RichW5

There may be an F-14 at Oshkosh in July. Check out www.eaa.org for an air show near you. Click on "Major & Regional fly-ins" near the top of the page. Also, the Navy removes engines and weapons from all aircraft donated to museums. None, that I know of, are sold to civilians. I think they're afraid of another 911. Our museum in Bollingbrook, Illinois, got a beautiful T-2 Trainer about 2 years ago and we restored it. Engines were removed and fuel and some electrical lines were cut. It looks better now, than when it was flying.

I didn't mean to be so cryptic. Putin was once the head of the KGB. He is now president of Russia, as Enzora said, and hates us for the breakup of the Soviet Union. He is a "behind the scenes player" in the UN Oil for food scandal and the Iran nuclear energy (or weapons) scandal. It's all part of the old cold war, where we armed one Arab country and they armed another.

Sorry Fly! I'm a liitle goofy today. Attended an EAA meeting last night, where the speaker was a B-17 pilot with 40 missions over Europe in WWII. He was a little confused and suffering from his age. His navigator was Henry Bloch, the founder of H&R Block. It's kind of sad to see these flyers, who were once young men just like you and most of the posters, become old men. Still, he was a dentist for 40 years and built 3 homebuilt airplanes in his garage. I do love airplanes as much as I love cars. Will be down your way on Thursday. Going to Ocala on Friday, the back to Clearwater on Monday or Tuesday. If Marie spares me a few minutes, I'll give you a call. Rich

Congrats to you, Dsuupr. You've listed all the rules for financial success. However, my two stepsons couldn't or wouldn't follow a single one. They believe that they should have the best of everything, even if their mother (my wife) has to work overtime to pay for it. It's more important for them to sit in front of a computer and play games until 3am, and smoke weed, than it is to find more work. The 28 year old has a basement refinishing business. He could easily make $100K a year if he ran his business like a business. He's currently paying his brother, who was laid off, more than he should, along with some deadbeat friends. The basement he just started is a $60K job and if he priced it right, he should make $15-20K on that basement alone. Normally, he's working two or three basements at one time, with the average price of $30K. Each basement takes about 3 months. His problem is that he spends all of his profits on "stuff" and friends instead of putting a portion of the profit back into the business. The 34 year old, just bought a new ($300K) house in Plano, IL. His wife makes $38K a year as an assistant manager of a bank and he gets paid too much, on the side by his brother. He won't work weekends. They have an 3 year old F-250 gas hog and a year old Mustang GT, too many guns, 6 guitars and 4 ($2K) pool cues. Needless to say, mommy had to help with the down payment on the house. His wife will be going back to school this fall, because she knows she needs a degree to become bank manager. He could easily pick up $100 to $200 a weekend doing side jobs. No...... he has to have his gaming and his weed. There are jobs, or businesses out there, but people may have to move, learn to manage their money better or go back to school. Above all LUCK or networking helps.

There was an interesting article in the news this morning. Serbian War criminal "General Ratko Mladic" may have been captured and transferred to the Netherlands to be tried for his war crimes. He has been on the loose since the early 1990's and the Serb/Bosnian/Croatian wars, much longer than Bin Laden. The story is an example of how hard it is to find someone, whether it's Mladic or Bin Laden. They both are/were hiding in areas where the people support them and Mladic was hiding in Serbia, a much area than where Bin Laden is hiding. Bin Laden is rumored to be hiding in Northern Afganistan or Pakistan, among the mountain tribes. Since I don't believe in discussing politics or religion, I will say that both Democratic and Republican administrations have failed to find either man. It's like finding the proverbial "needle in a haystack". Besides, the real danger is not Bin Laden, but the increasing radicalization of the Muslim religion, by people who hate our support of Israel and our western lifestyle. I wouldn't worry about Bin Laden, I would worry about the President of Iran, Seria, France and a man named Putin.

Speed doesn't mean a lot in dog fighting! Check it out in Top Gun. Most of the dog fighting is done wings extended (slower speed) for manuverability. Dog fighting is mostly a thing of the past. While it was a mistake to design the Phantom without a gun, that mistake was fixed in the Tomcat and the Hornet, they both have guns for closeup dog fighting. The F-14 Tomcat was designed to fight with it's Phoenix missiles first, at long range. Then if all failed, it could engage in a dog fight. The F-18 is more agile, and more state of the art, than the Tomcat at less cost. It's more reliable and can be used as a fighter or as an attack aircraft. It suffers slightly as a "long range fighter". Since many of the posters here are taxpayers, what would you want to pay taxes for, an expensive to buy, expensive to repair out of date single function aircraft; or a cheaper to fly, state of the art aircraft that can serve many roles (fighter or attack)? Heres some stats: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-18.htm I fondly remember a Tomcat at the big airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1989. It was the day after the show closed and the aircraft were all leaving. One Tomcat, from a national guard unit, took off, did a 360 spin through a cloud, cutting a circle in the cloud and was gone a minute later. The Tomcat is a great airplane, but so was the P-51 Mustang, and it was removed from service when it became outmoded.

