Flybrian

Satty's mom doesn't wear underpants. But that's something most of us know.

This is soooooo MySpace. J/K

Pontiac Solstice Wins First-Ever SCCA Race at Lime Rock Second Pontiac Solstice Entry Makes Debut in Topeka WARREN, Mich. – Recording the fastest lap for the third straight national race with a time of 1:03:930, Pontiac Solstice won its first Showroom Stock B (SSB) race of the young Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) season with a victory at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. on June 10. Debuting in SSB for 2006, the Solstice was race-prepared by Phoenix Performance and driven by 18-year-old amateur driver Andrew Aquilante. Aquilante narrowly missed setting the pole (1:04:099) during qualifying of the New England Region June National with a time of 1:04:129, but took the lead after only the first lap of the race on Saturday in part by out-braking a Mazda Miata on the first turn. “Lime Rock rewards nimbleness, agility and braking over outright power,” said John Heinricy of GM Performance Division. “With strong early performances, the Pontiac Solstice is demonstrating it will be a tough competitor in SSB for years to come.” In its first two outings on May 6 at New Hampshire and May 28 at Nelson Ledges, the Solstice finished third and fourth respectively, while also setting the fastest lap time in each race. At Nelson Ledges, the Solstice’s fastest lap (1:18:811) set a new track record for SSB class. Aquilante currently leads the driver points standings in the Northeast Division of SSB, and will next race the team’s Solstice in the Steel Cities Region June National at BeaveRun Motorsports Complex in Wampum, Penn. on Father’s Day, June 18. While Aquilante was lighting up the track at Lime Rock, a second Pontiac Solstice entry was making its debut in the Kaw Valley Race Group June National at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kan. Driven by retired GM executive Stan Czacki and built in the Phoenix Performance shops, the second-ever SCCA Solstice entry finished third on Sunday behind two BMW Z4s. Both Solstices are equipped with the Z0K Club Sport regular production order option package, which is designed for the weekend racer and currently available to order through any Pontiac dealership. Developed by GM Performance Division, the Club Sport package features the standard five-speed manual transmission along with antilock brakes (ABS), a limited-slip differential, an improved power steering cooler and FE3 suspension. The FE3 suspension will be standard on the upcoming 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP. No other options are available when ordering the Club Sport Solstice, but some components and safety equipment are required by SCCA to make it track ready, including a hardtop, racing tires, higher friction brake pads, rollcage, seatbelts, etc. Aquilante is the 2004 Northeast Division Rookie of the Year and 2005 Philadelphia Region Driver of the Year. He is also the two-time defending Northeast Division Touring 1 (T1) champion for 2004 and 2005 driving a Corvette C5 Z06. GM Performance Division develops compelling, low volume, high-performance production and specialty vehicles, including the 205 hp Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged, 395 hp Chevy Trailblazer SS and 400hp Chevy SSR; the 400 hp CTS-V, 469 hp STS-V and 443 hp XLR-V from the Cadillac V-Series; and the 205 hp Saturn ION Red Line. General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 75 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 327,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries . In 2005, 9.17 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM operates one of the world’s leading finance companies, GMAC Financial Services, which offers automotive, residential and commercial financing and insurance. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com. ------------- View original story here.

If this is the case, by the way, where Chevrolet and GMC are the only ones to get vans, GMC's should skew towards the luxurious. Forgo things like Stow-N'-Go that result in more uncomfortable seating. Swath the thing in luxury and brutish elegance (think Denali line) with a DoD DI V8 option. Yes, V8 the thing because it fits GMC's character to do so.

I would argue the Aerostar was competitive in the way the Astro/Safari was - a minivan that provides additional capabilities beyond your normal car-based van without the unneeded bulk of a G20/Express, Econonline, or Ram Wagon. And while that's a respected niche, its not where the majority of the market lies.

The Sierra Denali has class and muscular elegance yet untouched by any other pickup, including the Mark LT and Escalade EXT.

Heh. I'm pretty sure that was a mockery of the OUTLOOK shelving story earlier this year. Not real as far as I know.

And the winners are... 1st place - ToniCipriani - 28pts 2nd place - 04MonteIntimidator - 17pts 3rd place – NOS2006 - 14pts 4th place – MRDETROITMETAL - 13pts 5th place - Decka - 8pts 6th place - MRDETROITMETAL - 5pts 7th place - Fijian - 1pt (3pts before adjustment*) 8th place - Ravenfreak13 - 0pts (2pts before adjustment*) Congratulations to Toni for his first place win and also to everyone, of course, for entering and thank you for your submissions! We look forward to seeing you all next go around! Our 2009 Chevrolet Lambda competition has been extended. Get your submission in now and let’s see your ideas! (*Adjustment refers to a deduction of two points for not participating in the voting process as per C&G competition rules. Every vote counts!)

