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Did someone say... FUSELAGES?

I never cared for the '55 Biscayne- too bug-eyed and strange. Also; 1st gen Corvair-esque from the rear, which I don't hate, but it's not necc 'beautiful'. Still, I love that it was brought back from the grave ad I appreciate the elevated strata it lives in as a General Motors concept car.

Not always; this would look terrible with skirts~

Shawangunk Mountains, Ulster County NY ~

While this relly isn't a triva question for you to guess, it is some triva that those that love older cars might be interested in. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting C&G member Balthazar at the cruise night here in Spotswood, NJ. We had a good time BS'n about cars (and making fun of the 2002 PT Loser with sissor-doors, undercarrage lights and more Fast&Furious slow-me-down mods than one can imagine (yes it did win a trophy, but so did I again, wee!). We got to talking about the Studebaker engines used in the Avanti and casted doubt if we had it right (Mark, you were more right than I was). Here's the Avanti lineup for 63 and 64 (BTW, mine is a R1) The Avanti R1 was a 289 cubic inch carbureted version with a 4 barrel and the R2 was a 289 cubic inch version equipped with a supercharger. The R3 was a special performance supercharged variation displacing 304 cubic inches and very few of these were built. The R3 version came with a bored out 304.5 cubic inch V8 stuffed into the engine bay, modified suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes. Responsibility for the aggressive engine development plans fell into the hands of Andy Granatelli of Indianapolis 500 fame. Like the earlier 289 cid R2 version, the R3 was also supercharged, fully blueprinted to racing specs and hand built by Paxton. There were also R4 and R5 performance variations, but none of these were sold to the public. R4's were a non-supercharged version of the R3's. Approximately 140 R3/R4 engines were made. Only a fraction of these still exist. These engines display many serial number irregularities: some prototypes were not numbered; very early ones have RS stamped on the block; two experimental numbers are EX2123 and EX2132; one prototype number is RS1021; and others start with B1 and go as high as B153. The experimental "Due Cento" with the only R5 dual supercharged engine built by Paxton reached 196.62 mph. http://www.theavanti.com/RSeries.html Just thought I'd share...

I would have never believed that little 4 cylinders Aleros would go the distance, seeing so many on the road to this day. Great going, Olds!

@Drew Dowdell @trinacriabob Last new model from Oldsmobile? Bravada came out in 2002. Produced until 2004. The Aurora came out in 2001 until 2003. The Alero in 1999 up until 2004 and the Intrigue in 1997 as a 1998 model until 2002. (The Silhouette in 1997) So Oldsmobile's last new model was in fact the Bravada. And none got a refresh of any kind. Intrigue got a Shortstar V6 after the 1st year run with a Buick 3800. The Aurora dumped the Shortstar V6 in its final year run. I do not know if the Bravada got something axed but I do know that the last 2 years of the Alero's production run, the Alero lost its 4 wheel disc brakes that it had for drums in the back. But...last off the line, the last Oldsmobile ever built was an Alero. April 29, 2004. And if talking about nameplates...well, the Alero is in fact the last new name plate ever introduced by Oldsmobile. The Bravada came out in 1990 as a 1991, the Aurora in 1995, the Intrigue in 1997.The Silhouette in 1989. The Alero in 1999. And all the workers that built it, signed it. 7 I believe its in a museum honoring other Oldsmobiles currently.

When buying a Chevy, the only trim worth buying is the one that trims is the WT trim The Wallet Trim.

Yeah, if you mean last new name introductions, then that's correct

Sooooooo....., falling well under the radar is Tesla's performance. In December they sold 32,600 vehicles. In January, that PLUNGED by 75%, to 8,325. February saw yet more blood, dropping to 7,650. Feb; slightly shorter month, some rough weather in the northern half of the nation, but not this bad. Of course the take-away --and we saw this with the Georgia state credit discontinuance and the 90% (IIRC) EV drop there-- is that the vast majority of buyers AREN'T in EVs to do The Greater Good, they are in it for a 'deal'. At least, such could be argued. Tesla is throwing some levers (layoffs, store closings, price drops) to try and stem the bleeding, but if volume is their key to profitability, they've just been set back almost a year. Last time the Model 3 sold less than the 5750 it did in Feb was April 2018.

