SAmadei

Well, if all that fails, Earl Scheib will paint any car for just...uh... oh, he's not doing that anymore...

It really burns me when companies like GM trademark names and don't use them. IMHO, if a trade name is not used on an available product, it should become available to the masses again.

Mayan civilization declined 500 years before the white guys showed up.

I can't wait to see Fullmoon97 try to drive 700 or 800 miles with that 260 mile range EV... In a gas (or CNG) vehicle, this is a 10~11 hour trip... in a EV, recharge times are going to turn this into a 2 day adventure. But that's what one can expect when people think that highly reactive lithium is just sitting on the surface of the earth, ready made to be poured into a battery box. As far as the Gas->CNG->Electric thing goes... I honestly do not feel EVs will be anything beyond short distance commuter vehicles... unless the market agrees on some way to swap out batteries at refueling stations.

Released in 1991, and was 10 million sold by 1995. The most sold since 2000 is about 4 million... which is the issue I'm concerned with. I'm not denying Metallica has not sold lots of albums, singles, tours, T-shirts, etc. Hell, I am a Metallica fan (mostly pre-Black). I just don't see how they can support their claim of second highest catalog sales since 2000. I accept that Metallica has sold 100 million albums... but I'd guessimate that 65-75 million of them were sold before 2000... leaving 25-35 million sold since... a number trounced by Nickelback and Eminem since 2000. Yeah, it is. It was a lot easier before 1995 when Billboard was the only obvious source. SoundScan, downloads and artists that have forgone the certification process have made it difficult.

No, the notchback Firebirds where made in 1988 as an option on GTAs. Rumor has it that a few '89 GTAs also got them. Production in '88 was something like 718. Only reason the '89 TTA is the fastest TA of all time is because the LS1 4th gens got governors. I'd also argue that the quickest is in doubt, as well, as LS1 4th gens could do a 4.7 sec 0-60... close enough to the 4.6 sec 0-60 claim of the '89. Granted, the 4th gens are slightly heavier, but the extra power of the LS1 should have made it quicker in capable hands if optioned right, IMHO.

And neither is AC/DC, U2, Pink Floyd (back when they still toured before Wright died), Rolling Stones, the Eagles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_concert_tours Metallica shows up in the top 40 list once... at 18th. Bon Jovi is on the list 4 times since 2000. U2 as, well... but two of those tours blow Metallica away, with #1 and #5 ranking. Rolling Stones are on the list 4 times ahead of Metallica. 3.5 million, 5 million... they need to have sold 81 million to beat out Eminem... speaking of which... http://music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart-watch/chart-watch-extra-the-top-20-album-sellers-of-the-2000s.html While these numbers in the article seem very low (perhaps US only, or SoundScan tracked only), according to the article, Eminem outsold the Beatles since 2000... and Linkin Park, Nickelback and Creed have outsold Metallica... who comes in at a weak 14th ranking. Wow... against bands like Mastodon and Anthrax. And only because it drags in wannabe metalheads who want to hear Metallica's post-'91 pop-metal. Metallica won't be headlining a tour over AC/DC, Nickelback or even Bon Jovi anytime soon.

Ah, I thought it was a bolt on the other side of the firewall. You would be surprised the tight areas you can get into once you get used to it... but you would need to use a shielding gas to reduce splatter (Cheapo MIG isn't gas ready). I'm not sure I'd MIG in the interior yet without a lot of precautions.

Please quote a source. I find it really hard to believe that Metallica has moved that much product in the last 14 years... or that even the Beatles catalog sales in the last 14 years is number one. In fact, I'd say Micheal Jackson's Catalog sales have trounced both when he died and nearly every album reentered the charts. Mission Metallica Video number 1 (it's now on YouTube) Lets have a unbiased source, not a Metallica commercial, which is still using the 100 million figure, instead of the true certified value of 81 million. Since 2000, Metallica has had two studio albums... both did 2x platinum in the US... Guessitmating worldwise sales, they probably did 3.5 million copies apiece (foreign "platinum" sales are far shy of 1 million... something like 80K in Canada, for example.)... which means people bought at least 43 million copies of the older albums since 2000? This would be to JUST outsell Nickelback... who virtually didn't exist before 2000... and have sold about 50 million albums now.assuming that 43 million is split equally among their 7 studio albums, thats 6 million in sales... or 500K per year since 2000. This would have forced the albums back on to the Billboard top 200... kind of like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, which spent 19 or so years on the top 200. But they haven't. Eminem has sold 86 millions albums since 1999... lets assume 6 million of them where all sold in 1999... that would mean for Metallica to outsell Eminem since 2000, they would only have 19 million in sales before 2000 (81 million since 2000). Simply not possible... I recall "Metallica" (the black album) being certified 10x platinum, "Master of Puppets" being 5x and "...And Justice for all" being at least 5x... back in the early '90s. That video is probably lying propaganda some short sighted PR person came up with. That said, I could see Metallica in the top 8... but the bottom line is some of these old catalogs sell a lot of albums. Mostly because that's where the good music is.

