Robert Hall

I'm working on a reboot for myself for 2009...Phoenix isn't the place to be. Though I will stay in software contracting..it's one of the few bright spots in the job market.

I couldn't find an existing Jan car spotter thread (we really need a single, continuing thread for this topic, like the Word Association one, I think). This morning on the commute down town, sitting at a light at an intersection of two 6 lane streets, I saw a dark green Bullitt Mustang on one side, and a black Challenger SRT8 and white G8 GT opposite...they really stood out, what a great design contrast with the bland, soulless FWD generica and SUVs that clog the streets....

I assume the Chinese Regal (Insignia) will be the next US Buick after the '10 LaCrosse/Invicta/whatever. There was a thread on this recently.

Yeah, a diesel would be great. Besides Jeeps and Land Rover Defenders, Burbans are probably my favorite SUVs--they are sort of in a class by themselves. One of the coolest ones I know of is owned by a buddy of mine in Colorado Springs--bright red '89 barn door 4x4 with a diesel, 35 inch Monster Mudder tires, snorkel, tube bumpers, winches front and rear, roof rack w/ jerry cans and spare tires...takes it off roading all over the Southwest.

I suppose it is something you could get used to... I've driven Uhaul trucks with no rear visibility other than the mirrors, and those aren't that bad once you get used to it..

Well, if they narrow the brand down to G3, G5 and Vibe, maybe they can make a G3 ST... maybe FWD car-based subcompact pickups will be a growth market.

Overlay the current sig image with a red slash and add 'Dissapointment comes to those who wait'.

I'm sure Honda would sell him a nice new Ridgeline, or Toyota a Tundra..

I think the Viper wierdness is because there was no 2007 model--went from '06 to '08. Their midsize rental cars are doing pretty awful with those drops, though. I hope Chrysler can make it, the new Ram looks very promising, and I'm looking forward to the next 300 and Charger and the next Grand Cherokee...

Ok, maybe call it Avalanche instead..

That's cool..as are the Solstice victories. GM should advertise these wins.

A buddy of mine that had Burbans always preferred barn doors because when towing a trailer, the fold down tailgate wouldn't clear the trailer hitch and stuff, but the doors would or something like that. The visibility would be a pain, though. In an SUV I prefer a hatch w/ a flip up rear window... though I like the hatch w/ power rear window on the 4Runner. The Dutch door w/ flip up upper hatch/window on the Astro/Safari would have been a neat option for the Burban, would have been the best of both approaches, I think.

Oh well. It wasn't to be. If the market picks up eventually, maybe Chevy will do a Ridgeline competitor off the Traverse and call it El Camino..

grad school (I'm a PhD dropout myself....3 years in a PhD program warped my mind, but Prozac and vodka kept me happy then..)

Ya, kind of like Mercury's website--everything in silver, or Dodge's website--everything in red.

Strewth!

Another dude that looks like a lion is that Dog the bounty hunter guy.

Wow..that's pretty stingy...when I was salaried, I was used to working at places that have 9-10 holidays and 3 weeks vacation....

Heh-heh..I used to goofy-park like that with my Bronco II. It was really good in snow. I remember parking like that sometimes on piled up snow in lots at the U of Michigan in the winter.

Good news for Toyota!

Fun... what is funny is my Dad was a driving instructor then on the side---besides being the school district's superintendent, he was the driving instructor also. I think my sister flunked her driving test at least 2-3 times--she had a horrible time with parallel parking...then again, a '69 Mustang fastback or a '76 Continental aren't exactly the easiest cars to park, esp . the Mustang w/ it's blind spots. Both the right side trim rings on the Mustangs' wheels had curb dents (this is the same car my Dad and I restored about 10 years later). After she got her license, my Dad bought her a new '76 Pinto Runabout for her HS graduation. She didn't learn to drive a manual until her late '20s, until she bought an '85 Nissan 300ZX w/ a stick...then had 3 manuals in a row--a '90 300ZX turbo and a '93 Saab 900 turbo. My learning to drive experience went pretty smoothly...I mastered parallel parking out on the farm using sand-filled milk jugs with PVC pipes sticking out of them placed on 4 corners like a box. I did most of my learning to drive in an '84 Ford Escort 4dr hatchback, diesel w/ a manual. Great steering, very easy car to position. In contrast, I did a lot of my road driving learning in my Dad's '85 Lincoln Town Car (big, cushy, easy, but w/ huge blind spots) and his '79 Dodge Power Wagon 4x4 shortbed pickup, which had horrible steering w/ no on-center feel and would stall on left turns (hence my phobia of left turns without an arrow).

Back in the '70s, my folks house in Steubenville, Oh had a narrow driveway cut into the front yard with stone walls on each side (was probably 8 ft deep by the garage door) leading downhill into the 1 car garage (the drive was long enough for 2 cars). My sister, learning to drive, backed my Dad's '69 Mustang out of the garage, out of the driveway to the street, and managed to strike the left side several points along the way...the rear bumper corner, the door handle, the mirror ripped off, the left front fender arch, the front bumper ripped off, various other scratches. I don't think my Dad ever let her park in the driveway again. My Mom was always bottoming out the Continental on that driveway, dragging the rear bumper bottom. When you backed out the driveway, you couldn't see the street because the rear of the car was up in the air.. And of course, being Ohio, the driveway got icy in the winter... my Mom once couldn't stop on the ice and drove the Continental through the closed garage door...

Yah, back into the cube today after 2 weeks off. I have MLK day off, then President's Day (observing all the offficial City holidays, since I'm contracting to them). Probably going to take off a week in April.

from here

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