ocnblu

On my trip to Maryland today, I got to listen to my favorite radio station, and I learned that they're now online, streaming audio. I love the music so much, I'd move back down there just to be able to listen all the time. It's WHFS, 105.7. Insane? Give it a listen: http://1057freefm.com/

Sadly, like a lot of families, mine kind of split in two after my grandparents died. My uncle and aunt got the family farm in the estate settlement. This has been a source of deep friction ever since between my uncle and his sisters (one of which is my mom.) I lived there from 1971 to 1997. When I finally moved out, I left a lot of things where they lay. I haven't been back since. Until today. I called my uncle and asked if I could go visit and take some of my things. He said "sure", so I jumped in the truck and headed south. How can you go home again? Time that has passed came rushing back to shore, to deposit the seashells of my childhood. I picked them up, one by one, and held them to my ear. Oh, I was a car geek. I kept every looseleaf sheet of paper I ever wrote on, describing the new car I wanted at the moment. Everything from an '80 Malibu coupe with every performance option, to a Dodge Mirada CMX, to an '80 Sunbird with a 3.8. I have magazines... Car&Driver and Motor Trend, mostly. I have sales brochures... mostly GM, a few Mopar. I completely forgot about the Plymouth Sapporo until today (proof that the mind protects us from traumatizing events.) The 1980 Oldsmobile small car brochure mentions the 4-4-2 package as an option on the Cutlass Salon, but never shows a picture of it. How sad. I have many drawings of cars and other "artwork". And a rocking chair that belonged to my beloved grandfather. These things are all a part of me. It was quite a day, all in all. Aunt and uncle are showing signs of age. Time passes. I will need to make several more trips to bring everything here, to sort through it. I may need to rent some space at Carlisle to sell some of these magazines and brochures. Sorry to treat the lounge as my own personal blog, but this place is like my home on the net, so I thought I'd share what I'm feeling on this day.

I went to Maryland today to visit my aunt and uncle. They live on the farm I grew up on. I noticed their daughter's old '91 (?) light metallic blue 240SX hatchback sitting down by the woods, surrounded by tall weeds. My aunt drove it after my cousin moved on to other vehicles. Last I knew, it had 200k miles on it.

Oh... despite VW's best efforts, kids are still trying to capture that old spirit... saw a new Jetta Value Edition with no wheel covers... just bare, black steel wheels, driven by a college age kid with a backwards baseball cap. Now, I ask you, how does that look mesh with that big chrome tongue sticking out in the front?

Well, I never said I was smarter, I'm just trying to help you reach your goal of owning a shiny new '92 Datsun 240 something or other.

Honestly... the trucks look like rebodied VW Kombis, and the coupe has vents below the rear bumper... a rebodied VW Type 1? In trying to decipher the text... does it say "air cooled 1.6L"? Sounds an awful lot like a VW to me.

In those days, "Ninety Eight" could have easily been the trunk capacity. Sweet!

I think it's "I can't do this anymore", but I could be wong (sp?). Perhaps another visit to the cinema will help me answer your question.

'61 Continental sedan, weathered aqua paint, a couple of minor dents, parked at an old garage in North East, MD, patiently awaiting restoration.

Kappa definitely needs to be expanded upon, at least for Pontiac and Chevrolet. Pontiac definitely needs to be a RWD car company, with AWD available for pussies. That's right, I said it. Aveo should be the only all-FWD car available. The ship has sailed, people. FWD has been slammed in our faces for 25 years... it is a failed experiment. The chassis cannot be made to feel as good to drive as a RWD chassis.... SORRY. You will never see a Citation, Cavalier, Celebrity, Corsica, Beretta, Lumina, FWD Monte Carlo, FWD Impala or Malibu at a classic car show because, bottom line... they are just not loved to anywhere near the same extent their RWD counterparts are. They are throwaway cars, plain and simple. Can you imagine the sensation a RWD Cobalt SS/SC would cause? A RWD G6 GTP with the very same engines available on the current car? Lesser models would be pulled ahead with the higher-profile "performance" versions to enhance the whole line. Enthusiasts can lead the way back to RWD, all others would be brought ahead with us. People don't know what they're missing. Any restriction on LX sales could be attributed to a lagging reputation for Chrysler quality (which, at this point is over, from long term test results in all the car mags), or styling, which is subjective. GM has a much better quality reputation, plus a much larger, dormant loyalty base. A GM RWD counterpart to Chrysler's LX, plus smaller RWD offerings, would work to bring GM out of her malaise and back into the spotlight in a hurry.

mute, is this a video game to which you are referring?

That's it, I'm listing my truck with Barret-Jackson.

Viper, snap out of it. It will have to be fixed before it will sell, sir. Spend the money to take it to a repair shop, then you'll get your money out of it. Until then, it's a green lump in the yard. Then you can get your Datsun or whatever. :AH-HA_wink:

Personally, I like to steer clear of cults.

Josh, everything'll be ok. I'm sure Harry will let you borrow his walker.

Hey Matt, have you seen the "Smart 70 mph into a wall" video that's making the rounds? That little sucker was amazingly intact... both doors still opened! I saw a new SAAB Sport Kombi (sp?) in medium blue. Looks good. I also went dealer hopping yesterday. I went all the way to York (eh, about 30 miles) to see a truck that was showing in their inventory... but it wasn't there, dammit, so I looked at all the other Chevies. I saw my first Laser Blue Cobalt. I like the color (it was a four door though). They have a Maxx SS in that color too. I like the concept of the Maxx, but that blocky front end has lost me. The HHRs are still cool. They have a black MC SS, loaded except it had the painted wheels. The polished wheels look much nicer, so ehh. They also have a couple of new Tahoes, an LT and an LS with a bench seat. The LS really looks plain with the little wheels and black trim. Oh well, everyone should buy LTs and LTZs anyway, right? The Pontiac/Buick/GMC dealer has 4 G6 coupes. They're cool. A salesdude came rushing out. He looked disappointed when I told him I was only kicking tires.

bobo, see it again. There are some things I picked up in repeated viewings that tied up loose ends, bringing the whole thing together. The shirt thing really blew me away, so tender.

TR has BLUE EYES! :AH-HA_wink:

GMTruckGuy posted the dates above... Feb 4-12, according to his calculations.

Hmmm... that reminds me, I might be able to gank a free ticket as well... after all, I do work at a dealership. Duh, why din't I think of this sooner? Sure, B&BL, I'll try to meet up with you guys if that's ok. Anyone else? I'm kind of a last minute kind of guy, so there's plenty of time left.

It's bland. It needs ground effects and a nice wing.

Vote for Pedro. :AH-HA_wink:

I'm at a loss for why Ford thinks it's not worth it to give Mercury more of its own identity these days. Sameness breeds boredom, and Ford division's much larger dealer network almost guarantees Mercury will get lost in the shuffle.

I really like the last-gen GP coupes. The 3800 is a lively engine, supercharged or not, very economical and longlived. I am sure there are many more out there with lower mileage with nice, low price tags.

The idea was a noble one, it's what we've done with it that made it veer off. Does anyone want to set us back on course?