Random Thoughts Thread

[ocnblu]

9 hours ago, ccap41 said:

How has nothing been posted here about the new F150 yet? 

I guess as soon as photos are available of the new bodystyle, someone will post them.

[oldshurst442]

4 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

The '06 STS has been nice, but another money pit (now sitting dead in my driveway). 

Im curious about it. 

Is it a 3.6 V6 or is it a Northstar?

What kinds of repairs and maintenance does it need?

How many miles?

I love the STS.  From 1992-2011.   I dont like the 1st generation Seville. I HATE the bustleback 2nd gen. Im  dont like the 3rd gen. 

But then the 4rth and 5th gen get born and Im in love. And finally the 6th gen RWD. I love that one too.  Like it better than any CTS including the last gen CTS.  Only the CTS-V last gen gets a nod above from me from the STS you have.  I just wished Cadillac had updated it and not left it to whither and...die. 

 

Edited June 26, 2020 by oldshurst442

[ocnblu]

6 hours ago, balthazar said:

Sleeper '60 Edsel coupe, 3x2 Chrysler 354 Hemi underhood :

Those taillights tho...

[daves87rs]

10 hours ago, ccap41 said:

How has nothing been posted here about the new F150 yet? 

 

 

 

 

Just saw a silver STX floating around Dearborn with no camo....have to say I like it....

[Robert Hall]

33 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Im curious about it. 

Is it a 3.6 V6 or is it a Northstar?

What kinds of repairs and maintenance does it need?

How many miles?

 

3.6.  She's had it almost 2 years.  139k miles.  It was a $4000 hooptie for when she had a job on the other side of the state and was driving over and back each week (she doesn't like driving her Trax on the turnpike).   Current issue happened right after I drove a couple months ago.  The transmission gear position sensor that communicates w/ the ignition failed, so it thinks it's not in park when it's in park, so the ignition button stays in the accessory position and runs down the battery overnight.    It also has a small coolant leak and the airbag light is on.

It's got new tires, new brakes, new struts/shocks, new fuel pumps,  the usual underhood maintenance (belt, hoses, etc).  I fixed the 6 disc CD changer, loose inner fender trim, loose underhood trim (got a bunch of those push plugs and a tool to remove them) and a broken glovebox latch. 

It does drive nicely when everything is fixed.  But like every old high mileage luxury car my sister has bought over the last 20 years, something always breaks...she never learns.

[oldshurst442]

13 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

But like every old high mileage luxury car my sister has bought over the last 20 years, something always breaks...she never learns

This is what I laughed at.   And what you said is quite true. 

Thanx for the reply.  

Yup. That pic of the STS confirms of what I think now.  And that is:  I think Arts and Science peaked with those years and has started to go downhill from there.  I know Johan has tweaked it and he is the one to start weaning off of  Arts and Science, but I also believe that Cadillac's current design language has no real direction...  Sure, they are nice, but not jaw dropping like Cadillacs should be. 

 

PS:  those are A LOT of issues. You are correct in your analysis of it being a money pit. LOL  But it was a hooptie...   

That coolant leak...I hope its not a blown gasket...     The rest of the issues you could live with, but not that one.

 

Edited June 27, 2020 by oldshurst442

[Robert Hall]

Just now, oldshurst442 said:

This is what I laughed at.   And what you said is quite true. 

Thanx for the reply.  

Yup. That pic of the STS confirms of what I think now.  And that is:  I think Arts and Science peaked with those years and has started to go downhill from there.  I know Johan has tweaked it and he is the one to start weaning off of  Arts and Science, but I also believe that Cadillac's current design language has no real direction...  Sure, they are nice, but not jaw dropping like Cadillacs should be. 

 

I’ve always liked the styling of that generation STS and the 2nd gen CTS.  Crisp and clean.  It’s still a smooth, quiet comfortable car when running.  
 

She’s had an interesting history with cars—first car was a new ‘76 Pinto my Dad got her for HS graduation, followed by 4 Datsun/Nissan Z cars (from a ‘77 280 to a ‘90 300ZX Twin Turbo (all manuals), a Corsica, a Saab 900 Turbo, Acura Legend coupe, Explorer, Liberty, a couple old Mercedes, a DTS, and now the Trax and STS...

 

 

[daves87rs]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

3.6.  She's had it almost 2 years.  139k miles.  It was a $4000 hooptie for when she had a job on the other side of the state and was driving over and back each week (she doesn't like driving her Trax on the turnpike).   Current issue happened right after I drove a couple months ago.  The transmission gear position sensor that communicates w/ the ignition failed, so it thinks it's not in park when it's in park, so the ignition button stays in the accessory position and runs down the battery overnight.    It also has a small coolant leak and the airbag light is on.