Took our '03 CTS in for an oil change and checkup today. I asked the service consultant to give it a thorough checkup as the warranty expires on Feb 26th. The consultant gave me a new '06 CTS loaner (2.8L) to use while my CTS was being worked on. The odometer read 728 miles. I was pleasantly surprised. The 2.8L engine was not bad and should meet the needs of most CTS buyers. The ride was very good and handling better than I thought it would be. The interior was ebony and looked good. It's the color they should have had from the beginning. I didn't have a chance to push it hard, since it was a busy day, but it was enjoyable to drive. My 3.2L engine is much noisier (buzzy) and the sport lux suspension much harsher. Part of me thinks that the buzz of the 3.2L adds to the excitement when I drive more aggressively. I'd have to say that I'm pretty much in agreement with the comments by mkaresh. Still, I'd love the have driven the '07 Slade that was in the showroom. It was all black with a beautifully done interior. They do look much better in person than in pictures. A white one was in the delivery area, with a sold sign hanging on the mirror. Looks great in either color.

No Thanks from this city boy! A few years ago I gave my Dad's hunting rifles to my brother-in-law in southern Illinois. Jim hunts "legally" during deer season and eats deer meat through the winter. His daughters have been raised "Southern" and can 4-wheel, ATV and hunt with the boys. Jim teaches them to respect the animals they hunt and the land they hunt on. Before I retired, I had a young engineer working for me, writing AutoCad programs. He lived in Pensylvania and hunted black bear with a bow & arrow and shotgun. It amazed me that bear hunting was so big in an eastern state. Still, hunting is for folks that enjoy it. The only hunting I might enjoy is to silence the coyotes that wake me up at 3:00am every other night, passing through my back yard.

No one is asking anyone else to sacrifice telling the truth. However, most of the automotive media focuses "only on the bad", deliberately overlooking the good. Once in a while, people have to be awakened to the fact that "half glass" of water is "half full", not always "half empty", as some would have us believe. GM has done some good things lately, the CTS as an example. It doesn't matter when the investment for this announcement was made or whether it's pocket change. The real news is that maybe, just maybe, GM is trying to fix it's problems, one small step at a time. Give them a break!

Dear Wildcat, I'm posting this letter to ask you to stop posting "Good News" about GM. The National trend (and sometimes local here at C&G) is to post bad news about GM. Please do not post any item that details possible "new jobs". That would be counter productive to the "Hate GM" crowd. Anyway, hope you know I'm kidding. It always great to hear something good for a change.

© modified. I'd stop, turn around and head for the nearest Chevy dealer, to trade in that Toyauto!

Any history book about Cars and Airplanes is great literature! However, for great reading I prefer SciFi. My favorite authors are the older ones: Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, E.E. "Doc" Smith, Piers Anthony, Isaac Asimov, Steven Donaldson, Harry Harrison, L. Ron Hubbard and a few others. Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein), the Lensman Series (Doc Smith), and the Stainless Steel Rat Series (Harrison) are some of my favorites.

Last year, when I traded the STS for a Trailblazer, was the first time in 43 years that I haven't owned a V8 vehicle. While the CTS and Trailblazer are quick (since I use my left foot on the brake), I miss the "push you back in your seat" power of a V8 under full throttle. Oh well, If I win the lottery, there'll be another Vette and Trailblazer SS in the driveway.

Both of our vehicles (CTS and Trailblazer) have NAV systems. They've come in handy many times, especially when stuck in heavy traffic. The NAV system lets us search alternate routes, or to drive through side streets without getting lost. Remember, real men never stop to ask for directions. Just ask my wife about that. I'd probably get an aftermarket (dash mounted) NAV if I go back to buying year old (pre-driven) Caddys. Couldn't pass up a NAV on the Trailblazer at 0% interest. Finally, Whoever dies with the most toys wins!

Hey Neon.... I beat yah! When I was born, FDR was pres. The first ------- -------- happened at the University of Chicago. It was the last year of the Buick 80/90 Limited. It was also the year of the horse.

