Luxury, Power, Technology, Comfort, Appeal and Self Respect!
As our family continued to grow, we realized we would need another vehicle that would accommodate that fact on top of many other wants and needs that we had. We find that so many families are too quick to dismiss self image and join the mini van club. As if this is the only thing that can accommodate the needs of a growing family or the gathering of groceries.
Monica and I have been looking for a vehicle over the past 2 years that would not be a mini van but also not be a huge monstrosity of an SUV. Monica being vertically challenged could only see over the dashboards of very few vehicles. She did not want anything that was excessively large but would also include enough towing capacity to pull a larger cabin cruiser (that was naturally my need LOL). Not many options fell within this criteria. You have your Yukons, Suburbans, Crew Cabs, Navigators, Escalades, Explorers and a few other super large SUV's that could pull over 7,500 lbs but unfortunately for us, they would not fit in the garage and we felt the quality just was non existent without an absurd price increase.To be open minded, we looked at all these vehicles just to make sure it was not what we wanted. We even looked into Audis, Porsche, BMW, Infinity and Lexus and the ability to tow 7,500+ lbs was not a feature that was included with these brands
We had been eyeing the new Dodge Durango for at least 2 years since the 3rd generation new body style dropped. Specifically the 2014 - 2015 Dodge Durango RT because the rear light were (for a lack of better terminology) BAD ASS. We were looking for black on black with all the options and the Hemi. The problem we ran into was this vehicle is a unicorn. If it existed, we were not finding it anywhere. We would occasionally find a used one or new 2014 for the same price as the brand new ones.
We were currently in a Hyndai Santa Fe Limited which we loved very much. It was in immaculate shape as this is how we took care of it. We had even customized it with an in dash DVD player with backup camera and 22" custom wheels. We could mirror our iPhones to the 7 inch in dash double din head unit and play Hulu, Netflix or whatever else was of interest. Because we traveled so much for Real Estate photography, this was an essential addition. You can see the full video tour of our 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe limited here. It was our plan to use the money as a down payment on the Dodge Durango RT.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84cU1zT6cn4&w=640&h=360]
We were on our way home from Panama City Beach when a teenager immediately pulled out from a side street in front of us. There was no room to react fast enough to avoid the collision. We T boned the mid 80's F-150 in the rear drivers side tire. Thank the Lord that everyone was ok. Even the Hyundai (while looking quite bad) was still running smoothly. After exchanging info and having the police write up a report, we drove back to Atlanta.
It took 2 months to go through the typical bullshit you get from an insurance company. After 2 weeks of going back and forth with GEICO, we went up to their office to get a check for $14,000. About 10 minutes into our meeting they look at us and say "we have some bad news". Apparently in Florida you only are required to have a minimum of 10,000 in property damage which would not cover the value of our vehicle. GEICO could only cut us a check for that.
After immediately walking out we contacted our own insurance company Nationwide. Talk about being put through the ringer with GEICO, it was worse with Nationwide. They did not want to give us the value of our vehicle. They came in at $11,000 which was $3,o00 less then what GEICO was willing to pay before they realized their clients were underinsured. Long story short, I had to provided more documents to back the value until we eventually got the price up to $13,000. Lets just say it made Monica cry how evil both insurance companies were about this process. I honestly do not know how people that work in that industry sleep at night.
But after all that, we always try to look on the bright side of any situation, and the luck of it all is we were in a position to now get our current dream vehicle! The 2015 Dodge Durango RT! We originally were looking for a Citadel, because it was chromed out and super sexy looking but came to find from our buying experience at Chrysler, Dodge Jeep of Gwinnett that we could have everything we were looking for in the RT! It was black on black leather with red stitching and red embroidered RT seats. This is the most sexy, masculine piece of SUV on the road period. It even has the black out 20" rims and sub in the trunk from the factory! The rear end looks like something out of the movie TRON.
