Intrepidation

Yesterday on my way back from a delivery traffic was slowing down, and moving into the other lane...it was to avoid a guy on a bicycle...but not just any bicycle. This guy was riding 8 feet or so in the air. I got a look at it as I was driving by. Apparently he welded 2 bike frames together, one on top of the other, and then mounted the seat on a 2-3 foot pipe. How he maintained his balance is beyond me. Today as I was delivering to a store in a strip mall, i noticed a gold mid 90's Cavalier parked awkwardly in the Bank of America parking lot. It had a flat and there was no one in it. I thought it was odd how it was parked, but figured the owner had gone to get a help from the Shell station or something. a few hours later I drove by the plaza and noticed the car was still there, and a person was next to it with a couple bags on the ground. It still had a flat. A couple hours later I went by again, out of curiosity, and the car was still there, still with a flat, and in the same position. I started to wonder if the car had been abandoned. Stuff like that doesn't happen around here much, especially in a crowded plaza, but who knows. I just got off work about a half hour ago, and I decided to go check again...I thought I had seen a sign on the driver's window...I planned to get out and have a look if it was still there. Sure enough, it was. I parked to the left of the car in the next free space and got out, to discover a person was inside the car! Whoever it was had there elbow on the door panel and hand on their had. I was really surprised...and felt awkward to say the least. I walked next door to grab an ice cream cone from McDonald's to make it look somewhat less conspicuous(?). The I left. Thinking about it now, I remember seeing bags in the back of the car...perhaps cans. I can only think that this poor person is literally poor, and teh car is all they have...if they lack the money to fix the flat they're screwed, and they probably know it. I feel bad about it, and want to help, but I'm not sure if any of the wheels and tires we have are the right size for a Cavalier...let alone if the tires on them are any good. I don't have the money to go buying a tire for this person, plus every place is closed now that sells tires....what to do?

The Porsche is hideous and only slightly less so since the MCE. If I were choosing my list would be: Cadillac SRX Buick Enclave Lexus RX Audi Q7 I like them all, even the Lexus, but the SRX is by far my favorite, with it's sexy new interior, great performance, good looks, it can probably be had for a good price.

Saab's biggest problem is product. If they want to make profits or even break even they must get some new and relevant product out there. GM also seems to have no idea how to manage the brand. Why is it that the 9-5 has not been redesigned yet, and won't be until 2009-2012? They wonder why it sells so poorly...because it's already ancient and a mild face lift does little to help matters...it fools no one. The 9-3, while a good car that is getting a very handsome MCE is also getting old, and it will be a while before it's finally redesigned. The 9-2x was a huge mistake, alienating Saab faithful and fooling no one that it was little more than a handsome Subaru. The 9-7x further alienated the Saab faithful by being RWD, and a fancy TrailBlazer. And for what? A few hundred sales a month? All of this, and GM is scratching it's head wondering why Saab is selling slow. GM is supposedly getting it's act together for product, but why has it taken so long. GM also has to understand that slapping parts from the corporate bin (like the bowtie stereo) doesn't help the brand's image as entry luxury.

Is that what you Fusion has? (referring to the I4)

As I recall the Fusion had soft-touch surfaces on teh lower dash, most (if not all) mid-size competitors don't have that...it's hard plastic. To me, the Fusion's only weak area is the center stack, and the engine. They've got an engine for it, they just need to put it in, and then they just need to redo the center stack.

Everyone says how good Toyota's interior plastics are, but why can't they make high quality plastic where it counts...like the door handles! The driver's door broke today...again!

Fixed.

Considering the Aura made car of the year, and beat the Camry, GM isn't full of crap.

So you're going into photography? Is it gonna be a business or just a hobby?

I forbid you to sell such a beautiful car!

Speaking of valve covers... Assuming this deal with Sixty8 goes through the Shadow will end up being taken off the road. I'd like to try and fix things on it, like the valve cover gasket. It'll probably end up being my younger brother's car after that.

