Robert Hall

I'd love be in London, Cardiff, the Welsh countryside, Yorkshire, most anywhere in the UK right now, out of dull-ass Phoenix..

Top Gear did a piece on the Wiesmann a while back, a comparo with one of the Morgans. I'm drawn to the Morgan Aeromax (except for the wierd headlights)...the rear end and proportions are so cool, so defiantly RWD in a world of conformist FWD genericism...

Yes...Pontiac Excitement from south of the border! The current Daewoo Matiz/Chevy Spark is rebadged as the Pontiac G2. Quite sporty, isn't it?

There may be a 3dr version eventually, though I would think in any market, a 4/5 dr will always outsell an equivalent 2dr/3dr...just more practical. This is replacing the Matiz, I assume, which is 5dr only, I think. The Pontiac version will be the G2 probably (like it is now in Mexico).

Yeah..I'd like to see it with a modern size update of the '68-69 Rallys or the early '70s gray spoke wheels.

The taillights are vaguely similar to the the 5 series, but I don't see any 5 in it otherwise..the C-pillar and decklid remind me the most of the Lexus GS..

For some reason, this car and the Beat remind me of a Pokemon character..the clash of angles, I guess.

I really like that red...

I picked up the Jan issue of CAR magazine today, it has an illustration that looks much the same...the greenhouse reminds me of the Mazda3 and Impreza. Interesting in that it looks like it has a reversed version of the Insignia side crease.

Ah-yeah. I always forget about SAAB...just thinking about the core, CPSBC brands. (or CPOBC in olden days).

Yeah, everything seems to be in flux...and I couldn't imagine them getting rid of the G3 or G5, BPG dealers would scream they wouldn't be able to compete w/ Chevy without them..

To quote a song from my youth, 'The future's so bright I gotta wear shades'... that is a bright green. (I'd like to see the Camaro in that color).

Yes.. getting through the next 12-24 months is going be critical to GM's future.

Looks like it's much smaller than the Fiesta, maybe more Ka sized..

Yes, a few really good cars is better than a lot of overlapping ok cars..

Yeah, I bet there won't be a 2nd gen Aura or G6. So GM will probably have 2 midsize (Malibu, Regal) and 2 large (Impala, LaCrosse) FWD sedans by 2012 or so, it looks like...

So roughly 190 inches vs. 197. IIRC, the wheelbase on the Insignia is 107 inches, the '10 LaCrosse must be 112 or so..

Chevy Colorado. GMC Canyon. Ford Ranger. Dodge Dakota. All RWD 2drs with big trunks..

Can't wait to see it... I've been really happy w/ my 2nd gen ('00) GC, haven't really liked the 3rd gen that much (sat in a few, the interior is a letdown).

The LaCrosse is on a longer wheelbase, so it's a few inches longer. I assume once the Regal is out, the Lucerne will go away and the Regal and new LaCrosse will be the midsize/largish sedans, with maybe a small Delta based model added later.

Same way here..that is one of the positive things about Arizona. On the other hand, two recent studies showed the several cities in the Phoenix area amongst the more boring and most illiterate in the US...wonderful. ARRGGGGHHHH

Ya, I used to get take out dinner from Whole Foods all the time--there's one really close to my condo in Denver. When I was working close by, I used to run over there and grab sushi for lunch...they had decent prepackaged sushi boxes. There's a Trader Joe's near me here in Phoenix, haven't been there yet...will have to check them out.

Ya, trying to go after customers that are into the organic or natural foods market, rather than the usual processed, made-in-China plastic ingredients. I've had supposedly 'natural' pizza slices from Whole Foods and Wild Oats that are pretty good.

eBay is probably the best venue for the diecast, or maybe diecast.org or diecastmuscle.com, their are dealers there that do some consignment sales. Not sure about the brochures, quite a few on ebay. I've got my collection spread over 3 states and 5 locations, so it would be pretty difficult for me to start selling my stuff. I've got 30+ years of car magazines, some brochures, 15k+ diecast of all scales (Hot Wheels, ERTL, Johnny Lightning, Bburago, ERTL, etc), about 2000 model kits (mostly 1:24th/1:25th scale, about 250 that I've built, 250 built-restorable that I bought used, the rest unbuilts), 100 or so dealer promo models (1:25th scale).

Didn't feel like cooking or going out last night, so I ordered Pizza Hut's new 'The Natural Pizza'...plain w/ pepperoni, italian sausage, bacon bits and mushrooms. Supposedly, all natural ingredients. Pretty tasty, better than I remember the Hut from the past...