trinacriabob

You can probably make multiple stops ... just like one does during a "Costco lunch."

Random but timely thought: TOMORROW is National Donut Day. Check the chains and the indies for their specials so you can scarf down a donut or two.

Spotted this past weekend in the same parking lot. The owner of this immaculate old Mopar convertible was friendly enough. Those wheels look similar to the long-lived Buick alloys. I forgot which model this was since they made some nameplates that didn't stick around long, even when Mopar was chugging along smoothly. (Remember the short-lived Mirada?) Now, the owner of this vehicle was a different story. He got sort of miffed with me that I thought it was a kit car. He said it's an original 1965. BFD. I wouldn't own one. It was just unusual, so I took some photos.

I did this. I used to pay the GM dealer about $ 40 to do this every few years. This time around, I paid less than $ 25 for this Bosch filter and $ 0 for labor by doing it myself.* It is accessed from the engine bay, even though it is indeed behind the glove box. You get to look straight into the blower motor as you do this! *proof that YouTube is your friend

It's an interesting place, in it's own way. Mostly, I like that one can put in some jaunts to Galveston, which seems to be coming along and, sadly, getting more gentrified and expensive. I can see that about driving there. And would probably agree with that, of the cities listed. This might weave in some politics, but I was miffed watching this. I was in H-town in Feb. of 2020 and it was evening rush hour time, so it was backed up on one of the feeder roads to I-45 south of the city. There was this dark haired bearded guy his 30s in a big white newer raised Ram truck stuck in this traffic. In front of him was this middle aged brunette lady in a VW Jetta. She was going the speed limit and then stopping as the traffic crawled, but he was riding her tail and getting aggressive toward her. There were no political stickers on her car, nor on his truck. I glanced over and he seemed really angry. I'm almost sure that it was because, the month before, the election didn't turn out the way he wanted and he had to channel that anger. Having just been down there again, it's amazing, and stereotypical, what I see on cars, trucks, and properties in white suburbia that's both not very klassy (yes, with a k) and seems to have good disposable income ... probably from working in the trades, working in energy, or working in a higher paying govt. job.

Let's see: "four of these are of the Found On Road yada yada variety while the other vehicle is not?"

Can't peg Bryan Adams' musical style ... it's like an interpolation of that of various other musical artists. I believe he's Canadian. This is one of his better songs.

Cool about the Fiero. "Iron Duke" action! I see this sort of racing about once a month. Except that I don't see a highway patrol car around when one needs to be on hand. I don't find this stuff fun(ny) at all. They dart in between cars with very little distance to spare and it could all end so tragically, especially for the people who drive in a law abiding manner. Texas has its own culture. Here are a few sightings from a few weeks ago: I can't imagine too many V6 Chargers in Texas! And this was no V6. I always get a chuckle out of the Texas edition of the Silverado. It's a both self regarding and a self fulfilling prophecy. - - - - - Speaking of freeway racing, I saw a bit of it in and around Houston in just a matter of days. And I didn't see anyone getting pulled over.

On a short road trip this holiday weekend and this song, albeit the original 3 to 4 minute version, is in my collection. This rendition is a bit long, but the visual effects are very cool. This song is timeless and great on the interstate. I love this song.

The Arteon has a "high" price point. They start in the low $40s. They needed to cover the middle ground between Jetta and Arteon, in the high $20s.

Let's not underestimate sedan trunks. One of my friend's brothers would borrow his parents' full-size Pontiac, stuff a few people in the trunk, and drive up to and through the box office booths at the drive-in. Just one person. In a big Pontiac. And, once this big Pontiac was parked, he opened the trunk and let his friends out. It's not too smart to begin with. But wouldn't it also look weird to nearby parked cars that the trunk of this big car pops open and teenagers start climbing out of it?

Too funny! I'm native to that place and I'm nothing like the stereotype ... and never was! Except for maybe the irreverence and sarcasm that people will let fly there. I feel more at home in your city of Montreal. If only it had a mild winter. I will say that what's likeable about L.A. is the setting and the weather ... and that's really about it. The "culture," the value system, and the edgy people are pretty messed up. I'd say more than half of the people I grew up with have left. Many stayed in the state, but went to far less crowded or rural areas of it, including the desert (where they cannot allow their pets to be outside alone on their properties). Others left the state altogether and went to America's second tier cities. Once you've adjusted to a "second tier" metro area (Denver, Portland, Twin Cities, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, etc.), you will have no desire to go back to L.A. Even visiting L.A. is stressful because you are constantly reminded that it has lost its livability.

