A Horse With No Name

You know firsthand exactly what I am talking about. Chris

IMHO Honda/Acura has lost their way and I can't say that I find a single car in the lineup I want in my driveway. Used to like the Civic SI...but Balthazar, Oldsmoboi, Carbiz, et al...had some good critiques of it. Chris

Actually feature for feature, best small cars IMHO would be the Mazda 3 (ugly in it's new variant) Focus (Ugly) Civic (two GM dustbuster vans had illicit sex and the Civic is the aborted offspring) Cobalt (better looking but crude). Owning or renting near work and taking a damned bus has never looked so good. Chris

The TT is a wonderfully creative car...... Chris

...oh...and not having any kind of an energy policy has led to a weak dollar, because of the amount of cash we have shoveled into the Saudi's...those nice close friends of the Bush family. Off my soapbox before I get the rage of Oldsmoboi... Government debt...hmm...reagan...bush 41....bush 43....hmmm... Chris

I blame that utter arch dumb f@#k Reagan for a lot of our current problems, actually. Bush put Reagan's economic ideas into action and we have the worst economy since the depression. If Republicans actually were fiscally responsible and really did bring smaller government...I would vote Republican. I have NO problem with the idea of free enterprise and small government (depending on what you mean by small government). I have a LOT of problems with our current Republican party. ...and Small Government could be to blame...if you look at the lack of regulation in the financial industry that led to the utter cluster f@#k we have now. Off my soap box and back to Pontiacs. Chris

...love the Impala...but don't like the sound of "my last two Pontiacs" Chris

Thanks for the pics...don't forget you owe us pics when the Camaro shows up in a few years... Chris

Actually this should "clean up" much quicker than the partial nationalization of railroads under Conrail, methinks. It will still however be painful. Chris

No, it isn't.... I think that people who expect things to turn around anytime soon are dreaming. Chris

Looks good, DF! Chris

...I like seeing you excited about the car! The exhaust thing seems like it will be a nice upgrade...the 3.5 should sound good with that. Chris

That twilight shot of the rear where your neighbors front lights are on is nice...as is the interior shot with the interior lights on. Chris

Sadly, a lot of good dealers will bite the bullet...including the Chryco dealer where my father in law had his minivan fixed when he visited. Chris

Interesting, thanks! Chris

Hispanics drive a high percentage of imported cars, as do Asians, etc. LOTS of market potential for the D3 should they choose to be lean, mean and agressive. I wouldn't write them off just yet, esp. Ford. Chris

Well written piece. Need to get back to some better thinking. Chris

I am thinking that the fundamentals... weak $, (yes I know it helps exports but we need it to buy things like petro) Peak Oil, level of government debt, continued off shoring of jobs...these are structural problems that we will have to face. Not a complete pessimist. Just thinking a LOT of people are out of work right now. But there is tremendous strength in free markets to get things together.... Chris

It would be nice if they could get their act together. GREAT product... We have a Buckeye Miata Club member that brings an S4 Audi out to our local Autocrosses to run. I've ridden along in that car...it will turn as good as it looks. Chris

Me to. A beer once in awhile....or a glass of wine. Last time I was drunk...I was 17. Chris

Worse yet, the roster of talent will be gone from GM. People who bitch about what people in automotive plants make for a living will see a little bit of reality when we are trying to build domestic auto's with $9.00 an hour monkey labor. ...and when the dollar takes a big dump, domestic will be all we can afford, as the conversion rate with the Yen and the Euro will make shiping anything here from elsewhere unprofitable. Unless we are talking about China... Chris

I love VW product, this is the #1 reason I don't have a VW in my garage right now. Over in the TDIclub forums, one of the first things they tell new TDI owners is to never take their car to a dealer, even for warranty service or an oil change. From everything I hear, VW's dealer network is really that bad. Chris

Road America is a great track...plenty of Other Healy's at Mid O. Chris

...honestly, I don't think ANYONE is safe in this mess. Chris

I had a two door Dodge Omni like that. Brings back memories..thanks! And they did build a "Duster" in that bodystyle. Chris