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RichW5

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Everything posted by RichW5

  1. Have to see a better picture before I make a final judgement, but the 3/4 view looks pretty good. Unfortunately the front grill crossbar is a little too thick. It would look better if it was reduced to half it's size. Just my 2 cents.
  2. Santa and his sleigh operate in the fourth dimension (also the fifth and sixth). He actually spends about an hour at each stop, placing toys and eating cookies while enjoying a glass of milk (or the local beverage of choice). The sleigh operates similar to a "Tardis" (Doctor Who helped in the design). All this activity takes place in less than one millionth of a second (normal time) and travel between stops is by Bergenholm warp generators. This will be the last year for the current sleigh, as the new "NorthStar V Sleigh" will be delivered sometime in June of 2007 (spy photos will be posted in March). So be good cause Santa Claus is comming to town.
  3. I lied about taking the CTS out in the snow. Had to go to the post office with a couple of bills and the mail truck wasn't going to get up our street until late in the day. I slid round most corners, since they got some of the snow off the road, just not the ice underneath. The "TG (raction control) engaged" warning kept lighting up, but it was kind of fun. The snow finally stopped, but we're due for a hard freeze tonight, so any ice on the road will be "black ice".
  4. We had 6 to 12 inches (depending on the wind) on our driveway this morning. The wife took the Trailblazer to work this morning, as the CTS probably wouldn't have made it out of the driveway, much less down the street. I love my CTS, but FWD or AWD is much better in this kind of weather. I cleaned my driveway and three others (for neighbors) by noon and quit for the day. That should get me some cookies or a dinner from their wives. Unfortunately, one neighbor will bring egg rolls that are a little too greasy, still it's the thought behind it.
  5. What's wrong with that, it's real life. On a cruise last month, I moved around two women in the buffet line, who were discussing their cruise bill. The line had moved way past them and I wanted some scrambled eggs. When one woman saw me go around her, she tried to stop me and preceeded to call me a "MF" at least 10 or 12 times. Then she followed me back to my table and called me a "Honkey MF" another 10 times. Since I didn't want to pull a "Kramer", I just said that I thought they were reading their bill and I wanted to get my breakfast before we had to get off the ship. She called me a "MF" a few more times and finally left. Rodney King said something about, "Can't we just get along". Apparently, this woman this woman didn't want to.
  6. I heard the first knife was sold to Edward Scissorhands, but unfortunately, both he and the knife were confiscated by the TSA at LAX airport!
  7. Reg is 99% correct here. I would bring the BLS into the NA market and keep it in the numbers suggested by Reg. The NG CTS needs to be almost perfect and should be upgraded/redesigned/refined more often (every three model years). I would switch the DTS and STS and make the STS more exclusive (with outstanding styling), sized similar to Reg's suggestion, but with every available option. It must have GM's second best interior, with the best going to the limited production ULS/Cadillac16. XLR styling is nice, but it doesn't excite me or apparently many buyers. Go back to the drawing board and give us someting stunning. I have to comment on my 03 CTS. It has been an outstanding driver and still looks good. There have been no major problems and only a few small one's. Those were quickly fixed by our dealer. I wish it had the 3.6L engine, but the 3.2L has been a great performer and is extremely reliable. I didn't like the interior at first, but got used to it and it feels like an airplane cockpit when my wife lets me drive it. Four of our friends or neighbors have bought a CTS because of us. They are all happy with their CTS, so I feel good about my decision to buy it in May of 03.
  8. Great pics! I loved the Stude, Olds and the Packard. I hope to find the "right" 50's car to fix up for my grandson in the next two years. He's 5 now and I figure it'll be a project car to us to do together as he grows up.
  9. Removing the S-VHS cable and replacing the old component cables (red, white and yellow) worked. Now both decks play DVD's and VHS tapes. Reg - The Samsung instruction book warns that leaving the TV in 4:3 mode for more than 2 hours may cause an image to be burned into the screen. So I guess it doesn't have burn-in protection. The LCD is actually clearer viewing normal TV programs, Plasma is really great in digital and HD.
  10. Thanks, I had it that way before I switched TV's and one worked (both VHS and DVD) and the other only worked on DVD. I'll pick up a good quality audio (red/white) cable and a similar video (yellow) tomorrow. It won't hurt to try it again. The connection diagrams from the cable box, DVD/VHS and TV really suck.
