trinacriabob

All 1974s, it seems, as I don't spot any wraparound glass on the back lite. Big stylistic improvement over the 1970-1973 models. People instinctively seem to take to canted back front fascias and grilles, especially on sports cars. In my opinion, this was the best year for Firebird in terms of appearance. (Never mind that the catalytic converter came onto the scene this year.) Both the inset turn signals and the wrap around back lite add so much to this car. In 1976, the inset lamps went away and the grille got honeycomb-ed. I still prefer the 1975. As a kid with acne, I'd go to the Pontiac dealership and paw these cars. And, as you can imagine, there was sometimes a loss leader in inventory with an inline 6 and NO air ... in SoCal, no less.

Where did Bob Dylan perform? I'll have to check if he is in the cluster of musical artists that perpetually put out songs with dour lyrics. Simon and Garfunkel easily clinch the award for dour lyrics: 'went looking for a job and got no offers ... only a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue ..." Dour! I'm guessing the Queen of Disco is the late Donna Summer. No other person seems to have held that "title." I agree. As is Joyce Cooling, who was big at about the same time. I think I already posted her song "South of Market."

Dang, it was Drew's birthday ... I'm 3 days late ... happy belated birthday!

I see Kia Sorentos almost daily. How did they get that name? It bugs me. The Nissan Murano is named after the Venetian island of Murano, famous for its glass craftsmanship. As for Sorento, the only place that approximates that name is the Italian coastal resort of SoRRento, with 2 r's.

@dfelt I know that this thread is about car spotting. However, I am amped up about the light rail crossing Lake Washington from the east side suburbs. It will be analogous to BART coming in from the East Bay into S.F. They opened BART in 1972, if I recall.

I'm trying to wrap my head around this. On rare occasions, I took the (articulated) bus from Woodinville into the city and vice-versa as well as the bus that went from the Bellevue Transit Center to the airport and vice versa, meandering down the suburbs on the east side of the lake and taking its sweet a$$ time. It was to save money. It was also like pulling teeth. I hated it. If I had coworkers who lived on the south end, I was able to get a lift to the airport if it my flight was after work. Build that damn rail line to the east side (Bellevue). I thought it was to be operative in 2020. Will it be?

First Avenue South? Near Jackson? South of Pioneer Square? It's been so long, yet I still remember some of the street names. (There's also a mneumonic device for the adjacent named streets with paired first letters.) I very much like the new enamel (non metallic) charcoal gray that Chrysler is featuring. It looks great on a Charger. On that vehicle, NO. Voila:

Under ideal circumstances, it will get 40 mpg on the highway. In the write up, I posted 38.63 mpg on a highway segment with some stops here and there (gas, food, etc.). Not bad. I'm assuming mid to high 20s in all city driving without a lead foot.

I agree. Even though the GP ultimately made for a fine mid-size sport sedan, it was born as a coupe and, in that span of model years, it made for an attractive coupe. This morning, I saw a 1985 (almost sure) Delta 88 Royale sedan moving along at a nice clip on the freeway. It was cream colored, had a tan vinyl top, and had wire wheels. It most likely ran with a 5.0 (307) V8. It was in excellent condition. I took a look at some images and, damn, those things had massive dashboards with a lot going on.

PHOTOS 1. Side view - sleek enough; bigger alloys on skinnier tires on the SE 2. An angry appliance with a lot of cheap plastic up front 3. Some good lines on this vehicle; I also prefer the gas cap on the driver's side 4. Spacious cabin up front; the console is high, but I've seen higher 5. Spacious rear seat 6. Note the angled temperature gauge and fuel gauge; the fuel gauge moves more "slowly" than it should 7. Left side controls: mostly about audio 8. Right side controls: cruise control, some radio, and 2 driving assistance controls that can be regulated or shut off; that's right, I guess you can shut off the lane departure warning 9. This group of controls, down and to the left, are placed well and make sense 10. The audio area was busier than I would have liked. Those silver buttons don't feel good to the touch, IMO. I find this set up overstyled. 11. The strong diagonal that I don't like and the climate controls right above it 12. Kudos here; the shifter is hermetically sealed, it seems, from having liquids get in there, unlike some cars I've owned 13. The driver's seat is very comfortable; this is the SE's seat style, while the LE's is just one color of cloth 14. Ditto for the rear seat 15. If driving solo, move up the passenger seat a few notches so it aligns with the B-pillar to give you better visibility 16. The real sail panel (C-pillar) may look thick but, because of the parallel lines, it's not at all bad for looking over your shoulder to change lanes or scan what's around you. END OF PHOTOS

