intrigued

Ford is kicking ass and taking names. It's sales were only about 100 behind GM! It's important to wait and see how much toyota rebounds though. Ford was already making steady gains before hand but it was really in a position to capitalize on Toyota's preoblems and it will be interesting to see how large a percentage of this surge they will retain ad the marketplace normalizes.

That insurance is out of control. Have you shopped around? I find it hard to belive that someone with a clean driving record can't get something better. I have a huge ding on my driving record (dwi, something I'm not proud of and have never put myself in a situation where this could happen again) and I drive a black 2005 ford mustang GT with a stick and I only pay $2900 and I thought that was high! Where do you live that is cost so much?!

I bet it became the Northstar. The quad 4 had very similar heads compared to the northstar and olds was at the front of DOHC development for GM back in the day.

Its so frusterating to me that Olds was outselling Buick from like 1998-2000 before it was cancelled. Typical GM think at the time, "We have to get rid of one of our middle brands. Let's get rid of the brand that has a totally new lineup of fresh well reviewed cars with unique engines and content that we've invested billions into that is outseling our more coservative retired person brand whos clientel is dying off! That makes sense!" ahhhhh!!!

I went and saw the BMW and talked to the guy. Seems like a cool guy who doesn't really use his car for anything other then weekend jaunts. IT is in imacculate condition with the maitenance documented. It even has extended warranty but we're not sure if that is transferable. We came to an understanding that his offer is on the table for another 6 weeks during which I will try and sell my car, so far only one offer for 10k. I am not going to sell it below 12.5k. If there is no sale by the end of this period Im going to seriously consider the Bimmer. Either way the Jeep or the BMW will not be my car for that long. It will be my girlfriends in another year or so. I'd likely buy a new car now and keep my mustang but I'm strapped for the next few months since I'm paying for an engagment ring that I want to put on the GFs finger by July.

I know a lot of people ar in to trading cars but it never occured to me that somebody would try to trade for my car. As many of you know I'm trying to sell my 2005 mustang gt (girlfriend can't drive stick blah blah blah we've all heard it.) somebody decided to suggest trading their white on tan 2004 BMW 325 auto 4 door. It only has 39k miles to my 72k and looks to be in mint condition. Soooo tempting. The two biggest things holding me back was I was planning on getting a 5-6 grand jeep that could old us over for 1.5 to 2 years and then I would get my new mustang while using the rest of the money to pay off the credit card I wrote a check off of to buy the mustang. If I traded I would still have a large credit card payment. I never saw myself having to make this decission....

Great post. I love watching Toyota crash and burn. I wonder how much this will cost them in the end.

Hi all, After gauging the intrest on my 05 mustang GT and with some of my end of the year improvments to my finances I have decided to deffinetly go ahead and sell my car. I will be clear between 4000-6500 selling it via a private sale after paying off the ballance of the loan. I have an additional 3000 in savings that I can put twards a new car. I will be getting a late 90's early 2000s Jeep in the price range of 5-6k. I don't drive very much anymore and neither does my girlfriend milage wise but we both travel on the weekends and a jeep would be a lot more practical for our active lifestyles, plus right now I have to park on the street and while I can drive my mustang fine in winter weather, getting it out of a snowbank after the plow comes by can take a really really long time, and I have to wait for the roads to get plowed if there is well over a foot of snow like two weeks ago. With a jeep I don't have to worry about this stuff. This plan is two tier though, ultimatley the jeep will be my girlfirends car, she will pay me the purchase price back by August at which point I will transfer the title to her, then I will put down 10k on top of whatever incentives Ford has plus Ford x-plan pricing to get myself a new 2011 412 hp mustang GT! By then I will have moved to a new appartment complex where I can park the car in a lot or maybe even a garage as well. Big plans this year. I'll miss my mustang in the mean time but we really need a vehicle my girlfirend can drive short term because I tried teaching her to drive stick and it aint happening. If anyone wants the mustang I'll sell it cheaper to a C&Ger, 2005 GT manual with 70k for only 13000!

I've been very blessed this year. 1. Despite still not having completed my under grad after dropping to part time status after my sophmore year of college I found a good job thanks to networking, an otherwise excellent resume with recommendations and a lot of luck after being laid off twards the end of 2008. 2. My relationship with my girlfriend continues to be fantastic and she moved in with me in march. The transition to co-habitation has been scarily smooth and we are "engaged to be engaged." I should have the money to buy a ring twards the end of 2010. 3. My family is in good health inlcuding my Dad who has had MS for the past 20 years. He worked really hard this year to reverse the decline of his health that had left him wheel chair bound in 2008. Now he gets around fairly well on his own with a walker. 4. I have a third niece or nephew on the way! Life can always throw curve balls at you but 2010 looks to be a very good year. I should 1. have all my high intrest debt paid off by April. 2. I should be engaged by the end of the year. 3. I will be taking the LSATs and applying to Law school in December.

