trinacriabob

Heard this is an indie coffeehouse tonight, which unlike the chain ones, was open for eat-in. I prefer this instrumental version; there's also one with vocals. Vince Guaraldi and his group may not have put a voice to the Charlie Brown series, but it would be hard to imagine the Charlie Brown series, and the Christmas holidays, without his unique music.

I was wondering how worthless they could be. Maybe the list, and article, was referring to being "hit with the ugly stick," of which the Pontiac Aztek might be a more recent example. I'm sure Pacers had a basic 232 c.i. (or thereabouts) I-6 and a 3 speed automatic. All boring but durable gear. I don't know if any systems such as electrical or suspension on them were lemon-y in reliability. If not, they should have held up just fine.

I just saw one of those Internet lists of the most "worthless" cars ever made and the AMC Pacer is on that list. As for their ability to make you LAUGH, they are far from worthless. This one is dressed up a little bit. Look at that ... a hood ornament and body colored wheel covers. It's sort of like "trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." However, anyone who went to the car dealership and bought one of these had to have been a fairly colorful nonconformist.

Merry Christmas, everyone ... whether under a blanket of freshly fallen snow or in balmy weather surrounded by palm trees. Here's a trifecta of three of the better rock songs for Christmas that you repeatedly hear in restaurants and supermarkets: ^ From Hawthorne, CA ... ^ I knew a Portuguese girl at about the time this song was released who thought she looked like Mariah Carey. There is reality ... and there are delusions. ^ Great song ... and difficult in parts ... when you consider the lyrics or see videos with footage, originally performed by the consortium Band Aid - consisting of popular British rock artists - who got together to raise money to get food to Africa. Newer renditions from in-studio performances are better for piping this in at restaurants and commercial establishments. Stay safe and healthy.

Many of us remember the exact time and place we heard some songs. That's the deal with me and this one. I was in a nice rental car, running the A/C, and driving along the curves near San Timoteo Canyon along the 60, instead of using flatter I-10, going from L.A. out to the Coachella Valley (basically Palm Springs and the many desert towns that surround it). The song matched the fairly empty roadway at the time. There were some decent songs that are very '90s in character.

I think that, this Christmas, we should shower ocnblu with a veritable avalanche of "down" and "confused" votes, possibly in exponential form, as a gift for the many he has so liberally bestowed upon other members of our on-line community throughout this year. LOL. Sound like a plan?

I read your posts in chronological order (before reality sunk in) and thought that the likelihood of you getting a Tacoma(r) is about as likely as me buying a Subaru wagon.

It's a type of umbrella, I believe. It's some type of event in Seattle. I would pronounce it "bumper chute" or "bumper shoot," because that's what I thought people were saying, and was corrected. One more reason for them to dislike transplanted Californians, I suppose.

Happy birthday, Dr. Anthony Fauci. He turns 80 today. He got his Covid-19 vaccine injection a day or two ago and has a slightly sore arm. He has been the country's infectious disease guru since 1984 and has advised every U.S. President since Reagan (Ray-gun to some). Undergrad at College of the Holy Cross in Mass. and medical school at Cornell. Came from a family who owned and ran a pharmacy in Brooklyn. When you've got a background like that, there's not a lot for people to criticize. * cough * Anthony Fauci - Wikipedia

Probably Rod Stewart's best work ... my favorite, at any rate. Also, there is great footage of NYC and its subways in the video. Enjoy.

@A Horse With No Name Where is the "Memphis Belle?" Who is on the motorcycle?

This. New is the operative word for Hyundai or Kia. I see 10 year old Accents and Elantras (very different and less attractive than their current equivalents) and their owners have done okay with them. To used, I would add the Malibu and the Camry, respectively, if they want to go up a little in price point and category. The verdict is not yet out on how these newer Chevys hold up, but the Toyotas seem to last, at least in terms of their basic powertrain. My objection to the Malibu is a 1.5 L (~ 90 c.i., come on) engine and my objection to Toyota is how boring they are, not to mention how ungainly they look from some vantage points. But these answers are for those buyers who don't scrutinize cars the way C&G members do.

Weird boxer engine, new CVTs, and their marketing equals no go for me. I, too, have read that their reliability is now spotty. It's their marketing for the wagons that gets to me. Their sedans look somewhat okay. The current Impreza has a nice dashboard and cabin. - - - - - My random thought: My phone understands "Southern." I spoke to Google maps that I wanted directions to "May-retta." That's what the older Southern folks in and around Atlanta would call Marietta, Georgia a few decades ago. My damn phone understood me! I laughed.

