AAS

I can understand people observing a foreign holiday within the ethnic community and I can understand a public institution supporting public observation, but it (the holiday) being foreign means that not everybody observes it and those that don't shouldn't be punished. I can see why these kids might have worn that stuff (to piss off foreigners) and why they got sent home (for their protection), but the foreigners can't expect to have their holiday 'protected' in a sense.

Yeah... Why aren't we building a wall along that border?!? (take that as sarcasm, with a very tiny bit of truth)

Have you driven a manual Camaro? What makes the Cobalt's better?

Constitutional or not, I don't know... but the 'passport card' seems like a good idea. Make it a requirement for every citizen (over a certain age?) to always carry said card. This would even fix the problem of some state driver's licenses that don't/won't pass as ID in an airport.

Good point, I sort of forgot about the construction industry when making that statement. I guess what I should have said is, "people don't want the jobs that immigrants take for such low wages." Yes, something should be done about this. Yes, part of it is "industry" wanting cheap labor. Yes, part of it is probably people not wanting certain jobs.

Where did my other post go? I make so few nowadays that it would be nice if they didn't disappear. People don't want the jobs that immigrants take. That's my opinion, but I bet a poll of the unemployed would support it.

I've asked this same question when this topic has come up before. The answer, though people will deny it, is no, otherwise there would be "no unemployment or illegals." Apples to oranges. An elevator mechanic's job is nothing like picking strawberries.

Comparing my parent's 2001 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser and 2007(?) Buick Enclave... the second row of seats do exactly the same thing. They fold down such that the seat back ends up level with the trunk floor. Both designs end up with a flat load floor. When moving the second row you probably used the "third row access" option, which makes the seat cushion tilt up and the whole assembly slide forward, instead of the "fold flat" option, which makes the back of the seat fold forward.

Saw a new LaCrosse and Regal at an auto show. I was surprised by the roominess of the LaCrosse! Regal is nice.

lol burn Then it's a good thing I got the diploma that comes after "Candidate of Philosophy" no lol burn for me!

What does a diploma for "Candidate of Philosophy" get me?

1st generation Dodge Viper in red. Nice! New 4 Runner. Not nice!

Here I thought I was the only "thread killer." I probably count as a lurker nowadays.

Mine does have rattles in the front doors, which are a well known (reparable) issue with the latest generation. The quivering/rattling, which I have noticed, usually comes from the rear hatch area when driving over certain bumps. It can get annoying, and I often wonder if a rear strutt-tower-brace would stop it (that would probably make the trunk area partially useless. Luckily, the rear shudders don't happen all the time. The chassis is generally stiff, unlike my Camaro that will creak/flex over driveways etc.

I can't really say if the light gray interior is easy/tough to keep clean, since I haven't had to clean it. It is nice that, while it's mostly light gray, it has a darker gray pattern in the cloth that would seem help not look dirty. Also, the all weather mats have helped to keep the carpet clean. I have had it full of skiing gear and people, and it's managed to stay clean. Powerful or not, the sound system in the Forester is adequate. It is only 4 speakers (compared to 8 or 10 in the smaller Impreza), but can be upgraded with tweeters in the front doors and a sub under the driver's seat. I haven't personally calculated MPG, but the trip computer does. Lifetime (trip B never reset, for ~2k miles) shows around 27 MPG, while my current tank (went on a ~250 mile road trip through mountains and hills, good amount of coasting) shows around 33 MPG. I believe the computer showed around 26-27 MPG on the ~900 mile trip I took it on, and that was with the engine not broken in and the car loaded with stuff. I would suggest test-driving both the Forester and Patriot (with tan interior) with 5MT. I'm still curious as to how they compare.

The Forester is a 2010 2.5X Premium 5MT, steel silver exterior (darker of the two silvers, the website doesn't do it justice) with light gray interior. Optional equipment/packages: cold weather package, trunk mat, mud flaps, rear bumper cover, all-weather floor mats, rear cargo cover. It drives very nice. Smooth over most road conditions, handles well for what it is, shifting feels nicer than the Impreza I test-drove, peppy (the engine is like my Camaro's, not to say it's as powerful but similar rev characteristics and power delivery i.e. it's got low-end grunt and doesn't like to rev quick), some rattles from the rear hatch area (occasionaly 'shimies' over bad roads), comfortable seats (drove it ~900 mi in one day, no complaints), 4th gear seems lost sometimes (often shifting up on inclines to find 4th is too tall, could use a 6MT just to have better/more ratios), good mpg, interior feels open and is nice looking... Sorry for the long, not well presented list of stuff, feel free to ask if I missed anything. Freedom Drive II sounds awesome, and it is sad it's only coupled with the "crappy" CVT (crappy since it demolishes the otherwise good mpg with the 5MT). The only Patriots I sat in were all black interiors, which made it clostrophobic/cramped for me.

For me it came down to the Patriot and Forester (and the Equinox for being a Chevy, but wasn't really sure about the AWD and it didn't matter since I couldn't find any AWD that weren't in the $30k range). Unfortunately nobody in SoCal had a Patriot Sport 5MT 4x4, so there wasn't really a decision to make in the end.

You are correct, that is still the case with Subaru. Manuals get mechanical systems working the AWD and distributing torque, while automatics get electronic controls. Personal experience with a Forester 5MT, good in snow. The car doesn't have winter tires so it will occasionally drift, but otherwise all is well.

Belote

Wow... you totally missed the point on that one.

Was the engine misfiring consistently, i.e. every cycle of the firing order? Or was it intermittent? If intermittent, was there a ticking sound to go along with the misfire? I ask because I once had a 'misfire' in the SS. Turned out to be some bad insulation on a plug wire, which was allowing for an arc (short) between the plug wire and the head. It didn't happen every cycle, but every time it happened there was a tick and a lack of power.

Just a few inches overnight for us, and hoping that's it so we can make it to the airport tonight.

It's not so much a drop-down menu, as just a link under the last post that reads "Currently viewing all posts. Change threshold?".

I'm not in So Cal, and bummed I'll be missing the show.

Yes I did... Thank you!