Wow, IDE hardrives... I forgot all about those.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Oldsmobile-442-1969-70-Oldsmobile-Culass-442-455-Ram-Air-4sp-Frame-Off_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2303c9650fQQitemZ150387385615QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks If I could afford a classic GM muscle car this would be it, though I would get black with silver stripes. I adore this car. I will always be an Oldsmobile man even if I'm driving Fords these days. The fact that GM built cars like this will always have me looking at what they have in their showrooms even though I've been broadening my car horizons recently.

This car is going to give the GT 500 a lot of trouble, especially if it comes in 6k below gt 500 prices. 2011 will be a big year for the Camaro Mustang war. As it looks right now in 2011-2012 ... Mustang Camaro V6 3.7l 315 hp, 275 ftlbs 3.6 liter 304 hp, 273 ftlbs GT/SS 5.0 DOHC est. 400 hp, 375 ftlbs 6.2 liter 400-425 hp, 400 ftlbs GT500/Z28 5.4 DOHC 540 hp 510 ftlbs SC * 6.2 liter 556 hp 550 ftlbs SC Boss 5.0 DOHC est. 450 hp, 400 ftlbs in 2012 This will be quite the matchup. On a power to weight basis the mustang should win during at the v6 and GT/SS levels. I expect the Camaro to put down its slightly better power numbers more effectivley then the GT500. It will certainly do so a bit better then the current 2010 GT500. The one wild card will be that for 2011 the Gt500 is getting an aluminum block. This will help to lower the weight of the car as well as ballance it better. Chevy doesn't have any special editions yet to compete with the the upcoming Boss. Will be fun to see how this HP war shaped up and to see what the next small block will bring in a few years. The Mustang's SRA rearend does a great job putting down anything short of GT500 power and saves the car weight so it performs better at base- GT trim then the camaro. The Camaro's overweight rearend though will be a huge boon when it comes to harnessing the awsome power of the LSA v8.

If you're looking for a bargain that is fun and involving to drive I'd recoommend an early (2005-2006) S-197 Mustang GT. I've had my 05 GT for over a year and half and it's been a blast. Plenty of power, though it is higher strung then most small blocks, very good manual tranny even if it is only a 5 speed, and despite what people gripe about in regards to the SRA rear end it handles very well. You can get them in good condition with resonable miles for 15k or sometime even less. If you want one newer with a few less miles its not a huge price difference. Back when the GTO first came out the new for 05 stang GT, due to it's pretty low curb weight, ran right with an LS1 GTO despite "only" having 300hp to the LS1's 350. Just make sure to get it with at least the 3.55 gear ratio if you go for it if you want to drive it hard (you could always upgrade it to 373 or 410 if you so desire though). These cars tend to be reliable as well. My next car will be either a new 2011 Mustang GT with the 5.0 coyote v8 or the 2012 Boss edition. I still think the camaro is a hot car but it just looks a little cartoonish and the new mustang, besides having a worlds better interior, is all around an easier car to live with. On another note I've driven both a new 2010 Comaro SS and 2010 Mustang GT with the carryover drivetrain. Camaro has gobs of torque and undoubtedly the better drivline, though not by as much as I would have though, but the mustang drove better and more smoothly (the Camaro's weight hurts it.) I can't wait to see what the 2011 GT can do when it has only 22 less hp and a much better power to weight ratio then the camaro.

^^^ affitmative action needs to end ... period. A great example of how messed it is occured in New Haven CT recently. The fire department issued an exam you had to pass for promotions. They went on to throw out the exam and have it redesigned to be easier when no african american firefighters passed it. All those who passed it, predominetly white fire fighters, got screwed and didn't get promotions because of this. Now I have nothing against diversity, I judge people of every skin and race on their merrits. Diversity for the sake of diversity needs to stop because of situations like this where they try to dumb down a test so that people who are not knowledgable enough for a position can qualify for it. It's unfair and in a situation like this unsafe even. Fortunatley a lawsuit was brought by the New Haven Firefighters and they got the original exam and results upheald so no underqualified firefighters were awarded the promotion because they were a different race. I don't want to be though of as a dispassionate person, I belive in helping underprivlaged people but I think it should be done solely on the merrits, not on skin color.

1966 - 1970 Olds 442 1987 Buick GNX 2001 Olds Aurora 442 Short list but it has some goodies on them

best tip I ever got as a bartender was when one of my regulars (used to be head, sometimes solo bartender every thursday and sunday at this cool happening little place on the water - I ran Thirsty Thursdays and Sunday Fundays, owner almost cried when I left) was when said regular, who usually tipped my around 30 percent anyways won some big money on a quickdraw I printed for him. On top of $30 for the $65 tab he gave me $150 of his 800 in winnings since I rang up his lucky tickets! One time all the New Rochelle cops had an end of the summer party and they all had money in a comunal drink getting fund on the bar. At the end they couldn't decide who put in what so they just let me keep it all! When I counted it it was like $320 when I mights have charged the 10 or so of them $400 max over the course of 3-4 hours! I love generous customers. I agree that not a lot of waiters and or bartenders think about the percentage of tips that they get verse the service they provide if the person is a nobody, but if they are a regular then a TON of thought goes into it.

