trinacriabob

I always think the same whenever I'm put behind the wheel of a Malibu. I also quickly multiply the liters by 60 (cu. in.). Turbo or not, I want more than 90 cubic inches in the engine. My frame of reference is that a 2004 Impala with a 3.4 N.A. V6 got 34 mpg across various rental experiences. That said, they can still add the turbocharger for power (and sophistication), but I'd want some more displacement to validate making that substantial investment in new wheels.

Interesting. So, here across the pond, they've got a music loop going that is mostly featuring African-American artists of the '70s and '80s. "Freeway of Love" - Aretha Franklin * "Drop the pedal and go ... go ... go" "I Will Survive" - Gloria Gaynor ** "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" - Barry White *** - - - - - This is some good, spirited $h!+ * what a bio on Aretha - had a kid at 12, sang at her church in Detroit, toured nationwide as a teenager, had 5 kids, and holds records for music awards and record sales ** fairly standard bio, musical career, and personal life *** "at least 9 kids" - mentions his weight and smoking - Galveston TX native

I like this one. (Balthazar would instantly know the MY.) This one takes the cake. Classic!

Not to sidetrack, but I'm trying to remain composed for the next few months. I saw this the other day and laughed. This dude looks crazed! The whole concept of physiognomy exists for a reason, so it's too bad people don't put it to use to help them navigate life. The curtain on this ugly and outlandish long chapter of Americana can't fall fast enough.

I didn't know that. I did not know how they got the name. It sounds like something fermenting. I have been to Mallorca once ... turquoise waters ... and a pipeline to/from Germany. Can't say I liked the Mallorcans much compared to the noticeably friendlier locals in Spain's Canary Islands - a "suburb" of Morocco and darker Atlantic Ocean water. I had a friend in Portland who would jokingly say "make holiday mit der Deutsch." Their English saying for going on vacation is "make holiday." Actually, I find the name Cupra sort of weird.

Good morning.

Riviera ... ... enough said An Imperial only reminds me of one thing: some of the older ladies from around NYC that had moved to L.A. that my mom used to associate with when we were teens drive one. They had cat glasses, too. We kids would refer to them as the "magpies" because they'd squawk incessantly. Looking back, Buick had nice grilles after the quad lamps arrived. It harmonized the models ... think Buick Regal coupe. The one below is a 1977 ... when car interiors were really something ... look at those blue S/R buckets. Crazy that, in '76 or '77, they dropped the 231 V6 into base loss leader LeSabres IIRC.

