mustang84

Yesterday in Bracciano, we were at some guy's apartment who is also a well-known chef in the area and since he works part time for Iowa State, he cooked us a seven course meal. While we were there, his wife had on their collection of 80s music, and one song came on that I know I used to hear on the radio when I was a little kid and want to try to find it, but I have no idea who it's by or what any of the lyrics even are. So I figured I'd give it a shot and see if anyone here knows what song I'm talking about. The singer sounds a lot like the guy from Depeche Mode or the Cure, but the song isn't by either of those two as far as I know. It's sort of a slower tempo song and kinda moody, big vocals with this distinctive synthesizer and electronic bells rhythm. The song almost has a desert-like sound to it...I think it's part of the "new romantic" genre or whatever it was called. So, here's my best attempt to type out what the song sounds like since I don't know any of the lyrics... [sythesizer] Reeaaaoooowwww...... [bells] do-do-do do da do-do do da da..... [pause].... [synthesizer again] reeeaaaoooowwwwww.... [vocals start] Any guesses? I wish I would've caught at least a couple of the lyrics but they were kind of hard to hear with everyone talking.

Too bad it took nearly killing the American auto industry for the media to have a change of heart...

Who's Afraid of Toyota? The Wall Street Journal By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. (Commentary) Feb. 21, 2007 Edmunds.com for years reviewed the Toyota Echo, the company's entry-level vehicle, by describing it as the cheapest car in America and still overpriced. Even after the Echo was finally dropped last year from the U.S. market, the authoritative auto site couldn't resist reminding shoppers it had once whispered in their ears, "Friends don't let friends drive Echos." And Edmunds offers only marginally more favorable comment on the Toyota Yaris, the vehicle that took the Echo's place, calling it a "decent subcompact" but advising shoppers to "keep an open mind" about competing vehicles, including the Chevy Aveo. Or take the Prius, the car that made Toyota a star in certain circles and perhaps even began to redress its reputation for bloodless, uninteresting vehicles. The Prius has hardly been burning up the sales charts lately. With a ridiculous federal tax giveaway expiring, Toyota has been reduced to dangling incentives even in front of California buyers. All this transpires while the EPA is still putting finishing touches on new mileage ratings that will sharply downgrade the Prius's gas performance. What Toyota really proved with the Prius, ironically, is that Americans have little appetite for high mileage vehicles - in fact, are willing to buy one only when the stars align briefly and inexplicably to turn a car into a Hollywood-accredited emblem of personal enlightenment. To put it baldly, Toyota got lucky. Any motorist truly intent on burning less gasoline and saving the planet could have found a vehicle that produces mileage as good or better than the Prius's, without paying Toyota a premium for its busy "hybrid" technology. Designing a car that uses less gas, after all, is a snap. In the mid-1980s, Honda marketed a version of its sporty CRX that got an honest 50-plus miles to the gallon. In 1990, GM and Suzuki built the Geo Metro XFi, good for 53 in the city. But customers have to be willing to buy it. Detroit would have been only too glad to soak consumers for a high-tech, fuel-saving vehicle had consumers declared their willingness to be soaked. But apart from a few statesiders who might embrace such a car as a fad, it makes enduring sense only in markets where taxes keep gasoline prices in the stratosphere. And forget the guff about Toyota investing long-term for the end of oil. Hybrid technology is a mere fuel extender, and a heavy, mechanically complex one for so modest a return in gasoline savings. It shrieks technological dead-end. We offer these thoughts as corrective to the tendency to slobber over Toyota, on track to become the world's biggest car maker, especially given the rumored unraveling of DaimlerChrysler (though the real culprit there was the German side's consistent knack for screwing up a good thing). Yes, Toyota is an excellent company. Its commitment to disciplined manufacturing explains why in some developing countries the streets are jammed with Toyotas, especially its ubiquitous HiAce minivan. Toyotas often seem the only vehicles on the road - or perhaps the only vehicles still on the road thanks to their sturdiness. But if being the biggest were such an asset, GM would be a world beater today. In fact, GM is shrinking on purpose, sacrificing market share for profitability, lessening its reliance on sales to rental fleets, which depress the value and image of all GM vehicles. As Edmunds recites in chapter and verse, Toyotas are far from being in a class by themselves in quality or value. A buyer who carefully, unemotionally weighs the trade-offs does not automatically end up owning a Toyota, or even a Japanese car - though shoppers whose perceptions are a lagging indicator still treat Detroit products as automatically inferior. And Toyota has some disadvantages, while U.S. automakers have advantages. Having tradition and heritage to draw upon is an advantage. Toyota is singularly weak in this regard. Few signature cars come to mind through the decades. That's why Toyota's new FJ Cruiser has earned unprecedented gushing from the automotive press - Toyota ransacked its past for visual cues and, for once, was able to make a customer feel something for one of its vehicles. Profits are not assured by economies of scale. That's one lesson of the DaimlerChrysler merger, which was supposed to shave a couple nickels off the cost of every component by spreading their development over a larger vehicle output. As important and becoming more important in a crowded marketplace is a knack for turning out cars with ineffable cultural appeal. Toyota's world-wide success so far has come without being strong in this department. And Toyota knows it: Hence its constant invocation of the word "emotion" in how it approaches marketing its important new Tundra pickup. Cars are transportation: Buyers interested in a low-risk investment in transportation can seldom go wrong by buying Toyota. But car companies are profit-seeking organizations. Though it's popular to sneer at the Big Three, they raked in many billions correctly judging a consumer appetite for large SUVs and pickups, including millions of pickups purchased by cosmetic cowboys who drive them to their office jobs. These were and remain impressive feats in consumer design - as befitting products in which the Big Three were willing to invest precious capital, as distinct from the workaday sedans they churn out just to break even on their UAW labor contracts. And unlike Toyota with its Prius, the Big Three produce and sell their fashion statements at a profit, a goal that still reportedly eludes the Toyota hybrid. The Big Three are far from incompetent car makers - or incompetent users of capital. Their big problem is that, thanks to their legacy labor issues, the financial markets simply will not afford them the leeway to make large capital investments in sedan styling and technology. These labor legacies are a product of history and a set of political and market arrangements. Fix that problem, and any Detroit car maker that's still around has plenty of potential to compete successfully with Toyota or anyone else.

