rearden82

That's a really good list! It brought back a lot of memories. They forgot Hypercolor t-shirts, though, which is a pretty major omission!

I have a Popular Mechanics magazine from 1958 that included a Chrysler review (New Yorker, I think). The reviewer said that it drove well and looked great, but he was concerned about its long-term dependabilty. I guess some things never change!

The BLS was on Top Gear recently, and the hosts did a good job of summing up what I'd consider to be a typical European car buyer's perspective. They said something like (and I'm heavily paraphrasing here!) "If you wanted to buy this car, you'd have to say 'I don't want the BMW 3-series, I don't want the Audi A4, I don't want the Mercedes C-class, I want... the Cadillac.' " Basically, Cadillac has an even worse image over there than it does here in America, plus the BLS is competing with several very well-established cars. It seems to be a good car, and it's cool to see that GM is trying to establish the Cadillac nameplate on a global scale. It shouldn't be too surprising that the BLS isn't selling too well at this point. I think the idea is that offering it will make buyers aware of Cadillac, and that over the next few years they'll start to consider the brand as something they'll actually want to buy. The Escalade and CTS both got off to a bad start over here, but ended up selling quite well while tremendously improving Cadillac's image. Hopefully, the same kind of strategy will work out in Europe.

If I was from the 1950s and got to see how things were today, aside from the Internet I'd be pretty disappointed. No vacations to the moon, no flying cars, supersonic passenger transport was created and then abandoned, no engines that make 600 hp and run for 500 miles on a gallon of tap water, and we're still using the same standard for color TV. Cars still use the same exact basic controls (steering wheel, pedals, etc.). Power seats, power roofs, automatic headlights, etc. are still generally considered up-market options. There are a lot more similarities between cars of today and cars of the 50s, than those cars vs. 1920's models. I do think they'd be impressed by CD players, how far acceleration/handling/braking has come, and how much power we can get out of comparatively tiny engines these days. Otherwise, not a whole lot has changed.

PA roads are legendary for being bad. Last time I was there (about a year ago), there were billboards all over the Turnpike touting the virtues of this amazing new substance they're starting to use called.....asphalt. I'm dead serious. Until recently the roads were primarily giant slabs of concrete. The seams made them annoying as hell even in good sections, which were rare--most are a cracked, frost-heaved, broken up mess. My mom has a '98 Kia Sephia. It has ABS in the sense that they just aren't strong enough to lock the wheels in the first place. I'll never forget tromping on them to avoid a deer. I had both feet on the pedal pressing with all my might, and its little 14" tires weren't even chirping! What a death trap.

Although I agree that it's far healthier and more productive to get to the root of depression rather than taking drugs, it doesn't work for everybody. Some people have low or inconsistent levels of mood-regulating chemicals in their brains. In this case, it's like an engine running with only 1 or 2 quarts of oil. The only thing that will make it run better is to put the proper amount of oil in it. But definitely stay away from recreational drugs and alcohol. They will make you feel better temporarily, but you feel worse than before after they wear off, and they create a lot more problems than they solve. If you think you have problems now, imagine getting a DUI--you could lose your license, pay thousands in fines, and everyone in your home town would get to read about it in the newspaper. Try talking about your problems with a close friend or family member. It's amazing how sometimes just getting things off your chest can help. And think about all the positive aspects of your life--you're getting an education, you have a roof over your head, you can afford to eat, you have a nice car... A lot of people have none of these things. If that doesn't do the trick, see a counselor. They can assess your situation and give you options to pursue such as talk therapy and antidepressants. Good luck!

I always hear rumors like that where dealers attempt to prevent anyone from doing oil changes and such, but I've never seen one actually come to light. VW would have to be dumbfoundingly stupid to do something like that, because customers would hate them plus copies of the "special key" would be available at any car parts store within a month or two anyway.

A few months ago, I had a brake line blow out on my Contour. I very nearly rear-ended someone as a result. It turned out the brake hose was not clipped into its retainer, so the lip of the wheel had gradually rubbed a hole in it. The previous owner had left an invoice in the glovebox from 8000 miles before, mentioning that same brake had been repaired beause the caliper was sticking. So I narrowly missed being in an accident where I would've been at fault, because some idiot mechanic couldn't take 5 seconds to route the hose properly.

If this is any indication, then I wouldn't say the marketing was much better. Yecch.

I'll gladly take a cheesy, cheap interior loaded with cool technology over a cheesy, cheap interior completely devoid of anything new or innovative whatsoever, which is where GM is currently. They've gone downhill since the late 80s/early 90s in my opinion. And Croc, that interior of that '91 Passat is photogenic from that angle, but in person they really suck. The materials are of decent quality and definitely durable, but in the same way as a Rubbermaid trash can. The instrument cluster is downright ridiculous--none of the idiot indicators are backlit. Instead you have the little picture, and next to it there's an exposed LED sticking out. I've never seen anything quite like that before.

YUCK!! I have a feeling the company responsible for that car is the same outfit that hacks F-Bodies into cheesy 1930s car replicas.

My god, GM obviously didn't put much effort into the structure of those vans. At least they make a good crumple zone for other vehicles..

A friend of mine had an '89 Reatta. He bought an earlier model because it had the touchscreen. They're actually very reliable, and replacement parts are fairly easy to find in junkyard Rivieras. Pretty much all the touchscreen stuff interchanges between the Riv and Reatta; the option codes tell it to display different things depending on the model. You can even program a Riviera to show a Reatta logo and vice versa. The big thing to worry about on those cars is the electric ABS booster. Fortunately they don't go bad too often, and when it does act up, it's typically a sticking $5 relay. But if the pump module dies, a reman is about $700 and a new unit is $1500, if they're even still available. The Reatta may be small, but it's apparently made out of lead. The hardtop is around 3600 pounds, the convertible is over 3800! Don't buy one if you're expecting great handling and the acceleration you'd expect from the 3.8 V6 in such a small car--it's pretty slow. But it is a VERY nice-looking, unique car, and people were always complimenting it and asking him what it was.

I've never heard of a center-mount gauge cluster in any BMW..which model has it? I've heard some complaints about the Echo's dash, but not as consistently as I have for the Saturn. Personally, I hate the Saturn's dash layout. The kitchen timer stuck on top of the steering column is cheesy even by GM standards.

I found an old automotive engineering book that showed some crash test pics of 1950s cars.. They were scary. One showed a 50s car (A Ford or Chevy, I forget which) that hit a barrier at 30 mph. Every panel on the entire car was buckled. Even the rear panels had buckled enough to cause the trunk to pop open. :blink: Another showed a head-on collision between two cars. From the outside it didn't look too horrible. Then it showed the inside of one of the cars--the steering wheel was touching the headliner! Crash safety has come a very, very long way.