Robert Hall

A couple freeway sightings tonight....a late '70s Ford E-series Club Wagon that looked like it had been painted red and black w/ house paint, had peace signs and stars spray painted on the sides, and 'Sexy Mama' spray painted across the rear doors. Was on a flatbed. Also on a flatbed wrecker was a '90s Eldorado ETC in dark red, looked like it had been in an extreme collision--the front end was crushed back to the B-pillars. Rob

I wonder if they will continue Furlough Fridays w/ the state agencies. My sister is a consultant at one in Sacramento and had 3 Fridays off in July. Rob

I have sheepskin seat covers, so the condition of the leather isn't as important right now to me than an unbroken, unbent frame and working power motor. Rob

I'm not watching the housing market too closely, but I am seeing an uptick in the tech job market lately, and August is normally not a great time of the year. My contract is thru March, but I may be looking before then, esp. if I leave AZ sooner than later. With my sister considering moving to the east coast (job market for her thing is better there than in the West), I may be moving out and away from the desert horror in the next few months. Rob

So far, I haven't found anything around here...called a few places, they have passenger seats, but not driver's side. Interestingly, the two most promising leads so far I have are on ebay in salvage yards in Ohio. Suppose I can buy one there and have it shipped. I saw one on ebay that had the front and rear seats in good condition in tan leather...wonder how that would look---dark blue outside, and dark gray and tan inside. Rob

The heat puts a strain on so many systems in a car---A/C, cooling, tires, batteries, etc. My inside rear view mirror even fell off last summer in the heat. Though I can't blame my seat on the heat. Rob

NFL: Broncos, Steelers NHL: Avalanche, Penguins MLB: Rockies MLS: Rapids College football: Michigan Motorsport: F1, ALMS, GT, Le Mans Series

Got this link through an Autoblog tweet... looks GREAT in white!!! Camaro 5 forums pics

Cool Gladiator...haven't seen one of those in ages..that's the pre-73 (or 71, not sure what year they changed it) front end. I haven't seen one of the early '60s Wagoneers with that style front in ages either...they even had a 2dr version (not the same as the Cherokee 2dr that came in the mid '70s) and a panel/sedan delivery style body as well.. Rob

Ya, such it is in this era of stubby tails...the CTS only has 13.6 cf trunk volume. The G8 is decent, 17.5. Rob

Ha ha....haven't vacuumed in there in a while. I'm not that fat... 6'0", 230. I need to take off 30-40 lbs though. I've read about people who's 110lb wife drove them every day for 6 years and the seat broke...I think it's a defect. Rob

And of course, the other car I've been driving since I've been in AZ is...an '84 Mercedes Benz with an indeterminate # of miles (the odo quit at 176k). Rob

I'm assuming the NG Astra will have a CC (TwinTop) again...maybe Buick can get that also, would be a cool addition to their line. Rob

Here's a pic I took the day after I bought it, right down the street from where I was living at the time (Colorado Springs), Aug 3, '00.. Here's a couple more Colorado pics from a few years ago.. It's been a very reliable wagon for the last nine years..over 100k miles...the current seat issue being the worst thing that's happened. I have a few other minor issues I need to take care of, besides routine maintenance... Rob

I would assume GM will play it safe and only sell a 4dr sedan w/ automatic version in NA.. Rob

And in Europe, Cherokees (XJ and Liberty) and GCs (all 3 generations) have been available for years with diesels...here's a couple pics I took in London, Nov. '00... About a '98.. And a '99-00, in the same Patriot Blue as my '00.. Besides being RHD and diesels, the other major diff from US spec I noticed is the lack of tinted windows. I've seen a lot of Jeeps in Europe, and the GCs always seem to be dark blue, silver, or black. Rob

Thought about that.... I've been driving the 500SEL the last 2 weeks. 4800lbs, V8, 12mpg, 180k miles, 50 miles a day commute... Rob

It would be more fun with an air conditioned garage. In a carport in AZ in the summer, not. much. fun. I want to replace the driver's inside door panel eventually also, since the vinyl arm rest is cracked. Rob

2011....or maybe find a clean, low mileage loaded '04 Overland..those were so sweet inside. Rob

Just joking about the Aveo.... I'm not looking to trade the Jeep anytime soon.. probably keep it for winters and get a new car in the next year or two. Rob

Sharp looking car..looks great in that color..is that the same red as the CTS's color (or is the CTS red lighter?). I really like this generation Malibu, one of the best looking mainstream sedans out there.

Two weeks ago, I driving along in downtown Hell (Phoenix) on a pleasant, sunny 115 degree day when I hear a loud SNAP, and my seat lurches backward and to the right ('00 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 101k miles). Got home, studied the situation, realized the driver's seat track was sheared off right below the seat attachment point. All the power functions work fine. Did some research, found it this is a common problem with WJs. Found several write ups about this on jeepforum.com and other forums. Started fiddling with it, managed to unbolt the 4 bolts that held the track. After leaning the seat back, I realized the seat frame (which the track bolts to) is also cracked. The most difficult thing so far has been getting the power connector disconnected from the power seat motor. After unbolting This is the electrical connector that proved quite frustrating: Both shears are visible in this pic, to the right--crack in the silver seat frame and the black track below and to the left of it..(right above the red tag is the sheared black track piece) Seat out of the car Floor grubby...need to vacuum Considering I have nearly zero mechanical skill, this was quite the achievement for me... Time to find a new seat and frame...found some on ebay...need to see if some yards in the PHX area have them...lots of passenger side ones to be found online, but few driver's side ones. I also realized today is the 9yr anniversary of the day I bought it new. To be continued... Rob

I went out early before the temps got to 100 and looked closely, took pics. Finally figured it out---slide the red 'lock' tab to the left, then push down on a tab at the front of the connector, and they slide apart. Was able to lift the seat and frame out completely. Now to find a replacement dark gray leather driver's seat w/ track in good working condition.. Rob

I wonder how many of them have the driver's seat in good working condition? I finally got the broken seat and broken track out of mine this morning...now should I replace the seat or just bungee cord a lawn chair in place and run it down to the Chevy dealer tommorow to claim my $4500 towards a new Aveo??? Rob

About the seats, are they power? Disconnecting the power from the body (cable coming through the carpet) to the power seat motor is what has me stuck on the seat removal on my Jeep. I've inquired on a couple Jeep forums, haven't gotten a great answer yet...but I just can't figure out how to disconnect the power connector. Looks like I will have to replace both the seat track and the seat, the metal frame on the bottom of the seat is cracked also. Rob