Robert Hall

Silver is so common and dull...I'd love to see pics of the coupe in Black Cherry (my favorite CTS color).

$7500 for a modified Pinto. Whoopie. You could buy a nice '80s-90s 5.0 Mustang for less money.

Beautiful. Can't wait to see it in person. Looking forward to seeing the wagon also (haven't seen one yet).

Nice quiet week w/ family this week. I'm working Mon and Tues, taking the rest of the week off--Mom is flying in from Ohio Wed. Eat and relax, play w/ the dogs and probably drive up north to do some sight-seeing later in the week.

Ya...a dead fuel pump in my '87 Mustang GT required a tow and a drop and drain of the gas tank, since the pump is in the tank.

My Dad taught me how to change them. That saved my hide that winter I drove that Dodge Power Wagon. It only had 30k miles in '88, but lots of issues.

Saw a gold Fiero on a gas station lot today...by the dust on it, looked like it had been there a while

Speaking of EFI, I don't recall my family ever having problems with them...our first EFI cars were the '84 Escort, my '87 Mustang GT, and my folks' '87 Town Car. My '86 Mustang LX (my only car back then w/ a carby) had to have to carb rebuilt twice in the 6 years I had it..

Ballast resistors. Never leave home without a couple spare ones. Nothing like having one fail at night on a frozen backroad in the snow. Joy, joy.

I've owned 2 vehicles w/ them and had experiences w/ a couple others...definitely like them. Alas, it looks like the only way I'll have another new vehicle w/ a straight 6 is to get another BMW.

I Don't see too many Impala police cars here..some in the city, but the most common city police cruisers here are Crown Vics and Tahoes...lots of Tahoes. The highway patrol has a mix of CVs, Tahoes, Expeditions and quite a few extended cab Silverados and F-150s. For freeway revenue points (photo radar), they have Escapes w/ blacked out windows (supposedly now bullet proof glass, after a nutter shot and killed one last year).

Chrysler's 'lean-burn' system. My Dad's '79 Power Wagon had a 318 w/ a 2bbl carby...it would stall and flood easily, my left turn phobia came from learning to drive in that truck...accelerate on a left turn was a guaranteed stall.. Silver and dark metallic gray paint on '80s Fords that peeled. 2 years old, 10k miles, my '86 Mustang LX was starting to peel in '88..

I think MY '96..last of the '80 style F-150s. I'm pretty sure the all-new '97 that came out in early '96 had a V6 standard.

A long time ago Ford sold a lot of F-series pickups with a big straight 6...I could see 6 cyl full size trucks making a comeback.

The last 12+ years living in the dry, salt-free West has made rusty cars a distant memory for me, even when I travel back to the Rust Belt to visit family I don't see many rusty cars..certainly nothing like how I remember the late '70s-early '80s, even the late-80s-mid 90s.

For some reason, the mid '70s full size Fords and Mercs were notorious rusters also-..esp. the rear bumpers and trunks...saw many in Ohio as a kid, my brother had a couple. The Lincolns of that era seemed to be less so...I don't recall my folks' Lincolns rusting, but they kept them pretty clean all the time.

The later Pintos and Vegas rusted also...3 winters of Ohio salt left the doors and rear quarters of my Dad and sisters' cars pretty holey by 79-80, IIRC. They were cheap, disposable cars not built to last.

Some cars are probably best left in the '70s. I remember those--my sister had a '76 Pinto Runabout back then, my Dad had a '77 Vega and later an '81 Chevette Scooter. Best forgotten. My folks had some really sweet Mercurys and Lincolns in the '70s, though. I generally like most of the big cars and midsizers from the Big 3 from that decade, and the pony cars (excluding the Mustang II).

Saw some interesting vehicles out in Tempe this afternoon...a white '09/10 Challenger R/T, first I'd seen in white...looked great. Saw 3 current Renaults--second Megane 4dr I'd seen in the last couple of weeks, a Safrane 4dr, and the large Traffic van, a passenger version w/ side windows..unusual styling. Also a very clean white '70 4dr Chevelle..don't see 4drs very often. Saw an odd bling accessory I hadn't seen before--on a blinged out late model Chrysler 300C (just a V6 version)---huge chrome wheels w/ green lights on the disk brakes--looked like LEDs around the edge of the brakes. Strange.

2011 Aveo Here's an article on the '11 Aveo. So potentially by '11-12, Chevy NA will have plenty of B- and C- seg FWD models for the mainstream to choose from--Spark, Aveo, Cruze, Volt. And the FWD Malibu and Impala in the mid and larger size, and the Corvette, Camaro, and Caprice PPV/SS for RWD fans. Sounds like a lot of variety.

One article I read he says he has a '67 Corvette w/ 427 and a '58 Austin-Healey. interview

Fascinating.

Being 3dr only would limit the Ka's potential in the US..however, the Fiat 500 which it is based on is coming here. With a 5dr, the Spark has more sales potential than the 3dr only Ka.

I don't think they are 'shoving it down anyone's throats', and the Spark is below the Aveo, as the entry level model (i.e. Matiz replacement), and would be a new niche for Chevy in the US. I assume the development of the NG Aveo is on track also..(rumored to be called Viva in some markets?). I don't see why you are so negative on this--obviously, you aren't the target consumer.. Anyway, since Buick dealers don't have Pontiac for the G3 anymore, I wonder if Buick will get a lux version of the NG Aveo to fill that niche?

Point is, Ford's success proves OHC engines are applicable to truck applications. OHC V8s are hardly a new technology.