  11. My old Mitsubishi 35" (upstairs family room) quit in late July, so I needed a second TV three weeks after getting the Sharp LCD for the basement rec room. My wife's sister and her husband were coming for a visit and we needed a TV upstairs. I finally bought a 42" Samsung Plasma at Best Buy. I wanted a Pioneer, but the Samsung (all black frame around the picture) looked much better in our family room. I asked for a deal price, since I had just bought the Sharp and they gave me an extra $200 off the sale price. A 42" set works fine for us as most seating is about 12 feet from the TV. 50" would be too big for our family room. Since the relatives were coming, I thought I'd speed up delivery of the digital cable box by going to the Comcast store and picking one up. BIG MISTAKE. When I couldn't get it to work, I called Comcast and got an installer to come out. He turned the cable box over and showed me the "Defective Box" sticker on the bottom, THANKS COMCAST! Then he hooked up a good cable box and said he would get Comcast to credit me for the missing days of service. They did. The Samsung is great, better than the LCD for general viewing. The LCD is better for my Grandson's movies (Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, etc.). I still can't get the VHS side of my tape decks to play on either set, while the DVD side works. I'm using audio cables and a S-VHS connector on both TV's. I don't know what's wrong. Since I'm retired, buying two TV's at the same time put a nice dent in my savings, but what the heck. I just have to drive the 03' CTS another year longer.
  12. I'll give it a 4 for now. I need to see it in person to give it a 5! I love the red leather, something GM should get back to .... color matched interiors. There are only a few nit picky items I can see from the pictures and they may be resolved on the production models. If the Trailblazer wasn't so new (04 model) and retirement income wasn't so limited ... the Acadia would be in my garage this fall.
  13. I bought a 32" Sharp LCD TV at Best Buy yesterday. It was $1200 and included a $100 rebate on upgrading to Comcast digital TV. I liked the looks of a Sony and a Samsung better, but the Sharp picture was just as good and was $300 less than the Samsung and $600 less than the Sony. The setup was real easy and I picked up some digital signals (high def) I didn't know I had on my cable. The remote has so many buttons it'll take a while to figure them out, but I watched one of the wide screen movies I've been buying lately (Mr 3000) and it was pretty good. I can see that I'll need a 42" to 50" for the family room. Still don't know if Plasma or LCD is best. The more I talk to the sales people at Best Buy or Circuit City, the more confused I get. I'm going up to Oshkosh, Wi today, to do some prep work for the big airshow at the end of the month, so my wife and her nephew will get to really use the new TV before me. It should be interesting since she hates remotes more than anyone else I know. I'll probably have to reprogram the TV when I get home Sunday.
  14. This topic drives me nuts! Our 35" Mitsubishi (family room) is 17 years old and on it's last legs. My step-son took his 32" Mitsubishi out of our basement (family room) when he moved out about a month ago. (The move was a win, the TV was a loss.) So now I need two TV's. Sam's club has some nice 32" LCD's and 42" Plasma's. Best buy has the 42" Pioneer I want, but it's at least $1K more than a 42" Panasonic. The more I look, the more confused I get. Plasma was the best about a year ago, with darker blacks, but it had some burn-in problems. LCD's blurred fast moving objects and didn't have the deep blacks of plasma. Now the Best buy people tell me that both problems have been corrected. I'll probably get a 32" or 37" LCD for the basement and a 42" or 50" plasma for the family room. AT Sam's I have to pay cash, best buy has a 18 month, no interest deal if you get a best buy credit card. In addition, my wife's nephew is in the hospital and will come to stay with us for a week (basement), so my wife has given me orders to get the basement TV by Friday. What shall I do? Have fun Reg, your choice may be the easiest.
  15. I was a little disappointed this weekend, only averaged 19.8 mpg (624 miles roundtrip) on the Trailblazer. It was mostly highway/country driving with strong winds and the air conditioner turned on during the whole trip. Drove through the worst rain I've ever seen, between Danville and Champaign, IL on Sunday. I couldn't see more than 50 feet in front of me at times, crawling at 45 to 50 mph, but just put the Trailblazer into 4wd and kept on going. Despite the storm and lots of cop cars between Champaign and Chicago. I still made the trip from Vincennes, IN to the western Chicago suburbs in 4 1/2 hours. Last time I made this trip (no air conditioning), I averaged just under 22 mpg.
