oldshurst442

Sorry. However....that sorry I just gave you was not a random sorry. Sorry about that too.

I see what you mean. I wanted to contribute...but Drew knows his stuff. I also wanted to talk about Hellas...but this place aint about politics..I respect this place and Drew...so I aint gonna go down that road... I just wanna point out...in the Random Thoughts Thread...because I too...am Greek...and it pains me to see some ignorant folk blame socialism... Greece's economy consists of figs, olives and olive oil and feta cheese....and tourism....and when people cease to fly...because they have over extended themselves...whether they are indulging in the American Dream...or the German Dream...the credit crunch killed the world...Greece's tourism went down....see 2009 worl crisis...not only in America...so Greece had to pay the bills solely on feta cheese and olive oil....and lest not forget...that there are several ranches in Texas and Alberta...I repeat...SEVERAL RANCHES that raise cows that are LARGER in surface area than the entire country of Greece... Montreal...just finished paying off the Olympics of 1976...with Canada's and Quebec's help....of cigarette taxes, gasoline taxes...federal payments...and Oshawa building Camaros and Impalas...Greece....well...the Olympics took place in 2004...and Europe does not help Greece pay off her Olympic debt of new airports and highway systems and Subway systems...let alone the Olympic venue buildings themselves....in fact...German Banks have pretty much raped Greece for that loan...then there is the F-16s that Greece had to buy from Nato...but Greece....builds none of that....no factories....BMW, Audi. M-B, OPEL...most if not all factories are in Germany....employing German workers....Renault, Citroen, Peugeot....almost if not all factroies aee in France...employing Frenchmen....Siemens and Miele....factories are in Germany...I think...employing Germans...yet Greeks...buy these products by the boat load...but not one Greek benefits...funny...I thought Greece was in some sort of a European Union....free trade...OH...brain drain from Greece to work in Germany...pay German taxes to the country of Germany....yeah...socialism is at fault....lazy Greeks they say... OK...RANT OVER!!!

I fully understand Drew. And I will do my best to comply with your request... And I 100% agree with you on his ability to be a formidable poster. He has some excellent qualitiies about him and is a very intelligent poster full of very useful information...its just too bad he spoils it all by being a man-child... Ive heard about his past...he is some sort of legend concerning trolling... Many problems with this... 1. His reputation of trolling is hitting a milestong of close to 15 years of doing the same act over and over and over again... 2. he is PROUD of that reputation and Im assuming he aint about to stop... 3. For crying out loud (pun intended) he is a 50 year old man...he aint a trolling teenager on the interwebs trying to frustrate other teenaged interwebbers...he is a grown man talking to other grown men that simply want intelligent conversations...

LOL... A grown man is having a childish tantrum complaining to mommy. Drew, with all due respect...Id check El Kabong's downvoted reputation and see who keeps on down voting him...you would see that most of his downvotes...I presume....are of the whiny man-child that loves to....whine... You have a special member in this man-child... PS: I have, for the most part stopped down voting him, and If Im to believe his PM to me...you have upvoted 95% of my downvotes to him anyway...and he still has managed to collect 107 downvotes...Im assuming...that the problem lies not with the messenger himself, but with the message he wants to convey...making him a crappy Messenger to begin with...but...him whining to you about it wont change the fact that he is a less than honest poster... My dad always told me... Its the squeaky wheel that always gets the grease, in the meantime, the other three wheels eventually fall off... EDIT: remember Drew, he has mentioned Im on his ignored list...Im willing to bet Ill get a downvote in this post...by him...ignoring the message you have just conveyed...and if that much is true...oh the bloody irony...and, wheels that dont complain falling off syndrome...

