Robert Hall

I'm 38..I remember seeing the early '80s X-cars and J-cars as rusted out beaters by the late '80s..they didn't last in the Rust Belt...the GM's I liked in the '80s were the F-,G-,B-, and C-bodies... lots of F- and G- bodies (and some B-'s) in my high school...

I didn't say anything about all religions...I have plenty of friends that are religious..I was talking about the extremists--the fundie, evangelical folks like Palin--she's a Pentocostal. I've lived in the Bible Belt (Colorado Springs)..people like her are very dangerous and have no business being in power, IMHO. I'm a strict modernist and secular humanist, believe in science and technology and believe religious or spirtual beliefs are a personal choice and have no place in the government, the classroom, or in public life in the modern world. Irrational extremists like Palin believe the earth is 5000 years old and oppose science research (like stem cell research), want creationism in the classroom, etc. There is no place for someone like her at the top of government..she would try and impose her extremist views on Supreme Court nominees, etc.

I couldn't care less about the 2nd amendment.

Excellent article..as a well-educated atheist myself, I despise the idiotic mindset of religious extremist retards like Palin..

Believe what you want to believe.... anyway you look at it, the Cimmaron was a pathetic excuse for a Cadillac. The J-cars, X-cars, etc were mediocre crap best forgotten. It was the low point of modern GM history.

Because we have already had almost 8 years of failed right wing BS? I'm sick of the right wingers always getting their way. F*ck them!

I was a teenager in the '80s..I knew then that J cars and most FWD GMs were crap...I drove RWD then (5.0 Mustang), still prefer RWD today..

Though I am part Scottish (and Scots-Irish), I couldn't see myself in a kilt... I'm shaped like a slightly thinner Tony Soprano.

It would be delusional to compare a FWD J-car turd to any BMW. RWD gives BMW superiority, even a 4cyl '83 3-series..

The Sky and Solstice are platform mates, not badge engineered. But the Sky, Opel GT, and Daewoo whatever are. The CTS isn't Zeta (it's Sigma). Some Zetas are badge engineered across multiple markets--i.e. the Holden Commodore exists as a Pontiac G8, Chevy Lumina, etc but in different markets., likewise for the Holden Statesman--it's a Buick Park Avenue a China, a Chevy Caprice in the Middle East, and a Daewoo in SK. Nothing wrong with badge engineering across markets. It's bad when the badge engineering is within a single market, like the G3 and G5 in NA simultaneously with the Aveo and Cobalt. See the difference? So many posters seem to be incapable of understanding the difference between badge engineering and platform sharing. Badge engineering occurs when the car is given a different brand and/or name, with trivial styling differences (usually grille and taillights) and little or no interior differences. G3 and Aveo. Commodore and G8. Dodge Neon and Plymouth Neon (a particularlly extreme example). Sierra and Silverado (though the differentiation is more with this generation than previously). The U-vans. Torrent and Equinox. Nothing wrong with badge engineering across different markets. It's when it is within the same market that it becomes egregious. Platform sharing occurs when a number of models are built across brands (or within the same brand) with shared dirty bits underneath, and often the wheelbase and other hard point dimensions... Malibu, Aura, G6 and Vectra. LaCrosse, Grand Prix, and Impala. Sky and Solstice. The Lambdas. Equinox and Vue. ES and Camry. Usually no sheetmetal is shared, though windshields many be. In the past, GM shared entire greenhouses on some platform shared models (like the B-bodies of old), but in recent years (like with the W-bodies), each brand gets completely unique metal. Make sense??

I couldn't imagine blue collar union workers supporting a Republican. Isn't the Democratic party traditionally heavily supported by the unions, and the Republicans by businessmen (the suits)?

So? Who said they weren't badge-engineered? Nothing wrong with it when models are badge engineered across different markets. It's absurd, though, when they are badge engineered in the same market...i.e. a G3 in a Pontiac dealer cross the street from the Aveo at the Chevy dealer. Or are you too thick to see the difference?

Flagstaff is under 3 hrs, IIRC, as are Payson, Pinetop, places like that up north. San Diego is also a popular getaway in the summer... I should have driven up to the mountains this summer, but just didn't feel inspired. I'll definitely head up this fall and winter. I'll be back in Colorado for a few days in October, that should be good. My new gig is a 6-9 month contract, I'll see how my opinion is of AZ next spring..not sure if I want to do a second summer here. I couldn't imagine living here without a pool. I like swimming, and just enjoying hanging out in to cool off in the evenings after work.

My prediction is that within five to eight years, Pontiac will have gone the way of Olds. They will trim down the line to only 3 Chevy rebadges (G3,G5, next G6), make them 75% or more fleet, then pull the plug. Since Pontiac is part of BPG, it will have minimal effect on dealers... Sad, but unstoppable at this point if the suits at GMNA have already decided the end game for Pontiac.

A big part of my cutting back wasn't planned; partly it was being laid off at the end of July and being on the job hunt for a few weeks, naturally, I drove less staying at home; my new job is 6 miles away instead of almost 20 like the previous; and August was really, really hot--most days 105-115...when it's that warm, I don't really feel like driving anywhere...just stay inside with the A/C on and spend the evenings in the pool. Now that fall and cooler weather is here, I'm looking forward to some weekend road trips up to the mountains and out into the desert..

I do try and listen to newer bands and bands I'm not familiar with to try and keep expanding my musical interests, but much of it I can't get into..though I have heard a few tracks by Modest Mouse and My Morning Jacket that I like. I've also gotten into Roger Clyne and Peacemakers, they are popular here in AZ.

Not specific artists, but genres... Nu-metal emo. Boy bands. Most hip/hop Most all country music hair metal (though I do like Def Leppard and Guns and Roses, who may have fit in that genre back in my youth).

I do like the original version of that song, though...I'm a big Don Henley fan.. Those Ataris kids are way too young to be singing that song, with one of it's themes being about the passing of youth and entering middle age..

No idea.. I suppose if you had a big enough sampling of each ethnic group one could compare their DNA compare against those samplings to get a % match.. Yes...lots of questions...would be interesting to use in addition to traditional geneaology methods...

Yes...I've had 2 I-6s so far, been happy w/ both of 'em (Jeep 4.0L, BMW 3.2L).

Any 'facts' put forth by the Republicans I automatically assume are fake..I don't trust them.

Hmmm...interesting.. I would think it could identify ethnicity, race and perhaps geographic origin area (at the continent level) more easily than country...can't see how you would identify country by DNA, unless by markers related to historical groups that occupied a geographic area that is part of a specific country. Or by comparing to DNA that is known to be from people from country X. Finding % matches against a test group of DNA from a given country.

Actually, my comment had nothing to do with disabilities... there are people that use computers strictly with voice activation. He's said before that he has no use for email and doesn't see what the big deal with the Internet is...it's a generational thing, I think he's out of touch w/ the modern world. He's at the age where he should be relaxing at his place near Sedona and playing golf...

I was going to, but that would be overkill...

Yeah, and McCain even admits he doesn't use a computer or email. No way in the 21st century would I want a luddite like that leading the country. McCain and the Republicans have done nothing to appeal to my demographic (upper middle class urban/suburban technologists). Before the Palin decision, I didn't think McCain was that bad..but I find her totally disgusting (the whole gun/fundie Christian angle is a complete turn off).