trinacriabob

I can't tell Quebec highbrow French from Quebec redneck street French from French highbrow French from French redneck street French. Generally, you can tell street French (whether in Quebec or in France) because of the way the people dress, behave, and/or if they are good candidates for the Jerry Springer Show because they are talking out of the sides of their mouths and because their speech is gravelly. All I know is that I just stick to what I learned in 3 years of high school French. It has worked well so far. I've been treated better for speaking French to Francophones. Not only that, you'd be surprised at how quickly the language comes back to you if immersed in a place where you have little choice but to speak French. And, I learned that, while it may have been in the textbooks, calling a waiter a "garcon" has been unacceptable for at least two decades!

I'd say "jag-wahr." And "Bon-uh-vil" (for the American market) but "Bonn-veel" (for the French-Canadian market).

Haha. Brooke Shields went on to become a Princeton University graduate.

Back to cars - when GM stole America's heart with its frameless door colonnade opera windowed coupes ... which had great engines and great transmissions and could go the distance. 1975 - last call for round headlights, but still sold like hot cakes - enter the inline 6 ... there weren't that many around ... they were usually the loss leader advertised for $ 3,999 and had no a/c ... this same year, Olds also released the 260 c.i. V8 and was dubbing it the "baby V8." I think this was the last year for the bucket seats that swiveled out toward the door. 1976 - a good thing gets even better ... over half a million of this model alone sold ... this was a cool color and they also had the real dark burgundy called "mahogany" at the same time ... back in the day when you could pick from close to 20 colors, free of charge ...

I found the Dittos print ad! http://www.bermanphoto.com/ntzcsggdco1wpjzji8705w6qz8t9xl They had these in all these goofy colors. At this time, the guys were wearing Levi's corduroys in all these different colors, Hang Ten t-shirts, Clarks wallabees shoes, and Greg Brady hair. Truly a forgettable time in American apparel and style.

In looking at these photos, it hearkens to the days of the Dittos jeans with the horseshoe seam, blouses with cap sleeves, and wedge shaped Cherokee platform shoes. Don't forget the Farrah (RIP) hair. I think this look lasted into the early '80s. You might even be able to dig up the Dittos print ad that said "You Can Feel the Fit." Does anyone remember that window of time? And, if you remember that combo, you probably remembers Angels Flight pants. People are selling that stuff for some coin on EBay. Why would anyone want to have that clothing around? Some aspects of the '70s were scary. The cars were cool, though.

THIS is how you pronounce Impala: I'd rather have it be pronounced withOUT that exhaust note, but the car itself is in impeccable shape. This had to have been the most provocative Impala ever as well as one of GM's most unforgettable models. And, back then, they could actually spend the money to change cars to some degree each and every year.

Happy holidays, C&G people ... however you celebrate them ... and happy new year. It's always a relief when they're over, though, because life slows down back to normal and you can get to work on those new year's resolutions. *cough*

Remember when you were a kid or a teenager and there were those 1-800 infomercials for "Hooked on Phonics?" One of my friends remarked that there should be a product called "Hooked on Ebonics." Just saying.

I only say this because when I'd take my dad's 10+ year old, indestructible Pontiac Le Mans coupe with the 250 c.i. inline 6 out right after it had rained in SoCal, it sometimes got a little dicey and stops weren't as responsive. That was always a problem in SoCal, though. Since it's dry for so long, the first rains always affect the oils and such that have accumulated on the road surface. It could have partly been the tires. They weren't as good as today's tires. However, both the '76 Cutlass Supreme and the '76 Regal coupes, both with front disc brakes, performed reliably well in wet weather and during the first heavy rainfalls, like they're having now. I'm just wondering how sweet that simple Pontiac Le Mans coupe could have been had it had front disc brakes. Throw in bucket seats, cloth seating surfaces, a console, and some gauges ... but it was the entry level model and you couldn't have asked for a more reliable car.

I've written way too many work memos that would have never flown if I had used shortcuts and colloquialisms so I tend not to write that way. I probably don't speak that way, either, but, every now and then, it's cathartic to be crude and crass. It's also a good idea to put forth another persona if you choose to ride public transit, which can be eye opening and entertaining. I recommend some of those YouTubes featuring altercations on public transit ... highly politically incorrect, too. Colorado plates point to a dry cold, hence no rust that I can see. Nice sled. The big downside can be that it might have front drum brakes, which just don't shed the water that well.

