Robert Hall

Saw a white Hyundai GX350 this morning that I see around the neighborhood occasionally with the plate 'KRNBCK' (Korean Buick)... and a red Dodge Ram w/ the plate 'RGHTWNG'.

Yeah, the old 5 C's of the AZ economy. The new 5 C's I've heard are chips (computer chips), call centers, cubicles, cells (private prison industry), and crime Hit 113 today, still a balmy 106 at 8:30pm..

It's on my Kindle...looking forward to reading it.

<cynical> Because the Regal has a younger demo that wants more connectivity in their media...</cynical> No order guide yet for the Verano (it's coming for '12, isn't it?)

It's too bad they didn't evolve a 2nd generation Lincoln LS. Bad name, but decent hardware w/ potential.

It would need a total restyle..the greenhouse and rear 3/4 of the Falcon are so dull..not a very distinctive design. Good hardware, though. A Falcon based model w/ the 3.7 Ecoboost V6 and 5.0 V8 would be great for Lincoln, IMO. The buzz a couple of years ago was that Ford was working on a new global RWD platform to be shared by the Falcon, a TC replacement, a CV replacement, and a future Mustang, but that hasn't come to pass since Ford decided to go FWD/AWD only in NA for sedans...

Pool felt cold at 6:15... water was still 86, though.

Facts about the heat in Phoenix

That was the mistake I made..moving from Colorado to AZ because of family reasons. I still despise myself for doing it... (but I've also contemplated moving back to Ohio or Pittsburgh area for family reasons also). 60..that's cold. With the A/C running pretty around the clock, I keep the house at 75, but the electric bill averages about $400/mo May-Sept.

So its a 4 degree difference between "105 don't notice" and "109 notice"? When it hits 104 in NJ... in Spring... thats 24 degrees over normal. In any case, you forget... we have humidity. 104.4 here rates a "feels like" 119 on the heat index. Our heat index has been flirting with 90 for quite some time. Sounds lovely... hot and sticky. Supposedly the heat index is about 100 here now. 100-105 or so feels mild to me, but 109-112 definitely feels hotter...I think the hottest temp it's been in the last 3 summers I've lived here has been around 116. I try and avoid being outside (except in the pool) for more than 5 min at a time, otherwise stay in A/C. I've lived in S. Florida and the Midwest so I definitely know how nasty a hot and humid summer can feel, very different from the 'dry heat' oven horror here. If all goes well, this should be my last summer in AZ..

Yeah, June has been pretty mild so far...my pool is only 86 so far.

Unless one is an electrician, one is probably not going to know the name...like with any profession, there are brands and arcane terms that aren't generally known by the GP.

pointy

Saw a very clean brown w/ brown top '81-85 Caprice 4dr in traffic this morning.

Cool..my house was built in 1952, probably still has most of the original wiring...$400 electric bill last month, probably be about that through Sept when it gets 'cool' again.

Never heard of Romex either, but the magic of Google turned up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romex A trademarked brand of non-metallic sheathed electrical cable developed by the former Rome Wire Company in 1922, and now produced by Southwire

Hmmmmm...how about Soylent Green?

Mmmmm...poo burgers. We can literally make our own food.

Me too. Moltar, it's easy: just visualize a Tri-Shield over every Opel logo. I can see the rebadging, that is easy... I just don't see such products fitting w/ Buick's brand position or image...or what the market thinks Buick's image is. I could see Opel here as a VW-ish semi premium brand of subcompacts and compacts, sort of where Saturn was trying to go... while Buick focuses on the near-lux niche..but adding a new brand shortly after cutting 4? Ambitious..I also doubt if many American car buyers remember the Opels of old or are conscious enough to be aware of modern Opel, so it would be a clean slate for the brand. Without Saturn, Pontiac and Oldsmobile, there seems to be is a gap between Chevy and Buick. Not sure how GMNA should fill it, though....

Hyundai has reached a point where virtually every model they sell is at or near the top of its class. Buick has the Lacrosse, Lucerne and Enclave. The 'Regal' was designed and engineered by Opel. Let's not pretend Buick developed this car. Hyundai has the Genesis and the $60k Equus now...Buick should be looking very closely at what they're doing. Make that Lacrosse and Enclave...Lucerne is over.

I still can't see a premium subcompact or anything w/ a hatch at Buick...

Well, 1) I think that they took their collective eye off of the ball in the nineties. Automakers became obsessed with the easy profits from trucks and truck-based SUVs in the '90s..they were cheap to build, highly profitable, and had fewer regulations than cars...then that market faded over the last 5 years or so...

Bigger wheels and tires are definitely part of the weight gain...25 years ago, a Mustang GT or Camaro Z-28 had 15 inch wheels and tires (Camaro went to 16 somewhere in the 3rd gen)...today, 19 or 20 inch..I wonder what the weight difference is there..

Highway probably...my Escort got 50-55mpg regularly highway...