I voted up for the ad and the comfort of the interior and the ride. I'd vote down for the fail in exterior design, its alienation of Cadillac and Seville buyers, and the insertion of funky engines in the engine bay (bad 4100 and even worse V8-6-4, IIRC) that made matters worse. - - - - - At any rate, what I was going to say is that the extra hour gained on Sunday is still paying dividends. It has felt great!

Again, the rental agency was out of compacts and I got upgraded. I jumped up 2 categories, into a Toyota Camry SE with less than 10,000 miles. I never recall liking Camrys, thinking back to when I was given keys to a late 1990s model and the vague and boring motoring experience that came with that. The Camry has come a long way. I didn't fall in love with this car, but I'd have to say I liked most things about it. First, from once being a boring looking vehicle, most vantage points on this vehicle are flattering and much better than they've been in past model years. The only exception is the grille. Toyota can't seem to separate itself from the abrasive, overwrought shovel nose front grilles it shares with its relative, the Lexus. However, the subtly curved lines all around are a welcome relief. They are seen in the side profile, mostly along the belt line, and even on the trunk lid, rear fascia, and rear tail lamps. The interior gets a thumbs up in terms of the seating and the amount of space. For a person of average proportions, the front seats with a decent amount of bolstering and nice scooped inset areas are comfortable. On the Camry SE, there's a horizontally ribbed material in the inset that is unusual and that I can't quite make out. Looking at LEs on lots while I had this rental, the shape of the seats is the same, except that they are upholstered all the way around in a mouse fur type cloth. The leather wrapped steering wheel feels good and does not have the squared off bottom. The instrument panel and how you interface with it is mostly a fail. In the cluster in front of you, the speedometer and tach are "normal." However, the temperature and fuel gauges are not. The tank holds a respectable 16 gallons, yet the way the fuel gauge moves downward as one starts using up the tank is in no way proportionate to what is really going on. Part of it can be that the temperature and fuel gauges are angled in a strange way I didn't care for. The controls arranged horizontally to the left side of the dashboard, though, which include the trunk release and fuel door release, are perfectly sized and placed. The center stack is not likable and not even that intuitive. The audio and info screen is fussy. Then, I think about the new Malibu, for example, where interfacing with the screen is much easier. The climate control panel is a little better, but could be even simpler. The worst thing about what's in front of you is that strongly angled part in the panel that merges with the right side of the console. You need to reach into that Bermuda Triangle to charge your phone and use the cubby with the cover that slides back and forth nicely. As for the console's surface, it's higher than I'd like it to be, but not as high as some many cars where you feel like an astronaut ... and which are not even sports cars. On the road, the Camry becomes more likable. The engine has a strong enough pull and merges into the highway or passes well. I looked under the hood, which is fairly jumbled looking compared to simpler layouts in other brands, and found a 2.5 liter 4 banger. It pumps out 203 horses. It also delivers close to 40 mpg. I like this part: it's over 2 liters, it puts out over 200 horses, they did it without a turbocharger, and the engine can fetch 40 mpg. On one jaunt, I got 38.63 mpg, with a minor amount of getting on and off the highway. Therefore, I don't like how one popular domestic sedan (cough) at the same price point went to a diminutive 1.5 liter 4 AND a turbocharger to get the power and similar gas mileage. Once one is edging $30,000, I don't think there's anything wrong with asking for at least 2 liters worth of powerplant. The transmission is an 8 speed geared automatic. I thought it might be a CVT. Thankfully, it was not. Earlier shifts pulling away from a light are smooth and feel just right. When in a mid-range pass or if climbing a grade, the automatic transmission seems to, at times, hunt for a gear. And, with that, it sends the normally smooth engine into a state of graininess that comes into the cabin. At all other times, the cabin is hushed and isolated well from both wind noise and tire thum. I'm almost certain, though, that the powertrain is as dependable as that of any Camrys that came before it. I had this review thought out before I read any other reviews or summaries about the car. I then happened onto US News or Edmunds, which gave their pluses and minuses on the Camry. I'm in line with much of what they report. The one thing they mentioned is how touchy some of the advanced driving sensors and compensating features are. This rental car had the lane keeping warning ... and what appeared to be some correction. I felt a slight tug at times. I wasn't digging on this when it was raining outside and big rigs were passing me on the interstate or if I was in a road work zone. I would have had much more use for the blind spot alert on the exterior mirrors or rear cross traffic alert. This car did not have them. However, they are available via an option package. The new Camry's winning hand is its steering and road stance. The on-center feel is damn near perfect. The amount of assist also seems just right, whether it's navigating a parking lot or a two lane mountain road. It's this aspect of the car that makes it very easy to live with. And it's an aspect that is far improved from earlier Camrys I've driven. I returned this car with mostly a positive impression of it. Come on, Toyota. Lose the exaggerated front end fascia theatrics. Design a more sensible dashboard and ease up on the center stack, both in terms of its fussiness and by giving you more working room under the climate control area. With some fine tuning of the packaging here and there, the reliable and competent Camry could be even better. (photos forthcoming)

