2002-01-12
New car shopping and Ali, posted at 2:27 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com Yesterday, I spent some time at Car Max, searching for a new car. I had thought about getting an SUV, and looked at a few, but I think I have decided that they are ultimately too expensive for what you get. I have nothing against cars, just think that some SUVs look cool, and that's not a good reason to get something if it's a few thousand more. I think I'll spend around $10K on this vehicle, and I don't really ever want to become the type of person to spend more than that on a vehicle. Cars just aren't that important, nor do I think they're a particularly good investment. As long as they get me where I need to go and leave me reasonably comfortable, I should be happy. If this new vehicle has power windows, power doors, and air conditioning, I will consider it an luxury vehicle compared to my old Plymouth Acclaim.I was really impressed with an Oldsmobile Acura that I found there. I was under $10K, was a 1999, and had 63,000 miles on it. I loved the way it looked. I called up my dad's friend who is a used car dealer, and he said the price was way too high. There goes that idea. He says he will sell me a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am with 35,000 miles for $8500 - the exact price he bought it for at the used car auction a few weeks ago. This seems like a great deal to me, and I do trust the guy. The only thing is, it's in Michigan. It's not really convenient for me to get it down here anytime soon, and I'm hating not having a car. Also, it's teal. I'm not sure what color teal is, exactly.
Last night, Josh and I went to see Ali. I enjoyed it for the most part. Will Smith is amazing, first of all. If he doesn't win Best Actor, heads will roll. He was excellent, making you forget it was him and not Ali himself that was onscreen. Michael Mann's artful direction gives the film some of its greatness, as well. He's one of the greatest directors in Hollywood right now, and his stylistic vision here included a lot of intermixing between (great) music, flashbacks, and closeups. I loved that aspect of it. The first hour is enthralling, especially the first 20 minutes. There were some scenes, however, that went on too long, and I ended up getting restless at times (Ali's somewhat spiritual awakening scene in Africa is a good example of this). Some of the fight scenes went on too long; I don't find boxing to be that interesting of a sport. Still, I enjoyed it overall. I didn't know that much about Ali going in, but his charisma, as embodied by Smith, is very ingratiating. He used his cockiness as both a battlecry and as a shield, and this intriguing combination really played out well. I also especially liked the scenes between Howard Cosell (Jon Voight) and Ali - Ali's wit here really showed that his wheels were churning inside quite a bit quicker than we imagined as an audience. My Grade: B+.
Otherwise, today I'm sort of in a holding pattern with my car. I'm going to do a bit of research online, but before I know if my loan is approved, I'm not sure what my price range is.