FUTURE_OF_GM

Very cool! I stumbled upon the Liberty Belle a few years ago when it visited Charlotte. I happened to see it flying over Auto Fair and just went driving around to local airports to see if I could find it. It came through again last year but crapped a motor almost as soon as it landed. It had to wait on the tarmac for a replacement and once the replacement was in it puked a starter, so they didn't give any rides. I have lots of pictures that I'll try to dig up. One cool thing was a short, massively bearded guy signing the door of the plane. Being naturally curious, I walked over to see what the fuss was about. Turns out he flew in the war as a belly gunner on a B-17 that was shot down over Germany. First, I cannot imagine being a belly gunner and second, I REALLY cannot imagine the horror of being shot out of the sky in that thing. That's when men were men.

I'll think about this some more, but here are a few right off the top of my head for NC: Asheville: Grove Arcade Grove Park Inn Seely Castle (private residence -- can only be seen from a distance) Helens Bridge The Flat Iron Building and Sky Bar All of those are around downtown Asheville, and Asheville itself has a lot of old and interesting buildings. Mt. Mitchell (the highest point east of the Mississippi) Charlotte: Lots of 100 year old Textile Mills Billy Graham Library Charlotte Museum of Aviation NC Transportation Museum Charlotte Motor Speedway RCR Museum (better than the Dale Earnhardt Museum, but it's closer to Winston Salem than Charlotte) The Dale Trail Reeds Gold Mine (the first goldmine in America) Mooresville "Race City USA" (downtown Concord and Albemarle are cool as well, but not anything specific) Oh, and DEFINITELY add Charleston and it's lighthouses (speciallcally Morris Island) to your SC list.

My GF keeps wanting to move to Detroit and try to start a great revitalization. She seems to think that better days are right around the corner for the city. I however believe that it's a lost cause for it's seems that even God hates Detroit. Like with most of my opinions and predictions, I pray that I'm wrong.

That sucks man... I really hate it when someone has a gem of a car but doesn't have the brains to to get it to it's full potential. It's kind of like seeing someone that has a dog, but expects it to act like an accessory or a piece of furniture. Sad... really.

I've always wanted a Tucker... Maybe someday I'll get one as nice as that!

Either sell to RHJ with a buyback provision or take the damn company into Bankruptcy and get rid of Germany altogether.

This article should've read: "Buick readying GAMMA based CUV" But of course, the bias had to come into play, so we get "Aveo" in the headline so that everyone thinks it's cheap. This will be a success *IF* GM does it right. But it is GM, afterall.

And cue 'insider' to be a little bitch.... You missed the point entirely. (But, what else is new?) It was meant as a joke. (And yes, his entire NASCAR shop does have marble flooring if anyone was SERIOUSLY wondering )

1) A lot of people underestimate Penske. The man has A LOT of money and even more financial backing. His NASCAR shop in Charlotte has marble floors for gods sake. 2) Just because he bought Wilmington doesn't mean the entire facility would have to crank out cars. Feasibly, although I'm not sure how Wilmington is physically set up, he could lease out the parts of the plant his organization doesn't need. This peeks my interest a lot. I mean, I'm skeptical but Penske can NEVER be underestimated. God, what I'd give for him to acquire the rights to the Pontiac name. I'd be one step closer to putting GM behind me.

Good to see that it (maybe) won't be a total rebadge of the Cruze.

Not to hi-jack, but here's something I'm very interested in: http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/1289979369.html Saw a 60 LeSabre convertible at a local show, FEEL IN LOVE with it. Wanted 24,500 for that car... This one is a bit more in my current range.

I've never used Zaino, but I've always heard great things. I always use Meguiars. But I use the body shop grade stuff, not the Wal-Mart stuff. I usually do a cleaner, then a finishing glaze (polish) and then wax (On second thought, I've been using Gold Class wax. So it is Wal-Mart available.)

