Random Thoughts Thread

[trinacriabob]

Random thought:

Life is too short for cheap orange juice.

[David]

53 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Random thought:

Life is too short for cheap orange juice.

So True, save and enjoy the best when you have it, never go cheap, the experience is such a letdown.

After skiing yesterday, enjoyed a both of Cab Sauv 2014 from one of my favorite wineries while watching a movie. Great way to relax after a awesome day of pounding the slopes. 

[ccap41]

57 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Random thought:

Life is too short for cheap orange juice.

Life is too short for orange juice. 

[oldshurst442]

15 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

Thanks. Will be 49 tomorrow and yeah, feels weird to be one year from the half century mark. 

Ive got slightly more time than you to feel this way.

[David]

15 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Ive got slightly more time than you to feel this way.

IT's not the age but the miles!  

[oldshurst442]

12 minutes ago, David said:

IT's not the age but the miles!  

Ive got lots of miles on this frame myself.  Lots of partying. Lots of alcohol. Weekend alchy if you will.  No drugs though!  Although alcohol is a drug too.  Banged up knees playing sports. Hockey and skiing. Yes, skiing.  I dont know how sous-bois is called in English, but its a ski run with trees in the run at the side of the ski hill and Ive wrecked my knee by stopping thanx to a tree... with my knee.   Damaging that knee further by getting body checked (playing hockey) and the target was that right knee.    Eventually, reconstructive knee surgery was made because there was no ligaments and tendons holding my knee in its socket.  

Not too mention the hard hard work of doing 70-80-90-100 hour work weeks at the restaurant when the restaurant was at its infancy.  

But knock on wood, I fell great!    Although 50 is right around the corner for me too, I feel like Im, well, maybe not 20, but at max 32.       But Im still like a child in my heart!  

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2021 by oldshurst442

[trinacriabob]

I can't put this in the joke thread because it's not really a joke, but it is sort of funny and @David will probably get it.

When I lived in the Seattle area, I knew many of the areas and many suburbs, but didn't know the south end, south of Southcenter Mall and north of Tacoma, very well.  I had a friend who had an investment rental property in Renton. 

I always looked at real estate ads.  It's something I've always done. And the Kent area came up, for lower prices.

So I asked him if he knew what Kent was like.  This was around 2000.

He said:  "Put it this way.  If Tonya Harding were from the Seattle area, she'd be from Kent."

(I've mentally filed that away.)

[surreal1272]

2 hours ago, David said:

IT's not the age but the miles!  

And I am definitely high mileage with some busted OEM parts.

[David]

7 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I can't put this in the joke thread because it's not really a joke, but it is sort of funny and @David will probably get it.

When I lived in the Seattle area, I knew many of the areas and many suburbs, but didn't know the south end, south of Southcenter Mall and north of Tacoma, very well.  I had a friend who had an investment rental property in Renton. 

I always looked at real estate ads.  It's something I've always done. And the Kent area came up, for lower prices.

So I asked him if he knew what Kent was like.  This was around 2000.

He said:  "Put it this way.  If Tonya Harding were from the Seattle area, she'd be from Kent."

(I've mentally filed that away.)

That is so true, she would be from Kent!!!

6 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

And I am definitely high mileage with some busted OEM parts.

You and me both my friend, I am HIGH Mileage, but only a few broken OEM parts that have been re-welded due to Skiing and power lifting!  

[David]

Seems at this time CES 2022 will still go on, but I wonder just how many people will attend as sponsors of the show drop out fast due to the Omnicron version of Covid-19 is now dominant across America and out of protection to employees.

CES 2022: Google latest to drop out over COVID-19, joining Intel, T-Mobile and more - CNET

The Latest to drop is GM as Mary Barra was supposed to give the KeyNote Speach there and will now do it virtually along with the latest GM twin Electric Trucks that were supposed to be revealed will now be done virtually.

General Motors Pulls Out Of CES 2022 (gmauthority.com)

We now also know what the back and front looks like of the Chevrolet Silverado E electric truck as GMAUTHORITY posted these pictures.

[David]

Seems Tesla possible poor quality and high repair costs that are pushed onto the customers due to the closed eco system of repair has Europeans deciding to blow up their Tesla S with 60lbs of Dynamite.

https://carbuzz.com/news/fed-up-tesla-owner-blows-up-his-model-s

[balthazar]

7 hours ago, David said:

We now also know what the back and front looks like of the Chevrolet Silverado E electric truck as GMAUTHORITY posted these pictures.

