trinacriabob

Then, how about another go at the Subaru Brat?

Not sure how I feel about this Bronco. It looks too much like Ford's more enclosed version of a Jeep (Wrangler, maybe). I don't like most SUVs and CUVs. I'm not there yet. The only one I might have a bit of a soft spot for is the Acadia. One can keep the price low by getting one with a 2.5 L4 and only FWD. But does that defeat the purpose of getting something like an Acadia? The 2.5 might be fine ... but only FWD to deliver power to the wheels? People might be a little enthused about the lower gas prices, but it's not a good thing. The trend toward electrification might lower oil prices over the long run but no one can be sure about that. Even if assured that gas was to continue being cheap, I don't need a lot of displacement under my hood ... you can get in trouble real easily with a powerful 4 banger or a plain old V6 (I'm talking about speed traps). Why push it? As for things environmental, how much milder winters have become is a little perplexing. Maybe there's hope. I know that L.A. used to be held up as the poster child for pollution, being showcased on its worst days for the media to snack on. The truth is, with much cleaner running cars, the air there has become quite a bit cleaner and the yellow-gray skies of yesteryear, which would make your eyes water, seem to be in the city's rear view mirror.

A few days ago, I read they were mulling it over. Today, I read it's official. Lufthansa is grounding all of their Airbus 380s until May. They cite that some of their double-decker jumbos have flown with occupancies as low as 35%. When it's summer and times are good, I've seen slightly smaller 747s without an empty (main cabin) seat in the house, which means the airline might have turned down some potential customers. That's when the extra 50 or so seats on an Airbus 380 would come in handy.

On this side of the pond, there's nothing new and exciting at FCA. They are constantly being asked when the new Charger is coming and they don't have an answer. Two things might explain this. One is that, on a corporate level, they have to see which way the wind is blowing. The second is that they cannot fumble on the release of the next Charger. The current car has served them so well because it was a successful launch that just improved with each tweak. The next one has to do the same. And I hope that's the case.

New trumps old, in this case ("Hazy Shade of Winter"), as was the case with "MacArthur Park" (Donna Summer) and "Misty" (Ray Stevens - country rendition) Here's a good movie that had a good song to go along with it:

Of the few times I've gone to E.R. in my life - depressing places - I believe once was at Evergreen. That's off Totem Lake Blvd., right? Some basic questions about Covid-19 ... 1) Aren't the number of cases in China decreasing ... or maybe increasing at a slower rate? It's picking up in other countries and spreading to new U.S. states 2) For healthy adults who get through it, how long are they ill? 3) Once one has been ill, I think they can pass this virus through a sneeze, even if recovered and asymptomatic. I'm trying to read up on it. The problem is that there is too much written about it to create any kind of hierarchy of take-away major points.

Many. In addition to Bob's, there are/were Frisch's, JB's, etc. One of them is big in Michigan ... it still is. JB's still exists but has a menu that has diverted in a big way from the Big Boy boilerplate. I'm not even sure they have the double decker burger anymore. As for Denny's, I'm not a fan. Their food tastes the same across their breakfast offerings, lunch offerings, etc. When I was in SoCal, we had some local chains that outdid it - Norm's, Copper Penny, Carrow's, and there was even one named ... drum roll ... Sambo's. Sambo's ceased to be amidst all the PC-awareness (their icon was a little kid that resembled Mogli from "The Jungle Book"), with the locations picked up by other chains. Norm's near Pico and Sepulveda in West L.A. - still there! Sambo's - check out the styling - there used to be one in Santa Monica

Blast from the past When in college, there was a Bob's Big Boy about 1.5 miles from campus. (Bob's is what they called them in the West ... Big Boys have other names in Eastern states.) Would eat there about 2x a week. When the "combo" (double decker burger, fries, salad) was on special, it was more like a pilgrimage - we'd go in groups about 3x to 4x a week. Back then, we ate poorly and no one seemed to gain weight. I miss the plastic triangular salad dish. Everything used to come on one plate. Of the few franchises that remain, they bring out the salad first in a conventional bowl. That's probably because now it's soup OR salad. Every L.A. suburb had at least one Bob's Big Boy. Those were the days. D'accord. C'est vrai.

I put the STP Ultra 5-in-1 into the tank. (STP wants you to put their additives into a fairly full tank while Techron wants them to go into a fairly empty tank.) I had seen this product around and wasn't sure about the 5 things it's supposed to improve. Also, a bottle treats up to 35 gallons, so it must be potent. So I put in a little over half and am putting in the remainder with the next fill-up. You can't even feel my car idling ... but it was that way prior to putting in the STP Ultra. I've mostly used Techron and the Valvoline product, so this is the first time using this one.

Thanks for the chart. I love this sort of information. It's amazing that, while only 10 million people live in Portugal, it's the world's 7th language. The answer is an easy one: Brazil. I once read something that said the 2 languages which polled the highest on the "want to learn" list are French and Italian. That's "want" as opposed to what people ultimately do. The second list bumps up French quite a bit. Most high school and university students in this country study Spanish. I took a lot of French in high school and a little bit of Spanish in college. Most people forget what they learned. I never did. It sure has come in handy. Guess what, folks? You go to Quebec or Argentina, for example, and speak to the locals fairly proficiently in THEIR language ... and you will be treated even better. I should have asked @oldshurst442 Qu'est-ce que avez-vous fait pour ton anniversaire? I'll ask 442 this because I know ocnblu wouldn't want to field the same question in another language.

