Leaderboard

@ocnblu Got it. 3G is the first two digits of the VIN. 3 is country code Mexico and G is for GM. So it was a Mexican built GM and there were only two of those on the list, the Avalanche and the EXT. While I wouldn't have said no to an EXT, an Avalanche popped up that I couldn't NOT buy. So, I have bought what is likely the lowest mileage 2013 Avalanche in the country. All the paperwork and loan has been finalized, I just have to pick it up on Wednesday. It's a Blue Topaz 2013 LTZ Black Diamond with only 12,800 miles on the clock. I paid $32,990 and Carvana gave me $8,100 for the Cruze. It checks all my boxes for heated/cooled seats, heated steering wheel, remote start. The only thing is doesn't have that I would have liked is a sunroof, but for such a museum piece, I will survive without it.

If ANY image of a Native American is 'potentially offensive', one is effectively 'eradicating' any public presence by eliminating every symbol. As usual, the hysterical over-react and speak for others, making unilateral demands. The Redskins logo & name was designed with prominent input from Native Americans, who have polled as being largely in favor of it. Doesn't matter to the hysterical. I can see an argument for Aunt Jemima (I'm not in that camp), but once the Land O Lakes Native American woman was kidnapped off the packaging, I stopped trying to see other side's 'logic'. I type this wearing a vintage-harkening t-shirt which has the Indian Head logo & 'PONTIAC" on it. Ironically for some, guess under what president the choice 'negro' was first removed from the US Census? I actually agree with this (and Morgan Freeman) : stop talking about it. Focus is breeding division. How can you have 'equality' (whatever that's defined as) when every segment of society is getting labeled?

When is an F-350 not a Ford? When it's a GMC!

Felt like a fall morning when I got up today...55 outside at 7 am. Sunny and 75 this afternoon, perfect weather to work on the patio. Feels more like September than August.

Multiply the three numbers below by a factor of 10, and you have the 'electrify a vintage vehicle' fiscal picture.

When I was 25 years old...I owned a 1999 Olds Alero, a percentage of my dad's 1994 Pontiac Grand Am and if I am to try to compete quantity wise with Balthy, I will lie and say that I STILL owned my 1985 Olds Delta 88 Hmmmm.... versus Tough to figure out what Id rather... I think imma gonna go with Balthy's stable instead of mine.

I parked this car because it had a stuck lifter. Still ran fantastically strong. So 2 weeks ago, after the urging of 2 friends and my son (who loves this car), I rounded up 4 tires that hold air & swapped them on, rolled the car outside, we washed it and started airing out the interior. I used to have mice running around in my shop, so the windows have been closed all these years. Interior got hella moldy. There were still 2 contained mice nests- one in the back seat and one in a cardboard box in the trunk. Minimal activity either way. About 90% of the interior has been cleaned now. Going to pulled the buckets and clean the carpet, then button it all back together (I had the rear seat out / just sitting in there). Hooked a power unit up and tried out a few things- power antenna works, parking lights work, horn works. Didn't try the windows- the power unit isn't the same thing as an actual battery (horn was weak), so didn't want to have them stuck down. I turned the engine over manually last year, currently have some Marvel Mystery oil in all the cylinders, and going to rotate the engine a couple turns. Next is rebuilt the carb, clean out the tank (it was coated years back), replace the fuel lines. Check the ignition bits (they only have about 800 miles on them), and probably try to start it. If it runs, the next hurdle is moving. If it moves, it gets a brand new brake system & tires, and it's time to cruise. Then there's this to consider :

Rather than create a separate thread/review, I thought I'd write update what's gone wrong / gone right in 100,000 miles and 12.5 years of motoring in the LaCrosse. Stuff that wears routinely such as tires, brakes, hoses, struts, and batteries excluded, though they did hold up well. 1 - Powertrain: - fitting at the junction of the transmission cooling line to the radiator was leaking and had to be replaced 2 - Cooling system: - thermostat was throwing a check engine code that it was not correctly informing the coolant temperature sensor and had to be replaced 3 - Suspension and braking: - front driver side hub bearing assembly for ABS had to be replaced 4 - Hardware: - front hood prop struts gave out and had to be replaced 5 - Electrical: - door actuators (3 of them) went bad - headlamps (3) - hard to get to - had to be replaced - many dash illumination buttons (D.I.C., light control switches, and console) went bad - - - - - That's it. Not too bad. Still on my original serpentine belt, but waiting to replace it very soon. Was going to tune it at 100,000 miles, which I will do soon, but got ~ 32 mpg on a road trip within the last three weeks, so that tells me things are tight. I'm just driving it until the automotive market gives a clearer indication of where it's going to see if any vehicles I like get refreshed or introduced.

