balthazar

Official name is VentiPorts... or was for many many years. 'Portholes' is informal, the 'street term'. I would say it was 'OK' to put a indellible, decades-long Buick styling cue on a Buick that didn't wear them from the factory, but on anything else short of a true custom (not a spoiler/ wheels/ 'aero' kit job)- it's no different than putting bmw pig nostrils on a mitsu and calling it 'nice'.

Jag has little image in europe anymore: based on decades-old archaic underpowered sedans that spend the bulk of their time getting overpriced repair work done. Last coupe (XK??) was a dud, x-type was an embarassing rebadged dud, no one bought the only decent-looking model, the s-type. Jag has been in a real stinky funk since the E-type was canceled. No one is going to cross-shop even an upcoming jag with an amg or rs, nevermind any current ones- it's just not in that class, the image is too damaged- jag's rep was all built in the '40s & '50s, and into the '60s with the E-type... after that, the primary public face of jag was the XJ that carried the same design from the late '60s to today. I was behind one recently, I believe it was from the '90s (who can tell) but the taillights still had exposed screws going thru the lenses to hold them on, with fat exposed rubber gaskets squeezing out. Unrefined bullsh!t like that is more in tune with the 1940s; at least it is in the American luxury market. C'mon: 1968: 2008: Same damned car!! Can you imagine if Cadillac was selling a 1968 SdV on 20"s and calling it a 2008 ?? We'll see how the new sedan shakes out, the one with subaru headlights, but there's a lot of baggage to overcome there to get back to where Jag once was.

What about the whole CAFE shakedown?? If Hummer must go because of fuel prices, Saturn is semi-logical to stay, at least for that reason. If the Outlook is discontinued, what would Saturn's current MPG average be vs. the other divisions? IMO, the whole idea of renaming Saturn 'Opel' will fail, as has every other thrust of Opel product into the NA market short of the late '50s.

I need to carry my camera around on the road. Everything wears them, including BMWs & mercedes. Oh yeah, and I've seen a bunch of maserati's wearing them, too!

a couple of years is far more reassuring than a couple of months.

Europeans interested in neck-snapping, killer track performance absolutely would buy a CTS-V. And a Cadillac CTS is NOTHING like a hyundai 'hi-po' sedan or whatever- genesis is a hokey derivative also-ran w/ zero image, CTS-V runs with the best of the pack regardless of where or where it's not sold. Dealerships locations do NOTHING to alter the product itself. bmw m-3 is bought for 1 or 2 reasons- performance, and/or image/snob-appeal (lots of posers out there, as witnessed by the sheer volume of 'M3' badges on what clearly are NOT M-3s) - - not a single M3 buyer is specifically buying that car primairly because of how the vales are actuated- that's ridiculous, outmoded thinking.

Really has a 4th-gen F-Body feel to it in that 1st pic (duh!). Can anyone look at the rear and NOT think 'Vega taillights'? I do see a real point to having a retro design with an alternate powertrain... not sure what that point is but I like it. Maybe it was all the alternate proposals from that era ('50-60s). I'd still rather have a Solstice, tho. Great to see GM maintaining their Heritage collection. Thanks for the update, MM!

>>"I wonder why the '76 gets worse mileage than the '72? Even though the 305 is in the '76 instead of a 350."<< lower-powered 305 in the same size/ weight car has to work harder to perform the same as the 350.

If the flooring gaps are reasonably tight- I'd just get them sanded & refinished. Lot less expensive than R&Ring. That steam or hot water heat? I love steam heat. What's the vintage on the house?

I too would agree: just ship the V over... but just as some will criticize NOT send it over, there would be, 1 for 1, criticizers blasting GM for importing a 'monster-engined gas guzzler' in 'times such as these'. Damned if you do...

>>"...not a single thought left behind when it comes to designing the cars. {imports}"<< What, pray tell, would you give as an example of 'no single thought left behind' on a single import car? This... I must see for myself.

