trinacriabob

If I am a future owner of a 3.6 base Charger, I will definitely not be in that crowd! LOL. Instead, I will be endeavoring to achieve 30 + mpg on the open road. And that would have been the same when I was in my 20s and 30s. But, yes, I know that type and see it fairly often, usually in the V8 equipped Mopars with the more "juvenile" decals and striping. As for me, I prefer to go about life like a cheapskate so I can do things ... such as traveling like a cheapskate.

I might venture to say that I've always had a soft spot for both the Camaro and the Firebird just because they are Camaros and Firebirds. As for the last-gen (when both coexisted), I'd have to say I liked that they had the 3800 V6 as the base engine, RWD, and a basic 4 speed automatic transmission, if I recall. In that form, they also priced out nicely. I probably liked the Firebird more than the Camaro. Chalk that up to all the circular gauges and vents on the dash and those pop-up headlamps ... and liking Pontiac more than Chevrolet.

Yes. I like some of it, for sure, and some of their foods. But Hispanic and Asian are big chunks, which are better broken down by country. As for Spain, bingo. As for Latin America, a big thumbs up to Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile ... all beautiful and with a modern standard of living and an almost European feel. I loved these three Latin American countries. Would very much like to visit Cuba, too. I don't think I could roll as easily with Ecuador or Costa Rica, which are on these lists. I once had to change planes in Panama (City) in flying from L.A. to Buenos Aires and spent the day there. It's really lush with all these dense crazy thickets of banana plants or whatever they were. I thought that I would not want to be walking around there, waiting for some snake to grab me or something like that. "No" to anywhere with jungle like vegetation and animal life. Madrid, Spain (Plaza Mayor) Madrid, Spain (Parque del Retiro: Palacio de Cristal) Buenos Aires, Argentina (Avenida 9 de Julio and Obelisco) Montevideo, Uruguay Punta del Este, Uruguay Santiago, Chile (inland capital) Vina del Mar, Chile (on the coast, and twin city of port city Valparaiso) On the first trip, I flew from Miami and made damn sure I got to fly on this! Incredible experience. I went to South America for the first time over 15 years ago with a good impression ... and came back with a great impression.

Random thoughts on this random thoughts thread on this first day of September: 1) Rankings of places based on criteria are often ridiculous and not relevant to a lot of people. They may about the best suburb to live in, the best place to live overseas, and blah blah. As for suburbs, you might have Overland Park, KS, The Woodlands, TX, Cranberry Township, PA, Cary, NC, and Wilsonville, OR on the list. But if those regions are not your personality, then you'd be S.O.L. For foreign countries, they've got places like Ecuador, Costa Rica, Spain, Portugal, France, Mexico, Vietnam, Thailand, etc. If you don't think you'd eventually gel with Hispanic or Asian sensibilities and pace, then a person shouldn't consider them. Then they've got "best town in every state" ... more mind numbing reading ... 2) When I was a teen, Arby's rarely ever entered my stream of consciousness. It's like they were invisible. They have really upped their game, and, now, I go in more often and find sandwiches and wraps on their menu that I like. 3) The start of autumn is a mere 3 weeks away.

When it rains, it pours. I saw 4 of these within 48 hours, just staring me in the face. I see them, but not this often. One: Red one - the reason I even took a photo is because I preferred this combination of rubber bumper strips and body colored bumpers. - - - - - Two: This one is in really good shape, and in that bronze color ... it's hard to tell with these, since I think they all looked much like this from 2000 to 2004. The cosmetic changes came in 2005 and were even more helpful to the Monte Carlo than they were to the Impala, IMO. - - - - - Three: This is probably a 2002. I remember this color, which was also available on the Monte Carlo, and looked good on the MC: Cappuccino Frost Metallic. - - - - - Four: This is the last one I saw. On all of these sightings, these wheel covers are fairly decent in that they "sort of" look like upcharge alloys. = = = = = Okay, so here's the story with these. These ran with Chevy's 3400 V6, presumably born of the Chevy 3100 V6. These 3400 engines were stickered with EPA numbers of 21 / 34. Any time I have had one as a rental and driven it for some distance, they always did get about 33 and 34 on the open road. These sipped fuel. They did it with 4 speed automatics, not 6 or 8 gears. No cylinders were deactivated. I felt that the Chevy 3.4/3.5/3.9 just had to be inferior to a Buick 3800 V6. You know ... it's a Chevy "high value" V6 engine. The reality is that many have been pushed around pretty hard and have busted past 200,000 miles. They feature iron block and aluminum head construction. And they are a 60 degree design. Truth be told, these Chevy V6s were fairly rhythmic when you revved them. And a 60 degree design in a V6 is supposed to be more "balanced" than is a 90 degree design. It's interesting to see which cars and engines are in it for the long haul.