It's got new tires, new brakes, new struts/shocks, new fuel pumps,  the usual underhood maintenance (belt, hoses, etc).  I fixed the 6 disc CD changer, loose inner fender trim, loose underhood trim (got a bunch of those push plugs and a tool to remove them) and a broken glovebox latch. 

It does drive nicely when everything is fixed.  But like every old high mileage luxury car my sister has bought over the last 20 years, something always breaks...she never learns.

Nice looking one though....

[Robert Hall]

2 minutes ago, daves87rs said:

Nice looking one though....

Got a little rust around the rear quarters..the decklid and driver's front fender don't fit that well..it got hit sometime in the past, the rear bumper is lumpy.    Per the carfax, the car spent time in Akron and Miami in the past.  It was funny, once I got the CD player working, the 6 disc CD changer was full of Akron-area hip hop band CDs, and there was a bag of weed under the driver's seat.

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

It does drive nicely when everything is fixed.  But like every old high mileage luxury car my sister has bought over the last 20 years, something always breaks...she never learns.

We want to keep the cars we really liked at one time in the present ... but it's both impractical and expensive to do that.

That's exactly why, at the end of the day, my perusal of maintained, low mileage '98 Intrigues, '94 to '96 Caprices, early '80s Grand Prixs, and mid '70s Cutlass Supreme coupes remains just that ... perusal.

 

[daves87rs]

1 minute ago, Robert Hall said:

Got a little rust around the rear quarters..the decklid and driver's front fender don't fit that well..it got hit sometime in the past, the rear bumper is lumpy.    Per the carfax, the car spent time in Akron and Miami in the past.  It was funny, once I got the CD player working, the 6 disc CD changer was full of Akron-area hip hop band CDs, and there was a bag of weed under the driver's seat.

Yikes- not quite signs that it was loved.. 😞  I agree with that...anything in the rust belt doesn’t last long body wise, though we did get nearly 17 years out of the wife’s Cavalier. My Cobalt is starting to rust a decent amount around the rockers, but the rest is hanging in there. 

My 16 year old Cavalier project is still rust free- it has seen salt maybe 2-3 times in it’s life. I’ll have to take pics of the underbody...still very clean. Same with my Equinox- plans are to keep a winter beater around for that reason.....

It’s crazy what you find in the car when you get it. My Cobalt came with packs of smokes hiding everywhere...

[Robert Hall]

17 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

We want to keep the cars we really liked at one time in the present ... but it's both impractical and expensive to do that.

That's exactly why, at the end of the day, my perusal of maintained, low mileage '98 Intrigues, '94 to '96 Caprices, early '80s Grand Prixs, and mid '70s Cutlass Supreme coupes remains just that ... perusal.

 

Yeah, like the big Mercedes..when she drove the Zs in the 80s, she loved Mercedes S-classes, so bought one years later when it was cheap...but it was a money pit. A great car to drive when running, but a money pit.   There are quite a few '70s-90s cars I'd love to own, but I can appreciate them from a distance...

[balthazar]

[trinacriabob]

I was checking out automotive websites yesterday, on the hunt for any news of an impending Dodge Charger redesign.  Somehow, I find myself at the Chrysler site.  And, to my surprise, the Chrysler 300 is present this year.  I was surprised to see that.  I thought it would be gone by now.

Has the discontinuation of the 300 been confirmed?  In print? In looking at the "gallery" photos for 2020: what a fine looking interior environment.  Nice!

It would be great if they kept both the Charger and the 300 going with the next refresh, but I doubt that will happen.

Still tapping my fingers for any news to break ...

[ccap41]

16 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I guess as soon as photos are available of the new bodystyle, someone will post them.

They were in the 25th. 
 

I made a thread for it. 

[trinacriabob]

On 6/26/2020 at 11:22 AM, Robert Hall said:

Just my guess, they look like they could snap at someone they didn't know who might try to pet them.

As for National Take Your Dog to Work Day, and assuming it's widespread, I wonder if any psychology or business faculty has studied how much work really gets done in places that go through with it.  I'd be wanting to visit with people's dogs.  So, if it's a large employer, one might as well add it to the roster of annual holidays (Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, etc.)

[Robert Hall]

They are quite sweet and loving with their humans, but wary of strangers.  Yorkies have Napoleon syndrome, I think.   

