GMTruckGuy74

No, his dad is definitely proud of the man Bob is. While you weren't looking for any particular response, you know most of those posting in here are going through the same thing you are (here's to Barbara Cucknell, the world's greatest aunt, June 4, 2004). This is a quote I heard shortly after I lost my aunt that aided me in dealing with her absence from my life: "Sometimes, no matter how much faith we have, we lose people. But you never forget them. And sometimes, it's those memories that give us the faith to go on.” While I am religious to an extent (a small extent at that), the memories of my aunt and the good she did for those she loved gives me the strength to go on and keep her memory alive.

wishes to my fellow C&G truck fan!

I agree with your sentiment about the '80s vehicles starting to show up. Like I said, right now there's just a bunch on the show field, but I'm sure it will encourage others to bring theres out in future years. Last year I saw a '82 Ford F-150 Ranger in the truck area and it was judged.. that's when I realized that the '80s were now welcome by the AACA according to the rules I liked the '57 Suburban Carrier pickup (if it was stock and affordable, I'd be living in it right now because the wife would have killed me for buying it!). I liked the '55 NAPCO Suburban much better though. Surprisingly, I really liked the '67 Mack R (bright red) the most from this show this year. For the past 2 or 3 shows (not this one) there was a bright orange 1937 GMC pickup in the showfield... other than that one, it's been a while since any other GMC has been in the showfield. It seems that GMCs were popular in the '90s and early 2000s; now they're non-existant again. The LeSabre was nice and you could go right up to it (I saw it at the Philly Auto Show a couple years back, but it was on a platform and you couldn't get too close). I wanted to get over to the AACA Museum to see the "Tail Fins" exhibit and the GM Firebird trio, but family plans Saturday night had me out of Hershey by 4:30 PM and on my way home. If there were any other Motorama cars, I might have been able to push off the family plans (I'm not a big fan of the '50s Firebirds). But it still would have been nice to see them. Oh well. Too bad about your truck. I still say you should have driven it out... that way, you would have seen the LeSabre, all of the other cars there, and maybe even the Firebirds

Here's a link to my Photobucket album of the 2008 AACA Fall Meet in Hershey (66 pictures): http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b194/GMg...Hershey%202008/ The weather was perfect - I wish I wore shorts instead of jeans (when I arrived at 8:40 AM it was 50 degrees outside; two hours later I was shedding my coat as it was well on it's way to the mid-70s!). I will say that I was disappointed with the many "gaps" in the vendor areas and with the number of vendors packing up at 9:00 AM. Speaking to a vendor I deal with every year, he stated that the people looking for parts and other specific items come Wednesday and Thursday and a majority of those there on Saturday are there for the show cars/fields and not the vendors. But what about those that can only make it on Saturday and want to see both? The only option appears to be to do both days if that's your goal. By the time I was heading back to my car (3PM-ish), the main vendor fields were 75% empty at this time. When I first went 19 years ago, most of the vendors started packing up that afternoon (however, the show was only 3 days long, not 4 like now). As you can see if you visit my photo album, GM vehicles had a good showing as usual. GM sent 10 or so vehicles from the "GM Historical Collection" - the Corvair Rampside 95, the early 1900's Oldsmobile Limited, the '70s GMC Motorhome, the LeSabre show car, and the late '40s Chevy Suburban are the ones I took to share here (there was also the 1902 Cadillac "prototype" which I couldn't photograpgh well, but out in the showfield was a 1903 Cadillac that came from the 1902 prototype I included). And though I'm really there to see GM vehicles and it shows with my picture selection, there are a few "other" manufactures as I do like other cars too Attendance I'm sure wasn't down too much, but you could tell there was less people in the vendor fields than in previous years. A vendor selling various parts and I talked about how people weren't spending as much as in previous years, lowballing their offers on parts that had their prices marked. I spoke with two different people trying to sell their classic GM cars (the two-tone turquiose & white '57 Olds and the '68 Pontiac Executive S/W) and both said that while they had all intentions of selling their vehicle, even at lower prices then they originally advertised at, people basically wanted to "steal" the cars with their offers (the '68 Pontiac wagon for example had three prices marked on the windshield - $7,500 & $6,500 <both crossed out> and $5,500 - it was a steal at $5,500 as it was an original survivor and in daily driver/garaged condition - and the highest offer she got was $3,000!). The show fields were packed and you could tell those that were over in the vendor fields from those that were not (bags and wagons in tow with parts, versus people with just their cameras). While I will select a few car aisles to walk down, I primarily go for the truck aisles only. They're usually in the back and I found the commercial trucks, but didn't see any pickups and SUVs there. As I was walking out, I spotted the pickups in a new area - basically sandwiched in the middle (so I guess AACA will be separating the trucks from now on instead of combining all of the trucks in one area). What I find weird is seeing cars I grew up with on the show fields now being judged. Early '80s Mustangs and Cutlass Supreme coupes... anything from 1983 and older is accepted (next year will include 1984 vehicles). They're still in the minority at this point, but since they're starting to show up now, I'm sure more will follow in the near future. A beautiful day, a lot of cool finds in the vendor areas (although a few diecast vendors I've seen year after year were not there this year), and some unique vehicles to be seen made this another great year in Hershey. Since next year is my 20th anniversary of the first time I attended the AACA Fall Meet in Hershey, I'm hoping to be able to take off from work on Friday, be able to book a hotel room close by, and stay over to see if two days will be the new "norm" for me. Enjoy the pictures!!