Past recessions have come at about 8 to 10 year intervals, looking like rhythmic oscillations if plotted out over the long haul. "The Great Recession" was largely based on ridiculous home prices and easy money. Thinking back to 2008 or 2009, I would have never expected Washington Mutual to go under. I really liked them back in the day. We have ridiculous home prices again. However, I think that now we have overpriced equities for entities that are all about stupid premises and nothing substantial. Also, so big box retail is suffering.

I don't know what to do here. I assumed that, at any given time in my life, GM would sell sedans, coupes, and pony cars that were relevant to the times and have at least one or two vehicles that matched my taste in a set of wheels. Things are very different from a decade ago. It used to be that there were usually 2 to 3 cars that I couldn't decide between. If only I had that problem today ...

Thanks for the help, folks. My old HP desktop Pavilion and HP monitor have been unplugged. After many years, my HP Office Jet printer gave up the ghost a few months ago. In their place is a new HP desktop Pavilion (12 GB RAM and Intel processor) and a bigger HP monitor. So far, they have been great. I also was able to buy them at a very good price. The price of the desktop computer went up quite a bit ... supply and demand. So, they sat there for a couple of months before I hooked them up, but it was smart to make the move and buy them a couple of months ago. This time, the printer is an Epson. I'm learning how to operate it, meaning the range of its capabilities. This one also has the 11x17 paper feature, which I wanted for this machine.

Have yet to see "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" ... that theme works in "Midnight Run." For those who saw the latter, Las Vegas to Los Angeles is a short flight. The transition from a manufacturing economy to a service/information economy is in evidence in these photos ...

Albertson Oldsmobile, corner of Sepulveda and Washington, on L.A.'s West Side. Drove past it daily when commuting to college. My parents also bought 2 new cars here. Before we were ever customers of Albertson, Dolores's had the corner. Eventually the dealership modernized and took over Dolores's property at the corner. Dolores had modernized in the meantime, too. Normal people lived in this neighborhood. People could purchase their homes. Per the funky thing at the right, the Albertson license plate placard said "Home of the famous Red Rocket" until you were sent your license plates by the DMV. This was after we moved away. I found this. And I did know they went from Oldsmobile, to Oldsmobile-Chevrolet, and then to just Chevrolet. And then they closed altogether. However, the foreign brand dealerships in the area remained. That's why it's hard to go back to my old neighborhood and look around. So many of the institutions I grew up with aren't there anymore. Frank Sanders Oldsmobile - corner of Wilshire and La Brea (yes, think "tar pits"). Look at their billboard with the floodlights hearkening to 20th Century Fox! Too funny. That was on the placard until you got your plates. Our next door neighbors bought their Cutlass Supreme here. We weren't keeping up with the Joneses ... my parents just wanted a Cutlass Supreme as well, as did everyone else. This photo was taken in 1976. Check out the Regal of the same year by the curb and the massive Ninety Eight Regency coupe in silver/burgundy in their service drive. Look beyond in the distance and see Carnation. Yes, that was their headquarters until they were acquired or merged. On a different note, I watched "Midnight Run" for the first time last night. It was insanely funny. One of my friends who is mad about gangster movies brought it over. I will have to watch it again.

So many GM vehicles detract from CAFE that I think the Cruze will stick around. They've gotten rid of the Sonic and maybe even the little one (Spark?). It's hard to imagine Chevrolet with just 2 bread and butter cars. I agree. Cadillac would seem ridiculous without a flagship sedan. Considering America is getting grayer, there will be more people who could opt for a Cadillac. I don't understand where these people are going. It might be people who bought their first Toyota in their 30s and are now Lexus customers. Even though there are younger buyers of the CT6 compared to the days of the Devilles and the DTSs, I still see more seniors driving them. I hope the CT6 lives on. I can't believe the hit this would take on Oshawa, Ontario. That plant has the largest number of workers. Michigan doesn't need any more hits. But, hey, maybe they'll build more Hyundais and Kias in the South to satiate Americans. I remember when Meg Whitman was running for Governor of California and, with her coming from business and not from politics, she proposed slashing the state's workforce by 30 percent. The impact on metro Sacramento's economy would have been disastrous, with so many well paid state employees living there. She didn't get elected. The reality is that the state's workforce could have been cut by 30 percent. I have a friend with a technical degree in a high paying job at the state and it seemed like he worked 5 hours out of every 8. I can't believe some of the goings-on with people I know in the state's employ. Some people there are also married to their hourly smoke breaks. I'm sure there are some hard workers in the fold. I've given up. I just hope I can buy a regular car with 4 or 2 doors and a fuel efficient gasoline engine when I'm ready to replace my current one. Evidently Hyundai is able to make a buck with the Accent, priced at under $20,000 and with few option boxes that need to be checked. That car is full of content. The Cruze is a now a great little car. The packaging and pricing leave a lot to be desired. And, yes, the Verano, coming in at a higher price point, would have had more margin for profit since it's on the same platform, save for the better build quality of the interior trim and additional sound dampening material.

