balthazar

CTS does not compete with the 5-series- completely different price classes. You know this. >>"Toyota's quality will be fine I think, they don't get lazy or complacent. Even though they slipped they are still top 5 out of 37 car brands..."<< Too late. No manufacturer in recent memory has shown such a staggering degree of quality lapses in such a short span of time. These have not been 1 or 2 or even 5 instances, but steady, repeated problems sourced to assembly, to design, to engineering and to suppliers. The overwhelming examples we've seen over the last 2 years are more that circumnstantial; this is the current SOP of toyota - I see no logical reason to assume everything will be fixed with a snap of the fingers. Quality will continue to drop and eventually, the rankings will follow. >>"Lexus RX easily outsells the Enclave and the Lexus is more dated and costs a lot more."<< RX sells primarily on reputation; #1 in sales never guarantees the best product, only the most popular. >>"The Malibu is a big improvement, better than most, but not the class benchmark."<< Neither is the camry- yet it continually outsells the accord.

Others here get similar hee-haws at how some people here try to use any method to prove Toyota products are unilaterally excellent.

I'd have to see them in person, but as much as you can tell from the pics; I like the wheels. Like the shaved handles, too- exterior gets 2 thumbs up from me.

I've always really liked the lines on the '75-78s, tho the colors on this one are a big turn-off. Also generally like the shortened Seville roadsters, but only if the top is down. As soon as it's put up, the car looks homemade. 1900 built; how come I've still not seen one yet? No big loss, but it makes me wonder about the number... The '76-79 production Sevilles have great lines, also- they were world's more refined than the fussiness of mercedes of the day.

Because there's no correlation ?? Aren't there are numerous convertible performance cars?

>>"Can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm "missing" something...."<< I've had this feeling my real parallel life has been just outside my peripheral for about 15 years now.

Not asking- but there's not nearly enough details above to give you an honest appraisal. From what there is: if you're pulling down "100K-ish" and are happy and comfortable, plus have no real drive to move & change professions again, I don't see what's tugging at you to change. Unless 100K-ish isn't doing it for you (I wouldn't think that the case, tho- not many people who make 100K are satisfied with a "mere" 160K house).

I don't disagree, but again; regardless of their accuracy; I am hearing that the above factors are counter to the textbook conditions of a recession.

Stock '59 Buick : 122 Calculated modified '59 Buick : 143

Didn't the term originate with newspapers, where all manners of words & grammar are abbreviated due to space considerations? Or did it start earlier? It is, after all, a literal abbreviation, not a completely different word- unlikely nearly every other racial slur. Is ANY deviation from the formal word now considered a slur? In my obervations (including period publications)- the terms was always more of a reference term than a direct verbal put-down. The n-word has a far greater and more direct history rooted in slavery & segregation; I don't see anything comparably as tangible with the 'j-word'.

Except for: > unemployment is not bad nor rising significantly, > the stock market is running at or near records, and > the interest rate is low & expected to be lowered yet again at the next Fed meeting. Textbook recessions feature high rates and much lower markets. This could, of course, change in the future. Otherwise, yes. General concensis seems to be running that we will avoid an actual recession for the above reasons, instead terming it a 'slowdown'. I'm watching the market most nervously, ready to liquidate...

1940 Ford CabOverEngine cab/chassis truck- 4-spd manual, 2-spd Eaton 13K-lb rear, 5.83 / 8.11 gears. Top end reportedly between 45-50. Dubbed by Ford as a "1.5-ton" truck, was registered by Humble Oil as a tanker truck in 1945 at a whisker under 8-tons loaded. Has '46-48 100-HP 239 flathead Ford, duals should raise that to 110.

I paid off my house in 11 years- saved $75K there (@ 8.125 & 6.125%). I did not have nearly enough money or knowledge to come anywhere close to that in the investment market in 11 years; it's not just the interest rate difference- the way morgages are structured with compounding interest- you pay far more than you think you are. bobo- do you have an amortization schedule for your morgage? Even with the tax deduction for morgage interest... unless you are a Warren Buffet or have --Idk-- $50K to play with, I don't think you can come out ahead with investments vs. eliminating your morgage as early as possible. It's possible, but seems highly unlikely.

In fact, it was built by the Daleks. Or was it Ford....

>>"8-speed???? Riiiiight.."<< I was waiting... 4-spd manual + 2-spd rear (manually shifted) = 8 forward speeds (and 2 shift levers. Manual-junkie nirvana) Wheres that raspberry emoticon?

