trinacriabob

"A poor Republican is like a cow that is pro-leather" . . . Aw shucks, I already posted this one before.

A retired Northeasterner in FL told me this joke, since it had occurred within his family and created flack ... Q: What do you call a marriage between a Sicilian and a Neapolitan? A: A mixed marriage. (Historically, they're not the biggest fans of each other ... at least across the pond.)

Chips (as in cow chips)

I see "fibre" and "anaemia." What English speaking country does this come from? I like dates but I'm not quite sure about their sugar content. I thought that avocado(e)s (incredible things) were low in everything because they came from a tree. Wrong! But they supposedly help with the good cholesterol or some such medical criteria. It hasn't stopped me from putting them into my salad.

Do you like dates? Not those kinds of dates. Dates you can eat. WTH? No, these kinds of dates. When I was a kid, I thought they were gross, mostly because of the way they looked. My parents loved them. Perhaps it had to do with their growing up in an area where palm trees were normal and the Arab world wasn't all that far away. I came to learn that dates are delicious. This one famous kitsch place for dates is called Shields Date Garden and is in Indio, CA near Palm Springs. I believe Indio is the "Date Capital of the World." And, if you're still thinking about the other kind of dates, they can "sort of" accommodate you: Any family jaunt to the SoCal desert near Palm Springs meant my parents would be buying dates to eat there ... and to eat at home. Not only that, it's kind of funny to connect the dots between Shields ... and dates.

I found this photo taken a while back. Does it indicate GM dominance over Ford? (It was at a GM brand dealership.) That first jelly bean Taurus was sort of weird and possibly the basis of the jargon "jelly bean" styling for cars that followed.

Opera, anyone? . . . Opera window, anyone?

I randomly thought of Pontiac and the simple beauty of their last family of small block V8 engines. Here's what one looks like from a F-bird Formula 350 that was up for sale. With no A/C, look at the ground beneath and all those spark plugs begging to be changed by any teenager with a shop class under his or her belt. And who can forget the simple, clean, classic dashboards of yesteryear, such as the one in this F-bird Formula 350? So damn glad I got to experience this stuff when it was the order of the day.

@oldshurst442 Hey, I know Quebec is definitely awesome. What might NOT be awesome is being in some redneck lumber town way north and east of Quebec City where they don't like Anglophones. I've heard they might look at you much as if you were walking into an unknown town like you'd see in one of those old Western movies. - - - - - Side note: I just called Culver's. They are not participating in National Custard Day. Turds. Maybe it was the FL locations. Thought I'd give you guys the heads up. The flavor of the day (varies by store), however, is Chocolate Oreo Volcano. Let the lava flow!

@balthazar @Robert Hall So, then, powered by the Buick variant of the 350 V8 ?

An out of order spotting, dating back to around 2016. I was driving past a farm in Quebec and saw this: What the heck kind of Buick is that? I know that, even with 3 ventiports on each fender, it is NOT a V6. Amazing that, even with the rigorous Quebec winter, this old Buick is in such great shape.

