trinacriabob

October 10 Montreal, QC - - - - - The Smart car brand pulled out of the U.S. market, but I'm not sure if they pulled out of Canada. I saw quite a few of them. Not to be crass, but there's a cheeky bumper sticker about "pulling out," hinting that some people should not pass on their stupidity. Smart cars have (had) a palette that goes on and on with weird colors and color combinations. They drive and ride better than they look. Their storage capacity is awful but parking them in congested or compact areas is a piece of cake.

October 9 Montreal, QC - - - - - So I'm walking down a street on the Plateau Mont-Royal and I see a car I love. As I try to frame the photo, I see a car I hate across the street and beyond. I think you'll be able to figure out which car is which. I wouldn't mind having a nice, newer Buick Verano stuffed into a Christmas stocking with my name on it. If anything, walking around the Plateau and seeing all the townhomes/condos/flats with the unique wrought iron spiral staircases is alone worth doing

Oct 7 Sainte-Anne de Beaupre - - - - - Here is the timeless Chrysler 300 in the parking lot of the canyon with the falls that is worth a visit Here is a limo at the impressive basilica I never knew about which is a tourist destination and worth seeing. I am hoping this was for a wedding, given that it's more white than black.

October 5 Quebec City - - - - - Camaro convertible driving along the side of Notre-Dame basilica in the Old Quebec city area Porsche (you tell me what kind) Limo - looks like a stretch Lincoln of some kind - 1 Any car with the old school pop-up headlamps (especially if they work) gets my attention - 2 This is a view from the rear - 3 The owner was around and was fairly excited I knew about this car and was asking questions about it ... he told me it is used when the weather is good ... as you can see, it has a manual transmission. It's a good thing I took French in high school because it's like riding a bicycle and it seems to come back. My dad wanted me to take Latin. Who could I speak Latin with? Nissan 240 (I'd almost forgotten about these) 1 - this appears to be the Model S, which is okay looking 2 - This appears to be model Ugly, and possibly what I may have driven for a short while All I needed was to see 2 Teslas in Old Quebec within 5 minutes of each other ... NOT

I saw a lot of cars this month, as I was in Eastern Canada and their cars are about the same, but some are a little different. October 4 - Saguenay fjord (port) / Chicoutimi, QC Another ~20-year-old Olds Alero with some rust still delivering the goods and parked at the port of this now more publicized destination in Quebec; I was walking around the port and saw this Pontiac Wave parked on a hill on someone's lawn. I wonder if it still ran. They didn't bring the Wave to the U.S., but possibly featured it here as the Pontiac G3. Either way, Canada sure took to Pontiac.

It's interesting how GM's intermediates seemingly "took turns" at being the most attractive in a select span of years, though it's all subjective. Something happened in 1970 where this platform's cars changed for the better - their looks were cleaner relative to 1969 and 1968. Taking '70 to '72 into account, I'd say the Pontiac Le Mans was too much and the Chevy Malibu was a little too vanilla. The Cutlass Supreme coupe was fairly attractive, with the rear lamps getting worse (busier) each year moving along from 1970 to 1972, making the Buick Skylark and its clean lines - grille and headlamps, greenhouse, and taillamps and fascia - the nicest GM intermediate (IMHO) during that span of years.

He seems to really like older B-O-P vehicles and he also seems to have a long association with Pontiac products going up through his family tree. He filled the shoes of the resident curmudgeon and I mean that in a nice (humorous) way. Since I've been called pedantic a time or two, and people think it's weird that I remember so many details about stupid $h!+, I'm guessing I fill the shoes of the resident pedant.

We could theoretically arrive at a compromise. With your ski areas being at much higher altitudes than the Puget Sound B/basin, what I was offering would still get you more months of skiing during that much extended autumn.

Economically stated, as is usually the case. With the exception of a Mediterranean climate in many parts of Calif., and for which there is a very steep "sunshine tax" for the roof over one's head, what you say is true.

