The Lounge

Some light reading... http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6487322

In the front driver's side. Anybody have the part numbers for the lower deflector and retainers, fender liner and retainers, and the air deflector and the fasteners? It was a light bump, so bumper itself isn't damaged. Thanks!

Supersize this! Forget low-fat meals at Subway, McDonalds Australia, already offering "lighter choices", has now won the Heart Foundation Tick of Approval for 9 meal combinations, including burgers! How do they do it? No fries, no soft drinks, no large/double meat patties, no soft serve ice cream. Instead you get nuggets, lean beaf burger, McChicken, plain hamburger or filet-o-fish with salad and low-fat dressing; Tandoori Chicken sub with yoghurt; Thai Chicken Sub with an apple; or Chicken salad with yoghurt, each with either water or orange juice. As a bonus each approved combo gets a 15% discount, but no substition or modification is allowed. A wider range is promised…

This guy did. See how he went about bringing it there:

I heard some so-so reviews, but I like Adam Sandler, and it looks like the movie beat Harry Potter for the weekend take. Has anyone seen it? Anyone planning to? Let me know what you think.

This guy comes into our dealership today to look at the Silverado 2500 that we have in the 2nd floor showroom, he's ben in before. His daily driver is a 2006 Aveo-5, stick and he's always bragging about getting about 37mpg real world... the thing is he always leaves it idiling for long periods of time while he looks at trucks, get a brochure from the showroom or whatever. Today he was in the showroom for a good 18-20 minutes while his little Aveo was left, door ajar... running with the AC full blast & the radiator fan kicking in and out constantly. Kind of funny if you ask me. Like the chian smoking Prius driver that I always see blowing nasty …

* What abandoned vehicles have you seen recently? This was spotted in Maryville TN! http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/05/26/daily-dose-trivia-tue-19/ What would you call this Cadillac truck? http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/05/26/twist-tuesday-19/ Ever played this Auto Race board game? I have not! http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/05/25/monday-night-fun-19/ 1 of the Memorial Day entries: red, white & blue! http://www.oldcarsstronghearts.com/2015/05/25/automotive-daily-127/ Cort www.oldcarsstronghearts.com 1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve "I'm not the only person with these things in mind" __ Linkin Park …

* 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…

MOSCOW, Idaho - A 22-year-old carnival worker blames two friends having sexual intercourse in the back seat of his SUV for an accident in which his Chevrolet S-10 Blazer struck a telephone pole. Joshua D. Frank, who is living in a trailer parked on the Latah County Fairgrounds, pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge of failing to notify a police officer of a traffic accident. That's after he left the vehicle at the site of the mishap. He was fined $188. Frank told Moscow Police Department officers that he was driving the vehicle near downtown early Saturday while a man and woman were having sex in the rear of the vehicle. According to a probable cause affidavi…

I have an ax to grind with gravel trucks. They're constantly on the Don Valley Parkway, and I have no idea why, there are no gravel yards around. About half the time I see one, they have rock screenings flying out of the back all over the road, and this morning a rock about half the size of a golf ball flew out of the back of one, bounced loudly off my hood and again off my roof. I have so many little chips all over the place from these trucks. Why is this legal?? Shouldn't unsecured loads like this be some kind of safety violation? Caledon township (not too far away) has a much larger problem with gravel trucks. articleApparently these gravel truck drivers who are dr…

http://toronto.craigslist.ca/car/472505307.html

Since my 2007 travels are over, I've started looking at plans for 2008, including.... April 11-13 ... Michigan ... Monte Carlos @ Michigan International Speedway (MIS) June 27-30 ... Pennsylvania ... NMCOA MC Nationals August 8-12 ... Indiana / Ohio / Pennsylvania / New Jersey / Maryland / Arlington VA ... family reunion in PA (Aug 11) and "side trip" October 3-5 ... Missouri/southern IL ... Midwest Monte Carlo gathering And, looking at those plans, I wonder: What are your favorite car shows/cruise nights/events/gatherings ... be them local, regional or national? Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker WRMNshowcase.lego.HO.model.MCs.RT…

I'll post a response later. for those that respond.. care to say something about it?

