Robert Hall

Wow...$865 for the whole year... I was seeing about $400/month this summer for A/C here in Phoenix. I think in Denver IIRC my heating bill for my condo is usually around $100/month more or less in the winter.

I'm pretty sure the Cobalt is Ohio-built, just like the Accord.

Another reason to hate the South. Effing red states.

Probably cause of the long lead times in old media... Oct magazine articles are probably written in August.

Yeah, that was my favorite thing to do in Co, as well as Oh and Mi...can't do that here, dealers are open Sundays.

Mmmm....Cracker Barrel country ham w/ biscuits and gravy, with sausages on the side. Love that place. I think the nearest one here is way out in the East Valley burbs (Mesa I think)...will have to go some Saturday morning..early. The ones in Colorado often had a 45 min wait if you showed up after 8 am on a Sat/Sun.

That's cool..the way I want to do is to preserve the '59's wrap around rear glass. Thought about a '61 also, using a Lindberg '61 Impala kit as the base. It's alot cheaper and easier to build custom cars in 1:25th scale styrene than in 1:1 metal..

Let's see...my favorite Elkies are probably the '68-69, followed by the '70. The GMC Sprint is neat also, saw a goregous silver '71 Sprint SP 454 at a car show a few years ago. I always thought the taillights in the rear bumper were weird on the '73-77 and '78-87 models...though details I really like on the '78-87s are the rear quarter windows and the back window treatment. About that '61, I plan to build a phantom '62 in 1:25th plastic scale using an AMT '62 Bel Air ht and an AMT '59 El Camino and some kitbashing..

One of the things I miss about Colorado is that the car dealers were closed on Sundays. Nice way to waste a couple hours on a Sunday morning. I'd occasionally find used cars unlocked on the lot, and sit in them. I remember seeing a row of 6 identical year old pearl white DTSes at one dealer last year.

Ya... this summer in Phoenix was considered 'mild' by the locals--only hit 115 once--no 118 or 122 as has happened in the past...still, almost 5 months of 100+ daily highs. It's nice now, perfect convertible/sunroof open weather. Looking forward to fireplace weather in December. The desert is a very strange place.

You can definitely get 50mpg in a compact w/ a diesel... it doesn't have to be an Aveo-sized sh*tbox. The automakers just have to have the courage to sell them here.

Apparently, the city has a $250 million budget shortfall going into '09, so it will be interesting to see if they start cutting projects and cutting employees and contractors. My contract was recently renewed thru March 31st '09, but I may run screaming sooner if I have to...

I keep hearing the Rush song 'Red Barchetta' with it's ominous sounding 'Motor Law'... R-Cube

Hmmm....a fleetwide average of 50 would require a fleet of diesel Aveo sized cars and trucks...

Nice..highs still in the low '80s the last few weeks here in Phoenix, with a couple days in the '70s. Highs in the '70s should be the norm soon though.. No cloudy days. R

Interesting... my dogs start barking and jumping around when the doorbell rings. Actually, since I pay and tip online, I really don't need to appear at the door except to take the pizza (though I always check it before the delivery guy leaves, as Papa John's has a history of forgetting toppings).

Yes...I've done that for years... w/ Papa Johns also. Still have to get up to answer the door, though.

I feel old...I remember those ads.

Nah..a conversion... I recall an ad years ago from a company did them and similar 'Cowboy Cadillacs'..kind of a civilian version of a flower car.

Cherokee (what the Liberty is called outside the US)

french fries

Interesting..a Lincoln pickup. Certainly more interesting than the Mark LT turd of recent years.

Ya..I esp. liked May and June, Sept and early October in Ohio. July and August can be hot 'n humid, though. Michigan was ok then also. IIRC, winters there (SE Michigan) were grayer than NE Ohio, with less snow, but just as damp...and some nasty ice storms. After jr. high and high school mostly in the Florida Keys, I moved back to Ohio---in college and grad school, I spent 6 winters and summers in the Akron/Cleveland area, 3 in Ann Arbor, Mi, and 2 summers in Chicago... interesting variety of weather those years, IIRC...then I moved West in June '97. One of my favorite little weekend trips in Michigan was the time I drove all the way around the thumb...very pretty....also drove up to Charlevoix, Ste St Marie, went to Mackinac Island, drove around the upper peninsula. The summers of '94-96 were fun, amidst grad school and driving back and forth between Chicago and A2.. One place at the northern tip of the thum I liked was Port Austin...I recall eating in a restaurant called 'The Bank'.

And how about the global brands--Chevrolet and to a lesser extent, Buick? Who controls them--GMNA or GME?

Fascinating..never heard of that one..I didn't realize GM had experimented w/ V8 Ws (GM-10 back then) before the GP GXP and Impala SS...