicle that could get me around in the winter but also be used in the summer. I wanted it to be something fun, but a different kind of fun than my M4. Trucks don't interest me, most SUVs are boring, and I didn't just want an AWD car. A Wrangler fit the mold perfectly. It's 4WD, convertible, easily customizable, capable …

First of all, some things I noticed about Germans: no one is staring at phones. Everyone rides bikes - mostly cruisers with kickstands and barely locked up. They are big rule followers. They seem to require very little policing and are generally very respectful people. They love super cheesy t-shirts, especially if the F word is on them.

And now, for a long breakdown of our trip.

Day 1 - Munich

As we fly into Munich, I notice all the farmland, rolling hills, and small villages and am getting even more excited about having the opportunity to drive around this beautiful country.

We land, get taken to our hotel, take a quick nap, and then do some exploring and shopping around the Marienplatz area. It didn't take us long to find our first …

So back in 05, Nehru brought me along to the BMW/Susan G. Komen Ultimate Drive, which is a pretty amazing event. You show up and drive decked out BMWs on a ~15 mile route around the city... and they do their best to give you a fun route with varying speeds.

It's a yearly event that travels around the country (so check the website to see when it's in your town) and it's completely free. You just sign up, drive fancy cars, and BMW donates $1 for every mile you drive. It's great.

So this year I was able to go again, which rules because I've been wanting to get into that 135 sooo freaking bad. and that, I did.

First I drove the 135 convertible, then I hopped in the 650 convertible.

The difference was quite interesting. Back …

One of the main reasons I'd really love to be wealthy (aside from obvious reasons) is that I could do hilarious/expensive things. I've always envied celebrities like Bam Margera for this reason.

But one thing that I've been thinking about for a bit. Have you seen those Chevy HHRs without rear windows? The panel side or whatever.

If I had the money to throw around, I think it'd be hilarious to buy one, lift it, add huge wheels, and paint it up like a mini Gravedigger.

That's all.

So I got a new truck. An 8 year old truck that looks like it's 1 year old.

As most of you know, I (for some weird reason) was in the market for a truck. The truck that appealed to me most was the F150, but I didn't want the F150 that you pass 76 times a day on the road. I wanted a unique one. So I got online and started researching.

While reading about F150s on www.fordf150.net I came across a "Lightning Clone" in the classifieds. It was in Ohio, looked super clean, and was really close to my budget.

Fast forward a few e-mails, calls, and weeks later to this Saturday... Kari's dad and I drove out to buy it. Even though the guy (Dan Mann) seemed nice and trustworthy and the photos looked amazing - I was nervous. I mean, if …

was a blast. It was pure chaos all day. Just driving around seeing people you "knew" in amazing cars all throughout the day. It was a good feeling for sure. Most of us were connected only by your love of cars and driving... we were all buddies for the day. Fun, fun.

Anyway, I'd venture to guess that this is one of the biggest video projects that I've ever done for someone. The amount of planning and organization required to pull this off was ridiculous. I definitely couldn't have done it alone and maybe could've even used even more help.

So, if you're not familiar with how a rally works. It's basically a set of checkpoints spread out over hundreds of miles. In between the checkpoints are routes, called "legs" that take you …

What's been up lately? Well yesterday we had another outing at Lake Panorama, which was nice. I golfed for the first time this year and shot pretty good - only hit 1 duffer and 1 slice. However, Nick and I got paired up with JD in a best shot "tournament." And if you don't know JD... all I can say is that he's really good at golf. So our group ended up 3 under, which was a 34, w00t! ...25 of those shots were JD's, haha.

After golf we went to Nehru's for a fantasy football draft. I'm not into football really, and especially not into fantasy football, but since Doug couldn't make it - I drafted his players, haha. I hope he does good. I have no idea what I picked.

Aside from that, Kari and I have been sticking around town. …

My car has been running horribly lately. The engine sounds horrible, it idles bad, etc. I mean, what can I really expect from an engine with 175,000 miles on it.

Well... Monday I pulled into the garage, shut the car off, and heard a new *CLUNK* noise. I thought, "great... something else is broken" However, I sort of just brushed it off for the evening.

The next morning, I tried to start it up and got an awful awful noise. Not like a dead battery or anything. Just this loud whine and the engine never turned over or anything. So I was basically stuck working from home.

Throughout my work day I made periodic trips down to my car to sort of mourn and gradually check things out as I thought of them. One of the first things I …

So, Nehru planned on driving to Chicago with some of his STI and EVO buddies last weekend. However, at the last minute someone canceled, which opened up a seat for me. Of course, I accepted.

The drive was definitely interesting. 4 pretty different people with really the only thing in common being our love for cars - and maybe beer. It was a good time, they were cool guys.

Once we got into Chicago we hung out at Nandy's Place for a second. It's pretty tiny, but she is on Wacker and Michigan, wtf. Seriously. So I decided I'd go hang out with some of my other buddies and find a more comfortable place to sleep.

Tag, Clock, and Mikey picked me up at Nandy's around midnight. They played a really good trick on me saying that Mikey …

Another weekend at home. This is getting a bit out of hand.

