oldshurst442

Yikes...(on the vehicle...not on you liking it...different strokes for different folks. Im all for live and let live type philosophies) Did Mazda sell the rights to their MazdaSpeed 3 to M-B and AMG?

After all these years, I finally have a slight influence on you concerning bad puns and jokes!

They say that one day, artificial intelligence will rival and exceed human intelligence...and they say that that day will be coming sooner rather than later. Faster than we think... After this fatal accident, alls I could say is that we arent there yet. I wanna make another point....I want to say that although artificial intelligence may be just around the corner, artificial stupidity has a very very very long way to go before it surpasses human stupidity... A 40 year old put all his faith on a machine...on a technology that will probably NEVER be perfected as long as humans are in control...whether other humans are still driving on the very same roads as these machines or are in control of any input programming... Darwinism in effect is alls Im saying...self destruction seems to be a human thing....

Take note anybody working at Cadillac... THIS is a CLEAR message of where Mercedes is thinking and headed towards... AWD, throttle response and minimum of 600 horsepower... M-B definitely wants to leave the sledgehammer approach behind. With the Viper dead and the Vette maybe going to the traditional mid-engine way, and Mercedes announcing this...Cadillac better be listening and adjusting their approach! Controlled power that still hits you like a ton of bricks. Not like the way it used to be...all that power being flung in any direction and with both hands on the wheel and still very hard to control.... Real drivers though, could master the sledgehammer approach. Tricky but doable.

On Sunday, I yelled at one of my employees for fooling around. And I really mean yelled at him. I tolerate some horseplayin' but when too much is toooooo much, I gotta draw the line somewheres... Well, the next day he bought me a 12 pack of these suckers...to....let me think and say it how he put it... "to help me calm down and let my inner Bob Marley take control of shyte" Chill and relax he told me... All in good fun. I love this kid and I know he loves me. So I laughed...and I gave the staff to drink...what else was I supposed to do? He said to let my inner Bob Marley take control....so I did!!! What does this have to do with fitness you say? Well, Im glad you asked...because I did not have any to drink that day...so I had a couple left over....drinking on the job aint allowed you see....(yeah yeah....Im the boss and I let my staff drink....that is the joke right there....SHEESH) As I was saying, I had more than a couple left over so I decided to drink one just now.... Man....my stomach as we speak is bloated up like I am 40 weeks pregnant and the baby wants to come out now! Never again will I drink beer or any other alcohol that causes my stomach to do that. For a year now, Ive managed to keep the waist line as slim as I could get it without counting calories and minimizing fatty junk food that just gets stored in the waist line...Im doing quite well and no thanks to this dastardly yet delicious drink, I dont feel good about it now... PS: I dont drink any alcohol as is...even less now! PSS: the box in the pic I posted says 8% while the one I drank was 6%...strange....

Nice purchase, Reg! The only thing I dont like about the 2017 Malibu is the front end styling. But it is growing on me every time I see one in the wild. And I see plenty...but then again, a GM store is a mere 5 minutes away from where I live....but then again, so is a Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Toyota and Ford store. The VW and Chrysler/Dodge is 5-8 short miles further. So...the excuse that there is only a GM dealership in my town is a non-point. NICE COLOUR YOU CHOSE!!!! VERY NICE COLOUR YOU CHOSE INDEED!

Nice power ratings indeed. Too bad it still looks like the Rosie O'Donnell of the automotive world. It will sell, because of the badge in front, not because its a stunner. Mind you, Porsche engineering is top notch!

I dont think Chevy needs to do anything other than just to stay on their present course toeing the line. Why? 1. 1st generation Ford Fusion was a good first step in the right direction. 2nd generation Fusion and Ford just about got everything they needed to do right, got it right and now the Fusion is a force to be reckoned with. The refresh is just icing on the cake. 2. When GM did the Pontiac G6 and the Saturn Aura in 2005 and 2006, they did many things right so when the Malibu came in 2008, they created a 'Ford Fusion' situation in 2008 in where GM created a force to be reckoned with... However, for the next generation and refresh, they dropped the ball big time... Well, this 2017 Malibu rights the ship back unto the course where the 2008 model left off. However, CUVs are what sell in 2017, so maybe huge sales numbers should not be expected of this 2017 Malibu. But, be excited what Chevy will offer as the next Equinox knowing how Chevy means business with how they are producing their current line-ups...

Premier....Premium... Close enough. Old age is slowly creeping up on me and little mistakes like these will only increase with time. I noticed I made another snafu....my buddy's wife went from a Chevy HHR to a Honda HR-V..... I wrote that she had a SSR... No. Not a SSR. A HHR. Yeah, CP....Ill continue to preach! It doesnt seem fair to me that FINALLY GM gets it right with their interiors since the 1980s with their mid-sized family car offerings, that we have to bitch complain about nothing....especially since not only did GM get it right, they are actually LEADERS (with Ford) in this segment concerning their interior refinement and quality. The Nissan Altima is chintzy, clunky and outdated. So is the Toyota Camry's. Maybe not clunky, but definitely chintzy and especially outdated. The Hyundai/KIA Sonata/Optima...are nicer than the Altima's and Camry's...more modern and sportier, but compared to the Chevy Malibu Premier, definitely not better quality.... And Im basing my opinions on all vehicle cabins being the top level trims as the base level trims on most cars are the same across the board...same amounts of hard plastics and same quality. The top level trims of Chevy and Ford rival entry level premium luxury cars...such as Buick and Acura and Lincoln. Honda Accord comes close, but not everybody else. When was the last time Chevy and Ford being on top like that? And if you dont think so...maybe you should pay a second visit to the Accord, Altima, Sonata and leave the rose coloured glasses at home...

