balthazar

>>"2. 1 of 3 bu's are going to Fleet---a clip 4-6X its Honda and Toyota comparables.."<< That includes the Malibu Classic; the new Malibu's fleet percentage is reportedly 9%- equal to the camry. Convert the percentages to actual quantities, and there are FAR more '08 camrys to be found going across the fleet manager's desk than the new 'bu.

>>"If you go around telling people "oh my god things are terrible, you should be scared, things are just awful" then people loose even more confidence and things get even worse. "<< QFT

You are hopelessly lost in this sub-discussion. BTW- BO was 8 in '69.

>>"When did this happen? Oh yea... when Obama was 4?"<< Would you invite Chuckie Manson over to dinner? After all, that bad sh!t was way back in '69, he's a changed man because... the calendar has changed a few times. Oops- there's your doorbell!

Davis got what- $100K? Raines got $90,000,000. You try again.

>>"and Palin's husband was in an Alaska separatist movement until 2001...."<< {sputter} you are equating a grassroots 'effort' at state succession with setting off bombs at NYC Police headquarters and the Pentagon ?????? What exactly did the AIP accomplish- anything? Was it ever taken seriously by anyone in existing government? Was there criminal activity, violence & murder? Did the AIP help launch Palin's political career? Oh snap- no. Yup- same thing only worse.

>>"An article in Newsweek has now revealed that McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, was receiving monthly $15,000 checks until last month from Freddie Mac"<< And BO's advisor Franklin Raines took $90 million from Freddie Mac and skipped on restitution in part via valueless stock options.

>>>Senator Obama strongly condemns the violent actions of the Weathermen group, as he does all acts of violence. But he was an eight-year-old child when Ayers and the Weathermen were active, and any attempt to connect Obama with events of almost forty years ago is ridiculous.<<< Of COURSE they are. Trouble is, no one has suggested that. This is an utterly typical democratic attempt to defuse by shifting the focus of the allegation ('BO was a boy when these happened so it's meaningless'). Ayers was never tried & prosecuted and has never repented. His only regret is that 'he's sorry he didn't accomplish more bombings' wasn't made in 1974, but in 2001. What's being called to light here is that regardless of the campaign trail rebuff of Ayers, BO has continued to associate & serve on a board with a known criminal, an orchestrator of a years-long bombing campaign against fellow Americans and public targets of law enforcement. Is he trying to say 'I was 8- I never heard of this man's criminal past and no one told me' ?? What's being called to light here is BO's judgement and his potential actions from being around these scumbag types his whole life. Breezy campaign sound bites are all well & good for the indoctrinated, but influences like these are far more meaningful & indicative than empty platitudes. I don't know what leftist fringe element would respect this member of the Chicago "intelligentsia" : Do any of you respect this statement? Would any of you pose with the Flag under your feet? And don't give me any of the bull&#036;h&#33; about 'we're free as Americans to do just that'. There's no separating bombing the Pentagon & stomping the American flag with Ayers- it all stems from the same attitude of Anti-Americanism. Ayers may have only contributed a measly $200 himself, but BO's political campaign was launched from Ayer's living room. Am I saying BO is going to set off bombs? No, you nitwits. But I am saying that knowing assocation goes a lo-ong way toward endorsement, and I question the very real influences that association may have instilled.

>>"From what I've heard so far, the album is a great combination of "old" and "new" Metallica. The songs are structured very much like MoP and AJFA era Metallica, with somewhat unpredicatable shifts in tempo within the songs, and Kirk's solos that literally seem to come out of nowhere. Yet, James seems to be having the time of his life "singing" the lyrics as he did from 96-00. I really like what I hear and didn't think they were capable of something this good. After St. Anger I thought they were washed up."<< Completely agree. On 09-18 I drilled a hole in my skull and began pouring Death Magnetic in. Melodically complex & layered, non-overly-repeatative lyrics, a ton of energy, just: wow. I thought the MOP ~ AJFA hard driving edge was gone forever. Has Rick Rubin produced anything poorly? Metallica is back and back huge. THANK YOU !!!

