trinacriabob

Ok, I'm on board with "the rules" now, camino. Answer: Mercury Milan with 4 banger, white, cloth interior in some TBD color, wood trim over metallic accents on dash, alloy wheels. I was at Borders the other night and was leafing through Consumer Reports. The Fusion/Milan garnered a lot of praise and also fared well in the component-by-component ratings.

gourmand (moltie likes food as much as I do)

You seem to be OVERLY preoccupied with (1) menage a trois, and (2) gated communities. Just curious, which "combo" do you like? My response to thread: Fontainebleau in Miami Beach

I took the LaCrosse in for an oil change at the dealership on Saturday...based on time, not miles. I always seem to wind up talking to service advisors. For one thing, I seem to "file away" their comments and opinions on cars, maintenance, reputations, etc. This weekend, at the Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealership, I saw a used 2007 MC within viewing distance as he was writing up my LOF work ticket and I told him the decision process I went through in deciding on th Buick over the Chevy. He told me that it was a good choice, but that their experience with VVT has been virtually problem-free, but that the 3800s almost NEVER come back for anything. I then went into the showroom with a cup of their cheap coffee in hand. I talked to a salesman about Buicks. He said a bunch of things that resonated with me or that made sense. He said: 1) the Enclave gets the most inquiries (I could see that) 2) the Lucerne is next and that he feels the name recognition has hurt them -- he almost wished the Park Avenue name had stayed around (I agree) 3) he wasn't thrilled about the next-gen LaCrosse in terms of its looks -- he thought it was kind of "too much" (I agree) The man drove a 3800 V6 equipped early 2000s Bonneville as his personal car. He said he fell in love with the car when it was released, has had great service from it and can't seem to part with it. I rarely find the opportunity to talk to the parts people. It seems they are the busiest. Which of these folks do you seem to B.S. with?

asexual

California (seriously, there is such a town at the base of Mt. Shasta)

espresso (or: bica)

bunny

6-pack

A lady at work in a nearby area who has a booming husky smoker's voice that everyone loves to imitate and complain about...including me.

As you know, anything in the coastal NW is moderated by the proximity to water. It seemed that, when I lived in Seattle, the daily winter temperature ranged from 36 to 44 degrees.

cosmetic dentistry

Cheesecake Factory BH and Gladstone's on PCH are almost reliable...and good.

Happy birthday, Croc! What is this, your 4th or 5th one in the Southland?

Australian Shepherd

What color was this, and the last, G8?

windshield

Smallchevy, I'm only quoting a part of what you say since, through your education and worldly experience, you seem to have a good handle on the business world. Add to what you say that, whenever you get a large, pyramid shaped organization, you also get (1) inefficiency, (2) bureaucracy, (3) slow information flow, (4) turf protection, and (5) slow reaction time. Again, I say that what they did in the 80s (quality control issues) is what really hurt them today. That's coming from the viewpoint of American buyer who has watched other American buyers defect. Also, the changing demographics of America make those who recently came here from another place, and most of our inmigration is from Asia and Latin America, more likely to buy a foreign car. Camino, I've been at forks in the road before and can't always say I made the right decision. The worst decision I ever made, in hindsight, was to leave Atlanta to return to the West. I mean, things worked out, but things were better for me in the greater Atlanta area all the way around. I really empathize, but don't do anything rash without laying out your strategy. I'm holding good thoughts for you.

Staples Arena

How is Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head (both SC)? Is the surf fairly calm and the water a nice color (read "Florida Panhandle")?

Jack Nicholson

I was going to say KPF, but I could see Pelli as well. A lot of times, the reason why there's incongruence in a building's design is because of "design by committee." I'm sure it's present even in larger, highbrow firms.

Yes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Real pleasing and fairly simple proportions in how it's layered...and then "spire central."

cry (as in that dumb song "don't cry for me, Argentina")

I like the tallest of the towers - I think it's B of A. It tapers off with a nice layered "crown," if you will, from a distance. Seen closer up, it's a little too "chromey" and busy. But I agree with you. A lot of the southern cities, for some reason, have these parking lots here and there in their CBDs. In ATL, they are pretty much GONE with all the infill and development, but you'll see them in Montgomery, Jacksonville, etc. (They're not Montreal in terms of its downtown urban core, that's for sure).