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@Drew Dowdell @Robert Hall @trinacriabob @A Horse With No Name @ccap41 @surreal1272 @oldshurst442 And including all of the C&G members that are here that I do not interact with often enough or those I have forgotten their handles. Wishing each and every one of you a Merry Xmas Eve and Merry Xmas. To those that do not celebrate Xmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, Happy time off. Wishing each and every person here a restful end to the year, one of love, respect, relaxation to you and your families. Wishing all the best!

no, but this month is 18 years together.

I think you need to look deeper at this. He made his money, millions of it, by talking, so he has a natural desire to keep the conversation going. He was also incredibly disingenuous about it. It's all well and good to say we shouldn't build walls, but he was responsible for building or reinforcing most of them. This tweet is just rage bait designed to get the right wing angry at the gays, many of whom serve in the military. May is Military Appreciation month. So not only is he spreading bigotry, he's also spreading misinformation.... and he did that All. The. Time. When he got shot, he was in the process of trying to blame mass shootings on trans people. I frequently see people say that he was taken out of context, but when you go look up the entire context, what he's saying is even worse. You know what dead guy you don't have to ever explain context about? Mr. Rogers. Did you know he also kept a public list of professors who taught on subjects like feminism, LGBT issues, or even just American history that he didn't like? He posted these professors pictures and contact information on his website and turned his supporters loose on them flooding them with death threats, sending barrages of e-mail and phone calls to universities to get these professors fired, some of them even having to uproot their lives and move. Doesn't sound very in the spirit of "just keep talking" does it? Imagine having 100,000 people e-mail your boss saying you need to be fired in the worst terms possible. That's not very freedom of speechy of him. He spread Covid misinformation too, something which conservatives have been 100% wrong about on every angle of the subject for over 5 years now. His entire operation was grift. Getting people angry in order to extract money from them. Heck, his memorial service yesterday was selling Merch! His wife set up a gofundme even though they've been bringing in millions for years. So, while you feel you may have some alignment on his views, I would highly encourage you to find out what he was really about and the positions he took specifically to build the very walls he was claiming to want to pull down. But feel free to post a position he had that you agree with and I'll take a wack at it.

Oh I LOVE to engage in politics and talk politics. It is difficult for me to follow my own rule here. But there are other places on the internet for that and I would rather we keep this a friendly place. Politics can, especially of late, ruin relationships and friendships. I've left car clubs over politics and the general bad behavior associated with older white straight men of a particular political party. For a time, I considered shutting down C&G because every thread devolved into an "I love EVs"/"You're a dumb liberal if you do" fight and it really killed my love for this hobby. It has been difficult for me to return to it.

Albert made me a checkerboard cake and it was delicious.

Thank you very much. For my birthday last year I got a gift card for a spa day package which I booked for my birthday this year. So I spent the day yesterday getting a facial and a massage and it was fantastic. Little did I know when I booked it how needed it would be.

He was sleepy joe because we could all sleep at night and he wasn't up at 2 a.m. posting unhinged tweets. You're right about all the rest, but here's some additional context. The Chinese EVs are so cheap because there is a price war going on in China in the EV market right now. They are being sold at a loss even in their domestic market because they have so many companies producing them, they are trying to outlive each other to eventually dominate the market. The Chinese goverment also is subsidizing the purchase of EVs on the consumer end while supporting the industry with subsidies. It's the EV tax credit and battery plant subsidy we did but times 10. The Chinese want entry to the North American market for the same reason. They don't want to just sell here, they want to put the legacies out of business so they can raise prices later. They did this with the solar industry already. We once had a booming solar panel production capacity in North America, but China came in and undersold everyone and now China controls that market.

In this latest war with Canada (we'd been bros since like 1813), this American is taking the Canadian's side. That's all I've got to say on it.

Talking, in general, about politics is not taboo. Talking politics where politics are not wanting to be talked about, is taboo. Nobody is going to specific group pages (Corvette, Mustang, Dallas Cowboys, Montreal Canadians, Dale Earnhardt Jr) groups and wanting to talk politics. Go to political pages that are dedicated to talking that stuff. There are sooooo many pages/sites available if you want to talk politics. Talk politics with people who want to talk politics. That seems fair, right? Personally, I don't want to be talking about the new Silverado EV's multiple trims and battery sizes and have somebody cram some political garbage into the comment section.

Damn, that is so true…. Hard not to when it comes to cars… But it’s much more relaxing to come to places that don’t talk about those “things”. I’m sadly down to a few forums that still enjoy talking about cars…….

