Flybrian

For $32k, the interior is fine. However...

Mazda6 vs. G6? That's a draw - they're both good cars. Bonneville is too large for the Maxima; think Grand Prix. Avalon vs. LeSabre/Lucerne. Impala is bottom-rung near fullsize.

Also, a Pininfarina-designed Ferarri Estate - one of seven.

Here's one from the seventies - the Fascination: Designed by Paul Lewis and built in Nebraska of all places in 1974, the Fascination was powered by a Renault engine. Apparently, it had amazing stability as a test driver took one from 60-zero by slamming on the brakes without holding the steering wheel; the car stopped straight and true. Also, 40mpg and a front wheel that turned almost perpendicular to the car's longitudinal axis meaning it could turn in its own footprint.

I feel bad for the Olds O4, which was left hanging halfway during the season when the announcement was made. I believe it made some last stops tucked behind some other cars. Sad.

'Spirit in the Sky' - Norman Greenbaum Now, there's Christian Rock that indeed rocked.

How 'bout the revolutionary and innovative Dymaxion car designed by Buckminster Fuller in the early 1930s? That's the latest of three built. Its was extrodinary for its day, riding on an inverted and converted Ford chassies with a 90hp V-8 driving the front two wheels and steered with a single rear wheel. It sat 11 passengers, could travel up to 120mph, and did that at 30mpg - remarkable even today. Unfortunately, during a demonstration drive, the driver of a Dymaxion was killed when another car collided with it. Naturally, the press blamed the accident on Fuller's weird car and that doomed it to being another unfulfilled dream. One cool aspect about the Dymaxion was that the ultimate fruition of Fuller's car would be for it to be a three-dimensional transport, meaning it could fly somehow. Obviously since that technology didn't exist back then - or really even now in that application - the road version of the Dymaxion was supposed to be the first step. Fuller also had a ton of other revolutionary ideas and concepts that he actually demonstrated, like advanced houses that weighed less than a ton and cost a fraction of a brick-and-mortar home, yet could withstand earthquakes and tornados. He was a very amazing guy.

Ocnblu has sexual orientation coming up pretty soon.

I suspect that's the line the Chrysler SUV will cross.

Why do you say that? Is there some cheap molded covering over the mirror sockets or something?

Yeah, I cut an EL off yesterday because the woman was driving like a bonehead - 30mph in the leftmost lane of a six-lane highway with a posted limit of 60mph.

My point was that a 'rugged' Jeep has to have faux trim pieces inside to carry forth its image. Plastic spinners are a joke, but you never see any come from the factory. I would just think a $30-40k vehicle that has real leather and real wood trim would have real $.10 screws instead of molded plastic ones.

The thing is people shouldn't have to prep their cars like that by tossing bags of sand or bricks in the trunk. That was one of the early appeals of front-wheel drive - convenience.

I wasn't really criticizing the review at all. Merely pointing out how absurd it is for a vehicle to have fake screws. Fake wood (too expensive) and fake chrome (too heavy), okay. But fake screws?

The absolutely stunning 1977 Toronado XSR concept with electrically-retractable T-tops...

16 22 +29 67 = average age of a Buick driver. :D I should talk. I have an Oldsmobile.

You know, I was always under the impression that the Express and Astro were really, really related. Rkmdogs, as someone who owns an Astrovan, what's the problem with a shortened Express as long as it has all the same desireable features (Dutch doors, high towing capacity, truck durability)? By the way, I agree the Astro and Safari fill a very valuble niche in the van market for families that actually tow something when they go somewhere and tradesmen who don't need the huge length of the Express.

Not only do exposed screwheads now give a car character, but fake screws are lauded as well. FAKE 10 CENT SCREWS!. How lameass.

How about the Beech Plainsman? Beechcraft built this in '48 thinking that military and civilian market for aircraft would dry up in the postwar glut. It was not only a hybrid gas/electric car but was four-wheel drive as well due to the 4cyl air-cooled engine being used to power electric motors at each wheel. Cost: $5000. What else cost that much in 1948? An airplane. Note the loop-style AM radio antenna and expansive greenhouse. And, note to Subaru, you actually have to have a hertiage in avaition before claiming to have a grille like that be inspired by such.

Skylights. Nice touch, but the pricing may kill this thing. Check this out: Base 2wd - 210hp - $27,985 Base 4wd - 210hp - $29,985 Limited 2wd - 235hp - $36,280. Limited 4wd - 235hp - $38,900. Limited 4wd - 330hp - $40,395 That a near $10,000 disparirty between an admittedly well-equipped base model. I struggle to see how its really worth that price given assumed equipment levels, etc.

And even the FWD setup is in keeping with an 'Impala', that is a perfectly competant fullsize car. Most cars right now are FWD, hence... Even the '94-'96 Impala never stood out like other hi-po cars do. I think that's one of the points and appealing natures of the Impala - its a nice, regular car wiht some kick-ass engine choices.

I believe its been shown that many foreign automakers didn't accurately convert their measurements to American standards, much like metric vs. Imperial. Why should they be applauded for finally being accurate?

The saddest aspect of it all is that people simply don't care. No one ever looks at the big picture. Air passengers (its a stretch to refer to it as 'travel' much more) get googly-eyed at $39 one-way flights not realizing the real price of such deep discounts. Pilots and F.O.s that get paid little more annually than a manager at a fast food restaurant, inexperienced management that think its a better idea for a jet to reverse itself out of 6-inch slush rather than pay flight support for a pushback, ignorant human answering machines in India (or even prison inmates) trying to book your flight, laminated boarding passes that you return to the airline because they can't afford to print individual ones, unkempt aircraft cabins with garbage left over from the previous flight, and worst of all high time DC-9s and 727s pushing their total airframe hours with each flight. Granted, much has been improved since those first shoddy years of deregulation, but many side effects still linger. Air travel isn't glamourous anymore. Airlines used to take pride in their fleet of Clippers and Astrojets. They used to one-up each other with better, more luxurious service; now they try to outcheap each other with cutrate fares to off-spoke airports that no one wants to go to. And don't get me started on TSA. Getting onto most planes today is like getting into a big bus rather than a real airliner. That's why I'd much prefer to fly myself. Yes, it can be much more expensive and take longer and be a whole lot bumpier and tiring, but its fun. There's still a little bit of glamour left in that aspect of flying. There are exceptions, though. Southwest and JetBlue are the two notable ones. But it took a long time to get there and too many lives. Air Florida Flt 90 and ValuJet Flt 592 are I believe direct results of lax regulations. Call me a socialist if you must, but there are some aspects of American life that are too vital or too risky not to have some modicum of government control, among them the national power grid and air travel. But that's just my rant. And, yes, I still want to be an airline pilot. :)

I always use my parking brake, which really doesn't make sense in Florida, but I do anyway. I picked the habit up from my father who grew up and learned to drive in Southern California, so that doesn't make much sense either. Regardless, I just do it. I got a sign-off from high school driver driver's ed class and my instructor didn't even ride with me. He just watched me drive around and not hit anything and I 'earned' my license. Go figure.

Ah, crap. Camino found us again. I'll take the site down again...