And the winners are... 1st place - Decka - 36pts 2nd place - Blackviper - 35pts 3rd place – !!!TED!!! - 15pts (17pts before adjustment*) 4th place – NOS2006 - 12pts 5th place - Ravenfreak13 - 7pts 6th place - ToniCipriani - 6pts 7th place - MRDETROITMETAL - 0pts(t) 7th place - MRDETROITMETAL - 0pts(t) 8th place - MRDETROITMETAL - -1pts (1pt before adjustment*) Congratulations to Decka for his first place win and also congratulations to Blackviper for finishing a close second. Thank you to everyone, of course, for your submissions! We look forward to seeing you all next go around! Our 2009 Chevrolet Lambda competition has been extended. Get your submission in now and let’s see your ideas! (*Adjustment refers to a deduction of two points for not participating in the voting process as per C&G competition rules. Every vote counts!)

Well, if the deadline needs extension, please PM or post here.

Any more entries? Any more at all?

By lack of customers?

In reality, though, Tampa Bay is pretty well-protected from hurricanes by virtue of nature itself. Currents usually take the storms towards the Panhandle or further up into Alabama, etc. If a storm crosses the state as a few did several years ago, it typically weakens significantly before its over us. For a hurricane to cause us catestrophic damage, it would have to stike with its northeastern quadrant entering Tampa Bay at high tide, causing the Gulf to flood the Bay with storm surge and flood out the lower-lying areas along the Pinellas and Hillsborough coasts. This hasn't happened in nearly eighty years (thankfully). We typically get what we're getting right now - crappy skies, some wind, and lots of rain. However, when our day comes, it will be bad, even if the storm is not. hundreds of high-rise condominums line our Gulf shores with no more than a dozen two-lane bridges connecting the barrier islands to the mainland. And the mainland (Pinellas County) is a peninsula itself with five main roads out, four of which are bridges - one a causeway that floods and the other a tall suspension bridge that closes when winds hit 40mph. The land road is constantly clogged on a good day. PIE is an airport that is a mean six feet above sea level, SPG is very small and also only 9 feet above the water, while CLW is 75 ft above sea, but has one runway 3300 feet long. We are indeed screwed. I, however, live 70 feet above sea level. I guess this house will be worth more as an island...

It probably looks so funny because that "Chris Dwayne" guy can't take a picture if his life depended on it.

I like where I live. Its old postwar suburbia, so nothing's that far away and for as odd and cheesy as some of the houses may look, they're unique at the very least. I'll tell you one thing. Growing up and living by the water makes you never want to live inland. I can't imagine not being within 10 minutes of a large body of water.

Sennnnnnn Chuuuuur EEEEEEEE

Thanks, Decka! And, XP, one time some lame-o Wackenhut reject office park security guard wrote a parking ticket for my "Buick Aurora"

Don't feel bad... Chevrolet - Pontiac - Oldsmobile - Buick - Cadillac ...you upgraded!

The car still looks bulgy, fat, and heavy in the hips, much like its intended customer. God that rear looks like crap.

Hey, there's no argument that Orange County, FL sucks. Not from me at least. Next time you're on the West Coast, let me know!

Chat attack mothaf**ka'

A word on Classic Auroras. They're good buys if well-maintained. Get one that someone treated casually (or worse, beat on it) and you're looking at a nightmare. Its a tempermental but lovable beast and will reward you with silky smooth performance, a surprisingly roomy backseat (for making more babies), good fuel economy, fantastic ride and handling, and of course luxury. Naturally, the lower the mileage, the better, but as long as its well-maintained, you're fine. A few Classic owners on the Aurora Forums have some between 200-250k, even nudging 300k with normal maintenance. The MAXX and LeSabre are good choices, though. If you're looking at a LeSabre Custom, expect a floatier ride than a Limited with the Gran Touring suspension. Plus, they're very safe and very depandable.

I hate the Gold Package. It looked like crap when it was new and looks even more like crap now when its half faded (the car is a decade old). I'm trying to get a nice chrome one from eBay.

A whole $3.95 (incl s&h) from eBay gets me one of those Oldsmobile badges that looks like the kind they stuck on the hood of Cutlass Cieras. I'm sick of people saying, "Its an Acura?"