Robert Hall

Interesting...any idea *where* the oil leak was coming from (oil pan gasket, front main seal, etc?). I've seen something like this happen before..my '87 Mustang GT had a leak around the oil pan gasket when I had in Colorado, I had to add a quart every 2000 miles or so. But after moving it back to Ohio, no leak. I think it had to do w/ moving from a very dry climate to a damp one. But what you are seeing is stranger, as you haven't moved your Blazer.

Have they upgraded it since then? 6 years is a long time...

LoL... I really need to get out of Arizona..the summer heat and desert ugliness has warped my mind. Need to go where it's green w/ cold, gray damp winters..

Sounds like a pretty plausible list.

Too many suburban housewives w/ big hair causing explosions from using aerosol hairspray while smoking and/or talking on a cell phone and pumping gas?

Nah, full serve w/ a station attendant seems like something out of the 50s. Do they still check your oil in NJ? Or just put in the fuel?

Yeah, that's just plain weird...I encountered the same quaint regulation in Oregon. Very strange having someone pump the gas after decades of using self serve..

I remember the 1st gen CTS in that color, don't think I've seen the 2nd gen in it. My favorite colors on the 2nd gen CTS are the Black Cherry (very dark wine color red) and the bright medium dark red that was in all the '08-09 advertising...

What seems plausible in the next few years are, based on rumors I've seen here and elsewhere: Chevy: '12 Malibu '11 Aveo Spark ('11 or '12 for US, I've read) Cruze variations? new Corvette new Impala in '13-'20? Buick: compact sedan (Excelle or other name) compact CUV (Encore?) Regal variations (wagon? hatchback? coupe?) GMC: Granite Cadillac: ATS (sedan, coupe, etc?) XTS large CUV (Lambda) as NG Escalade or to suppliment Escalade? (haven't heard any approx timeframe for an NG CTS, wonder when it will get an MCE)

Maybe those cash only mom/pop businesses Samadei sees are Mafia connected, cash only businesses--he's in NY/NJ, right?

As far as the cash vs. plastic, one thing that drives me nuts is getting behind a slow-ass luddite using a check in a place that still takes them (grocery, etc).

Yeah, I use DD when salaried or W2 contracting...when I've done 1099/S-corp contracting then I do get paid w/ paper checks, but deposit them at the bank drive thru ASAP.. As far as electronic banking--it drove me crazy when my bank had no online access for a couple days last week...I'm used to checking my accounts a couple times a day, painful not to be able to check online when used to it...haven't maintained a paper check book in 15 years or so, used to use MS Money for my GL and reporting but switched to Quicken and Mint a while back. I've tried to go completely paperless as much as I can. But if the Internet goes down for an extended period (2012, mega earthquakes, Tea Party apocalypse, whatever catastrophe happens this decade) then I'm screwed.

Lots of variation depending on region, no doubt. I just don't see many local independent restaurants and businesses that are cash only..I'd don't think they would last long around here. True, but I use it much less than I did 10-15 years ago..much less. I'd definitely use EZ Pass if I lived where there were toll roads...the only toll roads I encounter are when I'm on vacation...and rental cars in those areas often have EZ Pass or similar.

Most all bank/credit card/investment statements can be done electronic...I haven't had paper mail statements in years... How do you get cash if you don't 'do ATM'? Use a 'bank teller' like it's 1990?

Not necessarily. Over the last 10 years, I've seen very, very few independent (non-chain, non-corporate) restaurants or businesses that don't take plastic. Cash-only businesses are a rarity, at least in the realities I've spend the most of my time in (Phoenix and Denver metro areas). The only scenarios I need cash w/ any frequency for are vending machines, tipping where there isn't a tip line on the receipts (Starbucks drive thru, dog wash, dog groomers), paying the yard guy (envelope w/ cash under the doormat), infrequent valet parking, the rare toll road (none around Phoenix area), and if I happen to go to a model kit swap meet/toy show or flea market. I do frequent some corporate chains (Target, ACE Hardware, Home Depot, Chevron, Walgreens, Petsmart, Pei Wei, Starbucks, to name a few) but I frequent local merchants as much as possible..esp. w/ restaurants. Even the parking garage at the airport takes plastic, as do the parking lots downtown. As do the merch vendors at concert venues. I've taken 4 weekend trips to various places in California this summer and never used more than $20 in cash on each trip. Cash can't beat the convenience of plastic. Over the last decade, I've found paper money has become about as obsolete as paper mail (I get very little) and land line phones..

Maybe it's owned by a taxi or limo/town car service that does business in both Virginia and DC and has to be registered in both. DC is wierd because it isn't a state. I wonder how taxi or limo services do business in cities like DC (or Cincinatti) where the airports are different states from the city served..

One of the strangest things I've seen this year was the Mitsubishi Montero Sport someone had rebadged as as Toyota Land Cruiser. Subtle. One of those things that defy explanation.

Good point..I have very few situations where I need paper money..though it's necessary sometimes..like for tipping at businesses that don't have tip lines on their receipts (at the dog wash ,groomers, Starbucks drive thru, for instance) or w/ valets, toll roads (though rental cars often have an EasyPass or pay-by-cc deal for them), vending machines, the occasional vendor that doesn't take plastic (like at a flea market or swap meet)..

Dual registration..I've seen semi trucks w/ multiple plates..registered in 2 or more states for unknown commercial or tax reasons.

How about colonoscopies? Those are not fun...had my first one a couple weeks ago. Preparing for one is the hard part, actually.

Maybe it's because there isn't a lot of interesting new product from GM coming out this fall.. I'm really looking forward to fall--the idea of days where the high is consistently under 100 degrees for the first time since May is very appealing.

Maybe, but don't kill us that work in the cubes and keep the banks running smoothly...

stadium

I see no relevance of the cost of a crate engine compared to the cost of a car with the same engine..people buy cars w/ specific engines, not engines by themselves..

Ranked down because of your tastless comment in the second line, Eric Cartman..