Being a bartender/server in the past (I still bartend for fund sometimes as a way to subsidize my going out) I tend to tip well though I will tip less for bad service and on a few ocassions have tipped nothing for extremley bad service. normally I tip 20 percent for good service. If I feel service is below average, ie. the waiter/ bartender isn't really trying that hard and isn't propt and alert I'll tip about 15. If on top of being slow they are inacurate taking orders or they make something improperly (many waiters make deserts, and bartender make drinks obviosuly) I will downgrade to 10 percent. In the extreme case that the waiter/waitress is all of these things and is rude or has an attitued on top of it all then it's no tip for you! (this has happened 3 times that I can remember but i eat out a fair ammount) On the other hand I'll tip up to 25 percent and sometimes even higher if the server is as prompt and speedy as can be given their workload, is exremley alert and attentive and has a personality and is engaging.

I still love fruit snacks to this day. My girl friend is even thoughtful enough to buy my favorite brand (shark bites) and pack them in my lunch for work. Best girlfriend ever... though I sometimes get made fun of for the middle school like contents of much lunch bag.

Wow... truly a David and Goliath but one with potential dire results for Toyota. Paice deffinetly has a leg to stand on because they have precident on their side in the prior court victories. If they are moving for an immediate trial then they must have done a TON of prep work and found serious hard to dispute facts supporting their prior victories. If this goes Paice's way the following will most likley happen. Toyota will have to immediatly stop selling all hybrids. All cars they have not sold may be destroyed as infringing property. They will have to pay Paices legal expenses which could easily be in the millions. They will have to pay damages, probably somewhere between the OEM cost of all the infringing components and the cars themselves. This would be for ALL hybrids sold between 2005 - present If it is found that Toyota knowingly and miliciously ripped off the patents then puntive damages will be awarded. This is also known as "trebble" damages and is in addition to normal damages. Punitive damages are 3x whatever the normal damages comes out to. This could cost possible cost Toyota 10s of Billions, it's a boat load of terrible PR and they will effectivle be out of the hybrid market for years till they can reorganize and re develop their products. There are many ways it could end short of this, settlement or Toyota could get a crack team of attorneys who succesfully defend them. But Paice deffinetly has a decent shot at winning. They would not have gone forward with a suite of this size if they didn't. On Tuesday when I go back in to work I'm going to look up all their cases on Lexis Nexis and Pacer and see if I can find the filing papers once they become public and see the piror cases that are related to it. If I can get them I will post them online here.

impressive gains. I hope Ford keeps going on the right track.

I love fish sticks in my mouth... lol

I fully agree with this. The biggest issue is that it cannot be much if at all cheaper to make then the much more powerful and just as fuel efficent 3.6 DI. It really detracts from the driving experience of some cars (Even non car enthusiest drivers, especially American drivers, love torque) and it would probably be cheaper to have just the 1 variant as well due to economics of scale. That said I suppose GM is doing this to force people to pay more for the more powerful engines but I think they would sell more cars for little if any production cost increase without the crappy base engine.

The three cars I have payed for 2001 Alero GLS, 2006 Malibu SS and 2005 Mustang GT (Owned in this order) Were and are all great cars. The alero was a fantastically fun plus compact/small midsize to drive with very good handling (it had the sport suspension) and the v6 gave it quite a bit of punch. The malibu was a very competent car though its suspension wore pretty fast and it never handled like my alero. (While it was not a bad car at all I much prefered my alero by the end of both their ownerships.) I love my mustang GT manual. So much fun to drive, it has tight but truly usable back seat, and is suprisingly practical for a RWD v8 coupe. It's going to be my car for another 4 years or so. The only car that's ever been "my car" that I HATED was a 94 Accord DX my dad gave me. It drove like $h!, accelerated like $h!, and boy was it unrelaible not to mention completley stripped of options. Hated it so so so much. It was one of only 2 non american cars my family has had in the last 30 years. We hate them both. (the other was a 70's volvo that the driveshaft fell out of while on the highway.)

Satty's right. Just get a carfax. Check the fluids, especially the oil, and look under the car, particularly at the frame to see if there has ever been any damage to it that didn't show up on the carfax. Also check the tires to see if they are very worn or not usuing the old penny trick. This way you know how the car was driven (ie its a 2 year old car with 15k miles and no tread.... makes you stop and think) and also makes you aware if you need to consider new tires in your budget if it just happens to be time to replace them.

There may still be AWD. the insignia offers it on some models so there is no reason the regal couldn't. i would like to see this lineup... CX and CXL 1 - 2.4 DI making about 185hp and ftlbs. CXL 2 - 2.0 DI TT making 230-240 hp and 250 ftlbs CXS 2.0 DI TT making 300 hp and 300 ftlbs. I tend to think that GM should just stick with the excellent 6 speed auto cause very few people can out shift it with a manual and GM doesn't really have many good and/or reliable FWD/AWD manuals. AWD would be optional on the CXL 2 and CXS. NONE of these componenets are not already 99 percent developed and in the GM parts bin. Most are designed to fit into the SWB epsilon 2. I tend to doubt I'll get my regal powertrain lineup but there is no reason GM couldn't make this the cars engine lineup.