GMTruckGuy74

Congrats Cort on being an uncle to a niece!!

My step-son shipped out to USMC Basic Training ("boot camp") yesterday (1/7/13). This is us at his swearing-in at the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (formerly Fort Dix):

I'm more than familar with that area the car was taped in (I'm originally from a Trenton, NJ suburb and have had family live in Trenton and other suburb areas). My mother-in-law still lives in Trenton and I pass the area the car was filmed in on the way to her house (anyone familiar with "Duck Island"? That's the video shooting location you see mostly).

Thanks for the update on the '89 Caprice Classic, Cort! It's a beaut for sure. Back in college (fall '93), a friend I made there had an uncle who was a professor and he drove a triple gray '90 Caprice Classic Brougham. They are very nice cars, seeing yours reminds me of the times I went for rides in his uncle's car. Keep us updated on what you do to the fleet and anything else you want to share about your experiences with the cars.

Barry White

So on New Year's Day I made a stop at two dealerships (one former) to check on a couple of things. First stop was at the former Pontiac-Cadillac dealership where I stalk an '87 Pontiac Grand Prix LE coupe with 90k original miles (those of you around long enough know the backstory on this car). The last time I made a visit to this ex-dealer I notes another '80s GP also took residence inisde of the garage; the car cover was off and it too is white in color. First, the '87 GP LE I hope to be able to purchase one day: The "mystery" '80s GP (seen uncovered for the first time): The next stop was at Burlington Chevrolet, which completed it's modern Chevy dealership renovation about two months ago. The original draw was a GM CPO '12 GMC Sierra 2500HD Crew cab, but I was quickly drawn to something else: The dealership is known for offering conversion trucks by Southern Comfort, in both 2WD and lifted 4WD trucks. The one above is obviously part of the dealerhip advertisment program with it's dealership-inspired custom wrap (this dealer is also known for selling vehicles with the custom wrap process; I've seen Cruzes & Sonics galore come from this place). My next spotting there was another Southern Comfort truck, this time with a two-tone wrap: I've always been attracted to these trucks when a custom "two-tone" is installed. I think GM missed the boat here by not offering two-tone coloring as a factory option.

Nope, the Hx had a removable hardtop similar to the current Jeep Wrangler's three-piece set-up. I'm going with the 1999 Chevrolet ZR2 Shark Concept:

That's because A.) its different, and I commend them for taking the risk even though I personally don't like it, and B.) is actually a good car. The Juke R is pretty awesome though, I can't believe they got it green-lighted for production. Wait, so Nissan gets a pass from you for taking a risk with the Juke but you berate Pontiac for doing the same with the Aztek???

We should keep this to current vehicles that can still be purchased. No sense in beating a dead horse (i.e. Aztek), as that one has made the rounds many times over. I have the (dis)pleasure of seeing a Nissan Joke (oops, I mean Juke) every day in my employer's parking lot. SomeONE person bought it; there are no others in a parking lot that easily has a thousand cars in it

My entry would be the Nissan Juke. I can't believe that (1) Nissan built the damn thing, and (2) there are people that are spending their hard-earned cash on the damned thing! Really people?

Well, we decided that this would be the first year that we did not shop for each other (we decided to be financially responsible and spend only on the kids <and even at that it was a set budget amount per each child>). Two years ago when cash was really tight we budgeted $100 per each of us and that really doesn't get you a lot (my wife, who did not grow up with lavish amounts of gifts on Christmas, was disappointed). So last year we upped it to $250 but again the money could have gone to other things. This year we got each other nothing but spent time as a family and it seemed to work (I surprised her with 6 bottles of a Pink Moscato wine that she likes though - it's tough not to want to buy gift(s) for someone you love at Christmas <she, however, had no issue refraining from buying me anything!>). We'll see what happens this year though.

I totally forgot about this ornament. I didn't have much cash available prior to the holidays, and then with my birthday (Dec 23) and Christmas I got some cash. I bought several Hallmark ornaments at 50% off two days after Christmas (I did receive two for my birthday - the '77 Pontiac Trans Am and the '60s Ford F150). Hallmark offered this Camaro ornament, a 2013 ZL1 Convertible, that I was lucky to find at 50%:

I dropped hints to the wife and kiddies prior to my birthday (Dec 23) and Christmas about this: http://www.burlingtonchevy.com/2012-GMC-Sierra-2500HD-SLT-Burlington-NJ/vd/12275168 But alas, they did not take my hints - it never appeared in my driveway with a big, red bow on it. I start the new year off wanting a 2014 GMC Sierra pickup instead

For comparison - GMT-900 versus the 2014:

Took a gamble and googled 2014 GMC Sierra Regular Cab on Google Images and found this rendering: *Found at this link. I guess this is as close as I will get to seeing a GMC Sierra regular cab until GMC decides to show an official one themselves

GMCL308_Standard_Features_120412.pdf As found here: http://www.gmc.com/content/dam/GMC/global/master/nscwebsite/en/home/Vehicles/Current_Vehicles/2014_Sierra/Model_Overview/02_PDF/GMCL308_Standard_Features_120412.pdf

I can't wait until GMC does this for the 2014 Sierra

I made another edition! I so look forward to your year-end Cheers and Jeers, bobo, regardless if I'm mentioned by name Your summation is always well written and a very entertaining read.

Though I like the '14 Silverado, I would go with the Sierra hands down. Having said that, this would be my personal choice for a Silverado:

Build your own (regular, extended, crew cabs, standard & long beds) here: http://www.chevrolet...radovisualizer/ Work Truck 1: LT 2WD Regular Cab Long Bed:

My wife and I both have Lenovo T420 laptops from work. They've been pretty good machines!! Our company has been using Lenovo laptops for several years now.

I knew this was going to happen. The SUVs will remain more car-like with their interior design to keep the soccer moms happy. I'm hoping that the brand differentiation is more apparent than in the GMC & Chevy pickups. Other than red lighting for GMC/blue lighting for Chevy and the different names on the horn pad, they're identical in design. They should have taken the Lambda approach and differentiated the dash more between the two brands.

I think it's way too early for the new GM mid-size pickups to be shown this year. GM will allow no internal competition for the full-size pickups

Which rims are those? (stock with the NHT package)

My neighbor traded in her VW CC for a new black Passat TDI last week. She's very happy with the Passat and likes the fuel mileage she's getting.