I hate Halloween. Nobody comes around anymore. That part is good. However, you can't go to a customer service counter, library, or reception desk without having candy from a plastic orange pumpkin given to you. I think I've eaten about 15 or 20 candy bar minis by now. It's hardly health food.

@USA-1 Great link ... with a lot of history. As good as GM V-6s are today, I did get to experience the odd-firing (Buick) variant back in the day ... and it was not pretty. I'm sure the basic engine structure would go for the long haul but the timing chains would not. I wonder how many of those V-6s of 1975-1977 vintage are still on the road today, even if with ridiculously low mileage. I always look at the badging of the vehicle if I see one of these on the road. The link lauds the Chevrolet in-line 6. Our family had one. I don't know what the moniker (not stovepipe, Fireball, Vortec) was for the 250 c.i., 1 bbl., L6 that was around in the '70s. My dad had this engine in a base LeMans. The sound was different than that of a GM V-8, that's for sure. However, it seemed to be every bit as smooth and dynamically balanced. My dad preferred Olds and Buick; however, this basic Pontiac was the most reliable car he had ever owned. And, isn't it nirvana to look at an old inline 6 and be able to touch every spark plug ... with nothing in the way?

So, then, Bel Air was the mid-line model (by deductive reasoning). I spotted a lot of cars a short while back. I was in a state/region that would be considered Appalachia looking at fall colors. There aren't enough words for the wonderful scenery. At any rate, I saw lots and lots of cars. Sometimes 7, 10, or 12 of them on ONE property alone. (Notables include the '68ish Mercury Cougar coupe with hide-away headlamps and the sequential blinking tail lamps as well as the '77 Monte Carlo coupe, perhaps the most garish of all Montes and which, as big as it was, had a true bench seat WITHOUT an armrest in the base model.) And most of them weren't, or didn't appear to be, in working order. I would have taken some photos but (1) I may have been driving on a two lane highway, and/or (2) I didn't want someone to come after me with a rifle. Happy Halloween, folks.

I'm going to say 1961. What was the pecking order in the full size models? I believe there were 3 of them. Two were the Impala and the Bel Air. The third one might have been a Biscayne, since there was definitely a Biscayne at one time. (Interesting - one is a rich suburb of L.A.; the other (Key Biscayne) is a rich suburb of Miami.)

I saw one today. A black sportback. I realized I was looking at "a German Buick." The sportback has some clean lines, so it's okay. Even though it's a passenger car and a high line GM, it's really not for me. I'm agreeing with your second sentence. I don't think it will stick around. The only thing that makes it practicable for Buick and GM is that it is not assembled here. Having it built in Germany is like a tentacle of their operations that they can prune. Germany is not GM country.

Houston can be cool, as in likable. At least it's a major Texan city near a large body of water. I know summers there can be ridiculously hot. Enjoy. Man, I don't think the ladies with their hair in hair nets at Costco like folks who, once they catch on, are doing the "Tour de Costco" lunch. "I'm in the tire shop." "I came to look around to see if there are any specials on clothing." Blah, blah, blah. Have you ever done that? Sometimes, when traveling or commuting, you're driving down a freeway, it's about feeding time, and, there, like a mirage, a Costco appears. For what I pay for my annual membership, I don't buy much, so WTH. Then, if I do the "Tour de Costco," I might have some pangs of guilt, so I head to "Cafe 1.50" and get their hot dog (with sauerkraut) and a soft drink.