+1 On this story. I cant upvote...Ill upvote tomorrow. My dad and his 3 brothers all served in The Canadian Army and fought over seas. My dad being the youngest of the boys. The oldest....well, I dont know what my uncle did during WW2, and my dad never mentioned anything and I didnt get a chance to talk to him as he died at the age of 65...and I was 6 years old when I lost him. The next two were in tank battalions. The second oldest when he came back from the war moved to Vancouver, he also died at the age of 65 and I only met him twice. So I dont know his story either as my dad did not talk about that brother either. Next up is my Uncle Tassos. 2 years older than my dad. He was the gunner in a MK IV Churchill. He was in France when his tank crew got decimated. The tank hit a land mine...my uncle was lucky to live...some minor burns to his body...his crew...all dead...and that was it for him. His duty as a soldier came to and end. I dont remember the year nor the location...and I dont have my dad nor him alive anymore to ask these questions...that is what I hate the most about losing loved ones...the stories they leave behind them...I wish I paid more attention to the war stories. I still got plenty of information in my head though. My dad....he was 17years old in December 1944. He was in England training and getting ready to fight at that time. At the end of January 1945...he was in France. By that time....I believe....the war was not in France. They were marching onwards towards Germany. Collecting any German POWS they saw on the way. My dad told me there was some resistance from some German soldiers, but he did not see any action on his march towards Germany. Maybe...he shot a German soldier in a dark alley...he heard footsteps, he said "Achtung"...there was no answer, my dad shot in the darkness, he heard no more footsteps...The war in Europe ended in May of 1945 and his time during the war ended as fast as it started for him. He did stay in the occupation of Germany 1 year and he was in Wilhelmshaven, I believe this is the port-city where the Allies were separating amongst themselves several German war ships....he witnessed the German cruiser Prinz Eugen being awarded to the US Navy. Yup...Prinz Eugen...of Bismarck fame. The sinking of the Hood...Prinz Eugen.

I cant up vote you...my limit is passed again!!! BTW: Thanx for the popcorn, meng.

We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender PS: Its cool that I have the Spitfire and Mustang as a signature...It goes well with this post...I think Ill keep that pic a tad longer...

Uh....I think you are right....maybe that previous post deserves a down vote... In my defense. I was pitcher for my son's baseball team this afternoon. I was and still am dehydrated it seems. That must explain the delusional thinking process.

I like...its just that I do prefer a rectangle for a grill rather than that hexagon....but it is nice. I still prefer the GMC version over the Chevy in 2016. I wonder if a regular hexagon would have looked nicer in my eyes....or an octagon...leaving the lower angles the same while the top sides being shorter than the lower ones... (just thinking out loud with the last paragraph)

The most powerful car in my 3-car stable currently is my 2004 Honda CR-V. I probably won't have much to contribute. The last Saturday of November 2013, I was driving 80 MPH in a 43 MPH zone. Driving fast for the sake of driving fast and stretching my 2012 Acura TL's legs....right after a young punk peeved me off, rushing to get my momma back home from a wedding we went to....anyhoo...I went through a speed trap and the result...10 demerit points and 917 Canadian Dollars. Those 10 demerit points are in my file for 10 years...OK...8.5 years now. That $1000 hurt my wallet as it was a crappy XMAS for gifts...albeit my wife got a brand new car 2-3 weeks later... In Quebec....15 points are what you could lose....I got 5 left....a stop sign is 3 points...talking on a cell phone is 4 or 5 points and speeding....well...it goes up exponentially...I dont have ANY points to spare for speeding and less for racing...at least I could still blow by a stop and still be able to drive... Besides...with the amount of speeding tickets I have amounted in my 25 years of driving since I was 17 years old...I think I paid my fair share of cop's salaries and road work on Montreal streets and Quebec highways... In fact....I NEVER had all my demerit points ever since I got my driver's license. 3 months after I got my license....my first speeding ticket was earned... I finally got all my points back 3-4 years ago...only to get another speeding ticket 2-4 months after I finally collected my points back. And now with this one...10 years in the system....excessive speed is 10 years as opposed to the standard 2 years.... Ive lost my driver's license once in 1995 due to not enough demerit points to lose...because 15 for me is not enough...and twice Ive went down to 1 demerit point left... So...I dont think Id be contributing to your thread either... Very cool, I can say that I have had my SS north of triple digits many times and I believe the Highway top speed is a joke. I see a purpose for speed limits in residential and city streets but on the highway I think it should be wide open to get from Point A to B ASAP. 1. The North American highway system...sucks for high speeds...no embankments on curves to ease turning when high speeds are made, too many cracks and potholes on our highways...the last part is more for Quebec than anything else, etc...and our concrete that our road surfaces are covered in is not of the kind that favors high speed stresses...major and very expensive re-surfacing is needed on quite possibly 100% of our entire highway system...imagine what kind of traffic jams that will cause just to get the concrete up to spec... 2. Even if American and the rest of Canada do a better job than Quebec highways for entrance and exits...our highway system does not favor high speeds when people want to merge and exit... 3. Many American States and Canadian Provinces dont have the budget in place to make the necessary IMPECCABLE maintenance required for high speed limits. 4. Our highway system is ALWAYS clogged with traffic congestion negating the need for speed limits anyway....the problem is that we are not moving at all... 5. Our highway system lacks the technology to let emergency vehicles through in case of an accident...the same technology is lacking to re-configure traffic lanes on the fly when necessary to ease up on traffic or to let emergency vehicles through or to change traffic flow to avoid bottle necks when a change in traffic pattern occurs...all this is necessary for a highway system that has no limit or high speed limits... 6. DRIVER'S ED REALLY SUCKS in NORTH AMERICA... The majority of our population DOES NOT KNOW how to handle a car properly in 30 MPH driving conditions let alone in 130 MPH conditions.