That's a quickie 'shopped pic of a '21 factory photo. Here it is off google: 

I've read GM insider posting that he'd seen the prototype truck in person & it's far-removed  from the current language- very rounded.... that this was very close to the nose of it: 

[trinacriabob]

I hate to throw out a little bit of bah humbug:  this is not the time to be in the market for a car.

I went onto the lots of a few of dealerships earlier today.  There are very FEW new cars.

The used car prices were sort of nutty:

1.  There was a '19 Toyota Corolla with 51,000 miles.  They want $ 21 K for it.  That's a 3 year old base model.  And that's almost half the mileage that I have on my car.

2.  There was a '17 Buick LaCrosse with 48,000 miles.  They want $ 26K for it.  This a 5 year old car and a discontinued model.  I noticed that there was a fair number of swales in the leather seats up front, so that the leather didn't look so taut.

I did see a few new cars at a nearby VW dealership.  A few were new Passats with alloys, a leather interior, and a sunroof.  The sticker was a low $ 29 K.  I wonder if they'd take that price as the sales price.

If it's windy outside, they say, "Hang on to your hats."  In this sort of market, I say, "Hang on to your sleds."

[trinacriabob]

Before I forget, Merry Christmas ... to any of our members who celebrate it.  If you don't celebrate this time of year as such, happy holidays.

[David]

Merry Xmas, Happy New Year and Happy Holidays to all here on Chears and Gears.

For me, today Xmas Eve was my 30th Anniversary of Marriage. Has been a great day with my family! 

[balthazar]

[David]

This is why people hate dealerships and Ford for sure needs to nip these terrible dealerships in the bud. 

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/12/24/yet-another-horror-story-at-a-ford-dealership-for-a-mustang-mach-e-buyer/amp/

Like Cadillac has done, time to trim the dealership fat and cull the bully dealerships into compliance or yank their dealership franchise.

[David]

Wow, totally crazy the supply constraints and the additional mark ups they are doing on Turd trucks.

https://carbuzz.com/news/theres-going-to-be-a-lot-of-angry-toyota-tundra-buyers

[trinacriabob]

@David  That's why I like a reliable car and keeping it a long time.  I don't like to deal with dealerships.  As smoothly as my last purchase went, the wrinkle was that he was pushing an extended warranty program the house pushed.  I wanted the extended GMPP or they wouldn't make the sale.  He "found" the ring binder with the GMPP literature.  How nice.

I also don't want to hassle with dealerships or mechanics for too, too many repairs.  It's stress I don't need.  I've got my Excel maintenance spreadsheet - one that none of the regulars on this forum is likely to agree with (haha) - and I'm always poking around under the hood.

[balthazar]

[quote]To be fair, there are other accounts from Mustang Mach-E buyers who have had excellent experiences with their dealerships.[/quote]

Hmmm, I think maybe we need to get this experience to more people. MORE DEALER FRANCHISES!! 😆

[balthazar]

JD Power dealership survey, based on 1000-point max score : 
 

Low 80s percent approval ratings certainly doesn't sound like many people "want dealerships gone". 😆

- - - - -

Edited December 26, 2021 by balthazar

[balthazar]

Carvana is facing license suspension in the state of Florida for rampant title-issuance failures.

 

[ccap41]

On 12/23/2021 at 5:30 PM, David said:

Seems at this time CES 2022 will still go on, but I wonder just how many people will attend as sponsors of the show drop out fast due to the Omnicron version of Covid-19 is now dominant across America and out of protection to employees.

CES 2022: Google latest to drop out over COVID-19, joining Intel, T-Mobile and more - CNET

The Latest to drop is GM as Mary Barra was supposed to give the KeyNote Speach there and will now do it virtually along with the latest GM twin Electric Trucks that were supposed to be revealed will now be done virtually.

General Motors Pulls Out Of CES 2022 (gmauthority.com)

We now also know what the back and front looks like of the Chevrolet Silverado E electric truck as GMAUTHORITY posted these pictures.

I know somebody working on the electric Silverado and he says it's quite polarizing, this doesn't appear to be quite polarizing, IMO. Also, nobody else has reported this so, like Balthy has said, this is just a photoshopped 2021 Silverado. 

[trinacriabob]

On 12/26/2021 at 9:59 AM, balthazar said:

Carvana is facing license suspension in the state of Florida for rampant title-issuance failures.

 

Their towers filled with cars are interesting and get my attention.  However, places like Carvana and Carmax do not entice me to come onto the lot.  Don't know why.

