GMTruckGuy74

FYI: "FCV" = Fuel Cell Vehicle; aka this:

cletus, I the '90-'93 Chevy 454SS! If I had the money, I'd try to get one. There's one in the local Auto Shopper magazine; it's garage-kept and has about 20k miles on it, but the asking price ($20k) is definitely not in my ballpark! Other than the whopping 10 MPG, did you like it? When I sold new cars back in '99-'00, the manager there downplayed the 454SS they once had, saying it wasn't as fast as he thought it would be (but he did like their Syclone better, so I can't fault him too much!).

Olds Guy is missing too... he was a good source of information on newly released GM diecast merchandise. I know that he previously posted that he felt he wasn't a part of the C&G community, to which I and a couple of others told him otherwise. I wonder what happened to WildManJoe? He was a big contributor to C&G. He was an even bigger truck fan than me. I hope all of the missing mentioned in the above posts make a return soon!

1957 Chevrolet 3124 Cameo Pickup:

Well, I come from a family that was split between GM and Ford cars as I was growing up (Ford cars on dad's side, GM cars on mom's side). My mom almost always had new GM cars, with the exception of one Ford Granada ('78 or '79 I think); I grew up with and learned to drive on her '83 Pontiac Grand Prix LJ. My dad pretty much bought cheap, used cars for his needs and they were either Fords or Dodges; in '88 my dad decided to go with a Ford Ranger pickup over the Chevy S10 or GMC S15 . I have always liked classic GM vehicles over any other make, and being that my mom's side of the family seemed to get a lot of new GM cars (my uncle was into leasing), I liked what they always had. By the late '80s my love for GM cars & trucks began. GM's rich history and their innovations and technologies always intrigued me. Starting in the late '80s, GMs misfotunates and the changing marketplace have not allowed GM to be on the forefront anymore, but the value you receive for petty much dependable and reliable products is what makes mego back. Helping local dealers that help a domestic corporation is a big plus for me too. The fact that I've only had minor issues to deal with rarely in my ownership of nothing but GM vehicles has proven to me that GM offers quality product. Just recently my wife considered other manufacturers (Ford, Volvo, Nissan) for her new car needs, but the value she received in a product that she loves (Pontiac G6) made it the deal she went with and we stayed with GM again. As for me, I know I'll look only within GM when my AURA lease expires 17 months from no (Nov '09). Hopefully if new innovation combined with fuel efficiency measures allows it, I'll be driving a new GMC pickup at that time.

I have recently found the following three 2008 First Edition releases from Hot Wheels: 1970 Pontiac GTO Convertible (maroon): 2008 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Concept (orange): 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (metallic blue): The Camaro Convertible I picked up at K-mart earlier this past week, and the GTO and Corvette I found at Wal-Mart yesterday. BTW, where has Olds Guy been? He usually makes these kinds of posts.

Man, if there was really a Buick or Oldsmobile version of the El Camino in 1970, I'd have to seriously consider buying one at some point in my life. Not that I don't like the look of the '70 Chevelle, but I've always preferred the other divisions a little more than Chevy.

A belated Happy Birthday wish to you all!

Cool book, and it's very thick. I bought this book at Borders too, about 2-3 months ago I think. P.S. - KC, I hope you don't mind that I moved this to the "GM Merchandise Lookout" thread; I think it's the appropriate place for it.

When's it leaving for it's new home? I'd love to take it for a spin myself before it goes (if it's not too late, that is). Feel like swinging by southern NJ with it??? :AH-HA_wink:

Well, the AURA is jealous of the G6 already because the G6 is being garage-kept while the AURA has to deal with the hot, bright sun during the day and the sprinkler system (not as bad as it seems) at night being parked in the driveway for the summer (the AURA' side is used to store the kids bikes and summer toys, which go back in the basement for storage during the fall & winter months). Until recently, it was the Envoy that had this duty since late spring. Yeah, I know about differening background scenery needs. There's the "driveway with garage doors" background <as seen above>, the "golf course" background (I live in a golf course housing development, yet I don't play golf!!), the "local school district athletic fields with flag pole" background, and the local "historical park brick wall" background. I've been using these backgrounds since I moved to this area four years ago. I'm always on the prowl for a new local shooting area. When we travel, I take the camera just in case I find a great spot to take a picture in I'll get some more in the other locations noted above over the weekend.

