Robert Hall

True, and most vehicles in normal driving get worse mileage than the EPA ratings. 14mpg sounds more likely for a 5500lb V8 SUV than 21...

The front end looks like the '00-05 Impala...the interior isn't bad, but nothing new.

Isn't it time this clown retired from the biz? Considering what a flop his last couple of ventures were..

I'd vote for Sting Ray.

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Pink Floyd and '70s Rolling Stones, Led Zeppellin, Queen, Eric Clapton, The Who., AC/DC... Music with great guitarists... For more contemporary music, Audioslave, Velvet Revolver, Sigur Ros, M83, Moby or Michael Mann movie soundtracks (great mood music, IMHO)... For pop, I've been listening to Coldplay and Denver's own The Fray.. When I need my '80s/90s fix, The Cure, U2, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Gun n' Roses, Rush, Def Leppard, The Smiths, Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel, ate Bush, Tom Cochran/Red Rider to name a few.. I have about 500 CDs accumulated over the last 20 years, I've put about 1/2 of them on my iPod.

True 'nuff, but that '97-99 Cutlass was a lame rebadge of the Malibu..pointless, considering the Alero was about the same size..

'miniscule'? Only if you are delusional..I wouldn't call a 203-inch long, 5000 lb SUV 'miniscule'.

Yes, proper RWD proportions and short overhangs, instead of those annoying long FWD overhangs and short front door-to-wheelwell dimensions....

I'd like to see the new Camaro with a turbodiesel option...

Yes...it's too bad they weren't more successful. Olds was trying to build modern cars and attract younger buyers and get away from the stale fogey image of the outdated Ciera and bland 88/98s.

The Tribute/Escape and Fusion/Milan/Zephyr are slightly more than rebadges, but not much..the styling differences amongst them the are pretty trivial.

Hmmm..I can think of some examples of cars not still in production that lost a V8 option, but the lack of a V8 wasn't the reason for their demise.. but this is all about 20 years ago... the Buick Electra, LeSabre, Olds 88, Olds 98, Pontiac Bonneville all come to mind...in '86 and '87 (Pontiac) when they made the switch to FWD lost their V8 versions. And the Thunderbird and Cougar lost their V8 option in '89 but gained them back a few years later. Nothing recent I can think of as far as cars still in production, though.

Here's the Wikipedia article on my daily driver..some interesting factoids..I didn't know about the Porsche connection. I've sat in an '04 Overland before..they are pretty sweet...one of those would make a nice replacement for my '00 Laredo. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The redesigned WJ 1999 Grand Cherokee shared just 127 parts with its predecessor. The structure was stiffened by Porsche Engineering for sharper steering and lighter weight. The spare tire was relocated from the side of the cargo compartment to under the floor to great relief of owners. The two heavy pushrod V8 engines were replaced by a single aluminum SOHC unit, Chrysler's then-new PowerTech. Although this engine produced less torque than both previous V8s, it was lighter and got much better fuel economy. While other Jeep vehicles used the Mopar 5 x 4.5 bolt circle, this was the first Mopar to receive a wider bolt pattern - 5 x 5. The 5 x 5 bolt pattern (also 5 x 127mm), although common to GM rear wheel drive vehicles and light duty trucks/vans, has spread beyond its use with GM (and Ford] with their 1973 to 1978 LTDs and Lincolns). A notable feature that was available this generation was the automatic four wheel drive option called Quadra-Drive. With three viscous clutches, it was the only truck all wheel drive system at the time with triple differentals, as Toyota had removed the front locker from their Land Cruiser. The 45RFE automatic transmission in the WJ was notable. It included 3 planetary gearsets rather than the two normally used in a 4-speed automatic. This gave it six theoretical speeds, and it would have been the first six-speed transmission ever produced in volume, but it was programmed to only use five of these ratios. Four were used for upshifts, with a different second gear for downshifts. Although five of the six ratios were used, Chrysler decided to call it a "4-speed automatic". [edit] Models The Laredo and luxurious Limited trim levels were standard models. Specialty models: * 2002–2003 — Sport * 2002–2004 — Special Edition * 2002–2004 — Overland These specialty models appeared for a brief time, The Sport was slightly more equipped than the Laredo and offered a two-tone black trim interior for style. The Special Edition was introduced offering the same quality of the Limited, differences include 4.7 L V8 engine and slightly revised front grille were standard issue on the Special Edition. The Overland (appropriated after the former Jeep parent, Willys-Overland) was the top-of-the-line level, boasting the 4.7 L H.O. V8 as well as a wealth of standard features such as front and side-curtain airbags, an Infinity sound system with 10-disc changer, heated/power front seats, integrated rock rails, power sunroof, wood/leather steering wheel and 17 in alloy wheels. [edit] Engines Years Displacement Engine Power Torque Notes 1998–2004 4.0 L Power Tech I6 195 hp (145 kW) 1998–2004 4.7 L PowerTech V8 235 hp (175 kW) 2002–2004 4.7 L High Output PowerTech V8 265 hp (198 kW)

