balthazar

I believe the only different Pontiac V-8 deck height-wise was the 301. Nothing from it interchanges with the others. Buick 455 is unquestionably a different casting than all other Buick V-8s. FYI- there are 3 (it may be 4) different casting #s for the Buick 455. I have (2) #1238861's. Buick 350 may indeed be a lower deck height engineering take-off from the big block, if external dimensions are any indication: 350 : 28"W x 30"L x 28H ... 455 : 28"W x 30"L x 30H

>>"The big difference here is that the Altezza and several other cars actually look good with clear tail lights. Not even the ZR1 can avoid looking like a prickmobile with a hood window."<< Disagree- The ZR-1's hood window is pretty slick because it's small & unobtrusive, plus it frames a nice picture (the intercooler). This Mustang window is far too large and had no aspect of design to it as far as showcasing what's underneath. This history of this goes back much farther than you'd think, BTW; Olds used twin windows in the hoods on a number of dealer 'showcase' cars with their new Hi-CR mills : '49 and into the '50s.

>>"...does anyone think that McCain running as the "not Barack Obama" candidate will work?"<< Does anyone think that BO running as the "not Geo Bush" candidate will work ?? The guy was up by around 16 points a few months ago; WTH is happening ?? Bush's name is mentioned by BO as often as McCain's is; is he confused about who he's running against ?? To answer the question: Yes; I do believe some of those who have looked deeper into BO's background & associations, beyond what they read from the ubitquitous liberal mainstream media conglomerates, will vote 'not BO'.

I'll put my ass on the line for someone else for 2 weeks for that kind of coin. Good for you (and yes: bad for us).

>>"Curved Dash first mass-produced car made at the first automotive assembly line"<< Should be on there. >>"1940 Oldsmobile first fully automatic transmission. 1966 Toronado first modern front-wheel drive car produced in the US."<< Cadillac did all the engineering work on the HM- so Olds' claim is easily cut in half. First modern FWD doesn't do it in my book, tho it's diferrent & the Toro was an engineering tour de'force, it's not so much an advancement as moreso a different way of doing it. I mean- what advantages did the '66 Toro have over the '66 RWD Riviera besides a flat floor? How about first car with fully interchangable parts... you know; the innovation that every single automaker has used ever since? Mercedes AND Benz were still hand-filing parts to get them to fit on whatever they had that could be called an assembly line, even years after. Tested & proven with the 1908 Cadillac. That absolutely needs to be on there.

What in the blue blazes ?!? - a potential 3rd B-59 here on C&G ??? What sort of Pandora's Box have I opened ? :wink: An Invicta 2-dr hardtop; you have excruciatingly good taste, sir!

It's not perfect, but it's still gorgeous. Rallye IIs, black, you may never find another this nice or cool. Life is short- why deny yourself ?? Go git it.

>>"Impressive numbers...did those '64 and '65 #s include the Biscayne and Bel Air or were they split out? Amazing that a single line of cars in one market could hit such numbers in one year.."<< As stated- those are Impala & Impala SS numbers only. Biscayne (series 1100) : 173,900 Bel Air (series 1500) : 318,100 Impala (series 1700) : 889,600 Impala SS (series 1300) : 185,325 TOTAL full-size '64 Chevrolet production : 1,566,925 SS was an option (RPO Z03) for '61-63 and a separate series for '64-67. Still, I don't think anyone would argue the legitimacy of totalling Impala & Impala SS in this discussion. Tho, of course, this was a far different time/market, it's still interesting to note that for the stereotypical 'car for the masses'.... the most expensive full-size (Imp & Imp SS) garnered about 70% of the full-size Chevy sales. Can a argument be made that these buyers simply preferred a Chevy over moving up to a Pontiac, because they were so thoroughly different vehicles ?? In other words- that because of product differentiation, there was no overlap, even tho the stickers overlapped ?? I think so. '64 Impala SS 2-dr hardtop V-8 : $2947 '64 Catalina 2-dr hardtop (all were V-8s) : $2869

