Intrepidation

Yeah but the thing is, how is the G8 not more practical? Better seating, better interior, better looks, better handling, big trunk, and decent on gas.

Bankrupt Circuit City Stores Inc., the nation's second-biggest consumer electronics retailer, said Friday it failed to find a buyer and will liquidate its 567 U.S. stores. The closures could send another 30,000 people into the ranks of the unemployed. "This is the only possible path for our company," James A. Marcum, acting chief executive, said in a statement. "We are extremely disappointed by this outcome." The company had been seeking a buyer or a deal to refinance its debt, but the hobbled credit market and consumer worries proved insurmountable. The liquidation of Circuit City is the latest fallout from the worst holiday shopping season in four decases. People have slashed their spending since the financial meltdown in September as they worry about their job security and declining retirement funds. Other recent casualties include KB Toys, which filed for bankruptcy in December and is liquidating stores. Department store chains Goody's Family Clothing and Gottschalks Inc. both filed for bankruptcy this week -- Goody's plans to liquidate, while Gottschalks hopes to reorganize. Industry experts expect more bad news in the coming months as spending likely will deteriorate further. Circuit City said in court papers it has appointed Great American Group LLC, Hudson Capital Partners LLC, SB Capital Group LLC and Tiger Capital Group LLC as liquidators. "Regrettably for the more than 30,000 employees of Circuit City and our loyal customers, we were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders," Marcum said. Shareholders are likely to receive nothing, as is typical in bankruptcy cases. It was unclear what would happen to the company's 765 retail stores and dealer outlets in Canada. "Very, very sad," said Alan L. Wurtzel, the son of company founder Samuel S. Wurtzel, and the chief executive from 1972 to 1986, board chairman from 1986 to 1994 and vice chairman until 2001. "I feel particularly badly for the people are employed or until recently were employed." Wurtzel has previously said Circuit City didn't take the threat of rival Best Buy Co. seriously enough and, at some points, were too focused on making a profit in the short term instead of building long-term value. Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November as vendors started to restrict the flow of merchandise ahead of the busy holiday shopping season. It had been exploring strategic alternatives since May, when it opened its books to Blockbuster Inc. The Dallas-based movie-rental chain made a takeover bid of more than $1 billion with plans to create a 9,300-store chain to sell electronic gadgets and rent movies and games. Blockbuster withdrew the bid in July because of market conditions. Circuit City, which said it had $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in liabilities as of Aug. 31, said in its initial filings that it planned to emerge from court protection in the first half of this year. Under court protection, Circuit City has broken 150 leases at locations where it no longer operates stores. The company already closed 155 stores in the U.S. in November and December. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens had given the company permission to liquidate if a buyout was not achieved. The company still needs final approval of a liquidation from the court. The liquidation is the latest big blow to the nation's malls, which have suffered from a rise in vacancies as a slew of chains from Mervyns LLC to Linens 'N Things have liquidated. But analysts say that the demise of Circuit City, whose stores range in size from 20,000 to 25,000 square feet, will hurt the fortunes of mall operators even more. http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/business/BO101672/ "It will bring to market a glut of big box spaces across the country," said John Bemis, head of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.'s retail leasing team. "It will have one of the largest impacts on big box real estate across the country."

I'll 2nd the crappy mattress.

You're welcome

Well, I mean that is Ford's newish corporate button set, it's in ever recent vehicle they've introduced/updated.

I meant 4, lol

FFXI music playing while I work on a web layout...well I was until I shut the game down because it was screwing with Photoshop. ;_;

Or, you know, we're creatures evolved over millions of years. :wink:

I still like the Accord coupe, although for some reason I like it less after seeing it more than I did initially.

The LX cars, beside the Magnum, have sold very well, and while the 300's sales were starting to slide the Charger's saw continued growth basically until the economy $h! the bed, at which pint every car saw sales declines as well. Chrysler proved you could sell a high volume RWD vehicle.

As I said earlier in this thread, GM should have had the foresight to be developing/certifying the powertrains. Even if the Hybrids and Diesels cost more, they will sell as soon as gas prices swing up again, which they will whenever the economy recovers. You could also use Turbo DI 4 bangers. There's plenty of creative solutions that could and should have been put to use, but GM is content to piss money away, and either design a whole new, FWD platform, whore out EP II, or just not bother and let what's on the market rot. It's not like they haven't done that before.

Next car: 300M Future car: Challenger R/T w/ Track Pak Beyond that: G8 GT or GXP, Camaro RS, Magnum SXT AWD, maybe a Fiesta, a `73 Satellite Sebring I have a long wish list.

Try driving it like a sane person and you may just find your mpgs magically increase.

I LOVE the color and those wheels. I would take this over almost any car, long live the Viper!

With the few exceptions that's how most production cars look like their concept counterparts. LaCrosse design was probably already done when teh Invicta debuted, for example. So while your point is valid I argue that it's that way with most cars that closely relate to their concept versions, with the exception off a few like Nassau --> 300C, Viper --> Viper, and Solstice --> Solstice. What is key here is that the the 200C is built on a real platform, so if it stayed on that platform and didn't switch to FWD it's reasonable to assume the exterior wouldn't change much besides the show-car detailing.

Only if that Imperial didn't look like the concept...that thing was not pretty.

It also looks like some recent German designs.

Once it got warmed up it was fine. I rewarded it with a much needed car wash.

*Adds to To-Do List*

DO you let her pick the car out or just buy it hoping she'll warm up to it? Just curious.