We were amazed at how much technology this car had. You could locate the lowest price gas station, or see what is playing at the movies with the in dash technology Uconnect system. Heated and cooled seats with heated steering wheel. You have 2 settings on the seat that would adjust the seat to each driver, but not only that, it would adjust the seat, radio, temperature settings and all that you wanted to program to match the driver! The dash is equipped with a 7inch customizable dash cluster. When you set the cruise control, you can set a 1 to 5 car length distance so when a vehicle in front begins to brake, so does the Durango. It will come to a complete stop and start back up to speed with traffic all on cruise control. You just have to hold the steering wheel! Don't forget the power lift gate, easy third row access, keyless entry and remote start.
For safety the Durango includes many aspects like blind spot warning, backup camera with sensors, front end sensors with brake assist. The brake assist is a very cool feature. Lets say that same kid pulls out in front of us again. The Durango will instantly brake faster then your brain can react to aid in avoiding a collision.
Now, I could go on and on about the technology they put in this beauty but the Dodge website does a great job already, so check out this link to see what else is included (click the image)
Our wish list did not originally include all this technology, but it was super cool to find out it was included with the Durango. We were looking for something that would seat more than 4 to 5 people, without taking the dreaded MINI-VAN path! The Durango could seat 6 to 7 passengers. In addition to that we needed something that could tow a cabin cruiser, to continue the "dream!" The Durango has a towing capacity of 7,400 lbs. This proved to pull a 25 foot Regal Windows Express cabin cruiser quite well! With Standard Trailer Sway Control+ applies brake pressure on alternating wheels and may adjust engine throttle to help eliminate sway and maintain vehicle and trailer system stability.
To pull a boat that size you need power. Well the 5.7 liter Hemi has power and an exhaust sound that will make any dude smile like a joker! As Dodge would say "So don't do it. With the Dodge Durango, you're getting the triple threat of Best-in-Class power+, towing capacity+ and standard fuel economy of 25 highway mpg+. You're getting a vehicle that doesn't wait around for anyone or anything. It's the left lane or bust."
- 360-HP 5.7L HEMI® V8 Engine with Fuel Saver Technology and 390 LB-FT of Torque
- Performance Steering and Sport Suspension (Lowered 20mm)
- Class-Exclusive 20-Inch Hyper Black Aluminum Wheels+
- Dual Rear Exhaust with Bright Tips
- High-Intensity Discharge (HID) Headlamps with Black Bezels
The moral of the story is you no longer have to settle, sell out, ride the mainstream, lower self worth by driving a mini van. You can have your cake and eat it too. We love our new 2015 Dodge Durango RT. You need to check it out for yourself. Smiles per gallon baby! Now we are officially a Mopar family!
Need more? This is a great video covering the Durango RT
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6nVQd4q8m8&w=640&h=360]
Join Me and Stop the Privatization/Expansion of Briscoe Field!
Greetings,
I just signed the following petition addressed to: Board of Commissioners Gwinnett County. I've lived in Gwinnett County for about 20 years now, and grew up in Lawrenceville, GA where Briscoe Field is located - There has been so much great development in Lawrenceville and Gwinnett it would be a shame for them to ruin all the great stuff with this new plan to privatize and/or expand!
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Stop the privatization or expansion of Briscoe Field
Don’t Land in My Back Yard
Join together and let Gwinnett County Commissioners know they need to care more about the quality of life of their citizen’s than making a buck.
There have been numerous article, commentaries, opinions, etc. about expanding the use of Briscoe field. We need to deal in facts and realities, no matter what they call it; this privatization will evolve into the expanded use of Briscoe Field.
What does that mean to the residents of Gwinnett County, more traffic, added pollution, noise and larger planes landing and taking off from Briscoe Field? The quality of my life over the last 18 years has been impacted with the rapid growth of Gwinnett. Growth is good if it does not also impact the value of your home as well as the quality of your life in that community. Real Estate motto, location, location, location try and sell your home with large and frequent planes landing 10 miles from your back yard. In my case I’m about five miles from the airport, less as the crow flies.
I did a search looking for the number of residences within a 20 mile radius of Briscoe Field. These are the zip codes I came up with 30011, 30017, 30019, 30024, 30043, 30044, 30045, 30046, 30052 and 30052. There are over 70,000 homes based on information from the post office in these zip codes. If you live in these zip codes your probably within about 20 miles of Briscoe field.