03 CTS 7,640 miles - Oil Change, Rotate Tires, Change oil & air filters - $61.02 10,384 miles - Recall for bolt tightening - $0 14,075 miles - Six Month Check, Oil Change, Tire Rotation, change all filters including inside air filters, Rebalance tires - $155.12 15,294 miles - Damaged underbody seam hitting road hazard, driving in rain storm. Seam repaired under warranty - $0 18,500 miles - Goodyear Tire recall, All tires replaced free of charge. Oil Change free of charge, when car returned dirty at last service. - $0 26,220 miles - Oil Change & Tire rotation - $25.82 28, 238 miles - Air bag Inflator module replaced - $0 30,860 miles - Burned out tail light replaced - $0 32,567 miles - Oil Change & Tire rotation - $35.64 34,679 miles - Brake Service (replaced performance rotors and pads), rotated & balanced tires, Replaced all filters, including inside air, changed antifreeze and transmission fluids - $549.41 38,145 miles - Oil Change & Tire Rotation - $35.64 Currently at 42,000 miles 04 Trailblazer Free Oil Change and Tire Rotation from Dealer at 9,400 miles - $0 One year old, no problems and Currently at 10,547 miles. Onstar remotely checks computer for error codes (once a month) and sends an e-mail to report on their findings. The CTS is still a fun car to drive and my wife's daily driver. It's been super reliable and I wouldn't hesitate buying another one (maybe the 2nd gen). It should be noted that Cadillac furnished a loaner car for any service that took over two hours. Hated the Trailblazer when I first got it (traded a 99 STS), but it's been so good and so useful that it's my baby now. Super reliable.

I had a '77 Coupe Deville, that I bought with 8500 miles on it. Kept it 7 1/2 years and it was practically bullet proof. The only flaw was the side trim was attached with fasteners that went through holes in the fenders. Eventually Caddys of that era developed big rust circles around the attachment point. I put glass pack mufflers on my '77 along with the best performance Monroe shocks and upgraded the brakes shoes. It drove and handled extremely well. Great car!

Here's a thought......... Maybe the truck is owned by the "Drinkwater" company. Lots of British companies have names that are strange to us. Just checked it out. There is a subsidary of BFI (the garbage people) in England called Drinkwater. The truck looks like it could be used for hauling waste.

I hated the train during the four years I had to travel to downtown Chicago for my job, but it was living by the train schedule that was bad. We had a regular group coming home every evening, that made every day a party. The conductors were our friends and the train cars were generally clean and comfortable. If someone was missing for a few days, we called to make sure they were OK. There was a couple of train tables at our wedding and one of the guys gave me "Yes Dear" lessons (before the wedding) out loud, to the delight of all the other passengers. Of course there were a few pople that turned around and left the car when we got a little roudy. All this is leading up to the fact that I'd rather live by the train schedule than own a Prius.

Tatoo stood on the runway, waiting for the takeoff of "The Plan". The huge engines of "marketing" were racing at full throttle, eager to get "The Plan" off the ground. Buickman released the brakes and "The Plan" raced down the runway, at breakneck speed. At takeoff, Buickman pulled back on the wheel and "The Plan' left the ground......up 100 feet......then 200 feet, then 300. All of a sudden "The Plan" broke up in the air and crashed to the ground, lying there in a pile of ashes. The National Transportation and Safety Administration (NTSA) investigators came out and within minutes had determined that "The Plan" had failed because there was no substance to "The Plan". Marketing couldn't hold "The Plan" together because it was based on selling less than great product. The secret to the future sucess of GM, Ford and Chrysler must be better product. That product must be better than the product of the competition. Only then, can "marketing" take off!

Chris ........... I was just kidding. Actually the people of Colorado are so light that their weight doesn't hold down the land.......... The true explanation for Colorado's mountains.

The Colorado results are based on a lie! Since Denver (and much of Colorado) is the "Mile High City", it's residents are one mile further from the gravitational center of the earth, they weigh less than people one mile lower. I demand a re-weigh of all the people of Colorado with altitude adjusted scales! (J/K)

I posted the El Kineo, Blu, a long time ago. Even used it in my sig. Actually, it was August 23, 2005, in a thread started by HarleyEarl about the Buick he posted again in this thread.

Listen to griff, evok and Ah-ha. The sky is not falling! Changes to programs will be made but, "Product development will not be decimated", as many seem to fear. I think we all realize that GM needs to made some "Bold Decisions" about their product. Be happy that they finally woke up.

GM has one or two sixteen mock-ups occasionally touring the dealerships. I can see the seats in this one so it must be the real thing. If only the STS had that back end! The time for boring cars has come to an end. Come on GM make all your vehicles as exciting as the Sixteen.