trinacriabob

Yesterday was an eerily Pontiac sort of day. I saw 4 of them, from bad to stellar, and in that order. 1. A fire hydrant yellow Pontiac Aztek - frightening 2. A navy blue 1964 Pontiac GTO +/- ... it was smaller and squarish than later ones 3. A light metallic gold Pontiac LeMans, maybe 1966 or 1967, with the fins on each side of the rear backlite. It was not a GTO, nor any other type of special named model. I'm going to assume it ran with a 326 c.i. V8 or something like that, prior to the days of the 350 V8. 4. A veritable jaw dropper - a light mint green metallic GTO - 1969, 1970, ? (help) - the front and rear treatment ought to provide those clues. I could not figure out which engine it had ... there was no badge. It had no power equipment (not a problem at all). It had no air conditioning, either (based on the dash climate control module - easy to work on!). And I realized that an operating console that tapers down on the center tunnel without reaching up and touching the dash was sort of cool and minimalistic after all. It really told me that Pontiac should have never been offed. It was GM's most provocatively styled brand across its lineup and there was a place for it, even as a small niche brand marketed together with others at GM dealerships. They caught my eye more than any other GM brand in most cases. Photos:

Has anyone noticed that you just can't pick up the phone and call anyone (a person) anymore? Texts are used as appointment methods to do just that. And I'm talking about friends/peers from decades ago who you just used to pick up the phone and call. How times have changed ... at least as far as communication tools go.

I wrote a review or two of the last Accent based on rentals and find the 2018 more attractive and a step up. The IP and the exterior refresh show that, to some degree. Here, we get to see the written results of a test drive, which I haven't yet taken. (A visit to a nearby Hyundai dealership proved to be too melodramatic and "redundant" - my T.O. thread.) At any rate, I'm glad to hear what you have to say under ride and handling ... that the steering is light yet the road feel is still good. That's what I experienced in the 2017. Hopefully, it's even a tad better. Also, the sedan part doesn't bother me. That's exactly the model I'd want. I prefer the traditional shape. I think the Accent is a competent little car and one seriously worth considering unless stepping up one category into something like a Cruze, for example.

Very mid-'70s. There's a '74 Cutlass wagon across the street ... and in bad shape. She bears a slight resemblance to Andrea True. That's neutral - it can be construed as a positive or a negative. While sort of a one hit wonder, music experts consider Andrea True's landmark song the disco era's most important and true-to-form song. - - - - - Did you all hear Southwest Airlines will no longer hand out packs of peanuts in the cabin? They cite allergy issues. I have been on flights where they did hold off on the peanuts because someone reported an allergy issue in advance. I think it's really cost control issues. People are way more likely to ask for additional bags of peanuts than they are for additional bags of pretzels or cookies. In a way, I feel a little "responsible." I've done just that. However, I much prefer their luggage allowance to free peanuts. I can always snag a bottle of store brand salted peanuts for $2.50 or so.

I remember those. One word: awful. Look at how the 1980 and onward Cutlass and Regal/Century sedan then "righted" this mistake - with a notchback rear window that was a delight to look out of while driving. My dad had one of these. It was in that enamel dove gray with the tufted gray velour interior. Mechanically, it was good, but not great. It was very early in the life cycle of CCC (Computer Command Control) and it had its quirks. It ran with a 3.8 2 bbl V6. It may have even had a Turbo 350 trans. I don't believe it was the POS Turbo 200 trans. Right. I figured that, in a state that loves its foreign cars, a car named after its principal icon might have some chance of selling there. I believe that they ran with the same inline 6 (aluminum?) that powered the Chevy Trailblazer of the same year(s). Those 6s were quiet. A friend had one and it lasted for a long time. They were horrible in terms of fuel consumption. I was once given one (Trailblazer) at RNO and took it back to exchange it because it was obvious in no time flat that it was too thirsty.

My dad's car, among others. In coupe form. Yes, "Bimini Blue," as it was called. 250 L6 engine by Chevrolet, 3 speed automatic, and no air conditioning. Attractive enough dash (meaning circles instead rectangles). A dream to work on. By far, our family's most reliable car, even though it was a "second car" and the only one the dog could ride in because it had vinyl seats. - - - - - Saw a Maverick coupe coming toward me. Couldn't photograph it. It was anything from a '70 to a '73. I knew someone who had a used one with a 170 L6, a 3 on the tree manual, plaid seats, no carpeting, and no cigar(ette) lighter. Mavericks were the consummate toads. They do look like toads to me, but it was a guy with a big 'fro (he was white) studying to be a history teacher who called my friend's car a "toad." It's always worth a chuckle. And the dude did become a history teacher rather than go live in a commune.

