The Lounge

Orignially made in California, the Vector. I always liked this car.

Check out this article about the Vector W8 heading across the auction block later this month: www.automotivetraveler.com

* Name the last time you saw a Cosworth Vega! http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/06/24/wednesday-wrap-23/ Which do you prefer: Dodge or Ford? http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/06/25/thursday-survey-23/ On personal notes, I have battled heart-related issues since I was born: http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/06/24/daily-dose-wake-up-wed-23/ & now enduring issues which hope to make this true: http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/06/25/daily-dose-theory-thu-23/ But, perhaps perspective is an odd thing? In some ways, feel like my best days [via road trips 2002-2011 & events-gatherings, at least 2 of which I am missing this weekend] are ov…

What's your opinion on GM (and others) vehicle introductions. Should they be in September or randomly throughout the year?

Has anyone ever put together metrics on the vehicles they've owned? I have, in relations to the manufacturer, body style, colors, and new vs. used. Enjoy! Manufacturer 2 Buick 13%; 1 Cadillac 6%; 3 Chevrolet 19%; 4 GMC 25%; 4 Pontiac 25%; 2 Saturn 13% -16 TOTAL 100% -Nuttin' but GM vehicles have graced my driveways. You can call me a Kool-Aid drinker but I've never been let down by my GM cars, trucks, and SUVs. Body Styles 3 Coupe 19%; 7 Sedan 44%; 2 Pickup 13%; 2 SUV 13%; 1 CUV 6%; 1 Convertible 6% -16 TOTAL 100% -Out of the 16 vehicles, 1 was my step-son's (sedan; '98 Buick Regal LS) and 4 have been my wife's (3 sedans - '00 Grand Prix GT, '04 Malibu LT,…

My mom is way over due for a newish car. She loves her current car (a 1994 Isuzu Rodeo) to death, but the thing is starting to fall apart. To the point where it would make more finantial sense to buy a newer car. So we went dealer hopping today. She really didn't say she liked anything in particular. Just walked around and was like "hmm" every so once an a while. She isn't picky about brands (mostly because she is clueless when it comes to cars), although my dad is another story. He has a strong distaste for Korean cars, and American cars. I try to tell him that they we're DiamlerChryslers that we owned (1993 Voyager and 2001 Dakota) but he doesn't listen. Wh…

I think a short discussion in Random Thoughts requires a separate thread. Now the questions is: how much an auto enthusiast should spend on a vehicle? Now I am not talking in hard numbers but in percentage of ones income. The financial wisdom (on all these fancy financial advice websites) states that a vehicle loan payment should not be more than 10% of ones take home income, and total auto expenses (payment, insurance, gas, etc) should not be more than 20% of the take home income. This is a common financial advice for general public. The question is, as an auto enthusiasts should we spend more on vehicles since for us it is more than just an appliance …

If you ever get to Shanghai you should visit the plant there.

here that dash is the coolest.

Are any of you really versatile; you can see both the good and bad of both sides of any situation? And, if you don't initially see one side of the situation, once somebody else explains the "new" side, you're able to understand it almost instantaneously? I'm like this. I'm just curious how unique a trait it is. It's good in some situations, where you're looking for a problem; but, in others, it's like you have ADD and don't know where to side and why, and you seem to constantly be contradicting yourself.

Came across this at my local Caddy dealership. According to Brad my sales guy, the old man traded it in along with his Allante to get a single new auto for him and his wife since he can not drive anymore. They got an SRX, but the dealership has two nice clean auto's to sell. 1981 Chevy C-10 Pickup with custom engine http://www.dougscadillac.com/VehicleDetails/used-1981-Chevrolet-C10-Short_Bed_Pick_Up_350-Shoreline-WA/2762157743 1993 Cadillac Allante http://www.dougscadillac.com/VehicleDetails/used-1993-Cadillac-Allante%27-2dr_Coupe_Convertible-Shoreline-WA/2623191303

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1953-ORIG-H...1QQcmdZViewItem

Wow, where to begin. First off an old friend from HS stopped by today and gave me some shocking (though not that shocking) news. He's BI and had always wanted to be with me. I informed him that I don't do guys and he then tried to kiss me on the lips. I pushed him back and informed him again that I don't do guys. Well he started crying and telling me he loves me, I felt bad becuase I don't like seeing my friend cry, but I was all like, man don't feel bad it's just the way things are. He told me to f@#k off and then sped off in his Silverado.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-0...vy-tomcat_x.htm One of my favorite jets of all time. I used to fantasize about this jet all the time when I was a kid. I just though the swing-wing setup was awesome.

