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That '40 Merc CT is HOT! Mobster style. 540cid BB in that Sq. Body?1 Dang! Very clean lifted silver Sq. Body on cover shot below and @2:55 is very close to the look of my white '86 SB LB 3/4 ton 4x4 I had, mine had a 4" Rancho lift with 35x16.5" BFG AT's I had the chrome 8 horizontal square bar grille. Trying to find a digital pic. Man I miss that truck!

Sun Valley ~

Always liked the square body C10s..esp. like the '83-84 grille, and the '73-74.

I like square body Chevy trucks more all of the time.

DRIVEN: 2020 Cadillac XT6 AWD Sport, MSRP about 63,500. Satin Steel exterior, black interior. HIGHS: -Peppy, responsive 3.6 v6 and 9 speed auto. -Nice quick steering, unusual for a CUV and especially for Cadillac. -Overall, nice suspension, ride and handling. Comfortable but tight in turns, feels darn near sedan like, Cadillac did a really nice job with the steering, ride and handling. -I didn't take issue with the interior so much, apart from it's dated and dull design. At least in all black it looked pretty good and textures and plastics and build quality were nice; I just don't have a good frame of reference for interiors vs. the whole of the competition. -Some have criticized Cadillac's 'plain' gauges (the newest style) but i really like them. Not fussy looking. -Some have criticized Cadillac for lack of bolster on the seats but my wide corn fed midwestern body liked the flatter wider seat. -The last few years, Cadillac infotainment control has become some of the best. Quite the same as in my Buick. Bad CUE has been relegated to the scrap heap. -The XT6 tall boxy shape lends for a lot of glass area and upright cabin and therefore visibility is top notch all around. The new rear camera mirror is icing on the cake for a great view all around. -For those that like mid size SUV's the front row is pretty spacious; it's the same size as the XT5. -The tall boxy shape also makes for a LOT of headroom....plus the seating is taller in the second row, it helps make it seem as though leg room is generous. -Cargo space is tall, and good room with 3rd row down. -The XT6 particular in Sport trim is quite stealthy looking. No one really would get that its a Cadillac on first glance and its boxy shape is likely not to draw much ire from law enforcement. -Quietness and road noise comfort in the cabin that is better than the lesser GM counterparts. -This example had the heads up display. Glad GM still puts those in a few vehicles. -No way I attempt to get into the third row, but it actually LOOKED like smaller humans may be able to enjoy sitting back there....even if they are hanging way over the back end..... -A good three row Cadillac for empty nesters, boomers, and Grandparents. LOW'S -XT6 is good power but an uplevel engine option IMO is warranted as the prices climb. And considering the competition within the luxury marques. -The engine sounds are really similar to the XT4...really throaty and it revs out. At times, the Cadillac traditionalists would consider it 'noisy' (I don't). It's a shame that may keep a lot of driver's from 'stepping on it' and accessing the zip. -Second row cabin width, is challenged....2-4 more inches in the width of the second row seating (and cargo area) may have been nice. -Level of exterior styling, design and interiors is not perhaps up to the level of the pricing.... it's good, but perhaps the platinum package makes a difference, IDK. -Overall, interiors and exteriors lacks presence in the company of (for example) the Aviator that was on the same parking lot that day. SUMMARY Not a bad vehicle at all, and yet, not an object of luxury car market desire. Surprising in some vehicle dynamics and otherwise not seeming to be 'compelling', yet as the best and most refined choice for GM fans in the midsize 3 row SUV segment its got some appeal as a unique choice and stealth / wallflower factor. Rushed to market, and it shows, sort of a Frankenstein offering that doesn't get your attention right away. Now, this would have been an AWESOME vehicle if it had come out as the original SRX in 2004......it's still sort of the Vibes of 2004......... ---Recommended for those who appreciate the ride and handling / suspension, snarly powertrain, quietness and comfort, stealth factor and uniqueness, and popular mid size. Just don't pay too much....make sure you get a great discount.