While I’ve posted about Dodge Chargers quite a bit, I’ve never reviewed one. I once reviewed a Chrysler 300 because I rented one for a day for an abnormally low price. I’ve had Chargers as rentals. The last rented Charger featured the current roofline, but had the last bulbous Ram-like grille. Just recently, I had drove a 2020 Charger for 6 days via an upgrade. I was supposed to get a Hyundai Elantra (or similar). They didn’t have intermediates, so I was directed to the full-size aisle. The Dodge Charger is often one step up from full-sizes in rental fleets. So I asked the Cuban gentleman working on the lot if I could have the one Charger in the full-size row and he told me to help myself! With the bags already in the trunk, an approaching elderly couple was eyeing it. Get out of here ... take one of the Altimas or Camrys. The car was white with a black leather interior. I was not looking forward to leather seats in a hot climate, but the A/C was very effective in quickly cooling down the interior. It had the base 3.6 L Pentastar V6 making 292 horses, an 8 speed Torqueflite automatic transmission, and rear wheel drive. It also had a more compact shift lever I’ve not seen before. I’ve come to like the Dodge Charger more and more. At first, I didn’t like the new, more horizontal grille because it was shared with less expensive Dodge products. Now, I think it works well, especially with the adjacent headlamps. Similarly, I like this last thinner and curved rear light assembly that seems to show some “camber.” As you drive off, the initial feel at low speeds may seem floaty and overassisted. I’m comparing this to my car, in that GM W-bodies with hydraulic power steering require more effort in parking lots and at slow speeds. However, the Charger’s apparent speed sensitive electric power steering is actually convenient and it’s great at highway speeds, where maneuvers are agile yet still communicative. Tire thum and wind noise are also minimal, as is engine noise under normal throttle and particularly when on the interstate. The Pentastar V6 moves this 4,000 pound car well in all speed ranges. The 8 speed automatic transmission changes gears smoothly and quietly. Beyond the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts, the subsequent ones are almost imperceptible. As for the Charger interior, the cabin features a nice cabin environment. I really liked the articulation of the bucket seats, meaning they’re nice to look at. The bolsters are comfortably shaped, the lumbar area feels right, and the front headrests sort of slot in as opposed to popping up way above. The same goes for the rear seats. The headrests are integral. With the rake of the C-pillar and the integral headrests, visibility is good and a combination of turning one’s head and using the mirrors makes lane changes easy. (The last-gen Impala, albeit with a similar roofline, had marginal rear visibility because of its thicker pillar and more obtrusive rear headrests.) The Charger also has a wide stance and feels very stable. In my car, I can reach and open the passenger door manually. In the Charger, I could not. The dashboard is nicely shaped, with an integral infotainment center that is housed under the cowl. This looks more appealing than the “laptop left open” look now often seen in domestic and import vehicles. The controls for the audio and climate control systems are logically laid out and easy to use. The steering wheel control buttons are sensibly sized, with information functions to the left and cruise control settings to the right. Once a person gets used to them, they are easy to toggle through and show a lot of useful information. The main instrument panel dials have orange accents but are principally white. (That’s a good thing because I never cared for Pontiac’s orange illumination phase.) The compact shifter, instead of a gate, is nice to the touch and the shifter itself lights up with which gear it’s in. The are two cup holders, a big bin In the console, and air vents and USB ports at the rear of the console for rear seat passengers. The air conditioning vents up front are nicely positioned and distribute conditioned air effectively. While it all sounds good, there are a few demerits. Compared to the version prior to this last refresh, the cluster between the two main IP gauges is less user friendly in some ways. The transmission gear display is stacked right atop the fuel gauge, almost running into each other. It used to be that round analog gauges were inset at the bottom of the larger speedo and tach and that freed up that central square info area. On the plus side, right below the D indicator is the number of the gear you are in. Now that’s cool! Another oversight is that, unless I missed something in the settings, the clock is not displayed unless the infotainment system is on. However, the outside temperature is always displayed in the main instrument cluster and, when turned on, in the infotainment screen as well. Additionally, the digital clock display is smallish. Even an old fashioned chronometer would be nice, as long as the time is continuously displayed somewhere. The biggest negative is the lack of a remote fuel door release latch. If the base Hyundai Accent has an interior fuel release door, so should a Dodge Charger ... no “ifs, ors, ands, or buts” about it. Previous Chargers had the release in the driver’s door, near the map pocket slots. Initially, I thought I had missed it. As I walked outside the car, I casually pushed on the fuel door and it opened. Surprise. There are a few more things to mention about the driving experience. While the base 3.6 L V6 moves the car well, if one is already at highway speeds and wants to pass, flooring the gas pedal causes to RPMs to spool highly and quickly and, then, with a slight lag, the car moves quickly to the task. One past review over the years somewhere complained the car is too quiet. I think that’s a plus, especially in the more conventional and/or luxury oriented base models. While the transmission works well, between 55 mph and 65 mph, I noticed that the gear indicator between the main IP dials showed that it hunted for a gear at times. One would prefer to be in gear 8 at those speeds but, sometimes, it stayed in 7 until it either sensed more speed or that that speed would be held. Part of it is that an electronic chip is doing the thinking. With the talk of highway speeds and gears comes a discussion of gas mileage. The car gets commendable gas mileage, more so for mixed highway-urban than city driving. On a pure highway jaunt, the mileage is excellent. In the 8th gear and at about 65 mph, the V6 spins at a very low 1,400 rpm. In one point to point - pancake flat - cruise control - light traffic - gas station to gas station jaunt of over 100 miles, I got about 35 mpg. If old Impalas with 3400 V6s and 4 speed automatics could pull in 33 or 34 mpg on the highway, this is credible. Clearly, the conditions had to have been optimal. Many are wondering what the next Charger will bring. The current one has so many good features and aspects, and is well liked. I suspect the next one will be marginally smaller, lighter, and more nimble. I hope they fix some of the readouts that are fussy, cramped, and/or not shown. And that, irrespective of the tight capless fuel system, an interior fuel door release returns. And, true to its muscular and imposing Charger stance, please keep the infotainment system under the cowl rather than the “laptop left open” style that looks fragile and is not appealing. The best thing about the 2020 Dodge Charger is its mixing of the best of old school greatness we miss and the currents norms in automotive technology. Not only that, rear wheel drive makes the car feel more balanced and planted. The driving experience is commanding, comfortable, and inspires confidence. I wanted to take the car home with me.

