balthazar

I know next to nothing, but a buddy does competition stereo building, and he only places first or 2nd. He's nuts. I asked him basic, dummy questions about stereo for my B-59, and you should see his eyes light up. I had to 'talk him off the money ledge', since my needs are very basic. He told me Infinity Reference 6x9s for the rear (planning on cutting the package shelf steel soon- apparently there were no factory rear speakers for '59)... and I didn't even get around to the head unit (cause I have no idea). I like the seriousness of the 0-gauge wire he runs.

And I'd bet money a few factory jobs snuck out the back door in the '60s, too, but it was never a RPO. Last Buick RWD manual well may have been in the '70s Skyhawks. Malibus had manuals in the late '70s, not sure if the Regal followed suit but I've never heard of one. Grand Prix was a lux coupe (tho more sporting)- thousands of manuals were built/yr in the '60s.

Interesting tidbit- the Riviera, even tho debuting in 1963, never came with an RPO manual in it's entire history. Just learned this recently & found it pretty amazing (there were a bunch of Wildcat manuals, not to mention the Skylark GS series).

Not so sure pointing out inspiration from a outdated-then, decisively-frumpy, ancient model like the 220 is the way to go marketing-wise. It's certainly no design classic (beyond M-B loyalists, maybe).

The mini-fixed quarter window is clearly an engineering compromise- no getting away from it. Too bad they couldn't spend the money to get a full pane to pivot down- there's enough physical room. Buick managed to figure it out in '59.... :wink: The rest of the design... mercedes are getting more & more generic with each reshuffle. Big taillights say something else IMO - honda, or toyota perhaps, before they say 'M-B'. And the front grille emblem is simply gigantic! Any larger and the 'points' could be angled blades and generate electricity at speed.

No one, I think, denies that there are fluctuations in the climate. Duh. But the simplest way to garnering support & funding would be to prove man's contribution and by how much. {~crickets chirping~} $66,000,000,000 spent ($36B on direct science) in the last 10 years WRT 'climate change', yet not a single piece of empirical evidence to prove man's actions have any measurable effect. How much more will we spend merely seeking the proof ?? How much after that to legislate, mandate, R&D, test, produce, train, educate & implement... to 'counteract' it ?? The most recent 'hot button' is CO2... yet how will science separate industrial CO2 emissions from human / animal CO2 emissions and their respective effects ?? Ahhh, nevermind any effect.... you can measure industrial CO2 output.... and charge for it. 'Climate change' (and from my observation, the terminology only changed this year because the weather wasn't co-operating and those using the term were starting to feel foolish) is all about 1 thing and 1 thing only : money. Since there's no science to follow - follow the money trail.

There's a reason (besides the obvious: 2 seater) the Corvette used to (from my observation) have a rep as the 'mid-age crisis' car- that age demo/ empty nester had the discretionary income to pull off a purchase. '70s, '80s... the Corvette was too pricey for 'kids' to buy and too much the cruiser to interest them. Moreso now WRT to price, but again- it never was about that. It's ludicrious that this guy suggests there's a problem; either he had no subject matter ideas that night.... or it's simple true jealousy WRT the C5 & C6 Corvette's success.

Where the hell did this guy stagger in from ?? IMO, the Corvette achieved it's Cheese Height in the late '70s : overdue for a redesign, completely pathetic performance-wise, and associated with the typecasting he alludes to. The C6 got tighter & lighter than the C5, with better performance than ever. That's 'moving forward' (if I may borrow an unearned tagline ), not towards any "demise". Corvette has never been an 'out-of-college' car :: '70 Camaro~ $2750, '70 Corvette~ $5450.

Yeah, I'm aware of the national CL search, but the problem is, it's not car-only and it's clogged with brand new stuff too. Esp for my interests- vintage stuff is not common. I want better! I've found Hemmings online to be somewhat cumbersome, but that's an excellent suggestion, too.

