oldshurst442

SWEEEEEEEEEET E-MOOOOOOOH-SHAWN! SWEEEEEEEEEET E-MOOOOOOOH-SHAWN! From this To this Im ready for it! Oh sure, I will surely miss that supercharged V8 snarl and growl, but it is time to move on from it. Will "e-muscle" be able to replace real muscle? There is a 'yes' answer to that question and a 'no' answer to that question. A big fat no when it comes to sound and rumble and feel. A big fat yes as it will scoot and get you where you wanna go just as fast and cool as the muscle it will be replacin'. It will look like a Dodge muscle car. It wont sound like one. But the world is unrecognizable since when the original Mopar Hemis, Ford Flatheads, Olds Rockets, Buick Nailheads, Poncho and Chevy rat motors ruled the earth. The world had changed dramatically when the Challenger and Camaro came back from the dead 15 years ago and the world has taken another huge turn to change even further the last 5 to change it even more from the last 15. We could sulk and continue to sing sad tunes and ask ourselves Where have all the good times gone or embrace the change and roll with it... Id rather roll with it... Yeah...it aint KISS, its Green Day, its 2021 with COVID in the air, but its still a damn good cover of a damn good song. Might as well enjoy that Rock is still played and enjoyed by many folk. Same with Dodge E-Muscle. Dodge Muscle Cars WILL live on. With electric powertrains... Hopefully Dodge makes their electric offerings with the same cool factor that they did their V8 muscle car offerings from the '60s and '70s. Remember, Dodge muscle did go away in the mid '70s. It did come back with the Viper. It wasnt a V8 and it was only one model. Remember, Dodge in the 1990s had given us a Neon. It was fun and fast in SRT4 trim... But we did laugh at it. Oh how we have forgotten???!!! The SRT4 Neon... Like I said, the world had changed big time from the 60s to the 90s and reversed itself back into a 600s state of mind in the 2010s. But the 2020s are hear and the world has changed again. But this time around, the change is for something new. And it looks promising.

To be honest, even some of his earlier stuff was meh. To be honest, some of his later stuff was just as funny as his funniest earlier stuff. Daddy Day Care and Haunted House were great family oriented movies. He was great in Norbit and the Nutty Professor to which showcased his acting prowess in doing multiple characters. He experimented with that with Coming to America along with Arsenio Hall to which Arsenio was also great in. Coming to America 2 I haven seen, but as with all sequels, especially sequels to movies that are a couple decades apart, I suspect was probably not that good. Another 48 hours was crap. Movie from relatively early in his career. Not early early like Trading Places or the original 48 hours, but right after Beverly Hills cop 2 and Coming to America. Harlem Nights was crap, which was at the same time as Another 48 Hours. Vampire in Brooklyn Beverly Hills Cop 3 were pure crap. Mid point of his movie career. Dr Doolittle was a good children's movie. Bowfinger and Showtime were excellent in rekindling that Eddie Murphy goofiness we were accustomed too. He has had hits and misses throughout his movie career all around is what Im saying. But movies and movie acting really dont showcase his funny-ness. He hasnt done stand-up or live TV funny sketches since the 1980s, so we cant really know if he has stayed relevant with his jokes. But if Shrek and that franchise let him loose on some of the dialogue like some other voice over cartoon comedians were allowed to such as Robin Williams with Aladdin, then to me, he is still that hilarious guy I saw on Beta and on VHS. (Delirious and Raw) I think some of that Donkey dialogue was Eddie's. And no, he wasnt swearing, like we are used to with Eddie Murphy, the things that Eddie said as Donkey were funny. As were the dialogue in his other funnier movies like Showtime. The movie was crap, the character that Eddie played was pure Eddie Murphy...the Eddie Murphy that we know and love.

Beginning of November, while changing the all seasons to winters on my car, a fine 1997 Bonnie was at the garage. I know the mechanic so I was shooting the shyte with him until the end of the night and this pic was taken at closing time. Suspension work was needed on it and was stored in the garage over night for the job to be concluded the next day.

Wife driving her Fusion, I was a passenger enjoying the drive shopping around for different things. Saw this lovely Firebird Formula V8. Made her stop so I could take a pic.

The wife and I, along with our kids, are planning to visit Italy in the next 2 or 3 years. My daughter's high school trip to Italy and Switzerland last year was canceled. (Covid) We really wanted her to go. And she also. We will make that experience happen for her with a family trip seeing that my wife and I never visited Italy either. We will just see how things work out with my son's high school trip which is supposed to be next year. Again...global situations with Covid might put a damper on school trips, but nothing says that family trips cant happen!

I also like the fact that on the new livery, the Italian colours are also on the engines. But you do make a valid point that on the vertical stabilizer on the old design, the Italian colours are better presented than on the new livery.

Office building you work in the background? Cool. Might want to ease off on the honey there buddy, you've put on quite a bit a weight there since the last time you posted a pic of yourself.

I know its your GP. That is why I posted a couple of pics. To thank you for the article!

I kinda like it. Its simple, yes. But I like that shade of blue. Its reminiscing of the Italian football club's colours. The Azzurri I think is the term? Come to think of it, because it mimics the Azzurri's colours, I have gone from liking it to loving it. That is what they say.... Italians do it better! I agree!

Thanx Balthy! I like this stance I like the colour And this is a '63, but I like the photo. (and the car, but the photo is just awesome)

^^^ What car is that? Im guessing 1971 Pontiac GP. But the beak looks like it comes from a '69 or '70. What kind of restomod stuff was done to it if you know? Im assuming modern stuff was done to it just because fo the headlights. Are there other pics of it? I really really like it!

