trinacriabob

I recently read that WOW Air is shuttering. That's sad. They provided service to Europe on the cheap via Reykjavik from a lot of second tier American cities. Icelandair stays on, which is the country's flag carrier, as Air France and Lufthansa would be to France and Germany. WOW Air was a low cost alternative, similar to Southwest. They cited that they were doing fine, operating with smaller single aisle Airbus planes, and then overextended themselves with much more distant destinations for which they needed and added Airbus 330s, twin aisle aircraft with 8 seats abreast. Oh well. On the other hand, low cost Irish Ryanair has stuck to a business model of only Boeing 737s and has been around for at least a decade. If you can handle their nickel and diming for anything extra, they're a good way to go point to point within Europe. Two European carriers are actually reasonably priced for flights across the pond - Aer Lingus of Ireland and TAP Air Portugal, both national flag carriers. I've crossed the pond on both of them and they are pretty good. You just have to be on the lookout for specials. I'm all for the success of low cost carriers. Now, if they can just solve the Boeing 737 MAX's problems and get them off the ground again soon.

I think more people might get it than some might think. So many people work inside cubes and the worst thing is that they are often the exact same color and shade ... from sea to shining sea! I am sure plenty of industrial psychologists have weighed in on how demoralizing they can be. I did the personalized plate thing once ... and only once. And it was on a Camaro that I once kept as a second "hobby" car ... the only car I've owned that wasn't bought new by either my parents (and then handed down) or myself. It had the 305 V8 and it was a P.O.S. Though only lightly used, I don't think it was broken in right. I've heard them called personalized plates and I've heard them called vanity plates. It must be regional, sort of like soda, pop, and soft drink.

Here's two more. I forgot that, one day, I saw a Hyundai Elantra going down the freeway. It was the popular metallic dark gray color. It was probably the penultimate model, so newer than 2010. It had 2 doors ... a COUPE ... within the same silhouette as the sedan. I didn't know they even sold those as coupes this late in the game. Yesterday, I saw a Ford Fusion. Nothing interesting about that. Late 2000s. Not badged as a V6, thus a 4 banger. What made it "interesting" is that it was filling up the street with blue smoke. Taken care of, those 4 bangers in those cars went the distance. All the other ones I see run clean.

I forgot this one. It was about a week ago. I saw a 1994/5/6 Thunderbird coupe in the dark metallic green. It was badged with a V8. This meant it had the 4.6 SOHC V8. The best part is that it had the contraption sitting on top of the roof that said it was being used as a delivery car for Jimmy John's! I remember that these cars were sold loaded with the power options included and were sensibly priced - about $16K to $18K back in the '90s. Basically it was like this, but with the small V8 badge, though not in as good shape: I was once given one of these Thunderbird coupes out West as a rental car and took it over the border to Vancouver. I was fairly impressed with how quiet it was and how it had enough power. Not too thirsty at highway speeds. Little did I know this would become an heirloom engine that would power both the Grand Marquis and many Lincolns.

A friend of mine in SoCal once said of his small 190 sedan that it was a "throw away car." Come to think of it, I don't see that many around. The idea of bringing a Benz to (more) people with slimmer wallets was a good idea. Too bad it wasn't an heirloom Benz as they all should be.

Life is too short for cheap gas.

I saw one of the last Pontiac Grand Prix GT coupes turning in front of me yesterday to get on the freeway. It was probably a 2002 or 2003. It was in a metallic dark bronze color and was in near perfect condition. God, I miss good old fashioned mid size GM coupes. About a week ago, I saw a late 90s (97,98,99?) base Grand Prix sedan in what I call the Schwinn bicycle metallic blue in the library parking lot. It was beat to hell. The badge indicated it had a 3800 V6. I was surprised to see a beehive lady get in it and drive off.

Is this today's 'blu? I'd say there's a good dose of Germanic DNA in the mix. Don't worry ... I won't go off on a language lesson tangent. Happy Sunday.

And this very well could be the reason that they're delaying the release. They're trying to make sure they're going to get it right. They certainly have gotten their "mileage" out of the current platform/chassis, just making minor adjustments over the last 12 or so years. I also think they are aiming at a minimum of 300 hp. That's probably a certainty. I just wish they'd do it with a larger displacement 4 or a smaller displacement V6, derived from the current Pentastar V6, and avoid the turbocharger. I know they've gotten more compact and more reliable, but it's extra hardware. I know I'm out of synch with this one, but I sure wish FCA could muster up a slick Chrysler 300 to continue running alongside the Charger. If people buy Cadillacs or up-line Japanese sedans for so much more, I don't see why they wouldn't consider a beautifully executed Chrysler 300 for mid-$30Ks.