So yeah, it was pretty laid back. Zach and Amy came over to play ping pong, eat pizza and hang out on Friday. It was a fun time. Then Nathan and I met Chuck at stix where we had a $50 bar tab which we were not charged for, yesss. We didn't even drink much, we just drank expensive... and ordered more pizza. Service like that is hard to find, I just wish it came more easily at a place like Aura.

Saturday, Kari's parents visited. Kari and Teresa shopped while Jeff and I made some Porter and Dark Belgian Ale, mmm. I'm excited. I think we're getting a lot better at brewing. Now we just need to streamline - a 10-15 gallon pot, gas powered cooker, and a wort chilling …

Ahhh, home. When I'm home, things get done.

So yeah, Friday was Rico's last day at Pioneer, which was a little weird, but was also quite nice. I really don't know many people that have the balls to up and quit a job after over 20 years of service. I'm pretty excited about it. I think it's going to rule for him.

After work he had a little "thanks for putting up with me" party, which was a good time: good beer, cigars, scotch, and big fires. We also played "wear derek's hat" for a bit.

Saturday was really nice, I got a lot done - mostly paperwork, money work, and office organizing. not cleaning, organizing... I really suck at actually cleaning my office for some reason. So I was doing my usual bill paying, when I noticed …

So, my Car Insurance only went down $10 a month... booo. Maybe it will go down more when Kari is 25 too.

On another note, I really love the Asian Market. There are always interesting things there, plus everything is always spelled wrong. I seriously can't believe how you can spell the same word 2 different ways on 2 signs, 8 inches from each other. Or how you can spell something wrong with the correct spelling is directly in front of you. Haha.

Anyway, yeah.

And it all begins - again. I have this love/hate relationship with summer. I love the weather, all the hanging out, skating, traveling, driving, partying, etc. But I hate hate hate how poor I get. And even more so, I hate complaining about how poor I get. It is straight depressing. I owe people money. I come home every day and look at all my projects that I can't afford to finish and just get sad. I spend the few extra dimes I have on hotel rooms and gas. It's retarded.

Today I found the car I've been describing for years. My perfect car. Perfect. A white 98 Automatic Eclipse GSX with less than 50,000 miles. Not owned by a kid, garaged, stock, and taken very well care of. Man. It is seriously soooo rad. It's the first …

Tonight I got pulled over and I broke the FIRST FREAKIN RULE IN THE BOOK. The FIRST rule. I seriously about smacked my forehead right in front of the cop. I answered the first question he asked me. That question that you are never ever EVER supposed to answer.

I've read 2 books about getting pulled over, and I've been pulled over somewhere around 20 times now. Of those 20 times, I've gotten 2 - maybe 3 moving violations. Thus, I consider myself semi-pro at the act. This is the kind of knowledge you don't gain from Harry Potter books, you gain it from experience - and books that are actually useful.

So anyway. I'm driving through Polk City and see a police car on the side of the road - I'm speeding, but not by much... plus …

Oy, It turned out that Chicago was more expensive than I thought. Kari and I are so insanely broke, it's retarded, haha. I get so mad when I don't have money - like, I don't even know what to do with myself; I just sit at home and pout, haha. We haven't spent this much time hanging out at home in a long long time. Things are becoming somewhat clean and organized though...

Ok so, if you didn't already know, my car broke down last Thursday on the way to work. Perfect timing for someone who just spent all their money and has to wait until the end of the month for another paycheck. So to tell the story once more... I was sitting at a stoplight on Oralabor when all of a sudden I heard this clunky sound followed by a ton of belt …

One day Krissy and I decided to drive past my old house on Old Ranch Road in Port Byron. I was feeling pretty sick so I had her drive. In fact, I started to really feel like crap so I took my seat belt off so that the pressure wouldn't be on my belly.

Right when we passed my old house we came up on this car driving 40mph in the 55. Like any normal person, we got real annoyed. So she waited for the passing section, then passed. When we got right next to the car I looked over to realize that the people we were passing were my neighbors (really old farmers). And then I noticed that the car was turning into us to get into their driveway. They were totally oblivious that we were even there. So needless to say, the huge Continental …

I usually don't write about movies and stuff, but this caught me off guard and not too many people know about it so here it is...

I was reading Modified Magazine yesterday, and apparently there's going to be a Fast and Furious 3. And apparently they have a bigger budget than the first 2... but they're trying not to pick any big actors for it. Which, pretty much shows that FnF is obviously more interested in cars than acting - as most of its viewers are. There is a lot of speculation that Vin Diesel may be back in it... The 2nd movie picked up where Paul Walker left off, the third is supposed to pick up where Vin Diesel left off...

"After being allowed to get away by his new undercover cop friend in the first movie, fast-driving …

BMW sponsors this event called the Ultimate Drive where all you have to do is sign up and drive BMWs... then for every mile you drive they donate $1 to the Komen Breast Cancer Fund. So instead of working today, Nehru and I drove BMWs, haha. We got to sign a 645i. Then we drove on this 15 mile route they had plotted out. I drove the 545i and 3.0 Z4. Nehru drove the 645i, and I think a 330 after I left. We also rode along with Ron in a 325.

It's tough not to treat the streets like a closed course when you're in the cars we drove... especially when they plot out a map that looks like a road course. So needless to say, we pushed the cars pretty hard... and we each got honked at by people that we made nervous, haha. Whatever, yall …