trinacriabob

Model trains and cats sort of go together ... sometimes ...

Cool. The one cat we did have when I was a kid was just like this - all black, medium length coat, great personality (from constantly being played with by us kids) He seems sure of himself and looks like he owns the place. Does he live in the past?

This car has a commanding look and an interesting silhouette. It would be nice if some of this could be incorporated into a mass production vehicle on U.S. soil. This would make for a good Pontiac, for example, from looking at the divided effect up front.

Yikes. I see that demerits (down votes) are being doled out because conscientious C&G folks are showing their objection to disturbing and serious national events that just happened, the perpetrators of these events, and their cronies.

That photo over Manhattan - more realistically over the Hudson River - is wild. It did pave the way for the 4 engine Boeing 707. Immigrants to the U.S. were then arriving by 707s and ships, until transoceanic passenger ship service basically became extinct because of the 747. Among current commercial aircraft, I admit to being a big fan of the Airbus 340 ... the only Airbus plane I like. In -200 and -300 form, it's the closest modern aircraft to a 707. I'm talking about its size, its 4 smaller engines, and overall look. The only thing is that it had to be a twin aisle plane or it would not have made sense when it was released in 1991. The most flattering photo of one I could find is of a Lufthansa one. Here's one that was flown by Olympic. If you look at its name in the nose cone, you can say "it's Greek to me."

Siamese is another good breed. Many of them "talk" constantly. I don't know how much would be too much. I am aware of 4 Siamese varieties - blue point, lilac point (maybe the red?), chocolate point, and seal point. We see the beige types more often. I would prefer that the dogs didn't chase the cats! I hear it's mostly a matter of which animal came into a household in which order, and at what age.

Changing the subject, I'm not a huge fan of cats, but they can be okay. Among cats, Russian Blues are one of the coolest breeds. Beautiful animal. Smart and good natured, too. Since I like blue merle Australian Shepherds, it would make almost sense I like this breed of cats.

Help me out here. I'm confused. I've been seeing the signs, and slogan, "No More Bullsh!+" for months. That would imply those folks believe we are CURRENTLY in a state of bullsh!+ and therefore seek major change, am I right?

Love the classic ubiquitous wrought iron spiral staircases one sees on the exteriors of older apartment buildings in Montreal. Maybe the Montreal police wanted their cops to be celebrities? I don't know. But, from the labeling of it, that looks more like a community affairs liaison type of police car than a squad car that would give chase. With our more globalized society and especially with how diverse Montreal is, Dafuq might just be the name of a foreign exchange student in your city. When I first read it, that's what I immediately thought.

The Ann Coulter of Georgia?

This Buick's MSRP would immediately send me running. It's priced to be the top of their line and is equipped as such. The closest to anything like this I've driven is the Traverse, with a 3.6 V6, and I was impressed with how it handled and how quiet it was. That means that those qualities would be found in this Enclave, and then some, since we're going upward in GM branding. I still can't warm up to this segment. It's not my niche. I get that people like this niche and/or require it. With that, I will say that a simply equipped Buick Envision (2020 and prior) with the N.A. four banger, and its price point, are more suitable for me, while Buick's Encore is too small. When I see these on the road, they seem big and bulbous, and have from the beginning. The one time that this would come in handy is when moving. BTDT ... yikes. You covered all the bases in your write-up. Nice.

Indeed you do. That's probably the situation for most C&G folks who have been on here for a long time!

Wow. A coupe doing police work. You don't see that too often. Pontiac could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Clearly, I'm kidding. What I meant is that PMD could take a more generic GM product that it shared with other divisions and do something with the nostrils so that it snares you and you won't easily forget it.

I love pastitsio. I order it every time I go into a Greek place that offers a combo lunch or dinner. I have usually seen it baked with noodles that are flatter ... or are bigger tubes (that's just what I've seen). I will not touch moussaka, just like I will not touch eggplant parmigiana. Let's not even start talking about Greek desserts. If a Greek or Middle Eastern Orthodox church has an annual festival, I will drop by to eat their overpriced food ... because everything is a la carte. However, if it goes to help operate their churches, that's fine with me.

As long as that bird doesn't squawk like a magpie ... It would be great to cross the entirety of Canada. And, just like the middle of the U.S., there would be some parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba that might be a little trying on someone's patience. On the flip side, you get an extra time zone (Atlantic, in addition to our Eastern) and the beauty of their far flung Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, etc.) This is whacky. It could be a parking lot or, most likely, a street with parking in the middle. Nice first-gen Toro over there to the left. However, that Sedan de Ville looks like it's about to be t-boned by a full-size Oldsmobile!

Merci pour les belles photos de Montreal. I can't say enough about it. It's one of my 3 favorite cities in the world. It's ALL on islands! Montreal is on an island in the middle of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Adjacent Laval, with almost half a million people, is yet on another island in the middle of the same river. And, like you said, recreationally themed Ile-Sainte-Helene is on another island still, although off of Montreal's Centre-Ville (off the opposite shore than Laval) and in the middle of the same river. I have taken that photo (the postcard view) from the overlook (the belvedere) atop Mont-Royal during autumn color so many times over the last few decades.

@ocnbluWTF is so confusing about TRAVEL SIZES being exorbitantly priced? I was looking for the really small Listerine bottles to put in carry-on luggage while at Walmart. They were in different bins. I thought they were 97 cents. Some were in the $1.47 bin, too. I could have gone with that. A kid working there came by and I had him scan it. It was $1.97! No can do ... at Wally World? What's so confusing about that?!?

