Get a Trunk Monkey!

I know that it has been forever since I posted.  However, I have recently came across a fantastic series of Auto Dealership commercials that shocked me out of my blogCOMA.  I know, I know—your thinking that there is no such thing.  Indeed, prior to coming across the Trunk Monkey series, I ranked this genre of advertising at the same rung of hell as Furniture Outlet Commercials.

Thankfully, R/West out of Portland Oregon has come up with a series of syndicated commercials for the Suburban Auto Group of Sandy, Oregon that breaks the traditional mold of some middle age guy guy screaming on his lot about all of his fantastic car deals.  Instead, the agency struck word of mouth gold by adapting a concept originally created in January, 2000 by Sean Sosik-Hamor, for the automotive group of Subaru enthusiasts in the New England Subaru Impreza Club, or NESIC. According to Wikipedia, the original concept of a “Trunk Monkey” was a small stuffed animal placed in the trunk of a vehicle which came alive and jumped from side to side to help distribute weight during “spirited driving maneuvers”.

There are more then 10 hilarious ads the have been produced that generally involve the intercession of a chimpanzee to solve a problem when a “trunk monkey” button on the dashboard is pressed.  I have embedded some of my favs below for your viewing pleasure.  Enjoy!

Road Rage System

Anti-Vandalism System

Theft Retrieval System

Pediatric System

Chaperon System

Anti-Abduction System

BMW Service Experience

This past Friday, as I pulled up in front of my North End Condo, I steered a little too close to the curb and put a 4-5 inch gash in the side of my front right tire.  Its a brand new curb and the temp had to be somewhere in the 90s.  Needless to say, it cut through my tire like a knife through hot butter (see pic below).

This was the chance I had to experience what BMW service was like.  I simply pressed the SOS button on the console of my car and a minute later a service rep was on the line with my GPS coordinates already in hand.  He dispatched AAA to change my tire and they were at my doorstep in about an hour.  I next called my account service rep in Peabody who promptly scheduled me for a 10am appointment to have a new tire put on my SUV.

On Saturday, I drove up to the service center and relaxed in a beautiful air conditioned lounge equipped with WIFI, a Flat Screen TV,  about 10 comfy lounge chairs, and a stocked fridge filled with water and soda.  The service center not only replaced and balanced my new tire, they also reconnected my headrest video screens that both had been accidentally disconnected due to some faulty wiring.  When they were finished with the maintenance of the vehicle, they washed it for me!  All in all, top notch service every step of the way. 

Picking up my BEEMER!

I am just about to head out to pick up my BMW X5.  I have been without an automobile for about 5 years and I finally decided that it was time to bite the bullet.  Here are some of its specs:

• 2006 BMW X5 Alpine White with Beige Leather Interior
• 4.4 liter DOHC, 32 valve V-8 engine with Valvetronic (Same engine that’s in my brothers 7 Series)
• Premium, Sport, and Cold Weather Packages
• 18 x 8.5 Alloy Wheels
• Xennon Adaptive Headlights
• Bluetooth Enabled
• Nav System
• Premium Sound System
• DVD with TVs built into the Driver and Passenger Headrests (Pimp My Ride Style).  This was the feature I had put in for my little man Howie!  Now to by some Animal Planet DVDs.
• Premium Running Boards