trinacriabob

Ok, not a cove, but that strong oval in the rear fascia was a great design statement ... the only good one on the car. I do dislike the front and I don't think the sides look good from all angles. In some instances, the last Riv looks too long. I liked its dash, which had mostly circular gauges and which leaned away slightly from the driver. Where would we be without our Ford Maverick? Uptown "Grabber" model Entry level model w/ hubcaps. These had 170, 200, and 250 c.i. L6s (cast iron blocks and heads) and could last a long time. Also, I see "coves."

Q: Why did the state of Arkansas have neither Halloween nor Thanksgiving in 1993? A: The witch moved to Washington and took the turkey with her. Just repeating a joke I heard ...

Based on the photo in the first post, and its plates, I wonder how far that is from where Tonya Harding hangs her hat. I'm going to say that the concavity in the rear fascia and lights in the "last call for Riviera" would indicate that it's in a "cove." Too bad this last rendition was ruined by its "preying mantis" front end.

I can't put this in Car Spotters because I've seen it several times and in different months. It's easy to narrow down the year, but I'm not completely sure. This Regal body style was released in 1988. However, the hood ornament in that year was a flat medallion. The "pull tab" alloy wheels were around in 1988, 1989, and 1990. I hated to see them go by the time I got around to buying one. So this could be a 1989 or 1990. 3800 V6 equipped models were badged while base 3.1 V6s were not, and the 3.1 was there in 1989, 1990, and beyond. I'm going to guess 1989. I don't know if this car would be considered a success by sales numbers. However, you have seen older ones on the road for decades. And that was on that all new platform - FWD, 4 wheel discs, fully independent suspension, and other major changes from the model before.

I still see NJ has the beige license plate, even though the GTO does not. It's interesting that NJ never capitalized on one like "New Jersey & you. Perfect together." I think that was an ad campaign during the Gov. Jim Florio days. But, if they had plates saying "You've Got a Friend in ... Pennsylvania," then they could have done that for the NJ plate, too.

@dwightlooi The cabin is beautiful - dash, seating, etc. The V8 appears to be laid into the engine bay suggesting RWD, no? You snagged a great deal. German iron just seems too "exotic" (for me) when it comes time to take it in to the dealership for service or finding the few(er) independent mechanics who are good at working on them. In California, the latter won't be as much of an issue. Congrats. It's a sophisticated looking sport sedan.

So, then, a 27 year old + vehicle. In that case, I wish the owner had been around. It probably was very low mileage.

I just realized today marks 14 years that I've been on the Cheers and Gears forum. I found it in 2005 when everyone was hypothesizing about the then new LaCrosse and I was approaching needing a new car. Three years later, I bought that car. But I'm still here ...

This was yesterday: I needed some rubber seals for some metal ridges in the engine bay where they had come undone and/or were missing. I think I found them. I went to the junkyard where you pull your own parts. What may look like a mess is really organized ... by brands, row numbers, etc. Very interesting. Olds 88 being pulled into inventory - probably has a 3800 there for the picking ... What the hell? Are you intrigued? It's sad that a 2005 LaCrosse would devolve into this kind of condition "Come on baby light my Fiero" (the 100 in blue means row 100) $ 6 for my parts. I've already snapped them into place.

Saw this on Christmas Day. Where else but in a church parking lot, given how damn near perfect it is for its age. Early '90s? Beautiful full-size Olds Custom Cruiser wagon (with possible "Vista" roof). Those were the days.

I haven't had the chance to rent/drive a CVT equipped one but, after two rentals on high mileage units with a probable rear hub bearing going bad (on both of them), I got a quiet one. The car was used to go to see fall colors last year in a slightly mountainous zone with a lot of 2 lane roads. That's where the car is at its best. It's not on the highway and it's not in stop and go driving. It's about 35 to 45 mph on these rural and curving 2 lane roads where the steering is nimble and nicely weighted. I was sort of impressed, even though I cringe whenever I see the "mistake" in the kink in the rear quarter panel window.

Thanks. Got it! The rear quarter window doesn't carry across at the base. I can use this info. So, this could have been a 5.7 or a 4.3 (if the latter cleared CA emissions) V8. I could have asked the owner, if around, but then, maybe not such a great idea. Sure would like a really clean, low mileage one as a second car. Right. Rear lamps on later full size Chevys were squarer and flatter, so that makes sense. The bad paint job makes it look older. That AMC sounds about right. Slightly earlier Ramblers of the non-classic variety were sort of scary, perhaps the down market Ford Mavericks of their decade. - - - - - I also have photos of an old classic spotted while in Arizona up at the viewpoint on the mountain at the south end of Phoenix. I would have these posted earlier but came back with rhinitis that wiped me out. Too dry compared to what I'm used to. .

