trinacriabob

Wow. When CA had 6 digit license plates and when Lauesen Buick (per plate frames), a single brand dealership that was located on Sepulveda Blvd. immediately north of Santa Monica Blvd, existed. Single brand GM dealerships ... those were the days!

expensive (because it now is)

Vancouver!

I have no problem with these observations whatsoever. If enough people see them, they are reality. When you drive in Italy (I'm talking mostly about Sicily), the autostradas have 2 lanes, with the more developed areas in Italy having 3 or 4, which ameliorates the bad traffic situation. When it's two lanes, the right lane is for trucks ... and tortoises ... while the left lane is for those who want to go the national limit of 120 kmh, which is about 73 mph. If you are going to drive in it, then you have to go with the flow. What I don't like is when the well heeled but still classless local is on your ass, with 1 car distance, at 140 kmh, which is about 86 mph, flicking their brights. Their car might be a large Mercedes or BMW that the typical local cannot afford. Over there, you are supposed to move over for these turds. Over here, you don't have to if you are at the speed limit or slightly above it, you don't have to. They do. I tend to look in my rear view mirror a lot and, based on who's coming up behind you, in Europe or in the U.S. (if it's a Ram or F150 truck, for example), you know how it's going to play out. So, I don't like sugarcoating. This is reality. One fine Sunday morning, listening to Maria Lopez spinning tunes on one of S.F.'s jazz stations, I encounter a city bound Bay Bridge coming in from the East Bay with surprisingly very little traffic and people are doing 60 to 65 mph on its 5 lanes. I clock myself going 62. In the middle lane is a tiny Toyota Corolla and I couldn't see who was driving it. I clocked it going 47! As I pulled around it, I had a feeling about what the demographics of the driver might be. It was a diminutive Asian girl who was grabbing that steering wheel like it was going to fall off and who could barely see over the dashboard. My thought: "Please take BART! Please don't drive ... or get with the program." So, once again, we know how a lot of these road manners situations are going to play out and they usually do play out the way we think they will. It's called "live and learn."

British

British

Saw these 2000s GM sleds parked outside an IHOP Another less than optimally kept Monte Carlo SS with the rare 5.3 V8. Would much rather have seen an LT with the larger V6 in spotless condition. Last-gen Aurora with what looks to be the extra cost pearl white paint. I wonder how V6 to V8 sales stacked up for the last-gen Aurora. The inconspicuous badge near the (temporary) license plate on this one said 3.5, so it was a V6 and not a V8.

Looking around, it seems that face masks dangling from rear view mirrors have replaced high school mortarboard tassels.

How about making it an occasion to travel and meet people in person? Southwest is your (our) friend.* * bags fly free This particular M.Y. looked a little bloated, with the rear wheel skirts, heavy mouldings, and way too tall rear fender slab. I've seen some pre-FWD ones that were more attractive, but can't pinpoint the specific years. I'd keep what it's in if it's a small block Olds V8. It's the early 4100 and the V8-6-4 engines I wouldn't want. The finest V8 purr is that of a newer (or perfectly maintained) stock small block Olds V8.

Today is Trump's birthday. It's also Flag Day. Fortunately, Father's Day is next Sunday. They often feature articles which rank the Presidents in terms of IQ. I wonder where "the Donald" would land if they ranked Presidents in terms of the holiday worthiness of their birthdays. So far, only 2 Presidents have qualified for such an honor. After visiting the UVa again in the recent past, it reinforces how I've always felt - that Thomas Jefferson's birthday should be celebrated, but it's too close to Easter (and Passover) and he also had a kinky side that history has downplayed.

blower

I'm in total agreement with this. I have also had the last-gen with the Camaro-esque rear tail lamps and raised trunk lid as a rental. Except that it's a little chunky in places, I also liked it better - the safer and taller styling, the 2.5 L 4, etc. Probably better to merge the better aspects of the last gen and the current gen, like the current seating position and the cowl that sweeps down from the windshield toward the driver. The gas mileage on the current one is quite a bit better, though. The same would have been applicable to the Grand Prix, for example. Some aspects of 1997-2003 were better while other aspects from 2004-2007 were better, though the last-gen Grand Prix was edgier and more memorable as an overall package.

It's my dated reference of a few years ago, through rental reviews of the Malibu and general comments, of how the kink with the fattened moulding looks like a drafting or fabrication mistake. Which I find too bad since, looking at the vehicle from the rear or in rear 3/4 view, it has a nice tail lamp assembly and fascia. The first time I rented one, an older gentleman also filling up at the same gas station told me he liked my 'Bu.

