GMTruckGuy74

All out of my intended price range (I'm sure the CTS wagon will be too). Not that the G8 SportWagon would have been cheaper than $30k, but I am figuring that by November of 2009 I won't want to spend more than $32k for a new car or truck. I have to find a way to save up some extra cash for a good deposit; however, with our current financial situation, there isn't much available now to put aside.

This reminds me of many of Yoda's sayings (for all those Star Wars geeks here at C&G): "In a dark place we find ourselves… and a little more knowledge might light our way." "Into exile I must go. Failed, I have." "Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try." "Mine! Or I will help you not." "Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm?"

When I took my AURA XE in for service in the middle of July, the ASTRA XE 5-door in the showroom had a dealer-installed armrest. I don't know if this is a Saturn Parts item or an aftermarket item, I didn't feel like talking to my salesman that day so I didn't ask him. It looked like it belonged in there and the installation was very professional. Maybe ask the parts department at your Saturn dealer about this item? As I mentioned in the other AURA thread, you need to get this checked out by your dealer (I think you may have a defective switch). My 2007 AURA XE has both AUTO DOWN and AUTO UP and both work perfectly! I wish more GM vehicles offered the dual auto down and up feature on the power windows

Well in all fairness DF, the Chevy Volt will be the savior for GM during this bleak economic downtime, not the Camaro. Remember that GM pays his bills and he will say (to an extent) what his "boss" tells him to say. GM needs the vault badly, and him saying anything negative (or not-so-positive) right now about GM's green movement could be detrimental. CSpec, thanks for posting this reminder. I totally forgot about tomorrow night's presentation!

Wasn't there a recent topic/dicussion here on this subject? The reason the "hardtop" was introduced was for those people that liked the open-air driving you get with a convertible but wanted protection from the weather & sun over their head. A hardtop roof gives off the appearance of a metal convertible top; GM's designs, expecially in the early '60s cars, would even offer the look of a true convertible in metal form (see the '61-'62 formal rooflines on Buicks, Oldsmobiles, and Pontiacs for proof). When the windows were closed, there was a small "post" that would appear and that kept the windows on track (see the white Pontiac pic below). With all of the windows open, you have an almost true "open-air" driving experience, and the car looks totally cool to boot. Here's a little lesson for you in what a hardtop roof looks like on various bodies (2-doors/coupes, 4-doors/sedans, etc): 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air Sport Sedan: 1961 Pontiac Ventura "Bubbletop" hardtop coupe: 1962 Buick LeSabre Sport Roof: (note the roof design with convertible-like features) 1957 Oldsmobile Super 88 Fiesta:

I was thinking of going this year, on Sunday, 8/10 when more trucks show up (if the show is still set-up like in the old days, Saturday is more about the fancy exotic classic cars and Sunday is mainly for the more commom classics cars and trucks). I last went about 3-4 years ago and it was still an impressive car show for that area; being in New Hope, it has that slightly "snotty" feel to it, especially since older exotic cars are still a big part of the show over your more commom classics. Plus there's a fee to get in, and both the school and the locals charge for parking on their land (you may get lucky and find a side road where there's no meters and you can park for free or find parking <good luck!> in the town's free parking lots for the shopping district). Like the AACA fall Hershey show, New Hope also celebrates a long history of featuring this show each year and it is regarded by many to be a top-notch show. I went a lot in the early '90s when it was at it's original location of New Hope-Solesbury High School; in the mid-'90s the show seemed to move it's location from year to year (it went from the high school in New Hope to Delaware Valley College in Doylestown <a little drive from New Hope but the show was too spread out> to another temp location before going back to the high school - I think because the school district was renovating the school and didn't want anyone on the land), so I kind of lost interest. It was advertized real well in the local Trenton newspapers too, which kept me on top of the dates, but then it disappeared from front page coverage and I lost track. Like I said it is a nice show and the area is beautiful, so it is worth a visit if you'll be there. My wife may decide that we attend this show because up the road a bit is Peddler's Village in Lahaska, PA and there are many unique shops plus some outlet stores too. There is a much more smaller all-GM car & truck show in Toms River, NJ (outside of Seaside Heights) on Sunday at Lester Glenn Buick-Pontiac-GMC. The benefits to atending that show include seeing new B-P-G vehicles (if you like that kind of thing!), getting new 2009 brochures that the dealer already received, and of course more importantly a trip to the boardwalk afterwards with a stop on the way at White Castle (which is one block over from the dealership; my step son loves White Castle and there aren't too many around us in NJ, so when we're in that area we tend to stop there for a quick bite). One way or the other I'll be at a car show on Sunday :AH-HA_wink:

You don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Just because the economy is bleak now, doesn't mean you have to be irrational and dump underperforming brands. I'm assuming most Hummer dealerships are associated with other GM brands, so if GM keeps Hummer and in the meantime refocuses them to have more fuel efficient off-road capable trucks (either dump the big old gas hogs or limit their production numbers to be a truly niche vehicle), sales might stablize enough. It would be a good idea to pair Hummer with Buick-Pontiac-GMC dealers, as it seems those brands are niche players in GM's eyes. The Hx/H4 and the H3 lineup could do well for GM, and when money returns or other new GM trucks are being considered, Hummer can add where needed.

