Flybrian

Combining Camry and GS430 is ever-awkward ways...

Ahem... "NOS2'oh'oh'6"

I think there's good cause for keeping as much of your private life private when you're becoming a private; in other words, during boot camp. Can you imagine the hazing, discomfort, and detriment for both parties during this stage of training? Remember that any large group - including the military - represents a cross-section of our society. Until our society becomes more tolerant as a whole, 'don't ask, don't tell' remains a valid policy in the early years of a military career. That said, there is no place for General Pace's comments and while he's certainly entitled to his personal views and beliefs, he should understand the effect such broad equivocations like "Homosexuality is immoral and the military doesn't want immorality." It demoralizes the spirit of brave men and women who voluntarily enlisted in the US armed forces and pride themselves on the committment of their service to their nation and fellow Americans. They say there are no atheists in foxholes, well, I doubt there are many homophobes either. I would be far more worried about the enemy shooting my ass than Cpl. Stan grabbing it. Also - like race and creed - sexual orientation disappears in combat. You don't care if your buddy is black, Jewish, or gay; you care that he's your buddy, your comrade, and he would protect your life with his own, just as you would do for him. I'm sure there have been instances where long-seperated veterans find out someone they served with was homosexual. I bet they said, "really?" and couldn't really care less. Every Marine learns that there are 14 Leadership Traits to be studied and followed. One is Tact - "the ability to deal with others without creating offense." General Pace needs to brush up on his knowledge.

The Ridgeline gets appalling fuel economy for a new-school V6. Plus, its grotesque as hell. The hallmark of the Ridgeline from a feature perspective is just the in-bed trunk and, sorry, thats not any modicum of a big deal. As far as the spare tire, its possible the access the tire underneath a loaded truck bed (depending on weight) without unloading the contents of the bed; not so with the Ridgeline.

Koree is right about that, Kok.

Here's my pic of the day...

The fact that Cory's above response was texted out on his phone while driving proves he needs to maybe stop doing it.

No, your plan kind of sucks. I like this plan better: Much better

Welcome! As stated above, your entry must be an original creation, not a Photoshop of an existing image. Entries can be hand-drawn and scanned or drawn with graphic design software on the computer. I would prefer a .jpg, .jpeg, or .gif but please no .bmp files because these take up more space and require conversion. Please keep your final submission to somewhere around 800x600 pixels. You may enter as many as you wish, keeping in mind that many good entries may have the effect of 'splitting' your vote. Can't wait to see what you have in store for us!

Plasma gasification The Prophet of Garbage - Popular Science

So, we can look forward to a lineup of: RWD Alpha Caddy CTS Zeta DTS (or an STS that doesn't suck)

How long do you intend to keep the car, Frank? If its awhile, I can recommend some awesome stuff to you, especially some things we've used on the Bonnie. While your yellow will naturally never have the 'depth' of a metallic (esp a darker one), it'll look wet and glossy and smooth to the touch no matter what if you keep it up. Our SSEi is going on seven years now and I swear the finish is deeper and more smooth than prepped cars sitting in the showroom. Even my Olds is glossier than cars a quarter of its age. Sweet pics, btw!

Old Man River in his Grand Marquis usually take up station at 30mph regardless of the top-end speed (40-50mph), but they do so in the right-hand lane. I don't care if the posted signage reads 50 and you're going 20 as long as you keep it in the right-hand lane. People just simply need to learn how to drive.

