trinacriabob

You have to give Buick some credit on this one. This was definitely one polarizing car. The Riv has gone up and down like a yo yo in terms of being polarizing. This car had some great angles and some not so great angles. The coolest thing about it was the dash, which sloped away from the driver and stayed under a wrap-around ridged cowl, had all the gauges, and had some nice wood appliques, even though they were probably fake.

What is it with the nicer weather and Cutlass convertibles? Today I saw a 1972 Olds Cutlass 442 convertible in white, with color keyed rally wheels, a black interior, and buckets but the automatic shifter on the column. The guy was real nice, as he was parked and not moving with traffic. He told me it had the 350 V8. The car looked good in white. This guy also told me he had a 1985 Regal Grand National, also a coupe. Then, I saw a 2000+ last-gen Pontiac Bonneville in black and in perfect condition. It had wheel covers and a spoiler. I'd prefer alloy wheels and no spoiler.

There was an "institution" in the L.A. area called the Helms Bakery truck. I remember the jingle. It was way more popular than the ice cream truck. Can you imagine a moving Dunkin' Donuts, with exceptional and better baked goods, in a contraption like the one above? The Helms Bakery itself then became one of those commercial hubs with leased space and a huge antique mart, which smelled frumpy just like an antique mart. I had no use for it without the baked goods.

Thanks. And all because I placed a cube type shelf perpendicular to the desktop, and a little further away! I know I'll be able to use it for other things at one time or another.

This became a random issue all of a sudden. I've got electrical extension cords but, for the first time in my life, I need to buy a male-to-female (or vice versa, whatever) USB 2.0 extension cable about 6' to 10.' The big box stores with recognizable names charge ridiculous amounts for these. From unknown third party retailers through known merchants, they run from $3 to $10. Just as good? Never bought one before. Thanks!

Q: What's the first thing a sorority girl does in the morning? A: She goes home.

Random thoughts? I just had a random thought. Damn, do I ever miss mid-sized GM coupes. * sigh *

Hahaha! The inline 6s would have been 170, 200, or 250 cubic inches. The price leader would have been a 170 L6, a 3 on the tree manual, no carpeting, no cigarette lighter, plaid seats with horrible fabric texture, one metallic driver's outside mirror, blackwalls, and moon styled hubcaps. And they probably ran forever if taken care of. I knew this guy who worked at the same place I did when I lived in SoCal and he was an ass, albeit a funny ass, and he remarked to someone that their Maverick looked like a toad. It very much does! Seeing a Maverick IRL always brings on the biggest of laughs.

I'm posting now because I uploaded and cropped the photo. I saw this yesterday. It drove down two major (perpendicular) major thoroughfares near me. It's a 1970 Cutlass Supreme convertible, obviously in red with a white top and a white interior. I don't know if color keyed Olds rally wheels were around that far back. Our family had the color keyed rally wheels on a mid 70s Cutlass Supreme and on a mid 80s Cutlass Supreme. I was able to ask them if it had a 350 or a 455. The exhaust noise was more raucous than expected. It had the 350 V8. I appreciate this model for being better than the other quadruplets, though only a tad better than Pontiac's LeMans. It was actually better looking than the 71 or 72 Cutlass, owing to the more vertical rear taillamps. I still much prefer the 76-77 and 81-87(partial 88) Supreme coupes.

Yes, the Grand Am was part of that group and retained a canted front grille, with the others being vertical and cubed before it later became a 2.5 liter Iron Duke powered small car. I'll never forget having one of these Grand Ams later on (white exterior - gray interior) and driving it around NYC and routinely crossing the GW as I explored the area from a relative's house. Since it was newer and in a rental fleet, it performed great and, for the first and only time, I drove around Manhattan in a more manageable, smaller car. Gosh darn, look at those red calipers! For some crazy reason, I like(d) the slightly elongated Alfa Romeo 147 coupe of the 2000s.

