Robert Hall

Another sunny 70 degree day here, blue skies. Went to the Russo & Steele auction. Muscle car overload...saw dozens of Mopies (Challengers, Cudas, GTXes, Road Runners, Chargers, etc), dozens of Chevys (Chevelles, Novas, Impalas, 1st gen Camaros by the truck load, etc). Some standouts from the GM side were the unrestored '64 Pontiac Parisienne Sport coupe, black '68 el Camino Malibu (I newer knew Malibu was a trim level on the el Camino), a '66 427 Biscayne 2dr sedan, several clean '61-64 Impalas...a '65 427 Ford Custom 2dr and '66 427 Ford Custom 2dr...those stripper 2dr sedans are so cool. Probably a couple dozen '69-70 Mach 1s. A couple '71 Boss 351s. a pale blue '70 Boss 429...

Nice 70 degree winter afternoon here... .skipped B-J and went to the Gooding & Company auction--some incredible '50s-60s European cars (a stunning Fiat 8V, a couple Aston Martins, Ferraris, a couple Mercedes), a couple '30s Packards and Rolls Royces, a Shelby GT350R (raced by Pedro Rodriguez), a beautiful '48 Caddy convertible, '57 Olds 98 convertible (incredible chrome trim on the doors), '58 Pontiac Bonneville conv w/ tri-power, a couple Porsche 356s, a unrestored Tucker, a Maserati MC12, a Pantera, a Ferrari Daytona Spyder, etc. A nice relaxed small event. Afterwards went to the Scottsdale Pavillions cruise in--huge--all sorts of cars from '32 Ford hot rods to suede '50s cars to oodles of muscle cars and '50-60s big cars and lots of Mopies..quite a variety of cars showed up..first time I've been to that..a lot of fun...then dinner in Old Town Scottsdale at the Grapevine (nice to be able to sit out on a rooftop deck and eat dinner in January. Going to try and go to Russo & Steele tomorrow.

I wonder how many years out, though the 6th gen is...3-5?

I guess the sales just aren't strong enough to support coupes anymore beyond performance and luxury niches. Compact, midsize and full size 2dr versions of sedans are pretty much all gone. The mainstream 'personal luxury' coupe niche is gone w/ the demise of the Monte Carlo and Solara. Other than the Wrangler, 2dr SUVs are gone. Sad.

As far as the design, I think one negative common to both the Taurus and MKS is that they are too tall below the beltline...because of the height, they end up looking narrow when viewed end-on. They would probably look better with about 3-4 inches or so taken out vertically below the beltline...also, the decklids are too short, a problem w/ many designs today. I do like the interiors of both cars, the Taurus dash design more so, I think.

Pretty much anywhere in the Phoenix metro area, though I find central and north/northeast parts of the city and the eastern/northern/south eastern suburbs nicer than the westside. Can't speak for Tucson. The rest of the state is very rural. But I'm the wrong person, since I'm on my way out of here...deeply disenchanted w/ AZ for many reasons, incl. the summer weather. Nearly 5 months of triple digit heat sucks, even if it is a 'dry heat'.

Weather is pretty predictable here currently. 70s and sunny, 40s at night. Good weather for the car auction week.

Happy Birthday!

Pretty cool..

Nice...I like the alternate grille w/ the body color elements..

Oh noesss!!! Won't someone think of the childern!!!

Hmmm...I suspect that would constitute in interstate trafficking of a controlled item. Probably illegal to import contraband gas cans into Pa.

I wonder what the Tea Party thinks about this issue? Or maybe Camino can call into the Glenn Beck show and raise it as an issue...

A great interior...color makes such a difference...on any of those mainstream interiors, they look 1000 times better with some color other than gray and some tasteful plood.

I've been to B-J 3 times...last time, I spent 7 hours there wandering around looking at the cars..

I had thought about going to BJ Saturday, but I think I'm going to hit the Gooding & Company auction on Sat, the Scottsdale Pavillons cruise in (usually 1400 on auction week), and maybe the Russo & Steele auction on Sunday..

Sweet..

The next time I work from home and my yard service is there, I'll be sure to check w/ them as to the type of their gas cans.

It just seems like such a trivial complaint in the bigger scheme of things. People figure out somehow how to use gas cans everyday.

Saw something rare today--a '79-81 Chrysler Newport, in beige w/ a tan interior...looked fairly solid, bombing down the freeway w/ black steel wheels and no hubcaps. Maybe only the 2nd R-body I've seen in many years or even decades.

Saw a new Jetta on the road for the first time a couple days ago..not bad looking. Really? thought those cars had a beam rear axle like FWD cars usually had back then.

I'd probably get an electric lawn mower before I'd deal with gas cans. (I've thought about getting an electric mower as my experience w/ yard services has been so spotty over the last few years, have an electric string trimmer and tree trimmer already).

I think they should sell plastic gas cans at any auto parts store and larger gas stations, probably at Wal Mart or Target also...I bet the cheaper ones are about 10 bucks. I had to use one last year, kind of weird driving around with it inside (since I don't have a trunk, had to sit it in the rear floor, w/ the right rear window down).

I'd have to get a mullet wig to drive the Camaro. I love the exterior, but the interior not so much, and esp. the poor outward visibility...I think the Mustang or Challenger would be easier to live with...esp. the Mustang..love the interior. Loaded Mustang GT vs CTS coupe...hmmm...

Nope..donks are lifted with 22s or 24s or larger and have 4x4-like ground clearance...these cars had normal ride height and the wheels were only 19 or 20 inch. Looked quite tasteful IMO on the '76-77 MC..