regfootball

apparently i have made some really terrible career choices...LOL

damn. you guys got to design buildings?

i honestly don't know much about the edsel, other than its allegedly ugly. and i don't care much for it. and that says a lot considering there is an aztek in my garage. i have a high pain tolerance. this makes no inference on my preference in vag1nas however.

yeah. plus the fact that kurt was a wastoid, and had terrible choice in women. i get that courteney was a ho, but aside from that, a genuine embarassment. and nirvana only really had one solid album. even the doors were mildly consistent with a wastoid at the helm.

honestly i never once had any interest in the Astra, however, in the showroom looking at outlooks and auras and vues, i was drawn to the astra as a compact, as i had recently rented a focus and had some interest in the current Jetta and Rabbit. in fact on the same day i drove my first jetta and astra side by side. i ended up liking them both, but for very different reasons. i recall thinking the jetta was very taut inside, but stark and cold. The jetta had more power and better shifter, however, i much preferred the lightness of the astra's steering and overall feel and the ride was not as choppy to me. what started to endear me was the interior. Just the subtlety of it, and the scale and design themes. It was teutonic but not cold. the SMELL of the interior (only German bred cars can smell like this) and the quality of the plastics and leather and the look of the gauges compared to the asian cars. the feel of the seat, i ENJOYED driving it, even though it is no speed demon. the steering felt like an extension of your arms on the sweet steering wheel and the brakes were very good for a basic car. everything was very tactile and such. passing power at higer mph is actually pretty good because of the gearing. i can't really bust on the sentra, not having driven it, but i have sat in it and it sort of has that nissan weirdness to it. i figure if its at all like the versa, i won't like it. honestly i think the cobalt is a pretty ok car and i would love to try an SS. the impreza i did not like. the sx4 is a good car. i won't set foot in a civic. the mazda3 like all mazdas underwhelms me, mazdas are really overhyped. who even needs to try a corolla. the recent focus of course i drove an 08 focus for two weeks in 2008 and its a good commuter car with nice convenience and that but you can tell really how i think the astra is way beyond the focus, and that's hard to say from a ford fan and someone who would love to have another car with the convenience of sync. i can't wait to see when GM brings the version of the next astra here and what badge it has. i bet that car will be pretty close to the holy grail of small cars. I hope it meshes the German qualities of the VW's and current Opel products, and the powertrains of the better ecotecs and such.

the current sentra really is cheap inside. i can't vouch for how it drives but i sure hope its not like the versa, which is a tin can. have you tried an astra xr yet????

the new duratecs do not have the racy engine sounds the older ones (see contour svt) do. the mks is a 3.7, no? i have heard that the manual mode is slow to repsond but in pure auto mode, ford is supposed to have fixed slow shifting. my taurus x which i think has a similar transmission shifts light years quicker than all my other fords have. the mks does not knock one out in terms of design, but the interior especially has a quiet sense of substance about it that is nice to see return to domestic products. its substantial, and the leather quality is very good for any make. was it the standard leather or the optional bridges of weir leather? to some degree its more appropriate for ford to chase this type of car instead of mercedes and bmw. this as you say is perhaps in line with buick or acura or whatever. to me, its the car you get when you might intend to check out a lexus ES or GS, but decide the ES is too girlie and the GS you find is indeed a pretender. So you pick a substantial and comfortable car that feels like you got a good buy compared to other lux cars and got some of the substance and performance and nice amenities and don't have to bear the burden of the stigma that goes with it. i.e. drive a BMW you're a prick, drive an Audi you are a stuffy uptight wad, drive a lexus you are a poseur. i do admit though, i can't wait to see how this car is transformed with the ecoboost. i would like to see them put more effort into the center stack. i also want to see a bolder front end design. no one will ever compare this car to a CTSv and that is at the same time a blessing and a curse. did you give the audio system a listen?