I think that ELO and Boston were popular at about the same time, though each of these 4 groups had very distinct sounds. Music from the 70s had more variety than people give it credit for - Steely Dan sort of preceded these acts, Boz Scaggs was concurrent, and the disco era came after it, yet still all within the 70s. But then, the 60s had Motown and the Beatles running concurrently, and a lot more. Motown music is indispensable for a road trip ... today. In terms of pop, I'd say Hall&Oates and Toto were true to form 1980-1985. Today's music is just plain terrible, for the most part. As they say, "Kids today ..."

Heard while channel surfing in my car yesterday. It sort of fits to hear "Come On, Eileen" the day after St. Patrick's Day.

Starting out a Charger at under 200 hp would not work and would be detrimental to sales. You're right ... the GM 2.5 makes about 190 hp but it also has remained unchanged for a while.

I wonder if going onto a dealership's lot constitutes "spotting." It's deliberate and not random. At any rate, I was looking at some Chevy new car inventory. While there, I saw some Sparks. Yes, Sparks ... $15K before discounts! I opened up the base model doors and it had MANUAL WINDOWS, one of few production cars to offer those. You should have seen some of the wild colors on some - "Passion Fruit" and "Toasted Marshmallow." The amount of sheetmetal beyond the rear wheels is "disturbing," and the trunk is very small. There's not much more than what's on a Smart car. These Sparks are small. I'd bet Chevy offers them in Europe. Big demerit: No temperature gauge on this car. Just an idiot light. Perhaps you can scroll the D.I.C. options and get the coolant temp. displayed. As far as Chevy trimming their line up, the Spark stays while the Sonic bows out, am I right?

I looked it up. I much prefer that they would go the displacement route, like Ecotec 2.5. These 4 cylinders with DOHC seem to need a good bit of VVT apparatus, let alone a turbocharger. The entry level engine to the Charger today delivers 292 hp. I was also looking at a Wiki article about the "World engine," all 4 cylinder variants, something that the Europeans (Fiat) and Hyundai collaborated on for different aspects of it. If a Charger could muster up a big 4 and lay it into the engine bay for RWD set up, that, too, will resemble the space under the hood of a car found in the past! I agree that a much improved 4 cylinder may start the Charger line up the next time around.

Could someone envision a powerful and larger displacement 4 cyl. as the base engine for the Charger? I'm talking like the 2.5 Ecotec we see in the current LaCrosse and Impala as the base engine, not to mention the 250 hp 4 cyl. base engine that powers the new Kia Stinger.

Hot rod them up? Yes. I was in CA and AZ for a few days last month. In AZ, I took my crappy rental car up toward Mt. Lemmon outside of Tucson. In a pullout was one pimped out looking red Charger Hellcat. I think it was a car club. I lowered the passenger window and asked the Hispanic guy who owned it, "What, about 700 horses?" He proudly said, "707." Yep. I thought so. He had the model that makes the most horsepower. Not interested in feeding that.

As I scour for articles on the next version of the Charger, I can't seem to keep the timeline of what has been said in order. I'll see an article that says it will be on a version of the Alfa Romeo Giorgio platform modified and tuned for the new Charger. Then, I'll see an article with the late Marchionne saying it will be on a highly modified version of the current chassis that will perform very differently. (I interpret that as "better"). What seems to be the latest train of thought for the next Charger ... and the next Challenger? Also, do you think the next rendition will roll out in 2021 instead of 2020?

I didn't know where to put this ... here or in the thread about struts I once started. I let the struts go through another winter and I will be using the all-in-one quick strut assemblies (cartridge, coil spring, rubber parts, and hardware). You are supposed to get a trade-off. They cost more but you pay less in labor. I've read people's reviews on these and the DIY-ers love them. They have 3 bolts at the top and 2 bolts at the bottom. They cite very short time periods in which to replace them ... at home. So, today around lunch, I go into a shop that I haven't used but gets good reviews. I met one of the two mechanics last time and he is very laid back but doesn't work up quotes. I can see why. Today, I met the older mechanic who works up the quotes. I know he has to go with book rates and such but, for the quick struts, he quoted me $ 485 in labor. I don't think so. That's what you'd pay in labor when you'd have to compress the springs because you would just be replacing the strut cartridges. I have found some great prices on-line for Gabriel's all-in-one product. I can deal with a fair parts markup if the labor cost is closer to what it should be. Not only that, this mechanic that gets good reviews is in the middle of nowhere, doesn't have a waiting room, and would be keeping the car all day. Why not give me a window of time during which I can stick around and wait for it? For routine stuff, I wait for my car. I have a feeling that finding the right mechanic to replace the struts with the brand I want and at a fair price is going to be a little challenging.

