Drew Dowdell

that is kinda where I am. I've been in the I.T. field for 7 years, but being inside board rooms and watching the actions of some of the business leaders out there has caused a severe distrust of corperate america.... especially in regards to how they treat their employees. When the company thinks of you as just a number.... nothing more important than a computer or fax machine....you can't count on the company to keep you around. Conversely, most people feel are so financially tied to their corperate jobs that they stay simply because they have no other choice. This leads to even poorer treatment of employees by the employers. The job I held for 5 years was particularly bad in this regard. Every year I'd get a pathetic, usually less than cost of living, raise. I would get glowing performance reviews, then was told that a 2.5% increase was the maximum available and above average for the "region". At the same time, I had an expense account that was devoted just to buying personal technology "toys" for the main shareholding family. I was routinely sent out to buy new iPods, laptops, XM Radios, HD Theater systems, Digital Camcorders and such for the "first family". Needless to say, usually just one of these purchases was greater in value than my "all that's available" raise. It literally would make me sick to my stomach to buy the wife of the Chairman a $2200 laptop <more than my raise>.... and then have her ask, "Where do I plug it in?" or "How do I turn it on?" It was the laptop incident that led me to the decision that I would not allow these people to rule my life both emotionally and financially. I started buying apartment buildings. I have fun fixing them up. I work when I want to work. Once the building is finished they don't require much maintenence. Eventually, when I build up enough buildings, I'll them over to a management company to run and I won't even have to deal with collecting the rent once a month. Once I hit four buildings, I completely replaced my old salary. Any time I want another raise, I buy another building.

Your definition of Quiet Tuning? What about Buick's defintion: it really doesn't have anything to do with the engine

this one is missing 2nd and 6th gears.... oh... wait...

a bombardier jet was routed onto a runway too short for it to take off from. it clipped some trees during take off and crashed. only the co-pilot survived

If you can't hear the Lexus engine due to the sound of the road noise, that doesn't mean the Lexus is quieter. If that were the case, a 2001 Civic is quieter than a Lucerne.

doesn't the '07 Nox get the 3.6?

again!?! Did we get a DNR on them yet?

Three gay men died, and were going to be cremated. Their lovers happened to be at the funeral home at the same time, and were discussing what they planned to do with the ashes. The first man said, "My Benny loved to fly, so I'm going up in a plane and scatter his ashes in the sky." The second man said, "My Carl was a good fisherman, so I'm going to scatter his ashes in our favorite lake." The third man said, "My Bruce was such a good lover, I think I'm going to dump his ashes in a pot of chili, so he can tear my ass up just one more time."

go go toyota! crank them out as fast as you can!!!

delete yourself

I don't think I'm on either of your lists simply because we didn't interact much. Good luck with your s

Not really, the Isuzu started as a crappy, yet slightly capable SUV.... turning it into an Acura didn't improve anything. The Yukon Denali is based off the already excellent Tahoe.

Individually, yes we do have our biases, but as a group we come up with some well reasoned, well fought out, ideas. My bias is towards Cadillac and Oldsmobile, so this doesn't affect me. I just want to see the van in the area it can do the most good and make the most profit inside a B-P-G dealer.... and to me, that place is with Buick. There needs to be an upscale minivan, and even with Denali, Buick is still more upscale than GMC.

WE should be GM's focus group. We'd excitedly do it for free AND likely give answers based on better rational.... especially if we were allowed to fight it out forum style first.

Buick should have the premium minivan to take on the Town & Country. Buick and Chrysler are as natural enemies as Chevy and Ford.

Norton Firewall is particularly bad software. There is perfectly good, free firewall software available from ZoneAlarm. Sure they want you to buy the premium versions, but that just adds unneeded complexity. Get the free version here.

Bone stock 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado with an LS-6 and some suspention mods. Wash, rinse repeat with a bone stock 1996 Fleetwood.

Fly! you missed the most important feature.... the shag pad

I've rented Devilles from the pre-quiet tuning era numerous times. I'm not sure what you're hearing, but at 80mph the Northstar is silent, there is no "constant growl". Heck, not even my CTS with a V6 which has to work harder has a "constant growl" and it's not quiet tuned either.

the 3.5 is a good engine, but sometimes oil filters are hard to find...

Riviera was a body style on the 50's buicks it designated the car as being a hardtop Similar to the holiday designation on the Oldsmobiles

Ya know, this thing goes on sale in a month and this is the first we've seen of it? What good are ya Chris!?

Interior looks stunning... exterior is evolutionary and kinda blah, doesn't scream premium like the others...... the steering wheel doesn't match the look of the rest of the interior. overall, B+

Holden's VE Commodore E-Series Gets to 60 in Under 5 Seconds MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia's Holden Special Vehicles has launched an E-Series performance sedan lineup based on the GM unit's freshly introduced VE Commodore. With a 0-62-mph time under five seconds, they are claimed to be the fastest Australia-made cars ever. The new HSV range includes Clubsport R8, GTS and Senator Signature models. All have been completely styled, modeled and engineered in-house by HSV. They feature aggressive body kits, spoilers and new, repositioned curved LED taillights. The change required a unique fascia and rear bumper assembly. The three-model range, with prices beginning at the U.S. equivalent of $48,000 for the Clubsport R8 and topping out at the equivalent $58,700 for the Senator Signature, is powered by a mildly modified version of the 6.0-liter LS2 V8 used in the previous series. Exhaust extractors increase power to 412 horsepower, and torque has been boosted to 406 pound-feet at 4400 rpm. All models are available with a six-speed automatic transmission; a six-speed manual is offered on the Clubsport R8 and the GTS. All have the latest Bosch ABS, traction control and electronic stability control, while the GTS and the Senator Signature also get magnetic ride control, which automatically adjusts suspension stiffness for improved cornering grip and handling. Road wheels are 19- or 20-inch alloys paired with a unique range of Bridgestone tires. What this means to you: Hot cars are always good news, anywhere in the world they occur.

1901 Oldsmobile