Spotted today - August 31 I hadn't seen one of these in a long time. It's a Chrysler (New Yorker) Fifth Avenue! I remember being tasked with driving one of these (belonging to a friend's parents) from Norwalk, CT to Storrs, CT (UConn) and back, returning late at night. I was not impressed. Two views of a first-gen Ford Mustang

Argh. Airlines are starting to use the Airbus 321-LR Neo to cross the Atlantic. It's single aisle. TAP Air Portugal is already using it for that service, along with their Airbus 330. I prefer the latter. The news about Alitalia is soul crushing. I'm hoping it's a reorg rather than completely ceasing to do business. So many memories. All good. I love their livery. Our family always got good service aboard their planes. And they had the coolest 747s. Watch it all the way until the end, when the take-off takes the jumbo toward Manhattan. Their fleet of 747s was named after resorts in different parts of Italy: Portofino, Cervinia, Capri, Taormina, Porto Cervo, Cortina d'Ampezzo, etc. Beautiful.

@oldshurst442 and @Robert Hall - I like the kink in the rear sail panel. The treatment in 1994, and before, was ugly. That's what some friends of my parents must have had. It was a big white base model that was a "hippo on wheels," as I've heard them called. Caprices of the '90s had to be the right year, the right colors, and trimmed out in certain ways to make them attractive sedans.

A lot of good info. I recall the 425. It shed a lot of cubes ... and weight. It could have made for a nicer and more respectable experience if they had put basic fuel injection on it. They did so 2 years prior for the Seville. The malaise at Cadillac during the Roger Smith years was a real black eye for the division. There was the 8-6-4, the initial problem ridden aluminum 4100 V8, their use of the diesel, and their use of Buick's 252 c.i. 4 bbl. as an option for those trying to squeak into a more basic Cadillac. It was funny to see a 4.1 L (252 c.i.) V6 in an Eldorado that was otherwise slicked up with a padded landau roof and fancier wheels. It took the division moving along from the 4.1 L to the 4.5 L to the 4.9 L V8 during the '80s to ratchet things up toward better engines by Cadillac for their new FWD products and using 5.0 liter V8s using the Olds blueprint for RWD boulevardiers to "right the ship."

Spotted August 26 while doing errands Taken while outside From the inside, as it began to drive off ... got it. - - - - - Is the grass always greener? In this case, the wallet is for sure.

Spotted August 25 Based on the size of the lettering of the Oldsmobile badge in the back, this is anywhere from a 2000 to a 2002 model Intrigue. If original, it definitely has the 3.5 L high feature (all aluminum - block and head) V6 in those years. So, this is a 19 to 21 year old car that's holding up reasonably well. I remember when I was set on buying an Intrigue! I miss not snagging a very last Olds vehicle, but am also happy that I put it off and have a dependable car with the even better Series III 3800 V6.

Spotted August 22 It said Caprice Classic on the rear deck lid, even though it has Impala SS embossed on the rear fenders. This appears to a 1996 and, with dual exhaust, appears to have the Chevy 5.7L V8 under the hood. It's a 25 year old car. People are hanging onto these!

Then, you'll have sightings like this on the same day to let the air out of the balloon ... Subaru ... at least it wasn't a wagon A boot ... haven't seen one in a long time ... I'm guessing this wasn't the first offense

Is a ladybug landing on something supposed to mean good luck? Here's one on my car after parking it and shutting the door. You don't see this often. With cameras at our disposal 24/7, I took a photo of it.

This was also at that "car show" on the street and I'm giving it separate billing. This family had purchased this Buick LeSabre for their son years ago, and it was a family project. Some humorous things on this one ... I guessed it was either a '77 or a '78. It is a '79. Not sure which LeSabre trim level ... probably up from the base model. Manual windows but air conditioned. The brushed silver dials on this model were cool, as is the imposing full-size dash, and shared with the Electra and the "grafted on" Riviera on the coupe platform for '77 and '78. I am not a fan of the dice and never will be. The tray with the shakes and malts is funny. It screams, "Trans Am ... what's your pleasure?" This inscription takes the cake! The engine is original. Its pulley configuration is Buick. Even though Olds 350 V8s and Olds 403 V8s made it into these cars, most likely into California bound ones, these folks weren't going to have that, it seemed. This is the Buick 350 V8. Affirmative, per the car's owner.

