Buick Week: 2013 Buick Verano Turbo First Drive

A compendium of California car chronicling - say that three times real fast ... Entering Topanga Canyon, but still inside an L.A. zip code, was this Beverly Hillbillies type of truck set against the dry vegetation in the foothills and canyons. Hey, come back here! Seen going toward Ventura and Santa Barbara was this vision.  I think the convertible works very well with the shapes below the beltline.  The notch on the Riv coupe was a little more challenging.  If we got to grow up around cars like this, we were very lucky! Seen while getting fuel and donuts was this older Chevy beauty.  It's not just me who loves silver and red/burgundy.  I don't know if this was true to factory, but it didn't matter.  However, it had that simple and durable 283 c.i. V8 and a 2 or 3 speed automatic.  I believe it was a 1962 Bel Air per my brief conversation with the owner. Wow ... that's the last-gen Riv and the place I saw it surprised me.  That's in South Central L.A.  You wouldn't have wanted to go in there when I was a kid.  That's a new housing block they built.  The other thing is that the 105 Freeway cuts through the base of South Central and you can get on and off easily with its bigger ramps. I saw this 1998 Olds Intrigue and remember how much I wanted one when they were released.  It all worked itself out ... some 10 years later! Hollywood Boulevard spotting, practically in front of the famed Chinese Theater ... some older "cherry" Chevy full size coupes and God knows what that black vehicle was.

Im not so sure about that.  fox "news" and trump propaganda has played a huuuuge role in deceiving these people.  And that level of deception ONLY deceives the weak, stupid and racist.     Not in denial.  Most of these maga filth are enablers, BECAUSE trump promises acceptance of racism, these vile uneducated  human beings  are ok in getting phoqued by the oligarchs of the usa BECAUSE the non-white population of the usa is getting phoqued WORSE than they are.   Any trump supporter is an ignorant soul.   Some trump supporters are racist and enable the corruption BECAUSE trump promises bad things to happen to non-whites.  These people are smart enough to understand the 'wink wink' language of trump.    But racism is bred by ignorance... They enable the corruption but are too stupid to understand ALL the consequences that pertain to trump's corruption. Jim Beam is closing down its main distillery in Kentucky factory for a year.   https://robbreport.com/food-drink/spirits/jim-beam-shutting-down-one-of-its-distilleries-in-1237417543/  https://apnews.com/article/jim-beam-bourbon-distillery-shutdown-kentucky-a8303cd04005a9108ff43690faad421b   Tariffs are a beautiful thing...  And the idiot americans bought into it.  CANADIANS (not Canada...and if you are smart, you will KNOW the difference and the meaning as to why I present it this way...) has boycotted american liquor.    Not realizing the consequences of tariffs and ESPECIALLY the insulting 51st state rhetoric.   The american idiots BELIEVE the excuses that its not the Canadian boycott that is causing a small down in kentucky booze sales but millennials not drinking because millennials believe drinking=bad...   jim beam... 55 million gallons of booze less in sales.  Didnt know that millennials NEEDED to drink THAT much of alcohol.  SHYTE!!!  Boomers and Gen Xers are phoquing alcoholics...  Here is another... The CEO of jack daniels said that boycotting Canadians are not a problem because Canadian sales are ONLY 1% of jack daniels sales... Well... https://www.kentucky.com/lexgoeat/bourbon/article313389656.html   "Jack Daniel’s parent says profits down 14% for quarter. $59M in losses this year" "Fiscal 2026 outlook is expected to remain challenging, the company said, “with low visibility due to macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility as we face headwinds from consumer uncertainty,” among other factors. Organic net sales and organic operating income are expected to continue to decline for the full year, the company said." Read more at: https://www.kentucky.com/lexgoeat/bourbon/article313389656.html#storylink=cpy   1. The jack daniels ceo laughed and scoffed at Candians boycotting them.  A CEO of a big business like the whiskey business and a big company like jack daniels should NEVER laugh at 1% sales losses...   2. Morons believed the LIE that Canada is ONLY 1% of jack daniels sales... 3. The ceo is a MORON himself following trump as he should have known better of the consequences of pissing off an ENTIRE nation...  4.  MORE lay offs in the kentucky area in the whisky business...  ALL of them maga a$$hol3$!!!   Not a sinlge brain cell between ALL of them NOT realizing the consequences and believing the deception of fox "news" and trump's words... YES!!! Do NOT be surprised.  THAAAAT many americans are THAAAAAQAQT phoquing stupid.  1. Since the 1960s or at least the 1970s...education has been defunded in your country. 2. Since at least the 1970s, ignorance has been worshipped in your country.   And ESPECIALLY the last 15 years.  Nah...just their vile bitterness and racism and as long as the non-white folk suffer more than them.  The hatred of these uneducated filth is truly a sickening site. So much so, that whatever trump tells them, they will believe it.  Canada became an enemy of the usa somehow, and these phoquers licked all that shyte up.  Canada has stayed away from visiting your loser country and all the touristy areas in your country are begging Canadians to come back.   So much ignorance involved as they do not understand why Canadians are not visiting and will not visit for a very long time.  But they did vote for trump knowing he was hell bent on destroying Canada.  And in these touristy places KNOW that Canada is what pays there dreams and wishes...  But these touristy places ALSO lay blame to Canadians as to why we are NOT visiting and blame us for their financial downfalls...  Not too bright as people if you ask me... It does not look like it... This mess you guys have put yourselves in is going to last a while longer.  A LOT while longer. Why? There is NO phoquing push back from ANYBODY in your useless country...  In Bangladesh...the people are revolting... https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166642  In Greece...the Greeks revolted when there was a train crash in 2023 that killed many and didnt like the authority's explanations as to why it happened...but as recent as this month... https://freedomnews.org.uk/2025/12/15/farmers-revolt-in-greece/ farmers are revolting... The authorities are threating farmers with criminal intent...yet Greek farmers are revolting... Why? FREEDOMS AND DEMOCRACY AND ALL OF THAT CRAP!!! After more than ten days of nationwide mobilisation, farmers’ protests last week escalated into open confrontation and clashes with riot police. Protesters have faced arrests and upgraded charges, while in Crete authorities are threatening to prosecute farmers under accusations of forming a “criminal organisation.” From the mountains of Macedonia and Epirus to the plains of Thessaly and Aitoloakarnania, and from olive-growing Messinia to tourist-heavy Crete, thousands of low- and lower-middle-income farmers have taken to the roads. National highways have been shut down, cutting key transport routes and effectively splitting the country into parts. Tractor convoys are marching through major towns and cities, border crossings, ports and airports have been occupied for hours, and state institutions have been targeted with militant interventions. The farmers’ movement has moved decisively beyond symbolic protest.       In the usa...crickets... There are MANY times where americans could have avoided this mess they find themselves in.  We COULD start in January of 2020.    crickets.... We could start with the 34 or so felonies he was convicted of but NO sentencing... crickets... We could start with the mar-a-lago court case when trump hoarded all those classified files and the case was not even addressed in court because trump bought himself out of that... crickets... Epstein files... crickets... Yeah...the whole lot of you are stupid and ignorant if you ask me...   COWARDS more than anything else as well!!! 