I sat in a Premium 2.0T at the auto show. My high school buddy who lives close to me and is the only dude I have contact with from my high school years recently just bought a Premium 2.0T. (his wife went from a Chevy SSR to a Honda HR-V and he went from a Genesis Coupe 2.0T to the Malibu this year) And each time I have sat in the Malibu Premium, I come to the same conclusion...that the PREMIUM Malibu has an interior at the VERY LEAST that is ON PAR with anything else in that price range. I personally think that a Malibu Premium has a nicer interior than a 2013-2016 Fusion Titanium...and I already think that a 2013-2016 Fusion Titanium interior is pretty impressive at that price point. OK...Ive also been in a 2013 Honda Accord....and in 2013, it was lacking in refinement.... Oh yes....a 2013 Accord Touring V6 was not exactly all that...cheap hard plastics galore...and if some of us at ChearsandGears even diss a 2013 Acura TL for cheapness...then I dont see how some of us are enamored with an Accord as the TL might have hard plastics...the tolerances are very tight and screwed together quite well. The only thing that a 2013 Accord Touring has over a base 2013 Acura TL is that the price differential for the price of admittance for an "Acura" is not worth it. Step into a SH-AWD though...and the mechanicals tell a much different story. So to bring this back to the Malibu's interior, and the Fusion's to some extent, Both dashs of an Accord, TL AND TLX are also CLUNKY...huge and outdated... The Fusion is elegantly done and the Malibu just a tad less elegant, but certainly flows better than the Honda Motor Company's efforts... Keep in mind that I actually own a 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD and a 2013 Ford Fusion 1.6 ecoboost SE. Keep in mind that I LOVE my TL, but it doesnt mean that I dont feel claustrophobic at times when I look to my right and see that overwhelming huge and clunky center screen with a plethora of buttons... The new generation still has that dated, clunky feel to it... The Accord looks like its a generation older from the TLX....because it is....like the TL....huge, clunky....plethora of buttons.... Do the LCD screens fool us? Not me... So....I think Chevrolet did a fantastic job with their 2017 Malibu....especially in Premium trim.... Not as clunky, and definitely flows better...with a more premium FEEL to it than even the TLX...keep in mind though that Acura has tighter tolerances and is screwed together better... And the 2017 Fusion for reference for what I believe is the most simplest and most elegant...

If I had Jay Leno money, you would be correct to think that Id have me one of these parked in the Eye-Talian section of my enormous Costco sized garage.

Good luck wit dat! Those nasty-good-for-nothing-selfish brats are gonna be waiting for you to die...maybe even facilitate the event by pushing you off a ledge or something just so they can inherit your 1972 Gran Torino... You might as well just kick the bucket now! Why prolong the agony? PS....you could leave your 1972 Gran Torino to me...Ill take good care of her as I respect you....unlike your nasty-good-for-nothing-selfish grand-kids. Just like the movie....EXACTLY like the movie.

Define "fast"... Yeah...I know your stance on the sales percentage/market share meter for electrics... But I think these links answer the question at hand as best as information can for predicting the outcome of the future direction of the automobile... http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1099596_electric-cars-will-evolve-rapidly-by-2018-split-into-segments-by-price https://www.nrdc.org/experts/roland-hwang/future-electric-vehicles-bright http://careers2030.cst.org/articles/future-electric-cars/ http://jalopnik.com/how-evs-could-kill-gasoline-cars-starting-in-the-2020s-1761822759 Yes...I know....these 4 links are roses are red, sky is blue with sunshine and lollipops in for good measure goodness for EVs... (the first and last link seem to be less about opinion and more about logic) But...one cannot deny the massive technological changes we are experiencing in the automotive industry involving the different types of propulsion and the immediate reception consumers are having with the latest trends and the global pressures of polluting less that affect these changes in the GLOBAL automotive market place. So...yeah....fast. Especially when all major automotive manufactures want to offer to the people Tesla fighters....and even enter niches that Tesla is not competing in....please dont make me have to post proof on all the EV models that are slated to come to fruition by the various OEMs in the next 5-10 years....because it is tiring to do so...but its true what Im saying...and a decade in the automobile industry is a long time....but not concerning trends...the muscle car era came and went in a decade...the ricer era came and went in a little over a decade...the fullsized customized vans of the 1970s came and went in less than a decade...we are just now, entering the Twilight Zone concerning EVs and the market is only gonna get bigger...and especially when WORLD WIDE governments are pushing for EVs and pushing OUT FFBVs... (Fossil Fuel Burning Vehicles) so...yeah....fast... Relatively speaking.