Shared by Pontiac GP and (G) LM. It lacked the curves of its predecessor, but still a cool little dash, provided it has gauges and not idiot lights. https://www.classiccarcatalogue.com/P/Pontiac 1979 LeMans19.jpg

Saw a '71 or '72 Chevy Malibu coupe. In perfect condition. Olive green metallic and black vinyl roof (full, not landau). The wheels were sporty, though possibly not stock, so I'm assuming it was a 350. I couldn't see the badge. I doubt there were all that many 454s.

Very cool. The photos show both the new (ridged cowl) and old (Regal like) dashboard for the Insignia. That brick-maroon interior is pretty nifty. Since Volvo seemingly does well with their wagons stateside, the same could be true of a rebranded Insignia wagon.

Photos: 1. Sort of front 3/4 view on the Gulf side of FL 2. Sort of rear 3/4 view on the Gulf side of FL 3. Side view with Stone Mountain (Atlanta, GA) area looming beyond 4. Front view with Stone Mountain (Atlanta, GA) area looming beyond 5. Rear view in Stone Mountain (Atlanta, GA) with peak azalea and dogwood blooming time around Easter 6. Love the instrumental cluster, the stitched leather wheel, the colors, and the ease of use 7. A great vibe, whether in the cockpit or a passenger 8. Not a bad center stack. The climate control section (lower) is fairly intuitive. Anymore, the audio section (middle) takes more time to figure out 9. Now THIS is why it's not a Chevy Cruze 10. I've got a thing for opera windows or facsimiles thereof 11. Where the hell do you propose finding bucket seats articulated like this in this day and age? They remind me of the early Cutlass Salons. This car was so comfortable that I didn't want to give it back to them! - - - - - Mileage readings (mpg): 30.23 24.34 (low) 35.20 (high) 26.42 27.06 29.20 31.28 27.40 - - - - - Yes, perhaps a little OCD. C'est la vie.

That interior looks very Vegas ... as in bad Vegas ... I wondered where this vehicle might be ... and I see the license plate is an Italian one ... Overall, this is scary.

Has anyone seen the movie "I, Tonya?" Interesting take on things. Except for her hometown and its environs, most of America didn't like her and thought she was culpable and a joke. This movie paints her in more of a victim of circumstances light. She was that - the smoking waitress mom who had many husbands and had no problem just whacking her across the face at least weekly. The movie sort of makes you feel sorry for her but she also had a choice in the company she chose. One would think that, if she's in her line of work, she would ratchet up her diplomacy level by observing others and choosing better role models. She had the skills down. The movie cited that, after Clinton, she was either the next best known or most discussed name in the world for a while during those years. Also, you didn't take a dig at her in her hometown while that stuff was going on. I did and was glared at. Locals turned a blind eye to the gravity of it all, swept it under the rug, and went to bat for Tonya (no pun intended). When I saw this, I figured it had to be Niagara Falls, ON and not Niagara Falls, NY. Niagara Falls, ON has some high real estate prices (glanced at a throw away home magazine - whew) while Niagara Falls, NY changes into a place down on its luck once about 5 to 10 blocks inboard from the falls. Most of the amusement venues are on the Ontario side, as are the nice hotel towers and good buffets.

I don't know if this is true or not, but there was supposedly a debate with Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy in which Ted asked Carter a question. Carter responded with, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." It was after "the incident." It would interesting to see if that really happened. One doesn't know if that's just folksy Southern talk (Carter farmed peanuts in Plains, GA) or a scripted jab of some sort. Joke of that era - Q: Did you hear prostitutes are moving away from Washington (DC)? A: They don't want to work for peanuts.