While I'm as angry over the current state of things as anyone, I'm going to gently steer the conversation away from politics given the no-politics rule we've had in place for years. If you've got something political to talk about, it must be related to the car industry somehow.

It’s been a cold, snowy January. Highs have been in the 20s since the 1st, flurries every day. I always start my Mustang once a week, got it and the Caddy out this morning. Roads are salty so they went back in the garage…

I wonder what people will think when they see 25% tariffs on Chevy, Ford, Ram, Dodge, Jeep, Nissan and VW vehicles? People think cars cost too much now, just wait. And if you deport all the illegals and loose construction and agriculture workers, housing prices will go up, produce prices will go up. The inflation will hit hard, which will probably lead to recession like 2008. Good chance Nissan goes bankrupt in the next 2 years, Stellantis is a mess (I have seen $26,000 off brand new Grand Cherokees or lease for $299 a month with $0 down, and $19,000 off 2025 Ram trucks already). When these big companies fall it has a trickle down effect. The only positive will be Elon will have pissed off all the liberals that used to buy Teslas before he went "dark MAGA" and once Trump turns on him for failing to cut money from the deficit, the MAGA people will turn on him too.

Stephen Miller 10/6/2025: “A district court judge has no conceivable authority whatsoever to restrict the President…” Hitler, Reichstag speech (1933): “The German nation will no longer tolerate that its will be nullified by judges of a corrupt system.” Miller: “The President has undisputed authority under both statute and the Constitution to deploy troops… to defend a federal facility.” Hitler Speech, Berlin 1934: “The Führer alone is the bearer of the will of the nation; his authority is the highest law.” Miller: “This large-scale political violence is domestic terrorism.” Hitler, Munich 1923: “Whoever resists us is not a political opponent but an enemy of the nation, deserving no mercy.” Miller: “The Portland Police have refused to render aid and assistance to ICE officers… The attacks on ICE are violent armed resistance designed to incapacitate the federal government.” Goebbels, 1934: “Whoever obstructs the work of the state, whoever aids its enemies, commits treason against the nation.” Miller: “We’re going to liberate this city from the criminal element that has plagued it for generations.” Hitler, Reichstag speech, 1933: “We will liberate Germany from the poison that has corroded it from within for generations.” Stephen miller, Memphis speech to LEOs: “I see the guns and badges in this room. You are unleashed. The handcuffs you’re carrying—they’re not on you anymore, they’re on the criminals.” Hitler, Speech to SA and SS, 1934: “You are the soldiers of a new Germany. You are released from the weakness of the past—your duty is to act, not to hesitate.” They're not even hiding the plagiarism.

Been enjoying the fall weather, knowing winter is coming...out rolling in the Caddy last night and today--listening to a couple of my favorite '80s albums--Def Leppard's 'Hysteria' and Van Halen's '5150'... then this afternoon took the Mustang out, listening to U2's 'The Joshua Tree'. Has it really been that long since I was 17? (yes). Back home and I put on some Rush--'Subdivisions' speaks to my computer geek teenage side, 'Time Stand Still' really speaks to me at 55, as does Pink Floyd's 'Time'. Going to put on Pink Floyd's 'The Division Bell', which was an essential part of my soundtrack through the mid 90s. Got to get some Depeche Mode and Pearl Jam in there (I love, love 'Sirens'). I've also been enjoying some Great Lakes Brewing Company Ocktoberfest beer..going to start a bonfire in my firepit tonight and listen to more 80s-90s music probably...

No. He had a gross misunderstanding, intentional or not, of what DEI is. The rest of that quote does not improve the context. He said he specifically questioned the pilot's competence because of skin color. Just like he questioned Justice Jackson's abilities to be a supreme court justice. Direct quote: "If we would have said three weeks ago […] that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative-action picks, we would have been called racist. But now they're coming out and they're saying it for us! They're coming out and they're saying, "I'm only here because of affirmative action." Yeah, we know. You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person's slot to go be taken somewhat seriously. Kirk then played a clip of Jackson Lee speaking in Congress, saying she had been admitted to educational institutions on affirmative action. Kirk then went on to make his point again: "We know. We know. It's very obvious to us you are not smart enough to be able to get it on your own. "I could not make it on my own, so I needed to take opportunities from someone more deserving." That's not how Affirmative Action worked. It didn't take spots away from those more deserving, it took slots away from the mediocre old-white-boys club who only would have gotten in because they're a legacy. A black pilot is a pilot because he completed all the required training, not because of some quota. DEI DOESN'T HAVE QUOTAS. DEI is just about making sure that anyone qualified is able to apply and potentially win the position regardless of gender, sex, race, religion, sexuality, etc. So to wonder if United/Delta/American put a black pilot in the driver seat just because he was black and they needed to meet a quota is just plain racist. There's a pilot shortage anyway, so anyone who is white and qualified is going to be able to find a job if they want one. No. That's a cop-out "Well I don't agree with everything Mussolini did, but at least he made the trains run on time." Don't say you agree with some of the things a nazi says without being able to very strongly qualify it. He was a bigot against race, sexuality, gender, women, and more. So unless its "Well I agree with him that the sky is blue", you're probably better off just not agreeing with him on anything.

