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trinacriabob

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Everything posted by trinacriabob

  1. You're right ... it would also have to be trimmed out. I don't think wheel well skirts were the way to go since Pontiac tried to purvey the image of being the sportiest among the full-sized GM boulevardiers and the skirts don't work well with their trademark rally wheels. Also, as I got closer to that Bonneville coupe in Yosemite, I believe the fabric seats had this cool tweed-like look - in that apple green I mentioned - instead of the over the top velour pillowed seats you might see in the upline Grandville Brougham. I would have loved to have driven one of these cars at some point just to see what they feel like. I'm sure they're fine on the freeway, but it would be interesting to know how they behave on the 2-lane mountain roads into Yosemite and other mountain destinations.
  2. So, I had Google Maps on Android Auto as I drove around the Montreal area. My default is (American) English and the verbal instructions are given by an English speaker who also Anglicizes the names of the streets. This will sound sexist, but the pronunciations in other languages reflecting where I've driven reminds me of the 2.7-ish dumb blonde you've had in language classes in high school or college. I say this because some girls got all exasperated much like Chrissie on "Three's Company" would and whine "this is sooo haaaard" as they mispronounce things while reciting. The 2.7-ish dumb jock would also say them like he wasn't the brightest bulb and act yuk-yuk-yuk while reciting. Well, I hope they at least mastered "dos cervezas, por favor" for any cruise they might take to the Mexican Riviera. So, in French speaking Montreal, Google Maps lady calls out: 1. Boulevard Lakkady That would be Boulevard de l'Acadie, with reference to Acadia National Park and the general area of Acadia, so she bastardized a beautiful place in Maine 2. Kristoff Column That would be Christophe Colomb, as in Christopher Columbus There were many other "dumb blonde" mispronunciations during those days ... she fares a little bit better in Spanish and Portuguese. Just a little bit. * end of rant *
  3. What I was really randomly thinking: reminiscing ... something I saw in Yosemite National Park when I went with my parents on a cool overcast November day and was smitten ... with both the national park and this ... ... except that it was dark metallic forest green with an apple green landau and interior. Look at the stupid things on this one: manual windows, a vanilla looking bench seat, and black seat belts. These looked good with either the rear wheel skirt or without ... but I prefer them without it. It looks like they can easily be removed. The fully exposed rear rally wheel makes it look less chunky and more sporty. - - - - - I was looking at where this car and the other GM stablemates went with the 1977 downsizing. Except for the Cadillac, I didn't like most of them, since they went too slab-like and lost most rounded elements. The full-size Pontiac floundered from the late '70s to the mid '80s, right down to occasionally oddly proportioned styling and a weird assortment of engines that they came with ... and that came and went.
  4. Wow. Interesting dashboard. Rectilinear and curved ... but more rectilinear! Definitely Lincoln styling vocabulary and not much GM seen here. I know what driving a Ford SOHC 4.6L V8 felt like ... as in very good. However, I am not remembering its sound. For some reason, low displacement V8s, especially when newer and have intact exhaust systems, tend to purr beautifully.
  5. Good morning! When you do see this IRL, it is definitely funny.
  6. Surprisingly, one of the most scenic drives for me was not coastal, but mountainous: the Great Dolomites Road (Grande Strada dei Dolomiti). It takes almost 3 hours to travel 60 miles. I've done this twice ... about 10 years apart ... not my photos above, but I took at least 100 each time. Highly recommended!
  7. That you even drove in Salerno and on the Amalfi Coast, presumably with a manual, is sort of amazing to me. I have some major issues with the region of Campania in general ... blame it on Naples. Autogrill is okay for tide over food. More people seem to go in for stand-up coffee (not me) or clean enough restrooms (me). There are at least 2 in the north where the Autogrill sits in one big building that is placed over the autostrada and can be reached from the pullouts on both sides of it. Right. The PacNW thickens one's blood. I remember. But perfect coffee weather. I'd go down to California at about March to visit and they'd comment on how pale I had become. So, it's also a great place for good skin and you know this when you walk outside on a cool morning. That 30C can brush 40C in July and August in Sicily's interior. I'm in the north right now and the felt heat index today has hit the equivalent of 99F.
