Croc

SNES was the best console, and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was the Best. Game. Ever.

The Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 ("Lost Levels" in the US) is my favorite platformer, though...love the NES.

Sega Genesis!!!!!!!!!

Then you have cars like the 1980 Sedan de Ville featuring the '71 vertical wings on the taillamps, the "'82" logo as the hood ornament, and then a hybrid of the '57 "V" under the wreathless crest on the C-pillars.

I like it...a lot. GM cleaned up the headlights, cleaned up the grille, and the fender vent adds some visual interest to the side. I want to see a rear and interior shot, though, before I give final judgement.

Exterior on the coupe is fine...always has been. Interior is where the money needs to go, though...

Happy birthday!

Since I would never go to the Indy 500 unless you put a gun to my head, I'm having a backyard BBQ gathering with pool and/or hot tub to celebrate summer and break in the new outdoor kitchen.

The scientific consensus is that 6.5 billion, rapidly industrializing human beings undoubtedly contribute to climate change. Man's exponentially growing footprint on Earth is unprecedented, and the potential of the infant effects observed so far is catastrophic. The debate is on how humans should best minimize these effects, as that would involve compromises and changes many are not willing to make.

Yes--there is clearly an impact. But how much of an impact? The earth is still geologically coming out of an ice age...some warming is to be expected.

One thing to consider is the amount of "pollution" generated by natural events like forest fires and volcanic eruptions. While there's nothing to be done about volcanos, forest fires are a lot less common or long-lasting as they used to be due to firefighting. Can you imagine if there were no firefighters to put out the forest fires?

My point is that while many models show this significant global warming due to humans, it's a model--that's what models do. Models take results and try to create algorithms to explain those results. Even the most complex models leave out some variables that are either overlooked or their impacts of those variables on the process are not yet known. Considering how recently humans started recording the daily temperatures, and how recently those instruments became scientifically accurate, we don't have a lot of data.

Now, I'm not arguing against being proactive and caring for the planet, but I'm not going to go all Chicken Little on everyone's ass.

Not that I think anyone on this board needs it, but it explains the situation to the lowest common denominator.

1. Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas. This is a proven fact, not a theory.

2. We are adding massive amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

3. We are cutting down the forests that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the full situation proves too complicated to people who care more about who Paris Hilton is dating. So it really does need to be broken down to "Gas burning V8 = bad for puppies".

Edit: You can't address the problem without finding the cause. Of course I realize there are many other sources of CO2 that need to be addressed, but this is a car website.

Another fact you seem to be forgetting is that trees produce a very small amount of the earth's oxygen; most comes from algea.

Most local health departments collect them to be recycled.

Really? That's nice. Most municipalities have collection centers for bottles and cans, too...but does anybody use it? Nope. Most people are totally ignorant of the mercury since traditional lightbulbs aren't toxic. Really, what's worse? Slightly increased emissions from incandescant bulbs? Or what about toxic landfill and groundwater contamination due to CFLs? I'll stick with the incandescants.

as I said, you are in the minority.

Sweet, let's go marginalize everyone who isn't exactly like we are.

Really, I try to be mindful of the environment when I can, but the global warming thing is not as cut-and-dry as many people want to think it is. I really bristle when the True Believers marginalize anyone who questions its existence--this is science, not Sunday School.

i have not and that would also be a negative for me. i like to keep my freeway speed above 70, though not always possible here.

Yup...same here. I'm always doing ~80 on the 10, except when clogged. The 105 and I have a love/hate thing going on, though...I love how empty it is, but I hate how easy it is for me to be going 105 (mph) and not even realizing it!

Sad, even if they are one of the "lovely" places that gets a decent G8 inventory yet insists on AMP insanity.

The only insanity is that this is an AMP, and not the actual sticker.

Stereotype or not that guy is retarded.

+1

Are all of you guys friends from cities and towns within 30 miles of the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border or places like Portland or yuppie paradises like Boothbay Harbor or college towns like Lewiston? This would explain a lot. But have any of you ever actually traveled through the heart of Maine and talked to any of the locals? Overall (meaning not everybody I have encountered, but MOST everybody), and this is speaking from first hand experience, they are the biggest bunch of filthy, unintelligent flannel-wearing rubes you'll ever come across. I've met all kinds of people from the uppermost asscracks of Vermont, New Hampshire, the hills of Appalachia, and plenty of southerners that have these same stereotypes applied to them, and nearly every single time they have not lived up to any part of any stereotype they have been assigned. Mainers seem to be the only ones where the stereotypes stick with any sort of frequency.

And everyone in California is a starstruck anorexic vegan faggot working as a barista at Starbucks before he hits it big as a slash professional (actor/singer/model), right? Or one of "Newport's Finest" driving around DUI in their brand new SLR daddy bought them on their 16th birthday? Because all the Californians you hear about on Perez Hilton and MTV are that way, no?

Sorry, but I describe individual people as walking stereotypes, not whole swaths of a geographical area.

...or not.

How's that? Did they change the dealer order guide?

Where's enzl when you need him to make the peanut gallery crack?

Good to see LA is the most fuel efficient of the major US cities!

As for Houston and traffic jams, well...Houston doesn't have terrible traffic...but their freeways do have a tendancy to go from 80+ to 0 within a matter of seconds whenever there is an incident. You'll hear a lot of locals talk about how they "got caught in a parking lot" on their commute. I really don't think traffic in Houston is terrible. A little worse than average, but very doable. Hell, my aunt would commute from Houston to Tomball on a daily basis, and she never got too uptight about it. IMO, Atlanta definitely has worse traffic than Houston, but that's caused by the way people in Atlanta drive--very slowly and carelessly. They weave in and out of carpool lanes (shouldn't cross the double white lines) with abandon, poke along and then decide to cut over a couple lanes to get to their exit, and just drive like Sunday pleasure drivers at all times of the week.