This was a one-day rental of a small automatic that really went over the top in terms of an upgrade. I was assigned a Cupra Formentor. It’s a SEAT SUV model that is its own brand within the brand. The instant you look at it, the Cupra makes an assertive statement. The minute you get in, it makes a good impression. The workmanship is evident throughout. And the instant you drive off, it will come off as roadworthy. Over that one-day period – to bridge a 7-day rental up to 8 days – this proved to be true over and over. I really came to like this car. One would think that smooth and quiet would compromise how planted a vehicle is and how well it communicates what’s going on. That’s not true with the Cupra Formentor. This meant that it might be sailing along at 120 and 130 mph without your knowing that. For that reason, the preferred mode for the speedometer is the digital one. To that end, it soaks up road imperfections with high marks. In short, in my opinion and for its price point, it scores highly on all the benchmarks for roadworthiness. Power comes from a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, which is starting to be a very normal powertrain and has even come to North America. The gears shifted through the VW group’s automatic 7 speed DSG transmission. Power seems sufficient in almost all situations and the automatic shifts of the DSG are very fluid – minimally felt, but also hushed in moving upward through the gears. This is a refined automatic transaxle. The Cupra delivers in almost all situations. In merging onto controlled access highways, it performed well. The only challenge might be a pass that requires judging the competition on one’s side of the road as well as that of the oncoming traffic. The dashboard is not overdone. Inside the main pod are different ways to set it up. I had a tachometer as the central dial, with a digital speed readout in the middle. At about opposite ends of the pod, readouts on time, temperature, gear, and odometer show up … clearly but unobtrusively. Also, the sides flanking the tach/speedo show information about the drive itself and audio system info, respectively. It all worked well and was easy to get used to. Gimmickry with lighting seems to be an important thing these days. The outside rear-view mirrors reflect the Cupra logo at night when doors are opened or after closing them. Then, while the BMW Gran Coupe has the arc with blue lighting sweeping across the front of the cabin at dusk, the Cupra has an orange one. The organization of the center console is commendable. Closer to the driver, at the rear of the console’s deck are the auto stop-start switch, a pull tab style parking brake, and central door locking. Further up, and on the other side of the shift lever, is the push button ignition switch. The centralized automatic transmission (DSG) is operated via a subtle but effective small upright lever and it was easier to return it to P when the parking brake was applied than in recent cars I’ve driven with dials and other ways cars to operate the transmission. However, when it comes to USB ports, I could not find the old school ones most people seem to use, but only the smaller (micro) ones. The cubby at the base of the center stack is small, but two slightly recessed slats are available on either side of the shift lever. Moving upward at the center are the infotainment system and the climate control. Here, the Cupra Formentor changes it up compared to the VW T-Cross, Polo, and recent Jetta: the vents are below a large upright screen as opposed to a smaller screen embedded under the cowl. They still disperse conditioned air very well, even though I prefer them higher up. The large touch screen has all the major functions and is fairly easy to use, without disengaging from Bluetooth - the way other cars sometimes do - and with a pleasant display for Android Auto. Befitting the gimmickry of the car and price point, the steering wheel controls are a little more complicated than usual. However, the scrolling thumb operated ones on the outboard ends are easy, and even a little fun, to operate. The ergonomics of the steering wheel, including the finishes and the shape, add to the experience. The Cupra’s fabric seats are indeed comfortable and feature good and supportive sculpting that doesn’t push into being confining as it can be in expensive speed demons. The fabric is not exactly uptown or soft touch, but it’s tough and ought to last and keep its shape. The rear cargo area - with the rear seat up - is more generous than one would think, fitting 3 suitcases of various sizes Its exterior looks that are not slab sided and utilitarian makes it more noticeable than other cars under the VW umbrella of families. That could also account for why they decided to brand it apart from Seat, of which it now sort of a subset. It almost picks up cues from some Ford products – much like recent Mustangs up front and somewhat like an Escape in the rear and sides … and Nissan in terms of its greenhouse and moulding appliques. Yet, it is still very much its own vehicle. I really came to like the Cupra Formentor. One day wasn’t enough. I would have liked it for a few more days compared to more time spent in the preceding Citroen C5 and VW T-Cross. I felt more comfortable and had more fun with this newly reformulated and upgraded Cupra model than I did in the BMW Gran Coupe 2 (an upgrade I didn’t ask for) I had for 4 days last summer. The BMW has slightly better road manners, but this one is easier to get used to and live with all the way around. - - - - - PHOTOS FORTHCOMING

It's pretty damn bad. Personally, I see a lot of overlap and closeness in the model tiers - and the powertrains that come with them - that it confuses me to some extent and turns me off. I haven't looked at vehicles too intently since right before COVID, probably because there were more sedans around then to choose from.

I came into Europe via Hamburg (DE) instead of Southampton (UK). I had never been there before. It's wild because they've got this really challenging language I would not readily choose to learn. And, then, you have way more immigrants than you might think. Turks are one of the biggest ethnic groups in Germany these days. So, it's amazing to see people from the Middle East and Africa who have managed to learn this language and are (close to being) fluent. I figure they knew they were going to stick around, not return home, and had to do that. Either way, Germany stressed me out because of the language (there is not much English signage, though most people speak decent English) and the UK would have stressed me out because they drive down the other side of the street and it takes a lot of mental adjusting just to cross the street. I don't think Hamburger Sparkasse (photo up above) was a food joint. I did not see tables and such. So, rather than try to figure out what a sparkasse is, I got myself to Southern Europe as quickly as possible. Here's another one. An important site and subway station is Rathaus. It means a city hall and theirs is fairly stunning. (It is not a decrepit subway station in a bad part of NYC where rats are eating pizza leftovers.)

