balthazar

ooooOOOOOOooooo!! Congrats, really cool you were able to swing a custom 'phantom' vintage vehicle. Looking forward to more pics.

I would do the trans change closer to 275K, esp if the fluid appears fine.

American car makers will never experience an increase of sales ?? And if they do, they won't hire more workers to accomplish raised production ?? toyota is floundering mightily in recent years- that could all melt away... or it could continue to compound upon itself. If the latter, the void in volume will have to be filled by others.

>>"You have to at some point, beacuse American jobs are still a stake."<< American car makers would gladly absorb some of those jobs provided a disproportionate deflation of toyota's sales volume were to occur.

I would strongly vote AGAINST direct comparisons. First off : this requires 1 car review to encompass many car reviews to even be 'published'... but primarily; 2nd : incessant comparisons in general are a trap most of the rags have fallen into over the years, and it's majorly misleading. Car 1 wins, therefore cars 2-5 are 'losers'. It is mostly the verbage used: sensationalistic to attempt to increase sales AND to help support point differences, even tho they are not infrequently by margins of 1%. It's greatly reduced their credibility over the years, and it'd be refreshing to see the trend broken. Describe & analyse the vehicle, it's specs, it details, let it stand on it's own merits, and avoid confusing the picture with 2 dozen subjective comparisons to a slew of other vehicles. Cars should be a whole, not merely a collection of parts.

That's a good idea, but be prepared that they may not accept anything you carry in with you as proof. When I registered my '64 Catalina, they wanted to put it in the over 3800 lb price category. I had a copy of the page from the Standard Catalog of American Cars to prove it weighed 3770, but they still looked it up in a monsterous dusty book about 10" thick before putting it in the sub 3800-lb class.

>>" In nature, bacteria in soil and the oceans break down nitrogen-containing compounds, releasing nitrous oxide. About one-third of global nitrous oxide emissions are from human activities. "<< Let me get this straight: ALL of the land masses & ALL of the oceans of Earth release nitrous oxide, yet man --with his dental laughing gas and environmentally-unfriendly sewage treatment-- is releasing 1/3 of the world's output ???? I love these pronouncments that are utterly impossible to prove or disprove.

Even the allegations are not surprising, given past examples of corporate japanese culture.

>>"I'd like to validate that somehow..."<< Print this out: http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/main.php?g2...ageViewsIndex=1 Under 'Optional Equipment' : Backup lights, inside non-glare and outside rearview mirrors were part of the Comfort & Convenience Package on the Nova 400. It's a Chevy : a brand-new repro sideview is practically on the shelf @ all the chain autoparts stores. :wink:

True- a lot of it is personal choice / lack of caring. But I would never automatically equate dress code with intelligence. In other words, I don't buy the 'the clothes make / unmake the man' as unilateral. Plus, a bunch of the pics were a 'what's the point of making a point here?'. The torn-out t-shirts; yes. The cuffed shorts, the 'short-shorts', the haircuts; that's just a question of fashion, not slovenly / disgusting. 2 different things- making an attempt to be neat & clean is one thing- not doing what's currently the most popular- who gives a sh!t.

DMV / state codes will tell them when sideviews were required- the burden of proof should not be on you. Fed mandates didn't start until '66. Agree with Camino : body-wise it's a '62 Chevy Nova wagon. End of info stream. Suspension-wise, upgrading should not move the car into 'street rod' territory in the least, but I have no idea the state of 'Nazi-ism' in CT.

>>"Merci (not verified) at 17:01 on August 27th, 2009 I think that People of Walmart is a sad way to make fun of poor people. These people are dressed that way because they're poor, and from depressed areas. It's just classist mocking. You would not think it was the best-thing-evar if the people were non-white."<< ^ Uncomfortably close to the truth.

I have an ongoing deck building job for a client. I broke ground July 20 in a brief dry spell; excavating dirt out with a skid steer. Had to wait I think 3 weeks before it was dry enough to get back in for 1 day and auger 18 holes for Sonotubes, to pour the concrete piers. BArely got that done (had to dig one 3' hole by hand). Know when it was dry enough to pour the concrete? Today. Had to get a line-pumper truck; no way to get a mixer close, far too many wheelbarrow loads. This summer has sucked for decent weather. 'stang- you better not be senting that sh!t this way : don't need it, don't want it.

Allisons -of course- are either 5-spds or 6-spds. I have not heard anything, but the 4L80-E is the HD OD Turbo400- a great, bullet-proof trans... but software is the weak link in any electronic/mechanical assembly. Good luck working it out to pop's content. Somewhere, isn't there a RPO sticker... which would list the trans code, no? Here's all the trans codes : http://www.vibratesoftware.com/html_help/h...ns.htm#6spdatrn

Car rolled 1000 miles in less than 3 weeks- more than her usual, but she took it to the shore and a few other longer trips. Zero issues to date- everything tight, quiet and snazzy. DIC shows some interesting numbers, but on par for central Jersey: average speed to date has only been 27 MPH. This is why I tend to disbelieve all the claims that BMW drivers here buy for the handling/performance - it's far too congested here to see any of it except the mile between highway intersections. Ave MPG so far has been 22.7 at that pathetic average speed. Came up quite a bit since the low dealer-lot number (extended idling/ lot shuffling). Steady highway speeds (circa 70, cruise off) were returning 33-ish. Car has a lot of neat, thoughtful features- the dual ice-blue LEDs that shine down on the console area at night are completely unobtrusive to the eye, yet cast useful light on the area. Likewise the lit door handle nacelles are useful in the dark, too. Cannot agree with reg's apparent dissatisfaction with the Malibu's interior- it's excellent on all accounts: fit, materials, ergonomics, features, interfaces.... I have yet to find anything I would've liked to see improved (other than overall room). Trans hunts a tiny bit in some instances, but it's so buttery smooth you have to concentrate to feel it. In proper gear, power is very good. So far, quite good.