>>"Both completely drip in anonymity."<< The Invicta/LaCrosse absolutely says 'Buick' and the SweepSpear adds dynamic fluidity; the acura could be just about anything short of the baloney-shaver grille opening, and even that is only minutes old (so it really doesn't 'say' anything). The designs posted page 2 have huge differences in impact & presence.

All the tongue & groove hardwood I've installed has always been of various lengths up to about 6- or even 8-foot long. Never seen hardwood in only 1-foot lengths. The laminate hardwood ('fake') uses the padding underneath because it is ususally installed as a 'floating' floor system: glue at the tongue but not underneath. The foam padding keeps the up-n-down movement from walking from making noise. Real hardwood is nailed into the subfloor. You need a hardwood nailer (manual is fine if you like to feel you've been working at the end of the day) for the real stuff, plus a spare piece to hammer them tight first. Sometimes the grooves are a bit tight. You need to let the wood aclimate to the house for... I think it's a minimum of 3 days- the instructions will say. Mix & match from different bundles to disperse various grains throughout the floor. Lots of the laminate flooring is pretty nice stuff, but the defacto Pergo brand is more of a decal: that 'wood' is only as thick as a few sheets of paper. Some brands have a real neatly engineered interlocking system that makes it impossible for them to separate, plus they're already finished vs. sanding, staining, coating raw hardwood. Look around, Dodgy.

G8 is what it is, looks nice but not particularly progressive (tho AGgressive). tl is just... confused. Design as a whole has very little forward room for progression, and a number of the japanese brands just don't seem to know where to go next; they're floundering on many fronts. I actually like the current civic; real cohesive. The next tl just..... is. Also, it strikes me that not only do the wheels echoe the CTS-V's, the whole 'Veed' front bumper does as well. But I cannot stop starting at that gratuitous front frender hump.

They say 70 is the new 60! I don't know how "tired" McCain is; his 1000-page health report said he was in great shape. The problem w/ obama is he's an elitist radical with strong associations with racists, he has a LOT of growing up & learning to do {>>"don't worry about immigrants learning English, they'll learn it... you should be worried about your children learning Spanish! --BO"<<A guy retired from the print pool where my wife works, after 12 years in this country he still had to give his goodby speech in Spanish- doesn't know a word of English yet! Way to be on top of issues!}, tho I doubt anyone with his length of historical associations is capable of personal change- he's indoctrinated. Already some are referring to BO economically as 'an extension of the Carter years'... tho he's been hard enough/inconsistant enough to pin down as to specifics/stance to really support that theory. Take his earpiece out/ his teleprompter away and he stutters, stammers and gaffs alarmingly. Who really knows which ways BO will go?? The prepared stuff sounds good but it's all empty, shifty rhetoric. Again- no one in this economy can afford his proposals.

Great looking car- proportions are beautiful. For someone not hunting pics of the 'maro, nice to see some big/clear (pre)production shots.

Ugly. The thick wheel flare is the ONLY curved line in the whole front clip- out of place by a mile. The quadruple slots in the lower fascia, with 2 different color/size/shape lights, is poorly done. Wheels are OK- reminds me completely of the CTS-Vs rims, with less atitude. The rest isn't bad, just generic/boring/anonymous as mentioned by others.

Like every CiC in history, there have been good points & bad for each one. I'll tell you this RE Bush tho- I didn't vote for him and I still would not if given the chance again. Answer your question sufficiently? Doesn't mean the 'other' party is the right answer, either (esp this year). Maybe if the economy was flying high, maybe taking a wild chance on an inexperienced radical unknown would be worth the risk. But what IS known is very unnerving, and is shaking out to very restrictive, very intrusive and very expensive. Now's simply not the time merely to 'make history'.

Like to see you find a serious quote (not an obvious joke) in the archives of this board where anyone ever said or inarguably implied that. Seems ANY negative generalization, no matter how far out in left field, is game nowadays. Like many patriotically-confused on this board (and no- this obviously cannot apply to you, CanadianKris) who are happy that the Japanese are successful in the car business, and feels that America has only done wrong on most every front and 'deserves' to be 'punished' and have all milestones undone, ESP in the corporate segment... that's 'victim mentality'; neither welcome nor constructive... it does not identify the problem, admit the problem, or work towards solving the problem.

