Grandma's House

The painting shown at the top of my blog page was painted by my uncle, Harold, at a very early point in his career as an artist. I watched him paint the house picture during one of my weekend visits to my grandmother's home in Westfield, Illinois. Uncle Harold eventually became a noted landscape artist. He painted many pictures of scenes near Westfield and Casey, Illinois. Some of his paintings hang in a gallery in Casey, Illinois. When I look at the picture he painted of my grandmother's house, I can't help but think of all the good times I had as a child while visiting her in Westfield. For me, it is a valuable memento of my youth.

Quick Pic

The latest picture of Chili, showing her taking a nap, was taken with my iPhone4. I then saved it to my computer and enhanced it using Photoshop. Next, I went to my blog page and posted it to the site. Total time from capture to posting - five minutes. Cool technology!

Snow At Low Altitude

It doesn't happen often, but it has snowed near, and occasionally in, Sacramento. Randall Benton (Sacramento Bee Photographer) caught a nice shot, in Placerville, not far from Sacramento, during last week's crazy February weather. Main Street had a nice dusting of powder that morning. Very beautiful. I posted the photo to the blog site for your viewing.

Anyone Lose A Cat??

My friend, Tim, sent me the raccoon/cat pic. Never under estimate the abilities of our furry friends.

Autorama Show

Dave, Terry and I had an enjoyable day at the Cal Expo Autorama Show. There were lots of interesting customized cars, motorcycles and bicycles on display. Sacramento's weather was perfect, especially considering it's mid-February, The sun was shining and the temperature was nice and warm.

After the show we ate burgers at the Five Guys restaurant in Elk Grove. The Five Guys have delicious burgers and fries. You can customize your burger with an assortment of delicious condiments. All and all - a fun Saturday. Check out the car pics I've posted from the show.

So... this is a Hyundai?

Opinions about the Equus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPK8LhU-2sk&feature=channel


Road test of the Equus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY0Md51pr4Y&feature=related

2011 Hyundai Equus

For $64,500 you can purchase the Ultimate version of the Hyundai Equus with all the goodies that launch it into the same class as an Audi A8, a BMW 750, a Lexus LS460, or a Mercedes S550. You won't even have to venture down to your nearest Hyundai dealership to make the purchase. Incidentally, this is probably a good thing, and a wise move by Hyundai, since your local Hyundai dealership is not likely to resemble the typical dealership for a Audi, BMW, Lexus, or Mercedes vehicle. Instead, Hyundai will send a sales representative to your home and provide a test drive right there in your own neighborhood. According to Hyundai, you may never have to visit a dealership during your entire ownership of an Equus, as all standard services are provided free of charge for five years or 60,000 miles. The Equus service technician will pick your car up at your home and leave another vehicle for you to use while yours is being serviced.

I don't know if this strategy will help sway many luxury car buyers to consider the Equus, but it does have merit as a well thought out marketing plan for the product. Oh, and to add to the perks of owning a Hyundai Equus, the new owner gets an iPad with an app loaded on it which contains the service manual and warranty information - very cool! Luxury car manufactures take note, Hyundai is definitely on to something with this plan. It will be interesting to follow sales figures for the Equus during the year, as well as it's stats from J D Power. Only then will we have a better idea of how well this innovative marketing strategy is working for Hyundai.