Very close now:

IT FINALLY HAPPENED! (It actually happened at night late last week, and I pulled off to drive around in circles in an empty parking lot) Before: After:

Happened to see this today, thought of the Lyriq :

Very close on the pics, too. B-59 was closer to the 2nd one (& was white), the GP and Cat are spot on (configuration & colors), Charger was black w/ black graphics, but the ‘65 was a worn, plain, dark blue post coupe. I forgot one : also had a ‘64 Merc Marauder 2-dr fastback w a 4bbl 390.

^ EVs did peak in 2018 at 2% of the market. It's completely legit to call them 'unpopular' at this time.

^ Pontiac Swamp Chief

'64 X-400 concept :

This would be the ride across the pond to New York, parked at the gate at Frankfurt airport, Lufthansa's home base. Kudos to Lufthansa for being the launch customer for the B 747-8i. I applaud people who were brave enough to take German in high school or college. They just join words together to make mega-words with 20 letters in them. And to think of all those poor immigrants from Southern Europe and the Middle East living in Germany who have to learn them. For example, an "auditor" is a "wirtschaftsprufer" (with 2 dots over the u) in their lingo.

What if GM had built a Hummer like this..looks Trax-sized.

Going to lock the thread for the time-being.

There's a new Sorento coming very soon, possibly at the end of the year - but sometime next year more likely. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a31941463/2021-kia-sorento-details-revealed/ No idea as to when next Sportage is coming. Well, they only sold it in a small number of states to begin with (California and those states who have similar emission standards to Cali). Plus, they only had a range of 100 to 120 miles. Trying to find my review from 2013 or 2014.

Without hesitation! - - - - - Articles like this make me sad, just like the elimination of Olds and Pontiac made me sad. Olds and Pontiacs were selling like hot cakes when I was a kid. And this was in import-crazed SoCal. Now this. It appears to be official. Boeing will be pulling the plug on 747 production in 2022. This plane aged like a fine wine, with each variant getting better. I've had the opportunity to fly on the 747-8i once and it's a feast for the senses. Just like the last and possibly best version of the 767, the 400-ER, for which Boeing did not get many orders, Boeing has not gotten many orders for the "8." Most of the orders have been in freighter, not pax, form. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/after-a-historic-run-it-s-game-over-for-pioneering-boeing-747/ar-BB17kOay?ocid=msedgdhp At phase out, the jumbo, or "queen of the skies," will have been flying for 52 or 53 years, depending on whether you count the test flight (1969) or introduction into commercial service (1970). Whether in real life, in photos, or in videos, it's always been a beauty, and I'm certainly not in a minority of nerds who love this aircraft. Many people the world over do.

I think it has nothing to do with EVs. People who work from home don't put as many miles on their cars, so less reason to upgrade for something newer. Secondary, a lot of people are out of a work now, so they definitely will hold on to whatever they got and will not purchase anything newer.

Very exciting to see this as I know I am very happy to work for Dell Technologies. Great to have my company be listed in the top 100 companies to work for in the world. https://www.fastcompany.com/90527870/best-workplaces-for-innovators-2020

Wire-wheeled / hand sanded 3 rims down, got 2 of them etch-primed for paint. These are for my ‘64 - if the powertrain examination/testing goes well and it runs/moves, then she gets all new brakes /tires.

I like the simplicity. Definitely will take it over this mess of the front end I do like the looks of the RAM the most though

Kay Hunt. Used to work with a guy who named his daughter that. No Joke! Poor girl. Lezbaru

Maybe they will make a big and tall version.

This morning, I listened to the Mach E drifter do its EV motor whine and I sooooo wanted to defend it and try to contradict Balthy...but I ran out of time. I had to go to work. But, something funny happened to me this late afternoon. I was bitten by a snake. And hearing that V10 made me realize: Its hard to argue with Balthy... The Mach-E sounds HORRIBLE. I like the tech behind it. I like the way it looks. I HATE the way it sounds.

First Bullitt I have seen.

I think slightly lifted diesel Excursions are pretty cool but those are not. Those are the stereotypical "small dick" vehicles.