As far as take your pet to work, I've never done that...though at a couple small consulting firms I was at people did that...I just wouldn't feel comfortable bringing my 6 to 10 pound dogs in an office w/ big dogs.  Wouldn't want to have them sit in a crate all day.    Though w/ Yorkies I'd probably be getting attention from the ladies all day probably... 

Edited June 27, 2020 by Robert Hall

[ocnblu]

5 hours ago, ccap41 said:

They were in the 25th. 
 

I made a thread for it. 

That was sarcasm bud

[ocnblu]

[daves87rs]

8 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Now that is green!

[ocnblu]

Factory color, appears to be "enhanced" by some sort of filter for the photo.  Lovely car!

[trinacriabob]

17 hours ago, ocnblu said:

I know it's not a '76, but wasn't that GM metallic lime green that year a great color?  Especially when they put in white bucket seats and the dash / console / seat belts / carpeting were also sort of a lime color?  We'll never see that in a mass production domestic vehicle again.  It lasted just one year.  The following year, GM flipped over to a pale mint green for their interiors and trim options.

Edited June 28, 2020 by trinacriabob

[oldshurst442]

23 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Just my guess, they look like they could snap at someone they didn't know who might try to pet them.

 

23 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

They are quite sweet and loving with their humans, but wary of strangers.  Yorkies have Napoleon syndrome, I think.   

Not to be mean or anything. About Yorkies and other small dogs...but...

If I had a small, annoying (but admittedly cute) barking dog coming at me... Id treat it like a soccer ball.  And Id have the same reaction as this dude too.

And Id see how far and how high it go...

 

 

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, oldshurst442 said:

Not to be mean or anything. About Yorkies and other small dogs...but...

Dogs have one challenge we don't have.

There are 10 pound dogs.  Then there are 100 pound dogs.

There are 200 pound people.  But there are no 2,000 pound people ... that I'm aware of.

Mostly, I've had negative experiences with chihuahuas and dachsunds.  If I've known people who have owned them, these dogs didn't warm up to their guests.  If you see them in shopping carts or in parked cars, they let you know their displeasure.

Most Maltese and Havanese dogs (small) I've been around are friendly.

It's medium sized and large dogs that are more amenable to letting people interact with them, from what I've seen.  When people take these kinds of dogs to tourist sites or state parks, they seem happy to be around strangers and, based on their body language and asking their owners, you may be able to pet them.  

It's also based on breed.  I don't think anyone knows a mean Labrador Retriever.  The Belgian Sheepdog lines (Malinois, etc.) are not especially friendly among the herding/working dog breeds.  I give Pit Bills and Rottweilers plenty of space, to be on the safe side.

Very small dogs know they're small.

That's why, when selecting a dog to own, you have to vet the breeds to find the one that's right for you or your family. 

Don't be punting any dogs, now.

[oldshurst442]

55 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Don't be punting any dogs, now.

Im not a mean person.  I dont do animal cruelty. I dont advocate it either. Although I joke about it often enough.

 

[oldshurst442]

In reality. Its how you treat and raise your dog, any dog, that will have an affect on how the dog will react to people, be in public and the like.  Even pitbulls...

An owner will mistreat a pitbull and train it to harm other dogs and harm people, it will be an aggressive dog. It might even turn on its owner.  Treat the pitbull like a poodle, and it will be as docile as can be. 

I had a friend whose brother that had a doberman pinscher and a pitbull. He acquired both on the same day and both were puppies and I happened to be at his brother's home when he brought them both home the very first day.   I played with them on day#1.  After a year so, we had a falling out with that friend. And for about 5 years, we didnt see or talk to each other.  But we made up and we became friends again. One day, we decided to visit his brother with the dogs. His dogs were in the garage. As I got closer to the garage door, I had two loud and deep barks coming from there. Hell hound barks.  The brother opened up the door and the 2 dogs quickly sprinted towards me. Barking even louder with saliva running from their mouths.  I got scared and I started (tried to) run the other way but in no time they were upon me. They both jumped on me....    They licked the crap outta of me with the pitbull leading the way.  

They were both trained as guard dogs. But were trained professionally. And were not abused.   They listened to their master and both were very attentive to what he would do, but never would they bark at a stranger or run wild uncontrollably.  They always stayed calm around people. Never excited. But when it was play time...they both were clumsy little puppies.   Oh...the doberman was at least 4 feet high and the pitbull was wide like a Mack truck. And the muscles on these dogs...

