The Lounge

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Built right! Check the power figures on this sweet little baby. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

So I finally treated myself to a proper camera (Rebel 550D/T2i) and I've been just taking some random shots around town... figured I'd share a few of them here. ...and of course a few mildly edited shots of my car.

In The next month I will be in the USA. I will be making my personal fleet changes and ordering 2 new 2011 vehicles... OUT 2005 Chevy Equinox LT AWD 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix GXP IN 2011 GMC SLT-2 Terrain in Carbon Black 2011 Chevy 2SS Camaro in Synergy Green

Allow me to introduce my daughter, Sierra Skye!! Born Wednesday, July 14th at 10:56 PM. Weight: 6 pounds, 13 ounces; Length: 20 inches. Mom and baby are both doing well at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (Hamilton Township, Mercer County). Both big brothers, Justin (4) and Anthony (16), are very happy to have a sister. As for the name, it should be no mystery where "Sierra" comes from (still to this day I'm surprised the wife went along with this choice!), and the wife always liked Sky(e) (yes, from the roadster!) as a middle name. My last name begins with a "R", so that makes Sierra's initials SSR too!!

Check out this article on vacationing in North Carolina. It's more about the road trip to go on vacation and incidentally about the trip to Nags Head. What do you think? http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/1920

I needed my own thread. I was in Detroit again this weekend and saw even more cars than the last time. Pictures of some to follow, noted with (*). Alfa Romeo 8C * Aston Martin Lagonda * Aston Martin Rapide * (!) Aston Martin Virage BMW M1 Buick Regal Cadillac CTS coupe concept * (!) Cadillac CTS-V coupe * (also watched a start up and take off by a GM engineer) Chevy Corvette ZR1 Chevy Corvette Callaway C16 Supercharged Chevy Corvette Callaway B2k Twin Turbo Chevy Corvette Specter GTR Chevy Corvette LMS Racer. DeTomaso Pantera GTS Ferrari California (start up) Ferrari 458 Italia (!) Ferrari F430 Scuderia Ferrari 360 Modena Ferrari 575 Superameri…

Can't wait for Friday, 117 degrees and 80% humidity. I should be getting paid triple for this.

There are rumblings in various states about legalizing pot. I think it's only a matter of time before it happens nationwide. So, I'm just curious, if pot becomes legal and generally available, would you start using it if you don't already? If you already use pot, would you use it more? I tried it a couple of times in college and didn't like how it affected me. I say legalize it if they want, but I won't be using it.

My dodgefan moment...we got a lot of runs at the last autocross, and got to ride along in a Viper driven 'in anger." I still like the Z06 a little better (it feels like a little more of an animal) but...ohmygodwhatacar My Balthazar moment...pulled up in a rural driveway in a service call to fix some electricd...guys is an old fart from New Jersey...has a 62 Pontiac Grand Prix with 64,000 original miles, dark marron, nice shape...sitting in the driveway. Guy spent most of his life in New Jersey before moving to Ohio...he also had a 69 Mach 1, a 67 Mustang fastback, and a 65 Mustang convertible. My sixty eight panther moment...was doing a service call at a truck stop...…

I don't recall this being posted last year when this piece came out. I kinda like it, tho I imagine the practicality is non-existant. My linkClicky

it's an internship with unilever in Sikeston Mo. been working a few days. helping impliment S5, TMP and generally better inventory oversight. dont' know what else i'll be helping with, but it pays 2x what my previous jobs did, and while i don't get any benefits, other things are keeping costs to a minimum. thought some of you might like to know that...nice to be able to say too.

...with a Jaguar E-type. The E-type that has been hanging around the "car barn" with the Healeys is bound for driver duty, so I guess I'll be getting to know all of its deepest secrets going forward.

Whose been keeping up? It's shaping up to be a great series, and this Sunday they test the Camaro. Should be fun.

Linkity I guess free market/globalization is coming to an end.

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Should be the name of a horror film based on this summer's weather.

Enjoy it.

Clicky Sounds hellish.

Happy Birthday to JamesBond! A birthday so secret, we almost didn't catch it!