[David]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

Their towers filled with cars are interesting and get my attention.  However, places like Carvana and Carmax do not entice me to come onto the lot.  Don't know why.

Screams Used Car Hell of Manipulation much like a Ford Dealership which I hate and have avoided all my life just about. Hate that pushy, lie to sell a used auto when they do not know anything. Both those places I would never recommend a person to buy from unless they are just idiots themselves and then maybe it is a good fit after all. LOL  

[balthazar]

All used vehicles and all overpriced? Terrible service? Poor product knowledge? Take your pick...

[David]

Found in the wild, a rivian Amazon delivery van recharging at an EVGO Charging station.

 

[ccap41]

11 hours ago, David said:

Screams Used Car Hell of Manipulation much like a Ford Dealership which I hate and have avoided all my life just about. Hate that pushy, lie to sell a used auto when they do not know anything. Both those places I would never recommend a person to buy from unless they are just idiots themselves and then maybe it is a good fit after all. LOL  

If you think that's just Ford dealerships, you're wickedly blind.

Also, from that article, the customer never asked for help on the vehicle, they just waited for somebody to magically tell them things. That part was on the customer, IMO. The whole contract situation was on the dealership.

"At this time we sat waiting for at least two hours, I was hoping during this time someone would come to show me the specs of the car that I was in the process of buying so that once the deal was signed, I would actually be informed about the details of the car I was purchasing, but no one came."

[David]

9 hours ago, ccap41 said:

If you think that's just Ford dealerships, you're wickedly blind.

Also, from that article, the customer never asked for help on the vehicle, they just waited for somebody to magically tell them things. That part was on the customer, IMO. The whole contract situation was on the dealership.

"At this time we sat waiting for at least two hours, I was hoping during this time someone would come to show me the specs of the car that I was in the process of buying so that once the deal was signed, I would actually be informed about the details of the car I was purchasing, but no one came."

You are RIGHT, All dealerships tend to have bad salesmanship at times. For me during the 80's and 90's Ford dealerships tended to embrace the push and sell at all costs, lie if you have to to get a sale and make our quota. I have seen this same shit happen at GMC, Buick Dodge, but Ford seems to still be the worse. Never did I ever see them embrace professionalism.

I learned from my early years helping family and friends buy autos to set the ground rules and hold the dealership accountable, so things are clear and understandable and if they try their twisted sales lies, more than happy to move onto another dealership.

[trinacriabob]

21 hours ago, David said:

Screams Used Car Hell of Manipulation 

Absolutely.  Sort of like tacky chain furniture stores and their door buster specials.

- - - - -

As for this discussion about car dealerships, dealing with their service departments can be much more unsavory than dealing with new and/or used car sales.  It should be easy to say, "Thanks, but no thanks."  Fortunately, most of us here are car conversant and more savvy. 

The absolute most disgusting thing having to do with sales is when a salesperson tries a "T.O." on you when you've wandered on the dealer's lot while vacationing, miles from where you live ... and in another sales tax jurisdiction.  At that point, just about anything you are willing to say to them is fair game.

I have heard a lot of what I think qualify as horror stories, most of them from women.  While it wouldn't be apparent, one woman I know has a fairly serious mental health diagnosis, albeit able to live on her own, and was handed a hefty bill for a car repair on a low mileage vehicle she inherited.  Part of it was her fault.  She was telling me and a friend what a repair shop was saying about her car, so my friend and I went out the parking lot, checked the fluids and their color, and started and revved the engine, which had a downright velvety note.   We told her it was neither likely nor reasonable, especially with such low mileage.  She didn't want to believe us.

[ccap41]

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a38516720/2022-bmw-m5-cs-by-the-numbers/

 

[trinacriabob]

Who'd have thunk that hanging onto a colonnade, and keeping it close to original condition, would have been a "good investment" 45 years later?

1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classics for Sale - Classics on Autotrader

It's in TN.  Vinyl swivel buckets and crank windows.  Gauge cluster instead of a strip speedo ... hooray.  Looks nice, though.

Edited December 30, 2021 by trinacriabob

[oldshurst442]

6 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Who'd have thunk that hanging onto a colonnade, and keeping it close to original condition, would have been a "good investment" 45 years later?

1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classics for Sale - Classics on Autotrader

It's in TN.  Vinyl swivel buckets and crank windows.  Gauge cluster instead of a strip speedo ... hooray.  Looks nice, though.

 

The bolded part...

Whatever anybody does, do NOT highlight, right click and perform a google search if the wife is around.   Things might get weird really really quick.  Questions WILL be asked...

