But, it seems that everyone is talking about them, and the Republicans behind the Orange Curtain are ground zero for the “movement.” I put that in quotes because I’m not sure a bunch of insane people qualify as a movement of any kind.  More like an epidemic.

Sigh.

It seems that the leaders of the crazies, Orange County lawyer Orly Taitz and Pastor Wiley Drake of Buena Park are based right here, and have a lawsuit that is currently making its way through the court systemin Santa Ana.  However, it is encouraging that some of the judges are prone to giving Ms. Taitz a good smackdown.

So now comes along two more dubious examples of OC crazy.  Judy Ahrens and John  Briscoe want Maya Angelou’s fantastic autobiography “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” banned from school libraries.  Seriously?  Way to put OC back in the Dark Ages J & J!  Their objection is to one part of the book in which Ms. Angelou describes being raped as a child.

I’ve read the book many times, and I don’t think that one passage should mean that the entire book is banned.  The work as a whole is moving and powerful, and already the book is restricted to being checked out by 8th graders only.  And listen, with all the stuff kids today watch, the scene is not as traumatizing to the “innocent children” as J & J would like you to believe.

But again, book banning? Seriously?

Please, crazies, you are giving the rest of us a bad name!

As a huge sports fan I take offense to this. Tailgating, with alcohol, is part of the experience. Of course there are always people who drink too much and become belligerent and want to start a fight with anyone for any reason, but that can happen anywhere.

What everyone needs to remember is tailgating is about celebrating the commonality that is your team, which makes it a community. When you have a shared community you have respect, or should have, and that means respecting your fellow fans and the fans of the other team. I’m all for good natured ribbing of the rival team especially if they come into your stadium all decked out in their teams gear. It’s expected and if you don’t know this you’re very very naive. Remember though, mean-spirited barbs and violence is never appropriate.

Okay, end of my rant. Do you guys agree with me or the City of Anaheim?

Unfortunately, I can’t imbed this particular video from the ABC7 website (it was shot earlier than the live shot I saw), but click here to see the video/story.

Can it really make up for it's past??

Last week I attended a “Technology Forum” at Ford’s Western Regional office in Irvine. The forum was to showcase all the new technology going in to the various 2010-11 and beyond vehicles. Really though, since they’re stuffing almost all of that technology in the new Taurus, it was a forum to show off the new Taurus.

I realize that using the word “stuffing” implies they put too much technology in the vehicle. That’s not the case. They managed to fit a LOT of new technology in to the car while still giving the driver a vehicle that is indeed a driver friendly car. Let’s take a look at that technology.

Cutaway showing the radar sensors in the car

Adaptive Cruise Control
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) uses actual radar sensors located on the front of the car to adjust the car’s speed if your in cruise control and traffic in front slows down. I got to test it briefly and it works. It was pretty cool. I’ll be driving the Taurus up to San Francisco this weekend (which I will tell you all about later) and I know ACC is going to be my best friend.

Photo courtesy of Ford

Collision Warning With Brake Support
Using the same radar system that is used with ACC, Ford put a collision warning (and hopefully avoidance) system in the new Taurus. While this isn’t necessarily new technology, it’s certainly a great addition to a car in this price range. In the picture above you can see that a light flashes and an audible alarm goes off, in case you’re snoozing. I’ve been in that situation before. I was inches from hitting a car stopped on the freeway while I was travelling 65 mph. Luckily I woke up just in time to swerve along the center median.
Something that I found interesting: To test the system, they used these giant inflatable cars, so that until they got the distance right, they didn’t keep trashing real cars.