Well, the results looked good. After the beating with the cane I took, there are no serious issues (or broken bone, like I thought). I have some major bruising on the lower part of my back...which should heal in 3-4 months... The part that sucks is that I am no allowed to drive far distances for a while.....so there goes my trip to IL to meet knightfan and other people....that sucks... Sorry, KF-I really wanted to go too.... I had the Cav all ready to go...even bought my little guy an extra pillow for the trip..... *sigh* Well,maybe people can come and visit me.... :AH-HA_wink:

Heard on the radio at 3:30am... (I think it was a commercial with Ted Bruski) ---- The chicken is involved in your breakfast, but the pig... well the pig is commited! BE THE PIG!!! ---- I've rabbel-roused at UPS & got the entire Marlboro Center Chanting: BE THE PIG! I love being a trouble maker... I think next weeks' theme at UPS, will be DI-DI-MAO! I'll have to motivate all my pirate & serial-killer co-workers to chant that as we load packages as if on crack & three gallons of caffeene. (DI-DI-MAO -sp?) means "hurry up!" in vietnamese... Watch the Deer Hunter if you're "lost", there's a gorgeous shot of the nose of a…

I have a couple of meetings/classes/hobbies I go to in the evenings in my spare time after work. This lady runs one of them. She's pretty cool. However, she just called me to tell me about this chick she wants to invite to the next one and part of the thing is that she would like this chick to meet me. Un-f*cking-believable. It's too late. I'm sure this chick will come to the next meeting. This is MY time to unwind and I don't go to "mind expanding" events to meet people, other than on a platonic level. This changes the complexion of this event for me. Have you guys experienced this? This ridiculous need to matchmake. Not only that, what I have found every ti…

Hey, Merry Christmas, men and women of C&G. I may go to Midnight Mass, I may go in the morning, and I have no plans because it's not a 4-day weekend for us. So I may just snooze. Any plans? Happy holidays!

...I don't go to Autozone..... To save money (just on the Balt), I've been considering going from Mobil 1 to a synthetic blend oil. At least to me, I have not got the same benefit like I got with the Cav...(Granted, the Cobalt has been on Quaker State dino until the last oil change, which was Mobil 1.) Anyways, AZ has a decent deal, 5 qts of Valvoline Durablend and a Bocsh oil filter for 20 bucks. I wanted to see if my filter was included (since it tends to be a bit more) The guy asked me what I was running now. Mobil 1, of course. Then the guy proceeds to tell me that once I use a full synthetic, I cannot go back, or the car will blow up. Then, he decides to…

So we went to do a little Christmas shopping, and needed a couple of Wii's (is that the correct pluralization?) and it turns out they're still a bitch to hunt down. Best Buy had none, Target had none, the smaller, independant places just laughed at me. Special mention goes to Sears/K-Mart because they have layaway, so according to the sales guy they haven't had any on shelves in weeks. After giving in and going to Gamestop, the search was over, walked in, got two, walked out. But I thought the whole Wii shortage thing was over.

Since I figure it will only be a matter of time before I have to cope with big city parking and BS, I have continued to search for a city car. I really want something that is short, wide, cheap, RWD coup and can keep up with the taxis. I considered the Smart, but it was too slow, too expensive (for what you got) and until lately, unobtainium. I've also considered Festivas and Metros, but they are too beat up for the desired price range. I thought about CJ5s or CJ7s, but most of them are also very pricey for whats out there. I also thought about doing a Frankenwagon... a GM wagon, shortened to two doors and a snub nose and the drivetrain relocated to the rear, a la Fie…

So I've been thinking about the future of the car. Assuming that electric cars are the future... or at least some sort of hybrid drivetrain, and that motors, engines, batterys/capacitors will continue to shrink, I was thinking that the current debate of FWD vs. RWD will change radically. FWD's biggest selling point is that the weight of the engine is over the drive wheels. And for the car makers, its a packaging benefit. Since electrics tend to put the batterys in the center of the car, and there are many prototypes of electric motors that are located in the wheels of the car, negating the need for a large motor in the front of the car, the weight is actually shifting …

By my wife. Drinking contest. Work is going to suck tomorrow.

In Afghanistan, a car for the masses By David Nakamura Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, August 27, 2010 IN KABUL Afghanistan, graveyard of empires - and Toyota Corollas. If this war-torn nation of 29 million is a magnet for foreign occupying forces that never seem to leave, it is also the land where old Corollas from around the globe come to die. According to some car dealers in Kabul, 90 percent of passenger vehicles on the increasingly congested roads of the capital are Corollas, some more than 20 years old, with 200,000 miles on their odometers, still chugging along over rocky dirt roads. "Here is the museum of old cars," snorted Abdul Qahar Nadi, manag…

WTF!?