^ Automotive Royalty. - - - - - W. T. F. ~

Speaking of vintage Cadillacs, I recently watched a TV show from a few years ago set in Miami Beach in 1958-1960, 'Magic City'...had a bunch of neat cars..the lead character drove a white '58 Eldorado convertible and then a white '59 Cadillac..the main villain was chauffeured a black '58 Fleetwood Sixty Special 4dr ht. Lots of late 50s eye candy cars for various characters and background scenes..

Ya- I don't get the long-running fashion of slapping skirts on cars that didn't come with them- it's almost universally a worse look. And in the custom arena- 101% of the 'cruiser / bubble' skirts look awful. Here's the same body shell '63 vs. 64 Eldorado- the '63 looks fine but I prefer the '64 ~

Can't recall when I last saw a 70s Subie..those were weird looking...I vaguely remember seeing a few early wagons in Colorado in the oughts...and they were white or beige. I don't recall ever seeing the 2dr hardtop body style.

Memories resurface from time to time, jarring our version of reality: I was into Subarus in the late 70's. Weird and wonderful back then, but rust buckets in the extreme. Ha, their version of the Cutlass Supreme:

Very true. In Montreal, it is very okay to ask someone what their ethnicity is. Everyone talks about it. It's healthy ... and interesting. They might also do that in New York or Philadelphia or Chicago. That is almost not acceptable in the Western United States. It might be something you discuss with the offspring of more recently arrived Asians but not with the offspring of Europeans. It's very sad, especially if you're first generation. I hate the whole notion of the American "melting pot." It may be relevant if you are 4 or 5 different nationalities. It is certainly not relevant it you are 100% one nationality or a perfect 50:50 split of two nationalities. I just noticed this is in the car spotting thread. No worries.

The $29 deal is only for certain models of iPhone. I think the 6, 6S, and 7. You do not want to go any older than a 6S if you buy used.

We got this back at the start of October, by the way. It's "in the family" and I bought it through my consulting firm. Back in June of last year, with 6 months to go on the Traverse lease and a checklist of "I don't like...I don't want...but I do want", I made mom drive a checklist of cars: Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo/Limited (what she said she wanted before driving) Subaru Ascent Limited (loved it, just too big) Buick Envision Turbo (too small, too narrow, didn't like the drive) and looked at a GMC Acadia ("don't need to drive it, thanks") Mazda CX-9 Touring (beautiful, comfortable, and not too big. She just didn't want it) 2019 Kia Sorento EX AWD V6 (another one she really liked) Toyota Highlander Limited (minivan, meh, and not a fave) Waited another 3 months, then off with the Traverse and into a late model year 2018 JGC Limited.

For the cost of an Equinox...a more refined Grand Cherokee with a silent silky V6 and crisp 8 speed, that can get better mileage real world, is far more comfortable, etc. isn't that much more. See what's possible. I had a base-base 2016 GC Laredo 4x2 as a rental, also, back in 2017 and it was just as nice, aside from few features. Also the first one I averaged 27.5mpg on a highway trip in.

We own a consulting firm now for vehicle purchases, nationwide, and usually stay away from the higher end trims for those reasons. Air ride, few want nor is it recommended, and at the end of the day, not much else is different vs. a Limited. Go Limited Luxury II with panoramic, cooled seated, etc. and you have it all. Get ANY 2018+, 7.0" or 8.4", and you have the latest UConnect with CarPlay anyway. Lots of trim options. to choose. Great mix. FCA "reliability" is no different than any other modern vehicle. I worked for Honda/Acura for 6+ years, and came to realize, driving dynamics aside, the build quality was a mix (or a mess), the refinement stunk, and still issues. Before the Jeep, there was a 2011 GMC Terrain, a 2013 GMC Terrain, and a 2016 Traverse. None went in for any issues, per say, but all had miserable infotainment that would crash, black out, or stop working (aside from the 2011 without a touch screen) and poor powertrain dynamics. Buy a 1st 6 months Alfa Giulia...it'll be finnicky. Buy a Grand Cherokee, you've been fine for 8 years, and each year the powertrain tuning is even better.