Don't be jealous. Just kidding. Just do it. Easier said than done, but I recommend it. And you nailed it. It is considered a crossing in that it's New York to Southampton, or vice versa. Those who know and love this voyage would bristle at it being called a cruise. It follows the traditional historic route of its Cunard predecessors. This is my third crossing and fourth time on QM2. I cut out a lot of things in life. I hit up BK on Whopper Wednesday, for example! Say you're heading to Europe and staying a while. Compare a nice enough cabin to outlays for one-way airfare, lodging for 7 nights, your daily meals, and that you don't have rental car costs and utilities. It's not that much more. You'll have to get an internet package. I also participate in the tipping package and give extra to the stateroom attendant and the dinner waiter and second person. I don't buy alcoholic drinks and I don't go into the casino. I bought a mug and a t-shirt this time ... usually stuff like that. I do have some CCL stock I bought a few years ago. The 7 day crossing gets you $100 in credit. This crossing runs deep in my family. I made 2 round trips on then active Italian Line as a kid. My parents and some of my relatives did it more often than that. Italian Line still called it a transatlantic crossing, but they had stops. Often, from NYC, it was (1) Portugal: Lisbon, (2) Spain: Algeciras/Gibraltar, Barcelona, OR Palma de Mallorca, (3) France: Cannes, and finally (4) Genoa and Naples. They did drop off and pick up passengers at these ports, so people from 4 Southern European countries used their ships to immigrate or repatriate. In port, we usually took the 4 hour motorcoach tours. Lisbon was my favorite port. My parents said the food on Italian Line was top notch, but it was definitely Italian-centric and only somewhat international. The cabin attendants made us these delicious panini with prosciutto, cheese, etc. when we kids asked for them as snacks. You will never forget crossing an ocean as a child.

My CT6 has these thumb rest bumps at 10 and 2 that I use often. But when I’m doing a straight line cruise on the freeway I often hook my thumbs at 5 and 7 so I can rest my elbows on the armrests.

I get that, but it was cheap. We (myself included) are always wanting more affordable cars but when they make them, we complain about how cheap they are.

Well, some nuance. 1. Use your own charging brick, or buy a USB data blocker (USB A Data Blocker) - (USB C Data Blocker) * we get a small commission if you purchase through these links at no cost to you. 2. Use the free airport wifi, but don't do anything financial on it OR subscribe to a credible VPN service for your phone. No hacker is going to care if they get your C&G password. These rules apply just about anywhere, not just when flying. Hotels, coffee shops, restaurants, your car dealership service center waiting room, etc. The taco bell near me has been remodeled to have USB ports, workstations, and free wifi, and those are every bit as insecure as an airport, just lower traffic.

Some more pics.

Dad sent me spy photos of the 2026 Ford F-150 SUB testing south of Miami last week.

A Deville Concours. These were rare when new and rarer now. These were the high end version that came with the more powerful northstar and magnaride. Concours got all the new suspension tech through this generation as it came out.

That's every car company out there. Toyota and Honda only exist today because of the US government getting Japan back on its feet and then later the Japanese government supporting them with currency manipulation and socialized pensions and medicine. Subaru was originally Fiji Heavy Industries which built busses, trains, heavy construction machinery, and was a major supplier of airplanes. FHI is still a major aerospace company who supplies parts for the Airbus 380 and just about every model Boeing makes or has made that starts with a 7. They also make military helicopters and both military and commercial drones. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and VW are all here today because of the Marshall Plan and later their countries' social medicine and pension programs. Mercedes makes a lot of military and construction equipment purchased by governments. BYD (and others) is where it is because the Chinese government spent loads on battery development and incentives to its citizens to by EVs. Prior to that, BYD built their industrial might on building busses and other heavy machinery for the Chinese government and local governments all over the world. GM and Ford had major defense contracts during WWII, the 2008 bailouts, the Biden EV tax credits, the Obama cash-for-clunkers incentives, and much more. However, they famously have always had to manage their own healthcare and pensions systems which are what put them at a competitive disadvantage throughout the 80's and 90's. Stellantis's ownership timeline is too convoluted to even tackle, but Chrysler was bailed out in 1979, then they bought AMC/Jeep which had been kept afloat by the military, then they were bailed out again in 2008 by both the US and Italian governments. Fiat is/was a major equipment and bus supplier in Europe. The French government has always supported Peugeot and Citroen... the list goes on.