I call this the "Santa Monica Blvd. song" and it seems to be the song most readily attributed to Sheryl Crow. At about :55, she mentions DATSUNS and Buicks, so this is a little dated! At least she doesn't want to eat Subarus, as per the lyrics from some other song of about that time.

There is really another big issue here. Most of us here have advanced critical thinking skills and a critical eye when it comes to automobiles. (It's almost to an OCD level, if not already there!) There's a fairly big difference with what can be done stylistically with 3 volumes than with 2 volumes. It's a little harder to adhere to corporate branding and make SUVs/CUVs that are easier to differentiate from each other. That said, automotive designers have quite a bit more stylistic leverage with sedans and coupes. One only needs to think about some of the sedans and coupes that C&Gers love so much.

The coupe scenario is in even worse shape. Large coupes were once popular and, for those who didn't need 4 doors, they functioned much like sedans in terms of mechanics, features, ride, reliability, etc. This isn't about pull, but about push. The consumer is not dictating what the market is putting out. The manufacturer is deciding, and then a person is funneled to whatever is available. As for the remaining sedans, the Malibu will be biting the dust. And so will the Charger. The loss of the Charger will be especially sad, since it's such a nice substantial car and an excellent value in base form. The Camry may stick around but its looks need to be cleaned up, modernized, and/or toned down. I believe the Passat is also gone, based on looking at the VW site. I had come to like the Passat. I was fueling my car a few days ago and was talking to the driver of a 5 year old Passat. He really liked his car and said it has been very reliable. VW continues to offer geared automatic transmissions, which is a big plus. He was astonished to learn that the Passat may have come to the end of its journey. Consumers do want sedans. The manufacturers are not making them available to the extent to which there is a market for them. That's how I read it.

Yesterday, without even thinking of this thread, I thought I was "spotting." Instead, I'll use the photo here. Here's the car that is the subject of this thread, shown in an interesting maroon-cinnamon type metallic color. It looks good in this color This car is growing on me. Not only that, it's built in Germany for Buick.

escargot

WASP

More "Texas Excess" - limos where their owners don't seem to worry too much about gas prices ... A stretched Escalade seen in the "Bay Area," which is south of town, about halfway to Galveston, and close to the NASA complex. A stretched Chrysler 300 seen at the '70s looking Bush Intercontinental (could that be intergalactic) Airport (IAH), the main airport.

Seen along Westheimer (yes, Westheimer) just inside the Inner Loop en route to the Galleria. The license plate frame says "NXCESS." That might be a different way of saying "Poverty Sucks."

Within an hour in the Post Oak-Galleria area and the River Oaks section of Houston ... Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis have big Texas written all over them, seen here at one of the entrances to River Oaks, possibly the nicest neighborhood in H-town. TEXAS and TRUCK both have 5 letters; love the palm trees in H-town that you don't get in the "Big D." Here's a REAL classic! And, as a bonus question, why the heck is my car parked next to the Greyhound station? (This one has the nicer alloys.)

I didn't know where to put this. I started looking at the VW site to "build" something. In terms of sedans, there is the Jetta and there is the Arteon. The Passat is now gone. That's sad. That was their best looking sedan. The Arteon's styling is very derivative and it costs too much. One can spend a little more and get something more "prestigious." As for the Jetta, it looks like they pumped it up with "steroids" over the years, looks wise, so they could eliminate the Passat. Now it all makes sense. It was planned. In recent years, I've found them difficult to tell apart. The problem is that the Jetta seems to have gotten a smaller engine over time, now at 1.5 L, but with a turbo. Its saving grace might be that it keeps its geared automatic transmission. I had grown to like the very last rendition of the Passat. It had road manners that were both refined and planted, with better road and tire noise control than the Jetta.

My "random" 10,000th post. (some 16 1/2 years later)

Spotted two days ago, VW's Passat has come a long way and is now a fairly substantial car ... Spotted yesterday around the Houston Galleria, I also saw another Porsche (Panamera 4 door, maybe) in this exact same new color (a lot of enamel paint jobs on expensive cars lately) some 5 minutes earlier ...

I'll say that the Subaru Legacy sedan is sort of acceptable while the Outback is not. As for the two Buick/Opel products you've posted, they are substantially more attractive than the Subaru or any Asian brand econoboxes. This stuff is tricky. Business schools teach that stock price stems from a formula more or less discounting future cash flows going to the stockholder. I'm not so sure I believe in the "theory of efficient markets." One day, HPQ (Hewlett Packard), which had been hovering around $ 35 to $ 37, jumps up to $ 41 or $ 42 because an event like Warren Buffett buying some up made it spike. It came right back down and is back in the range it was in before, even before this latest market tumble.