I was in a small town with a historical downtown and, without expecting to see this, there was an informal auto show of sorts on Saturday, August 21. 1) I don't know what this is, but it was ominous ... 2) I don't know what this is, but it was humorous ... 3) Ford Thunderbird ... possibly a '64 (?) ... I didn't ask 4) Chevy full-size coupe ... possibly a '61 ... I didn't look to see if it was an Impala, a Biscayne, or a Bel Air ... the original engine was no longer in there; this is a now Chevy 350 5) Cadillac '64 REAR WHEEL DRIVE (the last year for RWD) Eldorado ... WOW ... the color, one of the "firemist" series, is the one that was originally on the car ... white bench with fold down armrest ... real wood applique ... and 429 V8. The owner knew the Cadillac brand thoroughly ... from then to now! End of photos in this post

Why? If the PMD 350 and 301 were okay, why is the 265 not okay? Power issues or mechanical issues? It would certainly be better than the 231 that was standard that year, IMO.

All nice photos but thank you for this one, whereby a really big and "edgy" Grand Prix gets whittled down to a very manageable Grand Prix - sort of like a drop from a full-size Cadillac into a Seville, but not quite that drastic. From '78 to '80, this G-body was possibly the nicest one, getting even better in '81. But, then, that same year, the reskinned Cutlass Supreme coupe variants gave it a run for its money. At that point, it became a question of subtleties, customer preference, and customer loyalty. Except for "CCC," you couldn't go wrong. - - - - - Here's an '82 GP shown from a dynamic point of view: It stayed true to the inspiration of its '73 to '77 dashboard: Loved this car. Probably best when, of the engine choices, equipped with Pontiac's 4.3 L V8. Don't get me started ...

We are all awaiting a "return to normalcy," the phrase that's a keeper quoted by Warrren Harding just over 100 years ago. Here are some signs: "Cafe' 150," as seen from where I am sitting with my $1.50 meal and without a mask! If you liked your meal and your service, (and your coupon), let them know. What are you listening to? Sorry, wrong thread ...

This was a nice Regal coupe ... not so much the color. Hard to tell the year, since it's stripped of its hood ornament and I can't see the rear light assembly. Not a Limited. It has the bland bench seat. Very nice. I believe they had alloys as an option and it would like nice with some aluminum wheels. And a hood ornament worked well on these, too. It definitely raised eyebrows and won't be forgotten, but, after its successful launch via the restrained but very attractive first Seville, I always got heartburn over this one. I love the Chevy SS made for GM in Australia by Holden. And this color looks great on it. I take notice when I see one on the road. It has timeless styling (great from all angles) and, in my book, it's even nicer to look at than a Bimmer.

I was sitting at my local Starbucks and this song piped in. It was sort of slow in there and, as soon as it came on, a couple of the younger employees started to bump and grind with each other almost reflexively. And I was thinking how this song preceded their births by a decade or two! Either way, it's a great and inimitable song ... and these kids working at Starbucks have good taste!

I saw a newish Armada today. That thing is a bombastic tub of lard. What were they thinking? Within half an hour, I saw a Juke, and was studying its ugly and oddly placed lamps. I realized that Nissan makes some ugly vehicles.

I was looking around to see what the next Camry might look like. If you look at 2022, the price on the basic 4 cylinder LE keeps going up. Before discounts, you're looking at a MSRP of about $26K to $27K. I had a rented Camry in February. Some may dog it all they want, but I was surprised to see how nicely the 2.5 liter 4 cyl. (normally aspirated) drove with an 8 speed automatic with smooth, purposeful shifts. And that, with that "big" of an engine and no turbo, the great highway fuel mileage it pulled in. So I found this one image, and one link points to it as being a design 2017 and another link points to it as being the future. Here it is: Well look at that. It looks more Alfa Romeo up front than appliance. The front is a big improvement. The sweep on the side is reminiscent of the Verano. The roof shape is like that of the very first Aurora. And, then, the rear sail panel / C-pillar is sort of messy, like that of the current Nissan Altima. It's hard to comment on the rear fascia because you can't see it. This is the direction the next Camry design should be going. I like this front end. I think there are three things on the current car that need to go away: 1) the chunky multi-layered lower plastic grille - awful, 2) the rear sail panel curvature that looks like it belongs on a '72 Caprice, and 3) the annoying 45 degree diagonal in the center stack, made even worse by a "laptop left open" infotainment center. Don't be hitting the next redesign with the ugly stick. What needs to stay is a proven, normally aspirated 4 cylinder engine with decent displacement and their nicely calibrated 8 speed automatic transmission.

I used to listen to her religiously when she was on the air dispensing advice. As did many of my friends. - - - - - So, a younger person is on the line telling her they are beginning to experiment sexually. RW: "Do you use condoms?" Caller: "Yes." RW (rolling those r's like only a native speaker of German could): "Brrrrravo. I like to hear dat!" My friends and I would be doubling over laughing.

I've wound up in several Rios as rentals over the past few years. They're competent little cars. However, the last one I had - a 2021 - had a CVT (IVT). The ones prior to that had 6 speed automatics and their shift quality was good for the price point.