Hard day for me, today and yesterday. We laid my grandmother to rest this morning. I so treasure her spirit, her humor and her Old World work ethic, which I inherited and thank her for. Born in Jersey City NJ to recently-immigrated parents, she worked long days in the Black Dirt Region of Orange County NY as a young woman, out in the onion & celery fields, with my father by her side as a young child. Later, she was a long-time factory production worker for Avon. After retiring, she and my grandfather drove down to Florida every winter, fishing and meeting up with friends & relatives. She cooked & canned, she crafted, she golfed, she elevated cleaning to an Olympic event. From her I learned the sage adage: '&#036;h&#33;, or get off the pot'. Her eyes were a fathomless dark brown, almost black. She could be as tough as shoe leather, yet she was always welcoming & loving. I know she felt she lived a full life, and tho the end was hard & discouraging, her spirit remained strong. Now all my thoughts go to my grandfather, alone for the first time after 67 years of marriage to 'his baby'. I pray he can keep his head up & his heart light. He has always meant the world to me, as one who values history & experience, I treasure the 'living bond' I see in him, thru my father and to me. His ordeal in caring for her largely by himself has ended. Now, I pray he can find contentment going forward, until which time his passing may be as graceful as possible (but if please be, God; not too soon). I thank her for all she did to help make me... me. I am diminished with her passing. Never to be forgotten. Rest In Peace, Blanche. 1919 - 2008

In that we are marking the 100th anniversary of GM this year, these types of 'look-backs' are completely appropriate.

I would agree with #s : 2, 4, 7, 8, 10 as being '10-best' worthy.

Racism cannot be eradicated until it becomes a non-issue. There are still far too many lines drawn by race, even those drawn supposedly in an effort to ease racism.

satty- >>"An interesting Washingto Post article about Palin's experience as mayor. /clip/ Again, she's barely more qualified than I am."<< Interesting how you dismiss her entire experience as a state governor. Can I likewise dismiss Barry's entire junior senator experience? Prolly should just go ahead; how much can you learn in only 6 months on the job ?? BTW- Palin is running for VP, Barry is running for POTUS. Pot; meet kettle.

>>"What?!? GM didn't have anything to do with Saab until 1990. "<< This is commonplace- mercedes grabbed all of maybach's prior, completely unrelated history (there was an almost 50 gap between the 2 existances of the nameplate). The saab mention is completely lame, but at least the other 9 are technically factual and historically relevant. Not sure all 9 belong on a 'all-time 10 greatest GM' list; that discussion could go on forever. GM has been in 'global PC' mode for a few years now- tiny, irrelevant saab is getting as much mention as Chevrolet, Buick, etc in most GM PRs, and that's complete horse-puckey.

More early specifics: GENERAL MOTORS ~ "General Motors Company" incorporated 09-16-1908 in Detroit. "General Motors Corporation" incorporated 10-13-1916 In Delaware. "General Motors Company" dissolved 08-03-1917. BUICK ~ "Buick & Sherwood Manufacturing Company", founded 1882, plumbing fixtures. Sold in 1899. David Dunbar Buick began building internal combustion engines, 1897. "Buick Auto-Vim & Power Company organized, 1899. Reorganized as "Buick Manufacturing Company of Detroit", 1902. Reorganized as "Buick Motor Company" on 05-19-1903. Bought Pope-Toledo in 1904. Brought into GM on 10-01-1908. OLDSMOBILE ~ "Olds Gasoline Engine Works" organized, 1890. "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" organized, 1897. "Olds Motor Works" incorporated 05-08-1899 with merger of previous two companies. Brought into GM on 11-12-1908. OAKLAND ~ Incorporated 08-27-1907. Brought into GM on 01-20-1909. Discontinued at end of 1931 model year. CADILLAC ~ "Leyland & Falconer", begin building internal combustion engines for street trolleys & power boats, 1896. "Cadillac Motor Car Company" incorporated 08-22-1902 from liquidation assets of Henry Ford Company, using Leyland engine (marque founder: Henry Martin Leyland). Brought into GM on 07-29-1909. "Reliance Motor Truck Company", founded in 1902 in Owasso MI. Bought by GM in 1908. "Rapid Motor Vehicle Corporation" founded 1902 in Detroit MI, bought by GM in 1909. Both makes combined to form "General Motors Truck Company" on 07-22-1911. Rapid & Reliance nameplates phased out during 1912-13. Also durinf 1912, some elements of the to-be-discontinued CarterCar and the HD truck line from Randolph (the "Strenuous Randolph") were also folded into GMC. CHEVROLET ~ Incorporated 11-03-1911 in Delaware. Reorganized 09-13-1915. Leveraged controlling stake in GM via Chevy stock 07-26-1918. Some of the other early marques under General Motors : CarterCar: Pontiac MI, 1906-1916, bought by GM in 1909. Elmore Manufacturing Company : Clyde OH, 1908-1912. Ewing Automobile Company : Geneva OH, 1908-1910. Little Motor Company : 1911- Marquette : 1911-1921. Marquette Motor Company : Flint MI, 1929-1930. Milburn Wagon Company : Toldeo OH, 1914-1923, Electric car & car body production. Rainier : Saginaw MI, 1905-1911. Randolph Motor Car Company : 1908-1912. Scripps-Booth Corporation : Detroit MI, 1914-1921, absorbed by Chevrolet in 1917. Sheridan : 1920-1922. Viking : 1929-1931. Welch Motor Car Company : Detroit MI, 1903-1911, bought by GM in 1911, merged with Rainer and reorganized as first Marquette.