I'll be posting my thoughts, reflections, and pictures later today.

A car carrier full of brand new 2009 Chevrolet Traverse, heading east-bound on the PA Turnpike outside of Lancaster County, roughly 8:00 AM yesterday. I guess after GM's/Chevy's TV advertising push last week they'll finally be hitting the dealer's lots.

Hudson, I think you've misinterupted balthazar. I read it to mean that he doesn't want to break down in a rural area where he can't get the service he'll need to get back home the same day. I didn't take it as an insult to the people in that region. I travel out that way several times a year and find the people there friendlier than where I live in rural southern NJ. Of course balthazar is a big boy and can speak for himself, but I just wanted to point out that balthazar is not an insult-slinging guy before anyone else makes a mountain out of a mole hill :AH-HA_wink: And balthazar, why not rent a vehicle to make the trip out?

I had to travel to North Brunswick for work yesterday and took Route 130 North - which takes me right by Perrine Buick-Pontiac-GMC-Hummer-Saab. As I passed I witnessed a 2009 Hummer H3T being unloaded from a carrier. On my way home, I stopped by the dealership to have a look - Carbon Black Metallic, fully loaded, $41k and change. With Hummer up for sale I was wondering if these trucks were going to make it out to the dealers; now I know they're on the way. I have to start playing Power Ball or at least the NJ Lottery

And why haven't you yet mister? You live closer to Hershey than I do and it's carved in stone that I 'must' attend each year Oldsmoboi, ocnblu... you two going this year?? There's a relly good '50s diner about two miles away called "The Soda Jerk Cafe". Great food and atmosphere. I'm going for dinner before I head on my way home. Are we having a C&G gathering this year? I'll be up there myself Saturday, walking around and trying to fit as much in as I can (it seems to get bigger and bigger each year). I've been going every year since 1989 (I begged my dad to take me <I was 14 y-o at the time> and neither of us knew what we were getting into - I've been hooked ever since). Next year, being the 20th anniversary for me, I want to stay overnight Friday into Saturday, maybe even into Sunday. I've only wanted to do this for several years now, but have never acted on it. Being that the 20th year for me is coming up, maybe that will 'light a fire' under my a$$ to do it. If you're going, here's a link to the official map of the show: http://local.aaca.org/hershey/documents/20...8OVERALLweb.pdf And a special treat for GM's 100th anniversary awaits at the AACA Museum just up the road from the show, about a mile away: the GM Firebird Motorama Concept cars will be on display: http://www.aacamuseum.org/events/event.aspx?id=187 The museum has special hours until Saturday (close at 9:00 PM) because of the event. And while balthazar posted a picture of the 2003 event, here's last year's <2007> aerial photo: And it seems as GM (among other corporations) will have a special display set up in the Orange field:

I can't wait for Saturday! Even though the show starts today (Wednesday), I believe it's vendors and car corral (for sale) only until Saturday when the show cars (juding) show up. And there's been changes since that picture in 2003; 90% of the vendors are on blacktop, and the gold course to the bottom right is no longer a golf course and is used for the show cars on Saturday. I'm approximately 125 miles away from Hershey, and leaving at 5/5:30 AM will get me there in under 2 hours (usually 1:45). Did I say that I can't wait?!?!

gmcbob, I'm not trying to pick on you, but I had both a 2001 Sonoma (column shifter vs. console shifter) and the 2005 Envoy and I's say those interiors were lightyears apart from each other! I get your point though that GM should have spent just a few bucks more to make the Envoy top-notch and and just not "better" than the Jimmy's dash materials & layout. I was hoping that with the 2006 refresh (ha!) the interior would have received an upgrade (more than just the new window switches and loss of the 3rd lighter plug). What a disappointment! If the radio system was updated for 2009 (black tie radios as in the Sierra/Yukon/Acadia), the transmission was upgraded to the 6-speed auto for better fuel economy, and the remote start option was offered, I would likely consider buying one this spring. As such, the truck will be off my shopping list (unfortunately). I really liked the ride, turning radius, and power of the 4200 I-6 a lot.