Yenko Versa.

David could probably fit in a Popemobile.

Within 10 minutes of each other - one near a smaller city hall and the other at Costco - 2 Pontiac snouts - 1 new and 1 old(er) Beautiful G8 sedan in excellent condition: Pontiac Firebird Formula (350!): Did the Pontiac 350s hit the quarter million mile mark easily with routine maintenance? Don't know much about them. People talk about how far their Olds and Chevy 350s go. A lot of glare, so I couldn't see what I was aiming at, but I got "350." (Also, it had a/c, a manual trans., and a rear spoiler). Obviously, '70 to '73 ...

Worked this morning, watered my garden and then spent the afternoon washing and detailing my 2008 Chevrolet SS. so, shiney and mirror like! #ibizeverythingwax

Stellantis sounds like some sort of male enhancement drug.

Happy Bastille Day, C&G folks ... whether or not you're a Francophile doesn't matter. France is also red, white, and blue (realistically blue, white, and red) and gave us the Statue of Liberty, too, not to mention an incredible chunk of our vocabulary - cachet, rendezvous, guillotine, RSVP, libertine, attache', hors d'oeuvres, etc. Took 3 years of it in high school. Good times.

I have to say- I do like this. Perfect for camping and outdoor things we do (like Scouts) Will have to see it in person, but I like this WAY better than the escape....

You guys were on this like flies on sh*t. I had edited it out quickly. My God. Next Monday, August 17, is National Vanilla Custard Day. If you have a Culver's near you, things with vanilla custard are half off. Check. And, raise your custard treat as a "cheers" to Robert DeNiro's birthday. I think it's on the 17th. I have a friend, a "paesano," with a b-day on the 18th who told me that.

^^^ 1. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/saint-andrews-white-shark-endangered-1.5672350 2. Damned right! Look how freakin' huge these things are!

The only Kandi Id like to be ridin' (But neither since I wouldnt be wanting to put myself into any kind of risk. You guys have good imaginations... use that to define what it is Im talking about)

@balthazar My association with the Andrea Doria is that my parents knew people who came to the U.S. on successful and uneventful voyages, and one couple who was on the tragic crossing but obviously survived. And I heard these people talk about their crossings in our living room. The thing about the Andrea Doria is that America was glued to their TV sets watching this live, from the ship laying on its side to it slipping completely underwater the next morning. Recounting the Titanic story was largely anecdotal (but factual) and via print and radio. What the heck kind of a car is that ^ ? I'm digging on that console, even though I can't tell what the different slots are. Is it an integral armrest or a separate assembly that sits on the transmission tunnel? Nice. - - - - - Yesterday marks another milestone. I got my first haircut at a place you pay for that service. (I had been sloppily cutting my own hair since March.) There's a nearby cosmetology school that charges under $ 10. Come back special: 5 BUCKS! Instructors are always walking around checking what the students are doing. This girl did a great job. I gave her a nice cash tip.

Profits go to CEOs and shareholders while actual jobs for average people are going to Mexico, China and Canada. I would rather give my money to the company that gives jobs to American workers than to the bean counters and upper management. I don't own a Toyota and unlikely will, but my wife drives MDX that was designed and build in US. And I would rather give money to Honda that provides thousands of jobs in Ohio and Alabama, than to GM that outsorces more than 50% of the product to foreign countries. Unlike most people on this forum I work in manufacturing. I happen to work for an American company but I have seen many American companies outsorce manufacturing overseas. I have sern thousands of people loose jobs because of that, while the tip brass sits here getting richer. So excuse if I care more about American jobs than CEOs and shareholders.

Glad i watched some of that. I realize its a race car, but the sounds it makes are absolutely unbearable.

Just like reverse swirl on the toilets' then. This makes me wonder about the 1 ton Toyota mini pickups in the 80's if they really could handle the weight. Kind like being named David Felt. I felt you..... So many felt jokes growing up.

How/why CUVs have risen in popularity vs. cars; this is no longer possible:

For company that is bleeding money, this is to be expected and understood as most of the tooling for the polluting ICE models are paid for, so it makes sense for the business to focus on selling ICE for now. But this is NOT a boondoggle as you call it. They are doing Business 101 common sense to survive during a pandemic that is going to hurt the world for years. Yet you would rather Huff Coal and live in the stone age of ignorance. Enjoy your out of date future.