Of all the fairly active members on the forum, I am probably the biggest torchbearer for the GM colonnades. I loved the (Grand) LeMans of this year, and especially those of '76 and '77 that went to quad rectangular lamps up front. What was so sweet about them is that you could get the fantastic dash and general feel of a Grand Prix in a more manageable package and, if one chose to, with smaller engines. However, the "pushed down" look of the rear trunk was a little polarizing. Maybe it was meant to be that way because a little bit of nick and tuck to "normalize" its silhouette and proportions could have cannibalized sales from the absurdly successful Cutlass Supreme and Regal of those same years. My 2 cents. Ditto on this one ... particularly fond of '75 to '77 ... and what a quirky treat when you saw one that was a coupe. I had to give these cars a nickname and - like a broken record - an Olds 98 of those years was "la cathedrale roulante," where the upright and pointed rear taillamps fins made it look like a Gothic cathedral.

Now you see it - - - - - Now you don't

Ha! I'd even say that's a little generous.

Random thought: ... sure miss those "down votes" from ocnblu

007 movie theme songs all seem to pick up instrumental hints (hard to identify the instruments) of the main James Bond theme and the way John Barry composed, which is a good thing for both the franchise and the song itself ... an underrated band and song.

I enjoy trains quite a bit and had rudimentary train sets when I was in grade school. I've been on Amtrak coast to coast - on the Santa Fe - with my parents when I was a kid. I've taken the Coast Starlight from Norcal to Portland. Would have liked to try the "California Zephyr" and the "Empire Builder" from SF and the PacNW, respectively, to Chicago. Trains in Europe are fairly impressive. So are their transit systems. Of the ones I've been on, Spain's RENFE is the best. Italy's is good and mostly punctual. For being a small country, the trains in Portugal are surprisingly good. To catch a bodaciously priced flight, I had to fly out of Tampa instead of Lauderdale. There's one daily Amtrak train. What a mess - a sort of rude conductor, some weird people, and you could not communicate with 1/3 of the passengers if you did not speak Spanish. About 1 to 2 hours late in arriving. Inland Central Florida is another world that people should see to get the whole picture of a state that is romanticized.

Right. This happens when low life get these critters as babies, bring them up north, and then, when they grow and/or they're done with them, they're chucked into a nearby body of water. They won't survive winter, but there's always the chance they can do some damage in the interim since they're not expected to be there.

That is exactly what I think when landing and you see Grapevine Lake. Boaters, jet skiers, but where are people supposed to swim? The central to lower Midwest also has this issue in its bodies of water. They are pit vipers, so sort of related to rattlesnakes. Ditto for huge Lake Houston. People should not be swimming there. Alligators in that one ... at the very least.

Q: Why do lesbians prefer to shop at Sports Authority? A: They don't much care for Dick's.

Which then leads me to ask why it has such rabid fans and defenders ... not necessarily sports fans. Maybe it was the older, simpler Dallas. A ride on the Orange or Green train from downtown to DFW will speak volumes about the lanscape you speak about. H-town has its problems and negatives, but there are some nicer "newer" subdivisions of all brick homes sitting under a thick pine canopy that you could barely see through from the air ... a look I really like and a taste that was cultivated when I lived in Atlanta for a couple of years.

Not a big fan of DFW airport to begin with. Nor that general area. The grounds look parched and sparsely vegetated. In Texas, it's Houston that comes to mind if there's a hurricane forming in the Gulf. If in that area, I tend to stay by Johnson Space Center so it's almost equidistant to downtown Houston and the beach at Galveston.

Not a humorous topic since I didn't yet know where in the Caribbean Debby is brewing, but it doesn't look like "Debby Does Dallas" is going to happen.

As the saying goes, "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it." That said, I'm afraid to ask the price. I appreciate the Corvette for what it represents, but I was never an aficionado. This last rework to mid-engine has gotten me to look at them and run through some color combos I might like. But it won't be happening. It would be a fun second car for a person of means.

They have 2 "gala" evenings for dinner, and maybe afterwards, on each crossing. Apparently, some people read their stuff too carefully because they have themed evenings. Last night was "red and gold." Most women packed something for the occasion and even some men took it a lesser extent. On these 2 nights, the minimum is a dark suit and tie for the restaurant. Some pack a tux. I don't have such an item. https://youtu.be/T9Jcs45GhxU?feature=shared Hats off to some ladies who were dressed to the nines. I thought of this song. I don't have time for this nor enough space in my luggage, so one dark suit it is!

In a happy place ... for me, anyway ... ... with Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty beyond and a Staten Island Ferry that was at the ship's side for a while on the way out to sea.