Well I am sort of considering getting a 1999 or 2000 STS. My question is are there any Northstar performance parts out there? This engine seems perfect for modding and I am surprised there arent more parts out there. Anyone know where i might find some parts? Thanks

No, not a race... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1...606903&q=Impala

*warning...can get a bit graphic* As some of you may know, I am the forum virgin around here You know the story...18, never been kissed, never been in a relationship, never had sex, yadda yadda yadda... Well, anyways...So I have this friend...we have known eachother for a while now. I'd say we're pretty good friends even though we don't see eachother a whole lot. We kinda always had a little crush on eachother...nothing major, nothing serious...something that a little making out would fufill. We've been in many situations together where we could've taken advantage of eachother's company...why nothing ever happened earlier I'll never know...but whatever. So we were …

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5...&q=loose+change Guys, watch this, I found it interesting...

Rain rain & more rain... makes for a wet & damp roadtrip. As some of you know I attended a Nissan Club Meet at the Grafton Lakes State Park, NY this past weekend. It was raining when I left Mass, it rained the WHOLE time I was there and rained even heavier on the way back. Western Mass & NY better have some sick May Flowers this year, that's all I have to say. The Meet was fun but the cars and events were dismal. The lack of attendance was chalked up to the crappy weather but the people who did show up were cool so it was a fun roadtrip. As it turned out, most of the guys there were from Altimas.net but the mix of cars was pretty hilarious. 3…

There's a few I'd change but for the most part it's a decent list. I can't beleive Amercain Graffity is not on there though?! http://movies.msn.com/movies/dvd/cars?GT1=8241 What would your list be?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15475741/ Report finds St. Louis most dangerous U.S. city Research group: Violent crime grew by 20 percent; Detroit at No. 2 ST. LOUIS - Just days after the St. Louis Cardinals won the top honor in Major League Baseball, their hometown jumped to first place on a list no one wants to lead: the most dangerous cities in the United States. This Midwestern city has long been in the upper tiers of the annual ranking of the nation’s safest and most dangerous cities, compiled by Morgan Quitno Press. Violent crime surged nearly 20 percent there this year, when the rate of such crimes rose much faster in the Midwest than in the rest of nation, accord…

I love red lighting. It's soothing when I'm in a bad mood. Same with loud music. In my room, blasting music, under the red light. Perfect therapy.

Salesman: Welcome to 21st Century Chevrolet, can I help you? Me: I'm looking for something interesting and a bit different. Salesman: OK, What other new cars have you bought in the past. Me: An El Camino SS, a Firehawk, and a GTO - I like cars that stand out in a crowd. Salesman: How about moving up to a Corvette? Me: That's not in the budget. Salesman: In that case Camaro is the car for you! Me: I don't know, I'm not much of a Camaro guy. Got anything else? Salesman: I could put you on the waiting list for the new SS. Me: SS? SS, what? Salesman: Just SS, that's the name. Me: I see. Got a brochure? Salesman: I can let you look at my copy, but we don't have an…

I went into my son's room to clean some stuff up, looked out the window and there was a rabbit under the dead tree that I haven't taken care of yet. He was pretty big too. Thats it, its spring, no more cold weather allowed. 'blu, its time to take your pants off!

Other than the Silverado, it looks like only old and cheap (but interesting) cars will be part of the fleet for a while. I've decided to get serious about selling off the Hawk, GTO and Maserati. I need to push a bunch of things forward and freeing up money will be required. It is really going to kill me to let the GTO go as I completely love the car, but it will put a little cash in my pocket and reduce my monthly costs a bit as well as insurance. I would like to put my plan of setting up to paint my own project cars into motion sooner rather than later which entails lots of little and not so little purchases. I'm less patient than I used to be and really want to get …

Well, looks like I'm the first person on C&G 3.0 to breech the 10,000 post mark, so horray me. What makes it interesting to me is that several members are hot on my tail with posts in the 7, 8, and 9,000s. Also, keep in mind these number are somewhat skewed by the fact that this version of C&G has only been up for part of our near-6-year history - let's hope we don't have to start over again! Another thing that stands out to me are our relatively 'small' membership numbers, close to 4,000 now. Again, those numbers are skewed because of database crashes, but it seems like if you register for an account here, you intend to post. And chances are that if you post, yo…

If you have the aluminum wheels with the simple center cap (just a round cap with the bowtie), I could really use the measurements of the cap and a pic of the back of the cap. Thanks in advance.

