I’ve been following the auto industry news as of late and things are just really sad for Chrysler and GM. One of the local Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealerships got the notice last week that as of 8 June, they will no longer be selling those cars. Our dealership, Mike Shaw Pontiac, has avoided the first round of dealership cuts, but it is still possible for them to get the slip in a future cut. Bottom line - no one is safe.

So one of my RSS feeds stated that the Viper plant was up for sale - and very few was interested in buying it. At $10 million, purchasing the plant seems like a steal to me, but I’m in no position to buy it nor am I fully aware of what is expected of the company that does decide to buy it. Will they still build Vipers (my ultimate dream car by the way…) or would they desecrate the plant by building anything other than a Viper? I was especially scared for the plant when I read that a food company CEO was interested in purchasing it for considerably less…horrible, horrible thoughts came to mind.

The Viper is a car that you either love or hate…I happen to love this car to death. I had posters of this car on my wall (yes, when other chics had the latest Teen Beat heartthrob on theirs…) I save car magazines with photos of Vipers on the cover. Before I die, I hope to sit in one of these beautiful vehicular beasts so I can listen to its sweet V-10 rumble through my soul - IT’S THAT SERIOUS! Car mag reviewers will talk about its high maintenance costs, it’s lack of road manners, the fact that’s it not a good daily driver…it doesn’t matter because this car was never not meant for the masses - only serious car enthusiasts needed to apply! Those that wanted appliances like Camrys and Accords knew where to go (I have an alternate place for them, but anyway…). To think that this car may no longer be produced is sickening.

Hopefully a car enthusiast will purchase this plant and do right by this car. This is the hope of a car enthusiast - one who does not see any of her vehicles as appliances.

Today Danny would’ve been 26. My mom told me a week ago that she was going to have some of his favorite doughnuts (Entenmann’s) in his honor. I ripped off her idea, but then Nadia added to it: turn them into a cake.

The below video shows the creation of this “cake.”

The first layer is made up of four doughnuts covered in Betty Crocker whipped vanilla frosting. Two more layers are stacked on top, each one covered in frosting. The final product is pretty difficult to eat, even with a tall glass of milk, due to the rich nature of the chocolate and the thick, sweet frosting. I could only eat one, and Nadia could barely get through one.

At the end of the video, I get choked up singing “Happy Birthday,” so Nadia finished the song for me. Her original deployment date had her leaving yesterday; being here by myself would have made today much harder to get through. I’m happy her deployment was pushed back one week for that reason, and also because I get to keep her around for just a bit longer.

I love and miss you Danny. Where ever you are, I hope you enjoyed your birthday.

Check out this review from Consumer Reports:

The drifts in this video are bananas!!!