trinacriabob

Good point. One has to see these cars in motion. As for the exterior, the Toro is more svelte looking all the way around, especially when the retractable headlamps are exposed. I saw one on the Oregon Coast once in the driftwood metallic color and with alloy wheels, and it looked better than the Riv. The Riv's front grille is too shallow, as is the Toro's, and those great rear tail lamps of the Riv don't look as good from some angles when you get a view of the thick, flanked rear fender. Your point for the dash is well taken. The Toro's almost looks Cutlass or Alero grade to the right of the center stack. The Riv's is more nicely finished. The right side reminds me more of older DeVilles and Fleetwoods with that large glove box. Also, the finishing of the huge doors on the Riv is nicer than on the Toro. However, the Riv's IP main cluster graphics were electriconic in these years, IIRC, while the Toro's base ones were mechanical dials. Had they been basic dials in the Riv, I'd take the Riv's interior. Sadly, the Toro lost the retro trestle shifter of the model right before it (same chassis). Overall, I'd go Toro between these two.

I remember you once posted a photo of this car. In the snow. Light metallic blue + white top, IIRC. It had the sloped front end instead of the formal Regal vertical front end. You should post it again.

I periodically see these two vehicles around, and wish I saw more of them, and it's a real close call as to which one I like more (same engine/transmission/chassis, more or less): early 90s Olds Toronado: front 3/4 fear 3/4 interior / dashboard OR early 90s Buick Riviera: front 3/4 rear 3/4 interior / dashboard Tough choice! They were the end of the line for GM's history laden personal luxury coupes.

I'm not in the market but think about what it would like to be in the market. Currently, GM has only three brands that make cars. I can't afford a Cadillac. Buick is down to 2 cars. And models that I would have found acceptable in Chevrolet are no longer that interesting to me, with the Cruze being their only car I like and which has surprised the hell out of reviewers and consumers alike, as in "thumbs up." Right now, one of the few vehicles out there that I could see owning would be a Dodge Charger in base form and with the V6 engine. Five or ten years ago, I would have thought that to be blasphemy. I find GM's offerings to be either too esoteric, too pricey and full of complicated gizmos, too electric/hybrid, or too bland for my tastes and needs. They don't have much in good bread and butter cars at this time, IMO. The Charger has gotten long in the tooth, though refreshes have made it better. The concept for their next rendition is pretty wild. I don't know how/if it will grow on me.

Thank you ... in a big way. Yes, I remember those types of mouses where the ball was so loose that it lent itself to cleaning, and even falling out! This one is optical. With a new tower, I will get a new keyboard and mouse. Nine plus years has been a long run! It's Firefox. I will look at the 5 step solution and try to navigate through that. If I was looking at a directory without opening up the browser, from which I get this unpleasant message about the bookmarks (that others also have gotten, per searches), then I'd be interested in knowing if they might be in a directory somewhere that would allow me to transfer them onto another medium or two. I will say that I've been impressed with the longevity of my HP bundle over these years. My use of it has not been particularly taxing. I'm sure that has helped. Thanks!

Hi folks: Step 1 - I did buy the printer. As I had mentioned, I needed 11x17 capability and I didn't want to spend a lot. I purchased the Epson WF 7720. I got it for $ 199.99 less $ 50 (a special) for turning in my old printer, an HP Office Jet that lasted a long time. Total: $ 149.99. Let's see how it goes. My demands on a printer are very low. Reviews on Amazon and big box sites - most love it, some hate it. I'm finding that's true with struts, which I'm looking at and need, and luck may be involved. Let's see how this printer goes. Step 2 - help a. Within the last two weeks, my mouse keeps freezing and locking up my old HP Pavilion tower computer. It's intermittent but becoming more frequent. Any quick solutions? Any quick fixes to tide me over for a week or two? b. Browsers also keep updating. Lo and behold, with the latest update, I get a message "The bookmarks and history system will not be functional." Others have also gotten this message and discuss it on forums. Some of the fixes aren't working. Are my bookmarks residing somewhere in my computer nonetheless? I have quite a few of them and they are in folders. I've done a back up onto a 1 TB portable within the last 2 months. Would this have transported the bookmarks to it? Very frustrating. Thanks.

Probably the French variant of the English word. I know how much you like languages.

If I see a Galaxy, I automatically think of someone's mom who gave a bunch of us kids a ride to the parochial school in our suburb. She fittingly had a beehive and had sort of a Mrs. Cunningham ("Happy Days") personality. Yes, once upon a time, SoCal was "somewhat" wholesome ... or at least there was more room for it.

Double entendre. I love it. I wonder if this was even slightly controversial in its day.

You guys nailed it. Put a dark t-shirt on him and put him in a cherry Riv in a middle to upper middle class neighborhood and that was the dude!

Very random thought - sort of Memory Lane like ... I found out I'm not the only car enthusiast who does this. I have sometimes rolled down the passenger window while going over a narrow bridge (covered bridges are even better, if you can find one!) to have the engine's purr echo back at me. This was particularly gratifying with an Olds Rocket V8. I got the idea while sitting in the passenger seat of a new Olds with a V8 in California while a teacher was driving us on a field trip and we went over a stone bridge. The sound was beautiful. I subsequently did that various times on my own after my dad handed me down his Cutlass Supreme and it had an Olds V8. Ah yes ... the simple pleasures in life.

I was driving down a major street and a last-gen (late '90s) Buick Riviera coupe was coming the other way. It was in perfect shape. It was the pearl white color. I like some special metallic extra cost colors, but not the off white. The guy driving it looked like the working class version of that silver haired bearded guy who is on an ad for alcohol or maybe "poverty sucks" that people seem to post on social media. I can visualize the ad or meme but can't recall what product or message he represents. Also, he zoomed away from that light. I had my window down and could hear it. Maybe it was supercharged as opposed to being a normally aspirated 3800 V6. Polarizing car, that's for sure.