That was interesting...

Oh, I've had plenty of offers to sell me cheap tripods, flimsy umbrellas, tiny magnetic things that make an annoying click, little light-up cubes, rugs, and knock-off sunglasses. I see the same people every day, and every day they try to sell me something...you'd think they'd get it by now? The funniest thing I've seen so far is when the Polizia pulled up in their little Fiats near the Colosseum. The gypsies saw them and were all scattering to pick up their stuff, then they all scurried like a pack of mice as this dainty female police officer got out was chasing after them up a hill. Absolutely hilarious...I wish I had gotten a picture. One of the scams is this extremely old looking lady that's hunched over with a cane and a cup with a couple coins in it that she clanks about once every 10 seconds (it's kind of funny when you see it in person). I thought she was legit until I checked some virtual tourist website and found out they're actually young, healthy women disguising themselves as crippled old ladies. So far, I haven't given money to anyone...the best thing I've found to do is just not make eye contact and keep walking. So far here, the only "American" cars I have seen are a late 90s Buick Park Avenue, a 1970 Eldorado, and an early 80s Oldsmobile Delta 88 that was in pretty pristine shape. I really like the look of the Fords and Opels here...GM is doing the right thing by bringing Opels to America as Saturns. Ford needs to do the same for Mercury. The Ford Mondeo and Opel Astra look really classy...I definitely have a new respect for European-American cars. Toyota has hardly any presence in Italy...and I've only seen one Lexus. Honda has practically no presence...I think I've seen a total of 4 Hondas since I've been here. Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Volkswagen, Opel, Ford, Peugeot, Citroen, Smart, MB, and BMW are the ones that dominate the road.

I was walking down the street here in Rome today when I stopped dead in my tracks. Normally I pass Pontiac vans without batting an eye, but seeing a Pontiac is rare here and something else caught my eye...a Chevrolet badge. It was essentially a Pontiac Trans Sport with Chevy bowties on it, they didn't even change the grille. I decided that someone must have done it themselves, that there's no way GM would just slap some bowties on a Pontiac and call it a day...maybe it was imported over here and the badges were missing? But after doing a check online, sure enough...the Chevrolet Trans Sport exists.

Well, North Korea's auto industry better be putting in overtime with all those Japanese cars being taken off the road. What's that you say? North Korea has no auto industry?

Then why are Detroit brands "by and large, perfect." In this day and age, odometers should be nearly flawless...it's not like it's some super complex technology. Honda with its 'superior engineering prowess' should at least be able to install an odometer that functions properly.