I forgot this one. Yesterday, in my local Starbucks's parking lot, I saw a new or fairly new Dodge Charger with temporary plates parked there, with the driver on his phone. It was the lime green, like you'd have in your Hot Wheels collection when you were a kid. On a Charger, this color works. The badge on the side said "392" and it was idling, but displayed no weird cam/lifter noise. It was fairly hushed. His windows were heavily tinted. So I pointed it at his sled and gave him the "okay" sign with my hand. He nodded in appreciation. Like the one on the left:

Based on the photo on the homepage, I'm on board with this BMW looking like a Malibu. It very much looks like one based on that vantage point. As an aside, that's a great color on that BMW. Exterior color choices today are pretty bad. Interior color choices are even worse. "Sporty" cars or trim lines are offering terra cotta colored leather but there aren't many exterior colors on the limited color charts that go with it. I'm talking the up-line Focuses and Malibus, among others. In defense of the BMW, I will say that the "opera window" C pillar kink is a little lower than in the Malibu ... and fleshed out with some chrome, so it looks better than does the kink at the midpoint of the arc on the Malibu. And, yes, the line along the doors is much like that in the now gone Buick Verano. And, damn, those rear tail lamps are ugly. I just checked out what this BMW looks like inside. The "laptop left open" info-audio center on the center stack is tamed down, so it's not bad. The lighting effects on the doors are pimpy. I don't like them. The I.P. cluster is fairly cool. The seats look comfortable. Also, I like bucket seats with the perforation inside the headrest. I remember them on the '97-'03 Grand Prixs. I forgot where I read this back in the day, but it was prediciting that American and foreign car design intentions would intersect in the future. They probably did so around the New Millennium. They sure didn't around 1986, when there were Cadillac de Villes, Olds 98 Regency Broughams, and Buick Park Avenues with loose cushion velour seats with the car's emblem etched into the seating. Now, if we're talking by about the time the Olds Intrigue rolled out, I'd say that car started arriving at the crossing of paths (tapered front end with no hood ornament, simple dash design, simple seat design) and wouldn't have offended any European. Upon seeing the brochure, my relatives across the pond liked it. It was the land yachts of the '70s and '80s that they criticized. It's that the opposite of what has always happened is happening ... the Germans are looking at US / U.S. for auto design ideas! This new BMW has borrowed a kit of parts from the Americans.

@balthazar I'm not chuckling at the hearse, but just chuckling at all the different conversions Cadillacs are subjected to to make hearses out of them. I believe I may have even seen Cadillac hearses in Europe, IIRC. @dfelt I believe it. All the organized religions and their denizens have conventions and traditions at birth, in the teen years, upon marrying, and at death. We had them growing up. One convention (not really, just joking) was getting smacked over the knuckles with a ruler by a cantankerous nun. However, if you're a good student, you get a pass to be a smart aleck every now and then ... and bypass the ruler.

This morning, I was rewarded with a nice sighting to the left of me in the fast lane on the freeway. It was an all black Chevy SS sedan. I don't like black vehicles owing to their visibility at night but it looked sharp on this car. For one, I realized how nice the rear light fascia is when this sport sedan is in motion. Wouldn't it be a drag if you won a contest and the prize was a brand new Chevy SS ... and then the prize arrives, but the steering wheel is on the "wrong" side?

Dark red, or that dark red, does work well on this vehicle. With a little maneuvering of the pencil here and there, that could make for a fine looking Buick sport sedan. But that won't be happening.

@Robert Hall I gave you a thumbs up for Ann Arbor. Had that been Urbana-Champaign, IL, I wouldn't have. Today I saw a 1979 Cutlass Supreme coupe in a supermarket lot. It was navy blue. It had wheel covers and no power convenience options; however, it was air conditioned. Probably a 3.8 V6 but most likely the small Olds V8. It was in excellent condition, save a bumper that was bent downward. The guy, probably the original owner, was already too close to the store and I was getting into my car. That sled has done 40 years of motoring. That's how long the QE2 sailed for Cunard!