Nice shot of Vida. Happened to catch 2 minutes of that 'low rider' show she hosts yesterday- they had her in a low-cut t-shirt working an industrial sewing machine, leaning more & more forward. Smart producers. I'm not as big a fan of full rumps, tho.

>>"...balthazar once said that he didn't think any Post War GM car had gone extinct. Especially not one that was unique and significant. I am offering this tounge in cheek...but we may have him here."<< I had to ponder that supposed quote for a bit... I think I recall it now : that no production postwar GM car is completely non-existant today. Pontiac built 17 '71 GTO Judge convertibles... the popular anecdote is that the car was so rare that GM never got a chance to get a factory pic of it. Today- 14 are accounted for (last I heard). One car that I know is possible is the (3) '63 Pontiac Super Duty GPs- none known to exist. That was the same story with the (16) '62 SD GPs, yet since '89, 3 have surfaced. Yes- these are cars enthusiast would treasure and preserve. You've got a strong contender with the above Chevette. I recall seeing the 'Scooter' badge on the hatch, but if I've seen 2 Chevettes in the last 8 years, I've seen a thousand. It's a friggin huge country... I'd still bet that there was one Scooter Diesel auto left somewhere...

The program is decent since it's private industry sponsored rather than gov issued. But I wonder if shifting some manufacturing jobs there might not pay off x-fold over this.... >>"I agree, as far as those types of stores go, Target has always been the "trendiest"..."<< Shall we thusly dub it the 'Trendiest of the Decidely Non-trendy' ?? :wink:

Good scientific imput- thanks! :wink: Again, the experienced eye can spot size pretty well thru looser clothing, and in general yes; the 90-degree casual style is more expose' today, but I still feel (again: scientifically speaking) that size has increased at a given age. I know I've read something to that extent somewhere. Plus, aren't other chemcial/ hormonal factors involved that has accelerated developemment earlier? It's all so... interesting. This GA is in Jackson NJ. Superman the Ride is awesome too- you lay stomach down, supported from above, and fly head-first. The impression of 'super hero flight' is really quite different as there's nothing below you, and there's this inside loop that you go into head first & head down- really wild. El Toro (4400', 70 MPH, 176' / 76-degree drop) :

... there about 9 hours with the brood and a friend of one of the brood. Hot as hell, but some slight breezes & some cloud cover. Rode every coaster in the park... finally my 12-yr old has decided he's no longer going to refuse even those that make him nervous (he tends to over-analyse them as they thunder by overhead)- so it was the best trip there we've made. El Toro kicks ass. But the real purpose of mentioning the event is.... Great Adventure in the circa 90-degree heat.... is positively a Cornicopia of Breasts. Either there's something in the water these days.... or brassiere technology has improved in lockstep with -say- tire technology since the '80s. Or is it evolution? because it seems to me that teen / 20's-yr old girls these days are sporting notably nicer racks than 20 years ago (then, of course, there's implants, but they tend to be obvious to the experienced eye). Anyone ponder the -ahem- science behind this important issue ??

Cruze is well & justified, but unquestionably the market volume overall is going to nose-dive starting Tues. Only figure I heard (who knows how accurate??) was the sales rate during the program was 19M... in a 9M-rate year. Without crunching the numbers, seems hard to believe 500K cars could double the rate, but OK. I will say this, tho- GM dealer lots by me are decimated of inventory- so some of that upped production could handily go toward remedying that, too.

x2 on the tire store... tho it might be tougher to get a set of 4 (I've only ever bought singles). A buddy works for STS - he often has sets of 4, but he tends to procure performance & trucks tires over 'normal' car tires.

Seems more & more, repair shops / service departments fix things less & less, instead; they replace things. Amazing that they couldn't replace the seal alone (I have no idea how it's configured on a CTS)- because replacing the driveshaft sounds like overkill, generally speaking. Wife's GP needs new trailing arms on one side, because the bushings are bad. Replace the bushings?? -no way- they're not even sold individually; you have to replace both trailing arms entirely instead. And people wonder why everything is so amazingly expensive...

You sure do look purposeful; always waving that hammer around.

GM halted leasing during bankruptcy proceedings, <-- which undoubtedly played a major role in the sales decline for the Division IN ADDITION TO the lack of leasing. BMW cannot spread the cost of R&D over the entire production run of the 3-series because many are sold as low- or no-profit fleet sales; they can only recoup R&D on profit sales. And if profit is an example of how "well run" a company is (and it is)- BMW must be pretty horribly run to have profit bomb 90% in 1 year while still maintaining leasing & not having gone thru BK/ government loans/ relentless negative press coverage, right ? RIGHT??