Intrepidation

I'd rather pump my own gas, thanks.

Apparently if you take a photo of the sign requiring a minimum and send it to the credit card company, they will sue the merchant and give you the fees the company lost out on...so I hear.

Well I'm not paranoid of the government looking at my transactions from places like the grocery store or gas station, so I use my debit card. Much faster than cash, no loose, useless change leftover that ends up lost in your car or home, it just stays in your account. I've never had an issue using my debit card as far as mix ups, and only need to use cash at some of the few places that only take cash (very few these days). Also, debits cards usually don't get charged fees..in fact I've never seen that, only for credit. Fun fact: merchants cannot impose minimum or maximum charges. http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/merchants-who-violate-credit-card-terms-1275.php

Man you are sheltered if that's the strangest thing you've seen on the road.

That'll never happen because the evil government is trying to control our FREEDOMS, man.

And one with a V16, RWD and BOF...can't believe you forgot that. It also has to be faster than an M3 but because its not a BMW it will suck no matter what. No matter. What.

No one will by a small car priced more than $13.99 with 4k off the sticker. It also needs 460 horsepower and a 700 ft.-lbs of torque.

Detroit is such s sh*thole. Sorry to hear about your problems. If I caught the guy doing that to my car he'd be in a coma.

The colored ones are much more professionally done with regard to typography, use of color and space. I kind of like the vertical layout idea...makes sorting cash in a drawer, which is done vertically, easier. The color coding makes it easy to know which bill is what at a glance. The horizontal one looks amateur. The idea is fine but the execution is lacking. Looks like a class project to come out of Introductory to Graphic Design. I also like these. My only quibble with these is I feel like the faces should be in focus more, and the bill amount text shouldn't be intruding into the numbers the way it does, but overall a good, cohesive design. The colors also aren't as in-your-face either while still being distinct. I don't want heavy coins replacing bills.

One thing I hope is that the 6-speeds in the FWD bias cars become the new base transmissions, finally eliminating the 4-speeds. As far as CVTs go, Nissan does the best with them. Though I still prefer traditional stepped gearing.

Not singling anyone here out, just a general trend that you'll find on any of the automotive sites.

I just love how people were particularly hard on Chrysler for not having enough gears, so now that they'll offer more we need something new complain about.

Don't like MD Throwback, but sugar Dr. Pepper is way better than HFCS Dr. Pepper.

Well I know 4 is too little. I think 6 is ideal but I've never driven a car with more than 6 gears. However the more gears a car has the better the transmission can keep the engine in the powerband, and the better the fuel economy vs fewer gears. NOS, the Fiesta's option transmission is a Dual Clutch.

No horror stories that I've heard of. Some 2.4s apparently suffer from oil leaks, and the seats are iffy (my mom liked them, I found them to be uncomfortable), and the fuel economy isn't great, but that's about it.

Funny man you are.

Sounds like a great project. Don't let it slip away!

Man I can't remember the last time I saw a Cougar or Galant. Look nice in the photos at least If you worth noting that all LH cars use the same 42LE transmission. So finding one isn't an issue.

I ride my bike because I want to, not because I have to. Plus, nothing beats standing/waling/lifting and bending for 8 hours like supportiive, comfortable leather thrones. Except maybe less comfortably cloth seats but with air conditioning on the hot days...

Finally managed to find myself a job this month with Advance Auto Parts. I had applied there at the beginning of August after several failed attempts thanks to their online application system not working. Hadn't heard anything back in 3 weeks so I had given up. However I got a call at the end of August for an interview, and was hired on the spot with an immediate $1 raise because I have automotive knowledge. I'm very happy about this. The design industry is terrible as far as job openings go, even more so where I live now. Advance is only 7 minutes street so I have a short, easy commute that's easy on gas. As far as service jobs go, this is what I wanted most: something at least related to something I'm interested in. It's part time for now, but I'm just thankful for something. Ended up working 37 hours this week though, so I guess they like me. What's cool about Advance VS every AutoZone I recall going to is that the people there know their $h!. I mean most of them have way more knowledge than me about auto parts, where things go and how things work. In fact the only person without any experience is, ironically, the store manager. Advance puts you though a learning program, the first part is a series of general knowledge and safety courses/tests, while the second group of tests are assessments to test your knowledge of vehicles. I'm disappointed that I didn't pass a few, notably transmissions and ignition/injection systems. But then I know what I know about cars based on the work I've done so far. Never said I'm an expert. Needless to say I passed the cooling system, exhaust system, and engine internals assessments. I'm eager to learn more though, so hopefully I will as I go. So far I've been working on getting familiar with how are catalog and customer database works, as well as learning where all of the inventory goes and stocking it. I've done a few wiper blade changes and remembered that I hate hidden wiper blades like what's on our Grand Marquie and the LaCrosse, and a battery change. Seems like an enjoyable job for what it is. In fact my only complaint is that I have yet to find a set of black shoes that don't make my feet hurt by the end of the day. If I can do something about that, then I'd have no complaints. As a side note, Advance also seems to carry a fair share of products made in USA, which is nice for a change. I plan to work hard and learn more so I can do well and make more money, plus there's a sense of pride working here that I wouldn't have felt at a normal service job. I'd still like to peruse design, the thing that I wasted 4 years of my life going to college for, but right now the market is very discouraging, so my enthusiasm has waned. I'll keep my eye out for opportunities, but I've been doing that for 2 years now with limited success. We'll see. For now I'm happy to have some steady income again.

