SOMEWHAT FRANK

Video: Threadlemanss & TECH cocktail RACING

Saturday... Saturday ... Saturday! Start your engines as Threadless.com, a Chicago-based skinnyCorp operated company, will be hosting a Pine Wood Derby race called the THREADLEMANSS. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to get SOMEWHAT FRANK car ready for the race but I did get my friend Carlos Pero, whose son was undefeated this year in the Cub Scouts Pine Wood Derby, to lead the TECH cocktail RACING effort which is powered by coloring.com.

Carlos is featured this week on episode 25 of SOMEWHAT FRANK TV as he previews the TECH cocktail car and shares some Pine Wood Derby knowledge. Thank you Carlos for your help. You can cheer on the TECH cocktail car this Saturday, May 17, 2008 as Threadless will be streaming the derby live.

Car Buying: Online To The Drive Home

After driving a used Toyota Avalon for the last few years, I finally figured out what vehicle I wanted  to buy and made the move on Sunday at Infiniti of Tyson's Corner. I am now a proud owner of an Infiniti FX35 (shown below). This article will summarize some of the online resources I used to purchase my new vehicle.

HotSwap: Video Listings For Used Autos

Buying a car is a definitely a pain in the butt, as it takes a lot of time and effort. I have been thinking about it for a few months now but haven't yet rallied enough energy to do it. Wouldn't be nice if buying a car could be done by simply watching an online video? Now you sort of can.

HotSwap offers free online video auto listings that could make buying a car as simple as watching an online video. HotSwap users can search by color, style, price, mileage and ZIP code and keyword. HotSwap offers users to watch, save and share videos as well as comment on them too.

HotSwap could save both buyers and sellers time and money as many car dealer and car classified Web sites do not offer a rich video experience and often charge sellers to place ads. HotSwap may be the first site I have seen offering video to assist people selling cars online - oh did I mention it is FREE to create a listing?

I think HotSwap is a great idea and I am surprise it took this long to see this type of site appear. Currently, it seems to be light on the number of listings on the site might be a hint that it is going to take a little time for people to adopt. Also it appears the videos a little short in length but the limit is 100MB in size. Maybe Cars.com should take a look at this type of offering as a video plus some additional photos would be the ultimate online auto listing. Check out the screen-shot below or watch the video of the car I found on HotSwap.

Car Research By Photo & Lifestyle

I have been driving the same ole' four door sedan for awhile now and it is just about time for a change.  I am definitely due for a new ride. Something a little more fun to drive would make my hour plus commute a little more enjoyable. So the question is...what do I get? Time to do some research!

Obviously, there are a number of factors that go into making a decision on what your next vehicle will be. To start I used a new feature on Cars.com called Vehicle Photo Compare. It offers side-by-side photo feature for determining how vehicles stack up next to each other. Each car offers some links to additional research about the specific make or model. Unfortunately, not every vehicle is yet available and the page does not offer up a permalink to embed or a way to share comparisons with friends. I have taken a screen-shot (shown below). Additionally, I gave this Car Search by Lifestyle a try and found it somewhat helpful though many it seems a little light on options.

Once I decide on the make and model of my next vehicle, I will need to decide on the way I would like to purchase it. I recall Mike Arrington outlined his experience with CarsDirect to purchase his latest set of wheels, a very nice Honda Pilot. I am not sure if I am going to go that route yet. I will be sure to write a follow-up if I do end up using something like CarsDirect to buy my next car.