Students go above and beyond to get their hands on the newest car technology.
Defying Dealerships
By: Ashley Marriott, Jayplay writer
It's the weekend. You're sitting squished in between your two closest friends playing NBA Live 2004, desperately trying to make a comeback as your opponent just scored and tied the game. You dribble down the court. Shoot. Miss. Angry cries from the fans can be heard all around you. With seconds left, your friend steals the ball, runs and slams it in to make the winning basket. As your mouth drops open in disbelief, you yell out to another friend, who is engrossed in Road Trip, to
toss you a cold pop from the fridge. Sound like a typical lazy college afternoon? Well, it is. Except there's one catch: You're in the car.
For Bill White, Council Grove graduate student, this is a typical road trip. White's Honda Accord is home to two 7-inch television screens, a DVD player, a Sega Saturn, a Microsoft Xbox and a 300-watt inverter with remote power switch plugs so he can plug in a portable cooler.
The technology that was once taking over our homes is now rapidly spreading to our cars. Products such as lights that you can coordinate with your mood and tires that change colors depending on the weather were introduced at The North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month.
With this increase in products comes an increase in car prices. These gadgets are available in higher end cars, making the price virtually out of reach for most students.
"Students can usually only afford new cars with the help of Mommy and Daddy," says Ron Gannaway, sales and leasing consultant for Crown Chevrolet/Oldsmobile-Toyota, 3400 S. Iowa St.
White, however, did buy everything himself, one piece at a time. His car now has $10,000 worth of equipment. Although some of his friends question why someone needs two televisions in his car (up until recently it was three). White says he did it more to prove to himself that he could install equipment than for an actual need for the products. "It started off as an audio system at first and then it just got out of hand," says White.
White's friend in high school worked at Circuit City in Kansas City and installed audio systems for about $12,000, most of the money being for labor. Knowing he could get the system for a cheaper price, White bought a book on installation and taught himself. Although a few minor wiring problems occurred, everything turned out fine.
Even though it is difficult to find other college students' cars that even come close to White's, the same cannot be said about cars belonging to future students of the University of Kansas.
Dane Johnson, Overland Park senior at Blue Valley West High School, says that having a decked-out car in high school is a bigger deal than it is in college. Johnson has a 7-inch touch television
screen installed in the dash of his Toyota 4Runner.
"I basically wanted to have a TV just to have one. I guess I had some extra money lying around," Johnson says. Johnson paid for the system himself with his paychecks from the Blue Valley Recreation Commission. He bought the television on eBay.com for $1,100, but its actual value is over $2,500. He then had it professionally installed at BrandsMart in Overland Park.
Johnson's friend, Brett Gatoff, is also planning to install televisions in his Ford Expedition "just for looks." Gatoff, also a Blue Valley West High School senior, says he is saving up his money from his job at Price Chopper in order to invest in screens for the headrests, visor and dash, but is fearful of security when moving to college.
Because Johnson plans on installing more television screens before coming to the University next year, he has installed a $520 alarm system that comes with a keypad he can carry with him. A picture of a car is displayed on the keypad and if someone tries to break in the car a light flashes on the pad, notifying Johnson what part of the car is being tampered with. A loud siren sounds on the car and a quieter beep sounds on Johnson's keypad. Gatoff says this is a feature that he will also be looking to purchase after the installation of his new system.
White knows all too well that security is an issue because his car has already been broken into twice. "Security is a good deterrent, but people will still jump in and take what they want," he says.
Even though they are worried about break ins, all three students plan to pay however much it takes to feed their passion for their cars, no matter how much they have to work to pay for it.
"Every time I tell someone about my car, they think it's pretty sweet. They're like, 'Aren't you pretty young to have all that?' But I bought it all myself," Johnson says.
photos: Courtney Kuhlen