I have not read up on the Volt's technology, but in every car on the road a rotating gas motor spins an alternator that recharges the battery as it runs, what is precluding the same set-up on the Volt? Far too much capacity for an alternator to supply?

I've actually seen 3 Cimarrons on the road in the last 2 years. I haven't seen an '80s honda in about a decade, IIRC. Moltar- if you recall rusted out J-cars by the late '80s, surely you remember the mandated recall of hondas for severe body rot... you're just not mentioning it here because... ummm... why again ?? My buddy had an early '80s honda- it ran fine but he had to literally junk it because it was so hopelessly horribly rotted (this would've been in the early '90s). Never before or since have I seen a car of that limited vintage rot so badly. These cars literally rusted on the lot. moltar- >>"Believe what you want to believe.... anyway you look at it, the Cimmaron was a pathetic excuse for a Cadillac. The J-cars, X-cars, etc were mediocre crap best forgotten. It was the low point of modern GM history."<< Again; your noose is too tight - the 1980s were mediocre crap best forgotten (generally- there were a very few exceptions). But it's neither my experience or belief... I merely present the 'expert' opinions RE the class leaders, primarily via instrumented testing. Do you commonly assess a degree of 'belief' when reading magazine road test results, filtered thru a preconceived notion of how they should fare? I know I do (assess the credibility of the 'journalist'), didn't think many others did. I provide these impressions for 'you all', I'm not looking to be convinced. In fact, I do agree with one thing you stated; the Cimarron WAS a poor excude for a "Cadillac" - I hated it when it came out (but I am a traditionalist, if you did not know ). God- the Seville was a mere 6 years earlier. But to most accounts of the day (if that sort of thing carries weight for you), CMCD did a very good job on it relative to the competition, esp in light that Cadillac entered the program in the "11th hour".

-- -- -- -- BRIDGE TO NOWHERE TIMELINE 07-29-05 : The Highway Reauthorization Bill, including the $223 million bridge to Ketchikan, AK, passed the United States Senate. John McCain voted against the bill; Barack Obama supported it. 11-16-05 : House and Senate negotiators took the rare step of eliminating a requirement that the federal funds be spent to build the Ketchikan Bridge. 12-05 : The estimated costs of the Ketchikan Bridge reach $315 million. 05-06 : The estimated costs of the bridge now reach between $325 and $350 million. 07-27-06 : Gubernatorial candidate Sarah Palin denies the project is a “bridge to nowhere.” 09-21-06 : Palin said the money for the bridge should remain available for “a link, an access process” for the island. 10-20-06: Palin’s spokesman confirmed she supported the Ketchikan Bridge Project. 12-04-06 : Sarah Palin is sworn in as 11th Governor of Alaska. 12-15-06 : Gov. Palin proposed her first budget which included no additional funds for the "Bridge to Nowhere" saying, "We need to make wise, sensible choices." 01-07 : The estimated costs of the bridge are reported to have ballooned to $400 million (79% increase from the original estimate of $223 million). 02-06-07 : Gov. Palin's transition team released a memo that criticized the "Bridge to Nowhere" project, concluding that the project was "a severe drain on resources that would otherwise be assigned to heavily used commercial and passenger routes." 05-12-07 : Alaska’s 2007 state budget included no additional funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere" to cover the increase in costs. 08-18-07 : Bridge to Nowhere put “on hold” by the Alaska Department of Transportation due to the political fallout and the lack of funding. 09-19-07 : The Alaska Department of Transportation released a statement saying Gov. Palin ordered a halt to the bridge project. 09-21-07 : Gov. Palin: “Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project, and it's clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island." 09-22-07 : Rep. Kyle Johansen, R-Ketchikan: “For somebody who touts process and transparency in getting projects done, I'm disappointed and taken aback … We worked 30 years to get funding for this priority project.” 09-24-07 : “Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today celebrated a major victory over one of the most infamous pork barrel projects in recent history, the ‘Bridge To Nowhere.’ On September 19, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin ® announced the state would abandon the project and focus on other transportation priorities.” 09-26-07 : Anchorage Daily News Editorial: “Gov. Sarah Palin won few friends there with her decision to drop plans for the bridge, but she made the right call.” -- -- -- -- Dec 4th '06 : Palin sworn in as Gov. Jan 1 '07 : cost revisions show cost to have risen 79% Feb 2 '07 : Palin officially criticizes project as "a severe drain on resources" and starves it of state funds. Elapsed time : 2 months, with an interum cost explosion. The Don Young's Way bridge in Anchorage was vigorously pushed for by Congressman... Don Young (AK); he helped to secure $231 million in the Highway Bill for it's construction and was publically vexed when Palin killed the bridge. >>>The Highway Bill Included The $223 Million Bridge To Ketchikan, AK. “Lawmakers packed $24 billion in special projects into the transportation bill that finally passed Congress, including $5.9 million for a Vermont snowmobile trail and $3 million for a documentary about Alaska infrastructure. … One of the bill’s biggest winners is Congressman Don Young’s home state. It is awarded $941 million for 119 special projects, according to an analysis by the government watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense. The group found that Young helped to secure $231 million for a bridge in Anchorage to be named Don Young’s Way; $223 million for a bridge to Ketchikan; and $15 million for a Juneau access road, dubbed the Black Ice Highway by group analyst Erich Zimmermann because ‘that’s all you’ll see in the winter if this project is built.’“ (Shailagh Murray, “After 2-Year Wait, Passage Comes Easily,” The Washington Post, 7/30/05)<<<

