bobo

C&G is a pretty tight-knit community. Most of us already know where the regular posters are in the political spectrum. For some of us, we have no other online forum we regularly visit, and it's good to know where the other people come from when they post. The upcoming election will profoundly affect our country, whichever way the votes materialize. If the forums are filled with namecalling and vitriol, then that is unacceptable and should be subject to moderation. But we are better than that and are capable of intelligent discourse, and we may be able to learn a thing or two from each other.

In '97 I was changing jobs. I moved from Roseville, California to Pittsburg, California. I was driving my '93 Nissan pickup and bought my '94 Honda Prelude that year.

Drove by a few wrecks today. The first one had a Honda Pilot into the back of a Silverado, and there was also a smashed Civic on the side of the highway. The other wreck was a '70 to '73 Firebird into the back of a Honda Accord. The owner of the Firebird was looking forlornly at the front of his car, but it looked fixable.

Metallica

head

1975 was the first year for rectangular headlights. GM lobbied hard for the change in federal regulations. Consumer Reports at the time commented that it was a bad move for consumers because of the cost and complication of a new type of headlight. Sealed halogen headlights were allowed in 1978. They were optional on Cadillacs. Ford lobbied hard for aerodynamic, composite headlights, and they introduced them on the 1984 Lincoln Mark VII. Again, Consumer Reports said it was a bad move for consumers because of costly replacement.

The reality is that GM needs to sell more high-mileage vehicles, and dealers also want to have them to sell. It's going to be all about execution. If the cars are nothing but badgejob Chevies, then not much will be gained. But if they can be focused to target youthful buyers along the lines of Scions, the defunct Acura RSX, or Mazda3, then they can succeed. If people want GM to offer big RWD vehicles with big engines, they will have to be offset with desirable non-cookie-cutter small cars.

In the mid-70s, some family friends had a Bobcat as well as the full-boat Lincoln Continental, which was big enough to house a small family. The early Bobcats, of course, had the same design defect as the explosion-prone Pinto.

An Alfa 164. Haven't seen one in ages.

I haven't taken to the CTS Coupe like most others here. It reminds me too much of the Mercedes C-Class hatchback.

If Buick, Pontiac, and GMC are to remain tied together as a channel, one of them has to have the small, high-mileage vehicles, and it appears that Pontiac gets that role. This seems to preclude Pontiac from being discarded and displaced by Saturn.

old

At one time I respected McCain. He was principled and was the original type of conservative, not the right-wing, pandering neocon nutjob. It's hard to tell who and what he is now, but if you go by his pronouncements in the last year, he's more of Bush.

The Corsica also got new taillights. I just took a look at the new '09 Civic. Honda went pretty heavy-handed slathering on the chrome. As for the G6, at least there are some updates.

rips

I love the new Fit. Reminds me of Hondas of several generations ago before they got bloated. 117 hp should do quite nicely with the low weight. Discs all the way around would have been a great touch, but for the money, it's a great deal. The dash is a little messy-looking, but everything appears reachable.

The X is one of the most underrated, underappreciated vehicles. I like the functionality of the interior. Nice choice.

When Biden was being talked up a few weeks ago, I was a little incredulous. The guy has a loose mouth, and he often sticks his foot in it. But he can be the effective attack dog doing the dirty work in the election next to the nice guy Obama. I was kinda hoping for Hillary as a symbol of Democratic unity, but she's a lightning rod, and the Clintons generate so much controversy.

Great news. I can almost see myself in an ST with the 3.6. The only thing better would be a hybrid version.

I think GM has moved away from the spoke thing. Olds and GMC were 6-spoke. Cadillac 7-spoke, and Buick 8-spoke. I don't recall what Pontiac was.

In regards to hate crimes, I do think there are things that justify enhanced penalties. For instance, scrawling racist epithets on property goes beyond mere vandalism.

The idea of a CTS wagon is great, but I feel mixed about the design. Using the sedan's rear doors results in a messy C-pillar and makes the design look compromised. The D-pillar is overly thick. However, the size of the cargo area does seem to be a bit larger than expected.

This is a sad story all the way around. There's plenty of blame to spread around, but it's unfortunate that there would be a civil suit. The school allowing Mr. King to dress femininely should not be an issue, but sexual harassment should be an issue if it was knowingly allowed.

ice cream taster

It's a shame that this will not be brought here. As people downsize from SUVs, there should be more choices than just the CTS wagon in the GM stable.