So, I tend to stock up on sundries and toiletries right after the new year, including travel sizes for some items, so I don't have to think about this for several months. You know who's making money hand over fist? The damn consumer products companies with their product lines sold in TRAVEL SIZES.

Yes to 2008 on the GP ... its last year. I got confused with the announcement of the Pontiac phase out, which was in 2007, IIRC. MC definitely bowed out in 2007. Favorable short write-ups on KBB, etc.

I rarely wander over to the members' rides showcase. This definitely gets my thumbs up. Most of all, I loved this car's dashboard - far and away more interesting and fun to pilot it than that of its W-body siblings, including my own car. The price point difference going up a brand is in attention to trim and materials but, underneath it all, the W-bodies with the same powertrains should continue to provide similar longevity ... very good longevity. I continue to see so many of these on the road. Is this an '07? I believe they carried the last model over for a partial year but may be wrong. The MC also went out in '07. I'm trying to reconcile 93 years of age and cigarette smell. Was someone else younger smoking? Euell Gibbons, the proponent of eating hickory nuts in the Grape Nuts commercial, lived to be 64. All my relatives who smoke - all across the pond - surpassed Euell by a wide margin. The last GP will always be a neat car that people want to own.

@boboWe can count on both stellar wordsmithing and incisive observations with your annual Cheers and Jeers write-up. It's all there. Thank you! It's also proof that one's schooling can be in practical subjects, and that the general education core can be enough to produce critical thinkers and good writers. Happy New Year!

"What are you listening to?" says the thread title. It didn't say it had to be a song. Here's a comedy skit a friend of mine from Calif. made me listen to. It's 100% clean. It's a Mexican-American girl doing a skit where she talks about her Mexican family in the first half and takes us along on an excursion to an obviously Vietnamese run nail salon in the second half. My friend knew I like different accents and would enjoy this video. Her small stature and unassuming nature make her comic delivery all that more convincing. If you've lived out West and wanted to get a good, inexpensive haircut, these shops for men and women would often be owned and operated by Vietnamese folks. So, at $8 plus a tip, you're on your way in 20 minutes for about $10 or $11. As for her stories of growing up Mexican, the accents and inflections she does are spot on with those of a lot of my SoCal Catholic school friends' Mexican parents. As for the Vietnamese part, the accents are spot on with what I've experienced getting my hair cut, minus any of the upselling and theatrics in the skit. When I need a random laugh, I'll put this on and forward it to 4:25, and it puts me in a better mood. However, the whole skit is damn good. Happy New Year.

Interior photos An overall view of the front of the passenger cabin with its layout and pleasing enough shapes, functions, and volumes This is the angled infotainment center before going linear again in front of the passenger seat The gauges are straightforward. It might take a little while to stop hitting the wrong steering wheel controls for what you want to accomplish. For the most part, it's logical and Germanic. Pardon the dust. The bezels make sense. The info box is ideal. It neatly shows mph, time, outside temp., gear, odometer, and trip info. That button in the center is to reset the trip odometer. I think it was only good for the current trip. The climate controls are very simple to operate and calibrate. There is a cigarette lighter to charge phones. There are small USB ports; not the kind I was looking for. Pardon the sand. I used Eco mode and maybe that's why I got good fuel economy. I like having the parking brake control here. Kudos for being able to shut off the auto stop-start, which typically annoys me. Logical layout of controls for windows, mirrors, and door locks as well as a cup holder. The placement of the trunk release here is also convenient. (I forgot what the situation was with the fuel filler door ... I prefer a remote release for those as well.) The grade of the materials - vinyls and brushed metal appliques - is not exactly uptown. For the size of the Jetta, the trunk is roomy and easy to configure with different types of luggage and other items you may have. The rear seat is roomy enough. Note the coarse upholstery on the seats. Again, you can see the caliber of the materials used. I don't see conveniences for rear seat passengers at the back of the console. Visibility across the rear window is somewhat okay. I could do without those tall rear headrests. It would be nice if they were removable and I couldn't tell if they were or weren't. Many Jetta drivers may only drive with 1 or 2 passengers in the car. - - - - - End of interior photos

Exterior and mechanical photos A side view of the VW Jetta down by the Gulf, with homes and palm trees typical of this area. A front 3/4 view of the VW Jetta in front of the Pleasure Pier on the Gulf. It's not the boxy car it once was. A rear 3/4 view of the VW Jetta on the other side of the Pleasure Pier. Those are indeed alloy wheels. A rear view of the Jetta, whose tail lamps look an awful lot like those of the Passat of the same year. The VW logo in the generic grille and the prop rod up. It's fairly neatly organized and labeled, and the turbocharger plumbing is fairly obvious. Four cylinders and spark plugs, oil dipstick, battery, coolant overflow reservoir, brake master cylinder, washer fluid reservoir (blue - bottom RH), air intake/air cleaner, O2 sensor, fuse box, and more, all easy to access. Also, there is actually some leftover space at the rear of the engine bay where you can see the pavement beneath. - - - - - End of exterior and mechanical photos

I remember these and I liked them ... in purist form. I would go look at them at the Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealership near Totem Lake in Kirkland WA, if it's still there and has the same name. They could be had with a 3800 V6, an automatic 4 spd. transmission, and really toned down appendages and no graphics. They'd probably last a long time with that set up and if taken care of. The one thing you always got on any F-bird from those years is the pop-up headlamps and, after a few years, you'd see some one-eyed bandits plying the roads. Happy New Year! Here's to many great car sightings in 2021.