Blind Spot Information System or BLIS and Cross Traffic Alert
This is super cool. I didn’t even realize the car had this until I was driving it. See, the Taurus doesn’t just have radar sensors in the front of the car, it also has them on all for corners of the car. When I was driving and looked in the side mirror to get over, there was this little yellow light. At first I didn’t understand what it was there for until a car I didn’t see poked it’s way into my mirror. The Taurus doesn’t exactly have many blind spots, but I can see this technology being useful in MANY different vehicles. In fact, one of the photographers in the car with me said he wished his Prius had that. (Apparently there is a big problem with blind spots in that car. That’s what he gets for owning a Prius as far as I’m concerned, but I digress.) The Cross Traffic Alert also uses the rear sensors when you’re backing out of a parking space. As you’re backing out, if there is a car approaching from either side, up to about 3 parking spaces away, it sets off those same visual and audible alarms to warn you some jerkoff either isn’t paying attention, or just can’t wait for you to pull out of your space, so you should stop. Again I have experience with this. I owned a giant van with no rear visibility years ago, and one day while backing out of a parking space, I hit a car. It ended with her taking a LOT of money from the insurance company. Having also driven ambulances for years, these 2 technologies alone have great promise in the automotive industry.

Photo courtesy of Ford (All my interior photos didn't turn out well)

Sync
Sync isn’t exactly new technology for Ford, but it’s still pretty cool. I enjoy that Ford has seen that cell phones and personal media devices aren’t just accessories for some people. To some it’s an extension of themselves. I know that my phone is my connection to all the things I enjoy (music, internet, my friends) and Sync allows me to stay in contact with most of those. I realize most cars now have a mini headphone jack so you can connect your mp3 player or Bluetooth connectivity so you can be hands free. Sync however goes beyond that. Two of my favorite features are the USB port and internal hard drive. With the USB port, you can not only connect and control your portable media device (with your voice even!) but you can also charge your device at the same time! If you have pictures, it can show those on the navigation screen too. In fact, because it’s USB, all you really need is a $5 flash drive and you can take your favorite songs and pictures with you anywhere. And if you actually own some CDs, you can rip them to the vehicles hard drive. Then you don’t need anything but your car keys. And did I mention the voice control part? If your mp3 player has many thousands of songs and artists, all you have to do is speak the name of the song or artists and it automatically finds it for you. I was skeptical, but it works…well. Of course you can connect bluetooth and yes that’s voice controlled too. Just say “Call (name)” and it does. Even if you have to pay a little extra for it, I believe it’s well worth it. Now if only they could make it so I could voice control my Twitter and Facebook status…you reading this Ford engineers?!?!

Another Ford photo

My Key
This is my favorite feature Ford showcased. For years cars have had chips embedded in the keys, so that either the car wouldn’t start without the original key or the key just needed to be inside the car and a push-button starts the car. Well My Key takes that further. In what is to be a standard option nearly fleet-wide, My Key is a technology aimed at teen drivers. When the designated key is inserted into the ignition, the on board computer automatically sets some very specific limits on the car. For starters, the seatbelt warning that eventually goes away after about 5 minutes, stays on indefinitely until the driver puts on the seatbelt. It also mutes the radio until the belt is on, so you can’t just drown out the alarm like I do when I’m running to the store. My Key also makes it so you can’t release traction control and spin the tires. Again I have experience with this. I almost got a ticket for it when I was 17. Instead of the 50 mile warning about low fuel, it bumps it up to 75 miles. Running out of fuel is a contributing factor into my first accident at 16. And finally, speed control! When My Key is activated the top speed of the car is reduced to 80 mph, with warning chimes at 45, 55 and 65 mph. Pretty smart, no? (It certainly would have prevented me getting a 105 mph speeding ticket at 18! My only beef with the top speed limiter is that 80 mph is pretty fast to drive on a side street. I know, I did that too when I was a teen. I was a horrible driver I know, I’m past that now…promise!). I’d like to see in future versions of My Key that the computer use GPS to limit the speed of the car to 10 mph above the posted speed limit. Maybe that’s too difficult, but it would be nice.

But enough about technology, how’s the Taurus???

New look

The new Taurus, until recently, was to be the Ford 500. As you can see it is a completely new car from the ground up. I think the new look is nice. I’m not terribly fond of the back end of the car (see below), but overall it’s not bad on the eyes.

