76ChevyTrucker

Another thing, aside from the Battle of Britain analogy, there is also the analogy that ONE ammo belt from the P-47 Thunderbolt was exactly 9 yards long (and think about it, that plane had EIGHT machine guns).

I ocassionally have to borrow mom and dad's crew cab S10 because I need a truck, and right now my blue monster is going through rear-end transplant surgery.

I guess you could say that I'm waiting to get to that point, but congrats nonetheless.

I like all the 900s, and it took me a little while, but the grille and front end on the Yukon have grown on me.

Well, see the idea of having a computer "chip" for your car comes from the 1st generation PCMs where you had a PROM chip that stored all of your cars vehicle-specific needs on it, so when you ever had to replace the PCM you swapped PROMs. Now that vehicles are OBD-II, there IS NO CHIP, you have to have the PCM "flashed", or reprogrammed. Now some manufacturers do offer updated PROM chips for first-gen cars that have OBD-I, and some do offer updates for your ride if you have an OBD-II vehicle that requires the compter to be reflashed. And most of the time, there won't be any increase in gas mileage or anything like that, just programming fixes that the manufacturer has run across over time and released updates for.

I agree 100% XP, I forgot about that way of checking the strut mount, thanks for reminding me.

The whirring sound could be something in the wheel bearing assemblies, or the cv axles. The metallic vibration could be front suspension or something inside the engine. I would have to be there to actually hear the sounds to better diagnose them.

I've had the radio lock problem happen with the wife's Cobalt, but none of the other problems, and its an 05 model. Overall, I have to say that its a good little monster.

Well now, the Avalon is at-heart a problematic car. That'll sure win you some more buyers. I've actually heard a lot of similar problems from people with Avalons. Being the parts business like I am, I've already had requests for power steering lines and catalytic converters from people who have had failures. Then again, like everyone has said, you pump out that many cars with a huge influx of workers, quality is going to go down. I'm not jumping on the Toyota bandwagon, I hate them with a passion, but I can definitely see the problem. I just hope that they do too.

Engine fires are no good, niether are crappy clutch master cylinders, but kinda like y'all said, that's what they get for buying underpowered, fleet/rental grade vehicles.

Well, it looks like he's leaving for family reasons in the article. Then again, he may be taking a summer hiatus to go home, talk to the family, get moved into the Detriot area, then come back to work with GM. We will never know, but at least he did a good job while there instead of just collecting a check.

She looks good to me too and I like the slightly longer overhand on the rear, maybe they added a taste more trunk room with the rear overhang so that the wheel wells won't intrude into the trunk a whole lot, or something like that. I'm just taking a shot in the dark on this one. But the ride looks good overall, I wouldn't mind seeing one over here as the new Grand Prix and then the longer-wheel base Zeta as a Bonneville. Then of course you would get a slightly less high-performance version and call them the Malibu and Impala.

It looks good to me, and I'm also glad to see some styling cues from the '73-'87 model trucks. I mean obviously those trucks and that body style was popular or GM wouldn't have kept it around for 14 years and there wouldn't be so many of them still on the road (hence GM trucks ARE the longest lasting, most dependable trucks on the road). It'll be interesting to see the truck without the camo, although I can already say that I'm likin' what I see.

Thankfully with 113,000 on the odometer, I haven't had the "intake fiasco" happen to me and no electrical problems whatsoever. I did take the PCM out and had it reflashed today to correct a problem with it throwing false P0420 "Catalyst system efficiency below threshold (bank 1)" codes, but it was no big deal, stopped by my work (at CarQuest) and got it reflashed with the update, now I don't have to worry about getting that stupid code over and over again and not actually having a problem.

While I haven't had a chance to drive the new Monte or Impala, I have to say that the style and design of both cars has grown on me a bit. I see a LOT (at least 10 a day) of SS Impalas and Montes running around down here (I guess the V8 does make a big difference), and from what I can tell, they're pretty good looking cars, the headlight design is the hardest thing for me to really latch onto, but still it ain't bad. I guess I could have more to say if I test drive one, but since my 01 Impala is reliable and keeps me happy I won't get that chance.

I have to agree with you on this one Monte. I've got an 01 Impala LS 9C1 with the non-supercharged 3.8 and its a hoss. I always have power when I need it and for a four-door family sedan I can toss it into a corner at any speed and feel safe and confident that its going to stay with me. I've roasted a couple of people in Beemers before too, with three other people in the car and about 100-lbs of tools in the trunk (I carry the toolbox for those just in case situations, although they rarely happen). Its just a good solid ride and since they're platform mates, I believe and can vouch for everything you say.

I can't really say that I ever had any real touchy-feely feelings about the RSX, I never really saw that many around here, seemed like everyone just bought a topped-up Civic and was happy, although that can also be attributed to the dealer here (they are a little snooty, sarcastically speaking).

I have to admit that VW has been doing diesels for a while and they've been fairly good, before my wife got the Cobalt we had a TDI bug and it was a pretty good little rat, until for some reason air got into the Fuel Injection Pump and made it a very expensive job (dealership is an asshole, but no one else will touch it, I tired). Overall, I have to admit the diesel is a good little creature, but if I want diesel power next time, it'll come in the form of a Duramax with an Allison strapped behind it.

its good to see some positive publicity come out about the Cobalt after all the things that have been BAD are posted about it. As far as build quality, I can attest that my wife's Cobalt is well build and there hasn't been a single problem out of it, although it goes through normal maintenance every three-ish months, so if any problems DO begin to arise, I can catch them. And as far as the mileage is concerned with mixed (60%city 40%highway) it averages 28mpg, and that's not relying on the DIC to tell you that, its by doing the actual math. I quite enjoy her Cobalt, it was comfy on our Honeymoon drive from Montgomery to Orlando (with my driving last July whilst Hurricane Dennis (I think it was) was coming ashore).

Now THAT is hilarious. Although in today's corporate world it'll be swept under the rug by damage control and we won't hear another word about it.

Actually, if I remember right the 6.0L Powersmoke is built in-house by Ford (and its having problems, and going to be replaced once again by an International-built 6.4L). Cummins is doing a good job with their diesels along with the Izusu-based Duramax.

I don't think that it will, but I would have to the measure the engine bay and engine with manifolds/headers strapped on. You might have to remove the inner fenderwells and do some modificating to the front subframe.

There is no replacement for displacement.

That's something I'm always curious about when it comes to "defective" intake manifold gaskets on those engines. I know that the coolant can degrade the gasket, but only after the coolant is allowed to age and become contaminated.

Great commercial, I really liked how they tied the company's image from its heyday to today when the image isn't so great. Its good to see that the company can put some attitude into their ads.