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I'm one of those people that certain things wouldn't change that you'd expect to change if I won the $1b Powerball. Flare is not something I'd ever chase regardless of the size of my bank account. Yes, I'd buy a bunch of cars, but for every one Lucid Air Sapphire I owned, there'd be 3 old carbed land yachts from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, in the garage. Yes, I'd get a bigger house, but not some absurd "Cribs" sprawling mansion, I'd aim for an 80+ year older "estate" on some land with a warehouse of cars nearby, probably in New England. My daily would probably be a black CT6 platinum. Quiet Luxury.

As I was emerging from the car wash, I spotted this beautiful Custom Bruiser whale waiting in line at the gas station in front of me.

I have been in an Italo-American crooner kinda mood for several days myself. The crooner style kinda being being jazz itself is what Im trying to say. And in particular this one always popping up. I was wanting to pair this one up with a car. But I couldnt feels the car that would go with this song. Not yet at least. Im still trying to figure it out though. RIP Mr. Bennett I did this one with a Detomaso but in the song's original format. Love this version more than the original though! Actually, Ive had this style in my head for almost all summer long. Its started out with this song with all the weird and sad stuff going on around me. And then the death of Tony Bennett really cemented my choices all sumer long. RIP Mr. Bennett

Just in a Jazz kind of mood today as I work.

Still a BOF car. A unibody car would have collapsed under all that weight.

Is Birch Bay around Bellingham, near the Canadian border, and often murky? - - - - - I liked this stretch of Firebird years and it's rare to see a Trans Am convertible, especially in an accessible parking space. Not a judgment ... just saying. Nice car, but the pewter color or whatever it is isn't that flattering.

Well, I'm back, with my first GM vehicle in a long time, though my home garage also has a Dodge, a Chrysler, 3 Volvos, a Jaguar, and a Land Rover (not all of them run, and 4 are project vehicles, and one is a rusted out basket case I'm trying to sell the engine out of). The solitary GM vehicle that I just added is a 50 year old running project vehicle. When I joined C&G, I was living in Australia. I moved to Canada in 2008, and have been living in rural Nova Scotia with my Canadian wife of 17 years, for 11 years. I'm a few months away from turning 70, and indulging in items from my bucket list. My latest GM acquisition has been on my bucket list for over 40 yeasrs. There's other personal stuff from my bucket list I am in the process of doing, that I may talk about in the future.

Kicking off the month, went to Birch Bay for the holiday weekend. Saw some amazing autos including my first VW ID van. They are so cool ?. Saw a wide variety of restored mustangs, to old model T ford's. Saw this old.van, think it is a Chevrolet but not 100% sure.

Sinatra and a big ol Cadillac El Dorado is what I would pair him up with.

In vehicles this size, solid rear axle v. IRS means little in terms of comfort, and few can tune a solid rear axle for comfort better than the domestics. IRS is mostly about handling while spring rates and shock absorbers determine comfort. I don't know which suspension setup he has, but the air suspension setup in my Avalanche is very comfortable and I have no complaints there. He might have magnaride, so he would have a shock absorber advantage over me. Get his Escalade or my Avalanche out on the open highway and they will match any non-airmatic Benz on comfort. They'll get beat by the latest Lincolns Navigator and Aviator, but that's only because Lincoln tunes their spring rates to be like driving a pillow. I doubt he ever rides in the 2nd or 3rd row of his Escalade, so his perspective is only that of the driver. I don't know if the author Aaron Kiley is suffering from atrophied back muscles or something, but exactly what corners is he throwing these vehicles into to require large and firm side bolstering? Driving in the same seats literally every day, I don't ever experience what he describes. My second row probably gets low marks too, but so do most truck second rows. Doesn't matter to me though, my second row gets folded more than sat in. TL:DR, the Escalade and Avalanche from this generation are both very comfortable for the drivers.

Horsepower and torque is the cure to many things in life. I approve. But it was a good thing he pressed on forward and continued on that way (pedal to the metal) because had he lost momentum by easing up on the throttle, I have a feeling those 700 horses would just dig a deeper hole and go nowhere. However. This little stunt did screw up at least one of several Burning Man princples. Leaving No Trace Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them. But also solidified the last one Mother Nature is a beast that mankind will NEVER be able to tame. She will ALWAYS overpower us. No idea can substitute from this experience... that contact with a natural world EXCEEDS human powers. Well...unless one owns and drives a TRX from Dodge. One could try and possibly succeed in overcoming what Mother Nature may throw at us. Immediacy Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.

Very Cool Video of a RAM TRX using all it's power to escape the mud at Burning Man. https://twitter.com/brendanmcogbill/status/1698524763994378240?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1698524763994378240|twgr^8ac82528dbffe8d91f101d9430a3b1e52ea30d86|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fram-1500-trx-truck-goes-viral-burning-man-2023-9 Also posting the link in case the Twitter linking video does not show.

EXTERIOR PHOTOS General side view Front angled view Rear angled view; this shows the chunkiness of the transition from the rear door to the liftgate area Close-up of rear liftgate; I believe opening it required lifting the Toyota logo ... I've seen that gimmick with other brands and it's sort of cool Dropping it off into a rental car parking structure that is a little cramped! This photo was interesting because the door colors look different to me or it's the lighting at work over the sculpted lines of the side profile.