After reading William's, Drew's and CP's take on the Fusion, I will attempt to give my personal take of my wife's 2013 base 1.6 ecoboost SE. Engine: 1.6 liter ecoboost. The infamous 1.6. Nothing scary about it. My wife's Fusion was built in June 2013 and we bought the car in December of that same year. I guess all that recall work was made on the assembly line. There is no turbo lag in this car. Or very little. I am used to driving 6 cylinder engines so obviously I sometimes mash the throttle when I want to merge in on the highway and yes...if driven this way, one experiences turbo lag, but if one gradually increases throttle pressure and lets the turbo spool up, in no time you can feel the surge of energy and the car lunges forward. At highway speeds, it seems like the turbo is always spooling and passing power is always there for you to use. Ive owned and driven my fair share of GM's value pushrod V6s - 1989 2.8 V6 Firebird - 1994 3.1 V6 Grand Am GT - 1999 3.4 V6 Alero - and this 1.6 liter ecoboost has about the same feel of acceleration as these V6s from GM. Exterior design. I feel like the Fusion, along with the Optima, are the most beautifully designed cars today (in their class). Ive yet to see the new generation Malibu in person so lets just leave it at that. However, after owning the Fusion for a year and a half, I could see why some folk dont take to the Fusion's look. The Fusion has some gorgeous lines and with certain angles, the Fusion is a knock-out, but in other angles, she looks awkward. Interior. Keep in mind that I am basing this view on a base SE 1.6 ecoboost. $26 000 Canadian. I guess this is about 22 000-23 000 American. You cant really ask for anything more in this price range. The seats are very comfy and look like a million bucks, with the french stitching and all. The materials, for a sub $25 000 dollar, are top notch. Very durable for family hauling needs. The plastic piano black trimming seems fine to me. The quality of the seat material is course, but durable. Soft touch arm rests and dashboard a plenty... That little opening underneath the radio is cool. My wife has stuck pictures of our children there, so its cool. My Acura TL has no place for me to place pictures of my family. I like that. Yes its corny, but I do love my family.... The bad: The C-Pillar chrome trim has fallen off. Both sides. The dealership replaced free of charge...acknowledged earlier Fusions have that problem. Airbag module is under recall, needs to be replaced. Another recall regarding some nuts and bolts on the steering wheel system. Might corrode and fail. That also needs to be replaced. Made an appointment so when the parts come... My wife and I dnt really use SYNC. The radio and HVAC system have buttons...so we use those. The buttons are well placed and large. There is also the sterring wheel buttons...So...I dont know how well the base version of SYNC works. Fuel Economy: My wife achieves anywhere from 10.6 liters/100 KM to 11.1 liters/100 KM from the summer to the winter. Mostly city and urban driving. Hilly areas to boot.

About that manual mode... My Acura has it...I never use it. I hate these things more than I do actual manual transmissions. But at least my TL has paddle shifters....at least with other manual mode cars its the automatic gear shifter itself that you could toggle up and down with...but with my wife's Fusion...its just two useless little buttons on the gear shifter....how confusing and stupid is that???!!! Makes you wonder what genius thought that a sporty feature that mimics manual changing of gears necessitated buttons?

Well...you did invite me a couple months ago to join you in Alberta. Banf and Jasper. I need to practice my cowboy wearing ways if Im gonna head out West one day. Calgary will probably be my preference over Edmonton though, and I heard there are some fine rodeos in Calgary so.. West bound and down, loaded up and Trans Amin' We're gonna do what they say can't be done. We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there. I'm West bound, just watch ol' "Bandit" run. Keep your foot hard on the pedal. Son, never mind them brakes. Let it all hang out 'cause we got a run to make. The boys are thirsty in ALBERTA and there's beer in STRATHCONA And we'll bring it back no matter what it takes...