Full Article: http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/182948 Toyota's troubles Despite being set to replace GM as No. 1 automaker, Toyota's breakneck growth has hobbled it with high recall rates, severe skills shortages, slowing efficiency and Third World competition

4 Maserati Quattroportes 1 Maserati coupe Some type of Maserati van Ferrari F430 1950s Fiat 500 late 90s Buick Park Avenue (rare sight here) 1970 Cadillac Eldorado (extremely rare...the only old American car I've seen here so far) More Smart cars than you can shake a stick at Opels galore, Focuses and Fiestas galore Some little three-wheeled truck called an "Ape" 2000 Crown Victoria (anther rare sight) Lots of Porsche 911s Porsche 944 2 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMGs A couple MB S-Classes A couple Chinese vehicles...I hope they never make it to the US Lots of Alfa Romeos, Lancias, Fiats, and Citroens Volkswagen Phaeton Maybach 57S Lots of Chrysler 300s, Chrysler Voyagers, and Jeep Grand Cherokees...more Chryslers here than I was expecting

According to some Toyota die-hards on other boards, the sludge problem doesn't exist.

Bwahahahaha...are they joking??

I don't mind ear piercings, but anything else is a turn off for me. I hate lip piercings...so many girls I know who are going "emo" get lip piercings, and it looks awful. Also, not a fan of eyebrow or tongue piercings. I guess I can handle nose piercings if they're the small dot kind on the side, but otherwise no. As for tattoos, tiny ankle ones are fine, but anything else is not really my taste.

LOL, I'll have to check that out. I also heard from someone I left about the Planet Hollywood...they said they went there a couple times a month to get rid of the homesickness. ------------------- I've been noticing that the undercover police here drive a lot of Alfa Romeo's and Lancia's...but the Carbinieri and Polizia regular patrols all drive Fiats. I love the look of the Lancia Thesis...almost like an Italian Bentley (almost looks Korean in these pics, but it looks much better in person, especially in black) And the police and government officials drive these around a lot (bring it to the US!!)

I'll check out that ice cream shop next time I'm there...I had gelato for the first time a few days ago, and it was gooood. I need to get another! Lufthansa wasn't too bad from Frankfurt to Rome (although food for that stretch consisted of a hard bread cheese sandwich, a Kit Kat, and yogurt) but I was crowded on the way from Chicago to Frankfurt (middle aisle, middle seat, 6'4" and no leg room...oi!). But the food we got shortly out of Chicago was really good...some type of spicy chicken with rice and a raspberry cake thing. The roll of bread was hard as a rock though. And when it rains here, it pours! I got caught in a downpour yesterday and was soaked within 5 minutes.

In case anyone has been wondering why I have been silently absent during what is probably the most exciting time in the auto industry, my excuse is that I am in Rome and have had no internet access for the last week. In fact, today was the first chance I've had to log onto C&G and I was like a baby in a candy store on Christmas seeing all these auto show unveilings and updated models for 2008. I'll be here for the next four months, so depending on the wireless connection here in studio, I may not be posting much. But I'll try to keep you guys updated with some of the things I experience and post some pics every once in a while. So for now, here's a few of the best pics I've taken (almost 300 so far...need to slow down before my hard drive beats me) of Rome. And btw, about the cars there, it's cool to see the cars like the Opel Astra that are coming as Saturns. They look good. Lancias and Alfa Romeo's also look cool. Haven't seen one Ferrari or Lamborghini yet, however. Quite a few Ford Focuses, Fiestas, and C-Maxes...Chevrolet has a Matiz over there, but that's it for GMNA brands. Saw a few Rovers and a Chrysler Magnum. Anyway, Ciao!

Now, here's what you don't really see anymore (at least I don't)...Grand Prixs from that era. I see Cutlasses, Regals, and Monte Carlos everywhere, but I've only seen two of these in my life (and only '81-'87, never have seen a '78-80)

I hope whoever buys it leaves it bone stock...too many of these cars have met some extremely tacky fates. It's rare to see a stock G-body in good shape like this.

The taillights took me by surprise, especially after doing a sketch a while ago with four round lights like the Cobalt coupe. But I have to say, they don't look bad...I see the evolution from the current 'Bu's taillights. Overall, it looks good even if it's not wild...it looks composed and confident.

I've been here long enough to remember back when the 'C&G Member Showcase' was actually two separate boards, one for "realistic chops" and the other for "members ideas" or something along those lines. I also remember Leeron for some reason, but Adam was before my time (though I've heard the stories).

My nose has only bled once in my life (way back when I was 7...I barely bumped it but somehow it bled for a good 10 minutes), but I have a friend who has had problems with bloody noses for many years. One time about 6 years ago his nose started bleeding for no reason whatsoever and he ended up filling up an entire trash can with bloody tissues. I think it bled for probably 3 hours or so. That was when he was 15 tho...I think he has kinda grown out of it since then, or at least I haven't heard of any recent ones.

A damn shame...

Images at Autoweek I don't like the rear end...too weird...but the front looks good.

It's an old rendering and likely highly inaccurate...not to mention barftastic (check out that front end)