[trinacriabob]

2 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

The bolded part...

Whatever anybody does, do NOT highlight, right click and perform a google search if the wife is around.   Things might get weird really really quick.  Questions WILL be asked...

Again, who'd have thunk?

That is hilarious.  Google does think in weird ways, sometimes.

What, no takes on that beautiful Malibu Classic?!?

Edited December 31, 2021 by trinacriabob

[David]

20 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

What, no takes on that beautiful Malibu Classic?!?

Wrong generation for me, wrong model of auto!  

Now this is more my style, but would want it in Burgundy.

1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Classics for Sale - Classics on Autotrader

This also is awesome! Sold though

Very cool, but crazy stupid price that I would never pay for any of them.

1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe For Sale - Gateway Classic Cars

This one says 10K miles only and asking $43K for the auto. Crazy

[balthazar]

Gateway is notoriously high-priced.

I have no use for either decade of Chevys.

On a tangential search, I am likewise shocked to have seen about 10 Vegas selling for asking prices from circa $12K to $19K.
In my mind, a Vega should never exceed $1000 even for a mint Cosworth, but; hey.

[balthazar]

[trinacriabob]

5 hours ago, David said:

Wrong generation for me, wrong model of auto!  

Now this is more my style, but would want it in Burgundy.

1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Classics for Sale - Classics on Autotrader

This also is awesome! Sold though

Very cool, but crazy stupid price that I would never pay for any of them.

1986 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Aerocoupe For Sale - Gateway Classic Cars

This one says 10K miles only and asking $43K for the auto. Crazy

It's fine.  I like this gen of MC in purist form and, as for the wrap-around rear backlite, I think it only works on Corvettes and Camaros/Firebirds. This, too, is sort of a colonnade, given that the quadruplets all had opera windows into the late '80s.  The price is absurd.

I like the one photo with the open door showing the burgundy bucket seats and a console.  For me, just put a 4.3 TBI V6 up front.

5 hours ago, balthazar said:

I have no use for either decade of Chevys.

On a tangential search, I am likewise shocked to have seen about 10 Vegas selling for asking prices from circa $12K to $19K.
In my mind, a Vega should never exceed $1000 even for a mint Cosworth, but; hey.

Why am I not surprised about them having no use for you?!?

It's funny to even think of Vegas.  And Astres.  And cylinder sleeves that I don't think were "lined," hence the short engine lifespans.  

I don't think that people gave much thought to vegan food when Vegas were around!  Perhaps it was around the time of Suzanne Vega and "Tom's Diner" that people got into that groove.  People were starting to go "special snowflake" right about that time.

- - - - -

Happy New Year, C&G folks.

[trinacriabob]

On a minor side note, I always like to see people in their upper 90s make it to 100.  Unless they were some serious criminal or tyrant, that is.

Bob Hope and George Burns made it to 100. I just checked and Kirk Douglas made it to 103.  Amazing. Everyone was cheering them on.

Prince Phillip of England left us at 99.  Just yesterday, the same happened with Betty White, just 18 short days of becoming a centenarian.  For as depraved as Hollywood can be, she remained a class act.  Rest in peace.  

[oldshurst442]

On 12/30/2021 at 9:26 PM, trinacriabob said:

Again, who'd have thunk?

That is hilarious.  Google does think in weird ways, sometimes.

What, no takes on that beautiful Malibu Classic?!?

 

These past few days hadnt been kind to my free time. 

Alright... about the Colonnades in general.

I prefer the first Colonnades over the later year models across all brands.  I do like the fact that the later year models had T-Top options. I love T-Tops.  

My favorite Colonnades. The first car posted being the most liked and  in descending order after that.

'73 Cutlass Hurst 455

'73 Grand Am 455

 

And yeah, the Monte Carlo actually makes the list at #3, but like the other two above, its a '73.  I prefer the single round headlight front end rather than the square, stacked headlight front end of the MC's later years.

 

 

I do have to tell you that the Colonnades are not my favorite style of '70s car though.  The F-Body comes first.  And then the full sized cars (coupes or sedans) from GM both pre-downsized and downsized full sized before anything Colonnade. 

Mind you, I wouldnt mind a nice restomod Cultass or Grand Am with a mild 300-400 horsepower and equal torque LS swap to daily drive.  But I wouldnt dump too much money into one either.   Id reserve stupid money re-builds to restomod its predecessor. The A-Body from '68-'72.  Or even '64-'67.  