Good morning * there are numerous memes with this sassy lady! *

Random thinking ... thinking out loud ... What to get if getting a "hobby/fun car" to have as a second car at some point in the future ... - - - - - Door #1? '94-'96 Chevrolet Caprice RWD sedan with 4.3 L V8 I like these cars, their spacious interiors, and their engines. That small V8 puts out 200 hp. The best looking exterior of these 3 years goes to the 1996. These are supposedly reliable cars. - - - - - Door #2? Mercury Grand Marquis with 4.6 SOHC V8 I have come to respect these cars and an experience in a rental with the 4.6 V8 gave me a positive impression of them. These cars are long-lived. - - - - - Door #3? 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo LT with 3.5 VVT V6 Do it ... or maybe not. Get that W-body coupe - yes, coupe - you once wanted, given that the engine has turned out to be okay. If not pimped out and in clean, stock form, these tend to catch my eye. - - - - - Door #4? '81/'82 Cutlass Supreme Brougham with the 4.3 Olds V8 or '85 Pontiac Grand Prix LE with the 4.3 Chevy Vortec TBI (for corporate sharing) V6 coupes I've always liked these and had an '84 Cutlass Supreme coupe. I believe that, at this point, you can pull off the Computer Command Control (CCC) and simplify things. The sensors could/would go, I think, and changes would be a different stock carburetor (for the Olds), a different distributor, and the deactivation of the sensor/chip in the automatic transmission. The catalytic converter could/should remain. - - - - - Door #5? '75, '76, or '77 Cutlass Supreme, Cutlass Salon, Pontiac Grand Le Mans, or Buick Regal coupes Engines would be the Olds 260 c.i. V8, the 250 Chevy c.i. (for corporate sharing) L6, or the Buick 231 c.i. V6. Because these were odd-firing years for the Buick V6, an even-firing crate engine would have to be ordered and swapped in. There is no CCC in these years and a simple THM 350 propels these cars. - - - - - Any of the above would have to have been very well maintained and with sound mechanics and bodies/interiors. If you have any ideas, try to put them in the perspective of what I'd like rather than the brand and car you are partial to.

I'm amazed at the sorts of things automakers themselves are saying about EVs. What it's doing is pushing back their adoption over I.C.E. vehicles. - - - - - I'm not that high maintenance, but, when I did have the "pleasure" of trying one for about 7 hours, all I was asking was for: 1) a dashboard I could understand (the above is a photo of a 2020 Chevy Bolt appended to a review) ... an instrument cluster in front of the driver that makes sense and is sort of minimalistic, an infotainment system that looks similar to the ones we know, a climate control system that is intuitive. Will you look at that !?! 2) a range of about 400 miles, but I'll settle for 350 miles. - - - - - Here's a link to the article about the author's Seattle to Portland jaunt in the car, in which he praises the simplistic controls with an obvious purpose: Review: Seattle to Portland in a 2020 Bolt EV (newatlas.com) - - - - - I'm not interested in paying this kind of money for a sled. However, as a daily driver and with a plug in the garage that wouldn't overcharge the battery, that day will eventually come for many folks.

Good morning:

The ideal weather across an ideal year: - 3 months of summer - 1 month of winter - 1 month of spring - 7 months of autumn (and peak color)

Ha. Atlanta suburbs story. Very heartwarming and funny. I probably would have googled how to tie a Windsor knot and looked for a YouTube or diagram. But, hey, it worked out for him. I lived in the metro Atlanta area for 2 years. I couldn't believe how well I adjusted to it coming from the West. There isn't much uptightness to be found. Most people are outgoing and a good many are sassy.

What I was really going to say ... Last call for LaCrosse ... what that really means is last day for LaCrosse. Yesterday, I sold my car, for which doing research on it and clicking on the links brought me to C&G. (Lucky you!) I handle change fairly well, especially while traveling, but I don't handle moving on to another car all that well. I usually deliberate a lot on choosing a car because they are big ticket items and, when I have bought - or was given - one I liked, I have taken excellent care of it and don't want to part with it. I was in a funk when I came home yesterday, but, eventually, I was also relieved and am dealing with it better today. This is the last photo I've taken of the car. I had cleaned it thoroughly and, with the lighting, the photo doesn't show the sheen that's still in the metallic paint and the tidiness of the interior. It was taken yesterday.

Interesting to watch, even though I raced through the list. The common ones I see are immature communication style, requiring too much attention, doing the revolving door with friends, and controlling ... the last one is almost worse if done passive-aggressively rather than directly. This presenter has a lot to say and has a good speaking style. I did not check into the "about" part of the video to see what her education and background are. I know some that, based on the externalities, make people wonder why they are still on the shelf. Get into their heads and you will soon know why. What they seem to have in common is serious trauma in their formative years ... and I won't go there. Thanks for posting this.

This is a weird one. That's for sure. But I've heard the same about some other domestic engines. Considering it's GM's flagship V6 now, different years of G.M. 3.6 OHC V6 have behaved differently. They put out 300 hp in the last W-body Impala, so they are considerably more powerful than the old school OHV V6s. But some of the problems I've read about are costly and disturbing. Speaking of V6s, the 3800 had its issues as a Series II engine. Blame it on the plastic intake manifold, for which they recommended a fix. There are many cars still on the road with this engine, such as early 2000s LeSabres, 2000s Bonnevilles, etc. It leads me to wonder who had to rebuild it, who caught the plastic intake manifold leak in time, and who never had issues with it. The same goes for the Ecotec 4 and the Iron Duke 4. They get mixed reviews. Some say they are in it for the long haul and others say they have their problems. Maybe it depends on the year and the application. But to have a major issue with the N.A. 3.6 V6 engine in a Cadillac CT6 is not defendable. It should go 250,000 miles. That's what you're buying, among other things.