Still here, getting soothed: Chomber - Marathon 1

I would recommend brand-specific sites, or you will just be wading thru mountains of..... oh wait- you like Chevys. :wink: Seriously, my B-59 is modified- I go to the HAMB, Buick-59.com & V8Buick.com (and eBay). Craiglist is a shot in the dark for specific, rarer stuff. A car-only, used-only, national-search 'Craiglist' would be great, if anyone would get off their duff.

Quick trip up the highway had me passing a mint '70-72 Corvette coupe, bright red w/ 'LT-1' graphics on the domed hood. Pretty sweet.

Fall (& spring) always make me scurry around, getting ready for the respective following seasons. In fall, it's a ton of yardwork, primarily centered around firewood. Mow as many leaves up as possible, plus get a few HLP trips in.

Don't care for syrups- too sweet- don't use any.

Look at that "Cadillac Motors" logo : there's the mesh grilling that Cadillac 'stole' from Bentley !! :wink:

Real shame it could not be merged into GMC. There was real potential in that proposal. As it is --US workers aside-- hopefully it will fade out of the market after GM's manufacturing contract expires.

Bought a Bosch last year. It's definately quiet, but it doesn't clean as well as the outgoing (15-yr old KitchenAid), and the rack tines are very closely spaced, forcing you to loosely pack it, decreasing efficiency. ocn- appliances' average life spans are continually on the decline. Recent surveys ('05) show major kitchen appliances to have a life span of around 7-12 yrs, so if your fridge has a few years under it's belt, you may be closer to a replacement than you think... tho some of the replacement is for subjective reasons (styling, etc). Refridgerators used to last decades and decades... there are still Monitor-Tops in use around the country.

My challenge is to the reason they were that way, not the physical differences / similarities themselves. -- -- -- -- -- I like the 1st & 2nd gens, I do .... but I'm TIRED of them already. All Firebirds : bro has a '68 coupe (since '95). B-I-L had a '67 coupe (in the '90s) and still has a '69 coupe (since maybe '84). Buddy is rebuilding a '68 coupe for a client. Ex-friend rebuilds Olds & Pontiac motors, always had 2nd gen 'birds around, including '70 T/A & '79 10th ann cars. Tired... still; these Firebirds I can look at... but Camaros ??? Or 3rd gen, 4th gens of either ???? Slide me under the Futurliner for a nap, please.

Landing ~ Craig Hardgrove. Electronica remixes of soundtrack songs from Bungie's Marathon I game. Gotta love youtube.

I actually took a look at a truck in the HD lot the other day- saw it from the front fender side & didn't recognize it initially- thought it was new. It was a titan- never see them anymore, not sure where they all went... or if it's just my visual filters saving me the pain.

>>"And here's another on-going display to entice the C&G fans... Camaros & Firebirds"<< That's it- I'm out. Only kidding. -- -- -- -- -- >>"...an extremely competitive Pony Car market, coupled with economic restrictions from the parent company required that the two cars share a common platform and the majority of their sheet metal."<< Not true.

I don't consider anything recent in my driveway worthy of a calendar shot (sorry guys!), and the B-59 is still an empty shell on it's frame... but maybe I can swing an 'artsy' shot of the 2500HD at a worksite that would be possible.

My schedule changes weekly- very tough to long-range plan for the most part. But the FuturLiner is an incredible draw for me - pencil me in for attending at this point.

I'm supposed to work @ the Rutgers gaem Sat.... but I very well may have to reschedule that in light of the return of the FuturLiner.... Roger.... any chance you'd have room for a drooling concept vehicle freak in the trunk ??

Well, clearly my garage is the best, and I'm not being remotely subjective here : '40 Ford Cab Over Engine 8-ton cab/chassis truck, flathead, almost road-ready, '59 Buick Invicta hardtop coupe, big block, 2000 pieces, '64 Pontiac Grand Prix hardtop coupe. The worst garages are the ones with japanese generica inside, which is far too many. Seriously, unless it's older than circa '65, I just don't see it / retain the visual.