I bought a PS3. I've had the urge to lately, but wanted to wait until GT5 was finally released. Yesterday, I decided to act upon this urge and purchased one along with the game 'Fallout 3'. I'm hitting up Ebay for more games as I type. I probably should have splurged for the 250 GB model, but I figured I would never really use the extra disc space anyways and went with the cheaper 120 GB model. With my slow internet connection, I can't see myself downloading a bunch of extras. We have a well rounded household line-up now. PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PS2, and even an old Sega Genesis. If I still had my Sega Dreamcast, it'd be even better. I'm looking forward to some fun gaming, …

In early August my girlfriend and I will be driving to Florida. Along the way we will be passing through Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. We'll be heading through Alabama on the way back since we're going to stop and visit her niece near Huntsville. I've been to all mentioned except the deep south states like Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, so it should be a fun trip. How inundated was Nashville with water? I was thinking that would be a great halfway point, but if it was anything like the flooding we had here two years ago, we'll probably stay somewhere else instead. I want to check out Atlanta, but I don't really know what there is to see o…

OK I'm in traffic yesterday in Ocean City, MD. It's like 3 lanes wide. Summertime, everybody's there to have a ball. Pull up to a red light and this PERSON in the truck next to me has a song blaring. Here's a snippet: "Smokin' cigarettes and watchin' Captain Kangaroo Now don't tell me There's nothin' To do..." Please help me uncover the mystery! What is the name of this song?

Sorry about the late wishes, hope it was a good one!

So, anyone planning to attend? I will be there on Saturday (6/26), unless the wife goes into labor before I hit the road ( ), and this year I'll be alone as the little guy has his last T-ball game and pizza party. Anyone else planning to be there? Show info & details: http://www.carsatcarlisle.com/ce/events/gm-nationals/ PDF of the show's program (great pictures of the special vehicles that will be on display): http://www.carsatcarlisle.com/ce/pdf/2010_GM_Directory_Web.pdf

Full gallery here. Some pics:

I spent the entire day yesterday on the beach at Assateague, near Ocean City, MD. For my trip home, I decided to come back through my old town of Easton, MD, to check out the GM dealership I worked at for 10 years before moving to PA in 2003. It went out of business and has since been sitting empty, I guess it's been about a year now. I was glad to see an area dealer group's name on the front of the building, and new Chevys and Cadillacs once again sitting for sale out front. I hope they can make a go of it, as the old owners were a local fixture for decades and the location is ideal.

The whole article is HERE.

...to go to a dragstrip.

Cat Stevens - Father and Son It's not time to make a change, Just relax, take it easy. You're still young, that's your fault, There's so much you have to know. Find a girl, settle down, If you want you can marry. Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy. I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy, To be calm when you've found something going on. But take your time, think a lot, Why, think of everything you've got. For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not. How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again. It's always been the same, same old story. From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen. Now there's a way a…

Sorry it went down the the wire! HAppy birthday!

Well, I am on vacation next week, and boy, do I need it. Relaxation. New scenery. No schedule. Sounds so good. This morning, I am heading up to Tioga County, PA, to join family for a cookout for Dad at my brother's cabin. Should be a good time. I return tomorrow evening, and then everything's wide open. The beach, camping... not sure what I'll do, but at least it won't be in that office. For all you Dads, Sons and Daughters, have a good Father's Day.

The Newest Wonder of the World: The Ruins of Modern Greece WSJ ATHENS—Georges Kalaras used to view with pride the sports hall built near his home here for the 2004 Olympic competition in rhythmic gymnastics and ping pong. Now, he gets mad every time he jogs by. "Look, it's locked!" shouted the 38-year-old Mr. Kalaras, who works for the Athens city water company. Two stray dogs tangling with each other behind a padlocked metal fence accounted for the only activity in the complex, which seats 5,200 people. Mr. Kalaras figured the steel and glass hall, costing taxpayers $62 million, would provide recreational space in his neighborhood. Officials envisioned concerts or s…

I'm thinking about attending a solo autocross some weekend with the LS. Apparently Des Moines SCCA does them on a regular basis. I think it'd be fun as heck to do, but I don't know where to start and since I have no experience on a track, don't know if I'm going to make myself look like a fool. How welcoming are these events to novices? Am I going to be the only one with a stock sedan while everyone else has a tricked out sports car? How hard are these events on your vehicle?

Hope it is a good one...

http://blog.truecar.com/?p=3312 Interesting to see what cars females really buy...

