Robert Hall

It's a Buick...it doesn't have to be cheaper or performant. A pushrod V6 is unsellable in the midsize/large FWD sedan category in 2010. It has to have a modern engine to be marketable.

'slower car that gets worse mileage', also heavier and larger than the Ws. And nicer interior and more content. Everything's a tradeoff.

Or San Fran...brutal. I paid $47 A MONTH to park in downtown Phoenix earlier this year, the 5th largest city in the US.

Nah, it was a Toyopet 4dr sedan w/ suicide rear doors and maybe a small pickup truck.. Rob

I enjoyed driving out in Amish country when I lived in Ohio (15-20 minutes from home). Great winding, hilly roads. But being stuck on a road where you can't pass behind a buggy is not fun, nor are driving over horse pies.. Rob

I rarely ever take a laptop w/ me on vacation...last time I did was when I was in San Diego on the beach for a week in '05. I really like to disconnect when I'm on holiday, whether it's the mountains of Colorado, Hawaii, Italy, or the UK.... though on 2 week trips in Europe, I do try and get to internet cafes once or twice. Sooner or later, though, I will get a smart phone, which will make disconnecting harder.. Rob

Saw a Grabber Blue '10 Mustang for the first time today..love the color..but the gray cladding is tacky...the fascias on the '05-09 were much cleaner. Saw a sharp dark blue 3dr Saturn Astra..don't see those very often. Rob

Nothing wrong with that. I like stuff, and enjoy experiences, and traveling. All require bank. I make good bank, spend some, save some. I've been accused of being materialistic, self-absorbed, and arrogant, but I've earned those labels. Rob

Like living off the grid? In a van down by the river? Homeless? Wouldn't work for me. I like having stuff. And travel. And living in different places..

Hmm...I don't know, the 1961 Plymouth, and '62 Dodges and Plymouths, and the '60-62 Valiant are way uglier than any Acura... Rob

50th anniversary of what? Must be Toyota in the US. '10 is the 25th anniversary of the Camry, I think. Rob

And since this is Ohio, the daughter's '76 Accord was swiss cheesed by the mid '80s...still ran well, but completely rusted out...she replaced it with an '86 or so. Rob

At my folks' farm in E. Ohio, our neighbors were a retired couple with a very clean '73 Newport 4dr (tan w/ tan interior) and a rough '71 Biscayne wagon... I rode in their cars many times as a kid, good neighbors. After they passed away within 6 months of each other around 1990, I always wondered what happened to the cars..their adult children (who were in their 40s then) had Hondas. Rob

Yeah..those C-body wagons are cool..though I prefer the '69-71 front ends.. Rob

Looks like a cool museum...great selection of cars. Rob

You could probably trade your Merc in under C4C and get a new Aveo... My sister could do the same with her money pit Mercs...heck, I could trade in my Jeep also under C4C, though I'd rather keep it a couple more years. Rob

Every state I've lived in has required insurance...Ohio, Michigan, Colorado, Arizona. (Florida also IIRC, but that was over 20 years ago). My Jeep is basically the same in AZ that it was in Colorado, about $900/yr full coverage. Rob

In the office parking lot there was a really striking '97-03 Grand Prix GTP in silver w/ tinted windows and large but tasteful aluminum alloys w/ black spokes. That era GP may have been the best looking of the Ws. Parked next to it---a dark gray G8 GT. Sweet. Rob

I'd love to have a Camaro w/ a sloping hatchback roofline w/ a diesel w/ 6spd manual, awd, 10 inches of ground clearance, etc. A modern Eagle SX4 with muscle. Am I insane? Rob

That's a perception more than reality..VW is doing well w/ diesels here, MB and BMW have them also. The automakers are denying us diesels based on outdated perceptions. I'd love to have a modern RWD V6 diesel sedan (a CTS or G8 diesel would have been fantastic). Rob

Don't most states require proof of insurance in order to register a car? Rob

I've been paying/etc my insurance online for probably 5 years now (major insurance company). A couple years ago, I log on to their site, see my car policy, my homeowners policy, and a car policy for a Geo Tracker. I don't have a Geo Tracker, not to mention that policy was linked to another person (with the same last name, similar first name and an address in a town I used to live in). Obviously, a clerical or db error that linked this guy's policy w/ mine. It took 4 phone calls to my agent's office to straighten out.

Really? I always thought it was because they use a lot of salt on the roads and thus rusty cars used to be common there (having grown up there, that's what I understood it to mean), plus all the rusty, decaying closed factories, steel mills, etc. Rob

Yeah, someone long ago was an excited new owner, and probably waxed it and took care of it for a while before trading it on the next new shiny after a few years.... the second owner wasn't so caring, etc..

Gas is really cheap here also currently. Nothing like last summer.