Robert Hall

I think some recent Mitsubishis (Galant?) had a Pontiac-ish nose. Of course, the best Pontiac front ends IMHO didn't have just a split or 2 piece grille grille but also were pointy or bulging in the center...

Since you are Buick fan, are the Regal and LaCrosse on your comparison list for the the future?

Will be interesting to see how the Regal compares to these.

Leaving work yesterday, the check engine light in my Jeep came on (only the 2nd time in 112k miles). Got home, pulled the code, and it's an OBDII P0306 code, misfire in cylinder 6. Interesting, because I had the plugs replaced last Saturday. Since about Wednesday, I'd noticed a bit of driveline roughness when moving and when sitting at a light in gear. The check engine light stayed on since then. Today after lunch, started and the check engine light didn't come on. Don't seem to notice as much roughness afterwards. Strange. Started and shut down twice since then, light still off. Thinking about taking it back to the shop Monday and explaining what I saw. I haven't checked, but can I still pull the last codes even though the light is off?

You are an old-car fan, not the typical car buyer.. Actually, the S-class has been imported to the US since it's first generation. It's just that M-B just had a much lower profile (and low sales volume) in the US in the '50s.

Problem is, those terms are mostly from over 40 years ago. I can't imagine those terms would resonate w/ new car buyers today (at least those under 60)...

Dimensions, for what it's worth: '11 Regal 107.8/190.2/73.1 '10 lacrosse 111.7/196.9/73.1 '10 malibu 112.3/191.8/70.3 I assume the next Malibu will be very similar to the Regal dimensionally.

Looks consistent with the patent drawings posted here last week.

Saw a dark red '10 Camaro LT in the parking lot at work. Must be a rental because of the AZ plate w/ the 'FLT' sticker in the upper left corner (first time I noticed one of those). The Camaro looks really good in this color. Near it was a white minivan w/ a sticker on the bumper than looked like a giant adhesive bandage. Must have had a bumper ouchie under it.

I never cared for GM's small and midsize FWD models of the last 20+ years, but really liked many of their full size ones like the Bonnevilles, Auroras (both generations), Riviera, Eldorado, Park Avenues, etc..

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..