I am really setting my sights to the future, about 5-10 years, depending on where I end up getting offers after college in a few years. I'd really like to work somewhere in these three states. One place I'd love to work is NASA, and they have a location on the coast in VA. I've just got some questions to ask before I 100% commit myself to saying "Yeah, I want to find set my sites on finding a job and living there in a few years." Climate: So far I know that they all have a pretty darn good climate. However, how severe are the hurricanes that hit there? Do they get tornadoes and a lot of severe weather? Economy: What are their economies like? I can't imagine they'd…

I closed on my house in Ohio Jan 25th. Today I got the first shipping Pod of content from Phoenix. Watching one is these get unloaded was fun...pretty slick set up they have. Will unpack this week, fly back to AZ next weekend and start packing the second pod w/ furniture etc. Hope to drive back here w/ the dogs and be in Ohio for good in about a month.

Consumer Reports gets a lot of flak (a lot of it justifiably, some of it is not) for their ratings. Are there any websites that have actual repair statistics data for different models that accessible to general public?

Homemade Batmobile

In starting to plan the September 2009 Route 66 tour (formal announcement coming soon), I realize that Route 66 isn't the only old, nostalgic route available to travel. The Lincoln Highway is another one...which, unlike Route 66, spans across the entire United States, from coast to coast. Maybe someday I'll have time to do that route. In the meantime, while I'm familiar with some sections of the old Lincoln Highway (notably through Geneva IL, towards Elburn IL, and points farther west) due to historic marker signs along IL RT 38, US Route 66 is the one old highway that really interests/intrigues me. I've always been curious about Route 66 ... because I enjoy older ca…

A little random but a nice distraction from all of the negativity these days. I know there's some Transformers fans among us, so what's your favorite series and why? I've been watching a marathon of my favorite series lately when I have time, so I got prompted to ask.

I mentioned in another post that while online 'window shopping' for newer-but-gently-used GMC Sierra pickup trucks the other day, I ran across a 2006 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE Z71/4WD Crew Cab with a tad under 20k miles and appears to be in pristine condition for under $22k (GM Certified Pricing). A few e-mail exchanges between the Internet Sales Manager and I and now I'm planning to see & test-drive the truck in person on Friday (12/26). If they can get me out of my GMAC SmartLease (AURA XE) without any penalities, I may just bite. But before I do, what particulars should I be looking for? The truck was originally sold by this dealership and was maintenanced by them to…

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/05/h...ing_missio.html

I know we don't have a lot of Canadian members here... but I'm trying to get this message out and far. http://dissolvethecrtc.ca/ Are you tired of expensive phone and TV bills? Do you want your internet to show only what the big companies want you to see and drop everything else? The CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television Commission) has displayed that it has lost its direction and forgot about its organization motto: to have a fair and unbiased policy. Recent incidents, such as allowing Bell to throttle users connections and introduce Usage Based Billing to its wholesale customers (in order for Bell to control the prices of smaller ISPs) are clear indications that the CRT…

We finally got our first real snow of the year, a whopping 4 inches. But since this is Missouri, it might as well be eleven feet, these people are absolute morons on the road. Saw a guy in a Silverado do a complete 360 upon exiting a gas station. Did I mention its only snow? Dry snow at that? I ran up the street in Tiny and didn't have a problem, even with the huge wall of snow the city kindly left at the bottom of the driveway. Now I think we're going to take the old, 9.5' kayak out and use it as a sled.

Went on a nice little bike ride with the wife, she got ultra competitive, I tried to keep up. Luckily this time there was no ledge to ride off, only rocks to ride into. I'd much rather have a chunk of skin missing than more broken bones. I need a suit of bubble wrap.

By reporting that I filled up for $2.63 a gallon. That's no lie.

Yesterday I was having some work done at the Ford dealer. A woman, blonde no less, came in and asked for a seven-hundred-ten. We all looked at each other and the mechanic asked, "What is a seven-hundred-ten?" She replied, "You know, the little piece in the middle of the engine, I lost it and need a new one. It had always been there." The mechanic gave the women a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to draw what the piece looked like. She drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710. He then took her over to another car which had the hood up and asked, "Is there a 710 on this car?" She pointed and said, "Of course, it's …

Wow, it's been a rough week. Got worse when I got home though. While I was gone, someone decided to steal the Catalytic converter off of my Cavalier. Somehow, I get the feeling that they are not done yet. And 320 or so to replace. I've noticed that the locals are quickly sapping up my love for cars....