I googled the rear for the Impala. And sure enough, it is big enough. And sure enough, I see the rake being steep. Just sitting inside it, to me, the rear seemed tiny, but I see that its the rake that gives that illusion. Like I said, I never driven it. I wish I did though. About the Iron Duke. The car reached 198 000 KM and change (123 000 miles) with literally no issues. Lots of little bangs and dings and busted headlights because of me looking at a really hot girl and not realizing there was a car in front of me... and flat tires and the rear suspension letting up and my dad having to Frankenstein a repair using and welding airplane parts to it, but the Iron Duke roared along. I finally totaled it. Put it out of its misery by wrapping the car around several miles of highway fence. No front or rear bumper. Headlights and taillights nowhere to be seen. The car squished between the 2 doors left AND right side. Im lucky to have NOT been impaled or decapitated by any of the fence. Long story short, because the story does not finish there, I started the car and the Iron Duke did what she always did. She fired up like any other time ready to be driven again. Too bad the body that she was in was a phoquing mess... LOL

HA! LOL! Its hard to enjoy driving when: 1. 2. Gas prices are through the roof! But I do enjoy, have always enjoyed driving. fast. slow. Especially cruising. No matter what car I experienced. The simple task of driving was always a positive one. I love driving. Especially when Im all alone on the road. Rain, sleet or snow, If Im alone on the road, regardless what car Im driving and what powers it, Im having fun! And if I have my family in my car, well, sometimes Im having fun. Nothing beats being alone, with my thoughts and my thoughts alone, with my music or the engine noises and the open road! But I do love my family and enjoy sharing my thoughts with them. But, there is something to being alone in a car, alone on the road and just driving! On another note, my 16 year old daughter has started her (is in the midst right now as I type this) first driving lesson!!! ZOOM call theory. Her first actual driving will be next month I think.

I wouldnt touch an Impala with the 3.4. It was a good engine for the Alero and Grand Am. Not a great engine. Just good enough. But it might be a tad anemic for a bigger, heavier Impala. And Ive heard that the 3.4 had gasket problems past 100 000 miles. I never had such issues with my Alero, but have known a few people with Chevrolet minivans that did. I owned a 2005 Impala SS. Ive at least experienced the myth behind that engine. I also heard that the transmission coupled to a supercharged 3.8 could explode. Again, never had that happen to me. A regular late model 3.8 powering any car from any GM division should be a no problems whatsoever experience. I had heard you wax poetic about this engine so Im really not telling you anything you dont know already! LOL As with most GM offerings nowadays. But not just GM, almost all OEMs screw with visibility one way or other. I never driven this gen Impala. Sat it in plenty of times though. I could tell just by sitting it in that it had poor rear visibility. The rear window is tiny. But the interior and dash is great to be in for a daily driver it seems. Sporty and comfy and roomy. Yeah. It was a great engine actually. Hey, it was not sporty or anything. It accelerated slow like molasses. But I was able to get it past the 140 KM/H (85 MPH) reading on the speedometer. I did bury the needle so to speak. It did everything that it was meant for it to do. Relatively economical, reliable and always there to haul a family around. It started every time in cold weather. Never missed a beat. And lord knows it took a beating. (pun intended). Until I totaled it a few weeks/months after I totaled my Firebird. I dont remember or actually know how smooth or crude it actually was, but it did get my dad to work every morning without a hitch. And when I started driving it, beating the hell out of it, no issues arose from the recklessness. That would be my experinece with the Iron Duke. Maybe others would not be so lucky? I hear and read about all kinds of GM problems, my dad and I, with ALL of our GM products, have NEVER experienced these things.

Ive had this thought before. It hit me again... Balthy has driven (and owned) many many cars in his lifetime. I have driven many many cars in my lifetime too. Didnt own nearly as many tho. But I drove plenty. Problem is...if we compare what cars Balthy driven and what cars I driven....well...its kinda embarrassing to me to mention the cars Ive driven... Iron Duke 4 cylinder Celebrities, 2.0 liter Cavaliers and Sunbirds... Ive had some exciting car and engine experience, but Id rather not delve into this topic too much....

The 2000-2005 Impala was easily the best looking W-body Chevrolet. (Lumina included) But it had easily the cheapest interior of all of them. The Lumina Coupe that became the Monte Carlo rivals the cheapness of that 2000-2005 Impala. But all W-Body cars are great daily drivers. Ive driven several of these cars from all the divisions from all years. Despite the small launch hiccups of the early '80s, and the DOHC 3.4 gasket problems and the transmission problems from some of the hotter versions of those cars (the V8s and the supercharged V6s), the W-Body has been a very very good and reliable car for GM. I dont like any Malibu GM has made since 1978 with the exemption being the latest generation Malibu. I like this current one. I like the A-Body and Colonnade as well.

5 thousand for a Celebrity??? Is that a real price suggestion for one? And...why in the world would ANYBODY consider a Celebrity a classic? Despite the great memories, I wouldnt want one in my driveway today. Maybe as a commuter car/beater if it was in good working order tho. I wouldnt want an '06 Monte Carlo. Id rather the (4 door) Impala of that vintage with a 3.8. A 2005 Impala. The generation after, I would want the 3.6 with the 6 speed auto. But in all honesty, the Epsilon Impala Midnight Edition just flat out beats any W-Body Chevrolet. Although I Iove my Acura, I kinda wanted to trade-in my Acura for one. But Im also happy I didnt. Maybe I could pick one up for cheap when this chip shortage will be gone and things will hopefully return to normal?

Celebrity!!! My dad's '86 was a column shift with a real bench seat in the front. ie: One piece bench and the entire front seat moved forwards and backwards. Good times with that bench seat!!! ? I kinda prefer the dial shifter nowadays and NO CARBON FIBRE trim!!! Like @Robert Hall, I HATE THAT SHYTE TOO!!!