GM image upgrade a ray of hope March 11, 2007 Link to Original Article @ Detroit Free Press | BY TOM WALSH | FREE PRESS COLUMNIST When you're on an economic losing streak as ugly as metro Detroit's -- Pfizer closing its Ann Arbor research complex, Chrysler on the auction block, Comerica headquarters moving to Dallas -- you look for an encouraging sign wherever you can. So it is with a flutter of hope that I bring two seeds of promise regarding the region's biggest corporate citizen, General Motors Corp.: A new national poll of 1,000 Americans by Rasmussen Reports shows that 69% think "favorably" of GM, a big jump from only 48% last year. And in Fortune magazine's 2007 ranking of America's Most Admired Companies, GM has moved up to No. 5 among vehicle makers, a nice gain from last year's No. 9 rank among the industry cellar dwellers. OK, so it's not exactly the stuff of a memorable ad campaign -- "We're Number 5! Ain't No Jive! We're Number 5!" But it is directionally encouraging to see that GM, widely derided as a lost cause and bankruptcy candidate a year ago, has since surpassed Nissan and Volkswagen along with Ford on the admiration meter in the Fortune survey. The Rasmussen poll might be more promising because the survey sample was made up of everyday folks interviewed March 1-2. These are the kind of car and truck buyers that GM must lure back into Chevrolet, Cadillac, Pontiac, Saturn, Buick and GMC showrooms in order to stabilize its share of U.S. vehicle sales, which has been skidding since the 1970s. According to the survey by New Jersey-based Rasmussen, 69% of Americans have a favorable view of GM and 22% an unfavorable view. That's much-improved since July, during the height of speculation about a GM-Nissan-Renault alliance that never happened. In the new survey, 57% of Rasmussen poll respondents rate Ford Motor Co. favorably and 30% unfavorably. The numbers for Chrysler -- 51% favorable, 31% unfavorable -- are similar. The poll also showed that 84% of Americans believe the U.S. auto industry is important to the overall national economy, with 49% saying it's "very important." The Rasmussen poll didn't ask about Toyota or other foreign-owned auto companies, but the Fortune most-admired survey did. Overall, Toyota ranked third in admiration among all companies -- behind only General Electric and Starbucks. Ironically, in the more narrow industry list -- where only survey responses from companies in the same industry are counted -- Toyota slipped from first place in 2006 to No. 2 this year behind BMW among vehicle makers. Honda was third on that list, followed in order by DaimlerChrysler, GM, Nissan, Ford, Volkswagen, Paccar and Navistar. GM's improving numbers should be heartening to everyone in Michigan. They show it's possible to survive a near-death experience and go from coma to consciousness. Full recovery is still a long way away. We need to see profits, lower costs, positive cash flow and residual values that show people really believe GM cars are as durable and high-quality as any competitor's. Still, that little flutter of hope feels good now.

What this shows is that Toyota again fails at penetrating the low-margin work truck segment because they don't understand the pricing structure that field demands. No surprise there.

OnStar sucks. We had OnStar once, never again. It costs too much and failed in its primary function of airbag deployment notification. They lost two customers for life. I love GM and if someone really buys into the OnStar business case, well...more power to them, but I would never pay to have OnStar ever in any vehicle I ever purchase. $199/yr buys a membership to AAA and a couple of nice dinners. I'd rather have that.

I use it a bit less than constantly in certain situations, but really change that to 'as needed' because my occupation often dictates I must answer the phone and frankly, I'm very good at multitasking behind the wheel. Its not a black-and-white situation where everyone should use a phone or no one should be allowed to; as in any activity, know your limits. Simply as that. I know people who can drive, eat, talk, change the radio, answer the phone, and shave at the same time. I also know some people that shouldn't be driving at all. Just know your limits and behave accordingly.

Obviousness belies Ford and DCX, but I think GM arguably caught on fairly well with the VUE, SRX, Rendezvous, and even the spirit Aztek. The executions of the SRX's interior and the Aztek as a whole can be debated, but I believe GM actually got their foot in the door as opposed to shooting themselves in the foot with this segement.

Voting ends tonight!