Even the front pillars are huge... and you sit so close to them in some cases, that forced perspective makes them look bigger. Include 5" of factory tiny at the top of the windshield, a HUGE rearview mirror and the tiny side windows... even driving forward is a safety hazard in modern cars, unless you a 5" even.

I really hate the front bumper fascia on the high end Camaros... those scoops look like something from the JC Whitney catalog.... from the "Sport Compact" dept.

Hightemp spray paint. I think my problem was two-fold. I don't think teh surface was as well prepped as it should have been, and that high-temp enamel is probably not ideal for plastic. That's a plastic intake?!? Looked like alloy in the photo... but I didn't look too hard. Some of those high-temp enamels require high temps to cure properly... and no intake is going to get hot enough. If the plastic is able to be scuffed, I would prime it and hit it with regular enamel. Not sure I'd DIY powder coat plastic. Ugh. This is where you need the Harbor Freight $99 MIG (sometimes on sale for $89)... that's about 6~7 extractor kits. I don't use the extractor kits anymore, as they almost ALWAYS break and make the problem worse. Using the MIG to build up bolts has been great... plus the high heat shrinks the threaded part, so many times they come out finger loose.

The problem with the recharge cans is that they contain oils and sealer... the R134A (or R12) will escape the system and leave the rest behind... and there is not a lot of volume in modern systems, anyway, so you can only top off a system a couple times before you really need to evacuate the whole system and start new.

Pretty much my range, as well... 1959 - 1974, with a secondary range of 1955 - 1958, 1975-1988, 1989-2009 for B-bods, H-bods, F-bods, GTOs, Kappas and G8s, pre-2004 Grand Prixes.

1958 was IMHO not the greatest year for styling... too gaudy for me... disappointing compared to the 1957 and 1959 offerings. Not as bad as 1960, though... and, of course, all of this is relative, as the entire era is eons better than the current offerings.

No way its been in the street for 10 years. In NJ, any vehicle on the street for more than 48 hours is technically abandoned, and has 48 hours to be moved or towed. Anybody in that neighborhood squawks and it gets a big red "move it or lose it" notice. Plus, the ground under that car would have a dirt square under it... and likely rust stains. By its appearance, I also doubt it was left outside with the top down, but I'm less sure of that.

Next refresh with be retro based on the 1983 Camaro. ;-) It will be 9 foot high, but drivers will be limited to a height of 5'10".

Did you spray paint it or try a DIY powder coating on the intake?

Looks like the Caprice right now.

You must have a vet that does house calls? My pets only travel to the vet... and maybe to a park one or twice a year. I have a giant dog carrier and a cat carrier. Neither is a seatbelt and would come under this vague, misguided reading of the 4:22-18 law.

Not a Smart... too much sheetmetal and wrong wheels.

Well, this is a problem, as an awful lot of CNG conversion parts are being sold in this country. The EPA should either enforce it or let the end user have a certain amount of leeway, provided the sniffer test is happy. Do these use a tank? I like the idea of having an extra tank that is already filled at 1/2 gallon an hour... ready for a quicker fill up if needed.

I've noticed that certain members have renamed themselves from time to time... but I can't seem to figure out where to do it. Is this disabled for some users?

As it turns out, the law in question, 4:22-18, as not been changed since 2001, and the Col. Frank Rizzo seems to be misguided. He may be the police superintendent for the NJ SPCA... whatever that is... but in the end, the law, as written, does not mention anything about belts, and is overly vague. Reading about this elsewhere, the feeling is that this would not stand up in court.

Just when I thought the XTS could not sound worse...