 

 

 

[Robert Hall]

The early Colonnades looked better from the rear than the later ones, I like the tight fit rear bumpers of the '73 Olds and Buick...they had the best rears. IMO..  Never liked the dual round headlight front ends--just looked like cheapassery considering the A-bodies always had quad headlights from '64-72 (except for the weak '71-72 Chevelle front).   They would have looked better w/ quad headlights, IMO.  But I do like the front ends of the Grand Am and Laguna, despite the dual headlights.

My favorite of the late Colonnades are probably the '76-77 Cutlass Supreme and Cutlass S/442 (like the sloped front end) and '77 Pontiac Can Am...I like the horizontal quad rectangular lights these had more than the stacked rectangular quads some models had.

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

On 1/1/2022 at 10:37 AM, oldshurst442 said:

These past few days hadnt been kind to my free time. 

Alright... about the Colonnades in general.

'73 Grand Am 455

 

Hope you're doing better and happy new year.

Of these, I really only like the Grand Am.  I believe they may have started out with the Pontiac 400, hopefully hooked up to a THM 400.

As for the one pictured, there are some weird things going on.  I only liked this car in white, to highlight the Endura front end.  It does not need a vinyl top.  Also, the wheels on this one should give way to Pontiac rally wheels.

Since, like the Malibu/Laguna, the Grand Am is a fastback (backlite) colonnade, it should have copied the less pinched rear approach used by Chevrolet.  I've always had trouble with this overstyled aspect of these Pontiacs, not to mention the side sculpting that accentuated the overstyling.

The dashboard wins the sweepstakes by a landslide.  I have always liked the design of that dashboard and it only worked with buckets ... not a bench, nor a 60-40.

On 1/1/2022 at 11:44 AM, Robert Hall said:

But I do like the front ends of the Grand Am and Laguna, despite the dual headlights.

My favorite of the late Colonnades are probably the '76-77 Cutlass Supreme and Cutlass S/442 (like the sloped front end) and '77 Pontiac Can Am...I like the horizontal quad rectangular lights these had more than the stacked rectangular quads some models had.

 

 

Thanks for posting the photo of the Laguna.  With a sloped front end, it was attractive.  Of course, it had to be decked out correctly inside, unless all the good stuff came standard.

I've always had issues with the triangle rear side window colonnades.  The smaller opera window was one of the big sells of this type of car.  However, I got a kick out of how many variants were made of the triangle window colonnades.  I know that Buick even went old school with theirs, putting out the Century "Special."  It can be a hoot to see one with its loss leader 231 c.i. V6, no A/C, and none of the gizmos ... the Buick nameplate on a mid-size car at an almost bargain basement price.  If only the 231 been "even firing" in those cars, their drivability would have been much improved ... and the slanted '76-'77 grille made the Century coupes look even nicer.

[trinacriabob]

'76 Century Special - triangle window - true-to-form plain Jane - base V6 - strange wider than usual whitewalls

'76 Century with the formal roofline - has some options, while some are not present - this car was being sold in FL for about $  11 K.  In the video, notice the plug for an engine block heater (1:10) and no air conditioning inside (2:00) (this is a northern car)!  Also, check out the under the hood simplicity (1:00) and the not so great engine rumble as it's fired up and revved (3:40).  The V6 front fender badging is removed.  The rear treatment as it's driven off says "pocket Eldorado."  Yesteryear's cars were very distinctive, while most SUVs and CUVs look alike.

And, if you have time (a lot of time), you can listen to the dude from SW Florida who is quite the talker ...

At the very least, check out the way it's decked out when he opens the door.  That is one crazy interior.

[A Horse With No Name]

Enjoying the 70's midsize love, just here to post a funny meme. Happy Monday, Happy 2022 everyone. 

[Robert Hall]

Speaking of Colonnades, I see that Greenlight has come out w/ a 1/64th '73 Chevelle 2dr diecast. One version out is a gray one from the movie 'Drive' (great gritty crime movie, love the soundtrack).   I'll have to get one to go with my other Greenlight Colonnades ('76-77 Pontiac Le Mans 4dr sedan and wagon).

[A Horse With No Name]

[trinacriabob]

2 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

To this I say:

Oh, crap, it's not the music thread.

Regardless, the '90s did have some decent music.  And this is one of those songs I knew exactly where I was when I first heard it.

[David]

4 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

How Dare she put her dirty shoe on that paint job! 😱

[daves87rs]

13 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Love this picture

[regfootball]

GM now the #2 automaker in US.  Toyota #1.  Thanks, Mary.  swirlin the drain