The honda & audi were also in the comparison field with the BMW. I didn't pick 'em, but the fact remains the J-car outran the beemer in the slalom & equalled it on the skidpad, FWD and all. BMW may have felt better (not that they said so), but it fell well behind in instrumented handling testing (it was noticably quicker than the Cim, tho). Contrary to fortune cookie research, BMW was NOT traditionally at the head of the class WRT performance/handling all the way back to when the brand was first founded. I know, I know; OMG! OHNOZ! THE F'ING BLAZFEMY !?!! Suck it.

enzl- >>"Just one question, what was the order of finish in this comparison test?"<< In this era, it was standard media practice NOT to rank them or give arbitrary points (outside of COTY-caliber articles), so there was no ranking. Refreshing; one can concentrate on the review without immediately getting slapped with 'winner' and 'bunch of losers'. enzl- >>"Anyone who knows anything about the industry won't wade into a conversation defending either the J or X's"<< C&D --many memory-compromised years later-- followed mob sentiment and doubled-back on their favorable comparison/review to snipe at the Cimarron. If I'm going to place creedence in one ot the 2 POVs, it'll be the fresh, hands-on impression vs. the segment players over an opportunity to revel in the hip-shot cliche'. the OC- >>"Also, not to mention substandard fit-and-finish and ergonomics of the interior, and overall poor quality....."<< Hello... is this thing on? Car&Driver- >>"...paintwork good, the fit of the doors snug, and the body panels and trim lines up just so. In the cabin, everything was battened down tightly as well. The body structure was rock solid. The overall feeling around these parts is that the Cimarron doesn't have quite the tight-fitting look of an audi 4000, but it isn't far off, either..."<< the OC- >>"The Japanese imports of the time were significantly more accomplished than the J- and K-cars of the early eighties.....smooth-revving OHC inline-4s while GM was peddling carburated, OHV 1.8L and 2.0L engines that couldn't pull their own weight.....the later throttle-body injection (and OHC 1.8L brazillian unit) engines didn't do much to improve the situation."<< Cadillac, who introduced EFI to American cars ('50s MoPars aside) in '75 was all FI when the Cimarron went to FI for '83. Can't for the life of me see how you can claim the Cimarron 'couldn't pull it's own weight' when the accord (2300 lbs !!) had the 'equally significant' accel numbers! No quicker, but at least the Cimarron was running rings around the accord (& the BMW) in handling. Add to ithe accord's resume: dumpy body hardware, cheap, spartan interior and the propensity to rot to the door handles inside of 5 years, and the case for the japanese 'masters' is monster stretch. 1983~ Accord : 75 HP / 93 TRQ, carbureted 1.7L Cimarron : 88 HP / 110 TRQ FI 2.0L

