Robert Hall

Yeah, just like the new GC...I've sat in a couple of '05 GCs and was really dissapointed with the dash materials and design...my '00 GC has a much nicer dash in terms of design and layout and the materials (nice squishy plastic)..

It's considerably smaller than the Tahoe..more Explorer-sized. Same wheelbase (109 inches) as the GC, but taller. The 3rd row is very cramped from what I've read. Overall length is about the same as the GC (188.5 inches). They probably should have stretched the wheelbase a few inches for more 3rd row legroom. but I'm glad they didn't make it as big as the bloated, ugly Durango.

Exactly..that's why I went to college and grad school---I knew that to get the 6-figure income by age 30 (which I did) I would have to apply myself and go into something with potential...

If they have granite surfaces, it should be done like countertops--on top of the dash, console, etc (on horizontal surfaces). Also, hardwood flooring would be a nice touch as well. Maybe some track lighting and a small, tasteful chandelier or two also.

Ouch...a 50% pay cut would seriously suck... my rates have been all over the place in software development the last 8 yrs...I was getting about $30/hr when I got out of school in '97 then went up to $80/hr in '00 (right before the bubble burst in high tech--I was able to bill O/T also, no benefits--had to pay my own health insurance, etc).... now I'm happy to be getting $60/hr w/ benefits in a stable company...

Of all of those on that list, I'd probably pick the oldest--the Focus is the best all-around cheap small car, IMHO...

It's replacement is coming for '07, I believe (another Yaris/Vitz variation like the Echo was)...and they do have Scion for the cheap cars now..

If the Republicans stay in power, we will continue the downward spiral into oblivion, I'm afraid...

Big... pointy..

About 10 years ago, I went up to Flint a couple of times when I was living in Ann Arbor...pretty depressing place there (not unlike what I saw of Detroit). Quite a different world from the leafy, academic, thriving environment I lived in in A2.

What is that blue car, by the way?

I think I like the earlier PA grille with the small badge at the top rather than in the center of the grille. The PA would have been great with the Northstar.... One of things I like about the PA design is it is distinctly Buick, from the nose to the roofline to the tail...it held up well for 7 years, IMHO. While the Lucerne is a good looking car, I see nothing distinctly Buick about it...(the roof and tail look like more like the new Passat than any other Buick, IMHO). My favorite GM big cars of the last decade have been the Seville ('92-97, '98-04) and the original Aurora... I like the clean exterior of the Bonneville GXP also.. (I love that the new STS is RWD, but the '98-04 one looks so much better, IMHO).

I've never really cared for Targas or T-Tops..too much work to take the panels off and stow them. My Jeep has a moonroof (retractable glass panel) and my BMW has a metal retractable sunroof). I open them frequently when it's not too warm or cold out... I love convertibles also..

Good to hear they are selling well..this is a good time for a small, inexpensive, well-equipped wagon, I think...

I like your idea about the '61 Caddy, SixtyEight... a '61 Caddy or '61 Lincoln convertible would be a great road trip car, I think... (I don't really care for the '59 Caddy styling, but the '61...). I try and always rent convertibles when I'm in California...Mustangs or Thunderbirds several times in recent years. For road trips closer to home, I'm in my Grand Cherokee, M3 or my girfriend's 330Ci with the top down. I've never really spent anytime in the Northwest...I want to explore up there eventually, and I want to drive to Alaska and drive up to Prudhoe Bay. I need to take time in the next year to visit friends in Portland and Seattle. The south really has no big appeal to me (I lived in the Florida Keys as a kid), but I would like to explore the Appalachia of my ancestors--SE Kentucky, SW Virginia, NE Tennessee-- eventually... I miss the rolling hills (esp. this time of year) of my native Eastern Ohio, and the nearby hills in SW Pennsylvania....there are some absolutely incredible driver's roads there (miles and miles of deserted, twisty two-lanes over rolling hills, green valleys, etc). Though I wouldn't really want to live there again...not much opportunity in my line of work (though Pittsburgh is a neat city, IMHO).. the Midwest in general doesn't hold much attraction to me (haven't lived there since '97), but I do enjoy visiting old friends in Chicago, Ann Arbor, Cleveland and Columbus (all places I lived in my 20s). I've seen bits and pieces of the NE before, but I'd like to see more, esp. upstate NY and New Hampshire and Vermont. There are enough interesting places in Cali that I can go there every year on vacation for years to come.. I want to drive more in Europe--I've never been on the Autobahn in Germany, but I've driven on Italian Autostradas... I want to explore the roads in the Alps, France, and Scotland eventually... some of the most exciting roads I've driven were along the Meditteranean coast of Italy (even in a diesel Merc A-class or diesel Vectra!) and the roads north of Milan in the hills around the lakes...