I was in the Sunshine State for Easter and the car had to go one way out of the state for a really good rate, so I returned it to Atlanta. I arrived in Florida and the selection of cars was really dismal, for what I like, that I almost just took a Focus from the pick your car line. However, I took a Camry. I didn't really like that car. With 29,000 miles on it, it idled roughly with the air conditioner on. Worse yet, there was no fob on the key ring. I figured that out when I tried to pull my stuff out of the trunk. I had to use the key for the front door and then use the inside release just to open the trunk. However, I was tired and went to sleep. The next morning I woke up, realizing I had to exchange the car. I went back, the attendant let me park it in a special zone, I went to the counter, and explained what the situation was. The lady was super nice. She fished around for keys and was rattling off the names of cars, because this location didn't have the pick your car zone. She said, "I've got a Veracruz. You'll really like that." I was wondering what a Veracruz was. Perhaps it was something I missed. Mitsubishi once had the Montero. She then told me it was a Buick. I looked at the key ring and saw that it was a Verano. Haha - Veracuz!?! I thought Veranos would all be retired from fleets by now, so it was "winner - winner - chicken dinner" for me. Perfect for the warmer and muggier weather, the Verano was white with a cashmere (read: tan) cloth interior with cocoa (read: dark brown) accents. I'd putted around in these before, so getting everything set up wasn't too bad. The Bluetooth was a little fussy, but I was bent on being fueled by 70s and 80s music, along with some Motown. Also, one has to get radio stations for their genre and for the area. I love how this smaller car feels bigger than most compact cars I've ever been in. (That's sort of like Reno's moniker "the biggest small city in the world," or something like that.) The Verano was nimble, quiet, and fairly quick. The "habitual" 2.4 liter 4 cylinder is mostly sedate but can get riled up under throttle. It likes freeways, or interstates. A lot. The car can move right on up to higher speeds and you won't hear it or feel it. For this, the cruise control with the typical GM digital set up was useful and it was always on stand-by. The rocker toggles on the steering wheel feel good to the touch and are easy to use. There was one unusual thing about the powertrain on this unit. Most of the time, when I've gotten a car with over 30,000 miles and an issue to go along with it, it has usually been a wheel hub bearing that was going sideways. Not this time. There was a noticeable feel at the first two shift points. The 6 speed transaxle in these units is usually silky smooth. Something was off. However, it didn't cause any problems, it didn't get worse, and it didn't set off the check engine light for a solenoid or a sensor. As for fuel economy, it's supposed to get between 21 and 32 mpg, IIR the past EPA stickers. In an almost all city situation, my worst tank got 23 mpg. Then, I usually baby a car for one pure interstate jaunt, and that tank came in at about 37 mpg. I've gotten that sort of a reading once before in a Verano, so I figured it made some sense. Because it is a 4 banger, cruise at 65 mph spins the engine at about 2,000 rpms. I really like the ergonomics and greenhouse of the Verano. For my taste, its seats are incredibly comfortable. They are sort of old school, if you will, because they're not thin and they don't have overly defined bolsters that hem you in. Their thickness seems to rob the rear of the cabin of some knee room, but that's where I temporarily tossed empty plastic water bottles. (What's with these Southerners? Finding places to put recyclables isn't all that easy.) I like the dashboard design, the simple instrument cluster with the blue/white lighting, and, mostly, the fit and finish. It may be on the same chassis as the last-gen Chevy Cruze, but the attention to detail make this compact car stand out. It's a pleasure to sit in its cabin. This then brings around the question everyone asks. The now gone Verano sat on the outgoing Cruze chassis and was much more car in every which way, with the manners of a larger and better appointed automobile. Now, with its redesign, the current Cruze is far better than the previous Cruze. With that said, one can only imagine how appealing a new Verano could have been if it had been piggybacked onto the current Cruze chassis and Buick-ed up. Not only that, it could put a consumer into a Buick at a MSRP in the mid $20Ks and they could pass on looking at other marques, domestic or foreign, in the same niche. I guess this last trip in one was sort of my "last call" for the likeable Verano. - - - - - * photos forthcoming *

For all those trips, 135K sounds low, but then states are more compact in the Northeast "population corridor." Florida is more of a haul. Usually 2 days to get down there. As long as there were no mechanicals on these trips, that's great. Yes, 301 V8 in Safari and 307 V8 in Toro.

As long as it could get me to merge onto a SoCal freeway, I was o.k. with the lower hp of my parents' cars. They were cruisers. The only place you could get into a jam is on some of the mountain passes. As the passes wore on, the 250 L6, the 231 V8, and the 260 V8 didn't have much oomph at all if you wanted to pick up speed, let alone pass. On my one trip to SoCal in the current LaCrosse while still under warranty, it took the Grapevine Hill (grade on I-5 from the flat Central Valley of CA to elevation ~4,100 ft.) in stride. No, but I had friends with German parents whose accents were hilarious. They were pretty nutty people, too. Damn, they're all gone now. The most entertaining one was Irmgard (Irma). Her husband was Italian.