Eh......

The interior on the other hand is quite plush. Our test drive took us almost 2 hours, and in that time I was always very comfortable. The inside is also very quiet. I think too quiet. This car can be dangerous because of it. All three of us in the car took turns driving and we all found ourselves driving much faster than we thought we were. At 80 mph it feels as though you’re going 50. If you don’t pay close attention to your speedometer, you could find yourself discussing the new features of the Taurus with your local police officer.

The seats in our test car were leather and I didn’t ask if that would be standard or not. We had some faux wood trim, which I always personally dislike, and this car was no different. I really liked the gauges on the car. Their bluish glow was stunning and soothing at the same time. As you can see we didn’t have the sweet sat/nav/DVD player in our car, but it did it’s job. All three of us were really disappointed by the Sony sound system they were touting. Even at full volume we couldn’t really get any bass out of the system (something I’ve seen with all of my stock Ford radios over the years…funny thing is, with a different head unit [stereo] the speakers are usually really awesome). This stereo was very unlike the stereo in the Raptor I test drove a few weeks ago, that stereo was amazing.

Look at those pretty gauges.

I don’t have any pictures of the trunk, but I wouldn’t be surprised if my Ford Focus fit in there. That thing is huge!

As far as the engine goes, our model had the base V6. It gets approximately 265 horsepower and the base model is about $26,000. Certainly not a bad deal. The engine seemed to lack the “oomph” that I feel a car of this size needs, but for most people, as a daily driver, I think this car is plenty. My only big problem with the car is that it’s front wheel drive. I was really shocked to find out that Ford made a car this size front wheel drive. And when you step on the gas pedal to get on the freeway, the torque-steer is BAD. Worse then my Focus, though that’s probably because the car weighs almost twice my Focus. That alone killed a lot for me.

Taurus SHO
One of the biggest announcements besides the Taurus coming back, was that they would be making a SHO version. If you remember, the original Taurus had a SHO version that was their “performance” version of the car. Back then it’s wasn’t too terribly amazing, but then the car it was based off of wasn’t good either. Making a SHO version of this new Taurus has promise. For the engine, they decided to be different. Rather than put a giant V8 under the bonnet, they decided to keep the same V6 the base model has, but they strapped on a twin turbo they dub EcoBoost, boosting the horsepower up by 100 making it 365.

I remembered to take an engine shot this time.

Also, something I feel is a necessity in the car, they made it All Wheel Drive! Unfortunately, because we took too long on our test drive/photoshoot, by the time we got back to Ford HQ, all the SHOs were gone, so I can’t tell you if it’s a better drive or not, but I’ve been promised there is a big difference.

So that was my experience. I’ve included more pictures below for your viewing pleasure. As I mentioned, this weekend I will be driving a Taurus up to San Francisco for the 49ers/Seahawks game (Go Hawks!). I won a contest from Ford. I’ll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back…..OR you can follow my progress via Twitter. Follow @suprdave89
Bye MetBloggers!!

Lined up, ready to go.

One of my carpool buddies, Paul Hwang from Top Gear Korea

HI!

Bye!

Like my pictures?? See more at my Flickr account!

The Irvine Fine Arts Center presents All Media 2009, a juried exhibition open to Southern California artists. This show will feature two and three-dimensional art, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and digital media. The deadline for submissions is Monday, September 28,2009.

Click here for more more information regarding submission requirements and the entry form.

The All Media 2009 exhibition will run from November 20, 2009 through January 16, 2010 (or the 23rd … depending on which document you look at). The IFAC is located at: 14321 Yale Avenue, Irvine, CA 92604.

If your work is accepted to be part of the exhibition, please let us know. The OC Metblog readers and posters alike would love – I’m sure – to come out and show our support.