I got a mid-size portable one rated for 4500w. It doesn't run the whole house. It's enough to keep the downstairs fridge and freezer going, the internet up, and the phones/laptops charged. In the wintertime it can also be used to run the furnace. We lost power for 18 hours overnight this past winter when it was 11 degrees out, so getting one that will run the furnace was on my list of requirements. We get multi-hour outages several times a year, during the worst of covid we had a transformer blow a couple streets over and they couldn't get a replacement for days, so I think it was an overdue investment. While it does have a connection available to wire into the breaker box, my breaker box is not set up for it. So for me, it was just stringing orange extension cords under the garage door and out the living room window to plug into the unit in the driveway. We got power back for a short time at 11 p.m., then again at 3 a.m., I was able to power down the generator at 3. Last I looked, there were still 134k without power, over 400k at the worst of it. They're saying more bad storms tonight.

Just not good enough at being a motor vehicle period...just hideous, shoddily built chod..

Good morning. I think it would be funny to go into a biker bar, locate the jukebox, select "McArthur Park,""More, More, More," and "I Love the Nightlife," and GTFO.

Whine, like everybody has been here about politics? No wonder there are only like 5 people routinely around here.

In true Stellantis fashion, they should make the Compass about $55k to compete with the Land Rover Evoque so that when they don't sell they can discount then $13k like the Dodge Hornet and still not sell any. All they have to do is put the Hellcat in the Wrangler for $130,000 and then all of a sudden that $60k Wrangler with a 4-cylinder looks like a smoking deal.

He wants to start a war with Canada not realizing that most of us south of the border would fight on the Canadian side.

Both a sexy beast and an outdated dinosaur.

I'm pulling back hard on spending. My vehicles are weeks (300c) or months (Avalanche) from being paid off. The LLC that owns C&G got some new contracts recently and I'm going to be writing off every last thing I can. Both of us may be putting a lot of expensable miles on soon and we might find a cheap EV lease to take advantage of the situation and keep the miles off the ICE vehicles.

Do me a favor. Pick up some N95s just to have. This new bird flu. The timeline of cases is eerily similar to the start of Covid. First a case in Vancouver. Now 60 cases in California. A case in Louisiana. Lions and tigers in an animal sanctuary dropping dead. It’s clearly made the jump to mammals. All 50 states have chicken farms vastly infected. It has a higher mortality rate than covid.

Having done so much driving coast to coast due to my son's Gymnastics from age of 5 to college before he retired in college. I would say the following: British Columbia is equal to the west coast in many ways till you take the Highway and head north in BC and hit the Yukon's and then you truly have an Alaska Conservative equal. Having not spent any time in the NW territories, I cannot answer but would suspect it is far more conservative due to sparse population and tight nit communities of both native Indians and other groups. Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba I find to mirror the U.S. mid-west and Texas. Antario and Quebec I find to be a mixed pot of southern politeness with backstabbing rudeness in some areas and others if your white to be very polite period. I did find in various cities some amazing multi-cultural city areas. I also hit up against the same French BS I hit when I was working in France. A very narrow mind set of society or a very liberal one that was more relaxing to how I was raised. Two sides of a coin. Have never been to Newfoundland and Labrador but would love to see the area. So, no comment on the folks there. NB, Prince Edward and Nova Scotia have been over all very polite and friendly when my wife and I visited about 5 years ago. Like the NE corner of the U.S., lots of friendly people and the occasional narrow-minded turd. If money was no object, would love to visit the rest of Canada including Nunavut and the NW Territories to explore and photograph the area. Would love to experience the drive over the Ice Highway too. So much of North America to see and yet so little time. Could the People Benefit from a single currency with a open free North America, meaning Canada, U.S. Mexico become the North American Union of States. SURE, but will it? NOT in OUR LIFETIME!!! Too many selfish, fascist pricks that hate society if it does not benefit them to allow such a Great Multi-Cultural Union. IMHO

"...because in the desert, you can't remember your name, cause there ain't no on for to give you no pain...." I had to shed a mountain of cobwebs to decide say HI here. Been a while. Likely half a decade. Don't worry I've now got Castrol coursing through my veins. I use Valvoline for my hair. Mobil brightens the teeth right up. I take my supplement of Pennzoil for the omegas and brain health. Nothing like Quaker State for breakfast. I voted for Amsoil in the election by the way. In oil we trust. Amen.

