Robert Hall

The Superstition Mountains, out east of Apache Junction, IIRC. The winter weather is great here, no doubt. But May-September can be hell on earth, esp. July and August.

The upcoming Caprice PPV is a perfect car to trim that way, IMHO.

Cool...I'd like to see a Mustang GT or Shelby trimmed that way, or all in satin black.

Did it again. 4 years ago (earlier in the thread) it said I was 32 when I was 36. Now it says I'm 33, when I'm 39-going-on-40.

That reminds me, I saw one Saturday night in black w/ black out windows and chrome rims..very sharp. Limo tint all the way around is very popular here, and kind of necessity w/ the summers..

Great commentary.

Saw a '10 4Runner in white at the office, first one I've seen in person. Looks much worse than it does in photos--very blocky w/ strange protruding lenses (quite a trend lately).

Saw two yellow '70s survivors today... a yellow w/ matching hubcap trim and brown vinyl top 4dr Mercury Comet from around '74-76, and a late '70s Toyota Corolla 2dr sedan--greenish yellow w/ black bumpers. Both in really clean shape.

I assume the front end is gone because that is where they started parting it out...

That was a good one... seems like he forgot when Bush took office relative to 9/11..

What is 'tankism'? Never heard the phrase. I agree, the commentary on some shows on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox can definitely be partisan. Such it is today. Well, back in the old days when it was just CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS, did people watch all of 'em? Usually, I would think people would have watched one network's news regularly and that one only..(my family watched CBS w/ Walter Cronkite (later Dan Rather) when I was growing up, though I started watching PBS for McNeil-Lehrer and Wall Street Week when I was about 12...) But the network news back then was pretty much straight news, not much commentary. Great description.. as far as Fox News, I refuse to watch them on principle--I refuse to waste my time watching commentary/news that promotes what I perceive as a right-wing agenda.

There is a 'Toyota All-Star Showdown' NASCAR race on Speed right now...I hope this accelerator problem isn't present on the 'Camry' race cars..

Yeah..definitely opposite, but I view MSNBC as more 'rational' than 'crazy'. I'll admit I like to listen to Glenn Beck in the car sometimes on the radio, he's so out there that he's frickin' hilarious, IMHO.

While out and about this afternoon I saw a very sharp pale yellow '68 Galaxie convertible w/ black steel wheels and a primer gray '67 Firemaro (a Camaro w/ a Firebird front clip)...looked like a project in progress.

The idea of Fox News being 'fair and balanced' is such a oxymoron, IMHO. I could never watch a channel w/ hosts as repellent as O'Reilly, Hannity, Beck or Limbaugh. I get most of my news from the internet these days, but when I do watch TV news it's usually MSNBC or BBC World News America. CNN isn't as good as it used to be, IMHO.

From '00-08 in Colorado I always had a laptop for work so snow days were usually always work from home days for me.

+1. No matter whether I was in E. Ohio, SE Michigan, or Colorado, it was never the snow that bothered me but the ice..those ice storms in Michigan were fierce in the mid '90s. Even worse--ice+fog makes me want to stay inside w/ the blinds closed.

For the winters, maybe a clean used 4x4 Trailblazer or Envoy? Get the traction plus the practicality of an SUV.