 

[balthazar]

I see mercedes has introduced yet another front wheel drive model to it's catalog- GLB. Has a 1.3L 4-cylinder.
Und ya; ist looxoory!
That is a new model right; they're using the same ultra-lame "First Eva" tagline.

Edited June 28, 2020 by balthazar

[ocnblu]

I can't believe how rusty and crappy Sprinter vans get when they're only a few years old.

[David]

27 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

I can't believe how rusty and crappy Sprinter vans get when they're only a few years old.

My sister and Brother in-law have an appliance repair company and after a few years went back to ford vans as the sprinters cost more to maintain and rusted and just sucked over all. Terrible product.

[Robert Hall]

A year ago, I wouldn’t have imagined spending my 50th birthday at home, but that is how today turned out.  But I’ve enjoyed it, from the Southern ham biscuits for breakfast, to the lemon cake my sister baked, to the nice juicy NY Strip steak I grilled along w/ a bottle of fine French champagne and a bottle of Napa Viognier...
And watched a great documentary about the Targa Florio.  Sheltering at home w/ the little terriers I love and the one family member that really understands me, made it a good day.   What a long, strange trip it’s been to 50....

[David]

Kia has a new iMT manual transmission with higher MPG while keeping those that want to be engaged in driving a manual happy. Seems to be a computer controlled drive by wire manual transmission.

Makes me think an fake manual auto tranny.

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/06/26/kia-rio-intelligent-manual-transmission-clutch-by-wire/

Just now, Robert Hall said:

A year ago, I wouldn’t have imagined spending my 50th birthday at home, but that is how today turned out.  But I’ve enjoyed it, from the Southern ham biscuits for breakfast, to the lemon cake my sister baked, to the nice juicy NY Strip steak I grilled along w/ a bottle of fine French champagne and a bottle of Napa Viognier...
And watched a great documentary about the Targa Florio.  Sheltering at home w/ the little terriers I love and the one family member that really understands me, made it a good day.   What a long, strange trip it’s been to 50....

Happy Birthday Robert. So glad you had a great day during this Pandemic. Continue to stay safe my friend!!!

Woof, Woof, Woof to your little Fur kids.

WOW, Awesome reading and video review of the 2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with EcoDiesel power train. Shocking is that this fully loaded Wrangler costs $65,000 dollars! 🤯🤯🤯

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/06/25/2020-jeep-wrangler-rubicon-unlimited-ecodiesel-love-hate/

[David]

If I ever get a dog, I will look first at rescue dogs, but if I find nothing I like, it will be a Lab Puppy. 

[Robert Hall]

The 11 dogs that have been in my sister’s and my life the last 12+ years have all been rescues.  Some well-adjusted, some with issues.  At some point, I wouldn’t mind getting a puppy, probably a Westie or Cairn Terrier. 

30 minutes ago, dfelt said:

WOW, Awesome reading and video review of the 2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with EcoDiesel power train. Shocking is that this fully loaded Wrangler costs $65,000 dollars! 🤯🤯🤯

https://www.autoblog.com/2020/06/25/2020-jeep-wrangler-rubicon-unlimited-ecodiesel-love-hate/

Wowza.  For that price, I’d want a GC Summit. 

Edited June 28, 2020 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

24 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

What a long, strange trip it’s been to 50....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  I need to look at the birthday list regularly.  You are joined by another member, Esther, who never posted a damn thing.  (Happy birthday to Esther, too.)

About the long, strange trip ... ain't that the truth?  I can't believe some of the places I've lived, some of the schools I've attended (and even graduated from), some of the places I've worked, some of the people I've known, and some of the places I've traveled to.  "Long, strange trip" might be a way to put it mildly.

And many more to you.

[Robert Hall]

38 minutes ago, dfelt said:

My sister and Brother in-law have an appliance repair company and after a few years went back to ford vans as the sprinters cost more to maintain and rusted and just sucked over all. Terrible product.

10 yr old Sprinters around here seem to be as rusty as 15-20 yr old Econolines and Expresses..

[David]

6 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

10 yr old Sprinters around here seem to be as rusty as 15-20 yr old Econolines and Expresses..

Yet the Econolines are still cheaper to fix than the Sprinter.

[Robert Hall]

12 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  I need to look at the birthday list regularly.  You are joined by another member, Esther, who never posted a damn thing.  (Happy birthday to Esther, too.)

About the long, strange trip ... ain't that the truth?  I can't believe some of the places I've lived, some of the schools I've attended (and even graduated from), some of the places I've worked, some of the people I've known, and some of the places I've traveled to.  "Long, strange trip" might be a way to put it mildly.