I would have to say my enemies list would have to have the people I consider the most evil men in America today: Dick Cheney Donald Rumsfield George W. Bush Rev. Donald Wildmon James Dobson All right-wing lunatics bent on destroying the US...

Interesting..the window switches on the console have long been an M-B tradition..the dash definitely reminds me of some recent M-B designs..

Yes, it's dissapointing how much the doors look like E36 3-series doors...not just the upper but also the lower sculpting. And the short, tall tail treatment has been done so many times before..

I'll probably always have a V8 or two in my garage, either a muscle/pony car or luxury car, but for daily use, I'm content with a 6, preferably a straight 6 (which limits my choices).

I'd like to see Pontiac abandon the BMW-esque nostrils and do something pointy...my favorite Pontiac front ends of the past had a pointy nose between twin grilles--- '68-69 GTO, '62-69 Catalinas, Bonnevilles, '70-73 Firebirds, '73-75 Grand Am, for example..a modern front end with some edges and not just a smooth flat nose with 2 grille openings...

I've been to Baltimore once, for a conference in May '97, a few weeks before I moved from Michigan to Colorado. I remember the Harbor and Fells Point being very nice, but the neighborhoods between them being a bit sketchy. Been to DC once--spent a four day weekend there in '96, around the time of the cherry blossoms in Spring..went down to Mt. Vernon. Neat city, I should go back and see the museums, etc again. I spent most of this past Monday wandering around Pittsburgh, a city I hadn't been to in over 10 years...lots of things have changed, lots have stayed familiar.. As far as this summer, only one trip planned so far...a week on the beach in San Diego and a few days in Palm Springs and Phoenix afterwards at the end of this month through July 4th. I'll probably go somewhere Labor Day, maybe visit friends in Portland (it would be nice to see Oregon when there's no freezing rain).

kewl... maybe the Camaro will be seen in Fast And The Furious 4 (probably due in Summer '08).

The CV is just so old and dated looking, small inside for it's size, and I definitely wouldn't want to drive something that looks like a taxi. The Five Hundred has a much nicer interior also... That said, I would like to see Ford build a modern RWD V8 sedan for the US--something like Chrysler's LXes or GM's upcoming Zetas..

The Crown Vic at this point is largely just a fleet vehicle...I can see them keeping it around indefinitely for the police and taxi market. The Five Hundred is a better, far more modern car for consumer use..

Alas, the reality of 2007 is that there will be one RWD Pontiac, 4-5 FWD models (is the Montana SV6 gone for '07?) and one AWD crossover. It will be interesting to see how it looks in 3-5 years..

The last Broncos were '96..replaced by the Expedition in '97. What happened with the Taurus, I think, was after the redesign with sci-fi styling in '96, they basically ignored it.. one restyle in '00, and nothing much afterwards. Ford shifted their focus (no pun) in the US to high profit margin trucks and SUVs through the nineties into the early noughties..

I'm flying to Pittsburgh tommorow to visit family for Memorial Day weekend, then going to San Diego for a week of beach time around the 4th of July & my birthday..