I can sit in my back yard and watch planes every 5 minutes fly over heading for Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. I’m over 35 miles away from the Atlanta Airport and the planes are usually fairly high but we do occasionally hear them. Try to imagine being 5 or 10 miles away from the run way.
You can say not in my back yard, you can attend meetings and get verbal or we can band together. There is strength in numbers and it has more impact than an occasional article or TV spot on the news.
Let your voice be heard, tell Gwinnett County Commissioner’s that we do not want Briscoe field privatized or expanded.
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Please join me and sign this petition today! Click here to SIGN!
Loving My Pinterest!
So I've had an invite to Pinterest for some time now, but hadn't taken the leap cause I knew it would be another thing that I would truly become addicted to and I was right. But with the constant stream of COOL stuff that I find EVERYWHERE, I need a resource to hold all these cool things I would love to have, try, and do, so I'm in it and collecting and adding new things daily to my boards!
I imagine my account will be huge not too long from now, and it will be a great resource for any and all ideas I've got for our life! Not only that, but I imagine it could be a very good "hint" resource for Paul when it comes to knowing all things I'm into and loving right now! Couldn't hurt!
I've found several ideas I am ready to implement soon. I think my first project will be this one...
But another very cool one that both Paul and I are loving is this! I image this one will be further down the line as we don't really have a bar area for bar stools YET, but it will happen, and these puppies will be in the picture of our bar/living space.
But this isn't just a resource for home decor ideas, it's about anything and everything you can imagine! Whether it's a frame of mind, a frame to put on the wall, a frame you make, or a place to go so you can put it in a frame... you can pin it!
It's like the new "there's an app for that", but now it's "pin it!"
And to top all of the fun decor stuff we will be implementing hopefully soon, I'm also in absolute DIY mode, and Pinterest has totally been feeding my "to do" list of things I KNOW I can make, and they WILL be so cool you'll want to pin them. I think I may start with the Christmas ornaments... It is that time after all.
Either way check it out!
Vote for Sunday Alcohol Sales TOMORROW!!!
How many times have you gone to the grocery store on Sunday and picked up a bottle of wine or case of beer, gotten to the register and realized during check-out... "DANG IT it's SUNDAY!" Well it's happened to me more than once, and I'm not really absent-minded, I just don't think about those things all the time cause it's really unnecessary!
Georgia is one of only three states that does not allow alcohol sales on Sunday, and it's finally time things change! This will be the first year that we have been able to decide on this issue ourselves, and I am hopeful people will get out to vote! This is not a primary election, and I'm sure there may be more pressing matters on the ballot than this issue, but I personally get the impression people will care about this! And they will care more about this than the other random local votes on the ballot.
About 100 Georgia cities and counties are holding votes on whether to allow stores to sell alcohol on Sundays. The referendum is the result of a lengthy battle in the state legislature over whether municipalities should have the right to decide on the issue. This has been a very controversial issue, and you can rest assured that there will be as many people out voting against it as there are for it.
If passed the Sunday alcohol sale referendum will allow convenient stores, grocery stores and liquor stores to sell beer, wine and liquor on Sundays. I know it's not a primary election or anything, but there is definitely good reason to make the trip to the poles tomorrow! Read more about it here!
Super Cool New FaceBook Timeline Developer Release! Check it out!
This is a super cool new Timeline Developer Release! You have to set it up to be able to view FaceBook in a timeline format. Only those that set this up can see other's Facebook in this format.
It's really cool! You can hone in on certain dates in the timeline to see pictures, posts and comments, etc. Definitely worth checking out! Click Here to access details about set-up...
Interesting Read: Facebook Unveils New Customizable, 'Smart' Friends Lists
With Smart lists, Facebook will automatically group all your college or high school friends into "school" lists, or put all your co-workers into the "work" list. If Facebook makes a mistake or you don't want someone in that group, you can add or delete them manually.
Click here to read the full article!
Interesting Read... "What if your house was burning?..." Check It Out
Interesting Read... "What if your house was burning?..." Check It Out What if your house was burning?....