South America seemed almost untouched for a while ... and now they are being hit hard. The way South American countries differ, I would expect the northern, more humid, and poorer parts of the continent to deal with it more clumsily. And countries like Uruguay and Chile to deal with it more like Europe, which they resemble in so many ways to begin with.

I think they are SUPPOSED to disinfect the high touch areas. I was dropping off only. I would again wipe down the steering wheel, dash controls, and door handles. Also, fabric seats would fare better than leather seats in this scenario. I would also leave all the windows down partway to make sure the wind while on the road moves any stale air out of the car. I'd figure that, in about a day, the car would be my personal airspace. In a funkier neighborhood or if there was weather, I might not crack the windows as much ... or at all.

Spotted June 4th - is it any wonder there is so much Mopar RWD in South Florida - no snow, sleet, ice, etc. Two of the same car, looking sharp and being kept away from other cars in a corner of the parking lot at a gym Nice angle - this car has some great lines Not my rental, but here's a charcoal colored Charger in the return lane - the charcoal (metallic and enamel) benefit from shiny aluminum wheels instead of the darker industrial looking ones. Wish I had this as my rental.

Are you finding that you are o.k. with masks? I now have 3 boxes of them (2 with 10 and 1 with 50) and am still working on the first box. The supermarkets and drug stores are now pushing them. And, I still have bandannas. Are you finding that you are o.k. with hand sanitizer? I now have small bottles in each room which I accumulated as I checked out of grocery stores. I have disinfectant wipes in the bathrooms and in the console of my car, not to mention my travel bag. And, I have 2 mini bottles that are meant for a backpack or whatever, one of which was given to me free as a courtesy when picking up some office supplies. How supply and demand have changed in one month!

So true. It's all about the sharp pencil. I am not asking that they offer 7 colors for your vehicle's interior like they did in '77 (when they had green, blue, and burgundy). However, they make enough Malibus, for example, where they should offer the conventional three interior colors: black, gray, and tan. If you do the "build and price" on one of those, even up the ladder to LT, the only interior you can get for most exterior colors is black. Similarly, on the base Dodge Charger, they only offer a black interior, probably to keep the price at $ 29 K. For the price difference from a decently equipped Malibu LT, the Charger is quite a bit more car, so I'd work around the one interior color choice on that one.

It was a conventional gas engine (ICE) and it was a 2.5 L 4. It was a rental. I was supposed to have an intermediate, like a Hyundai Elantra, but they did not have cars. Just trucks/SUVs/CUVs.

I rarely wander over this way. Just saw this. Attractive grille and front 3/4 views. Great color.

From a marketing course I took in undergrad, the chewing into each other's market share was termed cannabalization. If you grab market share from outside GM, that would be a good thing. If you grab from across brand lines, not so much. However, I think it was common. Many people's tastes took them to Chevrolet or Pontiac, and the price points that went with that. My dad seemed to focus on Buick and Oldsmobile, with the perception that Buick was a notch better. I found that debatable. Our Olds cars were always better looking than our Buick cars. With the exception of the early odd-firing V6 we had, the Buicks lasted a little longer. So, these cannabalizers are a stable captive audience that will be deciding on a vehicle within GM's stable. GM knows that there's a large batch of these loyal customers. What it will always need to do is pull people in from the ranks of other brands. After recently spending some time behind the wheel of a Toyota RAV 4, there is no doubt in my mind I'd be back at GM looking at an Acadia or similar, even with the base engine and just FWD. The Toyota was a slight disappointment.

Also, on June 3rd, I spotted a few "mistakes:" Symmetrical ones, at that!

The sketch I've seen looks something like this, which is easier on the eyes than the current Camaro (and I'm not necessarily saying the current Camaro is bad) I guess that, if it were to be branded as a Buick, the Pontiac crest would give way to a round Buick medallion placed right above the ridge, and flat, from where it is currently shown. I've liked every generation of Firebird a little more than every generation of Camaro.

Spotted June 3rd - Here's a new(er) and small(er) Infiniti SUV sporting 2 liters of turbocharged power. What's with this salmon color? It reminds me of Nissan 280 ZXs and the GM intermediates and full sizes of the early '80s. They say trends come full circle. This was in the parking lot at Publix in Dania, FL I don't like all the sheetmetal curves on this vehicle. That funky orange structure (across Dania Beach Blvd.) is the Dania Casino. It used to be a jai alai place years ago. You might still see blue hairs. What you won't see are paper cups full of nickels.

And I've even seen them do some photoshops and design exercises with a new Firebird (probably same chassis as the Camaro) come back as a Buick. Bring it on! With their cars gone, it might be the only Buick I might like.