trinacriabob

IT FINALLY HAPPENED! (It actually happened at night late last week, and I pulled off to drive around in circles in an empty parking lot) Before: After:

And way, way left of center progressives who belong to the Sierra Club and read The Atlantic. (Couldn't resist.)

Nowadays, there's so much uniformity that you don't see quirkiness in ordered cars, either by the dealer or the buyer. It was huge in the '70s, with too many combos to mention. Here's a photo I found: '76 Cutlass Supreme (because I can't get over how cool it was to sit behind this dash), crank windows, too cheap to spend the $30 to get the beige colored seat belts, no air conditioning (vaned vents for the passenger without the adjustable feature), but it had a gauge package (because the fasten seat belt warning sits in that little pop-up above the dash). I'm always curious as to which part of the country, or Canada, the quirky orders were destined for.

I'm thinking this counts. I "spot" it almost daily, on my classic GM car calendar that I get at the parts department at the dealership. For July 2020, the poster child, photographed in what looks like John Steinbeck country, is this - definitely a Pontiac GTO, somewhere between '69 and '73, but sure would like to know what's under the hood. I can only think of 2 possible contenders. My dad had the basic LeMans version of this coupe that we picked up used for about $1 K or $1.5 K when it was 6 years old and with about 48,000 miles. It had the inline 250 c.i. 6 cyl. and no power gizmos. Even though we got it for the dog, because the seats were vinyl and our primary car's seats were cloth, it was the most reliable car my parents ever had.

Thank you for confirming what I thought. Largely based on they were laid out in the engine bay, I liked the small block Pontiac V8s next in line after the small block Olds V8s. The thing is that, with the internet telling us (and showing us) how long people have kept cars and with more efficient and cleaner fuel delivery systems, people's cars "seem" to be lasting longer. When the cars of the '70s and '80s were around, people didn't keep them as long. You seldom ran into people who kept a car longer than 150,000 to 175,000 miles and analog odometers only had five digits to the left of of the fractional mile (km).

Creativity in automotive design these days seem to focus mostly on what you can do with the headlamps/fog lights (stretch, push, pull, thin out) and goofy ledges and volumes in grilles.

surreal

Yes, I see two trends going on. For girls, they are giving them what are what I call "grandma with a cameo in a black and white photo" names, like Abigail, Ava, and such. Then, twenty years ago or so, it seems every baby girl was Ashley or Nicole. For boys, they are giving them names that, much like what you say, could also just as easily be last names.

Meaning that, at this point in time, Bill Clinton "felt" your pain ...

Do you read the top 5 baby names list released each year? No more Johns, Roberts, and Marks in the top 5. Mostly Joshuas and Noahs. Only one name has remained popular then and now: Michael. That said, does anyone with the last name Hunt dare name their new baby boy Michael? My 2 cents: Don't do it. Just say no.

Within 10 minutes of each other - one near a smaller city hall and the other at Costco - 2 Pontiac snouts - 1 new and 1 old(er) Beautiful G8 sedan in excellent condition: Pontiac Firebird Formula (350!): Did the Pontiac 350s hit the quarter million mile mark easily with routine maintenance? Don't know much about them. People talk about how far their Olds and Chevy 350s go. A lot of glare, so I couldn't see what I was aiming at, but I got "350." (Also, it had a/c, a manual trans., and a rear spoiler). Obviously, '70 to '73 ...

This sounds right. I like the coupe more so than the convertible. What's going on in that Opel's front headlight assembly? I'm guessing low beam, high beam, and amber turning signal. It doesn't look that bad. I always wanted to try one of these in the automatic version when across the pond. Instead, I was either given smaller automatics ... or larger automatics (i.e. Opel Insignia wagon, with a flawless shifting 6 speed automatic).

boobs

I love to hear stories about auto longevity. I try to run my cars "into the ground" time and mileage wise, but not condition wise. I try to take care of them, both mechanically and in appearance. When auto technology was changing, one wondered how long newer introductions would hold up. When the trend was to switch from carburetors to fuel injection, the first report of longevity I got was from a college friend, circa 2004, that his 1988 Mustang 5.0 V8 had 188,000 miles on the original injectors and the fuel delivery system was still functioning very well. Turns out that the ones on my car at that time lasted about another 100,000 miles beyond what he had on his Mustang. I'm guessing it's Bosch that is the prime supplier of injectors to the auto industry. As the saying goes: take car of it, and it will take care of you.

I'm not in calendar order, but the car turned 12.5 years old last week! I took it out on the open road. Some interesting sightings: THREE last gen ('06 or '07) Monte Carlos on the interstate - silver, black, and navy blue - cruising along faster than me, probably at ~ 70 mph, so their (then new) VVT Chevy V6s are still up to the task. I saw one of these! They're rare. Possibly badged an Opel Corsa in Europe when it looked like this. I might see one or two Saturn Aura sedans a month, while I see one of these coupes about once a year. This Saturn Astra was also in great shape and cruising along nicely. Don't know what engine powers them. I also saw a Tibetan monk (Asian man with a shaved head, orange robes, etc.) at a large gas station complex / truck complex next to the interstate. I have no idea what rules they have about what they can and cannot do while circulating in (American) society, but it's not an everyday occurrence that you see one. As for the Saturn Astra, its styling is NOT derivative and is fairly unique. Kudos for that.

unreal

Q: I know we have a Tech section, but do we have any general tech question threads? A: ???

gyration

@Robert Hall I had that blue on, not one, but two Cutlass Supremes and it's a great color! That green works on sporty cars. - - - - - I could talk about the first-gen Chrysler 300 I saw in a supermarket parking lot yesterday, but I was more amused by, how right outside its passenger doors, someone really WIGGED OUT!

After randomly hearing this over the airwaves now and then, I added it to the collection on my phone. Arguably the Monkees' best hit since it has stood the test of time!

It's in my music and I was listening to it as I drove home tonight. While she kept on making great music, the peak of Tina Turner's solo career came early, IMO, in this song ... amazing to drive to on the open road in the middle of nowhere on a gloomy, overcast, still day: Longer version with great instrumental solos interspersed and, of course, her incredible voice at its best, during the 1980s. This lady is an electrifying musical artist.

Just for laughs ... Bond meets Irma Bunt for the first time before the helicopter ride up to Piz Gloria. It goes without saying: I always get a chuckle out of flying on Lufthansa or walking through FRA airport.

Arnold

I also read he was difficult to work with and the role went to his head. That's why he was not cast as 007 in "Diamonds" and Sean Connery returned. Otherwise, "OHMSS" was easily one of the best movies in the series. When was this documentary? I believe he now lives on some ranch in the Southern California desert ... or once did. I've never read any of the Ian Fleming novels. So I don't know if James Bond is even described. They have now gone through so many actors to play him that it's difficult to know which one is closest to the what Ian Fleming intended.

Spot on. Unmistakably Irma Bunt. There was about a handful of kids I knew, either through school or around the neighborhood, whose parents were German immigrants and we had a field day with Irma Bunt. In the movie, mastermind Blofeld and hench(wo)man Irma Bunt were in Switzerland, but she was German. Trivia: she was apparently a "hit" as a villainess and was due to come back in the next movie, "Diamonds Are Forever," but she was removed from the plot line because she died of a heart attack only 4 days after the release of "OHMSS." Can you picture her giving Sean Connery and Jill St. John grief and just hanging around Las Vegas in general? Funny.