Robert Hall

My brother had a Mustang II Mach 1 30+ years ago. My '84 Ford Escort diesel was a great little car, super efficient, handled pretty well, great steering, great in snow. The downside was it was so darn basic--am radio, vinyl interior, manual everything. But as a teenager in high school and college it was fine. My '86 Mustang LX 2.3 and later my '88 Bronco II were probably the worst cars I owned just because as they aged, more went wrong. And the Bronco rusted like crazy. The Bronco II was a car my folks had bought new for themselves and passed down to me after the Mustang LX was totaled in '94. My '87 Mustang GT which I've had since new had a number of issues at around 55k miles, but other than that, it's been good (though I've only put about 6k on it in the last 10 years). Rob Rob

May I never hear 'That's what she said' again... I like 'all your [items] are belong to us'. I've been known to use 'asshat', 'strewth', 'plorchers', and 'shenanigans' in conversation. I always laugh when I see a red stapler or see a PC Load Letter error. Rob

Well, when the interior features are in motion (operating the tilt/telescoping wheel, moving the power seat, then it's dynamic.. Rob

Engaging could be used as far as interiors as far as the ease-of-use, ergonomics, feel of materials the driver/passengers contact, i.e. the 'surprise and delight' features. Rob

The outage didn't affect me..I was off Twitter most of yesterday...was back tweeting w/ no problems last night.

Entry-lux is one crowded segment, certainly... there are sporty FWD models, softer FWD models, RWD sports sedans, AWD models...a little bit of everything. But it's a very important segment--if a maker can successfully hook a buyer in this segment, they can potentially keep them for life as they either stay in the segment w/ serial purchases or move to more upscale offerings by the same brand... Rob

Called around to several local salvage yards on Mon-Tues...they either had passenger side seats only, drivers side cloth ones, or the wrong color or trim level. Maybe I should have called car dealers, there have to be plenty of WJs in the CFC rows. Ended up buying one advertised as in good condition, working, complete w/ track and motors etc on ebay from a salvage yard in Columbus, Ohio. Right color and trim. Fed Ex ground shipping, supposed to arrive here on the 11th. I keep driving around in the 500SEL until then. 'Cooler' weather forecast (under 110), so hopefully by middle of next week I'll have a working driver's seat installed and be back on the road. Rob

Or how about a 1.8 or 2.0L turbo. Audi and VW have turbo 4s in mid size cars (A4, Passat).

Or in the parking lot at a nude beach. I don't think I've closed a finger in a door that I remember, but one of the more painful incidents was when I opened the door of my Jeep into my face--the pointy, outward-angling rear top edge of the door upper knocked off my glasses and bruised my face right beside my eye.. Rob

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