I cannot fathom a scenario where no debt is a bad thing... which is why I make it a point to have none. The 'keep liquid' theory sure gets more appealing with recent news; I was listening to financial AM radio today (I know- what a party animal) and at one point I said to myself 'sell everything' {stocks}, but the market ended up just about flat today- in fact, most of my holdings crept up. Most 'pros' offering their market advice say there's money to be made in any market, and this certainly opens up some bottoms... if you can spot the actual and not grab hold only halfway down. I will continue to play the market as I continue to learn about it. One analyst on the radio predicted the bottom for real estate may not hit until 2010. Yikes.

>>"...I found several Flying magazines from the 1970-80's. Where did those come from? I wasn't alive when any of these were published..."<< If my automobilia was only comprised of material published after I was born, I'd have only 20% of what I have now.

>>"Picture a home done in 80% particleboard."<< tee-hee. Pack rat here. Auto library alone must be 25,000 pieces. My heyday of collecting is many years ago, tho; more recently I have been slowly purging.

IMHO- a coupe vs. a hardtop is WORLD'S more significant than lower instrument panel material softness, yet we read incessant diatribes on the subtle subjective degrees of that, as if kneecaps were some sort of decision-making demographic market force. Would still like to learn GM's actual cost differences rather than taking it all at straight face value; shame no one but me is interested in asking the hard questions....

> '61 Tempest Monte Carlo had a shortened wheelbase and a 2-place compartment- open on both sides. Solstice SD-290 seems a clear throwback to XP-737, the Corvair Sebring Spyder: > "SD" indeed invokes 'Super Duty" WRT Pontiacs- I would also not care to see that moniker associated with a 'green' engine. Beyond that, the concept is frickin' sweet (even if completely unproducable).

>>"...has not received even 10% of the bad press it's unquestionably earned over rampant quality problems with a large number of its vehicles."<< Fixed.

Tundra Tailgate Failures Petition: :wacko:

Where it came from:

Hyper -- Sorry you think my points are a lot of nothing. The difference here between you & I as I see it is: GM/Scott says 'it cost more & weighs more', and you say "Okee-dokee" where I say "By how much?". This would not be the first time a manufacturer has said "more" when the reality was 1 or 2% ($300-600 based on $30K). I question how much hard-line price points truely matter in a segment driven primarily by lust. The Camaro will likely increase that much in MY#2 anyway, since the price point is obviously a crucial point for GM and there's a degree of struggle to meet it. Remember when nissan said the titan would have (IIRC) "more than 375 torque" and it had 380? The consumer replied 'BFD'. My belief is that if the "more" is $300, buyers will also say 'BFD' and buy regardless. IMO, and I think in the opinions of more than even they realize, the 'hardtop experience' is a strong element that would be worth a small penalty in weigh/cost. Most people today have no experience in riding in a hardtop, so sure: they may not believe it matters- they have no frame of reference. Obtainable, iconic hardtops have not been a part of the market since the early '70s, that's around 35 years, or far older than the bulk of people lusting after this car and shrugging their shoulders over the B-pillar issue. But much like the suspect validity of your "10%" figure for those that 'would even notice', there's no doubt in my mind that if potential buyers were given the chance to experience an '09 Camaro as a sedan and as a hardtop, the majority would chose the hardtop. Right now the only association a hardtop has with the 'youth demographic' is either as from a '60s musclecar or an ultra-lux feature- the latter which would add that much more panache to a $30K Camaro. Am I saying that selling a 2-dr sedan will limit sales? No. But I do believe being a true hardtop would increase them by a small degree. >>"GM is doing all they can to make this as safe of a car at prices under $30K>"<< Convertibles are inherantly unsafe compared to fixed roof cars- how can we be getting one with the above in mind? How can an acknowledged inferior car safety-wise be allowed? Last time and I'm done: if a convert, being engineered at the same time as the fixed roof bodystyle, is acceptable safety-wise, any hardtop would be even safer. >>"Also the full frame cars of the past did not hold up as well as some of us like to think we remember."<< They also did not fare as poorly as some of us like to assume. Satty- you make a good point about the rear seat area of the shells. I was more focused on the door/glass/B-pillar/quarter/floor areas --the 'side impact' area-- those could easily interchange between a hardtop & a convert.

I never cared for the '99 Charger- something about the 'single plane' front end turns me right off. It also features a lot of body 'tumblehome', which I don't dislike, but seems dated by the '90s. I'd give it a 7 on a 1-10. Jeep aside, it's one of my least favorite '90s ChryCo concepts, most of which I like. LHS still looks futuristic to me, Chronos & Atlantic still iconic.