143 days in office; his ENTIRE professional experience. That's 6 months. Can he even turn on the lights in the oval office by himself ?? The worst potential CiC in my lifetime. >>"...Socialist Obama or Spend Happy religous nut McCain..."<< I'm much more comfortable with a non-radical, non-racist religious nut. BTW, BO had proposed 1 trillion in new spending with no plan on how to cover it- sounds plenty 'happy' to me.

'would'... or 'wouldn't'? Your post seems to lean negatively (many might say 'realistically').... Given the tough U.S. regulations and chinese industrial long-standing penchant of ignore rules of industry (& common sense), I'm not expecting any chinese cars to show up here officially for at least another 15 years.

Even I don't believe history & nostolgia are major factors in a decision to keep brands. The history behind them is no longer tangible (outside of car shows). The reasons -say- Pontiac evokes enthusiasm were established in the '50-70s for the most part... and those cars & elements are all gone except for the split grille. But.... well defined and well executed, each brand absolutely can offer a solid business case for continuance. Undoubtedly this will require inspired vision, and much smaller production, but variety is one of the strong suits to GM (look at their truck lines- something toyot and nissan never were able to learn). Who would've thought there was a spot in the segment for maserati, but look at that brand go, parts-bin dipping and all. Look at mercedes, bmw, infiniti, lexus, etc- they all have very similar cars within a segment: similar size, power, amenities, proportions, functionality, performance, etc, with different grilles & sheetmetal. Are they fundamentally unique from each other? Not really. But they survive and even prosper, even tho they rub shoulders in a rapidly shrinking market. Perception here is huge, likely as important as product (look at land rover!). Too often the focus is not on the cars, but on the business situation. The vehicles, done to the standard of -say- the Corvette, CTS, Malibu & Enclave, will all find their way, and their way to profitability just as all the other segment vehicles do. Where was Buick's rep before the Enclave, and look what that vehicle has done in the segment. Very comendable conquest rates there. It can be done and it has been done. It needs to keep being done. Amputating without vision will only kill the corporation- by itself it fixes nothing.

I'm more interested to watch what effect all the problems/defects will have on toyo's brand perception; the balance sheet will follow accordingly.

>>"The Auto Club gives away free gas here if you run out. NPR radio interviewed a tow truck driver who said he sees repeat offenders who purposely do it for the free gas. "<< I heard one club (thought it was AAA) now charges for the 3 gallons. Suprise, right?

>>"sorry, my math is a two car scenario."<< OK, then : "$100/mnth/2 cars = $2400" >>"so your scenario of a below average 12k a year..."<< May be below average for you, but that's the most common average mileage figure used. BTW- I put 11,689 miles on my truck from 06-13-07 thru 06-16-08. Yes, my wife has a car, too (not sure what her miles run, about the same) >>"I know tons of people who for various reasons were racking up a combined 40k miles a year."<< Oh sure- no doubt. But per car still should average 12K nationally (a minority of sources say 15K). >>"...your 600 a year, factor back in the taxes you paid to arrive at 600 net on the paycheck, its closer to 1000 bucks of your wage that went for extra."<< True, but this is really reaching. Taxes off wages effect every dollar you spend, not just those for fuel. >>"it's easy to simplify the extra gas cost and say its incremental but truth is its hardly anything most working folks consider 'incremental' when the monthly assault snowballs to everything else in your budget."<< Agreed: the price on EVERYTHING is rising, and overall it hurts. But fuel alone is getting a monster-share of attention, esp in light of the theory that U.S. gas has been underpriced for decades & decades. People are running out of gas on the roadside because they "couldn't afford to fill up'; that's idiocy and unfounded. There had better only be store-brand bulk food & off-name clothes back in their houses if things are that tight... or I see too many crying 'victim' otherwise.