ORLY?? GMC Jimmy dash (circa 1998-2001): GMC Envoy dash (circa 2002-2009):

Well, she was there and was the one that took the picture ... and on that note, she told me "Don't even ask for one" LOL!!

I saw a 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass H/O 15th Anniversary Edition when we took the kids to Shady Brook Farms in Bucks County (PA) for pumpkin picking yesterday. It was like this one: ...however, it was nowhere near as nice looking as the one pictured!!

Well, I've only attended two shows with vehicles I owned in my lifetime - one show with the SKY (I didn't care about the fee, as the money was going to a charity fundraiser) and no trophies unless you won the class; the other show was back in '98 when I owned a '95 Trans Am and belonged to a Trans Am club (the fee was nominal and I won a 2nd place trophy!). I typically don't like to attend shows where I have to pay to be a spectator, unless the money is going towards a charitable group or fundraising event (schools, churches, etc). Carlisle (All-GM Nationals) is one of the few I attend where I have to pay to get in, and while it goes against my preferences, the show is always worth it. If I had a show vehicle, as long as the fee wasn't astronomical, I wouldn't mind to pay to show it off.

For me it's the cars and/or trucks I want to see or to find the diecast collectibles I'm looking for (some shows I'm more into the vendors than the show vehicles!). I wish I could say it's for the people, but since I don't own a show vehicle and belong to a club, I talk to the owners of the vehicles I really like and move along. I look for shows that will likely have what I want to see (trucks mostly). Past experience and/or word of mouth advice, how long of a drive, number of vehicles on display/size of show. For example, two weekends ago I drove to Boonton, NJ (north Jersey for this southern Jersey guy) to attend a classic fire apparatus (truck) show. About 20 trucks on display, a couple of vendors, 1 and a 1/2 drive (94+ miles one way)... it won't be on my list next year. Other shows, like Carlisle's All-GM Nationals, the Antique Truck Club of America Father's Day Weekend truck show, and the AACA Fall Meet in Hershey are definites on my "show list" each year. I've been maintaining a database for the last three years (2006-2007-2008) of the shows I attend and sometimes can't attend. Those that are worth it remain on the list; those not worthy ( ) are removed.

Tha "all-new" 605 HP 2009 Mack Titan: Me and Justin in the cab of the Titan: GMC "General": Whether or not you like Macks or trucks in general I hope you enjoy these pictures!!

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I attended an all-Mack truck show (although it's listed as "all-Mack", GMC, Kenworth, Ford and other manufacturer trucks were welcome too) at Gerhart's in Lititz, PA - not far from Lancaster. Here are just a few of the pictures I took (I took 119 total); enjoy!! More...

The only three warranty problems I experienced with my 2005 GMC Envoy SLT 4wd during the 34 months I leased it was that the front passenger window came off track once right after we got it, the left rear door weatehrstripe/molding came loose and was reinstalled, and the idler pulley needed to be replaced back in December of '07. My sister leased a 2005 Envoy XL SLT 4wd six months before I got mine and had absolutley no problems with it (they wanted to buy it at lease-end, but the buy-out price was too high compared to the market price of other used Envoys and GMAC played hardball and wouldn't renegotiate - they ended up leasing a new '08 Honda Pilot instead because of the deal Honda was giving on them ) I work with people that own 2002-2006 Envoys and Trailblazers (there's about 6 of them) and they all love their SUVs witht he exception of the gas usage & prices this past year. Maybe in 2001 when they were introduced there were problems, but I think GM fixed them as time went on. Let's hope so, and because of the loss of the GMT-360s in December, let's pray that GM moves up introduction of the Equinox & Terrain to Spring of 2009 instead of Fall/Winter 2009. On a sad note, December 23rd is my BIRTHDAY and I am not happy to see that they choose this date to close the plant. Especially since it's two days before Christmas and those families will not have a joyful holiday (thinking of the children). How could GM be so cruel???

I love those rims - they are my favorite (besides the GXP's 18" aluminum rims) of the 2000-2005 Bonneville. That's a beautiful Bonneville you bought. Best of luck with it and here's wishing you many happy motoring miles!!

For reference, here is the taillight design on the Acadia:

When I first saw the rear shot of the Terrain, a picture of the Buick Rendezvous popped into my head: I attribute that though to the shape of the camo on the rear.