Robert Hall

I vaguely remember the Bonneville GXP now...haven't seen one in years. Those last generation Bonnevilles were really sharp..haven't seen one in ages.

The Bonneville GXP had a Northstar? Wow...I don't remember that...I remember the supercharged V6 Bonnevilles..

The narrative reminds of the unsold Mustang GTs, LX 5.0s, Camaro Z-28s, etc I used to see sitting on the lots a year, even 2 years past their model year on dealer lots in small Ohio towns 20 years ago...they wouldn't sell, just sat there in all kinds of weather.

Snow (as in Mark Snow, the composer)

Police (Highway Patrol) presence was much higher than normal on my usual commute the other night, both marked CVs and F150s and unmarked vehicles. The unmarked were interesting--a white F150 crew cab, a gold Avalanche, and a pearl white Escalade EXT. All the unmarked had some very interesting narrow LED red/white/blue strobe light strips--hidden between the rear bumper and taillgate, in the rear window, and behind the grilles..

Listening to Rock Sugar's 'Don't Stop the Sandman'--a mashup between Journey's 'Don't Stop' and Metallica's 'Enter Sandman'...pretty interesting results..

kevlar

Today..saw a dark red '10 Camaro w/ ground effects and giant wheels. Saw a beige '00-05 Monte Carlo riding on chrome 22s with chrome '22s' badging on the front fender w/ speed holes also. In the parking lot at work--a goregous dark blue w/ white stripes '67 Shelby GT350. Drool. Loved the one-year only grille treatment w/ the lights in the center of the grille. R

Ya...light rain when I left home in NoCenPho but was pouring down when I got to the office in the Chand.

True..the enthusiasts that go to track days are a minority of the enthusiasts who belong to a club who are a minority of driving enthusiasts who are a small minority of the buyers overall Tiny, specialized niches. And the mainstream buyers are probably driving with one hand while texting on their cell phone w/ the others. Some of the mainstream BMW owners I've known are absolute AHDBs..

Yeah, I guess w/ the masses a car is just like any other appliance..they don't care what's inside as long as it works and is cheap. Just like how the public is with TVs or computers, they don't care about the technology inside. I remember having long detailed discussions w/ friends and coworkers about the merits of plasma vs LCD vs rear projection vs LED and 1080p vs 1080i, 3-5 years ago. But the general public just wants a TV that is big and cheap. Same w/ cars.

Hard to believe there are people that ignorant buying cars. Then again, I had a coworker once that thought his Avalon had a V4. As a past BMW owner, other BMW owners I knew were for the most part pretty knowledgeable and serious about their cars, esp. those in the Denver area BMW Club that I met at track day events, but some (coworkers, etc) were just posers there for the brand image.

Saw a dark blue new Sonata at lunch today..interesting styling..the face is way too Toyota/Lexus ish IMHO. Interesting character lines and contouring on the sides, though..

About 30 years ago on our first vacation from Ohio to AZ, my folks and I stopped for the night at an RV park in Van Horn after spending the previous night at Traders Village in Grand Prarie (DFW area). Very desolate in Van Horn. Stayed in Midland IIRC on the return drive.. Another desolate area I've been through several times is I-40 between Albuqerque, NM and Flagstaff, AZ.,...spent the night in Grants and Gallup before, drove through the night across there once and slept in the car a few hours at a truck stop on the NM/AZ line...

Can't be very many wagons left w/ the 6 though. Must be..the only time I see in person very many old cars is at a few shows and cruise-ins I go to each year and at the Barrett-Jackson auction. I find that in daily driving, the odds of seeing anything older than about 1985 is pretty low..I maybe see 1/2 dozen '60s or '70s vehicles in a typical week..

The Catalina and Tempest were, because of the engines....plain 4dr Catalina w/ a 389 tri-power and a Tempest wagon with the OHC 6 (rare for a wagon, apparently). Of course 40-50 years later, seeing any of these cars in restored shape qualifies as 'unusual', IMHO.

This issue has an interesting 'factory freaks' article, cars with rare paint combinations, special order options, unusual powertrain combinations. Dark blue w/ red interior '74 Trans Am, '70 Le Mans 4dr w/ 350 and 4 spd manual on the floor, '71 Le Mans Sport 4dr ht w/ GTO appearance package (GTO hood, Endura nose), 455.. A '73 Super Duty Trans Am w/ column shift automatic, delivered in primer w/ red Endura parts (front fascia, wings, flares). A '59 Catalina 4dr sedan w/ 389 tri power. A '67 Tempest wagon w/ the OHC 6 and a 2spd transmission. Also a '69 Grand Prix in Verdoro Green A couple silver WS6 4th gen T/As and 2 '96 Comp T/A Trans Ams.

Congrats! May you see 300k!

Not exactly...the closest is the engine article which goes back to Pontiac's earliest engines from the '20s. Also, a '52 Chieftain 4dr and '63 LeMans convertible. There is also 4 pages of readers Pontiacs. Non-GM content includes a '66 Dodge Monaco 500 conv and a '55 Ford Customline 2dr sedan.

This is their Pontiac tribute issue..beautiful '61 Catalina 2dr ht on the cover and inside, an article on Pontiac engines through the years, milestone Pontiacs, etc. There is a restoration article on an '83 Riviera T-Type (beautiful car)...

Saw several nice GM oldies when out and about today. In the parking lot at a model kit swap meet, I saw a silver '63-64 Riviera, a yellow '67 Olds 88 2dr ht, a white '55 Pontiac 2dr sedan, and a blue late '40s-early '50s Chevy Suburban w/ wood trim on the sides. All shiny. I passed a house where someone had at least 5 Lincoln MKVIIIs out front.

Classy. Rode in a Nissan Versa today...surprisingly quiet and smooth riding for a tiny car.

Headers (as in Hooker Headers, the car parts)

Yes. Not looking forward to the triple digit stuff.

The one I really liked (taken in Colorado, don't know about AZ) is 'GEEKSTA'. Thought about trying to get that one or 'GAXFON' (an obscure Dilbert reference).