Reader Mail: Unclear on the Concept

[Image via HCwDB]

I’m very impressed with your bags. I think they’re perfect for the department stores, apparel and accessory retailers, gift shops and large chains we work with. If you can offer good pricing and if you’re interested in selling your bags to more stores visit us at

http://www.intostores.com/sellers.php

Sincerely, Kevin Sanderson
VP Merchandising
866-788-5799 (extension 3)
IntoStores.com
5753 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road
Anaheim, CA 92807

Hahaha. I feel the need to hang my head in shame, for I am from A-Ville and apparently, not only are we douche-ridden but we’re completely inept at spamming people. Of course, if it isn’t spam then I would love to see how they plan to sell these ‘bags’ in local retailers. I almost called to ask but alas cooler heads prevailed. Besides, I’m pretty sure you can already rent them by the hour but the cost to buy one outright is going to send you well into six digits.

[via HCwDB]

The video features Jay signing his book Knott’s Berry Farm: The Early Years inside the famed Chicken Dinner Restaurant on Aug 29, 2009. Nearly 300 people lined up to see the author – including Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter.

Thankfully, Ford not only heard our calls for help, but they decided to spoil the hell out of us. Drum roll please…..ladies and gentlemen, I present my new obsession……The Ford F-150 Raptor.

Bringin' the Orange to the County

I highly suggest you follow me past the jump for more pictures and information that will make many of you want to run to the nearest Ford dealership. Yes, really!

Well Hello!

Let’s start with the looks. This thing looks, and actually really is, massive! A stock F-150 next to this thing looks like the skinny little brother of the jock older brother. This new massive look comes, in part, from the fact that they widened the truck by 7 inches! Those big fender flares aren’t just for looks like on your neighbor’s pickup (if you live in Huntington Beach), they are quite necessary. That’s the reason there are marker lights around the truck. As with a duelly (the pick up trucks with 4 wheels in the back and giant rear fenders), the rules of the road stated Ford had to add the marker lights for safety. If you look closely at the front grill however, you’ll see instead of putting the lights on the roof, as the duellies and semi trucks do, they placed them in the grill. Check it out!

Who makes this truck again?

Don't the lights look pretty? Photo courtesy of Raptor's photo download section of their website

While we’re on the grill, did you notice the slight huge change? The Raptor gets a custom grill with a giant Ford stamp across the front. I really like it. Ford also created a custom front bumper just for the Raptor. I’ll get in to the details later, but Ford and Fox Racing Shox teamed up to make a completely custom suspension upgrade for the Raptor. As an added bonus to those who might admire your truck from up close, Ford added a window to the front bumper so as to admire the custom suspension.

Photo courtesy of Raptor's photo download section of their website.

Going back to the rest of the exterior, you might notice a new color from Ford, “Molten Orange.” Like some (many?) of you out there, I really wasn’t sure about the color at first. I thought it was just a preproduction scheme for the press. But as I walked around it more, and got used to it, I can’t see this truck in anything but orange! However if you’re really not a fan, the truck comes in 3 other colors. “Tuxedo Black”, “Oxford White” (get it? it’s like an oxymoron! trucks and nice clothes??) and my favorite…”Blue Flame”. Blue flame? Really? Was there no one at Ford that heard that name and immediately thought of lighting farts on fire?? I digress. The only other color I think the truck looks good in is the “Tuxedo Black”, however I feel you lose all the aggressiveness of the vehicle. Blue is my favorite color but I don’t feel the blue suits this particular vehicle. As far as the white is concerned, I don’t believe anyone should drive a white car unless it’s some vintage Rolls Royce or Mercedes.

Blue Flame?

The last things I’d like to point out on the exterior are the hood scoops and fender vents. While they may look like pretty decorations, it turns out they are actually functional!

They're almost like the gills of a fish, letting the beast breathe.

If the fenders are gills, these must be the nostrils....OF THE BEAST!