  8. I had to comment on this, which I saw a few days ago. Boeing 787 Dreamliner operators have been using 3-3-3 seating in economy. That's 9 across. Japan Air Lines has bucked that convention. They've gone to 2-4-2 regular economy seating, so that's 8 across. They've widened the seats a little, which realistically means a lot. https://simpleflying.com/japan-airlines-boeing-787-seat-configuration-guide/ I really like the Dreamliner, and its ambiance and ambient features are great, but it does look like a 1.5x wide 737 in the back of the plane. JAL's move probably works out to a loss of 30 seats, unless they now have fewer business class rows. But customers will think about the seating and it might cause them to pick JAL, which might mean fuller flights. That part of the world isn't my cup of tea. I want to understand what people are saying and respond. It would be great for European - and North American - carriers to go 2-4-2, so you would get the great Boeing plane and a more comfortable cabin. I'm more on board with the latest Airbus 330 Neo, which is still 2-4-2 and I've enjoyed flights on it. Look at this obviously more comfortable layout and nicer seating that Japan Air Lines is offering.
  9. Very random thought: I wonder what people's dogs and cats think, if anything, when seeing their owners having sex ...
  10. Korean is mostly Boeing, and they do have some A380s. While the article was about (yet another) Boeing 737 Max issue, it featured a photo of their nicely painted up 747-8 of which they are one of the few carriers who ordered them in pax form. I can't do much with my phone camera. But kudos to a photographer who can capture this plane on the tarmac at NY-JFK and capture the Freedom Tower all the way across the miles of city that is Brooklyn-Queens in between the two. It's fairly far away.
  11. BONUS PHOTOS Look for a Greek temple ... that's not in Greece. This is as close as I could get to Valle dei Templi without paying, as I've already seen it up close once before In most roadside fuel stops on the autostrada, there is always an Autogrill (sort of like Denny's, but not really since the table service part is minimal) where you can pick up sandwiches, pizza slices, drinks, use the restrooms, and, of course, see people standing up at a counter and drinking small cups of coffee that taste like kerosene. The usual ... nothing changes ... Andrea True singing implied smut to me on the autostrada across the middle of Sicily 30 degrees C in Sicily's interior and, since it's not ventilated by the sea, it can get really toasty in July and August, albeit dry, but it's still uncomfortably hot - - - - - END OF PHOTOS
  12. MECHANICAL PHOTOS View of turbocharged inline 4-cylinder diesel engine for which a prop rod was needed to keep the hood up Longitudinal view of engine which provides some insight as to the location and appearance of the turbocharger
  13. INTERIOR PHOTOS This is the view upon getting into the car - very comfortable seating, slightly high console deck, clamshell console box, and tasteful dash finishes As seen from the passenger side, the console's different command functions (gear selector, parking brake, drive mode, and push button start) are really nicely put together and easy to use - possibly the best I've seen so far in a European vehicle Full view of instrument panel - toggles on steering wheel not too fussy, nice assembly of A/C vents, touch screen appearance not to my liking although operation was fairly easy, and it looks like that USB port, if I recall, is the one that best "talks" to Android Auto They did the last "opera window," or window in the last pillar, just right for visibility Rear seat room is appropriate, not to mention that it features pleasing assembly Rear seat ducts and USB port Rear storage are (covered) and I rarely see 3 split seats like there is here Luggage now stowed in rear storage area, with some room left for more items
  14. EXTERIOR PHOTOS Side view - at a large underground garage for a major shopping center Front view - on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean on the south coast of Sicily Rear view - on a hill looking back inland toward a historical monastery
  15. One thing leads to another ... having one Alphaville song in my music collection leads to being clue in to another. These German guys - meaning Alphaville - are good. "Big in Japan" This is quintessentially '80s all the way around, which is just fine!