Wouldn't know where it ranks, but Pontiac Catalina : 3,873,824 Firebird series hit 211K in '79. '64 Impala / Impala SS : 1,074,925. '65 Impala / Impala SS : 1,046,500. Figures are rounded by Chevy- exact totals were apparently not kept.

PCS- >>"Palin is far from being Catholic, she is a Pentecostal. She wants to have a direct personal experience of God through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues etc. They believe the earth is only 5000 years old and dinosaurs existed 4000 years ago."<< >>>Pentecostalism is an umbrella term including a wide range of different theological and organizational perspectives. As a result, there is no central organization or church which directs the movement.<<< --wiki Are you sure about exactly what she believes? Obama is far from being a Catholic, he practices black liberation theology (and so does his wife, whom he has stated would be one of his top advisors): >>>Black theology refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him. The task of black theology is to kill Gods who do not belong to the black community ... Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy. What we need is the divine love as expressed in Black Power, which is the power of black people to destroy their oppressors here and now by any means at their disposal.<<< --wiki I'm sure both would be equally driven to force their religions on the rest of the country by radical law... OR... perhaps they can both separate their personal beliefs from what they believe is good/right for the country. You know- like individual freedom of religion. You can't legitimately have it 2 ways here. Either this sh!t is important across the board of candidates, or it's not. -- -- -- -- -- Oldsmoboi- >>"Just because he's Hollywood doesn't mean he can't be right."<< No, he could get lucky, I suppose, but living in that cocaine-infused fantasyworld doesn't make even that likely. The entire entertainment industry is a liberal wacko-ward : >>>"I think America has no experience with terrorism or even with war. In Europe, we know a little bit more about these things." -- Bono Like how to appease and make multimillion dollar deals with dictators who support terrorists? "America has never paid any attention to other people, so it's absurd for Bush to say that it's all in the best interests of the Iraqi people." -- Richard Gere Yeah! Yeah! We never paid any attention to the Jews, or the French, or the Russians, or the Mexicans, or the Spanish, or the British, or the Kuwaitis, or the Bosnians, or anyone else! We are so totally all about isolationism. "Have we gone to war yet? We f'ing deserve to get bombed. Bring it on." -- Chrissie Hynde. By "we," do you mean you and the French, since that's where you're living? Because if that's the case, then I wholeheartedly agree with you. "Melt their weapons, melt their hearts, melt their anger with love." -- Shirley MacLaine on her anti-terrorism policy. 'While they melt your skin with searing hot iron rods.' -- Iraqi Prisoners on the torture policy of Saddam and his thugs. "This is a racist and imperialist war. The warmongers who stole the White House have hijacked a nation's grief and turned it into a perpetual war on any non-white country they choose to describe as terrorist." -- Woody Harrelson 'And right after I finish smoking this shirt made of hemp, I'm gonna go visit my convicted murderer father in prison and hire him to kill the President, as soon as I get out of rehab.<<< Maybe they're right, too, eh? -- -- -- -- -- >>"Had McCain picked Christine Todd Whitmann, I would have come to the conclusion that he's serious about the economy and serious about the environment.... or just plain serious period."<< Don't leave out that just about the last thing we heard publically from Whitman was that the air in NYC right after 9/11 was 'OKily-dOKily'. Or was she not being serious there?