I'm going to get an opinion from some experts I'll post what I find when I get back from work later today. Worst case scenario is you'd need to replace the transmission. They run as little as $100. In fact I've seen one still in the Mopar shipping crate for sale on one of the forums for $300.

Well said. I try whenever possible to avoid HFCS products as well. It's such a gigantic load of BS that they tr to claim your body can't tell the difference. I sincerely hope the corn industry suffers massively and companies continue to switch back to cane sugar.

The Mustang is truly an impressive and surprising car. I went for a test drive in the 2010, before all of the powertrain upgrades. I wasn't really interest in one compared to the Camaro or Challenger, but after driving one I can safely say I'd take it over the Camaro, and maybe even the Challenger. It's that good. I'd love to give the 2011 a spin .

NEW YORK — The makers of high fructose corn syrup want to sweeten up its image with a new name: corn sugar. The bid to rename the sweetener by the Corn Refiners Association comes as Americans' concerns about health and obesity have sent consumption of high fructose corn syrup, used in soft drinks but also in bread, cereal and other foods, to a 20-year low. The group applied Tuesday to the Food and Drug Administration to get the "corn sugar" name approved for use on food labels. They hope a new name will ease confusion about about the sweetener. Some people think it is more harmful or more likely to make them obese than sugar, perceptions for which there is little scientific evidence. Approval of the new name could take two years, but that's not stopping the industry from using the term now in advertising. There's a new online marketing campaign at www.cornsugar.com and on television. Two new commercials try to alleviate shopper confusion, showing people who say they now understand that "whether it's corn sugar or cane sugar, your body can't tell the difference. Sugar is sugar." Renaming products has succeeded before. For example, low eurcic acid rapeseed oil became much more popular after becoming "canola oil" in 1988. Prunes tried to shed a stodgy image by becoming "dried plums" in 2000. The new name would help people understand the sweetener, said Audrae Erickson, president of the Washington-based group. "It has been highly disparaged and highly misunderstood," she said. She declined to say how much the campaign costs. Some scientists have linked consumption of full-calorie soda — the vast majority of which is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup — to obesity. But sugar and high fructose corn syrup are nutritionally the same, and there's no evidence that the sweetener is any worse for the body than sugar, said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The bottom line is people should consume less of all sugars, Jacobson said. "Soda pop sweetened with sugar is every bit as conducive to obesity as soda pop sweetened with high fructose corn syrup," he said. The American Medical Association says there's not enough evidence yet to restrict the use of high fructose corn syrup, although it wants more research. Still, Americans increasingly are blaming high fructose corn syrup and avoiding it. First lady Michelle Obama has said she doesn't want her daughters eating it. Parents such as Joan Leib scour ingredient labels and won't buy anything with it. The mother of two in Somerville, Mass., has been avoiding the sweetener for about a year to reduce sweeteners in her family's diet. "I found it in things that you would never think needed it, or should have it," said Leib, 36. "I found it in jars of pickles, in English muffins and bread. Why do we need extra sweeteners?" Many companies are responding by removing it from their products. Last month, Sara Lee switched to sugar in two of its breads. Gatorade, Snapple and Hunt's Ketchup very publicly switched to sugar in the past two years. Advertisement | ad info The average American ate 35.7 pounds of high fructose corn syrup last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That's down 21 percent from 45.4 pounds 10 years before. Cane and beet sugar, meanwhile, have hovered around 44 pounds per person per year since the mid-1980s, after falling rapidly in the 1970s when high fructose corn syrup — a cheaper alternative to sugar — gained favor with soft drink makers. With sales falling in the U.S., the industry is growing in emerging markets like Mexico and revenue has been steady at $3 billion to $4 billion a year, said Credit Suisse senior analyst Robert Moskow. There are five manufacturers in the U.S.: Archer Daniels Midland Inc., Corn Products International, Cargill, Roquette America, and Tate & Lyle. Corn refiners say their new name better describes the sweetener. "The name 'corn sugar' more accurately reflects the source of the food (corn), identifies the basic nature of the food (a sugar), and discloses the food's function (a sweetener)," the petition said. Will shoppers swallow the new name? The public is skeptical, so the move will be met with criticism, said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. "This isn't all that much different from any of the negative brands trying to embrace new brand names," he said, adding the change is similar to what ValuJet — whose name was tarnished by a deadly crash in 1996 — did when it bought AirTran's fleet and took on its name. "They're not saying this is a healthy vitamin, or health product," he said. "They're just trying to move away from the negative associations." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39169416/?GT1=43001

Winter tires and common sense are all you need to drive any sort of car in the winter. Don't driven like an asshat in the snow, and take it slow. With that said, I'd pick a V6 Mustang over a GTO any day. I was never big on the supersized RWD Cavalier look.