Well 1 they aren't the same, they are just both simple/elegant interior designs. 2.) the Legacy has integrated controls, since `02. The MKT does too, but my point is the Domestics have been late to the party with this, GM only debuting it recently with the CTS.

Hellz Yeah!

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/16/autoblo...er-first-w-vid/ Ron Flint, president of Hurst Performance, is quick to let you know that founder George Hurst's original intent was to make hot rods for gentlemen. It is ironic, then, that for the revived company's 50th anniversary, it has thrown its energies into a car that isn't a hot rod, and certainly isn't for gentlemen: a Dodge Viper. Leaving the heart of the beast well enough alone, Hurst merely tinkered with some oily bits, stuffed the thing with leather, and then slathered it in a hue something like a monochrome sunset. Autoblog was invited to be the first to drive the Hurst 50th Anniversary Dodge Viper, and you know what we discovered? There's (matte) gold in them thar hills. Follow the jump for the story and video of our drive, and be sure to check out the gallery of gorgeous high-res images below. Another admission before we begin: this is the second time we've been to Hurst and not been able to properly drive the chosen car. Last time, with the Hurst Hemi Challenger, it was because of the prototype wheels that weren't ready for prime time G-forces. This time it was because of a wrong turn that put us in some stupendous Friday afternoon LA traffic, and because the car is 1-of-a-kind. Surrounded by an innumerable school of SUVs and jalopies (compared to what we were driving, at least), all of them menacing to bend our fenders – or maybe worse – we chose heedful over horsepower. Autoblog did not want to send Hurst to Barrett-Jackson, where this car will be auctioned on Saturday, with a picture of what the car is supposed to look like. So it was another babying session. Nevertheless, the beautiful thing about the brutally-fanged Viper is that even when treated with a baby's care, its performance is convincing. Exercising a restraint that lives in opposition to the car itself, Hurst hasn't made many performance modifications. An adjustable Moton Sport Suspension with Eibach springs gives the car a ride that is firm, taut, and while not exactly hot-butter smooth, does not often jar. The Corsa exhaust livens up the exhaust note and gives it a lasting finish as the V10 up front takes its time returning to idle revs. And the rolling bullion package rides on wheels bigger by an inch - 19-inch up front, 20-inch in back - with Michelin Sport PS2 tires on traction duty. On the subject of wheels, those you see are the same ones from the Hemi Challenger, substitutig a coat of black chrome for polish and gold inserts. Along with the paint job, they make the Viper sing like MIMS, repeating endlessly: "This is why I'm hot." The difference is this time you don't get tired of it. The result is that the car pretty much goes and stops like a Viper with a richer hiss. What the car doesn't do, however, is look like a Viper. That's all about color. Hurst gave this car a matte gold job, and most of the time it mops up the light like it's gathering energy. Even in the shade, the car seems to have an aura, a corona, that is simply waiting for some runic incantation or astral alignment before it erupts into some blinding, halcyon blast. And just like so many other secrets even back to pre-history, the source of unlocking that potential lies in the sun. Drive this car right into the eye of Apollo, or cruise through a coastal sunrise and sunset, and it is alive, aflame, glowing like an ember. It really is like something from Indiana Jones: far superior to any crystal skull, it's like the gold skull from the very first movie, dangerous, beautiful, sure to bring you adventure. And on top of that, it hums, and it has a V10, which has got to make it even better than some cursed cranium. Another detail on the paint job: notice that the striping stops at the end of the hood and trunk - it doesn't full wrap to the bottom of the car like it usually does on striped Vipers. That's because Hurst didn't want to break up and minimize the horizontal aspect of the car. The effect is to make the car seem even wider than it normally does (and actually is). The only disappointing thing about the inside of the car is that you can't see more of the outside of the car. The cabin is almost all Viper, with just two tweaks. One is the Katzkin-leather-wrapped seats, which are so grippy you could call them cocoonish. The other is the Hurst pistol-grip shifter with the shift pattern engraved on the thumb depression. Add a Hurst plaque on the dash, which will soon be engraved with the winning bidder's name, and you've still got... a slow news day. Which is why it is fitting that this car is going up for auction at Barrett-Jackson - it really does belong as part of a collection. Even Archangel Gabriel, tooling sedately around some quiet corner of heaven, would have a hard time caring for the matte paint job, worried it would be marred by a malevolent cloud. And again, since the outside of the car is so devine, that's where you want to be when you're around it. The only way to drive it properly would be to rig some extra controls so you could pilot the car from the roof, or a rumble seat in the trunk. Or... You could buy the only other matte gold car that will be built, and allot one for your collection and one for the road. That second matte gold car will be a roadster, and it's not going up for auction – it will be available to some regular (kind of) Joe with money. Hurst, though, hasn't figured out how they're going to choose that recipient, so our recommendation is to be really nice to... Autoblog... and we'll put in a great word for you. There will be 48 other builds of the 50th Anniversary Hurst Viper, and they will all come in Hurst's trademark white/gold stripes and black/gold stripes packages. Wodehouse Dodge in Oklahoma is the only place to buy them. As for this one, it will be on the plinth and under the gavel for this weekend's Barrett-Jackson auction, with a portion of the proceeds going to charity. And after that, it will be shedding its light on the life and collection of some fortunate owner.

Happily, Jessica and I both want a Challenger.

Just went out to start the Prizm. Started up fine, but then wanted to stall. Gave it a little gas to get things moving. Noticed a wurring sound, and a belt squeaking. It's not happy. Letting it warm up now.