PMs? I've had a couple wierd Project Managers before, but I think you are using a different meaning for this acryonym?

Hmmm...if Lexus is doing 8, then Cadillac should jump to 16 speeds... :)

This is kind of late considering the PA is no more, but I was behind one in traffic last night and observed what a nicely designed rear end they have...(it was a dark blue late model version with 'supercharged' badging). I don't see big Buicks around here very often, and following one in an SUV you get an interesting view down on the rear end...the way the rear fenders curve up and then down and inward..definitely a strong family resembalance to the last Riviera. The last PA was a great looking car, IMHO.

Observations from trips over the last couple of years.. Colorado is big..and empty. I've lived here (Colorado Springs, Denver) since '97 and there are still parts I haven't seen. Telluride, Silverton, Durango are beautiful..great driving roads. The road to Lake City is beautiful...lots of twisties. The Four Corners area is pretty desolate. The temp. can change very quickly at altitude. The drive to Aspen over Independence Pass is beautiful in September. The traffic along I-70 when returning to Denver from the mountains can be painfully slow on Sunday afternoons anytime of the year--a less-than 2 hr drive from Breckenridge can easilys stretch to 4-5 hrs at the wrong time. East of the Denver airport is really boring prairie. New Mexico has lousy rest area bathrooms, wide open spaces, and a lot of junk cars near the sides of the roads (I-40, Gallup area). Santa Fe is pretty cool. Shiprock is interesting. NW NM around Farmington looks very economically depressed. I love the drive up to Los Alamos. Wyoming is big and empty. The drive from the Nevada state line to Salt Lake City along I-80 over the salt flats is very unique. I-80 across Nevada (Reno, Elko) is very long and very dull. Ugly terrain. I-80 in California goes through some beautiful areas near Lake Tahoe. Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach are probably my favorite So Cal beach towns. I like Santa Monica also, but too crowded. The drive around Palos Verdes is neat..the bridges over the harbour near Long Beach are cool.. Lots of bling-bling visible when driving through Beverly Hills. The canyon roads north of there are fun (Coldwater Canyon, Laurel Canyon, Mullholland Drive). Sunset Boulevard from Hollywood to the beach is interesting...Bel Air is very green. I truly hate left turns without arrows. LA has a lot of these. Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge in a convertible is a great experience...even on a 55-degree day with the top down and heater cranked up. Parking in San Francisco can be a pain. There is some great scenery in Marin County. There are some great twisty back roads in the forests between Santa Cruz and San Jose, west of Palo Alto. Redwood City is a neat area.. It's easy to get lost trying to get out of the San Jose Airport (getting stuck in an infinite loop on the frontage road). Driving a Thunderbird convertible with the top up in traffic can be a really pain (poor visibility). Traffic in the San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara area doesn't seem to be as bad now as it was 5 years ago. Traffic on the 880 near Berkley and Oakland can be truly awful, even on a Sunday in January. The drive from Monterey to San Francisco on Hwy 1 is very memorable. December after a blizzard is not the best time to be driving in eastern Ohio... Phoenix's freeway system is much better than Denver's. I love the drive from Prescott to Sedona through Jerome (hwy 89). Phoenix has a lot of red-light runners. The roads are great and scenic around Lake Como and Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy...almost as much fun as I had driving the roads along the Amalfi coast between Naples, Sorrento and Salerno in Southern Italy..

Interesting..that Toyota Innova looks like a Highlander greenhouse stuck on a minivan body...and that Chevy Travera sure looks like it has Isuzu Rodeo headlights...

Maybe they will derive the next 9-2x from the HHR.

I wonder what they will do for the next-gen 9-2x... base it on the HHR or Suzuki's Grand Vitara? Something with Daewoo maybe?

Interesting...first I've heard of a relationship between Isuzu and FHI...I thought they were competitors. There is no mention of any such relationship on the FHI or Isuzu corporate websites that I can find..

Hmmm...aren't 1-3 Isuzu and not Fuji/Subaru JVs? Isuzu is not part of the Fuji/Subaru alliance.. Point 5 is being achieved with GM Daewoo...

Hmmm...October means start of hockey season for me.. :) Go Avs!!!