A video for YouTube put together by MoparPerformance at GMI features about five or six of my old sketches, ones from when I was doing them mostly freehand, save for the use of pocket change and a ruler. There's also sketches done by American_Revolution_2005, Burns, and Plum Crazy on there. Link Thanks to MoparPerformance for featuring my sketches.

Hi Guys: Please forgive me springing this on you, i apologize. I just got off messenger with Jay, whom many of you will remember as the partner of Chief, one of our C&G members. Jay informed me that Chief passed away on January 4, 2006. He had been sick for some time, and his heart gave out. I know a lot of you will be as upset as I am. Chief was a member who always had a great outlook on life. His posts were thoughtful, informative, and just plain clever. I for one, learned a lot from him, and looked forward to his posts, and our chats. I am still shocked. I've set up this post to not only let you know the news, but to start a thread in honour of Chie…

Watch the Video...Impala I think...both of them lived and should be fine!

That's the license plate I saw yesterday on the way home from work. What was it attached to, you ask? drum roll... There are no words.

Insomnia. Watching TV at 4am..Vh1 has a program called 'Nocturnal State' that shows videos...cool. Didn't realize videos were shown anywhere anymore. Insomnia sucks, tho.. R

Who has taken it, and how did it affect you? I'm not big on taking stuff like this, and have no experience with this drug.

Iowa State - Iowa 23-3 :metal: If we lose every other game this year, it doesn't matter...WE BEAT IOWA!

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I will miss the QE2. So will millions of others. I sailed on her out of NY going transatlantic once. It's something you will never, ever forget....the tugs pulling her out of the Hudson River pier, passing the WTC and the Statue of Liberty, and clearing the Verrazzano bridge. Last month, she left NY for her last crossing to the UK. She then left Southhampton (England) on Nov. 11 to make her last trip to Dubai where she will become an entertainment venue/hotel. On the 13th, she was in Lisbon...the 14th Gibraltar...the 16th Rome (port of Civitavecchia)...the 17th Naples...and the 18th Valletta (Malta). She will never moor in Europe again, as she heads for Egypt, the …

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZM4qCwBE9ao&amp...ted&search= Interesting

WOW! http://news.windingroad.com/etc/video-smug...he-philippines/

So I setup and in-cockpit video camera during today's flight lesson. The last two lessons, we'd been working towards me taking over more of the controls. There are three main controls in a helicopter you have to be working...sometimes all at once. The cyclic (stick in your right hand,) the collective (lever in your left hand) and the pedals under each foot. The collective also has a twist grip throttle control on the handle. A landing approach is one situation where you need to be adjusting all 3 controls at once. Today was the first day I was doing all the work on the cyclic, the pedals, and as much of the collective as I could manage. Kinda hard for a newbie with 5 fl…

Here's the link to the Autolog entry.

The Toyota Prius is the most fuel efficient vehicle in its class, very roomy, relatively affordable and Hanna Montana drives one. Maybe that last point is why some people are beginning to show hostility towards the car that's become the Kleenex of hybrids. Andy Richter and James Adomain of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater have played off the Prius backlash in a faux car commercial pitting the Hyundai Elantra against Toyota's famous hybrid. Richter, formerly of Late Night with Conan O'Brien fame and not much since, plays the part of the frugal-minded Hyundai owner with an underlying anger issue, while Adomain gets all spiffed up to play the snobbish know-it-all with t…

In August, I wrote about Anthony Graber, who was charged with "wiretapping" after posting a police encounter on YouTube. This week, Harford County Circuit Judge Emory A. Plitt, Jr. threw out the charge for wiretapping, saying there was no expectation of privacy in this case. "In this rapid information technology era in which we live, it is hard to imagine that either an offender or an officer would have any reasonable expectation of privacy with regard to what is said between them in a traffic stop on a public highway," Plitt wrote. ACLU attorney, David Rocah, one of the attorneys representing Graber said: "This ruling upholds the fundamental right to hold police acc…

http://media.photobucket.com/video/From%20...evsJailTime.flv Enjoy! Chris

Viginti Viginti gradus ad summam potestatem ...

