It’s purely a love/hate relationship; shopping for a new car. We all love the new car smell; the jealous look on our friends faces; but is it worth all that stuff to get there?

One of the first things you’ll want do before visiting any car lot is search the advertisements in the paper for the ones that have these particular catch phrases. “No pressure”, “One-on-one salesperson negotiation”, “No manager involvement”, “Easy, less time, no hassles”

… and do cut these out; they just might come in handy later on!

If you brought in another car as a trade-in, the next thing they will want to do is take your keys and bring your car around back.

Have you ever wondered what they are doing to it while your car is around back?

Once your trade-in has been taken; your dealer will be off to see The Wizard, The All Mighty, The Grand Poobah, The Big Kahuna, The Man with the Plan (a.k.a. the Manager). Dealers can usually not make a move without their manager’s approval.

…and remember this fact while you are sitting in that lot that claimed, “One-on-one salesperson negotiation” in their advertising.

In fact, go ahead and bring this to their attention. They will have to go back and speak to the manager about this too.

There are two basic phrases to the dealers vocabulary, “What can I do to put you in that drivers seat today?” and “Let me see what I can do.”

The whole process goes something like this:

Dealer: “What can I possibly do to put you in that driver’s seat today?”

You: “Can you take another $1,500 off that price?”

Dealer: “Okay… let me see what I can do.”

You: “Can you throw in a years worth of oil changes and tire rotations?”

Dealer: “Well… let me see what I can do about that one.”

You: “Can you paint a target on your forehead while wearing a tutu and climb into a Bull ring singing I’m a little tea pot?”

Dealer: “Yeah, um… well, I don’t know… let me see what I can do for ya there.”

When it is all said and done, you have to wonder if it would just be easier to walk; but then you would have the shoe salesperson to deal with…

And that is but a whole other discussion of it’s own!

It is a fitting time of the year to discuss money. Sometimes we have a lot of it and sometimes we don’t. With todays credit rating taking presidency over our future abilities to buy thing, it has become very important to protect it.

We have spoken a lot lately about some of the best exotic cars in the world… and what comes along with some of these cars is a hefty price tag and not to mention a hefty monthly payment. So what if you don’t have enough money to pay off your monthly loan?

You could always try to borrow from a friend or a family member. But when you have exhausted all possibilities there is always a payday loan to back you up. When you need money in a hurry, you do not have time to wait around for a bank to get to your paperwork.

A payday loan is uninterested in your credit history; they base the majority of their decision on your monthly income vs. the amount of money you are requesting. In general, as long as you make a monthly salary, you are probably liable for a payday loan.

Since they will not be checking your credit history, you will not have to worry about your credit rating dropping simply out of the number of credit checks you have had. But the payday loan is no miracle, it does have a red mark against it.

The most common red mark against the payday loan industry you will hear is their interest rates. But have you really thought about your alternatives in comparison?

To begin with, the option of bouncing a check will cost you a minimum of $50 to several hundred dollars by the time the banks penalties and fees are through dowsing your injury with insult (or I should rather say plain salt).

To accept the late fee and take a sting to your credit is of course another option, although for some would be much worse than the interest alone.

The payday loan can help you regain financial control while keeping your credit intact. It will also allow you to save face and not have to admit to friends and family that you are having money troubles… and that could be one of its biggest paybacks for some!

All ye auto enthusiasts and gamers…

There is a new Need for Speed on the block and it has some goodies to offer any armchair racer. The EA games Need for Speed game series is one of the longest series in history and for good reason. It actually offers a taste of the black top, with enough realism to keep any performance car enthusiast entertained on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

Coming from its “tuner” variety video games, which heavily featured import tuner and exotic cars, the new Carbon edition sets the stage to be a real treat for the muscle head. We are talking about Camaro’s, Challenger’s, and Charger’s, of both the new and the old variety.

That’s right, there is a 1967 Camaro SS, a sleek Plymouth Challenger, a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, a retro 2008 Challenger, and a Doge Charger R/T included in this game, which is a pleasant welcome from the usual import tuners that these games offer.

What could be even better than getting the chance to play on the blacktop with a piece of American history? Hearing it as well…

When you turnover the engine on one of these beasts, it sounds just like the real thing. There is no carbon copied computer variation of what a V-8 should sound like, these are the obvious sounds from the real thing.

If you add a supercharger in the mix, your car actually sounds like it for a change. It has the very distinct high pitched whine of a Wieland supercharger and it increases its tone the more boost you earn throughout the game play.

The game also features very realistic handling characteristics of each car from the obvious fish tailing of the 67 Camaro to the extreme curve hugging characteristics of the 2007 Porsche Carrera GT.

The muscle cars of the new Need For Speed Carbon, is however just one third of the excitement. There are actually three pathways of this game… muscle, import, and exotic. Depending on your favorite manufacturer or type of performance you are after, the game caters to your interests and will offer you new upgraded vehicles along the lines of the pathway you have chosen.

If you are a fan of te Need for Speed series, the Carbon edition lives up to its name and is available for most popular gaming devices, such as the PC, Playstation, Wii, Nintendo, and Xbox varieties.