What was up with that? I hit "reply" (then left to return to work) and it posted like 3 times between other posts o_O;;;

I <3 Snow. :3

Well, 1.) You like GM cars on a GM forum..so that's not exactly erm, different. 2.) Believe whatever you want about Chrysler, I don't care anymore.

Location, Location, Location

Well, the Shadow leaks out of what seems like every possible seal...I don't think it's worth putting expensive oil in it The Other maybe, because as far as I know they don't burn any oil, and both engines are in good shape.

|-|4RD(0R3 P\/\//\/4G3

I always new there was something different about you PCS

The road trip to Tulsa set me back in terms of the amount of money I had, a which in tern made my loan payment for last month lat (school loans). This day started off quite good, with Sixty8 finally being able o drop off the LeSabre for safe keeping, and us being able to kill the hornet's nest in the Caravan's hatch (starter fluid, as I have learned, is awesome at killing the bastards). We were even able to move it up the driveway so another car could finally fit behind it. He also got a tour of the many, many Mopar parts that have collected in the garage, as well as being able to see the `Cuda's in the flesh. All was going well... I had to get money from working before I could make the payment. This morning I had enough and planned to make the payment. After Sixty8 dropped off the car, I went online and paid the bill. A few minutes later as the messages on the answering machine are being checked I found out that my dad has made the payment for this month and the one I owed (he's the cosigner, so he can technically do it). The problem is that he neglected to discuss this with me sooner, so now I have to make phone calls back and for to him and the loan office to straighten the mess out. Long story short, I had to call work to tell them I would be late, which I was by a half hour. I had had to get this straightened out after all. I get to work, at which point I am promptly chewed out by my boss about being late. I've been asking for more hours, he gives me some and cuts the other guy's hours, and then I come in late. Explaining it is useless, it's my fault no buts about it. So, I'm pissed, and more than just a little. When I get my first set of deliveries I go out to the car and get in, turn it on, pull out into the street. The other delivery guy and one of the co-workers (who's family with the boss) were out there by his car. I drop the clutch, open the throttle wide open, and to my surprise (and delight), I actually do a small burnout. I mean, it's nothing like what say a Hemi Charger or a V8 Mustang would do, but I didn't think the little Prizm had enough power to spin the tires enough to leave a trail of burned rubber and smoke...but it did. When I got to the next street, I did it again, and one more time later that night. It's immature, noisy, and an ever so satisfying way to blow off steam. Needless to say, they noticed. When I got back, my mom and brother were eating there. My mom, who was present when this loan fiasco was going on, may have told my boss about it (because it pissed her off and they're friends). Either way, no one really talked to me for the rest of the day. I'm sure you could feel the aura of anger that surrounded me. To make the day even better, I ended up with a lot less in tips than I thought I was gonna get. To top it all off, on my way back from my last delivery (at about 10pm), I was going about 45 up the road, when out of the darkness I see a skunk and 2 babies crossing the street in my lane. I have to slam on the breaks, and end up stopping just in front of them...I don't think I hit them because there was nothing on the car when I checked...it was hard to tell at that moment since a car was right behind me and his damn highbeams were blinding, so I had to go, hoping they had ran off the road by then. Needless to say, I scared at least one of them, and I could smell the fear. That was my day, how was yours?

LAWL On another note, I know what I'm doing before work tomorrow!

Since we're on the topic of oils, does high mileage oil make a difference over normal oil? Since all ofour cars are pretty high in miles, it might be worth it to use Castrol GTX high millage...but only if it's any good....anyone know?

Katanas are regarded as the best swords in the world, due to their extreme strength and flexibility. European and other swords are more brittle, and because of the lack of flex, will break under stress far sooner than a katana. Some speculate that the Excalibur was created using the method that was used to create a masterwork katana.

Dustbusters reincarnated!

Sad really, this is one of the better looking Chinese cars...but to put it into perspective, BV's 12 year old Millenia gets much better results than that thing...which goes to show how far behind they are.

Hope it all went well and you get better soon!