Robert Hall

That's probably true..I don't think they are load bearing. My (my sister's) house here has an asphalt shingled roof w/ the A/C on top, newer houses w/ the RTRs have the A/C on the ground, so less need to go on the roof.

Yeah, I can understand that. A few blocks for me there is a house designed and trimmed like a Swiss chalet, complete w/ palm trees. Now those look great in the rolling hills of Sugarcreek, Ohio (which has a lot of Swiss style buildings and was settled by Swiss and German immigrants), but in Arizona, a bit strange...

Got to admit, it would look distinctive in PA. Not sure if the palm trees and cactus would work in that climate, though.

Go for a southwestern look with beige stucco and a red tile roof. (suburban Phoenix is like that, with varying shades of beige, w/ brown trim).

The rental car agencies have made up their own categories for years. The Malibu is a midsize in the real world, but inexplicably the rental car companies call it a full size. Same at Hertz..the '07 Taurus was full size while the Grand Marquis was 'premium'.

I wonder what venue he will use for his tearful tell all eventually...Oprah show? Jerry Springer would probably be more appropriate. Graham Norton Show would be interesting...

The Enterprise near my house here in CenPho has a mix of cars--Rav4s, Priuses, Cobalts, Malibus, Camrys. Not sure what they have out at the airport. For close scenic drives, Carefree Highway and up through Cave Creek is a pretty desert foothill drive...further east, SR 87 from Mesa up to Payson (a shorter drive involves cutting back east at Fountain Hills) is quite scenic, also a side trip to Roosevelt Lake is nice. US 60 out east to Superior and Globe and up into the Salt River canyon is a gorgous Saturday drive, going from the valley floor up into higher altitudes, lots of rocks, plants, etc. Another one I've done is go out to Apache Junction then take windy, twisty SR 88 up to Tortilla Flat. Beautiful mountain scenery..also leads on to Roosevelt Lake, but it's a dirt 4WD road past Tortilla Flat.

Yes, it's all in conflict with his sanitized, manufactured sponsor-safe professional image. That disconnect is what makes it all the more news worthy.

The sleaziness is what makes it entertainment fodder. A married celeb having one affair is one thing, but a dozen or more affairs w/ snanks and hos makes it pretty sleazy.

Odd they weren't there years ago, given how the Canadian market likes small, cheap FWD cars.

There was one, but I haven't seen one in ages... I read that rumor also somewhere..so if there is a new Jetta coupe, it will sort of replace 50% of the Eos, which is the current Golf/Jetta based coupe, sort of? IIRC, wasn't the 4th gen ('99+) shown in 2dr form as a concept?

There was one, but I haven't seen one in ages... '85-89.

Cool...what the story w/ the blue '69 Dodge Coronet in the background?

Duct tape, bondo and primer...

Best line was George Lopez the other night...something to the effect that 'instead of chasing Jack Nicklaus' record, he was chasing Wilt Chamberlain's'...

The Commander hasn't been that successful, and the Dodge brand is the appropriate place for a meat-and-potatoes family truckster like the Durango was.

software engineering

I just read an article yesterday about states w/ mandatory vehicle 'safety' inspections..only 19 states do it. I don't recall ever having to do one, but I've only had cars registered in Oh, Co, and Az, though I've lived in 7 states since I got my license. But in CO and AZ I've done emissions checks every two years.

Heh-heh. I lived in Michigan for 3 years w/ 2 cars w/ Ohio plates and an Ohio driver's license, then a year in Colorado that way.

The SSR was a failure. It would be madness to build a luxury car on a truck platform. Total failure. The press would have a field day with that.

Hadn't heard anything about this..the ES is their biggest seller as far as cars, I thought. It and the Avalon are Toyota's Buicks, sort of.

Just my $0.10 worth: The way I look at the NA international full size luxury segment is that there are 6 players--Merc S class (and CLS?), BMW 7 series, Audi A8, Lexus LS, Jaguar XJ, and Maserati Quattroporte. Sedans like the Panamera, Rapide, Bentley Contental, RR, etc are in higher/different stratums (perfomance luxury and ultra luxury), I think. The Germans and Lexus are all very high tech, and the Germans have more of an emphasis on driving characteristics while the Lexus is more cushy and isolated. Probably my favorite in the group is the Quattroporte--the Italians have a unique style and are less cold and serious than the Germans. Jaguar seems to be trying to balance both approaches w/ the new XJ--serious and technical yet also stylish and flavorful. Agreed on the S-class being the standard of the group, though. It's my favorite of the Germans. The question for a Cadillac XTS is this market its target market, or will the Lincoln MKS and Chrysler 300C be more appropriately the target for the XTS?

The equivalent in AZ if a FOPOS...Faded/Oxidized Old POS (since cars generally don't rust here). Or a 'hooptie' in urban vernacular.

Realized tonight on the way to the airport that the front lighting signature of the GMT-900 Silverado is very similar to a Dodge van from around 1980.

Probably the '93-96 RWD Caddy Fleetwood Brougham. For non-Cadillacs, maybe the '90 Caprice for Chevy, '86 Parisienne for Pontiac, no idea about Buick or Olds...maybe one of the FWD h- or C- bodies.