Well, that could be possible if GM would be open-minded and bring the Holden SportWagon over here to N/A as the Pontiac G8 SportWagon ASAP :AH-HA_wink:

Wife: "Umm, did Clark Griswold move in next door?" Me: "Oh yeah, about that..." Wife: "Hmm... well at least it's big enough for you to live in!" Me: Looking at pictures online, it may be a '75 (round headlights) or it may be a '76 (square headlights). I passed by it pretty quickly and at first thought it was a Malibu wagon like Camino's. It was when I saw the frontend that I realized it was bigger and a Caprice model (it even had the wood panel wallpaper on it). It is on a route I can take to & from work, so maybe I will stop by to check it out a little more, and even get a picture or two in the process :AH-HA_wink:

Here you go knightfan, I bought this for you and having it delivered. Look for it in your driveway soon!

I passed by a 1975 Chevy Caprice Estate station wagon on the way home from picking up a pizza order today; it looked very similar to this, and it was for sale:

To answer all of the "why is this car not in your garage?" questions, it's very simple = I don't *really* have the extra cash on hand right now. I have enough to put as a down payment, but I can't really afford the monthly payment and extra insurance costs. I constantly look, and if either my wife's credit union or my employer's credit union offered a great deal, I'd really look into it some more. However, you never know what will happen in the near future, so I'm keeping my eye out on this one in the meantime and we'll see what happens (if it's still available in the fall, maybe they'll be more willing to deal on its price to move it before the winter arrives :AH-HA_wink: ).

I do know for fact that 1991 and 1992 Pontiac F-body convertibles were offered only as Firebird (V6 std & optional 5.0L V8) and Trans Am (5.0L V8 std) packages only - the Formula & GTA packages were not available at all (could it have been due to the power & torque output of the 5.7L V8 making T-top & convertible cars too flexible?). The Trans Am convertible did get the fancier T/A & GTA taillights, versus the Firebird Convetible getting the "basic" taillight treatment. If you look close enough, the aero panel on the door does say "Trans Am" just like on the coupes. Equipment & options for the T/A Convertible had to be similar to the T/A Coupe & GTA... I'm sure though that the WS6 package was not available though. Personally, I love the '91 & '92 Trans Ams the best of the 3rd generation cars (closely followed by the '87-'90 GTA Trans Ams). Where I grew up there was a local Pontiac dealer that I would often ride my bike up to to see the "new" cars (this was between '88 and '91). I remember getting there one day in late-summer 1990 as a carrier was unloading a brand new 1991 Trans Am GTA coupe in the dark forrest green & tan leather (the '90 T/A's ened prodcution early <early winter if I remember correctly> so that the newly restytled '91s would come to market in spring of '90). The salesman saw how awestruck I was that he went inside, grabbed the separate new-for-1991 Firebird brochure and offered it to me. He then asked if I wanted to trade in my 10-speed bike on the GTA being delivered! Being 15 y-o at the time with a driver's license two years away, I didn't find his humor funny at all Since then I have vowed to own a '91 or '92 T/A or GTA. Even when I had my '95 T/A back in '98-'99, when I attended Camaro & Firebird shows with it I would drool over the few '91 and/or '92 T/A's & GTAs on display. I could see this T/A convertible being a perfect fit for a "toy car"

Well, according to http://www.gtasourcepage.com/TransAmTimeLine.html, the T/A Convertible was only available with the 5.0L TPI V8 (205 HP with the auto trans) and 663 T/A Convertibles were produced during the '92 model year.

I e-mailed them asking for additional photos, but have not heard back from them yet. This is the Trans Am model, so it either has the 5.0 V8 or the 5.7 V8. I think it would be a cool car to tool around in for fun in the warm months, plus be cheap enough to own (unlike the SKY proved to be). Plus being a four-seater will allow the entire family to enjoy it and means we could go more places all together. Again, financially I shouldn't be looking for any "toy" like this, but you have to act when you can! I'll see what happens once the dealer contacts me back by e-mail.

Not that I really should be looking for another "toy" at this time, but I've seen the following 1992 Pontiac Trans Am Convertible for sale in the last couple of issues of the local Auto Shopper and it catches my eye each time: 1992 Pontiac Trans Am Convertible, 118k miles, black leather, V8, auto trans, $5995 Now I've always liked the 1991 & 1992 Trans Ams (especially the GTA models), so when I find one for sale I tend to at least check it out. I think I'd prefer a T-top coupe more, but for a "toy" car I wouldn't rule out a convertible. Any advice on this T/A? Not sure if I'd do anything about it, but I always like to learn about the cars I like anyway :AH-HA_wink:

Something told me that the Deville was not in the category of being a good used car purchase. The car looks way too nice for being a 12-year old car! I pass by it often as it's at a local used car dealer. It appears to be in really good condition, though I have not stopped there yet nor seen the car in person. I was just curious if I should stay away from them in general and not waste my time. And yes, something about mid-'90s Cadillacs just float my boat!! :AH-HA_wink:

According to the Futurliner site, here's what HE posted:

1953-1956 Parade of Progress bus, Generation 2, still called Futurliners (12 remained in total): (*this is the one we're all familar with)

1940-1941 Parade of Progress bus, called Futurliners <first generation> (12 in total): Streamliner vs. G1 Futurliner:

1936-1939 Parade of Progress bus, called Streamliners (eight in total):

1996 Caddy Deville, 40k original miles, a tad under $5k. I'm just wondering how good these cars are (reliability, dependability, quality, etc) and if it would make a good used car purchase.

Well, GM did jump start that concept back up again with the G6 - sedan, coupe, convertible. It would be nice if they continued on that theme with other car lines!

Yeah, there's a guy based out of Philadelphia that has, among other cars, a '61 or '62 Caddy convertible in pink. The car is available for chauffered weddings and other events, plus being rented out for movie roles (it's claim to fame = being driven by Meshach Taylor <aka "Hollywood Montrose"> in Mannequin Two: On The Move).