Interesting sighting today. I don't normally pay attention to Mercedes products because I don't need such expensive iron and can't afford it anyway. It was a Mercedes E350 convertible. I noticed it because it was silver with the dark red leather interior, a color combo I've once had in a car and very much like. I have also liked seeing this interior color scheme in Corvettes at auto shows. The people in the convertible were interesting. Driving it was a senior guy , 75+ (or not looking good for his age), who resembled the guy in "The Godfather" who ended up with a thoroughbred horse's head in his bed. Who can forget that? The passenger was a younger lady who somewhat resembled Pia Zadora, was probably in her mid to late 30s, and had sunglasses. I was thinking, "Money talks and bull***t walks."

Why does my signature link appear to be broken? This is fairly new ... less than a week. Lots and lots of wind turbines in and around the Coachella Valley of So Cal (think Palm Springs and surrounding towns).

Here's another question. We've all been spotting '70 something boulevardiers which, at the time, were the gold standard for smooth riding cars ... Grand Villes, Sevilles, etc. Now that I've been in two W-bodies for over 2 decades, would my later W-body cars, which feel very quiet and smooth to me, be smoother than the RWD Cutlass Supremes, Regals, Ninety Eights, or Bonnevilles of the glorious past? Or would they just feel different? I imagine their road feel would leave a little something to be desired.

Do deer whistles work? The ones you get on the cheap at chain auto stores? I know that's a subject of debate. Do they actually make noise? Just wondering. I haven't seen them for a while. Not that I've been looking for them.

This is the one described I'd like the most, either in convertible form or big coupe opera window with landau top form.

These will always look like toads, with or without the steroids. - - - - - Another Olds Alero today - a gold coupe in near perfect condition - a senior gentleman sitting in traffic along a major artery. Never would I have thought Aleros would have been so long lived when I took one from Spokane, WA to Calgary (AB) Canada and back in the summer of 2003. I also drove through Sandpoint, ID on that trip. Never would I have thought someone as dumb and annoying as Sarah Palin would hail from there ... and have been catapulted to such prominence. Never mind.

Only from the rear and rear 3/4 view. In all other aspects, I wish they would made a stock version for public consumption. Nicer front grille (more like Chevy SS), silhouette that isn't as dowdy, sportier dashboard ... still the rear tail lamps are just a hair different to know it's not the regular Impy.

I decided within the last week that I like center mounted stop lamps all that much more. They really make a difference as you're driving along, meaning you notice them more instinctively than you do the outboard tail lamps. I watched one of those insane fit for YouTube verbal brawls on public transit within the last few days. Since I wasn't the only one looking down in disbelief and chuckling, it must have been funny.

Thank you. What a jerk that guy was. If I've owned 2 HP 4 in 1s for home use for at least 6 years each and they never required anything but ink, then I knew something was off. I also avoid that chain since they don't have the best prices to begin with.

Also, by the way, I was talking to this Indian girl who sold tech stuff at one of the office supply chain stores and she said the thing about the periodic maintenance block on the printer requiring a $ 75 piece to unblock it sounded pretty nutty to her. It sounded nutty to me. I wonder what that was all about. That dude should have been reported to management.

I just looked into those on line. They are a little more than either HP or Epson. They also get the better reviews. Since it will be wide format, it will be an inkjet printer. It's funny because you don't see them advertised all that much. Thank you. Not interested in gaming. At all. LOL. Spreadsheets, documents, some household name graphics packages, photo storage and editing, YouTube, and general surfing ... that's it! I'm guessing the above would sort of cover the AMD Ryzen 5.

Yes, I thought he was a goofball of sorts, probably looking to sell a tech support package. It would be my first experience with AMD over Intel if I went that route. They say AMD has a strong processor in the Ryzen 5. (Incidentally, reisen means travel in German.) The next one to unsnarl is the printer. I have enjoyed my HP Office Jets. Both have had kinks that you learn to navigate around by the lasted many years. I'll have to research this Epson locking up mechanically and requiring a piece to free it. That sounds kooky, too. I'm getting there.

I'm about to buy a new desktop and a new printer. I've had both for about 9 years. They are HP. The desktop lives on (crossing my fingers) but the printer recently gave up the ghost, after so many years of service. Two questions: 1. I am looking at the lower priced HP Pavilions with 12 GB of RAM. They can come with an Intel CPU (a little more money) or an AMD CPU (a little less money). Instinctively, I've gone for Intel in the past. My desktop computer tower use is for easy stuff. I read a few over my head articles that AMD's Ryzen 5 series CPU is now commendable and has edged up on Intel in the CPU department. I just went into a big box place and one of the guys told me that the AMD runs a lot hotter and uses more wattage than the Intel, so it won't last as long as the Intel version in similar newer HP Pavilions. Any thoughts on this? 2. I am looking at a printer with wide format capability, meaning 11x17 copying and printing. They have some home use HP and Epson models. The interface on HP is sadly like that of a cell phone. It's small. Epson's is more traditional. The same guy told me that when the Epson needs to clean itself (that sounds dirty, I know) it kicks out a mechanical lock and you need to pay for a $75 piece each time this occurs. This sounds ridiculous. Do you agree? On my very reliable HP OfficeJet, all I ever did is buy ink cartridges over the years. I've never heard of a lock of sorts on a home printer during its service life. This big box chain store prices their service plans higher than many other stores. I've rarely bought stuff there over the years. I'm betting that a sales push for these service plans would have come on the heels, had I been buying, but I was just looking. Help and input are greatly appreciated.