Hey, on that national map- Jersey really is the Garden State: a nice minty green. Gas went up about 22 cents today (87: $3.49), but diesel hasn't budged yet ($3.79). This is unsupportable- the price at the pump is supposed to reflect a small profit over the cost of what's in the tanks. A supply shortage because a few-days closing of a few refineries would not hit the tanks nation-wide for weeks, not hours.

>>"Uh huh. So a community organizer starts with nothing and is an activist to CREATE an institution to address an issue..."<< Please link to some records or accounts of specifically what Barry did as a community organizer. As far as I've heard, this information --much like his Harvard records and his medical report-- are sealed, and the country would seriously like to know how being a community organizer has any bearing whatsoever with helping to be prepared to be a president. I also find it hard to believe that every c.o. starts a ground-up organization- so every one is then a 1-man operation, right? No one ever joins a pre-existing institution?? Prolly not going to get much at all accomplished as a 1-man organization. What was the name of Barry's, BTW?

>>"So the president can fire the Secretary of the Treasury because an official at a local IRS office didn't claim all of his casino winnings on his taxes?"<< Yeah: failure to report casino winnings is the same thing as someone "eating a F'ing lead bullet". Can you see the cause of this entire issue at all, or are you content to just point a finger at Palin and dance the pee-pee dance ?? >>"Best quote about Palin's candidacy...... "It's like a really bad Disney movie!""<< Yeah- Matt Damon. Hollyweird; these disfunctionals are paid to pretend for a living, they provide escapism and nothing more. We're supposed to lend weigh to what they really think about real life ?? It's ludicrious. Olds- I suppose you were ROTF RE Gershon's lil impression of Palin, too, eh?

Interesting and heinous at the same time. CA = New New Mexico

Letterman: "Let me ask you this; have you ever actually put lipstick on a pig?" BO : "You know... the uh... that... the answer would be 'no'. But I think it... uh... it might be fun to try." Letterman: "...I know the reaction to that was 'You were overreacting'; do you stand by that?" BO : "Absolutely! Yeah, look, th-th-this is... uh... if you uh... I, uh/eh... this is sort of silly season in politics... not that there's a non-silly season in politics, but it... it gets silliER... and, uh... it's a common expression in at least... uh... Illinios..." >>"I'm sure you got all misty eyed over Bush right? "<< Nope- didn't even vote for the guy.

This is not about other troopers, and it's not what he "may" have done at work, but what he DID do as a representative of the State Police. Cops answer to higher standards than most other professions (or they're supposed to) and those standards encompass off-duty behavior, also. You're saying that merely because she knew about this reckless cop, one who had threatened to make someone "eat a F-ing lead bullet", she should've just turned the other way and waited until someone was beaten or killed? What the hell kind of logic is this ?? Palin had every reason to suggest to the Public Safety Commissioner that this public danger be removed as part of PCS's job responsibility. Ignoring problems don't make them go away. She got involved because Monegan would not. Monegan deserved to be fired for lack of judgement, and Wooten deserves to be fired for conduct unbecoming of an officer. Palin deserves praise for being involved in the public's safety and sticking up for what's right.

O'Reilly : "Is Iran part of that component?" Junior senator from Illinois: "Iran is a major threat, now, I don't think that there's a...uh... the same... uh...uh... th-they are not part of the same network. Eeeh, you've got Shiite and you've got Sunni. We've gotta have... uh... the ability to distinguish between these groups, because for example, uh... the war... uh, uh... the war on Iraq is a good example..." {God- exhausting transcribing work!} Such a confidence-inspiring mush-mouth! No doubt he'd have Achmadenijad quaking in his human skin boots under a baragge of stammering 'Uhhhs' and stuttering 'ehhhs' & over-lapping emptiness & circular nonsense.

>>"She demonstrated no knowledge of it's very existence."<< That's your interpretation, and IMO, it's completely unsubstatiated. According to your information source wikipedia ( ): >>>four main points are highlighted as the core to the Bush Doctrine: Preemption, Military Primacy, New Multilateralism, and the Spread of Democracy.<<< Gibson asked: "Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?" and Palin replied, "In what respect, Charlie?" Then Gibson fumbled: The Bush -- well, what do you -- what do you interpret it to be? Reads a lot like it was Gibson who was unsure. She asked for clarification of his question, since, as you provided; is a multi-pronged issue. Likely she knew she was being gunned for (duh: ABC) and did not wish to get intentionally tripped up. She did not ask 'What's that, I never heard of that?'.