Holy cow! I deal with mice all of the time (any car that sits will get mice in it) but rattlesnakes would be a rude awakening. Dryer sheets seem to work as well. I keep some in my Camaros and they seem to stay mice free as long as the sheets are fresh (change them out about every week) LOL. Reminds me... I got one of the Camaros out to drive it a couple of springs ago. First time it had been out. I stopped at the gas station at the bottom of my road and was walking in to pay when I saw a mouse jump out of the car (the engine bay) and skamper across the parking lot.

Very nice, sir! Might I suggest a name change to 'Hotrod Lincoln'

Ya know... It's funny that all of the Toyota people seem to think that "everything is ok" Yeah, we GM fans have been there/done that. We thought everthing was ok back in 2005 when GM kept saying "We have BILLIONS of dollars to run the business" My, how things changed. But I'm sure Toyota will come out of this as the golden boy as always. The justice would just be too sweet for it to turn out any other way.

ABSOLUTELY. It's already slanted that way: NOTE: This is pretty much planting GM as the cause of it's collapse eventhough something like 75% of NUMMI was utilized by Toyota. NOTE: Toyota could move production out of the states, however, it has a BIG, SHINEY, NEW plant that is ready to CONTRIBUTE to american jobs!!! (In other words, the Mississippi plant need not even be mentioned, since it relates in NO WAY to NUMMI. The only reason it was mentioned was PR control)

It won't matter... If they do, the Yota humpers will just change their "pro" argument to something else (like they always do) For example: "Toyota is actually more american and patriotic because they're greener!" Same $h! happened with the "quality war". It went from actual quality issues to interior cheapness, then to 'panel gaps', then to ergonomics, and now to whether or not the dash is soft enough to wipe your ass with. Detroit will always be fighting a losing battle.

A super conservative friend of mine sent the pic to me and complained about it. He also has been bitching my ear off about "the bailout" I told him that I had one on order... LOL.

I think it was around 10K or above. I looked at so many cars that day... I can probably dig up a picture though.

Tail of the dragon is pretty close to me, actually. Yet I've never been... Hmmm. Oh, and if you guys are wondering, I'm not even going to get into this pissing match that certain members of this board HAVE to maintain simply because they can't accept opinions/outlooks that are different from their own. And that's especially true for the members that live in a distorted reality; remember, SOME of us have known you for far longer than others.

Gospel. I'm doing the same thing. (Then again, I've always been pretty 'isolated')

Absolutely! It's a part of the family. It's been sitting for a year or so now. (Like the Camaros... GRRR - At least they fire up and move a bit though) Since I moved to Charlotte, I don't have much time to do anything with it. We had an electrical gremlin that we chased for a long time and finally gave up on when $$$ started getting tighter. Not to mention, me wiring something is like asking a fat kid to make a good salad. Something needs to be done with it though. (Now I've worked myself into a stress about the Camaros too, LOL) Speaking of Caminos... I found a pretty good '59 for sale at a show the other day.

I got a 1982 Toyota Starlet that I've been wanting to put a 350 in. Already RWD... Might need some bracing though.

1) Boots of some sort (Harley or Wolverine or Skechers) 2) Designer jeans, blue color range only 3) studded or stamped belt with a 3 chain wallet. 4) Button up solid or pin strip shirt or a t-shirt of a brand that I support (usually automotive or musical) And a majority of my shirts are black. 5) gothic accessories (watch, bracelet, rings, necklace) or real/expensive accessories -- depending on the occasion. 6) CK 'cylinder cut' sunglasses. Except when I'm working in the yard/on cars (in which case I wear old, $h!ty looking rags) or having to be professional for a job (which usually means suit and tie. I think just a shirt and tie is tacky.) I don't consider myself trendy, I like to convey 'who I am' via my style. To some it's tacky, (My gay roomate used to make fun of me all of the time for being "tacky" LOL) to others it's cool.

I thought about buying one just to piss people (conservatives) off.