  16. Man cave type jokes since that would describe most of the active members ... here's an oldie but goodie: Did you hear about the two lesbians who built a house? They used no studs ... it was all tongue and groove.
  17. This road test of the Citroen C5 was the result of a serious upgrade in a rental at a Sicilian airport. I’ve been assigned a smaller Citroen C3 at this very airport before – when the AirBump feature was novel and unusual - and remarked on its excellent ride and easy handling. The C5 is quite a few steps up. Mostly, it’s all good. This is a heavier vehicle and, along with that, the ride is like that of a bank fault. It’s smooth, quiet, and isolated. In some ways, it is perhaps too isolated. By this, I mean that road feel is a little compromised owing to its very soft ride, and there is too much assist in the steering. I noticed this upon taking out of the rental agency’s lot and through its narrow alleyways. It reminded me of an American boulevardier more so than the European SUV that it is. It firms up some on the open road. It’s at slow speeds that it feels way more "electric" – the way electric felt when there was the palpable adjustment we all had to make from hydraulic steering. This C5 had a diesel engine, but it was almost hard to tell that. It is a turbo charged 4-cylinder engine. The mileage was excellent. It returned about 43 mpg in a combination of driving – mostly highway driving but with some small town and arduous mountain two lane road driving. The transmission is a geared automatic unit and has 8 gears. The shifts are extremely soft, which I feel is mostly a good thing, and suited to the C5. The only time it’s clear that it’s geared is when pushing down the pedal – just because - or to pass. The C5 is powerful enough and certainly has the torque to sustain grades and demanding conditions. However, passing seems to be a variable situation. It almost seems to depend on the speed and the grade. In most situations, it does so fairly easily. High speed passes require some strategizing, and, in a few rare cases, it seemed better to avoid them. In maintaining high speeds on the autostrada, it does so effortlessly and stably. You might not have an idea how fast you’re going (114 km = 70 mph, and, on a few occasions, there were some 120 kms and 130 kms where the “bank vault” feeling didn’t let on that this was the actual speed). The workmanship is quite good. The seats had centralized cloth surfaces with bolsters and side construction of either leather or leatherette. There is stitching that is attractive and taut. The C5 is ideal and comfortable for long hauls. Front seat comfort and leg room is more than adequate, and rear seat leg room is acceptable. Rear storage space is capacious, and this is without folding forward the rear seats. The small lift-up area for the tire well provides for some additional storage and symmetrical small cubbies on the sides of the rear storage area can come in handy. Except for the diagonal edge on the infotainment center screen (a pet peeve), I really liked the volumes of the dashboard. Everything was nicely crafted. Linear gauges for fuel and temperature seem to be the thing these days and, although nice, it would be easier if they indicated critical zones in orange and/or red. The audio quality appeared to be good. Also, setting up Bluetooth and keeping Android Auto going seemed easy. The console, which opens lengthwise in the middle, is both unusual and large. The air conditioning works quickly. In concert with liking the volumes of the dashboard, the number and placement of vents worked well to distribute the cool air. Ahead of the console are two ergonomically placed cupholders and all the switches for key operating functions ahead of them reflect quality workmanship and are easy to operate. These would include the pushbutton engine start button, the transmission lever, the drive mode selector, and the parking brake. That said, I found operating some of these features on a rented (and reviewed) BMW Series II Gran Coupe less intuitive. In general, I liked everything about day in-day out living in this C5 more than in the fussier BMW Gran Coupe. However, with its lower framework and Germanic underpinnings, the BMW really shone for its roadability and the sense of control it offered. The C5’s silhouette is not that captivating. However, they work around the “chunkiness” and this can be seen from the interior. I was surprised at how good rear visibility is. The seating position is high and commanding relative to the road. In tight spaces, the tabletop look of the hood ahead of the windshield doesn’t have clearly defined ridges and is harder to work with. It appears wide for the genre. Thankfully, the parking assist feature and other traffic sensors were fairly sensitive. I asked a friend who likes cars and rents them often in Europe what he thought of the major French brands. He ranked them as follows: Citroen, Peugeot, and then Renault. This vehicle speaks well to the Citroen brand and also aligned with what I’ve experienced among these brands. For a person with a little extra money and who needs the space, a supple ride, and its “thickness” all the way around, the Citroen C5 is a good choice. On a few occasions, its vagueness annoyed me, but that wasn’t too often. It was challenging to operate on a few narrower Sicilian streets and alleys, but that would apply to narrow streets and parking lots anywhere. For some, this C5 could check most, if not all, of the boxes. - - - - - PHOTOS FORTHCOMING
  18. They are indeed tiny and, also, many times the jacuzzi is out of order. They also have issues with tables. If in the room, who wants to be at a desk facing a wall while on their laptop? Some hotels smartly have tables or desks perpendicular to the wall. Also, they have cocktail tables in any public room. They want you to buy drinks and not have your laptop open. At some lower price points, tables of any kind are scarce as they want to make damn sure the clientele is not in the public spaces - "out of sight, out of mind."