>>"I bet you would be suprised the amount of old-fashioned dems whom will be voting John McCain."<< www.democratsformccain.com

Nailed it, moltar.

See post #888.

>>"Lutz said when he 1st came to GM that it would all stop, some people in GM took him for his word."<< And his word was that no platform/model would ever be duplicated in separate markets worldwide? Some people read too far into a basic concept. The utter lunacy of dumping all brand names and selling under the "GM" nameplate boggles the mind. The exact opposite has been what's missing for decades. It's like Proctor and Gamble dumping 'Mr. Clean', 'Dunkin Donuts' & 'Febreze' to call everything 'P&G'.

>>"Considering Fannie and Freddie both got where they are today because of John McCain and pals"<< No, FM & FM got where they are today because of barack obama's pals. Pals who fostered illegal activity, pals who raped the system and got away with it, pals who remain close at his request. The roster of criminals & the morally-bankrupt grows around him, yet all the Dem lib supporters do is shrug it away and wave their signs all the harder. The 'buddy sub-prime' loan scenario for multi-millionaires points right to the reality of the situation: MORE OF THE SAME- cronyism, back-room dealings, a middle-finger for the law, bold lies and the same old me-first attitude. The whole 'Change' platform is complete & utter bull&#036;h&#33;, the only difference is Barry's been better at concealing it longer.

If GM were building all different versions for different countries in every instance, all I would be reading is 'what a stupid waste of money they don't have!'. My, but the political threads are doing a lot to show the consistancy of logic around here. I cannot recall when I first learned of GM, perhaps momma read me sales brochures as a baby.

Yeeaahh, the 4 people shouting 'obama '08' out of the entire plant really showed McCain up. After all, calling them 'the greatest workers and the backbone & fundamental of America's economy' would make anyone tear their hair out and switch party allegance on the spot. How dare he ! I'm shocked Keith Overbite ("Countdown to No Ratings") didn't title his segment 'Murderous Rampage Narrowly Averted'. Absolutely in the running for 'Most Non-Story of the Year'.

What does "Zeta, Kappa, etc" have to do with "badge engineering" ?

170 countries is all well & good (how many DNA samples do they have?), but by 'exact match' to 'another participant', you mean to another mtDNA sample in the companies database, right? All this will do is link you to another in the database, but cannot tell you when or by whom you 2 are connected... because G-G Grandma's DNA is not in the database. If no one sharing the same mtDNA is in the database, you come up genealogically empty, no? Steer me straight 'cause I'm lost on the benefit here. Look forward to an update post when you get your Y-DNA results.

Your ninja skills must be off; that was a 9 minute gap between our posts. >>"Does he go by Barry?"<< Don't believe so. In fact, when asked if he ever went by another name, he reportedly answered 'no'. Unfortunately for his credibility, there's an AP-verified picture of his Indonesian school registration form floating around on the web with the 'Barry' name (and 'Islam' religion) on it. If it didn't come from Indonesia, even that would be squirreled away, just like his Occidental college records, his Columbia U records, his health report, his 'accomplishments' working for ACORN, or any other paper trail from his past. I refrain from making a reference to the '30s radio program with the mysterious cloaked crime-fighter for fear it would be mistaken as a racial slur, but that character's name aptly describes the man's history. Frankly, I cannot decide whether to refer to him as earthy 'Barry' or heavenly 'The Messiah'....