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I would normally advocate purchasing a new vehicle, Lord knows I've done it enough times unnecessarily (just wanted to), but if you still like your LeSabre, keep it, don't let their silence sway you toward doing what THEY want. It's your money, your car. I'd wait to hear from them at least until this afternoon, then I'd call or go over there to get an update. They need to SHOW YOU what's going on with your car.

A couple of handsome young men are due here in the next hour or so to install a new sliding door off my dining room onto my deck. They'd better not cancel on me. I have A/C cranking, they'll be halfway indoors to do the job.

Well I'm down herr in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Parked in front of Art School in town... a white Sunfire coupe with pink wheelcovers, mirrors, license plate frames... and... a giant, transparent pink dildo for a parking brake handle. Yes, the parking brake was "set"... SPROING. Plenty of excitement there I guess.

Looks very good there on Abbey Fields, Northie. Congratulations and best of luck with it.

White, circa 1980 RWD Seville in excellent condition. With oversized chrome rims, at a Latin-owned detail shop, parked next to a baby blue with dark blue vinyl top '74-ish Dart in fair condition. Maybe it's next for donking. '74-ish Dart in period brown with tan vinyl top, "FOR SALE".

I thought they were wicked cool when I sawr my first one at the Baltimore Auto Show. It was like 1990s meets 1950s, with that sleek bathtub body. Too bad it was criticized from so many corners at the time. You could tell the opened-up wheel arches of later model years were a rush job, because the wheel wasn't centered in the arch due to the dogleg area being a hard point GM didn't want to mess with. It looks a bit weird with the opened arches if you look closely. But I digress. That's a sweet '91. It would have been a good opportunity to bring back a Caprice coupe for another round. (It was dropped several years before, but brought back because of popular demand, anyone remember that, just like the true full-size Pontiac coming back as its Canadian sister?)

Who's this Grace chick and why are you trying to get rid of her?

I pulled in to the parking lot at LA Fitness this afternoon, and one of the counter chicks was coming out, arms outstretched... "wow it's GORGEOUS out here! I could just come out here and lay on the parking lot for the rest of the day. It's freezing in there!" I beg to differ. It was not "freezing" in there, it was warm. People were sweating. They were working out, for crying out loud. AND CAMINO, you will be amused to hear I put my window units in the other day. You can feel vindicated.

Went to LAF today for the first time. I think I'm going to like it there. The steam room was great and I think I'm gonna like the pool (didn't use it today yet). I stopped by PF this evening and cancelled. There is no pro-rated refund for this month's dues, but I could visit until my paid dues expire nex munt. The girl there at the counter said she went to LAF on a week pass and liked it, that she's supposed to discourage ppl from severing, but that she understands. I joined there in November, 2006, and have a recorded 577 visits (that doesn't count the many many times I walked in and didn't get checked because they were busy with other lunks). Yeah, as far as fine print, I can appreciate that. LAF says my dues are frozen for 3 years and there is no penalty for quitting at any time. I have it on paper.

Stopped to get gasoline last evening. Pulled away from the pumps and parked to get my change. Young black kid walks by and says "nice car", I said "thank ya". I look over... and he's driving a spotless '94-'96 Caprice, two-tone silver and maroon with giant chrome rims. My car was filthy with bugs and dust from travelling. I was like

cool jacket

Whoa, you joined a good while back. How's it been going lately?

Latest tank of gas was 41.6 MPG, with a theoretical range of 457 miles (it still showed "20 miles to empty" when I turned it off at the gas station). Pleasant. And gas is back up to $3.65 tonight here. That is with one trip back from Assateague, MD on Monday (I filled it when I got down there, 10 miles from the beach) and one round trip to Lehighton, PA today. I was running it part of the way with the A/C on both trips.

Make a list of interesting vehicles. Drive them all long enough to get a true impression and then buy your favorite that meets the criteria. Give us a short review of your adventures.

Ewww... coconut. Can bananas be susituted?

Reg, diesels are very low RPM engines. All diesels run out of steam in the higher revs. Their powuh is copious down low, however. Like the Jetter beferr it, the new Passat is genuinely nice and super utilitarian. I've gotta ask, did you go to the dealer as a little pudgy Darth Vader?

DREWBERT! Actually, I have posted a picture of myself, eons ago in the photos thread. To be honest, there are very few pictures of myself that I like. I have untagged so many on Facebook others have posted... HAHA, funny story. I went and signed up for LA Fitness this morning before heading to the campground for the day. They had to take my picture for my membership, and I said "oh no, me with a funny haircut forever in there." The 20-something chickie who was taking the photo said "no way! That's a cool haircut! It's a mohawk!" awkward pause...

The new Impreza will be hard to beat for those who dream of AWD but don't want to pay so dearly for it at the pump. I think Subaru's projected sales increase for the new model is very doable. I hope they come out with a butch version of the hatch, whether they continue to call it Outback Sport or not, that would be the one I'd want. I liked the jacked-up concept hatch they showed. If Albert prefers something a bit bigger, though, the Legacy is definitely a car I'd at least try before writing it off. At least it's assembled in the USA.

Whoa, thanks for the picture, Drew. I think I was wrong-o by one model year after looking at your clear photo, could "his" car be a 1970 instead? It appears the car in GMTG's photo has outboard parking lamps in the fenders and rounder front wheel arches. I knew it was a Ninety-Eight due to the roofline and the fender skirts. But I'm murky on exact model years around that time because for a couple of years there, GM B and C bodies didn't change much unless you're really discerning. EDIT: nope I went in the wrong direction. That is actually a 1968 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight. Thanks google!

My guess: 1969 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight. With giant rims.

Duuuude, be honest here. That SRX is something YOU'D love to have (and it's nice and all, but it has a high-maintenance N*)... but is it what Albert wants? It's his car.

Drewbert, look at these: Legacy - 186.4 inches long, 71.7 inches wide, and 59.3 inches tall Fusion - 190.6 inches long, 72.2 inches wide, and 56.9 inches tall. So, in conclusion, Subaru Legacy is smaller where it counts for maneuverability, but taller, too, which means it likely has a higher hip point for better visibility, more akin to his soon-to-be Cash 4 Clunked CR-V. He won't feel he's sitting too close to the road after being used to the Honda driving position.

You're right about that, SMaK. The Legacy wins hands down. You're getting something brand new with no one else's stinky butt (and all that implies, with accidents, maintenance, etc.) in the seat.

I've been a member of Planet Fitness since 2006. It's OK I guess. I mean, for $15/month, what do you want? A while back I was robbed there when a miscreant broke my puny lock and stole all the cash out of my wallet. Kinda put a chill on things. And before that I was growing ever more meh about the joint. So I stopped in to LA Fitness today and took the tour. Kid took me around and through the whole place. They have a pool (good exercise kickin' water around), a steam room (my sinuses are ruined, a sauna should help that), free classes, a free personal training session, and whatnot. But kid giving tour lost points when the first thing he said when I tole him I am a member at PF was "how do you like the color scheme over there?" (it's purple, yellow and black everywhere, I don't really care though). Then, after his borderline hard selling presentation, complete with a last-minute start-up fee and monthly dues price cut, he said "I wish Planet Fitness had never opened" (which tells me they must be losing members to PF, the cheaper gym). So, I usually go to gym after work. PF is on my way home, LAF is about 2 blocks north of my work, opposite direction from home. And even with the deal, it is still double what I'm paying at PF. The pool and sauna are nice and I'd use them, but I'm not sure I liked the semi-hard sell or the extra money every munt for membership. And besides spinning cycles, the equipment I'd use looks the same. Help me decide!