A bear market will be cyclical, as are bull markets. How long each lasts is the unknown variable. They are predicting a recession for 2019 or 2010. So far, I don't see many of the makings of one. There are labor shortages, for one. I do see your point about the governmental funding aspect of this whole thing and the big bell shaped curve of boomers. Unless silver spooned, boomers need to learn how to live less extravagantly as time goes by. It's great to be cheap! Sadly, they are also a preyed upon segment of society. Being indoctrinated in critical matters, either through past schooling or by taking it upon themselves to learn about "modern life," could help them protect themselves.

Q: What do you call a person who speaks two languages? A: Bilingual Q: What do you call a person who speaks one language? A: American

Very true. But it's a choice people make. Because while some 20-somethings are getting them, others are choosing not to. I see that the hip, older neighborhoods have way more young(er) people with tats while kids working in retail, coffeehouses, and supermarkets in the suburbs are way less apt to have them. So, while the observation above is true, it begs the question "why?" At least to me. We've lived in a society that has always touted good skin tone and healthy skin and have been bombarded by the media about maintaining good skin quality. And they look quite bad on those who got them at an advanced age. (Incidentally, the late Anthony Bourdain had one ... or two.) If I was 20 years younger, I wouldn't do it. I don't care who has them. Help yourself. A few places I don't want to see them is at a financial institution or on an airplane flight crew. But that's me being a fuddy-duddy.

Has anyone seen "Den of Thieves?" This thing was on my video screen in front of me on the plane but I didn't put on the headphones because of the engine noise. I am not good at watching a movie on a plane. It looked intense. I didn't watch to see how it ended. I will put it on my bucket list. What did you think ... if you saw it? Also, is there anyone in the last decade who is a hard ass, either by hoodlum ways or legit ways, who does NOT have tattoos? Any good movies around that anyone has seen? I think I mentioned that "Three Billboards ... " was a riveting movie, but that was a 2017 flick.

I see a CMSL in the rear window. (That could have been added.) However, I definitely recall these as being '81-'82 wheels. They were among the best alloy wheel designs of that era. They hearken to racing flags ... very cool. I will say that, in '81, the MC moved back into being acceptable, and even attractive, after looking sort of dowdy from 1978 to 1980, with over-the-top fender sculpting, even though 1980 had quad lamps up front that helped a bit. The weird thing about MCs was that, in their base versions, the bench seats tended not to have an armrest. That was just plain weird for this genre ... a personal coupe.

Admittedly, the CT6 is growing on me. The canting of the rear taillamps as it is pulling away looks good. It's well suited to be their flagship sedan.

A couple of days ago, I saw a bright red Pontiac G8 in a parking structure. The person parked it like an a-hole but, since it was near a major gym, I figured it was an arrogant muscle head who might be its proprietor. Then, across the parking structure, I saw this moments later and had to cringe. I also saw an immaculate 06-07 Monte Carlo LT coupe with the upturned spoiler and the larger five-spoke aluminum wheels leaving a McDonald's parking lot. A smaller, middle aged woman with auburn hair was behind the wheel. With the bigger wheels, it could have been a 3.9 instead of a 3.5. I'm not a fan of the metallic charcoal or dark silver color, but the car looked great.

Never mind.

Yes, I have seen a rare few with the small 455 badge. I'm thinking my rank ordering of all these recently reported sightings in this early 70s category would be: LeMans/GTO, Skylark/GS, Cutlass/442, and Malibu. Our family knew some people who had a 1970 Skylark coupe in light metallic green, a white top, white buckets, a console shifter, and a 350, who loved theirs. They loved Buicks. They kept that white interior spotless. Then they got divorced. Then they moved out of their SGV home bought new for under $50,000. Then he had a mid life crisis. Then they drove foreign iron. Yes, the cycle of life in SoCal ...

A real interesting character, that one ... the person, not the car. And I mean this in a nice way.