While we’re on the subject of big breathing beasts, let’s talk engines. (insert Tim Allen grunt here) The truck that I drove had the 5.4L SOHC V8. The thing sounded great and was mighty powerful under pressure, yet very refined on the streets. The specs show it as having 320 horsepower and 390 lb.-ft. of torque. That’s an engine you can have some fun with! However…if that’s just not enough for you (let’s face it, if you’re going to own a truck like this, why not go balls to the walls), then may I suggest waiting until early next year for the 6.2L V8! This engine is also known as the “BOSS” engine. It has over 400 horsepower and 400 lb.-ft. of torque! Pair each of those with a 6 (yes 6) speed transmission, and you’re going to have some fun in the desert, or wherever you go! (except the gas pump, that still might suck) The MPG was in the 17-21 range, which for what you’re getting, really isn’t that bad, but let’s be honest…it’s no Prius.

Like an idiot I forgot to photograph the engine, so once again I thank Raptor's website for downloadable pictures.

Earlier I mentioned the suspension. As I stated Ford and Fox Racing Shox teamed up to create specialized shocks just for the Raptor. The guys at Ford wanted to give the maximum amount of travel (the distance the wheel can move up and down) without intruding into the engine bay or truck bed. Fox designed specialized shocks that look as though they have reservoirs attached, as you would see in professional race trucks, but in reality that is just an extension of the shock itself. I lied. It is in fact a reservoir! Even better! This allowed them to get a few more inches of travel into the suspension and keep the structural integrity of the original design. How many inches of travel you ask? Try 11 inches in the front and 13 inches in the back! This provides a big cushion for the truck to land when you catch air and a great amount of flexibility when maneuvering difficult off-road courses. Unlike in typical suspension upgrades, though, they have also made the truck smooth and sturdy when driving on the asphalt! This means when you drive to the movies or work or whever, it’s a comfortable ride! Go figure!

Don't they look pretty?? See what I mean about the piggyback design?

Just to give you an idea of what 13 inches of travel looks like. I don't think I was even at max stretch here either.

How have I gone this far and not mentioned the off-road specific features of this king of the desert?? This truck was purpose built to race the Baja 1000, widely agreed upon as one of, if not the most grueling auto race in the world. Every year approximately two-thirds of the vehicles that enter the race don’t finish. Well the Raptor finished 3rd in class and was the FIRST EVER preproduction truck to finish the Baja 1000!! Don’t believe me? Check it out!


So how do you build a production truck capable of accomplishing such a feat? Well it helps to start with a sturdy vehicle. Say what you will about Fords, they haven’t had the longest running, highest selling pickup for no reason. As I said, they threw in a powerful engine, beefed up the suspension, widened the track by 7 inches…what else is there? How about the first factory standard Electronic Locking Rear Differential!! (the link takes you to wikipedia for those who don’t know what it is) They also created a technology they call “Hill Descent Control”. When this is engaged, if you’re descending a hill, the anti-lock brakes automatically control your descent! Yeah, take your foot off the brakes and concentrate on steering. It works and it’s awesome. It also works in reverse, so if you climb a big steep hill only to discover it leads no where, you can safely back down. There is also an “Off-Road Mode” button. When this is engaged, the computer adjusts the throttle to be more less responsive (in other words, less touchy…so if your foot accidentally twitches, you’re not sent 90 mph over the rock you were crawling over) and lets the shifts rev a little higher to prevent constant gear changing when climbing hills. It also adjusts the ABS brakes and the locking rear differential to improve your off-road experience. Having tested these features out I can tell you they work, and they work WELL! Ford also teamed up with BF Goodrich, widely know to make superior off-road tires, to create a custom tire just for the truck! While they may look like your typical “BFG All Terrains” you see on most other off-road trucks, these have been specially made to improve the truck’s handling on and off the road, and best of all…they’re quiet on asphalt! Yeah! You can drive with your windows down and talk to your passengers! They think of everything.

I wish I could say this was me, but I didn't want my PR rep, Octavio Navarro, to lose his job, so once again Raptor's website provided the photo.