Since balthazar likes his Pontiacs, I thought I'd post an image of one I like and found on the web: I remember that the first cars I liked were the 1975 "Rockford" Firebird, a pony car, (even they started to slope the front end in '74) and the Cutlass Supreme coupe with a landau roof and the stock rally wheels from about the same time. The above was really the only full-size car I liked when I was a kid. I've already described the one I saw in Yosemite when there with my parents one cool and comfortable November, mid-week. Back then, California wasn't as populated so it was actually possible to be in Yosemite and not have people crawling all over you. One of these Bonnie coupes with Pontiac alloys was confidently taking on the roads of the otherwise silent valley floor in Yosemite Valley. As the French say, "Je me souviens."

The price of the Cruze can indeed go too high. Again, the LT upgrade and no leather wrapped steering wheel? Come on.

In defense of the Corolla, they last forever. I know some folks who have gotten more than their money's worth. Now, a timing chain has replaced a timing belt. It's a boring car, indeed. However, I'd rather have a Corolla given to me as a mid-size when renting rather than getting a Camry as a full-size when renting. Of the Japanese full-sizes (in today's terms), the Camry has the vaguest road manners. The instrument panel on them is also too fussy for short-term "ownership." I'd much rather have a Chevy Cruze or a Ford Focus than a Corolla. The Cruze has kept getting better and better from its Cavalier and Cobalt heritage. I am very saddened by changing consumer preferences in automotive purchases. I like my coupes and sedans.

I saw an early to mid '90s Buick Roadmaster wagon at a supermarket parking lot at about lunchtime. It was in perfect condition. It did not have the wood paneling and, IIRC, that was offered, since I was driving a smaller Buick product at that time and had the brochures. It was white with a tan interior, had the alloy wheels, and, badda bing, whitewalls. (If you're going to put whitewalls together with alloy wheels, make sure they're the thin stripe ones by Michelin that people have on Cadillacs and Lincolns; otherwise, fail.) I'm guessing it had a 5.7 liter V8 and, at that stage, it was probably a Chevy version and not an Olds version. Not sure if the 5.0 (307 c.i.) was still around in the early to mid '90s. Memory lane sighting! Damn, those sleds were big.

Chief Pontiac crowning a spire on that Pontiac dealership on Long Island is very cool. I'll take their old logo or their new logo. When I was a kid, one of my friend's parents had a full size Bonneville convertible. Commanding presence and over 400 cubic inches guzzling fuel under the hood. The last American car in their family was an Oldsmobile Aurora. Now, all the cars in their driveway are Japanese. As for that dealership in Hot Springs, AR, that has become a destination for retirees and/or people looking to stretch their equity dollars. A friend knows a retired municipal employee from California who moved there and got herself a custom built home amidst the pines.

I saw a car identical to mine yesterday. I tapped on my horn in acknowledgment. It was a beehive church type lady who didn't respond. Most of the time, people nod and/or smile when I drive by a car that's identical to mine. I then saw a chick barreling down the fast lane of the freeway in a newer Corolla in which one of the rear lights was out. The bigger problem was what looked to be a small black Maltese dog in her lap. Did she sleep during driver's ed in high school?

I have a religion but I am not interested in selling it to others. Not my style. Chalk that up to 16 years of Catholic school. Yes, the missionary kid was from Vancouver, WA. I guess if armed and shielded personnel from the government went to the island, they might be able to recover the body. They say there are no more than 50 people on that island. The account of their appending two fisherman whose boat strayed to the island (because of the tides) on stakes facing the beach some 10 years ago is harrowing. And these 2 people were just fishing, not preaching. On another note, be sure to leave a small tip for the housekeeper at any hotel you stay at. Leave a smaller tip daily instead of all at the end because housekeepers switch floors and rooms and also work different days of the week. A waitress/waiter cleans your table. A housekeeper cleans your toilet. That's how I look at it.

Thinking about the news wherein that guy from WA state, less than 30 years old, got some fishermen to illegally ferry him to a remote and off limits island in the Indian Ocean inhabited by people who are about 1,000 years removed from the modern world and who in turn did him in. Shouldn't have he been home for Thanksgiving? Evidently, he traveled all over the world doing this sort of missionary work. The inhabitants of that island have resisted intervention from outsiders for centuries. What made him think he had a special brand of charisma to be successful?