While LA gets a bad rep as the most congested city (I wholeheartedly disagree), that's due to the metrics of that study--since LA is a geographically humongous city, and the metro area spans more than just the incredibly huge LA County (Ventura, Orange, parts of San Bernardino, etc), the "time lost due to congestion" is artificially inflated when some people are commuting to Los Angeles from Palmdale, Lancaster, Moreno Valley, etc. They already have a 2-4 hour commute, so they disproportionately affect the "time lost to congestion" since in heavy traffic due to incidents on the freeway it would not be uncommon to incur another 60-90 minutes on that, per leg. People in LA don't f@#k around with their driving--they will go as fast as they possibly can in every circumstance.

Other than the 300C and occasional Jeep, is there any Chrysler product that would appeal to the kind of person who can afford to write a check for $30k+?

:rotflmao:

No car payment, cash purchase. I'll have farewell pics of the Cavalier along with this one.

See? Some people buy outright.

What's the $30k+ limit, though? Doesn't the gas card apply to all Chryslers except the Charger, Crossfire, etc?

And people from Maine wonder why the rest of the country thinks they're all mentally retarded inbreds and make fun of them!

That's a stereotype I've never heard of before.

Hell....I'm "only" 38 years old, and I've seen a massive cultural shift in the United States even in my lifetime.

Talking about teenagers today......compared to when I was a teenager in the mid-80's.......I cannot believe the sense of entitlement that today's kids feel. It's almost humorous. Like you said 'Biz.....the iPods, the cell phones (not just cell phones, but "fancy" cell phones), the video games, the laptops, time spent on the internet, time NOT spent outdoors being active, the drugs, the alcohol, the CARS that kids feel they deserve to drive. It's all gone quite a bit overboard.

And I don't so much blame the kids these days as I blame the parents. I think the parents are fundamentally where the cultural shift has taken place. Parents seem to be more absorbed with being "cool" to their kids...and being their kids "friends"...and not "upsetting" their kids than they are about being actual "Parents."

I seem to remember 10-15 years ago the rise of the "Time Out" replacing a good ole fashioned whack on the ass as "proper and appropriate" punishment. WTF? A Time Out? Are you friggin' kidding me? And your kid acts up in the grocery store? You can't even spank 'em or else someone will try to turn you into child-protective-services! That's just messed up man.

When I was a kid, if I acted up, I got smacked on the ass or the face even. But you know what? Whatever I did....I didn't do it again! Punishment for me was something to fear....and an incentive to do as I was told, and not act up. You think I'd have been worried about a "Time Out?" LOL, LOL. Well, I ended up growing up quite well-adjusted....no lasting after-effects from being spanked, for god's sake. Geez.

I grew up as a teenager in upscale suburbs of Oklahoma City and Dallas. My parents made good money. We lived in a big house. I was always well-provided for. But you know what? My first car wasn't a BMW, or an Acura, or a Mercedes-Benz given to me by my parents. They gave me the "leftover" 1980 Chevrolet Citation hatchback (my first love of GM!!!!) and they told me that, yes, they were "giving" me the car, but I had to maintain it from that point on.....and I had to learn about taking care of a car. And if I got to the point where I could sell it myself, and buy myself a newer car, then I could do that on my own.

Today, kids (and their parents) are more concerned that the kids "fit in" with their peers in school. Kids don't learn "life lessons" today. Kids don't know how to act as adults in the real world facing real challenges. And as a result, as the kids of the last decade or so get out there, culturally, they struggle. These are the kids today that are going to be running our country. Scary.

Sorry to take the thread off-course....but 'Biz had a good point and I really felt I wanted to elaborate.

I don't agree. I think the problem is not a sense of entitlement, per se, but a total lack of awareness for people who might not have it as well off. You mention the phones and the cars, but there are very logical reasons for owning them, especially if one can afford it.

iPods aren't expensive, especially the cheap ones, and they pretty much replace walkmans and discmans. Cell phones are pretty much a safety issue. I know I got one when I got my license so I could call in cases of emergency. As for the blackberry and iPhone, yea, not necessary, but again I don't think they're over-the-top either. Many of my friends pay for at least portions of their data plans.

Drugs and alcohol are nothing new, my friend, and the computer pretty much replaces the hours of TV people used to watch.

Really, though, the problem is not with "having," but with forgetting the entire world isn't as privileged.

thanks satty, cause now everyone in my scholl library thinks theres something wrong with me because i just burst out laughing uncontrollably

Because it was Toyota reaction post that made you do it, not lack of self-restraint, right?

I'd give you $2500 cash if you were in Toronto. Im starting to give up on getting a decent Achieva lol.

Don't give up! At least settle for an early Intrigue

Yeah, I guess I get repetitive harping about GM's mediocrities...

GM gets repetitive pushing mediocrity on the marketplace.

Is it bad that when I saw the picture of the interior rear seat I thought I smelled the scent of a dining hall at a hospital or nursing home?

Clean ride, glad to hear it runs well!

109,577 Kilometers!?

!?

Dude, it's a '97. That's not heavy mileage at all.

Oh it never fails to get my blood pressure up... VERY exciting... Just nix the Saturn Outlook right now they never should have gotten it, Chevy should have got it in the first place.

No, Chevy is getting the Traverse, and it's a better vehicle for the wait. The Outlook as a Chevrolet would not have sold well as it is the most bland design out of GM in the last couple years. Traverse also gets more cargo room, a minor shortcoming of the current crop of lambdas.