trinacriabob

Woohoo. West Virginia plates. That's where the fictitious Clarice Starling from "Silence of the Lambs" hailed from. Hannibal tried to put her down for her lineage. These two like to park next to each other ... two generations of Dodge Charger, in black.

A lot of good facts here and with all the low 3 liter V6s and 4.3s in both V6 and V8 form, it's easy to get them confused and/or forget them. I had forgotten. There was a 3.3 V6 in the downsized Malibu because, that same year, they put out a 3.2 V6 (196 c.i.) for equivalent Buick products, such as the Regal and the Century. I knew someone who had this engine in a hand-me down in a 2-door Regal, and he said it was reliable, economical, but had no oomph. It was great that Chevy's downsized full-sizes kept the inline 6 because the engine bay had room for it. I believe 231s were available in the BOP full-size base cars. I think, in that era, I'd opt for the inline 6 over the 231. I don't know what the 4.4 V8 was based on, which was also found in Malibus and Monte Carlos. 4.3s by Chevrolet can be confusing, since they made them as V6s and V8s. Both were excellent engines. The 4.3 V6 (Vortec) was sliced off from a Chevy 350. Who'd have thought that this engine was a slam dunk for 300,000 miles? A few Astro van drivers have told me that their 4.3s would not give up the ghost. I think that, in that era, the 4.3 V6 (~ 262 c.i.) with simple TBI was better than the 231 c.i. V6, even if the 231 had gone even firing. And, yes, it showed up in the 1985 MY model year. I had the opportunity to drive a RWD Monte Carlo (bucket seats and console!) coupe with that engine in the NYC area and the extra ~ 30 hp (if I recall) came in handy for short ramps and getting out of the gate after paying a bridge toll. The 4.3 V8 was a de-bored 5.0 (305 c.i.) V8. It showed up for the 1994 MY in RWD form but only stuck around for a few years. If in excellent condition, the purr that they make is music to the ears. It also can go the distance ... just hope the Optispark ignition control doesn't give out, which can be costly. For some reason, the smaller GM V8s have nice, quiet exhaust notes and I like quiet running cars. Also, in the late '70s, Chevy had some batches of 305s and 350s that had premature camshaft wear problems. I knew a few people who had problems with them. That definitely skewed me towards Olds designed V8s. However, with all of that behind them, I would gladly drive a car powered by the L99 engine (4.3 Chevy V8) that the thread discusses.

Great photo! It's good fun to take random photos of random animals when they show up. I was getting gas in Orlando FL on a humid night and a little green frog had made its home in one of the slots in the steel column holding up the canopy over the gas pump island.

heavy

Just saw an immaculate Pontiac Grand Prix, 2004 (had trunk lock), in "Light Urine Sample Gold" metallic with FL plates w(h)izzing by me on the freeway in the fast lane.

Q: What do tornadoes and divorces in Appalachia have in common? A: Either way, you lose the mobile home.

inimitable

marionberry

This would be the ride across the pond to New York, parked at the gate at Frankfurt airport, Lufthansa's home base. Kudos to Lufthansa for being the launch customer for the B 747-8i. I applaud people who were brave enough to take German in high school or college. They just join words together to make mega-words with 20 letters in them. And to think of all those poor immigrants from Southern Europe and the Middle East living in Germany who have to learn them. For example, an "auditor" is a "wirtschaftsprufer" (with 2 dots over the u) in their lingo.

double

The DreamLIFTER has the same Beluga the whale look that the Airbus 380 has. But, yes, it can carry a lot! Perhaps too much. I am looking at all the press about delays and whatnot that the Boeing 777-X is getting and that damn plane looks huge. I've only flown on an earlier B-777 once and wasn't crazy about it. I know they're workhorses. I have flown on the 787 Dreamliner twice ... and very much look forward to flying on one again. Still looking forward to flying on that rare B767-400 ER. If I recall, only 36 of them were ordered by American carriers - Delta and United/Continental. The best thing about the 767 is the 2-3-2 arrangement, which favors the passenger more than it does maximizing revenue.

"coyote arm"

Without hesitation! - - - - - Articles like this make me sad, just like the elimination of Olds and Pontiac made me sad. Olds and Pontiacs were selling like hot cakes when I was a kid. And this was in import-crazed SoCal. Now this. It appears to be official. Boeing will be pulling the plug on 747 production in 2022. This plane aged like a fine wine, with each variant getting better. I've had the opportunity to fly on the 747-8i once and it's a feast for the senses. Just like the last and possibly best version of the 767, the 400-ER, for which Boeing did not get many orders, Boeing has not gotten many orders for the "8." Most of the orders have been in freighter, not pax, form. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/after-a-historic-run-it-s-game-over-for-pioneering-boeing-747/ar-BB17kOay?ocid=msedgdhp At phase out, the jumbo, or "queen of the skies," will have been flying for 52 or 53 years, depending on whether you count the test flight (1969) or introduction into commercial service (1970). Whether in real life, in photos, or in videos, it's always been a beauty, and I'm certainly not in a minority of nerds who love this aircraft. Many people the world over do.

Music from the '70s is weird. Unmistakable Steely Dan can be labeled - fusion of rock and jazz. But artists like Van Morrison have musical approaches that are harder to label (anyone care to try), but his music is unique enough and definitely cool. IMO, I think this is his best (followed by "Brown Eyed Girl"):

@ocnblu Fair question. I don't see the "problem." I know the Corvette has had a fiberglass exterior for some 5 decades. Was it "born" that way, or was it first crafted in sheetmetal? Yes, I know Google and Wiki are my friends.