LMAO!!!!! i would HATE SEATTLE and i have never been there.

my aura test drives, i can echo many things you said. i have driven the 4 and the XR 3.6. the 3.6 SCOOTS and has great handling. the 2.4 is peppy for a four and is all most could want. the only complain i had regarding the aura was the structure lacked a little solidity and isolation, seemed a tish flexy when when drving hard and paddle shifting the XR. maybe it was a suspension compliance thing that felt more like flexi structure instead of impact harshness. the low roofline i felt was probably the aura's biggest flaw along with some cheapness of the interior plastic. overall though, anyone who bitches about the car is reaching. the aura is a good car. i have driven the g6 and malibu too and i prefer the aura and g6 to the malibu, really not by much though. just preference. i prefer the epsilons over the fusion, but honestly on my second P platform ford, and for the money you can get one for, i'd buy a taurus over a malibu. i am guessing the recent upgrades to the fusion may make me want to reconsider fusion vs. epsilon.

do me a favor and give these guys a listen.... http://www.myspace.com/grimmstine at the bar a few months back, a friend of mine introduced me to the guitar axe man in this band recently. great guy, extremely talented too. he paired up with Steve Grimmett of Grim Reaper and is a new band. I like the tunes a lot.

this year has been hell to the nth degree. i know so many friends going through $h! that i can't even hold a candle to its so intense. i've had some (can't even find the words to describe) moments as well. Lots of negativity from just about every corner. work, personal relationships, my hobbies and interestes, financially. 3 times needing body work on cars. just enough good stuff to get me by, barely. 2008 cannot go away soon enough. my patience, resolve, and ability to remain a peacekeeper, or even civil has been tested. Hard feelings, grudges, all of that.

do tell.........

ROD STEWART Maggie May (I Know) I'm Losing You Stay with Me Pinball Wizard Oh No, Not My Baby cripes there is about 10 other tracks on his box set i could throw in here

dream on AEROSMITH more than a feeling BOSTON day afer day BADFINGER

this hour's list HELLS BELLS ac/dc DON'T FEAR THE REAPER boc WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE gnr it's not possible to limit to 3. 300 maybe. not 3.

when i was at target the other day, they had for sale in their goodies and food section / seasonal, something called 'rimming sugar'. do you really need to use sugar too and does it add to the experience?

merry christmas everyone! i already got my starbucks gift card, penzey's spices, and socks. my daughter liked the jewelry cabinet we got her.

your mom should be pleased you didn't. no pay. no rewards. no esteem from outsiders. no one wants to spend money on making buildings art anymore anyways. oddly, i took some ed classes in college and gave thought to trying to be a teacher. i know i do not have the mettle to be a teacher. but i know i would be more fulfilled when i came home at night. as an architect, i and tens of thousands of others like me who feel beaten down and all of that look up to you and say 'you are a wise man for not signing up for this BS'.........

unfortunately the dependence on the computer and lack of teaching drafting means more and more people in the business who can't even read or visualize plans, or spaces, or details.

coke zero tastes just as good and is zero calories

by the way, it was like even as recent as 2003 and such that the press was saying all brands needed to have full product lines and that every manufacturer had to become a niche manufacturer and plug every little niche in the market. flood the market with as many models as you could. and now they whip the manufacturers that did that.

funny how just a scant product development cycle ago, the press said we needed rear drive and v8's because that was where the market and profit was. like 2 years later, that type of vehicle was being scorned from mountaintops. the 05 300 was a benchmark that also was the starting point for the major tectonic shift in the market we got through to this point now today where no one really knows what the next big thing is. sad thing is, chrysler waited far too long for a refresh and really skimped on the interiors. in fact, if you really think about it, most brands that get scorned, its still about styling and interiors. some may say quality, some 'technology', but the reason high priced cars sell like they do is luxury and pampering interiors.

tomcats will avoid water at any price. even if it means shedding their 'keeper' to bits.

this new one lacks girth, but overall in this video it looks way better than the photos. it will sell a lot more also. better price, and more accepted looks. for example, women will look at this, not the current one. if they put premium suspension components on it, and its got revised hardware, it may be ok. actually the current vue drives quite well. if this is 50% better than perhaps it will be alright, despite the fact that sigma srx was a real sporting ride.

glad we got what we got. top one is a charger, and the second one is an 010 taurus