@balthazar I liked this Bonneville, for the most part. The trim level really affects its overall appearance. People I know who have had owned this generation of Bonne have had good luck with them. It's the next-gen after this one that I didn't like. Too bulbous. Then, in 2000, they righted the ship, so to speak, with a nice, new Bonneville until the model got phased out, along with the brand. Sad event ... some unforgettable cars.

Heard this in the car, for the first time in the holiday season a mere 5 days before Christmas. Brings back taking Spanish in school. And SoCal, in general.

I love this one: dry, but damn funny.

By living in my own bubble of now departed GM W-bodies, colonnade coupes, and cast iron block/cast iron head engines, I just stay out of this $h!+.

One more month to go ...

The particular ViewSonic model gets high customer rankings. I've seen some of theirs that didn't on the same site. I know I mentioned this here before. I bought an HP monitor. It went out in a year or two. Thankfully, I kept the old monitor, also HP and ancient but super reliable, and that's what I have hooked up now. I tried hooking up the failed newer one again but I can't even get the blue light to show up. Does this mean it's toast or are there other tests? Too bad, because I like both the brand and the design of the monitor. There was a power outage, and I have a new(er) surge protector, but the monitor seems to have failed while everything else thankfully "lived."

Spotted on December 15 walking out of a restaurant in a strip mall I loved these back in the day. I'll never forget when I was visiting a grade school friend in Spokane WA and had to make myself scarce until they got home from work, so I went to a Barnes and Noble with a Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealer next to it. There was one identical to this, though possibly in the metallic bronze color, that was very deeply discounted at the end of the model year. The price was on the window. I didn't even talk to a salesperson - no one bothered me. I was tempted to ask for the form to sign on the line and buy it. I didn't. It all worked out. All is well that ends well.

Today was sort of a Buick spotting day First, I saw the last gen LaCrosse in silver getting off of an on-ramp. I thought about how it wasn't so bad looking. And how it's the last of the big GM sedans (other than Cadillac) we'll know for a while. Also, the boomerang, C-shape of the tail lamps works within its rear fascia while, in Honda products, there isn't enough space for similar tail lamp shapes and it's a big "fail." - - - - - Then, I saw about an early '90s white Buick Skylark sedan on the freeway. What a hoot. It was in great shape, with no body damage for a 30 year old vehicle, and moving along nicely. Too bad the douche bag driving it was texting. I know these had 3 speed transaxles but believe they had different 4s and 6s. The good thing was that it probably could have been had with the 3300 V6 (born of the 3800) at some point. It looked pretty much like this one, but had some type of alloy wheels:

I defer to safe and boring. I tend to like that parchment beige color on walls, white on ceilings, and tan carpet in bedrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms. Also, medium to medium-dark stained wood on millwork. Not the super dark wood that's now "in," nor millwork painted in white (reminds me of what people did, and do, in Atlanta) or other enamel colors. You are now going into new or remodeled houses and there's a big push on gray walls as well as the weathered driftwood wood flooring (or vinyl, if economizing) that leans more gray than tan. I question if this is a good idea in Seattle and Syracuse NY, where gray skies prevail. In Phoenix, Denver, and Miami, there's enough sunshine to offset the effect (on your psyche) of gray walls and gray flooring. - - - - - Ok, for my tech question: Is ViewSonic for a basic, no frills desktop monitor a decent enough brand?

I'd love to drive around the streets near the wharves in South Philadelphia and see this. They need to amp up their restoration efforts of the S.S. United States, which holds the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing, at just under 4 days and averaging a little over 41 knots / hr.

Yikes about the Charger. I guess a person can look at wherever they live and see the list of which cars in their area are likely to be stolen. How sad that this could guide someone's purchasing decision to some extent. I'm guessing mid-80s Cutlass Supreme coupes are no longer on that list. LOL. They certainly were at one time. Twelve year old kid? How time flies. Unbelievable.

After reading this earlier today, I saw a dude on the freeway in a black Chrysler 300. It definitely owns its niche. I can see your position. However, it would have to be just the way I'd want it ordered. I reviewed one here once - I had one for $49 for that day. For $15 more, I finally got to drive a 300! Surprisingly, the driving experience, smoothness, and noise suppression were no different (to me) than in Chargers I had driven up to then. In defense of the more recent 300, cloth seats are now standard again and they've gotten rid of the dashboard applique, favoring a simpler black trim (which you notice around the "chronometer") and now have a simple leather wrapped steering wheel (like the one in the Charger) as opposed to the annoying segmented hard metal/plastic one they had in my rental car. I'm sure the 300 features better visibility because it's more upright. The one thing that bothers me is how the grille looks so exposed, while the current Charger grille has a very defined bumper section that is body colored. As for colors, I only like both of these cars in white and in the enamel dark gray color they're currently offering.