The front looks like a mix of Lincoln and Genesis styling cues.. And this photo got me thinking that the headlights would look great retrofit to a GMT-400 or GMT-800...

Definetly its just eye candy and status (with the high price) of these kinds of watches. High end watches in history were always jewlery. Functioning jewelery like @Drew Dowdell said and prefers his watches. I must admit, I prefer my watches as functioning pieces as well. I am not a 1%er. Duh... Cars like a Cadillac NEVER fit my personality. Forget about Rolls Royce as that is old money and my family history is as poor as one gets. So extremely high end watches never fit my personality either. HOWEVER, sometimes I like obnoxiuos things to flash around. Exotic cars were really not my thing either. Muscle cars? Yes!!! Blue collar speed and performance. And this is where watches intersects with the automobile passions that I have. I like crazy styled Lamborghinis as much as I like the really high end crazy stuff like a Bugatti Parmesiani Fleurier or a Richard Mille. But it aint my personality. I oike looking at them behind a glass or on another man's RICH as phoque wrist. No jealousy. But admiration. And then there is the normally styled or slightly differently styled extremely expensive watches And those would look GREAT on my wrist. But that kind of thing goes against my life principles as well. I am not a commie, but I do NOT feel comfy in my skin knowing that we have such a huuuuge divide between the haves and have nots in the world. And if I was that filthy rich to be able to afford several things of that nature, maybe I wouldnt give a phoque, but as I am now. Yeah... Not my style. All to say, that Im willing to pass on function since time is kept and viewed anywhere and everywhere today, I still prefer a watch to perform its MAIN duty, and that is to tell time, but it does have to look good doing it, but not crazy priced either as a Casio or Timex do it perfectly and for peanuts. I like the history of Bulova. They have made, as an AMERICAN watch as well, they have made SEVERAL important horological breakthroughs in time keeping. And I like keeping that information close to my heart as many people do not realize how Bulova shaped the watch industy in the 1950s and 1960s. I respect them for that. And the fact that those breakthroughs do not break the bank.

I actually really like that it's built by Shinola. I don't own any Shinolas but I would because it is a US brand, and I think that's cool as hell. Most of their stuff is too large for me though. Most Bulova watches don't do anything for me so while they're a more well-known name, I just don't care much for Bulova watches. I would, however, own a Bulova clock. I agree. There's no argument from me there but I could see if I was in the financial status of being able to own something like this, I'd also have PLENTY of functional watches so this would just be something to not use as a real watch. Hell, If I had a Richard Mille, I'd probably never even set the time because it'd be useless hahaha. They're weird because they are such a status symbol and I'm sure they're FANTASTICLY built watches, they're just useless at their one designed job, telling time. Such irony.

Eh, I prefer function before form. Both are important, but without the function, it's just flash which doesn't impress me. Same reason I won't wear clothing with giant brands on it.

Would have been more amusing if it had been a Tesla...

It is like about 1912 or 1914 all over again, but this time with electric cars. We have a hundred years of stupid crazy progress ahead of us, and none of us will sadly live to see what wonderful things are coming in terms of EV's. I thought the crap stain down the passenger side was quite "interesting"

Yes, Birch Bay is just before Blain and the Canadian Border.

Australia. Guten Tag, mate! I ALWAYS wanted to visit Vienna! Im in Montreal! Welcome back!!!

I have been there multiple times. Glad you found the way out.

Maybe the styling will grow on me when I see it in person…but I’m not a fan of the rear. The interior looks splendid but like what Drew said, those screens can be really distracting and difficult to use.

Been lots of changes in my personal life. Two years ago, after half a century of deep, almost suicidal depression, I finally saw a therapist, and she quickly figured things out, and I've been following her advice ever since. The depression is gone, and people that knew me as little as 2 years ago would find me unrecognizable now.

As for Costco, I just checked in on Levi's 505 jeans - the basic model with a zipper - and they've been $29.99 for a long time. I figured $32.99. Nope. They were $35.99 or $36.99. - - - - - Back on topic: I got a new serpentine belt put on today. I went in at 8:00 a.m. and was able to wait for it. I replaced the original one, which went over 125,000 miles! Unbelievable. And the original one didn't look all that bad. (Check out the photos.)

Very interesting, SK On a battery supplier to Ford and VW for EVs had shown off two types of potential Solid-State batteries in March 2023. They just released this month the following Press Release. SK On develops new solid electrolyte with top-level lithium-ion conductivity – SK Innovation Newsroom (skinnonews.com) Seems the Chinese hope to have prototype batteries in 2026 with mass production of Solid-State batteries in 2028 for all their commercial accounts. The prototype battery assembly plant is currently under construction in China. So what does this get us you ask: 70% improvement in Lithium-ion conductivity for improved stability Battery Capacity increase of 25% Current liquid Lithium-ion cells have a maximum of 4.3V Solid-State cells have a maximum of 5.5V currently End result is battery packs that are far more stable in all temperatures, 25% reduction in size with same kW or in current battery pack size, a 25% increase in power for longer range.

Crazy but seems underground bunkers are all the rage again thank you to UK.

Yes, I checked to see if it belonged to another romance language as well and it surprisingly along belongs to Romanian ... Italian - regina (queen) - pronounced just like "reh" and then the name "Gina" right after it; the people in Saskatchewan were clueless to adopt their pronunciation. French - reine Spanish - reina Portuguese - rainha *Romanian - regina*