I took some pictures today: Here's the AURA and G6, side by side: A little "posing" of the two: And a patriotic version of the G6:

Well, it got it's first fill-up yesterday. It went 319.8 miles on one tank (she let it go to "E", even though I told her not to let it go below a quarter of a tank ) and took 14.614 gallons. The DIC stated 22.9 MPG AVG, though when you do the calculations I get that the first tank of gas gave us 21.8 MPG average. Not bad for a brand new car, and much better than the Envoy (averaging around 15-16 MPG, costing $15 more to fill up, and not going a full 300 miles before reaching empty). She is really enjoying and loves showing it off to everyone she knows. She even gave a co-worker a ride home (she usually takes the train), just to show off her new car! Our neighbors, who we're really close with and are Ford people, saw it yesterday for the first time and they really like it (Doug has owned many a Pontiac in his past, including his first car - a '69 Firebird 400 - before switching to Ford many years ago). It was dirty from Saturday's rain storm, dead bugs from the rural areas we live around and drive in, and of course the excess tire shine that the detailer put on that splattered on the body panels from the rain storm. So not only did it get it's first tank of gas from me last night, it also got it's first bath (although just a quick one). She said it looks so much better clean, so I guess that's her little hint for me to wash it more often :AH-HA_wink: I plan to wash and detail the car better this weekend, and if I have the time, give it a nice wax job. Then I'll take it out for some new pictures and post them here.

Well, if the Traverse will replace the Tahoe/Suburban for the time being with the current fuel price situation, then I guess the Denali XT becoming a Chevrolet would replace the Avalanche. I was talking to my wife about the possibility of GMC being closed down and she replied, "At least you'll still have the similar looking Chevrolet trucks to buy then". I guess she doesn't get it either (that GMC is much more than just a badge & grille change for me). In my opinion, I think GM should let GMC survive by being the sole truck division, this way Chevrolet can be the value leader in cars for GM, including being the innovator for new fuel technology models. With trucks forecasted to sell less now that fuel costs are increasing, the smaller GMC dealership base would be more than capable of handling the truck needs. Just my :twocents: , and I'll admit my bias towards GMC!

By the way, here's my current favorite pickup car:

I'm wondering if I have to wait to wax the wife's car? According to the factory sticker on the door jamb, the car was manufactured in June... should I wait a month or two? I know when you have a car painted (due to repairs or for whatever reason) they tell you to wait some specified amount of time so that the paint can cure correctly. I'd like to protect the paint ASAP if I can.

I like how you think!

Boy, that really saddens me. I really had my hopes out there that GM was going to make the GMC Truck line the innovators in the truck marketplace. However, I know you are always careful with your wording, and since you say that it has been withdrawn from GMC, can I be interpretting that to mean that maybe someone else (*cough* CHEVY *cough*) is getting it instead? Not that it makes me happy though if true

Cory, my condolences to you and your family on losing such a beloved woman. Hopefully she had a good life and lived every moment of it. She'll never be truly gone from you if you keep her memories alive. Always remember the good times you shared together and don't beat yourself over the last year having other obligations take you away; choices are what life is all about - some we make on our own, while others are necessary to make whether we want to or not. I know that your grandmother loved you and she will always be with you in spirit. I witnessed my mom's mother that I was extremely close with die of heart disease when I was age 10, my mom's brother that I shared a lot in common with die of complications from Polio & heart disease when I was 18, and my mom's sister (that was really a second mom to me) die from cancer when I was 29 (I'm 33 now just so you understand my point I'm about to make). While these people are no longer physically with me, and some have been for a long time, just about every day I think about the memories I shared with them and how much they meant to me in my lifetime before they were taken away. Let this be a lesson to all of you here fortunate enough to have the people you are close to still in your lives. Don't take them for granted; if you don't have the time to see them, MAKE the time somehow. My aunt's last year before cancer took her away was a difficult one for me, and as a result I couldn't see her much. So I made it a point to call her just about every day and talk, and when I could stop by, I did. I look back and wish I did it more often, but as human beings we always want more than what we can after the fact. Enjoy those you love while you can - you can't tell the future, and eventually memories are all that you'll have to cherish. Cory, Godspeed to you in dealing with the pain you are experiencing during this difficult time. You are not alone - as evidenced by all the posts here - feel free to call on any of us at any time if you need to talk.

I saw your other post already regarding the staining, and I am glad you mentioned that otherwise I would have waited until the weekend to clean her car. The first thing I thought when we saw the car before signing the papers was that they put way to much tire spray on it; of course the ride home in the rain made a mess out of that job. I told her to be home a little earlier tonight and to watch my younger son so I can give the car the bath it needs without interuption I have a spray can of tire spray with an adjustable nozzle (Meguire's Hot Tire shine). That should work okay still by spraying it on a cut-to-size sponge, right?

Congrats on finally bringing the new car home and already enjoying it. I see that myself with my wife when she's behind the wheel of her new G6. She was commenting to me today that she's very happy that she got the V6 model over the 4cyl, as it's peppy and spirited when driving on the highways to work. She's really enjoying her new Pontiac and that amazes me, as she really wanted the 2008 Saturn VUE and I thought she was just "settling" for the deal that was offered on the G6. I'm glad I am wrong and happy to have a thrilled Pontiac owner in my household. Oh, and congrats on finding a new loving home for the Caddy. From what you e-mailed me, it sounds as if it will be very happy and well-cared for with the new owner. And I'm sure you'll still be able to visit it when you want to. Go out there and enjoy the new car smell in the G6 while it lasts!