AP article Jan. 29, 2010 04:13 PM Associated Press Toyota executives have been virtually silent amid a recall of millions of their cars because gas pedals can become dangerously stuck. For their customers, oh, what a feeling - fear, frustration, confusion and anger. Since Tuesday, when the Japanese automaker said it would stop making and selling some of its top-selling models, the company has had few answers for dealers and drivers - most notably when Toyota owners could get their cars fixed and hit the road without worrying. "I'm stuck with this car," said Tony Raasch of Hales Corners, Wis., who said he hit another driver in his 2010 Corolla two weeks ago when the car suddenly accelerated. "I really don't know what to do. I just feel - I guess - ripped off is the best way to put it." Toyota first recalled 2.3 million vehicles, including the popular Camry and Corolla, because of faulty gas pedals. Later in the week, it expanded the recall to Europe and recalled 1.1 million more in the U.S. because of floor mats that can catch the accelerator. Almost certainly adding to driver frustration, Toyota is sending new gas pedal systems to its factories, not to dealerships that want the parts to take care of customers' cars, The Associated Press learned. In its worst crisis in recent memory, the company has communicated with the public in a series of very limited statements from spokesmen. One of them, Brian Lyons, said he was restricted to describing the problem as "rare and infrequent." For days, there was no indication of how long it might take to get the affected Toyotas fixed, whether the fix would be a repair or a replacement, or whether it was even safe for drivers to take their cars to the dealership. The company finally said Friday that details on the fix will be made available next week and should take about a month to implement. Among Toyota's famously loyal customer base, frustration and anger mounted through the week. Laurie Strong, a nurse from Bristol, R.I., drives a 2010 Camry and said she noticed the gas pedal seemed too sensitive - "0 to 40 in a parking lot" - when she bought the car last summer. She went to the dealership Wednesday and refused to drive it anymore. Strong, who was ultimately given a Kia, said she had repeatedly dialed a Toyota hot line only to get a message saying it could not handle calls. A Toyota customer for years, she now says she's put off. "I would be less upset and less confused if I had a person on the other end of the phone who could talk to me and tell me what my options are - what they think quite honestly, what the time frame for figuring this out and putting this into motion." It made for a maddening week for Toyota dealers, too. Jason Stewart, general manager of a dealership in North Palm Beach, Fla., said he doesn't know what to tell customers and has found out more about the problem from watching the news than from Toyota. "People on the phone, they're very scared," said Douglas Lima, the service manager at Toyota Central in downtown Los Angeles. "I received phone calls screaming and yelling and using bad words. You just hear them out." On Friday, Toyota's Web site was featuring bold, brightly colored ads for its cars and trucks, like the Prius and the 4Runner. At the bottom of the home page was a small strip with a link to information on the recall. Even some prominent rental-car companies went further than Toyota did, sending their customers e-mails throughout the week keeping them posted - in most cases saying they were removing all of the affected models from their fleets. Toyota's response, by contrast, has left experts in crisis management scratching their heads. Some wondered why Toyota didn't mount a full-court press - full-page ads in newspapers, executives readily available to the morning shows, ramped-up customer service. Toyota is certainly no stranger to advertising. The company alone - not its dealers - spent $629.4 million on it in the first nine months of last year, according to Kantar Media, which tracks advertising spending. A simple, honest, humble message would have gone a long way, said Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management. He said the company should have sent the word out online, by e-mail, with letters - whatever it takes. His suggestion: Toyota should say it was as surprised as anyone by the scope of the problem and deeply regrets the inconvenience, and pledge to get up to speed as quickly as possible and provide regular updates. "Anytime there's a threat to health or safety, there's nothing that creates bigger concern. Nothing that freaks people out more," he said. "You're dealing with very intense feelings, and that requires sensitive and appropriate communications." The Associated Press requested interviews Friday with Yoshi Inaba, chairman and CEO of Toyota Motor North America, the company's top U.S. executive. It also requested interviews with other top executives. A spokesman said he would look into the request. Telephone and e-mail messages left for the safety public relations team at Toyota were not returned Friday. In the meantime, drivers like Johnathan Jones, who lives in Fort Mitchell, Ala., and has a 30-mile commute each way in his 2009 Tundra, will keep waiting. "I've got a $30,000 vehicle and they don't even know how to fix it," he said, huffing. "To me, it's a big safety hazard with my children. I don't want to even put them in there."

My sister said it was snowing this afternoon in Charlotte when she went to the airport..that's not very common there, I believe? Was mid 60s and sunny today in Phoenix...weather's been great here this month so far, with a storm, some rainy days, and some incredible sunsets.

As I was loading my purchases outside Target this afternoon, I saw a gorgeous 1990 Mustang GT pull in beside me..Oregon plates, bright red (a lighter color than my '87) in minty condition. I got to talking to the lady driving it--has only 30k miles and she uses it as her winter car here. Well equipped, power windows, sun roof, manual, no armrest (an anomaly of the 1990 model which had a driver's side airbag for the first time). It's pretty rare to see a Fox Mustang in original, unmolested condition...the few I see these days look worn out or are modified. It was a beautiful evening, gorgeous sunset..layers of reds over the mountains to the west, with a full moon to the east.Spring is in the air--saw 1/2 dozen people in shorts and flip flops at a pizza place when I went out for dinner, and it was only in the upper 60s today in the Chand..

Saw a 2010 CTS wagon on the road this morning for the first time...dark red. Love the taillights when lit..long and pointy. Love the rear design.

The footage on ABC had pics of some wrecked Priuses, incl. one that ended up in a river...not sure why it's not covered.

I hope it is..I really hope that the TTBs (Toyota True Believers) pause and think about what is going on today..

This is a great day... Toyota learns karma is a bitch. Their overrated mediocrity has caught up to them.