mustang84

I'm a pretty big 'Tallica fan...but I don't like the direction they took after Justice (and especially after the Black Album). Jason was a cool guy...the hazing thing only lasted a couple years, but it was still enough to leave him with hard feelings toward the band. I think I read one time that it and other things were the reason he ended up leaving a few years ago. I really don't like the new bassist (Rob Trujillo) either...he just doesn't fit in with the band well. Part of the reason they "sold out" on the black album was that Bob Rock was the producer (same guy that produced Aerosmith and a bunch of other bands)...Flemming Rasmussen did the first four albums, and RTL and MOP are superior in every way to anything else Metallica has put out. Absolute perfect production and sound. Personally, I like Kirk's guitar work. He's not the greatest of the greats, but he's pretty good. There are so many epic solos he has done on RTL and MOP....Fade to Black, Ride the Lightning, Sanitarium, Master of Puppets...they're permanantly engrained into my memory because they're so recognizable. But I gotta agree with Josh...I don't see much happening with the band in the near future. I've heard the new song, and it's basically St. Anger with a guitar solo. James' voice doesn't sound very good these days, and there's nothing that grabs you about their songs anymore. Metallica is still my favorite band, but Megadeth definitely puts out better albums today. The System Has Failed has some REALLY good stuff on it...much better than anything Metallica has put out in the last 15 years. Dave and the band still has a lot of energy left in 'em. It's a damn shame Metallica can't do the same anymore.

As some of you may or may not know, the 1988 album ...And Justice for All has pretty much no bass to it. Two of the most speculated theories are that the band was still broken up about the death of Cliff Burton two years earlier, so they toned the bass down to inaudible levels as a sign of respect for their dearly departed friend. The other theory is that the band was hazing Jason, the new bassist, and to show him that he could never fill Cliff's shoes, they shut him out from the mixing session and toned the bass down. The rest of the band's official explanation is that they wanted a "garage sound." They were pretty mean to Jason back then...sometimes he would come back to his hotel room after a show to find all his stuff thrown out the window numerous floor down and the beds overturned. They also refused to let him ride with them in the limo, making him find his own transporation to shows. Anyway, the production of And Justice for All has always been seen as the biggest downside to the album. The drums sound like cardboard boxes, and there's no depth to the songs that bass would give. But a talented 17 year old kid has recorded bass for six songs off the album and mixed it with the original tracks, also including a bonus song where he flipped the intro to "Blackened" as it was originally played by the band (the band actually reversed the song in the mixing studio, giving it a whole different sound). You can download them in MP3 format here: http://www.jasonizer.com/justice.html

Sorry, it just screamed for a little modification:

I agree...V6 Mustangs have too much of a chick stigma...especially if you're looking at the '94-'98s. Now, if the new Mustang had something like a turbo Duratec 35, I'd consider it...but a clunker like the 3.8L just isn't worth it. Definitely go V8.

I was pretty close to getting a '98 V6 Mustang a few years ago after my Lumina got hit. It only had 60,000 miles on it and my uncle who owns a used car dealership was offering to sell it to me for $6000 (went for $7,300 at the time), but in the end I opted not to b/c insurance would have probably killed me and college was a couple years away. It was in pretty good shape and very clean, but it also had the 3.8 which was not exactly one of Ford's hallmark engines in the mid 90s.

A female co-worker of mine drives a '94 Camry and we took it to job sites a lot this summer, so I got a lot of time riding in it. To tell you the truth, I wasn't that impressed. Overall, it's in pretty good shape. The body is clean and the interior was in good condition, but the dash is nothing to write home about. The panels had a tight fit, but the material was pretty cheap all around...my Lumina dash is spongy all over except for the plood and plastic surrounding the plood, but hers was like touching a rubbermaid container everywhere. Below the steering column parts of the dash were hanging there, and the passenger side door handle was coming loose. The seat were supportive, but not exactly comfortable. And my steering wheel is a hell of a lot cooler! Basically, it seems like my car is poorly put together but with higher quality materials, while hers has good fit but bargain basement finish. Her doors do close with more of a thud than my do, though.

I'm sure the Power Stroke problems are dragging them down. I wonder when this survey was taken...Ford seems to be doing much better over the last couple years for customer satisfaction, with the Fusion and Mustang getting top marks.

Here's what I'm talking about...20 or so houses on a piece of land that could probably fit 50-75 comfortably. You see this all over the Midwest too...acres upon acres of farmland gives way to development like this.