Do they speak or understand Greek?

Cigarettes in his chest pocket ... probably Bel Air brand. @oldshurst442 How are you spending your birthday, olds?

There's no doubt that this coronavirus is both serious and depressing. What's odd is the random distribution of it - clusters in (1) east(ern) Asia: China, South Korea, Japan, (2) Iran, and (3) Italy (more northern). The first reported death occurred in the U.S. - in Washington state. Maybe we should focus on the people getting through it ... which is most people. I read this courageous account told by a Chinese 27 year-old who went through 3 difficult weeks fighting off the virus until it ran its course. You can read it here: https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-survivor-recounts-fear-confusion-040847300.html

Chart - COVID-19 - small chart - when averaged together, it's obviously higher than 1 or 2%. The table does not reflect the distribution of age groups (alive in the general population), so that could lower the percentage some. (I somewhat recall that, on average, American women today live to 83 and American men today live to 79.) For those over 80 (and in poor health), it's bad news. Of course, the news focuses on the younger and healthier people who have succumbed to it because that's more alarming. I'll take the Toronado any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

There is a coronavirus chart by age groups (in increments of 10) and the likelihood of mortality for each of those age groups. I somewhat remember SARS - one can only guess it meant Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Early 2000s, right? How did that all shake out and how long did it rattle up the American and global public?

He did ?!?

I got sidetracked reading and forgot what "random thought" I was going to throw out. This week has to have been one to put so many people in a funk. First, this coronavirus is capturing the headlines and they make it seem so random, in geography, in how it is spread, and in how it runs its course for the people affected. Then, in 4 days, the market - rather, the DJIA as a barometer of it - loses over 10% of its value. But isn't the news meant to be depressing in general?

My family lived in a couple of different homes within walking distance of some of those places shown along that freeway route. I believe I see 5 lanes. Now there are 6 or 7. My dad used to complain that there was so much traffic on the 405 at off peak hours ... but it was flowing. Now, with 6 or 7 lanes, it can be gridlocked at random times throughout the day. The 405 is literally the biggest "Memory Lane" in my life. I think I probably drove on it every day from the time I got my license up to my mid-20s when I was in town / at home.

So you lived in the SW part of the city for a little while? I'm wondering if that area is going through any kind of renaissance or is poised to because everything is so expensive. I knew a lady who lived in a condo in Bitter Lake and looking onto Bitter Lake and was impressed that some parts in the NW part of the city are nice. They weren't that popular, as in cool, when I lived there, but they were definitely nice. Regardless, I think the East Side, from Bellevue up to Woodinville, are the nicest parts of that metro area. Mercer Island, a true (surfer's) "footprint," is very nice but has a weird feel.

While I very much miss my first 2 cars - both rear wheel drive Cutlass Supreme coupes (and the head of thick dark brown curly hair I had at that time) - front wheel drive does a better job of getting you home .... even if you have to go slow!

Here's a YouTube of the QM2 navigating some big North Atlantic swells during the winter with ease. The background voices seem to be those of UK and US types. There is probably alcohol involved. They are not too wigged out by the heavy seas outside.

Say a person is interested in regular passenger cars, including sports cars, and NOT crossovers, SUVs, and trucks, what might be on the exhibit floors at the various auto shows this year? I don't think much. What else can you think of besides the mid-engine Corvette?

@dfelt It is, but I wanted to know if a particular cardholder's kitty's performance affected whether they extended "top offs" to them and what the P&L picture for an account looks like along the way that makes it feasible over the "holding period?"

This financial product helped me buy my current car. I loved the "top off," which meant"rounding up." It gave me an extra $700+ when I bought the last car. They recently ran another "top off." QUESTION(S): How is this financial product managed? I know the bookkeeping for each cardholder's account is separate, but are they managed separately like a trust ... or are they pooled? I know they couldn't manage an individual cardholder's account, as in spending time doing that, but maybe they might manage them in tiers (accounts with similar amount in benefits, economic cycles, spending habits, goings-on and trends at GM, etc.) From what I recall, the usual take on credit card purchases is about 3%. If someone doesn't take credit cards, they are either operating on slim margins ... or "never mind." The GM product gives 5% on the first $5,000 spent in an anniversary year cycle, and then goes down to 2%. Someone has to pay for that, especially the front loaded higher earnings. That means that, if you put over $5,000 on it, you get $250 a year in the kitty. You can put all your auto-pays on the card, for one. Given the way financial markets have fared in the last 3 years, their providing and keeping benefits for cardholders seemed entirely feasible. If anyone knows how Capital One might run the GM loyalty credit card program, it would be great if you chimed in.

I am not too interested in Oceania, so Holden never registered all that much. I respect them for putting out the Pontiac G6 and the Chevy SS. If the timing was right and I had the coin, I would have liked one of those cars. I'm sure the Australians are sad to see it close. Agreed. I miss Pontiac the most of the bygone GM divisions. I miss Oldsmobile but always saw some duplication between it and Buick, though they were trying hard to disengage them with the Intrigue and especially the Aurora.