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Welcome back @Cmicasa the Great, I got something new myself since you've been here last.

What's up Old friend... Just been working, expanding business and endeavoring in new ventures. Tryin to prepare for early retirement.. My car enthusiasm has turned to Harleys and Boating/Yachting as well. And Boating is Life in the Chesapeake. Riding is Life on these roads. Running my Softail, a V-Rod Muscle and a new Road King Special.. All modded and cammed up if course.. And sailing a 38 Ft Rinker.. But U know I can't give up my Z06 and Caddy Luv

@oldshurst442... No doubt Bro... I'll be the Skipper lol. Say hello to the SeaMicasa.. She's out in front with my brother's in the rear (blue) and my first boat in middle (smallest) that I bought in `20 and sold to the new owners this past summer VID_20220910_070039.mp4 Bet! Sounds doable.. When the weather gets better I will be able to to make that trip

Ill b calling u 'skipper' from now on. Although now, with Softails and V-Rods, alongside the Z06 and Caddy, you're badder to the bone. b-b-b-b-bad. Bad to the Bone!!!

I know that scene so well! Red Forman is my hero lol. I also have that exact car as a Matchbox car... and it sits right next to... And yes, even at 50, I am still a big kid when it comes to cars.

@Drew DowdellLooks Fun Bro.. I remember U saying U were looking at getting that model a few years back. Glad U did.. Here's my Ladies

Greetings .. From the Land of Cmicasa Mioso Bossa?

I come down to Rehoboth Beach sometimes. I'll have to coordinate with you.

For a '65 Riv, I prefer a more stock look. Beautiful cars..love the Rivieras. My favorites are the '66-67 and '71-72. I love how Buick used wheels of this style from the mid 60s until the mid 80s.

Very cool barn find.

Sometimes you get the MRI. Other times the MRI gets you. Probably going to have way too much down time this year due to not one, but two different hip surgeries (left and right) in the cards this year. Ugh but if it takes away the pain, it'll be worth it. Just throws a monkey wrench into some of my creative endeavor plans this year.

According to the meta data it was in Maxwell Place Park, NJ

OK... If we are goimg to nit pick the Detroit Speed Riviera, then I too, would agree that its slammed too low. And that the wheels ARE 3 sizes too big. I too, would like them to be 17 inches MAX and not so low to the ground. Its a boulevard cruiser. Its not a sports car. Its not even a GT car. Its a...boulevard cruiser to cruise...the Riviera. Kinda like that one particular dad once said Id like to add that the back end, below the bumper, its empty. Just an empty slab of metal. I do like that they reversed the placement of the taillights above the bumper instead of below, but that left the bottom to be empty. Maybe if the exhaust came out of the rear in that empty space and be flush with the body panel framed by a bezel. Dual exhaust one at each end. Kinda like this look but not at the bottom, but in the middle of that empty space panel between the bumper and the bottom.

There is such a wide range of performance in three season tires that I’m sure these will fall somewhere on the spectrum quite easily. As for cost, I’m sure they will cost more initially, as Goodyear is still sorting out the supply chain, but eventually they’ll come to price parity.

So, the reason the Volt was so complicated was because of the electric drive/transmission. It had two electric motors sandwiched into a single unit and connected with two clutchs. During hard acceleration, it used both of them, but in normal circumstances or at cruising, it used the larger motor at a low power draw to keep you moving because horsepower needs on a flat highway at 65mph are minimal... we're talking like 20ish - 30ish horsepower. With both motors engaged at full power, the Volt could make about 220 horsepower in sport mode. If you were at a steady cruise and the Volt decided it needed to regenerate the battery, the gas engine (1.5 liter naturally aspirated) would kick on and use the smaller of the two electric motors as a generator to top up the batteries and keep you on your way. There was a rare situation where if you had a battery with zero range left AND you were cruising above 80 mph, GM found that it was actually more fuel efficient to just lock both electric motors to the engine shaft and have the gas motor direct drive the wheels. This caused a big bruhahah when Jalopnick released this tidbit with them accusing GM of lying about the Volt being a hybrid. The way GM did this was via a planetary gear sets connected to those electric motors and also to the gas engine. It was through this they were able to to have so many combinations of power in a single unit. It was both incredibly complex yet elegantly simple. They did something similar with the CT6-PHEV but they built the transmission as a 6-speed with 2 eCVTs built in as well which makes the CT6-PHEV one of the oddest vehicles to operate. So, the reason I don't see them doing it as a hybrid is that it involves way too much complexity. They'd need a transmission, a large enough gas tank, all the exhaust plumbing, etc.... and where are they going to put all of that. In an ideal world, I'd see them build a small displacement flat-4 around 1.2L- 1.5L and tie it to a generator only. They could put it in the back under the bed if they wanted, or up in the traditional spot under the hood. My bet, however, is that they use the non-turbo version of the 1.3 liter in the Dodge Hornet. This engine family is very compact, it fits in the Fiat 500, and could provide enough juice to increase range while letting the electric motors do all of the pulling. And remember, this is just a range extender, not an infinite range cheat-code. It's not meant to replace plugging in, but just to buy the driver time between charge stops when towing.

