Hollingsworth

What is a better holiday than Independence Day? Barbecues and watermelon. Uncle Sam costumes. Lighting fireworks and almost setting yourself on fire because you've had a little too much to drink. Yep. I love this day!

You can buy ventiports in a pack? Where? Autozone, Wal-Mart? And furthermore, why would you even want to?

I love Dr. Paul! Ideally, he's my first choice for President. But realistically, I'm supporting Mitt Romney (flip flops and all), as I think he has the best chance of beating Obama and Hillary. Of course, that will all change when Fred Thompson officially enters the race.

OK. This is spooky. We both have the same laptop, same size iPod, and the same phone. Either Apple fans in general have similarly excellent taste, or this is one of those Twilight Zone things where a clone of yourself exists in a different town. I see the iPhone being more popular to the high school/college crowd. Why I think that businesses will choose against it is because of it's overly expensive price, and the fact that it doesn't have a physical keyboard to use. And no matter how pretty or thoughtfully designed, a pixel can never replace an actual button. The iPhone will be the new iPod. It'll be the must-have gadget for spoiled teens everywhere.

Microsoft is one of the worst offenders. They're marginally better with their Vista packaging, but the Windows Me and 2000 era products were a study in overloaded package design. Anyway, I think that the model and engine size should be the only badging on a car. None of this XLE, SES, GS, LX crap. And certainly none of this mid-eighties/early-nineties ABS/Fuel Injection stuff. Dealership badges also tick me off, because they seem to grow in size with each passing year. And most of the ones [around East Tennessee] are hideous. Some of them look like they were created in MS Paint.

Owned: 2004 Saab 9-5 Sportwagon Parents own(ed): 1975 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham 2003 Cadillac CTS (dad's car today) 1979 Oldsmobile 98 (I think. It could have been an 88. I just know it was an Oldsmobile, and it was big). 3 or 4 Chevrolet Impalas (before my time) 1985 Cadillac Coupe deVille 1969 Chevrolet Camaro (dad's fun car, before he married mother) 1977 Chevrolet Corvette (mom made him sell it and buy something more practical: a Mazda 626 ) 1972 Chevrolet Monte Carlo (dad never drove it, but it was my grandfather's, and he gave it to dad when he passed away) Never owned: Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Saturn

Personally, if I were in the market for a luxury SUV (and I never will, since I think SUVs are completely unnecessary and their drivers leave much to be desired), my top three would be either a Volkswagen Touareg, a Range Rover, or a Lexus GX. Or even a Land Cruiser. Since none of those are on the list... The Q7 is my first choice. As you already said it, the 3.6 is not the most powerful engine in the world for this SUV. But the design is slick, inside and out. The RX400h is my second choice. Mainly because I feel that if you *must* spend your money on an SUV, at least spend a little more and get a hybrid. RX350 is my third choice. As with the hybrid, it's smooth and impeccably built. I wouldn't recommend the Porsche Cayenne to anyone. I think it's absolutely hideous.

I saw the worldwide sales, but I was wondering where I could find out North American or US sales.

What are Saab's current targeted sales (and actual sales)? I didn't think it was that hight to begin with.

I wasn't comparing the two. I was illustrating that I am capable of detecting road and engine noise, squeaks, and rattles. Besides, if I really wanted to compare, I would have compared the Impala against an '02 Avalon.

I've driven two new Camrys, and I just don't see the interior problems or hear the squeaks and rattles. Either I don't have the eye for these things, or these two particular models escaped these problems at the factory. I don't think it's the first. You should hear me after a ride in my brother-in-law's '02 Impala. If I were in the market for a new midsize sedan, and were limited at $25,000, a Camry LE would probably be #2 on the list. The styling may not be the most exciting, but it's the most comfortable sedan available at that price, IMO.

The current generation was a let down. The 1995-1999s were just an abomination. And it's such a shame that the name will probably never return. I'll always have a special place in my heart for Monte Carlos, for personal reasons.

I went home with my wife. Oh yes, again, back in college. Meredith. *sighs* She was an Alpha Delta Pi, VP of the College Republicans, Presbyterian, and a business major. She always looked so...perfect. Every strand of her blonde hair in place, always wore her pearls, and wore warm colors and pastels everyday, along with just a hint of Chanel #5. My friends always joked that she just walked off a Lily Pulitzer ad, and deep down I kind of believed that for all her perfection lurked some kind of dark secret that she kept hidden. But still, I knew that she was the girl that I was going to spend the rest of my life with. But she always had a boyfriend. At first, I thought "Well, they have to end it sooner or later", but as far as I know, the three years that we went to college together, she was with the same guy (which says a lot about her, IMO). I often wonder if they got married, or what she's doing now. My wife is also an ADPi alumni, but I don't think there's an appropriate way to ask her "Hey, you know that Meredith girl who was VP of the CRs who I always had the hots for? What do you think ever happened to her?" The couch really isn't all that comfortable to sleep on...

What was the point of that? Specifically, what was the point of disassembling a car and placing it all through an airplane window? I guess it's that "sophisticated" English wit that a dumb, fat American wouldn't understand. I've always hated Jeremy Clarkson with a passion, and have often advocated for his death. As both an Anglophile and an American of Puritan English descent, I think it's absolutely ludicrous for him to suggest English superiority over American culture. What if we compared the people and culture of Cape Cod, MA or East Hampton, NY to the more common English classes, or the rough and rowdy footballers? Which society seems more orderly and advanced, then?

One August, I saw the display in my Passat show 139 when I parked in the sun. And this was in Virginia!