balthazar

I'm going to stand up and say this clearly - Mercedes -styling-wise- is done. From the moment that retro-block concept convert appeared a few years ago, it has been apparent. The current 'slammed' sedan, whatever the alphanumeric may be, was the future direction, but they put that language on exactly one car, then they pretend like it doesn't exist & twiddle around with all the other comparitively dated designs. Now, with this monster, it's clear they have no clue and less direction. And look at the interior smallchevy posted: cheap plastics, mismatched coloration (may be the flash), and plasticized mouse fur panels. Trash & garbage, but when you build to 50% fleet numbers in your own country, I guess it's good enough. Let 'em burn.

There are ways around that.

The acura is just strange, disharmonious & unpleasant, God; it's horrible, & the bmw is plainly dated... at least the Buick is stately and mildly fresh, and in the above 3/4 rear shots- far more upscale to my eye than the other 2. What is up with that way-up-high, huge fuel filler door on the acura, 2" from the passenger door ?? The farther a vehicle can mount a source of fumes & fuel spills from the passengers, the better, IMO. Being dead-center above the rear wheelwell also calls more visual attention to it. As far as one looking like the other- how much differentiation do any of you expect in a modern car- something unique & new ?? All the elements are shared with just minor reshuffling- of course stylistic parallels are going to be possible. There's just not a lot anyone can do (kudos to honda for trying, kudos-repro'd for issuing a hideous design for actual production). Intentional?? I don' think so. Mandated constraint? There you go.

>>"STS is simply in a big-time vacuum....."<< I truely see a lot of them here in central NJ, to the point I am wondering if there are notable geographic volume differences....

Both today: a very solid medium blue '69 Road Runner hardtop, cruising, and a white '65 Fury I 2-dr sedan.

I have a borrowed Silverado with a blade on it, if & when it hits 2" deep, I'm off to plow down in Princeton. My buddy, whom I'm plowing for, is hopeful the 5-9" forecasts he's seeing come true- his contract pays by the inch. I don't mind it- it's something different and it pays decently.... but this is only the 2nd year I've done it; it's not old yet.

Yes- I agree with your last evaluation- I like the longer rear and the whole car does look less 'thick'. Overall it's definately better (tho these are minor differences), with the exception of the door handles. And I just noticed- it seems to me the SweepSpear on the concept has a bit more dip to it, but no doubt the Spear & the handles had to work with each other. Still wish some sort of 'code button' door handles had been used- dropping the ubitquitous handles would have been refreshing.

This one really intriques me. I first saw a large pic in Autoweek, and I believe I actually said 'whoa'. Some of the details are a bit fussy/in need of refinement, and it looks positively DTS-ish in length, but I am still drawn to it. Would really like to see it in person- looks tricky to photograph in studio light...

Agreed on the headlights, disagree on the lower front fascia: there- the concept's was more unique, but it made me think of a large 'buck' tooth. I believe the front overhangs are identical; it's the lower 'chin spoiler' vs. the concept's tucked-under bottom edge that makes it look shorter there. Buick got the hoodline lower- a bit less thick there- nicer. Only thing that I would liked to have seen was the concept's flush side glass & no door handles, esp those Fisher-Price mitten-enablers everyone is slapping on everything they build. I think here, with the strong SweepSpear line, the big handles detract from that- I would have preferred at least a flush lift handle ala the '90s W-cars, or better, none- so the SweepSpear is more visually pure. Thanks very much for these pics, DF- nice to see clearly how GM brought another 'concept' (pre-production) car straight to market.

Ted Kaczynski was another minimalist mountain man, living in a hand-built shack without electricity or running water for years while 'crafting his trade'. I am fascinated to some degree about this sort of mindset, but will never be able to embrace it. -- -- -- -- -- I suppose I must proclaim myself a pack rat, tho I stress that it's relatively orderly and I can navigate it all very well. The basement holds a lot of stuff, so does the house garage (2 bays) and my shop (4 bays). The house itself (both inside & out) is completely presentable. I toss some stuff, sell other, make minor headway in organization and then wham!; I get my hooks into another pile of stuff that follows me home. I have this vague intention to dispose of it all at around age 60- donating & selling, but I find a frightening fascination and yes..... admiration for the Collyer Bros., and I wonder if someday the authorites will be forced to enter thru a 3rd floor window looking for me....

See; in a way you are more like GM than you think: sounds like 'everything is on the table'. Good luck in working thru your reevaluation. Even if no big change comes about, this is always a good occasional practice. One bit of advice: if it starts looking like a move to Jersey is a possibility; start over !!

I didn't realize the s2000 was still in production, they are nowhere around here. Last one I noticed was on the side of the highway with both rear wheels toed-out at a 30-some degree angle, waiting for the flatbed. -- -- -- -- -- Sounds reasonable- so many of those future vehicles are too high-cost, too low volume in this economy. Still; how is it honda was going to take 6-some years to bring a RWD sedan to market ??

One thing you can do is throw some of your savings in an account under your son's SS#- it won't be taxed there assuming the interest income there is under whatever the minimum taxable per individual is. Hopefully that half loophole is still in play.

>>"Wow, I need to find a way to get this....... "<< Allentown is only 30 minutes from me. Buy it, and you could store it at my place (outside) for a few months, XP, if that helps make the deal work for you.

I don't necc. observe holidays (or weekends religiously) beyond X-mas & NY's. Matter of fact, I worked Jan 1. Course; being self-employeed, I get zero paid days off.

Good points RE the website, IM; not impressed- and too.... beige.

>>"I've been called "racist" elsewhere for my staunch support of the domestic industry. I can explain until I'm blue in the face...er, fingers about how my immediate family is multi-racial (whatever that means) but it doesn't go anywhere; I'm still some kind of bigot because I don't want to throw my $$$ at a German, or Japanese, or Korean, or ?? company if I can help it."<< Sometimes I'm a glutton for punishment. Care to link me to any of these places where this sort of talk is going on? I haven't rolled up my cyber sleeves in a while. I mean really; what 'race' is America ??? If buying an American vehicle is racist, so is living in this country.

I think you have mine, blu. Somebody does....

>>"Here's all the "Weird Wheels" stickers. "<< Those are different than the ones I have. ...{digs them out of top of closet cigar box}... I have 23 'monster car cards'... can't find them via google- but they are similar to 'Odd Rods', tho mine all have a swash of pink in the background.

Well, the interiors of the above 2 are NO CONTEST. Exterior of the rx brings nothing exclusive to the table- it is no nicer than it's toyota twin there. Wheels looks small and the whole shell is just an amorphous blob. SRX is far more dynamic, athletic & trim. Designwise- the SRX is well beyond the RX, IMO.

PIC PLEASE !! You post that one & I'll return the 'favor' with one of me.

>>"Posted by: catalina421 :: 08/06/2008, 10:39pm -- what are you going to do with the car i would restore it and give it back to him."<< Can anyone read, or analyze a situation, even remotely, anymore? Or is this idiot 9 years old? And he has the nerve to call himself 'catalina421'.

I have a small stack of those 'wacky car' stickers, unstuck. I always loved those. They're worth something ?? I never went in for the 'wacky packages'- not cool like the car oriented ones.

>>"...can recognise the Invicta name right away ..."<< IMO, you are clearly more well informed than most, then.

So... would a guy with Greg Brady hair driving a '75 opera-window GM intermediate coupe be akin to anti-matter contacting matter ??