And many more to you.

Thank you... it has been fascinating and strange... from spending childhood in E. Ohio near Pittsburgh, to middle school and high school in the Florida Keys, college in NE Ohio, grad school in Michigan, then over decade on the Front Range of Colorado, almost a decade in Arizona, then back to NE Ohio again....

Living on a farm in the middle of nowhere, living in a beach house, living in the suburbs, in apartments in college towns, living in a Winnebago... and all the places I've worked in my career---startups, Fortune 50 companies, to working from home for 3 years straight.. to the countless concerts I've been to that have likely ruined my hearing... the interesting cars I've owned and have driven...25+ years w/ SUVs, etc.

Party on Wayne, party on Garth.   Wherever you go, there you are!

Edited June 28, 2020 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

Elon Musk just called Nikola Motors "staggeringly dumb".

[Robert Hall]

11 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Elon Musk just called Nikola Motors "staggeringly dumb".

Today is his birthday also... Elon is a year younger than me.  Other celeb birthdays shared w mine include John Elway and John Cusack.

[David]

2 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Today is his birthday also... Elon is a year younger than me.  Other celeb birthdays shared w mine include John Elway and John Cusack.

That is allot of John's and you ended up a Robert? 🤔

 

 

 

 LOL  

[daves87rs]

8 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

A year ago, I wouldn’t have imagined spending my 50th birthday at home, but that is how today turned out.  But I’ve enjoyed it, from the Southern ham biscuits for breakfast, to the lemon cake my sister baked, to the nice juicy NY Strip steak I grilled along w/ a bottle of fine French champagne and a bottle of Napa Viognier...
And watched a great documentary about the Targa Florio.  Sheltering at home w/ the little terriers I love and the one family member that really understands me, made it a good day.   What a long, strange trip it’s been to 50....

Happy Birthday!!!

Crazy part is that many of us are not far behind you....#gettingoldfast

[David]

8 hours ago, daves87rs said:

Happy Birthday!!!

Crazy part is that many of us are not far behind you....#gettingoldfast

And some of us are older than you all #52feeling25. 😛 #AgeStateOfMind

[oldshurst442]

Aft'r a longeth day of pillaging villages, of slaying dragons and saving damsels in distress, id wanteth mine own p'rsonal bards playeth this tune at which hour i cometh home  

 

[David]

Wanting an organic spray to keep the Mosquitos away, Garlic Spray works.

https://www.hunker.com/13405906/garlic-spray-in-the-yard-for-mosquitoes

I have to imagine one does have to like the smell of Garlic.

Grilled Bananas sure sound yummy!

https://www.food.com/recipe/grilled-banana-splits-160575#activity-feed

[David]

2020 Auto shows are Dead, now is seems according to this story that the 2021 auto show calendar could end up dead as Geneva has already canceled the show due to Covid-19.

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2020/06/were-cancelling-2021-auto-shows-now/

So the big question out to everyone here.

• IS THE AUTOSHOWS DEAD FOR EVER?
• WILL THEY BE BACK AFTER A CURE IS FOUND FOR COVID-19?

Thoughts?

[David]

Covid-19 Update

Everyone, we have a newer deadly strain 10 times stronger and Florida is our Ground Zero for it. Please be careful.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8471421/Mutated-version-coronavirus-stronger-spike-proteins.html

Scientist report on it is found here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.12.148726v1.full.pdf

[daves87rs]

38 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Covid-19 Update

Everyone, we have a newer deadly strain 10 times stronger and Florida is our Ground Zero for it. Please be careful.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8471421/Mutated-version-coronavirus-stronger-spike-proteins.html

Scientist report on it is found here: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.12.148726v1.full.pdf

The sad part is that I think it will change yet again while it is here......

Going to be a very long year....

[oldshurst442]

8 hours ago, dfelt said:

Wanting an organic spray to keep the Mosquitos away, Garlic Spray works.

What about the Vampires?

I bet that would ward off the Vampires too! 

[David]

Seems the new CT4 V Blackwing is out stretching it's legs. That is a huge freakin wing on the rear deck lid.

https://www.motor1.com/news/431431/cadillac-ct4-v-blackwing-spied/

 

[ccap41]

21 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Seems the new CT4 V Blackwing is out stretching it's legs. That is a huge freakin wing on the rear deck lid.

https://www.motor1.com/news/431431/cadillac-ct4-v-blackwing-spied/

 

It's a big ole wing and I'm really glad it's molded on and not a tacky(albeit functional) raised one.