Robert Hall

I see you got the obligatory Sonata reference in there, that is now required for every new car thread...

Got to have Epsilon II in there for the FWD mainstreamers..

Happy Birthday! Make it a good one.

The '71 Buick front end reminds me a bit of the '70 Impala..similar grille placement, bumper shape, hood shape.. It's amazing to think about how many bodystyles, models, etc were introduced for 1971 w/ the redesign of the B-, C- and E- bodies with distinct sheetmetal (other than some roofs (rooves?)..across 5 divisions with distinct engine choices, etc. It's just staggering to contemplate, compared to a world like today where a new model is usually only one bodystyle and then it doesn't change much for 4-6 years.

I like the body sculpturing on the '73-75 Buick A-body coupes..they kind of flattened them out for '76-77..not sure why GM went w/ dual headlights on all of the midsizers in '73 other than being cheap.. I like the intersection of lines where the door, hood, and fender meet... My favorite 455 powered Buicks would probably be from '71-- Centurion: Electra: and of course, the Riviera.. I love the size and styling of that year of big GMs. Pointy.

Cool..the '93 version w/ woodgrain was badged as a Grand Wagoneer, the only year they carried that name over to the GC. I've seen a few over the years in dark green or white.

I really like what I've seen of Pittsburgh and what I've read about it...but #9 on the list still has a strong pull on me..I miss it and my friends there deeply.

We are watching the election returns...depressing in general, though a few look early returns look promising..time to open the 2nd bottle of pinot grigio, I think..

I'm glad I vote by mail only now..back when I voted in person I'd go in the morning when the polling places first opened..wouldn't have wanted to do in this election, the ballot was way too long.

He's not a Republican..that alone is a critical detail. But the night is young, who knows how Cali is going to go...

I'm Afraid of Americans- David Bowie (appropriate song for election day) next up-- The Downward Spiral-Nine Inch Nails (quite appropriate for after election day--cheerful and forward looking)

I voted last week via mail. Filling out the ballot took over an hr..what with 35 or so judges and a dozen people running for the water commission....had to do a bit of fact checking on each to determine y/n on each. And about a dozen propositions to research.

Train travel definitely has it's appeal, on a train the voyage is a key part of the experience, as important as the destination..as with a road trip by automobile. Flying is a pragmatic means to get to a destination as fast as possible-- a means to an end. I couldn't do my 3-4 day cross-country weekend getaways without flying. I want to take the time for one of those great cross country rail trips eventually...a buddy of mine and his wife did one from Denver to San Francisco (California Zephyr?) a few years ago, said it was very memorable. I'd also like to take a transatlantic voyage at sea.

I had no idea what an 'E- series EMD' was, googled it. Interesting. I've never taken any heavy passenger long distance rail journeys in the US, only light rail in a few cities/suburbs. As far as travel in the US, I'm most familiar w/ the cattle car experience on various Boeings and Airbuses. Looking out the window at a carpet of city lights (and recognizing streets and other landmarks of favorite destinations) on approach at night is fun..did that Friday night flying into Denver. Long distance rail travel in the US does sound fun from what I've read, with the big downside being: time.

Saw a 2010 Camaro LS in bright blue, with a few owner-made (I presume) tweaks...the front and rear bowties were chrome w/ dark blue insets--looks nicer than the gold ones, IMO...and chrome 'LS' letters below the Camaro lettering on the front fendrs.

I missed those also. It seems like this is a subset of all the pics that were posted, though.

Of the compact FWD coupes for the youfs, there are only 4 left--Kia Forte Koup, Eclipse, tC, and Civic...I think I've only seen one of the Koups, it's pretty nice decent looking, IMO. I agree w/ 66, if I went compact FWD, I'd go for a hot hatch like the GTI or Mini Cooper S..those seem the most fun to drive and have cross-generational appeal. But I'd still probably prefer a Mustang/Challenger/Camaro (in that order of preference).

I had a black one in So Cal in July for 3 days, really liked it...it's a car I could live with day in, day out I think...would make a great commuter car.

Was in Denver for the weekend, beautiful fall weather. Since I'd sampled 3 midsize and one fullsize this year, I thought I'd rent a compact...got a black 4dr Cobalt from Thrifty. Charcoal interior. First compact I've driven since a 2dr Cobalt back in '08, also in Denver. Was a pleasant little car, nothing to complain about..seemed competent, reasonably peppy, comfortable, easy to see out of. Interesting to have the controls for the info screen (trip computer) on the steering wheel...couldn't figure out how to reset the trip odometers, though. No cruise control. The seats were firm, pretty well bolstered...wonder if they might be too firm on a long drive. Seemed to be good on gas.

Yes, it's surreal...I've heard references to it in at leaast 5 different podcasts this week, and saw references to it all over Twitter. Amazing how something like this blows up into an Internet meme so quickly..

Interesting...I'm listening to yesterday's No Agenda podcast now and this video was discussed..the conclusion is it was some sort of '20s era hearing aid that required a briefcase.

Being a Time Lord would be interesting...those Daleks are nasty to deal with, though. Watching super cheesy Dr Who episodes as a kid in the '70s-80s got me interested in the idea of space-time travel.

The MKZ should have been in the comparo...and if this comparo were held next year, maybe the Chrysler 200 as well. I didn't realize the A4 was available in the US in FWD form...a big part of considering an Audi is Quattro, IMO.

Agreed...I don't get the fixation some have with the Sonata..it's just another midsize FWD appliance, maybe less bland looking than the big 3 (Camry, Altima, Accord).

Read the article last night. For some reason, I thought the CC was closer to or over $40k from previous articles...maybe the one in this article was lightly optioned to come out so cheap. It was an interesting comparison.