  16. While I can understand the reason for the downturn in midsize SUV sales (gas prices), our 04 Trailblazer has turned out to be a great and useful vehicle. I've used it to haul cabinets for the bar I built in the basement, plants for our landscaping and help to move friends and relatives. The money I saved on delivery charges has paid for many tank fulls of gas. The Trailblazer is currently getting about 16 - 18 mpg (suburban driving) on 87 octane fuel. It replaced a '99 STS that was getting 17 - 19 mpg for the same suburban driving, on premium fuel. Going down to Southern Illinois this weekend (700 mile round trip) and I expect to get 22 - 25 mpg on the highway. It should average 22 mpg for the trip. As GM produces more direct injection, six speed tranmissions and DOD engines (better gas mileage), the sales numbers of SUV's should stabilize or go up slightly, based on the versitility of the vehicles. The best reason for owning the Trailblazer is my 5 year old grandson. He always wants to ride in Papa's black car. It's the command seating. He sits up high where he can see everything.
  17. "Hating" takes too much of an effort. I'm just disappointed. It seems to me that GM has lost that design (styling) genius that they had in the 50's and 60's. Don't any of these people drive cars? Interiors, dashes in particular, should be designed by people that drive for the love of driving. Every control should be at the drivers finger tips and gages should be easily viewable with a slight turn of the drivers head. I don't see that in a lot of GM vehicles and it's a real shame.
  18. I'd probably go for one of the Fords ....... Aston Martin Jaguar Land Rover Volvo Or, I'd buy a 1960 Buick convertible and take it to a "hot rod shop" and have it updated with a crate "Northstar" engine, "Brembo" brakes and an updated suspension.
  19. Where shall I start? That stupid looking clock was stolen from some 1930's vehicle. The center pod shape may be more pleasing, but the NAV screen is lower, which makes it harder to use (you have to take your eyes off the road). GM must still have some interior designers who were trained at the "School for the Blind". Other than that it's just average. They should have used the Next Gen CTS dash. It's a lot classier than what I've seen here.
  20. My wife's CTS (3.2L) is averaging about 24mpg per fillup. She drives 70% expressway 30% suburban, but travels during rush hour (lots of traffic jams). My Trailblazer is getting 16.5 mpg suburban driving and about 23 - 25 mpg highway. Taking a trip (600 miles roundtrip) to southern Illinois this weekend, so I'll check the highway mileage out again. The Trailblazer mileage has dropped about 1 mpg the last 2 weeks, so I don't know if it's the gas/ethanol mix or the brand of gas I'm using.
  21. Personally, I think the CEO pay of many large corporations is way out of line with their job performance. However, if we apply this principle to CEO's, we should also apply it to sports stars with 60 or 100 million dollar contracts and movie stars, who make 20 million plus per picture. Most of those pictures stink anyway. How about politicians, who retire from living off the tax payer, and write a book for millions of dollars. What's the solution ....... tax the super rich, while eliminating the tax loopholes they use to keep most of their income. It'll never pass, because the super rich buy the politicians, who write the tax laws.
  22. BINGO! One of the reasons for buying a Cadillac has always been interior room and luxury. Cadillac seems to have forgotten both. While I love driving our CTS, it's sorely lacking interior room, when we drive with our grandson (car seat) or friends. Most STS reviews I've read complain about back seat leg room. While the CTS styling has been state of the art (and science) and should morf to a great looking vehicle in the next gen, the STS is BORING! The last gen FWD STS, which I owned, was boring, still, the interior was luxurious and comfortable and it was a great road car. Evok's solution should work for Cadillac. I would still keep the STS name. I hate DTS because it sounds like you've got the DT's. How about an STS (198" - 200" long) and an STS Brougham (204" - 207"). The STS Brougham should have every available option as standard equipment and an interior that is equal to the best from Mercedes, BMW and Audi. The only option should be AWD, for drivers in the snow belt.
  23. Chances are that GM will under rate this engine, due to the gas/fuel price crisis, whether it's actual or perceved. The CTS version should be rated at 295 hp, with 300 in the STS and SRX. 275 HP sounds about right for the Outlook and other future uses of this engine. It would also allow GM to raise their corporate CAFE, by selling more V6's. It also gives GM room for future HP increases if the competition gets tough.
  24. Let me see ..... The Mexican government has allowed it's military to cross the border into the US, many times in the past year. The Mexican government has issued maps to the illegals crossing the border. The Mexican government policy on illegals coming into their country is extremely harsh. The Mexican government has allowed drug lords to control the Mexican border and take over Nuevo Laredo. The Mexican government has allowed Mexico city to become the most polluted city in the world. The Mexican government racially discriminates against the "indian" population of some of it's provences. Now they want to sue the US for patroling our own border .... on our side of the border. Something is really wrong here ... and neither the Republicans or the Democrats are willing to do something about it. The're too busy trying to get an amendment allowing illegals to vote.
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