Let me just say. F-U-C-K. Since that is out of the way, here's the story. Myself, Dallas, and my brother Zack decided to hit up NYC for a day. We left around 3 am to be there early and give us as much time possible. Pa was a breeze. NJ was until halfway through. After that it was traffic, traffic, and more traffic. Lots of bumper to bumper with random bursts of moving. Mostly stationary with a bit of 2 mph for a good hour. Things started to speed up again right before I-280 started. A little lane changing to get through traffic quicker and then we merged onto 280. Not long after that we came to another halt. Sped up again... and then suddenly the cars in front of me sto…

Last week in a tight Rehoboth Beach parking lot mid-day, I THINK I may have hit the spare tire tread on the back of a CR-V with the very bottom corner of my Av's rear bumper...didn't notice a thing until someone pointed out a scuff & scratch later. Friend in car said close, but didn't think I was that close...or someone just hit me. Hard to tell from how it actually looked & where I was. Rag, quick detail spray, scratch remover, touch up paint for 2 chips, gone. Still weird being under the bumper edge mostly...I think someone hit me in the lot. Rear camera alert...love it. Then today...my mother out driving back from X-rays in her Camaro "ran off the road a littl…

No, it wasn't a very big show, about 50-70 cars total. Many were scared away by the threat of rain. Two weeks ago my friend bought a worked 1973 Monte Carlo and entered it in the show. He ended up placing 3rd in the Modified class. Pics

Last week, we had the Cobalt in the shop to repair the dent and scratch left by the rock-flinging lawnmower. On Thursday, we got the car back. The good news, no more dent: The bad news, my inspection ran out. And then... hours later, my dad was out in the Sunfire and senile old man backed into him on Main Street.

Hey guess what. THE CURSE. guess which one. f--k.

At least for a while. My Tahoe tried to kill itself yesterday by bleeding oil all over the place. It's in the barn and parked until I can find the source of the leak - what a huge mess!

Someone on LHF found this... Intrepemino! Silly Canadians. Click the image to see the video. It's blasphemy to both El Caminos and Intrepids but the guy sure did a thorough job.

There's a new hookah bar in town. What's that all about?

http://longisland.craigslist.org/ctd/1783881887.html I'm smitten by this, and it's configured exactly the way I'd want a light-duty Home Depot/bike hauler. Well, tehcnically no - black is probably my last choice for paint color, but that's balanced out by the 5.3L FlexFuel (I'd have been happy with a 4.8L).

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/clt/1785598019.html This ad represents every single thing wrong with people that sell things on craigslist: -car is a worthless pile of $h! regardless of mileage, condition, or any other perceived "good" point -ridiculously high price with zero basis in reality, pulled out of thin air -piss poor punctuation, spelling, grammar, syntax, sentence structure, etc. -wrong information -not one single picture Dear ad poster, Please remove yourself from the gene pool as soon as humanly possible and take your &#036;h&#33;ty K car with you.

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1784042555.html

so bitchen......MUST HAVE the car goes 40 mph faster just with that spoiler on it......

I apologize if this is a repost, since it is old... Article

Been going through old pictures to post them up for an old crowd of friends and ran across this one:

Why buy a Mercedes if you really wanted a Cadillac? Hell his mechanic is ready to turn this thing into a Caddy right now!

The Camaro is for sale.

Learned how to drive three-on-the-tree. '77 Chevy G10 (I think, it was a big van) Not nearly as awkward as I would have thought. It also kept up with traffic pretty well considering it was laden with old furniture and stuff going to Goodwill. I had to learn on the fly too, since the guy who loaned it to me just asked if I could drive a manual and threw the keys at me. The hard part was figuring out that what I assumed would be first was actually reverse.

Enjoying drifting and F1 stuff right now, and Balthazrs comments aboutDusenbers\gs have gotten me interested in pre WW II Indy and F1 cars again... Where is your automotive fetish taking you all at the moment?

Slightly old, but timelessly funny yet scary. http://trueslant.com/juliaioffe/2010/05/04/nuke-that-slick/

Ever get that feeling? I enjoyed our little vacation. Boy, I needed that.... Anyways, I am putting stuff back into storage, only to find that someone broke into it. Just pulled the door right off. Pretty much took all the oil I had in there ( a few jugs of Penzoil Platinum, a mobil 1 jug, and a few quarts of my Napa syn), the washer fluid, and one of my tire wrenches.... Left the X mas stuff, though. It's a good thing I just changed the oil on all of my cars....

to all the vets here on C&G's. Thank you all for your service. happy memorial day everyone. take time to thank a service man or woman. remember those that served and gave the ultimate sacrifice.

http://jancooprn.smugmug.com/Cars/RiverRun-2010/12358111_3BFWF#883033246_8ssAE Not sure if anyone is interested, but went on a 335 mile sports car trip with my son Joel...towards the end of the third page yous see a photo of our car, with my son driving...