Custom tires even!

OK, let’s finish up with the interior.

Looks great, right?

Sync! I love it and will discuss more about it in future posts. Stay tuned!

This truck had all the bells and whistles for the entertainment system. It had Ford’s exclusive “Sync” system (which I adore and will discuss in a MetBlogs post in the near future) and of course the full touch-screen/sat nav/DVD/space ship/super duper/blow you away entertainment system. As I said earlier, I’m a DJ so music is VERY important to me. The sound system equipped in our truck was Ah-mazing! One of my pet peeves when off-road driving is, being that it’s bumpy, my CDs always skip! Well this thing has a hard drive to store your music. Now I can rock out while I’m out climbing rocks! Also, if you can see those four switched by the shift lever, those are pre-wired auxiliary switches! It’s not uncommon to add a winch or exterior lighting to an off-road vehicle, but the problem has always been where to install the on/off switch?? Ford answered that for us. Thanks Ford!

Look at the cool looking gagues!

Nothing clever to say about this one. It just looks great!

As with you’re typical extended cab pickup truck, it has a “suicide door” setup for easy entry and to haul bigger stuff in the cab. The back seats don’t provide any more or less room than your standard extended cab either. If they do, it’s not really enough to be noticed by the general public.
OK I’ve covered all the areas I felt were most important, but there’s still so much more that I didn’t cover. Why don’t you check out Raptor’s website yourself, or just go chat up your local Ford dealer and see it for yourself! If you have an interest in trucks and playing in the dirt, I think you’ll be hard pressed to not want to buy one of these.
I’ve included the rest of my pictures below. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the pictures get much larger with a click. Enjoy!

I like the logo too. Fun but not over the top.

This picture wasn't my idea, but I like how it turned out. So you get to stare at my beautiful face and be jealous I drove a cool truck...and you didn't.

Anyway! I am just a wee bit irritated about the complete lack of visibility for the event. Maybe the organizers (listen up boys) should have reached our to their popular queer friendly community blogs (not unlike this one) and let them know it was even happening. Also, lets be real, if we’re gonna have OC Pride shouldn’t we be having it in Laguna Beach? Why Irvine? Oh well, here’s hoping there will be one next year and here’s hoping they actually, you know, tell people about it!

Did you know there was an OC Pride Picnic this year? If so, did you go?

When the short sale buyers pull their offers they are so ready to buy a home they act irrationally. Irrational in the fact that they are willing to pay well above the asking price for no other reason than they HAVE TO BUY A HOUSE BECAUSE THE “EXPERTS” ARE TELLING THEM TO BUY NOW. Irrational because they are willing to waive appraisal contingencies – for example the house appraises at $450,000, but sells for $510,000. Typically a bank won’t finance a loan for more than the house appraises for, but like most things there are ways around this. You buy a mortgage origiation point or more likely the bank will require you to make up the difference in cash. Of course, you can always pay in cash, in full, and believe it or not people do. We lost a house to an all-cash offer. We were also asked by a sellers agent to waive the appraisal report, needless to say we did not put in an offer, but four others did. WTF???

Let’s not forget those that are going to rush to buy and close escrow before 30 November 2009 just so they can claim the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The way I see it, and I could be wrong, I think there is going to be a mad rush and even more competition in the next two months. Basically you have to be in escrow no later than the end of October if you wish to claim the credit. As the law is currently written any home purchase that closes escrow beginning 1 December 2009 is not eligible to receive the tax credit.

I realize the Southern California market is markedly different than 95% of the rest of the country. However, by rushing to buy and pushing prices back up is doing no one any favors. If you buy a home for more than it’s worth that is exactly what you are doing. Even if it’s worth that price to you, it’s not a sound financial decision. So basically all this irrationality coupled with so many short sale/REO properties is making for a very small sellers market. As my husband likes to quote the age-old proverb: “a fool and his money are soon parted.”