I notice on http://www.nadaguides.com/ a link under Car Shopping for a Free VIN Check. For one it is not really free. The link will take you to http://www.autocheck.com/consumers/gateway...&siteID=359 Autocheck claims to be better and less expensive as compared to Carfax. Out of curiosity I tried my Silverado and my wife's MPV. It claims 4 records for my Silverado and 7 record on our MPV. I didn't pay for their so called free VIN check. Now my Silverado was in an accident on the 21st which would seem to be too soon for a report. I wouldn't expect it on a report until the dollar figure and repairs are completed. What I find really odd is the only records cou…

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I9QwutlSExE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I don't know what to say. I suppose I'll begin with an apology. I'm very ashamed I found this, that I watched it, and that I'm now posting it here. I'm very, very sorry for what I've done and very, very, very sorry that you're now probably watching the video. To confirm your thoughts, yes, that kid is the worst salesman of all time, ever. Yes, there's a good chance a salesperson that annoying is probably going wind up on your TV slangin' Made for TV junk and beating hookers. Yes, if that truck could, it would probably eat the dumb kid jus…

* A friend sent me these ads to feature. Tho I’m familiar with the dealership related to the 1969 Camaro, I can’t say I’d seen any of these previously. Have you seen any of ‘em!? http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/04/04/automotive-daily-76/ HAPPY EASTER! Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com 1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve "What did I do?" __ Ty Herndon __ 'What Mattered Most'

More power and torque than an e28 M5.? 530i 3.9 p1 530i 3.9 p2 530i 3.9 p3 530i 3.9 p4

The little known 1977 Chevrolet Concours:

I love vintage garage and dealership photos, I don't know why exactly, just do. The smell of gas and oil and tires...love it. Do any of you have old GM dealership photos to share?

I'm curious about the '67 Chevy pickup in this picture: It appears to be a Bill Mitchell special project. It has many design/styling features that were not on the production model. Does anyone have any information about it, or additional pictures? Thanks!

An interesting vintage promotional video of the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTP7mK6nShM&eurl=

Caught up with an old buddy today and saw the following. At his house: '56 Bel Air, 2-dr hardtop, 350/TH350, very presentable cruiser '67 Malibu 2-dr hardtop, an old friend bought back, solid but needs work. He and I stuffed a 350/TH350 in this one years back. '71 Monte Carlo, black over white, 21K miles, black bucket/console interior, 402/THM400. Gorgeous. '02 Camaro- who cares At another dude's place: '37 Chevy sedan, parts '40 Merc sedan, drivable, in primer '50 Merc coupe, chopped, very rusted but workable '51 Ford convert, body finished, in primer, chopped & slammed, mild custom '52 Ford F-2 pickup, chopped, rough '54 Ford Victoria 2-dr sedan, Packard …

So I was in the store today and came across a 4-pack of something called Virgil's Micro Brewed Root Beer. Looked at the ingredients label and say: Purified Carbonated Water, unbleached cane sugar, caramelized unrefined cane sugar, herbs, spices, and citric acid. Contains no preservatives and no caffeine. Gluten free. Saw on the other side of the label, "Virgil's is a superb blend of Spices and Herbs gathered from around the world over; Anise, Licorice, Vanilla (Bourbon), Cinnamon, Clove, Wintergreen, Sweet Birch, Molasses, Nutmeg, Pimento Berry Oil, Balsam Oil and Oil of Cassia. Certainly not the sort of things you find in normal root beer. SO I decided to give it a try…

Any Virginia residents here or people who can help me? I bought a car on Ebay that I'm picking up in Virginia this friday and I want to know how to do the transfer and get a transit to drive the car home to Canada. See my post in the Oldsmobile section under "bought a 77 Cutlass Supreme" if you want to see this beauty. Thanks

I got the following virus: Trojan horse Downloader.Generic.NON How do I get rid of it?

Vitamins...which stores or brands would you recommend for the best price/quality ratio? There are so many stores and brands that one can get overwhelmed. Your thoughts.