Fantastic performances. Incredible talent. I will say that the little Italian that was spoken, even if it was a dialect such as Sicilian, wasn't as accurate as it should have been. They should have paid a little more attention to that.

Mostly accurate, though Dr. Shirley's family disputes some of it. We know the color of the Cadillac was off. The events in the South were more disturbing than in the Midwest. The one event in the Midwest that was really bad took place at Hanover College in Indiana. If that is in the Ohio River Valley part of Indiana, then that would be more Southern and the mentality would have been more hick in 1962. As you can imagine, a new Cadillac with New York plates and a black man in the back being chauffeured around also saw its share of being pulled over by cops. However, without giving it away, the last time one of these that occurs on the way back up North has a positive spin on it and really shows the loyalties and mindset of the people who wrote and backed this movie.

I won't say that much because y'all need to see it. When I knew that Tony "Lip" Vallelonga was going to be driving him around the Midwest and the South, I knew before I saw the movie there would be a phenomenal scene following that then new Cadillac aerially as it crossed the George Washington Bridge from Manhattan to New Jersey. And there was! Beautifully done. The funniest scene to me may not be the funniest to others. As they start driving off and are in PA, Dr. Shirley starts telling Tony that he needs to clean up his vocabulary because of the sort of people they'll be around. Dr. Shirley said, "I have a problem with your diction." Tony got defensive and told him that everyone understands him just fine. Dr. Shirley looked away and said something like, 'Perhaps your diction has some charm in the tri-state area.' I howled at that one. The movie is definitely very Yankee versus Southerner. And it does rely a lot on stereotyping, which probably held water in 1962. Also, they HAD to cross on the George Washington Bridge because the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge wasn't opened until 1964 or so. Epic flick. A lot of great music from that era, too. I wasn't expecting it.

Yes. It's great. Have you seen it? Or has anyone else seen it?

Anybody seen "The Green Book?" A Jewish lady I know strongly urged me to go see it because she thought it would be right up my alley. She was right. Simple story, more or less ... a lot of message embedded within it. It has its difficult spots but emerges as a feel good movie.

Some spotting 1 - over the weekend - getting on at the ramp on the other side of the freeway was a 1975 or 1976 Cadillac Eldorado coupe. The body was intact but the metal bumpers and fins were not in the best shape. It was silver with a silver landau top, which was reserved for the upscale GM cars. The lower divisions didn't have gray interiors to go along with this combo but Cadillac (and Buick (Electra/Park Avenue) and Olds(98 Regency)) did. As far as I could see, this one was burgundy inside. I couldn't believe its length. Sort of like landing a great white that snags a record for its size. This car weighs over 4,800 pounds and cruises with a 500 c.i. V8 ... or 8.2 liters ... or 8200 cc. 2 - over the weekend - a studious looking high school kid is parked next to me at the store playing on his phone with his girlfriend in an immaculate last gen 2003 Pontiac Bonneville LE in purist form. What a relief. No cladding, no spoiler, wheel covers. I asked him if he'd sell it. He said that he just got it from his grandmother with about 25,000 miles. I told him he was lucky to own one and wished him well. Of those bigger cars, the Bonnie was the only one I liked, and in purist form, except for adding the base alloy wheels. This kid's car was the metallic bronze color and it was beautiful. 3- on Tuesday, a Pontiac Sunbird sedan of 1988 to 1994 vintage is sailing past me on the freeway at about 70 mph. This car was clean. It looked like a Cavalier. It had the red appliques from some optional package. I don't know much about the 1.8 and 2.0 4 cylinders of that day but apparently this one has held up for 25 to 30 years and was maneuvering like a whipper snapper. I don't know if it had Eco-Tec technology in its 4 cylinder engines that early. It's rare to see a Cavalier or a Sunbird these days, let alone a Cobalt. Dud sighting - a Camry under 5 years old is going down a major boulevard at about 10 mph below the speed limit. It was nighttime. The streets were uncrowded. There was not much lighting because it is a wooded area. As I get next to the car, it's a 30-something dude who, based on the glow coming from his phone, is texting away. I guess that justifies going 10 mph below the speed limit ?!? Ass hole. There are many deer that cross the area he was driving through.

I had a Camry as a rental within the last few years. For one day. It idled so erratically (about 29,000 miles) that I thought it would conk out. I got it changed. For the remainder of the trip, I was given a Verano. The lady at the counter told me she would be giving me a Veracruz! So, that made for a big laugh (when I saw a Verano in the numbered parking spot) and a much nicer car for the rest of my rental. I hated the Camry's dash and console. I didn't warm up to that car.