Drive What You Sell Ad agency execs use vehicles they push By JEAN HALLIDAY | ADVERTISING AGE Link to Original Article @ AutoWeek When the Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners advertising agency competed for the Mini USA account in 2005, its executives visited Mini dealerships. They talked with Mini owners and enthusiast clubs. A few staffers already drove Minis. A year after his agency won the account, CEO Greg Stern says 10 employees of the Sausalito, Calif., shop own Minis. Stern owns an Audi station wagon and a classic Mercedes-Benz, but says "I have the most fun driving the Mini" he also owns. The agency doesn't offer employees inducements to buy the premium small cars. "The incentive is it's a great car to drive," Stern says. "It's a lot of fun, and we represent that brand." Ad agencies covet automotive accounts because of car companies' often robust budgets and the prestige they bring to an agency's client roster. Shops pull out the stops to pitch automakers. During Mazda's 1997 review, the Doner agency of suburban Detroit rented every model the company made for 30 days. Agency executives wanted to get to know the brand, says CEO Alan Kalter. After it won the account, Doner encouraged staffers to buy Mazda vehicles -- in part because of a discount from the automaker, Kalter says. He owns two Mazdas: a Miata and a B4000. Tim Blett, president of Doner's auto practice in suburban Los Angeles, owns a Mazda RX-8 and two Tribute SUVs. He says he also has persuaded his mother, stepfather and brother to buy Mazdas. Show us the Chevy Chevrolet's ad agency, Campbell-Ewald, takes a different approach. Executives of the suburban Detroit agency who work on the account must have a Chevrolet in their households. They must present the vehicle registration to collect an annual bonus, sources say. A Campbell-Ewald spokesman would not confirm that mandate, citing legal issues related to compensation. But he says the agency "broadly encourages our people to buy Chevrolets." Any executive with the rank of senior vice president or higher who owns a Chevrolet gets a reserved parking space. Plenty of Chevrolets are in the agency's lot, in reserved and unreserved spots. The former Bozell Worldwide ad agency had Chrysler Corp. as a client in the mid-1990s. Any employee of the agency's suburban Detroit office who bought a new Chrysler qualified for a week's vacation with pay. More than 60 percent of the agency's employees took advantage of the offer, says Mike Vogel, who headed the office. "Chrysler loved the idea," says Vogel, now a communications consultant. Executives in Bozell's New York headquarters "had a meltdown over it but finally acquiesced," he says. Vogel estimates Bozell staffers bought as many as 700 Chrysler vehicles a year. "You need to support your clients," he says. "Otherwise, you're just hired guns." Keen on Kia The David & Goliath agency in suburban Los Angeles has had the Kia account since 1999. David Angelo, the agency's chairman, estimates that half his agency's employees own Kia vehicles. Angelo says he drives a Kia Amanti sedan and a Sorento SUV. "We don't put any strict mandates on our people" to buy Kia vehicles, Angelo says. Instead, the agency recommends that its employees drive Kias but also check out the competition. "We are a challenger brand," he says. "It behooves us to know what other vehicles are like." The TBWA/Chiat/Day agency in suburban Los Angeles has the Nissan and Infiniti ad accounts. Rob Schwartz, the agency's executive creative director, estimates that 40 percent of all agency employees who work on those accounts bought new Nissan or Infiniti vehicles in 2006. "We embrace the brand," he says. The Carmichael Lynch agency in Minneapolis has had the Porsche account since 1998. The agency's president, John Colosanti, says Carmichael Lynch leased a Boxster to help win the work. Six agency staffers own or lease Porsches, Colosanti says. The agency owns a Boxster, which it awards monthly to the team or employee that comes up with the best idea.

Really? Seen this site? CarLoving Puts a whole new spin on 'import humper.' In any case, let's just keep this discussion on-topic and interesting for all who participate.

A little bit of the hype attached to the HondaJet isn't fully backed up. Initial specifications puts it at a 200-500nm disadvantage in range compared to some of the frontrunners as well as the $1-2 premium it may command over the A700, Eclipse, and some others. Asthetically, its the most unattractive VLJ I've seen. The pod-over-wing configuration lends itself to being ugly and 'unnatural' and is usually done out of necessity (Antonov AN-72's unimproved field expectations, for example). I noticed the USAToday piece mentioned 'well-known name.' Maybe from its GE-built engines, but stacked up against the reputations of Cessna, Embraer, and Piper (soon to enter) as well as Diamond and Cirrus. Cessna's Mustang was first to the market and Eclipse has built a name for itself overnight with the 500, which again is already out. We'll see how this pans out. I'm not totally dumping on Honda, mind you. The HA-420 is a monumental achievement for a company that has 'till now had no business being in the aviation field in the first place and perhaps the ultimate culmination of a corporation-wide dream. Its just entering an extremely competitive marketplace where looks, heritage, and (especially) the price play a huge role.

Sprited debate and disagreement is one thing. Attacks like these are another. We should all be able to engage in a discussion and disagree without having to resort to attacking others on a personal level. Though I did originally lock this thread, I'm reopening it in the hopes that civil conduct can guide this discussion back on course. Let's remember that we only deserve the respect we give others. Thank you.

Fixed.