Daihatsu Midget in Action

Daihatsu Midget in Action
Originally uploaded by h0ss.

I found a real money car. The Daihatsu Midget II is a car that you can buy used for $3500, tweak for another $7500, and then participate in a single race that will net you $6500 per victory.

It's not the most fun ride in the game, but it's a steady source of income until I find a car I enjoy driving more.
You can request a full-sizeimage from Russell just by emailing him!

Alpha Romeo on the track

Alpha Romeo on the track
Originally uploaded by h0ss.

I was even able to win a race in the Beginner level FF challenge series with the Romeo barely modified. It took near-perfect driving, but the AR gave me the handling performance I needed. With a little tuning (especially in brakes and suspension, though flat out power is needed too) I should be able to ride this horse for a while.
You can request a full-sizeimage from Russell just by emailing him!

Alpha Romeo in Italy

Alpha Romeo in Italy
Originally uploaded by h0ss.

I went with my heart instead of my head and bought an Alpha Romeo used as my second car in Gran Turismo. I think it looks pretty good, plus it's an Alpha!
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Sunday Cup Winner!

I won the Sunday Cup tonight for the second time. A welcome change over GT3 is that you can race a single series of races multiple times and win the car award each time; this will allow you to "seek" for the perfect color prize car, or sell multiple prize cars for lots of cash.

This second option is what I aimed for. I've now got $25K in the bank, so later tonight I'll be able to buy a car that will really burn... or at least burn more than this Miata does. I could always sink the dough back into the Miata, but I'd really rather just get another car. That's the theme of the game, after all.

Viva Gran Turismo!

The Motley Fool, a great investment website, has a brief article on the economics of GT4.
Viva Gran Turismo! February 23, 2005

Gran Turismo 4 Miata

Gran Turismo 4 Miata
Originally uploaded by h0ss.

This one is my current desktop image. I played with the white balance to get the windows to have a blue tone that complemented the car.
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Gran Turismo 4 Miata

Gran Turismo 4 Miata
Originally uploaded by h0ss.

Another outdoorsy photo of my miata. I'm trying to get a good grip on how the whole photo mode thing really works out.
You can request a full-sizeimage from Russell just by emailing him!

My first car!

miata0000_small
Originally uploaded by h0ss.

Here's my first car in GT4. I didn't import extra cash from GT3, so I'm working at a self-imposed handicap. I bought this "used" '89 miata for a little over $5K. I wasn't able to take gold in the first race I ran, but with a racing chip and lightweight level 1, I took gold in the second race.

The game is a lot more demanding, especially when it comes to not bumping into other vehicles. That was a valid strategy in GT3, but it just doesn't work anymore. Add in "rolling starts", where you can't win based on acceleration alone, and things get simply hairy.
You can request a full-sizeimage from Russell just by emailing him!

Zero Day!

This evening I get to pick up my copy of GT4. I've got it prepaid at the local EBGames.

As a bonus, I've finished up my only big project here at work, and so I can actually relax and enjoy myself tonight as I drive and drive and drive and drive and take pictures...

stretch

stretch
Originally uploaded by tinto.

I don't think we'll be able to race these in GT4. Probably just as well, too.

(I'm still testing this whole thing out...)
You can request a full-sizeimage from Russell just by emailing him!

Andrew and Russell

Andrew and Russell
Originally uploaded by h0ss.

Here's a test picture of my own to see how well this might work when I'm uploading pictures of vehicles to the server.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Ready to roll

I'm getting ready to roll. Gran Turismo 4 gets released next week (maybe as early as monday), and I'm ready to get going.

I've got a USB thumb drive on the way so that I'll be able to post photos of my virtual cars, but most importantly, I've got this blog to track my progress through the game.