I'm not against suburbs or anything like a lot of the people over at that SSP site. Since I grew up in a small town, I know what it's like to have a backyard, have a neighborhood park down the street, have houses in neat little rows with front porches, and have ample space to park a car. You never have to worry about paying for parking or being late to work due to heavy traffic. It's a nice, quiet atmosphere. But I do think it's getting pretty rediculous how large some cities are sprawling out into farmland and desert. A lot of the older suburbs pre-1980 were more compact, but drive around any major city today and you'll see suburbs with $250,000 homes with huge parcels of land, no sidewalks, and no greenery. It's about as anti-community as you can get. A lot of co-workers at the firm I interned at this summer live in a neighborhood in Des Moines called Beaverdale, which has some beautiful old brick homes from the 30s and 40s. The trees are fully developed and lined neatly along the street and it's a fairly young neighborhood with local eateries and recreational space. That is the type of neighborhood I have grown up in, and that's the type of neighborhood I think I want to live in when it's time to purchase a home. Not to mention the commute time to downtown is about 10 minutes with traffic.

Best of luck with the baby, Satty!

A lot of people over at the Skyscraperpage.com forums that I sometimes visit have been predicting this for a while, and I wouldn't be suprised if more and more cities begin building up downtown areas and inner suburbs. I know Des Moines and Omaha are both experiencing a huge housing boom downtown with new lofts and condos going up everywhere. Old inner city 'burbs like Windsor Heights are also getting built up. Some people are also saying this will be the reverse white flight...gentrification will cause real estate to skyrocket in downtown and inner city areas, forcing poorer people out. What's amazing is that most other countries, especially in Latin America and Europe have the highest real estate in the central city, while the "suburbs" are usually where shantytowns and poorer neighborhoods build up. If there is this reverse white flight, I see it being very hard on lower income people because they will be stuck without mass transit and will probably have further commutes to work...and many may not even have a car. Could rising gas prices kill the suburbs? When a high-cost commute reaches the point of no-return, home buyers will start finding houses closer to work. In fact, some already are. http://realestate.msn.com/buying/Articlene...742526&GT1=8479

Maybe it's foreshadowing a GM-Ford merger in the near future... ...I kid, I kid.

What a chintzy looking interior. SO....MUCH...PLASTIC. Maybe the plastic has some soft touch to it, but it looks like crap. For it being a Chrysler, they don't even bother putting some trim around the vents or something to break up that vast expanse of gray. And that wood....it looks like it came straight off our old 1978 La-Z-Boy couch with the orange and brown plad pattern. And the radio buttons look like something that came off my old Daewoo 13" TV.

I think Grandpa needs a nap!

Photo comparison

I don't see what's with all the bellyaching....the Aura looks great in the Autoweek pics. I guess you just can't please some people. The aggressive front fascia and side molding will probably be reserved for the Red Line anyway. Save the cool looks for the performance model so you can justify the higher pricetag and make it a little more exclusive.

As much as I dislike Wal-Mart, if they do this...I may cut them some slack for a change. Why Wal-Mart wants to sell ethanol http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/08/news/compa...dex.htm?cnn=yes

http://paultan.org/archives/2006/02/18/chery-qq-crash-test/

Wouldn't extending the rear overhang give it more of a 1980s feel?

Sounds a lot like those actors that leave one garage door open displaying their Prius while keeping the other three closed that are hiding their Maserati, Bentley, and Hummer. http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060810/...eworldtobelieve

Wow, my grandparents are on a flight from Chicago to London today. I hope they arrive there and get back safely...

2006 Nameplate Ranking Problems per 100 Vehicles Lexus 136 Mercury 151 Buick 153 Cadillac 163 Toyota 179 Acura 184 Honda 194 Jaguar 210 BMW 212 Infiniti 215 Lincoln 220 Ford 224 Oldsmobile 224 Industry Average 227 Chrysler 232 Pontiac 232 Subaru 232 GMC 239 Mercedes-Benz 240 Chevrolet 241 Nissan 242 Mazda 243 Porsche 248 Hyundai 253 Dodge 258 Mitsubishi 260 Jeep 264 Volvo 272 Audi 279 MINI 280 Isuzu 283 Saturn 289 Volkswagen 299 HUMMER 307 Kia 310 Suzuki 318 Saab 326 Land Rover 438 http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060809/law079.html?.v=66

Check out this doozy of a post that can be found here. Not to mention the 55 page thread on slipping gears in 2007 Camry that can be found here. Poor fit and finish: And last, but not least, rattles... All these responses came from the owners on a Toyota board.I doubt this car will be receiving any customer satisfaction awards anytime soon.

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/08/toyota-...rtundra-recall/

http://blogs.edmunds.com/straightline/ • 410 hp • 11,000 towing • "d" cab larger than Dodge Mega Cab Hopefully just a rumor...