Retro posting - California desert Cars spotted in the high desert small towns of California near Joshua Tree National Park - they seem to survive with the dryness but their paint is often in poor shape Hippo on its toes Caprice sedan (year unknown) in a funky part of town A mid '60s Chevrolet full size wagon - which year? which model? I don't know. Check out the desert scenery in winter. Look at how old it is. Obviously repainted ... a while back. It has the 6 character plates and they're not even blue and gold, but black and gold! An '90s Lumina base turning - without the 3.1 badging, this could have even been a 4 banger. I think this is an American Motors car. Don't know the model name and the year. Again, the archaic black and gold license plates with 6 characters.

Merry Christmas OR Happy Holidays ... and a Happy New Year ... to all of C&G. May Santa have succeeded in getting down your chimney and being able to fit the car of your dreams into your gift stocking.

Yes, lots of crying over spilled milk with all that looking in hindsight. I can name 5 Seattle area based companies whose stock would have lined someone's pockets in a big way if they rode the wave upward - Boeing - Costco - Starbucks - Microsoft - Amazon

I just went to the pharmacy. And, as usual, I am pissed off. When you have lived in tree hugger land and you ask the pharmacy to recycle the lengthy instructions, with all your personal info, because you've taken these meds before, they just do it. This pharmacy looks at me with the deer in the headlights look when I ask them to recycle this paperwork. And it's every cashier. And it's every time. End of rant.

I see your point and I know they've penciled all this out. If people want a sedan, they now need to look to the Japanese, Koreans, and Europeans. It won't be within 18 months, but, for my next purchase, I intend to again get a sedan. I like the way passenger cars look. I've sat in Acadias in showrooms every now and then and think, "Hmm ... nice," but not to buy. Also, with SUVs and CUVs, the price goes way, way up if you want a quality one, and so does the price of repairs and maintenance for tires, AWD, electronics, etc. This whole shift is sort of strange when single occupant households in America are increasing. Also, people are living longer, and there is expected to be an upward swell in senior Americans. Those two things would point to at least keeping the demand for conventional passenger cars going. - - - - - At any rate, I'm posting because I was going through photos and found a "Sicilian" Regal in wagon form. Obviously, it's an Opel Insignia wagon. I had an econobox during this trip but had one of these Opels before (as a result of an upgrade because there were no automatic econoboxes) and it drove damn near flawlessly.

One of the most "demented" but also entertaining and irritating songs in existence:

Interesting analogy ... sort of. Oldsmobile offers up the Intrigue, an instantly popular sedan that the public embraced, and GM drops the division a few years later. Buick offers up a sports sedan that's made in GERMANY, and, one by one, they drop their car lines, with this foreign Regal being the last passenger car they have on the market. SMH.

Right, some just had plastic panels over them. In the Cutlass, and some of the quadruplets, there were 4 vents. They had these round tabs you pulled from under the dash to open and close ventilation. Must have worked wonders in Phoenix! On the Cutlass, the ones on the driver's side were just like the ones if the car had A/C. The spheres on the passenger side were vaned, similar to the ones by the driver, if you didn't have A/C. However, if you had A/C, they had the adjusting knob in the center to open and close the spheres. I recall the loss leaders. It was a hoot to raise the hood on a mid-70s Cutlass Supreme to see a 250 c.i. L6 ... and NO air. That car could probably run forever.

Dave, you have always struck me as a person who does not create and does not enjoy drama. Believe me. I get it. Anyway, I was surfing for a specific photo I once saw and came across this. This is what the climate control panel looks like on a mid-70s Olds Cutlass if you DON'T have A/C. And, if that's the situation, under the hood, it becomes a Saturday mechanic's dream.

Well, the check engine light that came on sporadically during cold weather and yet did not affect drivability is GONE. I was getting that code that the thermostat and the ECT (engine coolant temperature) sensor were talking smack to each other. The thermostat was replaced, as was the upper radiator hose, for a fair price and my dash is free of warning lights (once driving).

What is the colloquial term given to those finned backlites specific to GM mid-size cars in the mid- to late-60s? Saw this on the road when stopped in traffic a few days ago. In perfect condition, with a nice exhaust grumble, and its driver waived. I

Love to be driving down the freeway and seeing clean and perfectly balanced alloy wheels on an adjacent car either - appear to be spinning forward in slow motion, or - appear to be spinning backward in slow motion Don't remember much about physics and science, and therefore can't explain why it happens or appears that way, but I like seeing it when I do.

It went down that low?! The company's value is diluted over such a broad base of shareholders. Still, being under $10 per share when the Dow is at 28,000 is weird. I remember when I was a young, there was a recession (oil crisis), the catalytic converter had just come out, and GM was offering substantial rebates. It was a great time to buy a GM car. Their stock was trading at about $ 34 per share. Then, within 1.5 years, when the bicentennial came around and they sold over 500,000 Oldsmobile Cutlasses (over 1,000,000 Oldsmobiles across all lines), and not even counting their successes withing other GM brands, GM stock was trading at about $ 65 per share. The problem is that the most affluent are the ones to more readily have the loose cash and the wiggle room to take more routine chances on the upside when the light at the end of the tunnel looks very dim or is nowhere in sight, like it was in the somewhat recent Great Recession. Dang, that was ugly.