I am saddened by the shrinkage in the U.S.'s middle class. That was something that really strengthened this country ... and it did the same for other developed economies that also had a solid middle class population. Those at the "new" bottom are in a state of despair. Those at the top - even though they say they do and make promises - don't seem to care.

I"m getting the Avalanche inspected today at the dealer where @HoLottaBuicks works and he let me test drive the Denali EV on a short jaunt. I came away very impressed... as I should since the sticker is $102k. But beyond all the stats we know of about the EV drivetrain, the interior was very nicely made with nice materials and finishes. The exception being parts of the door panels felt a bit plasticy. It rides like a luxury sedan, though I didn't put it into sport mode or anything to see if the suspension firms up. I would need more time to explore the screens. It's a bit hard to navigate the main screen because a lot of the icons are the same color, so you have to actually read what the app does. The back seat is much roomier than my truck. I still object to having to buy a separate data plan just to use the apps I already use on my phone. Overall it is a great truck, but $102k is a bit steep.

My cousin Mike in Kentucky worked for Toyota (quality control for interior assemblies) for 30 years and retired from them a few years ago, drives a 10 yr old Tacoma and his wife has a 10 yr old Camry. He does like my Cadillac, though. The funny thing is his adult children (all my age or so) seem to drive GMs. I've never been a Toyota fan or hater, but I wouldn't mind having a Lexus LC500 convertible in nori green.

Still alive, sleeping allot, taking my pain meds and watching a little TV when not sleeping. Sorry I did not get to posting a story on the Huge Kia reveal at the LA Auto Show or the Reveal on the Hyundai Ioniq 9. Will tey to get caught up once I am not sleeping so much. Right now only on my cell phone.

I really find this stand quite attractive. Would probably do well for my Stereo equipment.

Pour one out for my grandmother who passed away Monday evening after a long hospice stay. She passed peacefully and pain free in her sleep. If you trace things back far enough, she is a big contributor to me being here on Cheers and Gears and thus C&G still existing. It was her and her 1979 Olds Custom Cruiser Diesel like the one below that got me into cars around the age of three. At three, it was my job to tell her when the Wait To Start Light went out so the could start the car and I got to press the garage door opener buttons.

it will exacerbate inflation. Tariffs will do that, unless a nation is on a gold standard. Then again, currently few people actually care about the results until it hits them in the wallet.

Palo Duro Canyon in Amarillo When you need a little more height for the photo... Steam locomotive on Display in Amarillo. Paris, Texas. Broken Bow, Oklahoma.

Like you, I am very embedded in the PNW with two kids, the grandkids, etc. While I think I will be fine to retire at 70, I am pretty much figure due to the cost of living in the US, going to work till I die. Plus, I like Tech and with my love of winter sports, technology and home movie system with big screen, yes currently at LG 77" C4 OLED TV, but have seen the new 83 and 97 inch OLED TVs that would pretty much make the whole wall a TV. Talk about TOTAL IMMERSION in a Home Theater setup. Yup, I think I will always work unless I move to the Philippians. I have a friend that retired at 60 and moved there, his $8,000 a month goes so far, beautiful house on the beach, easy sway style lifestyle. But then I have Grandkids. Latest edition this year is my Cutiepie Kai, he loves tech too.

We now also have a status monitoring page. https://status.cheersandgears.com/ This is independent of our web server and will let you know if things are out of whack and I can put a status message there if we're down. There is a link at the bottom right of the page if you ever forget.

I miss the colorful interiors and comfortable seats older cars often had.

Of course there's this CTS 3.6 with a manual and low milage on Auto Trader right now..... taunting me.

Anyone have a weird longing for a car they sold or traded a while ago? I don't mean something that got wrecked or stolen, that was out of your control. Just a car that you traded/sold but now regret doing that? That hit me hard today for my 2004 CTS.

Join me in wishing @Drew Dowdell a happy birthday. Have a great day!

I do love fall in Ohio. Nice cool sunny day, going for a scenic drive in a bit.