Is there a market for used vinyl, meaning old school record albums? I've been going through family stuff and found some. If so, where would you sell them (flea market/swap meet, other) and what's a way to gauge a reasonable price for an item?

It's imperative to do this ... especially when traveling. There is no rewind button. The only thing that is more easily remedied is the replacement of hotel magnetic cards if they know you at the front desk and/or you have other ID. - - - - - I'm all for color returning to automotive cabins. This red, however, is a bit loud. Some of the colors they are bringing back are too strong, like the "brick" brown/red interior, too. As for this (E) vehicle, it's as long as the learning curve to operate it is not too lengthy and difficult.

I agree. I was impressed by its competence for the category and price point. I definitely enjoyed it for one day a few years back and it did its job for that week in August-September. With the Smart car, the back of the car is practically right behind the driver. With the Spark, it's just a "little bit" further back than with the Smart!

What I had really wanted to post: THE BIG THREE - what am I talking about? - - - - - As you depart anywhere, you should always ask yourself if you have these 3 things with you: 1) Your wallet (or similar) 2) Your keys 3) Your phone I routinely do this now. I have sometimes driven off with the phone left at home. Also, if staying in a hotel, the magnetic keys are easy to overlook, so those get included in the keys category. Okay, that's enough being your mother for this morning.

Slightly painful to watch. Who knows ... there could have been my beloved 260 V8 in that Delta 88 that someone could have set aside for me. It would be interesting to tastefully make it into one - and only one - backyard garden planting ... surrounded by ornamental horticulture (perhaps with a birdbath or bird feeders perched atop the air cleaner assembly). I'm joking. However, I very much miss the purr of a new(ish) small block Olds Rocket V8. Now ... as for the Eldorado ... how does someone let such a beautiful car - I loved that body style from 1979 to 1985 (+/-) - get into that kind of shape? I have always disliked the Biarritz trims and the excess metal trimming that went with that ... too much. Either sans or with a vinyl top, these were the best looking of the triplets. There might have been malaise in its engineering (engines like a newly released 4100 Cadillac V8 with teething problems, the diesel, and the 4.1 Buick V6 as a credit option), but there was no malaise in the car's exterior styling and interior creature comforts in my book. - - - - - Now this is what I'm talking about! I'm always for the alloy wheels and, at some point, there were stock Cadillac ones available Except that they would have to be in cloth - - - - - I'm waxing nostalgic.

Yes, Dino Crocetti. Big black Cadillacs, and often, is usually a good sign. What is Ohio Valley style pizza? I prefer thin crust pizza from the tri-state NYC area, but have learned what Detroit style pizza is - and like it. There's also Pittsburgh style, St. Louis style, probably Philly style, probably Baltimore style, yada yada, but I don't know what they are. My mom used to make a deep(er) dish pizza and it wasn't my cup of tea. But I'd still eat it.

I think a lot of it has to do with "packaging." Generally speaking, red places have way more hicks, aren't as well educated, many people are gullible and see things in black and white for simplicity's sake, and, along with that, comes things like non-denominational Christianity and love of guns. Most/many Catholics, Episcopalians, and Lutherans lean blue. So, when they identify by their specific denomination, I don't lump them in with "Christians," though they are a subset. Some of the shootings in bluer places (Colorado, Connecticut) were carried out by kids or younger people who were disturbed and slipped through the system because the signs were missed, but rabid love of guns is way more of a red thing. I rehashed the poor Republican joke because someone like that is irritating me more and more: she IS educated, but is a megachurch Christian, is proud to be a gun owner, and likes the New Millennium's "Agent Orange." Last Christmas, she texted me how she spent the day and it included a link for the service she attended with her mom: 40 minutes of "hickdom" that I watched for 15 seconds - just to see what kind of stuff I was being fed - and then turned it off. That alone would point to the bad boundaries this person has. - - - - - My jokes ... from school and neighborhood days: "Down the Yellow River" by I.P. Freely "Rusted Bedsprings" by I.P. Nightly "The Proper Use of a Condom" by Justin Case "Under the Bleachers" by Seymour Butts "Hawaiian Pleasure" by Kamana Wanaleia - - - - - Have a nice day, folks!