My kind of humor.

Im sorry...I think that I have the right perspective on this...Trans Ams All. The. Way.

I finally got clear to upvote. Nice ring. And as far as I could tell, nice lady fingers too. Very feminine. Not like Seinfeld's lady friend "man hands"...

Im just get on the Trans Am band(it)wagon... Those Trans Ams are far far less of a hassle(hoff) Besides, Trans Ams (James)Garner more POSITIVE attention than Vettes do lately. There is a winning "Formula" when it comes to Trans Ams....Corvettes are actually boats, boats sink. The Formula/Trans Am logo is a Phoenix...Phoenix ALWAYS rise from the ashes... And finally...because at the end of the day...

Many people give Oldsmobile's "This is aint your father's Oldsmobile" tag line plenty of grief. I included. But, last week, I heard this tag line for a movie "Not your mother's romantic comedy" https://youtu.be/pos0eJiMxo0?t=20s Click on the link to actually see it written in the trailer of the movie Trainwreck. I cant find the audio version of that trailer where the narrator actually says it...but at least in this trailer, its written... And it aint the first time I see this type of tag line where marketing geniuses copied the original Oldsmobile slogan. Therefore....I have come to the conclusion that that marketing compaign was actually a successful one...not for Oldsmobile...but for everybody else. And yes...I am not very fond of Buick's version either, but as I have showed with Trainwreck...there might be some merit to Buick's version after all.

OK....I ABSOLUTELY CANT STAND when someone says the Fusion looks like an Aston Martin... I give passes to non-car guys and gals as they dont know any better and to internet car guys that want to give Ford a hard time because they are GM or Mopar or Honda fanbois... Ill always correct the latter... But Im fuming with informative articles like this one...especially when the author is a car guy himself... 2013 Ford Fusion 2015 Ford Mustang OK...you say that this looks like an Aston Martin... Fair enough... Except in 1968.... The trapezoidal effect is less apparent...but its there.. Just for reference...1960s Aston Martin Why do we keep on banging that false message? Because the grill has some sort of billet grill and the Fusion mimics that? Oh look...this Camaro also looks like an Aston Martin...because the the little grill lines are horizontal... The point Im trying to make...is that the Fusion looks like a Ford...

Yeah...I like it better than what it was before. A million times better. One thing that bothers me like no other is the LED lights above and below the Chevy logo crossbar. I think its overkill with 2 sets of LEDs. The ones on the headlights would have been enough in my opinion. Love that colour. I bet that colour would look hot on a Corvette and a Camaro.

Conrats! Thanks! I've had the ring for 2 months and she kept screwing up my plans to propose, obviously she was blissfully unaware. We live together so it made everything much more difficult. Awesome, congrats, I have 25yrs now and still going strong. Wish you all the best. I used up all my up-votes for the day so I'll up-vote all you folk tomorrow. CONGRATS CP!!! Its great news!!! But after living with her... Silver anniversary DFELT? That is AWESOME!!! Im at 12 years on the 7th of June...half of what you've got. I guess that is a bronze medal for me? And like you....going on strong!

R.I.P. Robin Colcord Thanx for the laughs. CHEERS!

I dont want to admit it...but like you said...time marches on. This is a design that people lusted after 4-5 years ago. The only thing that does not make this car obsolete in looks is 2 things: 1. it looks soooo damned good even after 4-5 years has passed. 2. Its main competitor in the Tesla Model S has not changed in that same time frame one bit. However...its hard to make a comeback when you hit rock bottom. Few succeed. GM is one of those that has succeeded. And...BMW, although a coupe, has brought another lust worthy competitor to this segment. And the i8 is just as sexy as the Karma. Hopefully Fisker does not stumble in the production part like they did the first time around...and I think that is where the battle will be fought this time around again....not in looks, not in technology....but in the quality of the build and everything surrounding the customer/product relationship.

و أشعة الشمس والمطر ألم Google translate. The King Nedal simply said...JOY! So I just do what I do best. Compliment you with songs and videos. I simply wrote back "and pain, sunshine and rain"

Well, maybe not the SS...but..I feel that the 2016 Maxima is a spiritual replacement to FWD Pontiac Bonnevilles. A 2016 NISMO Maxima could be a Bonneville GXP. That is how view this. And I welcome it with open arms.