Robert Hall

That car had like a zillion miles, though, didn't it? Who knows how often the previous owner(s) serviced the tranny...

Just got off the phone w/ my sister...sounds like the weather is horrible in the Dayton area...she's trying to drive from Beavercreek to the airport to fly home to Phoenix this afternoon...

Thinsulate-lined gloves, toque, Thinsulate lined ski jacket, snowboarding pants, waterproof snow boots. That has been my venture-out-into-the-blizzard wear for years.

I've heard it's been a rough winter...my Mom and brother are about 60 miles south of Akron down in Tuscarawas County in Amish country... I was back there for Xmas, wasn't too bad then. My Mom went without power for 11 hrs yesterday, though still had heat (gas furnace, private gas well). I was back in Kent and Cuyahoga Falls a couple of summers back, first time I'd been there in about 10 years--lots of changes, some for the better (lots of new buildings on my old campus). Downtown didn't look too good, though, a lot of the bars I hung out in as a student are gone. Went up to the Flats in Cleveland while I was there also, looks pretty good, some redevelopment going on in Cleveland, looks like...quite different than when I remember it from I frequented the area in '88-94..

Talked w/ my brother in E. Ohio this morning...my Mom was without power 11 hrs yesterday. On her birthday. At least the gas furnace still worked. I wish she would get out of that hell and move to AZ or back to Florida. Sounds like the weather in the Midwest and NE is horrible right now.

That was the '73-87 pickups that had those, I thought the 'burban always had the tank in the back center..

Unfortunately, they are still stuck with the Colorado's dreadfully cheap, nasty interior (the '82 S10 interior was nicer than the Colorado's).

Because they want Pontiac to die.

Those are Ohio cities, though...they suck. I got out of the Akron area 15 years ago and it was dying and decaying..pretty bleak area...worse now, I suspect.

+1. I've never cared for Toyota, but I've always respected Honda..they take engineering very seriously.

Imagine a Type R with wings and things... definitely see the Clarity styling in the front and profile.

62 and sunny here now...supposed to cold again tonight, down to 38.

Well, the Venza is more of a Camry wagon than a CUV... the Murano is in the same category as the Highlander, I would think. GM doesn't really have anything to match up against the smallest ones like the Rav-4, CRV, and whatever Hyundai and Kia have in that class...(those are smaller than the Vue, I think).

Well, it's a mix of FWD car-based unibody midsize and fullsize CUVs with BOF truck based models -1 midsize SUV (H3) and the fullsize traditional SUVs (Tahoe, H2, Yukon, etc). They did get rid of most of the BOF midsize SUVs (GMT360s) and the minivans, so the CUVs are taking their place.. And nothing really in the compact CUV or SUV market...

Speaking of ricers, at lunch today I saw a really crappy looking battered red 2nd gen Integra 3dr that had had it's roof cut off (home grown convertible). Really, really bad looking.

Probably so it will have it's own identity...it's a totally different vehicle than the Envoy.

Is the Genesis coupe even out yet? I've only seen 1 Genesis sedan so far..

The full-size Lambdas are much bigger than the Highlander... the Vue is about the size of my '00 Grand Cherokee IIRC (180-181"). Kind of small midsize to large compact. The '09 Highlander is 188", the current Equinox is about 190", the new one may be larger. Lambdas are all around 200". I think the new Equinox, Vue and SRX are going to be on a longer wheelbase than the Vue, a bit bigger.

Maybe they will market it to cubicle dwellers. 'Work in a cube? Now You can Drive a Cube!'.

One oddity today on the way to work--a late '80s Chevy Sprint (the Geo Metro's predecessor) that looked brand new..a steel blue color.

Yeah, well GM always seems to be few years behind the trends. Midsize CUVs were a big niche a couple years ago.

Yeah, in '10, GM will have 4 midsize CUVs...but they have 4 dealer bodies (Chevy,BPG, Saturn, Cadillac) to keep happy...

I thought that...I seem to recall reading about them building a car at one time, but don't recall the details. I went through a list last night of MLB baseball team names, couldn't find any info online about car companies w/ similar names. Must be very obscure. Maybe the 1920 Red Sox car from Ma ?

That Wildcat is interesting... what I'd like to have in a fullsize Buick if I ever got into vintage GMs would be a '71 Centurion 2dr ht or convertible, or a '71 Riviera. I just love those '71-72s with the heavily sculpted bodies, and before the federal bumpers came in '73-74.

Working on a Dream--new Bruce Springsteen album