  19. No, but no LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness in some parts of the world. Hotel gyms and other small gyms have random pieces, poorly positioned and grounped pieces, and don't breathe well. You walk up to a machine that doesn't agree with you and you may not work out.
  20. Recurring random thought: Hotels almost always have crappy fitness centers / fitness rooms
  21. GUTEN TAG ! A warm welcome indeed ... I am stuck on a thing or two ... or three ...
  22. MECHANICAL PHOTO Simple and tidy engine bay with not much going on, easy to read points to measure fluids, etc., and DIY possibilities - - - - - END OF PHOTOS
  23. INTERIOR PHOTOS The front of the cabin as seen from the passenger door at pick up Very simple and clear organization and the switches and toggles on the actual steering wheel are very simple; sensible A/C vent placement and infotainment although the A/C did not seem too strong Very simple instrumentation, in which a temperature gauge could have easily been included (my pet peeve when it's excluded), and lots of idiot lights Some simple switches and there is even front warning assist, though I don't know (and don't want to know) if it would grab the brakes and take over ... there is also a remote fuel door release, which I prefer Very simple CVT automatic transmission lever, no armrest, and cupholder position which is too far forward and too far forward ... at least for the driver Basic front seat design: somewhat supportive, not that comfortable, and tough fabric points to durability There is not too much rear leg room, the rear windows are not operable, and the thickness of the rear pillar does not intrude It has a small rear storage area, it didn't seem to be covered (although the glass was tinted), rear split seats, and, I couldn't fit both standard and rollaboard luggage in here This was a thoughtful feature and not typically seen at this price point Saying good-bye to the Mirage at another SoCal airport - view of the instrument panel/dash from the rear seat
  24. EXTERIOR PHOTOS Side view - picking it up at the rental car agency near LAX Front view - at I-5 vista point pullout, with Camp Pendleton across the freeway and the Pacific Ocean just behind me Rear view - with the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (one of 4 venues at the Music Center) and where the Academy Awards used to be held; amazed at how sleepy DTLA continues to be on weekends, with curbside parking not being too challenging to find on a Sunday The Mirage seen parked along Vista del Mar ... fancy Brady Bunch like homes used to sit on that hillside and were condemned because the flights leaving LAX would be airborne as they approached Pershing Drive (on the other side of this hill and neighborhood) and flew out over the Pacific ... there is some free street parking on weekdays near Dockweiler Beach (behind me) Front McPherson strut suspension or similar, ugly wheel covers, and small, inexpensive tires when replacement is needed Conventional shock absorbers at the rear and not much overhang at a rest area off I-5 just above Oceanside, CA and next to a Chevy Spark in roughly the same color, which I much prefer (Ecotec 4-cylinder engine, more power, quieter, and more compliant ride)
  25. What I was really going to say: "Buona Festa della Repubblica" "Happy Republic Day" Today, June 2, is to Italy what the 1st of July is to Canada, the 4th of July is to the U.S., and the 14th of July is to France ... more or less.
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