"I'll be honest, I felt an urge to squeeze him like a kitten..." <------ Russian President Vladimir Putin's explanation of why he pulled up a young boy's shirt and kissed him on the bare stomach... Not sure that was such a wise choice of words, there, Vlad. Very weird.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051027/ap_on_...un_oil_for_food

http://jalopnik.com/5175571/el-caminoed-vo...r-mangled-minds

VONAGE? I'm thinking about it. Cable phone? pros and cons please.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10846_7-6812103-1.html Vote for the Cadillac CTS...it's in third place right now and needs a boost. First place is the Acura TL with 440 votes, second is the Lexus LS600h with 302 votes, and third is the CTS with 220 votes.

I voted for the (452 ci, ohc V16) Cadillac, as should YOU! http://autoshow.autos.msn.com/autoshow/peb...h2008/vote.aspx This poll is so damn arbitrary and randomly nonsensical the only reason why I cared was to give props to the V16 powered pre-war car, and by extension GM/Caddy.

WASHINGTON -- The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants the flyswatter in chief to try taking a more humane attitude the next time he's bedeviled by a fly in the White House. PETA is sending President Barack Obama a Katcha Bug Humane Bug Catcher, a device that allows users to trap a house fly and then release it outside. "We support compassion even for the most curious, smallest and least sympathetic animals," PETA spokesman Bruce Friedrich said Wednesday. "We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals." During an interview for CNBC at the White House on Tuesday, a fly intruded on Obama's conversation with corr…

http://www.visitelginpark.com/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/24796741@N05/ These are amazing and only done with a point and shoot 6 pixel Sony.

Okay, I'm throwing ideas out tonight for the wife's next car. Plans are to keep it used. (She doesn't want new anymore-"a waste of Money") Need more space than her Cavalier. Vue- Good on gas, plenty of room. Plastic (toddler proof!) G6- Also good on gas. Lots of room. (people room too) Cheap. What would you choose? Why?

Basically, the article goes beyond the immediate crisis at VW and focuses on how punitive taxes, short-sighted fixes, and lobbying may have led up to it. Interesting stuff. Here's the link: http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/kelly-mcparland-volkswagen-could-help-put-the-doubt-back-in-doubters

Oliver Stone's "W." is coming out next Friday. ANyone have plans to go see it? I've only read a couple of reviews and they pretty much said it was ok and Stone even gave Bush a fair shake, it wasn't just a bash piece. I'll have to check it out to see.

I went yesterday and looked at a 2001 Regal. 56k miles, $11 grand, very nice car. I was ready to sign the paperwork and drive it home for the first few miles. Then I got on the highway and heard some hellacious road noise. I had the air on max and the radio on and the noise was still pretty loud. I turned the fan and radion off, the noise was still there, it wasn't engine noise and wasn't wind around the a-pillar, my best guess was either shoddy repairs after an accident or crappy tires. I go back to the dealership and mentioned it to the salesman (I drove it solo) and he ran an AutoCheck, which came back clean, so I figured the culprit was the cheap ass Firestone F…

Gimme a w Gimme a 0 Gimme a 0 Gimme a t Whats that spell? w00t! w00t! w00t! w00t!

Finally, my new tripod came in. I thought I'd share my feelings of exuberance.

First time I remember there being school cancaletion due to rain. Sweet, now I have an extra day to study for the test I was supposed to have. The flood levels look as bad as they did last May. Maybe I'll get pictures for all to see later. But first, I sleep. It's a good day.

Its been a very good day to be me.

Apparently this "never made it out of committee", but here's what was proposed: >>There is a bill that the Washington State Legislature is trying to pass in Olympia that, if successful, will directly add huge costs to our vehicle license fees. The bill was SB 6900 and it adds an "engine displacement" fee to the vehicle license tabs upon renewal. Engine Size (liters) Rate Schedule Up to 1.9 : $0 2.0 - 2.9 : $70 3.0 - 3.9 : $225 4.0 - 4.9 : $275 5.0 - 5.9 : $325 6.0 - 7.9 : $400 8.0 or over : $600 Here's the web page for the bill where you can read the text: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summ...6900&year=2007<< Oooo... it's…

