Robert Hall

I still like the Keys..at least the 1985 version I grew up in.... I still think Big Pine Key would be a great place to spend the winters.. my sister has been looking into Puerto Rico as a winter getaway for next year...Myrtle Beach was too cold and snowy this year. She just drove back to CLE a couple days ago, straight through in about 10 hrs. Sad but true.. as a native Ohioan I have no desire to live in the rural areas I grew up in. Too many rednecks and MAGAts. But there is a lot of great scenery and state parks in rural Ohio.

I've been listening to a lot of Led Zeppelin after seeing the Becoming Led Zeppelin documentary in IMAX on Super Bowl Sunday. This is still my favorite LZ song..so heavy. That is distinctive... the comment about the gas station reminds me of hearing Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' at a gas station in darkest rural New Mexico off of I-40 at about 3am when crossing the desert void in 2017...

It was a sad remnant of a bygone era. I'm amazed the Queen Mary is still afloat..stayed there several times in the last decade, took the tour...so much rust and decay.

Jeep's forward direction in general seems muddled at this point...horrible quality and inflated prices have hurt them with many models. The Wagoneer/Grand Wagoneer hasn't done well against GM's big SUVs. The WL Grand Cherokee is so bland (nice interior though). The Wrangler remains a popular but pricey novelty. And they don't have a replacement yet for the Cherokee..the last Cherokee was too close to the Compass in size..

My interest in sportsball waxes and wanes over the years. I've had an affinity for the Steelers, Dolphins, Browns and Broncos over the years, when I lived in those areas. The Browns have been consistently horrible for so long, I still follow them to a degree but not at rabid fanboy level. Didn't watch the Super Bowl last night, went to an IMAX showing of the new 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' documentary...great music from before my time catches my interest more than current sportsball...

30 and cloudy today, but dry. Took the Caddy for a spin, first drive since December. Went on the coast for seafood and a walk on the beach. Came home and got the Mustang out for a bit. Looking forward to Spring.

Speaking of Hyundai and Kia vans, there was talk on the latest Wheelbearings podcast that Hyundai is interested at bringing the Staria minivan here as a GM model, maybe as the new Chevy City Express (replacing that hideous rebadged Nissan van from a few years ago). Apparently GM and Hyundai have some sort of JV program in the works.

Was over 50 today, most of the snow and ice melted…now it is foggy.

Spring still a while off...got these two out for their weekly startup on Saturday. Once the roads are salt free I'll drive the Cadillac some. Supposed to get to 50 today, hopefully most of the snow and ice will melt.

I'm sick and tired of 47's reign and it's only been a week. Going to be a long 4 years. For my mental health and sanity I'm trying to avoid any media involving him and his administration. Just burnt out on politics and the stupidity and uselessness of many Americans....a nation of imbeciles.

I can't imagine there is much of a market in the US for a $100k KN EV van...I know there is the whole 'van life' thing, but that is a small group of 'lifestyle influencer' wankers on TikTok/YouTube, etc. At least the VW ID Buzz has the brand history and heritage going for it.

They want to replace them with resource units that swear loyalty to the orange sh*tgibbon. They want mindless red hat zombies.

A buddy of mine drove Golf Rs for years--had ones each of the last two generations...was always raving about it... but he got married a couple years ago, now has two big dogs so traded the R on a Subaru Outback...he's miserable the last time I talked to him--misses his zoom zoom car and lots of other things...

Cognitive dissonance...

It's like if you completely separate Tesla from Musk and objectively look at the Cybertruck, it's just not a very good product. Their hatchback cars/CUVs are pretty good EVs from what I've read, though. I remember we were getting a lot of smoke in NE Ohio from fires in Quebec and Ontario that summer...the sky looked surreal at times with a red ringed sun in a gray sky....

It's an interesting thought, but not realistic for me...

Yeah, if they hope to sell a Charger EV, they have to play up the muscle car aspects...they know their customer base..vroom, vroom, go fast..squeal tires! burn rubber! Crash! It's a good looking car, though maybe too subtle in the dark blue I saw...

I love the burgundy interiors, and the dark blue ones.. those 80s seats were quite comfortable IIRC...haven't ridden in one in ages. This '87 Caddy Fleetwood Brougham interior looks like a great place to sit for a road trip... '96 Brougham looks comfortable also.. Though I'm happy w/ my '19..though the seats aren't as wide as the oldies..

So the Dodge EVs will be going VROOMM with their Fratzonic exhausts.. And now the snow is coming down pretty heavily (camera doesn't really capture that).

I like those JGC SRTs/Trackhawks...still prefer the WK2 styling to the WL. Those are growing on me, rarely ever see them. I liked the Impala SS versions in burgundy. Though for Caprices, I prefer the previous generation boxy ones up through '86 ('87 went to the bland composite headlights).

Went out to breakfast today before the weather gets icky, saw a new Charger out front of my local CDJR dealer..didn't realize the 2025s were on the lot yet. This one is a Daytona R/T 'Stage 1' according to the badging...in an understated dark blue..it's a clean design.

It’s been a cold, snowy January. Highs have been in the 20s since the 1st, flurries every day. I always start my Mustang once a week, got it and the Caddy out this morning. Roads are salty so they went back in the garage…

Elon and Bezos are obsessed w/ space exploration and getting to Mars, maybe we need to send Trump, Elon, Bezos, etc on a one-way mission to colonize on the Sun...that would probably go well.

I saw that video..reminds me a lot of backwoods eastern Ohio driving when I was a lot younger...I had a buddy in college w/ a silver w/ red interior and top '78 Bonneville, we used to hoon around on backwoods backroads in the winter in it.. I recall eating at a sushi restaurant w/ a track w/ flat bed train cars with varieties of sushi going round and round...

I used to work with a Michael Hunt and in grad school knew a Richard Head.