Well, to kick things off this month, I saw a black E60 BMW M5 today. B)

Stern has realized the new wave of broadcasting is Satellite Radio. Much like the new wave in media is the 'web. I can't wait to see what this brings over the next two years!

De Luxe Oldsmobile accessories in 1940. Interesting what they had as options then. Like heaters and backup lights.

Do you think that America like Britian and Rome was losing its grip as a superpower,with all the problems it has with its manufacturing,war in Iraq.Are we seeing the emergence of a new super power in industy and defense CHINA

Yes, its all a big joke. There are enough publications and magazines out there that do suck up to Toyota that much; we will always offer you our General Motors side for free. Hope someone got a laugh.

If you caught on right away... my dog Lucky died. He's been struggling for the past few days and he finally couldn't hold on any longer. You know... I'm mixed, as far as emotions. I'm devastated that he's gone, yet I'm angry. Mostly at my parents for only contributing to his death. They refused to take him to a vet saying that they couldn't afford it. I mean... what if it were me? Would they not be able to afford it then, either? Come on... He was my dog and I loved him. Wasn't that enough? They said this for a long, long time saying that there was nothing to be done and that he couldn't be saved. That was over 5 f@#king months ago. What's their excuse. I just wish I had …

Came in the mail today. My wife thinks I'm nuts. I got corn ears on my shirt!!

Here's the deal... I name a car and you guys can only say positive things about it, no matter how lame of a car it may be. Posting a negative comment or restating a positive one will result in switching to another, most likely crappier, car. I'll start off with the good ol' Geo Metro...

Obsessed fan spends 12 years building Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Link: http://www.telegraph...-Bang-Bang.html Gordon Grant's labour of love is identical to the original car from the classic 1968 film that was driven by Dick van Dyke. Chitty fan Gordon first watched the musical aged two and became obsessed with having his own version of the iconic car. He began to plan the project when he was 16 and finally finished it three years ago aged 28 - and it is identical in every way to the original. Gordon managed to get help from many people who worked on the original car, including Peter Lamont who was assistant art director on the musical film. Lion…

Ten Dimensions

I need to replace the tires on my Ford Ranger (225-70/15)...What tire brand is your favorite, given cost considerations?

No reason, there just needed to be one. unattractive not much talent quite the bully and pouter frightens children hangs w/ Oprah she dislikes THE DONALD she's like a more lethal version of Rosanne tell us why you don't (or do) like Rosie

The Cutlass has been up and running since Sunday. But who cares about that? I'm sure something else had you sitting there pulling your hair over what it could be. That vehicle... in my sig... it's a lovely Mazda AZ-Wagon. You probably said to yourself "Hmm, that looks alot like the Scion xB", but it actually predates it, back to 1994. What you see if actually the latest of many facelifts on the 3rd gen. It's based on the lovely Suzuki Wagon R. I know, it must have been killing you wondering what it was.

My daughter will be 16 on June 23rd. Before you say it SuperSport623, I know it's your birthday too, that only makes my heartburn that much worse. I told my daughter that I would not be home on her birthday because I will be working out of the country and because of that I told her to pick something she really wanted for her birthday and I would get it for her (foolish me). Who knew she would ask to see the Jonas Brothers in concert with 3 of her friends and she wants me to drive them there and go to the concert but not sit to close to them. This concert is in Pennsylvania (Yankee Land) in the summer, which means a trip back home to the USA (two airline tickets), and al…

EV Trucks / SUVs Designs - New Revolution of Style? With the Detroit auto show and the new trucks and SUV's that are coming out, this had me thinking as many comments especially in regards to the car side has been about how HOMOGENIZED the auto style has become! We have the Pro ICE crowd, Pro EV crowd, Pro all of it crowd and with the discussions, it got me thinking about the fact of truck / SUVs style. It is not a question of if, but when we will see EV trucks / SUVs become part of the blend of options on the dealer lot. EV auto's offer a whole new range of style as unlike ICE auto's that must have the airflow for cooling, EV's are needing a different set …

And it's all caught on