This has been the month of Januray: Cold...wait 3 days...Cold with 20 mph winds (high tems in the teens, wind chills in the negatives)...wait three days...6 inches of snow...wait 6 days...high temps in the 50's...wait 3 days...high temps in the 60's...wait 3 days...monsoon...wait 3 days...back to being cold (and windy, but not nearly as bad as earlier in the month)...wait 3 days...6 inches of snow I'm almost certain that I have lived 3 of the 4 seasons in the last 29 days. Even better, people here do stupid $h! whilst driving in the snow. For example, today I was at a red light, the light turned green, so I went on my merry way, some guy driving a Magnum on the cross …

Jason Stein Automotive News Europe December 10, 06:01 CET Markets are booming. Factories are expanding. Dealers are lining up to be considered for new franchises. And you can’t see the end in any of it. This isn’t the model we’ve grown accustomed to in Europe of late. But it’s real. How refreshing is it to sit with a leading executive in Europe and have him tell you he is going to exceed every expectation in the coming years? How refreshing it is to be in the game in Russia. General Motors Europe President Carl-Peter Forster has a vision. It is more plants, new agreements and higher revenues. And he wasn’t talking about western Europe. Truth be told, t…

Today, six were laid off from our firm of about 65 people. Nobody saw it coming and we were all in shock for most of the day. Our work load has been pretty full lately but six months down the road we will start slowing down very quickly since no new projects are coming in...schools, universities, and businesses are putting everything on hold. If things continue to worsen, we may have a second round of lay offs and that's what makes me nervous, because I'm young and still don't have much experience yet. The partners talked to us today in a conference and said that the lay offs are a precaution to ensure we will be profitable in 2009, even though our work load is pretty…

So, today I'm walking out of Wal-Mart, and one of the old lady greeters (excuse me, "associates") was standing over by the door when she whipped out her walkie-talkie. Then I heard her crow "Bill, have you taken your luxury yet?" Bill replied "Nah, not yet...probably in 'bout 'nother half hour." Putting two and two together, I'm assuming Bill's "luxury" was his coffee break. Who the hell calls coffee break "luxury"? My Theory: Probably because it's a luxury to get away from the whining customers that park their carts at an angle in the middle of the main aisle and complain when the price that rings up on their packet of Wrigley's is $.05 higher than the advertis…

LOS ANGELES – Jewelry from two entire lines being sold exclusively at Walmart stores nationwide, including bracelets and necklaces branded by Miley Cyrus, contains high levels of the toxic metal cadmium, according to an Associated Press investigation. Testing of 61 samples purchased by AP reporters across the country from a Cyrus line and from a series of make-it-yourself metal bracelet charms indicated that 59 of the pieces contained at least 5 percent cadmium by weight, with 53 of those measuring 10 percent or higher. And the world's largest retailer knows the items are tainted. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. received test results in February showing cadmium in these jewelry l…

* No, I still haven't written anything new for Motor Gnomes, but Don posted a Route 66-related entry the same day I added more to my ROUTE 66 STORY. This past Summer 2011, Don road tripped to St Louis MO & walked across the Mississippi River along the Old Chain Of Rocks Bridge. He blogged about it, including some great pictures: http://www.motorgnomes.com/2011/10/a-walk-across-the-mississippi-river/ I've added 1 more section to my ROUTE 66 STORY, prior to surgery. Chapter 21 (Shaping History), written 10/30/2011, is here: http://whenthegoingisgood.com/2011/10/31/_thats-the-highway_-13/ Previous chapters... ...1-4: http://whenthegoingisgood.com/2011/03/29/_th…

Three badass white chicks... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIGbhPLZmjY

I've heard many good things about this movie from movie friends of mine that have gotten to see a sneak preview. Johnnie Cash is a legend of music and always will be, no matter what type of music you chose to listen to. Will you be seeing this movie? I just picked up his "greatest hits" CD today and I must say, it's damn good. Got the new Kenny Chesney CD today too. There's the country in me coming out.

on somethin other than prostitutes or drugs... check out the boys at MIT are up to this time. The cheapest space camera available to the public. The two students (from MIT, of course) put together a low-budget rig to fly a camera high enough to photograph the curvature of the Earth. Instead of rockets, boosters and expensive control systems, they filled a weather balloon with helium and hung a styrofoam beer cooler underneath to carry a cheap Canon A470 compact camera. Instant hand warmers kept things from freezing up and made sure the batteries stayed warm enough to work. Of course, all this would be pointless if the guys couldn’t find the rig when it landed, so…