Aside from the wheels being 3 sizes too large and it slammed too low, I love the attention to detail. I would have wanted closer to era appropriate wheels/tires in both size and style. I'm not saying drop it all the way back to 15", but some retro 18"s would have been fine. Those look at least 20" and they foul the front fender on turns.

I am not a crook... by modern standards..

What do you think would be the smallest engine needed to charge the batteries faster than depleting them in an application like this? Doesn't the Volt have like a 1.2L engine that's only used as a generator? I couldn't imagine really needing anything larger than that, even though the electricity consumption will be much greater than a Volt. I'm thinking about this because, while I still think it's a great idea, that's going to add a lot of complexity and those "potential savings" goes down the drain when adding ICE maintenance to the mix. I know I'm more of an outlier with the little daily miles that I rack up but, I think if I had 70-100k to drop on a daily truck, I'd just go straight EV and get a Silverado with 400 miles or range or Lightning with 330 miles of range. There are zero future towing expeditions that would be more than trips to local lumber yards or picking up dirt/rock. 50 miles of range would suffice with a trailer in both of those instances so I wouldn't care about the massive decreased towing range. The more I think about this, the more I think the "standard" PHEV would be better here. Give it 30-50 miles of electric range then use it as a standard hybrid.

Good morning ... Now that I have your attention ... . , , Happy Nixon's Birthday!

Seems Lexus is working to get everyone onboard with electification.

Very interesting that the latest survey of the top 10 auto's for theft. Catalytic Converter Theft: The 10 Vehicles Thieves Target Most (msn.com) The 10 Cars Most Prone to Catalytic Converter Theft 10. 2001–2021 Toyota Prius 9. 2011–2017 Chrysler 200 8. 1987–2019 Toyota Camry 7. 1997–2020 Honda CR-V 6. 2005–2021 Chevrolet Equinox 5. 1999–2021 Chevrolet Silverado 4. 1990–2022 Ford Econoline/E-Series 3. 2007–2017 Jeep Patriot 2. 1989–2020 Honda Accord 1. 1985–2021 Ford F-series

Im not a truck guy. I have just recently started accepting them and adoring them. But I adore them as muscle cars. I LOVE the go fast, go anywhere, insane versions of those full sized pick-up trucks. You know....the Raptor and TRX versions. I still wouldnt consider a pick-up truck UNLESS I was buying a Raptor or TRX. Oh...yes I would most DEFINETELY own a Raptor or TRX. But a regular ole' pick-up. Not a chance. Therefore, ICE 1500 or EV 1500 or the 2500 versions of those regular 'ole pick-ups still dont do a bloody thing for me. I do like the idea of a range extender EV truck using a gasoline engine to help out with the lack of an EV infrastrucutre for someone that needs it. I question though how popular an EV extender pick-up will actually BE in places like Texas or Alberta. Something tells me, you'll have to pry their cold dead hands away from an ICE powered truck before any of 'em will own anything resembling an EV. These good 'ole boys would rather have a 160CC Honda lawn mower engine powered full sized 2500 mudder than anything with a battery...me assumes.

Well, your observations are mostly accurate. They involved some profiling and I think that, if street smart and with some of life's mileage, profiling often works. And, if it works, don't fix it! I'm not much a TV watcher, so I didn't know who they were, either. But I kept seeing them on my homepage from time to time, so I clicked on the link. They are Joe and Teresa Giudice of ... yes ... New Jersey. She was in the show "Real Housewives of New Jersey," which sounds like having one's teeth pulled to have to watch. Amazingly, these two remained married for a long time for being associated with the entertainment world and had 4 daughters. As for Joe, he got nailed for tax evasion or wire fraud or something like that (I don't remember) and was deported to Italy. That is where he now lives. I find it insulting how American media bastardizes the pronunciation of their last name, which, in Italian, means "judge." (We can't do that with Hispanic names in America.) This is what they looked like when they were young, taken on a beach somewhere, probably on the Jersey Shore. She's probably the most stereotypically Italian woman I've ever seen ... even after just getting back from Toronto! Like I said, it would be "never a dull moment" with folks like these on one's block.

Congrats, @Drew Dowdell!