Its a beautiful picture.  A general and random thought it may be, but the picture itself should be immortalised in here. Thanks for sharing it with us.  @trinacriabob   

I'll never forget the times I've gone across the pond on BA 747s...or on trips to Hawaii where I walked through the open air concourses and they were parked close by, where I could them up close and huuuuge...love those those bigguns.

I think they knew all along and were in denial.  I think that there are a lot of stupid people in our country, but it would surprise me if that many are that stupid.  They needed something to pin their hopes on, like some sort of Anti-Christ, or a scapegoat.  If anything, it could be the beginning of the ending of a very bad era. One very good sign is when Google Maps will show the inscription Gulf of Mexico ... again.  About two weeks ago, the wind blew off a baseball cap I was wearing.  That meant I had to grab my U-Dub baseball cap, which is kind of obnoxious, since it's all purple.  In no time flat, I found a large variety of Gulf of Mexico baseball caps online and for great prices, so I will be ordering one in about a week.  When I was on the ship that sailed out of Tampa in April for that repositioning voyage, there was a human p. o. s. up by the pools talking to someone and wearing a Gulf of America cap.  I wanted to say something, but I held back.  I thought that tacky people took short cruises to Mexico and the Caribbean, but I guess they cross oceans, too.  Money does not buy class.  Coincidentally, the perfect example of it is Agent Orange.  Merry Christmas to those who celebrated as such or happy holidays.  One of the things I will be celebrating with is a new Gulf of Mexico baseball cap.