I forgot about GM's Hy-Wire concept... And now that electrics are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with...along with autonomous driving also becoming a thing... I honestly believe that the HY-WIRE concept will be adapted and the steering wheel will either be like the Hy-WIRE or a Joystick with NO acceleration or brake pedals...

I dont think FCA makes it past 2021...maybe my year of choice is dramatized with The Terminator's Judgement Day for comedic effect, but I honestly dont think FCA has enough substance to make it alive past the next decade.... I think FCA will split up with a few casualties that wont make it, period. Im fearing for Dodge. Viper is gone. Hemi V8s in mainstream cars is a question mark. Hellcat versions in Dodges are prolly going away but arent really bread and butter sellers anyway. No real mainstream vehicles anywhere for Dodge. No CUV. No worthy compact car. No up to date family sedan or bread and butter midsized SUV worth mentioning. Fiat and Alfa Romeo... One of them is dying....for sure! Depends who the Europeans decide they want to keep. Because in North America, I think both are gonna be non factors. Now that Genesis is a force soon to be reckoned with and Hyundai/KIA are more or less established. Chrysler has a 50/50 chance of survival. RAM also has a 50/50 chance of survival....if paired up with JEEP and sold to the highest bidder. I dont think Chrsyler is gonna be a part of that duo...so I fear greatly that Chrsyler may be lost. So....basically I think this Giulia car and its variants are just prolonging the agony for the inevitable. Who else thinks that FCA's days are numbered?

Knight Industries Two Thousand

I do not get the reference? What is a Diamond Horse? A Diamond Horse is what A Diamond Dave rides on After a real long night of Rockin' and a Rollin' and boozin' and a cruisin' Dont believe me? Ask Diamond Dallas Page....he'll set you straight. Oooooo......BAM!!!!

This would be a song that I would play when riding my motorcycle. 30 year anniversary of Slippery When Wet this year to boot. Im a cowboy. On a steel horse I ride. Im Wanted. (wa-nte-e-ed) Dead or Ah-Live. And this one Aaaaaaand....this one

@Guest Howie Take a look at the rest of the post I made.... It doesnt just stop at side curtain air bags... Rumor has it....and it has been debunked....however.... http://www.motor1.com/news/22306/mercedes-sls-amg-started-development-as-next-gen-dodge-viper/ http://www.wired.com/2015/05/dodge-viper-last-truly-insane-sports-cars/ http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/16/report-dodge-originally-developed-sls-amg-to-be-next-gen-viper/ And even if this rumor has been debunked and its just a myth, the truth of the matter is that when the 3rd generation Viper, this one that we have today, was first being developed, engineered and funded when Stuttgart was calling the shots, and 'twas Stuttgart that put a limit on Mopar's developmental time and money for the 3rd generation Viper. Whether the SLS is a 3rd generation Viper underneath or not is a moot point.. The 3rd generation Viper did not get any love from Stuttgart. So....blame Stuttgart for the lack of hindsight to make a 3rd gen Viper a tad more compliant for any future safety regs....because the funds ran dry for MOPAR. Dodge was forced to used 2nd generation bits and pieces for their 3rd generation Viper. Sergio sure as hell did not have the budget to give SRT enough dough to truly make the Viper all new. Like you said for FCA.....at least there is Jeep. That goes for Mercedes-Daimler as well. And those mini-vans. And the Ram Trucks. Coincidentally, that V10 is a Ram engine....all Lamborghinied up. And yes, low sales do have an impact for a 4rth generation.... But if the 3rd generation was FULLY developed in the early to mid 2000s with a shelf life of more than 5 years....than a slight refresh might have been the difference for a 4rth generation. Instead what we got for a 3rd generation was a refresh of a 2nd generation....

Ive read somewhere that the Viper is being discontinued because of a safety regulation that takes effect in 2017 that this current Viper platform could not comply with. Could it be side curtain airbags that are to be mandatory in all vehicles? Anyhoo, blame federal crash laws and low sales volumes where engineering a new Viper platform may not justify the costs involved for the death of Viper. Actually, Sergio could have not even resurrected this latest Viper if he did not want to as the Viper went in hiatus BEFORE Fiat acquired Chryco. So...Ill let this go by and not blame Sergio... PS: Sure, Sergio could have allowed for a bigger budget for the resurrected Viper when he green lit the Viper on again, but bigger fish needed to be fried then as it is now. A new platform was outta the question then as it is now... The Viper was doomed as soon as the federal government made side curtain airbags mandatory for 2017... And....technically, twas the Daimler-Chrysler merger that did in the Viper as Mercedes-Daimler did not put money aside for a new generation Viper way back when. Rumor has it that the Dodge engineering money and efforts were given to the M-B SL Gullwing Coupe...true or false, the Viper program was underfunded and under developed from when the Germans owned Chryco.

The pic is all Im interested in. Could very well be Old Montreal again. Not too sure this time around. The area looks familiar, but I cant put my finger on where it may be...I know Ive been to it....maybe Quebec City.... Oh well..I KNOW this is in the La Belle Province somewhere and THAT is what counts, eh?!