Yield

Has it always had a fiberglass body?

I think new. I don't buy that frequently. However, I wouldn't buy a brand new model and would wait until the model has been around for 2 or 3 years ... just like I did with my current and last car. I want to make sure it gets broken in correctly, which is somewhat of an "old school" concept. I know that I've also been advised on here to look at CPO. I'll have to see. As they say, it's the "second largest purchase."

Here's what I did for the car "lately" - within the last week or so, given it was around 100,000 miles: Dealer - my usual dealer - lube, oil, and oil filter; cabin filter Dealer - NOT my usual one, and won't be - air conditioning service and charge Costco - free tire rotation and balance (was told the Michelins are wearing very well) Me - FRAM premium air filter with the red paper, Techron fuel system cleaner, and a full tank of Shell 93 octane to go along with that

Rather than create a separate thread/review, I thought I'd write update what's gone wrong / gone right in 100,000 miles and 12.5 years of motoring in the LaCrosse. Stuff that wears routinely such as tires, brakes, hoses, struts, and batteries excluded, though they did hold up well. 1 - Powertrain: - fitting at the junction of the transmission cooling line to the radiator was leaking and had to be replaced 2 - Cooling system: - thermostat was throwing a check engine code that it was not correctly informing the coolant temperature sensor and had to be replaced 3 - Suspension and braking: - front driver side hub bearing assembly for ABS had to be replaced 4 - Hardware: - front hood prop struts gave out and had to be replaced 5 - Electrical: - door actuators (3 of them) went bad - headlamps (3) - hard to get to - had to be replaced - many dash illumination buttons (D.I.C., light control switches, and console) went bad - - - - - That's it. Not too bad. Still on my original serpentine belt, but waiting to replace it very soon. Was going to tune it at 100,000 miles, which I will do soon, but got ~ 32 mpg on a road trip within the last three weeks, so that tells me things are tight. I'm just driving it until the automotive market gives a clearer indication of where it's going to see if any vehicles I like get refreshed or introduced.

Sad to learn that Regis Philbin died (at 88). He was great on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" He was from The Bronx and a Notre Dame grad, which he sometimes mentioned on TV. He was named Regis after the prestigious Catholic high school in Manhattan that this dad went to. On one show, he had some nuns who were part of the charity someone was playing for and, as the stakes were getting higher, he said something like, 'work those rosary beads, sisters ...' He got a laugh out of that. My mom would watch his morning show. He apparently had good chemistry with Kathie Lee Gifford, with her trademark deep voice. However, I don't thinking working with an obnoxious airhead like Kelly Ripa would be good for anyone's health. I always assumed she was from SoCal. However, Ripa is from New Jersey.

I really liked the 4.6L V8 in a rented Thunderbird coupe toward the end of its life as a large coupe and like how that engine has served FoMoCo so well. Enough power ... smooth ... good gas mileage. The more I look at the Mustang, the more I think it's the best retro rebirth job of the Camaro-Mustang-Challenger trio. - - - - - I see this duo periodically, and parked next to each other just like this. It took me some warming up to the current-gen Charger's slimmer, cleaner looking, and more rectangular grille. Now, I definitely think it makes for the best refresh of the Dodge Charger yet.

@balthazar My association with the Andrea Doria is that my parents knew people who came to the U.S. on successful and uneventful voyages, and one couple who was on the tragic crossing but obviously survived. And I heard these people talk about their crossings in our living room. The thing about the Andrea Doria is that America was glued to their TV sets watching this live, from the ship laying on its side to it slipping completely underwater the next morning. Recounting the Titanic story was largely anecdotal (but factual) and via print and radio. What the heck kind of a car is that ^ ? I'm digging on that console, even though I can't tell what the different slots are. Is it an integral armrest or a separate assembly that sits on the transmission tunnel? Nice. - - - - - Yesterday marks another milestone. I got my first haircut at a place you pay for that service. (I had been sloppily cutting my own hair since March.) There's a nearby cosmetology school that charges under $ 10. Come back special: 5 BUCKS! Instructors are always walking around checking what the students are doing. This girl did a great job. I gave her a nice cash tip.

On this day in 1956, the SS "Andrea Doria," practically having completed her westbound transatlantic crossing from Italy, was t-boned by the SS "Stockholm" about 8 hours before she would have been mooring at her Hudson River pier in New York City.

I wish people would give up on eating Warren Buffett. He is not edible. (The misspelling has gotten irritating.) However, here are photos from a Friday lunch buffet that can knock someone out for the rest of the day. Salad plate (cranberry juice as the drink) Italian plate (tortellini, penne alla vodka, chicken marsala, and greens) American plate (pot roast, corn, mashed potatoes - could have done without the extra fusilli pasta salad) Dessert plate (small apricot and lemon tarts, chocolate/coconut macaron, 2 cookies, and sugar free strawberry mousse) The wallet is only $ 10 lighter! Most of the stuff was good. Even though this isn't the healthiest way to go, I'm guessing 100% of your RDA of protein was covered. In reality, I limit myself to about one buffet a month. I went here because I'm not sure if the "classier" Brazilian rodizios are functioning normally these days.