• The 'e-COPO' Camaro is neat, because it's a dedicated track-only car built to do one thing (and it works). • The C-10 is basically a 'show cruiser for 2', so the fact the bed no longer functions probably isn't a deal breaker. • But the Blazer is a beater with off-road capability and the conversion destroys the cargo space. Sucks you'd have to either rig a plywood platform over the battery packs or heft your belongings onto a roof rack to get any utility out of it. That's a fail in my book.

It seems LaCroix specialty water is now a cool way to go to quench thirst with flavor, no sugar, and no sodium. HOWEVER, some flavors of LaCroix are really, really bad.

As for airline and automaker cards, they encourage different spending patterns. I think the automaker cards are actually safer. With airline cards, you visualize wanting to go on a trip annually. Then, they offer spending bonuses. Airline cards tend to have maintenance fees every year - not to bad, at about $60. I took some good trips and got rid of them. As for an automaker card, they don't kick in until a person is in the market. The only bonuses that seem to come along are top-off offers. Agreed that the ridiculous price points of SUVs/CUVs make the earnings on the card useful. They'd make a top-off offer useful, too. The price points and product lines may push me away from GM products. As for SS-based, I'm guessing you're thinking of the now gone Chevy SS or Pontiac G6, but possibly a little larger. I don't see it happening, though I think that would be decent. I think other automakers will steer clear of the Charger/300 twins rather than muscle in on their proven mastery within that small market. David, I wouldn't even go near a vehicle with a sticker of $ 51 K. Not my thing. Even with a massive discount. The more basic Envisions sticker out at about $ 35 K with FWD and $ 37 K with AWD. It would be easier to consider them when starting the discounting process on those vehicles at around those prices. I also like the outgoing Envision. Simpler, too. I have to warm up to the new one, if I ever will. That said, I'm not in the market. The mileage on my current car is too low. I'm looking out a ways. That's why I am keeping tabs on what Chevy is doing with sedans and on the Charger/300.

FYI, while I agree that the Buick Envision is a bit pricey, as long as you do not mind color, you usually can get the fully loaded Buick Envision for about 1/3rd off at the end of the year. I helped my oldest sister a little over 2 years ago get a fully loaded Envision for $39K including tax and license out the door compared to the sticker price of $51K that was on it. I see even now a fully loaded Premium II that still stickers for $51K is currently on sale for $44K. I would expect with the all new 2022 coming out this spring that you can get the last model pretty cheap.

With recent redesigns, Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin look and work more similarly than differently...a few times I've had to look closely to realize *which* one I was on.

Maybe not. While airline miles may not seem valuable now, they might be in another two years when we travel again. As for the whole CUV/SUV thing, you will probably NEED that automotive loyalty card because of the rather high MSRPs that are all over the industry these days. Last thing, perhaps with that card you could use it to get a discount on a two-year old Envision for a reasonable price instead of the rather sky-high price of the new ones. I really do resent the high MSRP of CUVs and SUVs these days, as if they are all discontinued as of July. Instead they are as popular as ever. SAD. I would be ecstatic if GM had a clue and built an SS-based Buick (v6 with a v8 option) to crush the 300/Charger twins, but the business case is almost nonexistent.

The Olds announcement came on December 12, 2000, IIRC. Not the sort of news I wanted under my Christmas tree. Back to the Malibu and without talking about EVs. Hold that thought. The final model year is likely to be 2024. That means it will arrive in the fall of 2023. They are supposedly budgeting for a refresh in 2022. (Please get rid of that noxious kink in the rear C-pillar ... thank you.) What would you see them doing to it while still an I.C.E. vehicle for those last 2 years? Here's the problem with SUVs and CUVs for me. As others had stated, I don't like the way they look. Then, it's about money. At the price point of what used to be a decent heirloom GM sedan, I'd be forced into a crappy SUV or CUV. I do not like the Trax and the Encore ... clumsy looking, too rounded, small engine that gets poor mileage when in that sort of platform, and poor visibility. The one CUV I sort of like - the Envision - is too highly priced and I'd have to get the base engine and FWD. Again, let's not talk EV because I am not interested at this point. I would want an I.C.E. that has been around for a while. The reason this stuff is even interesting to me is because I got an automotive loyalty credit card instead of an airline miles credit card. I didn't see this happening. Now I'm wondering if I would have been better off with an airline miles credit card.