Haha. "Relaxed" might be a good word, indeed. Sounds like it lasted for a long time, though. I haven't a clue as to how later Pontiac (small block) V8s held up and if they had any weak spots. I liked the way they were laid out. Chevy and Olds V8s are usually discussed more thoroughly.

The Cutlass Salon, when it wasn't a Cutlass Calais, was the best of the lot. There were fewer things more comfortable than those oversized bucket seats. I forgot. While getting a value breakfast burrito at BK this morning, I spotted a 2000 to 2004 genre Bonneville in the drive through in something close to purist form. I actually like them without any spoiler at all, as found in some LEs. I was invited to test drive one in 2000 at a horse track, I believe, and it was fairly agile for being such a hefty sled. I also liked the dashboard and their simple front end that still said Pontiac clearly enough. We also got to test drive the equivalent Chrysler product and the Pontiac was definitely more appealing, at least at that time.

Really thorough write-up, Reg. I won't go out of my way to drive one. I sat in one and didn't like the rear visibility, but I'm picky about that and I'm of average height. I like to sit high and see a lot of glass around me, with thinner pillars. That will be the day. You seem to like the new thematic Buick dash. It's simple and convenient, but it also seems to be a retro throwback to the late 60s, with a heavy ridge across the top of the cowl. I'm not so sure. I like dashboards that have 3 defined zones, so to speak, or more sculpting if not 3 defined zones. I don't know how the steering would compare to the outgoing Regal. I found the last one to be nimble with enough road manners and isolation, but I believe you. I'm guessing these are all electric P.S. units, with hydraulics now gone. I will agree that I am warming up to the new LaCrosse. I have not warmed up to its MSRP. They can sticker at 2x the one that I bought! I don't like a console where its surface is way above the seating surfaces like the LaCrosse, and even this new Regal, have. I will say that, even if the final experience isn't very Germanic, the car (2018 Regal) definitely looks "more" Germanic as it's approaching you if you're going in the other direction.

Spot on. I remember that the '75 (getting nicer at that point) started with a 400. I had forgotten about the 301 V8. I knew it existed. I've only known a 265 V8 owner and rode in such a car, but have never seen or ridden in a 301 equipped Pontiac. And, the following year, the GP got pared down and could run with a 3.8 V6. Who'd have thunk? In the '78 downsize, the GP was the one that benefited the most in its looks. This one is a little too plush - an LJ - with a heavily padded roof and the wire wheel covers. http://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/comment-image/439205.jpg The 1981 GP update was even nicer. However, those cars would have CCC (Computer Command Control) during its teething years. With that refresh, the 1981 Cutlass Supreme was on top again as the best looking of the mid-size coupes. http://www.adspast.com/store/skin1/images/pics9/pont8081dgprix.jpg

Ok, I see. That '77 LJ is a hoot. The treatment of the rear lamps on the '77 is vastly inferior to those on the '76. They only work for a luxury car and not one that could be sporty, i.e. the SJ. They started out with a pale enough blue that year, but that one has seen the years and the fading. It's got a console but, inside the round bezels, it's got idiot lights. Idiotic! The profile is unmistakable. It's good and then it's sort of bad. I maintain that if the Grand Prix of those years was proportioned like a Cutlass Supreme or Regal of the same years and less sculpted, they would have sold more of them. Maybe it was a deliberate GM move. They didn't want cannibalization. Plus, Pontiac was running the LeMans at the same time. I once found a '76 Grand Le Mans on eBay in LJ form and with the 260 V8 they got from Olds, but they wanted too much for it. Maybe around $6,900. In those years, there were 6 opera windowed coupes by B-O-P and Chevrolet, and that doesn't even count Rivs, Toros, and anything Cadillac had to offer. Times sure have changed.