trinacriabob

See, I knew WMJ would lead the pack...Minnesota rust and all.

gas hog

I stand corrected. When did this change?

I absolutely despise Eugene OR for many of the same reasons. Then there's the schizophrenia of being a twin city with Springfield OR which is about as redneck/Tonya Harding as it gets. With an undergraduate degree (with honors) from a Catholic university in Southern California and parents domiciled in Oregon which legally made me in-state, they denied me admission to a graduate program while more reputable schools like Univ of Mich., Univ of Ill. and Georgia Tech let me in. A lot of people told me that I would have been miserable if I had been admitted and actually went. My skin crawls when I happen to go through Eugene OR.

bark

white coat syndrome

Just coffee. I spend more time at Starbucks than I care to admit....but I'm usually doing something productive while I'm there.

But is it a college town? Which one is there?

You subscribe to the SF Chronicle and NOT the LA Times? Where are your loyalties, sir?

"Chicken" doesn't chicken out (he's a feisty one) and you do ???

I give my sled lots of "positive reinforcement." Just about daily. It seems to respond...the 3800 purrs quietly with acknowledgment. I need for it to last another 9 to 11 months.

the fence

Yep. I think 60 Minutes or 20/20 once did a show on the prevalence and clout of the lesbian population in Northampton MA. So, it kind of beats to the same vibe as Eugene/Olympia/Bellingham. Why do lesbians like these funky college towns, anyway?

Have friends that went there and visited it. Every college town has a couple of bohemian shops. Aside from a couple of those in Bloomington, it's pretty darn conservative. As far as the Midwest goes, I think Madison Wisconsin is reputed to be the most liberal of those towns.

As Nancy would have said, "Say no to drugs." I'm proud to be an uncool geek in this manner. I also say no to alcohol. Two big wastes of money and time.

Krispy Kreme

I went to a Jewish wedding in Santa Cruz CA on Saturday. I got there about 1.5 hours early and needed to change into a suit, so I hit Starbucks and lounged around for that time. In addition to having a weird culture to begin with, UCSC is located here. It is the only campus in the famed UC system that does not give letter grades. It's an absolutely gorgeous locale with the ocean, mild weather and lush vegetation; however, God are there weird people there! Other weird college towns: Eugene OR - California-hating Oregonians and earthy-crunchy frumps galore Bellingham WA and Olympia WA - more of the same; also, lots of Subarus - what saves Bellingham is that it's closer to Vancouver Canada than to Seattle -- a mere 22 miles from the border check. Other not as weird college towns: Berkeley CA - at the wedding yesterday, I was told it is now too expensive to be weird. Heck, one might even find a Republican or two. Chico CA - now, I like Chico. Why? It's a college town without the college town weirdness. It's also in an eerie location at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada but too low to see any snow. It's a toaster during the summer. None of the college towns in So Cal qualify as weird. They are all too suburban, hedonistic and conservative. ADD SOME MORE WEIRD COLLEGE TOWNS. I've been to Burlington VT while in Montreal. It was SORT of weird, I guess. I know the Northeast has a handful of them.

WWJD? (interesting thought - after going to a Jewish wedding yesterday)

867-5309 (what that one of his/theirs?)

Well, its a Bimmer....I would EXPECT that....make that: REQUIRE that....for that kind of money and reputation.

I'm sure WMJ or someone else with a 3800 will beat me, but my 1992 Buick Regal has a hair under 224,000 miles. Since I've changed the oil every 2,000 to 2,500 miles from when it was new, the dipstick level does NOT go down when I bring it in for the next oil change. So, right now, I'm the high mileage champ. There's nothing out there that fully turns my crank as far as a replacement goes (comfortable seats, good visibility, lack of styling quirks).

Mr. Hyde

bickering

Disagree on the first comment, Pantho. The ugly butt was on the 1997-2003 run...they looked like pumpkins grafted onto the rear of the car. At least these are "wedgier" and cleaner (except for the little ripples).It's the "Smokey and the Bandit" front end that has to go! Give THAT a rest! FWD - well, we ALL know you don't like that. On that issue, I am a little indifferent. I do like how an engine compartment is set up better when it's RWD and that you don't need to replace brakes as often. I am not that much of a hard ass on cars where I need it for the handling edge.

GM needs to make a real Camry fighter that will develop a track record. The Eco-tec could power it but all of the other components would also have to be premium. The problem is that there are too many cars branded as Camry fighters that aren't packing a very mean punch. The other thing is that they can't say this car is a "Camry fighter" as that takes away the impact and subjects the car to too much scrutiny. And, here I go again, GM needs to start scoring on the "red dot" parade in Consumer Reports to turn things around. I know I mention this a lot but when I page through Consumer Reports and see all the red dots stack up in Toyota and Lexus, that pisses me off that GM can't get there ... when we all know it can. Olds, as for those choices, I am not informed enough to be of assistance though others here are. Wanna talk W-bodies, I'm all ears.