Addicting

sandwich

I've read a fair number of articles on consumer behavior and being good with money. Believe it or not, buying things on sale to stock up TOO OFTEN can become problematic. Usually, if I find a unique salad dressing flavor, good soups, Coast or Irish Spring body wash, or something like that at a deep discount, I'll buy a handful of them and keep them around. Some supermarkets, like a discount one I go to, has a bargain basement section and there is some good stuff in there ... cheap. Last winter, I put Bosch windshield wipers on my car. Today, I found these cool night lights for about $1.50, so I bought two of them but, most of all, I found some unknown brand windshield wipers for $1.99 each! I bought two. Let's see how it goes. Even if I get half the typical life cycle, I did well.

sophomore (slump)

Here are some photos of the area from somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas, about 5 to 7 years ago ... Lincoln City - possibly that lake, on the inboard side of US 101 from that beach with the big parking lot and the seagulls that love people ... and it's easy to figure out why they love people: Depoe Bay area:

I did not know that. And I once lived there. (One or two communities over from you!) Any idea when this law was enacted ... more or less? Not a good idea to be driving up and down a stop and go I-5 or I-405 with flip flops, sandals, or the like.

Yes. Please don't drive in them. At the most, 2 or 3 blocks at lower speeds to pick up some groceries at the market. Some countries, and possibly some states, have laws about driving while wearing footwear that is not held in place with a strap. Not completely sure. And, if they don't, these sorts of laws might be a good idea, though hard to enforce. Not at all a "don't tread on me" issue but a public safety issue.

I saw another one a few days ago. I'm liking this car. The mid-engine look is interesting and makes it look "balanced." Some article was released and it was considered one of the best 10 cars of 2020. They went as far as to say that, in base form, it's a bargain for what it is. I know the base engine is a 6.2 L V8. I've seen that engine on specs every now and then. I believe it's about 368 c.i. I'm wondering why they couldn't have kept the venerable 5.7 L. Maybe the 5.7 label is too long in the tooth and signals no innovation. - - - - - During the first week of August, I was at a gas station in FL and saw an immaculate mid-90s Cutlass Supreme (SL trim) coupe in white with burgundy buckets and alloy wheels. As the guy was gassing up, I learned it was a '95 (which I had guessed), it had a 3.1 V6 (which I had guessed), and had about 160,000 miles. He couldn't believe I knew so much about it. The guy was originally from England (looked like he could have been related to Australian Paul Hogan) and said he loved the car - its reliability, comfort, and mostly how economical it was in using fuel. This car was 25 years old and it must have been tight! Would have taken a photo but the situation just wasn't right for that. It's like being put into a time tunnel when you see something with burgundy cloth bucket seats.

Mostly, I get a kick of this newer vernacular of soccer slides and white socks. You can't be a white person and pull it off. When I was growing up, you wore white socks ... and maybe - BIG maybe - white ankle socks with tennis shoes, most of which were mainly white. If you wore dark socks with tennis shoes, you were out of style, nerdy, or possibly a German or Scandinavian tourist. Now, and especially in Europe, you wear dark socks with tennis shoes, which tend to be of many colors, and that includes dark ankle socks. I wish I could "get the memo" on these things on a timely basis. Therefore, it's easier to wear flip flops and avoid socks altogether when the weather is good. You won't be making any "mistakes" that way.

Here's an early August sighting in the subtropics. He knew I took this photo. He told me it was a 2005 with about 160,000 original miles. Those tires and wheels are a MUST. LOL.

One of my childhood friends has a sister who shares a profile with Chief Pontiac. She ultimately grew into it.

If it can carry the space shuttle, then it can carry this

I saw one of these and thought I could use one: You don't want one, eh? Graduate of Wazza Matta U?