trinacriabob

Money does not buy class. It's one tacky ride. Also, I see tattoos showing up by his sleeves. Many people, including many celebrities, are clueless and should be getting rid of them before age, and what it does to the skin, creeps up on them.

This sled has existed for a while but, today, I saw it on line for the very first time. I was trying to figure out if Mercedes or Bentley built it for the Chinese president and other VIPs. Turns out it's made by an expensive niche Chinese auto manufacturer and these cars cost about $ 1 M (US equivalent) each. It looks more like a butt ugly and expensive cross between an early '60s Rambler and a late '60s Toyota on steroids.

@oldshurst442 Two things: 1) That's exactly what I was thinking. If a great white shark can swim up to Maine (a very sad situation), there's nothing stopping it from swimming up to Nova Scotia (Halifax, etc.) 2) The could have been me in that photo except that my rented Alero was a coupe, burgundy, and on the Trans-Canada Highway in AB near the Continental Divide. The moose was also a lot farther ahead of the car ... thankfully. But who can forget that?

Nice exterior color, indeed. However, I've got to say that, for their trucks/SUVs/CUVs, GM seems to make more attractive instrument panels and interiors than other car makers ... nice lines, contours, etc. Enjoy!

That's a good price. You mean you actually consented to driving a Subaru? I recently was supposed to have an Hyundai Elantra or similar (mid-size) for 6 days and it was in the high $200s and I had to shop and shop for that. But the silver lining in the cloud was a NICE upgrade. I have found Costco to be good for renting cars. However, I don't think you can get frequent flyer points. (Or maybe you can if you give them the number at the rental counter.) Anymore, you just have to shop and shop.

Rental car rates seem to have gone way up. Probably to cover sanitizing the vehicles, lost revenue, etc. I am not even seeing weekly rates on most rental agencies' sites. They seem to price by the day. It used to be that 5 to 7 days were priced at the same rate, which helped out the 7 day folks.

"Fraternal twins" having a heart to heart conversation (on August 2) (IMO, the two best colors for either of these Mopars)

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."