It's a beautiful car. The lime is a little weird. However, it's a timeless shape and I like the rear lights quite a bit. Is this going north or south on I-5? I don't think I've ever traveled on the lower deck.

Within the last hour. Wasn't prepared for this siting, so I couldn't take a photo. Coming toward me was a 1977 Olds Cutlass Supreme coupe. It was light metallic blue with a white landau and a white pinstripe, the color keyed rally wheels, and white vinyl buckets seats. It was a Supreme and not a Salon because the buckets had the thinner profile. It sparkled and looked like it was no more than 3 years old. At the wheel was a septuagenarian or octogenarian. I'm almost sure he was the first owner. I would have loved to have asked him some questions about its specs and mileage. At about the same time, I saw this 20-something girl walking around who looked just like a 20-something version of Caitlyn Jenner. I'm sure she's heard that and was probably never compared before the transition.

Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick? (I don't know what their current slogan is.)

"Happy anniversary." No more insanely hot summers for you. Knowing the SoCal desert and Las Vegas area, I might love being there to visit friends when it's 80 to 90 and bone dry but, in 3 to 4 days, I'm ready to leave.

The talk of architecture and platforms is something a person has to digest for a while. It can get confusing. But, as for the car itself, I wonder how much the sheet metal will change. I like the latest rendition of it but know it is in need of a refresh. I see many on the road. I've also read that, for being RWD, it handles reasonably well in bad weather. That's it, basically. I'm wondering what the next Charger/300 will look like, why the 300* doesn't sell as well as it once did, and just how quickly are consumers tiring of big sedans like this. That Charger would ever switch over to being just a sedan from having been just a coupe is something that would not have been envisioned several decades ago. * I noticed that it might get the axe, which saddens me ... I really think the Charger and 300 anchor two fairly different niches and consumer profiles, but I could be wrong.

It looks like this may be the 2019 Ford Focus. What an improvement ... Exterior view - spec model for Chinese market Photos of the dash don't look too good, IMO. I don't like the "laptop left open" look atop the center stack. Let's hope they get a step gear auto trans. dialed in. If this car is successful, that won't bode well for the Cruze. This market niche is tight, with so many foreign brands in it, too.

Definitely not my favorite interior color at all. However, that's what I've got now. I sure would have liked the metallic glacier blue (offered in the previous M.Y.) with a dark blue interior (never offered in the LaX). It's weird when people tint windows in places that aren't sunny. Each state seems to have a saturation ratio or percentage of what they will allow. It's needed in the Sunbelt. Not many things worse while motoring than a blistering hot dash and steering wheel. In my book, this is great stuff. People below a certain age may never experience this. And I don't think it's ever coming back. Had they put it in a SS, they would have had to set it up in 40:40 buckets and put an operating console in it.

Sunday night - I was in a shopping center and had just gone to Trader Joe's for some groceries. Upon returning, I saw an immaculate mid 2000s Impala with everything on it. It had out of state plates (from a state in which I had also lived) and the driver was getting in. So we started talking. It was his late mom's and he had it for a year or so. He liked talking about his car and he was really taken with it. It was a 2005 in a beautiful copper color, with tan leather buckets, a console, and a sunroof. He didn't know what engine it had, so he lifted the hood and I informed him he had a 3800 V6 and that he should take car of it because it could run forever. I didn't comment but it said Series II on the shroud. Since Series IIIs were in Pontiac Grand Prixs the year before, I was surprised to see this. I'm hoping they had cured the Series II of its issues with faulty intake manifolds by 2005. Last night - I was getting a haircut and, as I was seated with my back to the glass, a late 60s/early 70s mid size Buick Skylark convertible went whizzing by. The guy sitting next to me and also waiting also turned around and looked at it. I asked him if he knew the year. He definitely said 1970. He had a Chevy Silverado as his daily driver, so he knew GM. And that made sense. It was the same color as my dad's 1970 LeMans base coupe of the same year, in that metallic aqua called "Bimini Blue." It had a black top (in the up position) and the typical Buick sport wheels. Nice! (I wish I could have taken a photo of it.)

Maroons are funny - they can be too "candy apple" or be deeper and uptown. In the SS, that would have looked sharp with beige buckets. In Caprice form, it would have looked great with a corresponding maroon interior.