What's That Noise?

With the year coming to a close, I thought it might be fun to keep in tradition of many television stations and news publications by offering you the top Hardman Car Company story of 2009.

In the car business we have the opportunity to meet all kinds of colorful people. Sonny and Eric often find themselves in situations unlike any other; pleasing customers, cleaning cars, fixing problems, and creating stories. This year the top story beat out stories of test drives turned to drug deals and Range Rover's driving through garage doors. It is a funny tale that teaches things are not always what they seem.

Uncle Jim is the youngest in Sonny's mom's family. A tall, stout man with a love of the Yankees and knowledge of hundreds of trivial facts. He and his wife, Aunt Debbie, visited Sonny at the dealership sometime last year. They wanted to trade in their Honda Odessy mini van. Their four children were all grown now and they had little need for the extra room. They looked for a nice four door sedan and with Sonny's help decided on a Nissan Maxima. Happy with the vehicle and excited about the price, Uncle Jim and Aunt Debbie drove home.

Early this year, Sonny got a phone call from his Uncle. Uncle Jim explained his recent frustration with his new vehicle. Apparently in the past week or so, it had started making an awful growling sound every time he turned to the right. The sound had been so troublesome, he took it to his mechanic who confirmed that there was most definitely something wrong. They drove in circles at a local parking lot for almost a half hour, hearing the grinding sound every time. The mechanic was sure there was something very wrong, no car could be healthy with such a horrific growl coming from it. Not knowing exactly what it could be, he scheduled an appointment for uncle Jim to bring in the car the following week. They would put it up on a lift and begin taking it apart in order to diagnose the problem.

A few days after the mechanic's visit, uncle Jim, aunt Debbie, their daughter Megan, and granddaughter were running errands around town. The noise was as horrific as ever, grinding and growling every right turn they made. As they drove, Megan recognized the sound as oddly familiar. Knowing she had heard something like it before she began looking around the back seat for its source. She succeeded when she spotted her nephew's toy fire engine stuck under the driver's chair. Every time the car turned to the right, it would shift just enough to transform the engine to a growling Godzilla toy. As the car turned back, pressure would be taken off the toy and turn off the growl. Sonny laughed along with the family and the mechanic when they all found that the source of the infamous growl was only a child's play toy.




I hope this new year brings all of us stories that we can laugh and learn from. Happy New Year!