Well, it was a little sooner than I expected... Today was promoted to Director of Communication for the municipality I work for. After a few decades in I.T. and Project Management, I am stepping away from those and more into a field that I enjoy. Clearly I will still be using some of those skills in my new position, but they will allow me to finally pivot away from I.T. which I've grown tired of. In the next year I will be leading a complete rebrand of the local government including a new website. In the process, we will completely revamp the way we communicate to the community. It's going to be a fun ride and with a larger (and, frankly, more competent staff) it will also allow me much more time to spend here. I don't expect this to be a long term post, but it is a great jumping off point for where I want to go next.

For the first time in a bunch of years, I am actually looking forward to the new year. Work has been quite the roller coaster for me, but I'll have some career change news to share in a week or two. Happy New Year to all.

Good morning ... Now that I have your attention, Happy New Year! * For the world, more peace ... a LOT more peace. For everyone else here, whatever makes you and yours happy and that you all stay healthy. Cheers! * when I first saw their photos, I didn't know who they were because I don't watch much TV. Now, had they not been celebs and just regular people, these are the kinds of folks you'd want as neighbors, largely for their comic value.

RAM 1500 REV? Not impressed with the name for an electric truck. Ram Trucks reveals the name for its Ram 1500 electric pickup (electrek.co)

Enjoying my week off, catching up on sleep, puttering around the house. Got the Jeep washed to get the salt off. My sister traded her ‘15 Trax w/ 26k miles on a new ‘23 Equinox today, wanted a bigger car before she starts snowbirding down South. Nice car.

Nothing crazy in the Montreal area. Other than a few flights canceled and people being stranded at Trudeau Airport. Pearson International being even worse than we. But that is Toronto. And quite honestly, who gives a shyte about 'Toranna' ???!!! Winter has settled in nicely up here. Nothing too crazy. Just the norm. We got another couple of inches of snow yesterday making the roads a tad slicker than what they were before. Temps are not too crazy cold. About in and around 21 F. The usual shyte this time of year. It is said that the next couple of days the temp will rise to just above freezing but dip to 5 F right after and for a good week and stay that way. But that is just the norm.

If ya want to see Seattle Auto Pinball, watch this. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmiHwTeLmEZ/?igshid=OGQ2MjdiOTE=

Yes, that is my driveway covered in about an inch of ice. US2 highway pass has been closed for most of last week, the weekend and the start of this week. They plan to open it tomorrow after using scrappers to break up the 6 inches of ice that covered the road. This year has been a crazy winter so far and it is just starting.

Crazy weather this weekend. Was about 41 late Thursday evening, got up to 0 and falling Friday morning. Up to 21 now, the warmest it's been since Thursday.

Oh, well then, Happy Birthday @surreal1272!

The big 5-0oooh my freakin Jesus! Thanks lol!

Not launching until spring.

Love me some travel. Right after Thanksgiving, I bolted across the pond, more so to Iberia for some nicer weather, and stayed about two weeks, flying home the day after my birthday so I could be home for the holidays. It was a paid One World (American and its allied airlines) ticket and it wasn't all that pricey in the economy cabin for an "open jaw" trip. I went outbound on American's partner Finnair, laying over in Helsinki, to get down to Portugal. Helsinki isn't all that far from the Russian border and is an incredibly clean, high functioning, and slightly expensive city. This is the ubiquitous Airbus A330 and I've got a few seats on this one I like. Finnair appears to be slotting in Airbus A350s to replace them, but I prefer 2-4-2 seating to 3-4-3. I returned on British Airways and, again, had to have the treat of flying on the Airbus A380. It's now not that hard to do because they're using them to/from London into at least 4 U.S. gateway cities that are big American Airlines hubs. That would be the ride across the pond to Chicago O'Hare for the next plane connection. There's another A380 parked behind it and I didn't look to see where it was headed. To the right of me would have been the MIA and DFW bound superjumbos. This one going to MIA had just pushed back and was getting ready to proceed to the taxiways and runway. Pushing back and sitting upstairs way in the back, I could see that other two-level beast that was parked at the gate to the right. I'll find a few more photos to put up in the Airplanes thread.

BTW @David, if you want to pass some blame here, start with the US itself circa the 1970s when we not only rejected the metric system, but a universal pictograph system used in just about every other country in the world. The U.S., Canada, and Australia were the only three that said no so if you want to start with us first before saying it's a non-english speaking immigrant driver problem. Europe has dozens of different languages across the continent yet drivers can drive from Germany to Italy, from France to Greece, with no issues with signs because of the standardized pictograph system in place there.

And literally none of that is predicated on one’s ability to understand English. And feel free to look up California if you think there wouldn’t be economic repercussions for what you’re suggesting.

I stopped eating pretty much all Restuarant food since I can cook better at home and healthier.