Robert Hall

Fortunately, the US is spared the ugliest of the ugly...the car that makes even the lowly Aztek look semi-decent---the horrific Ssyangyong Rodius!!!

A coworker of mine was really interested in a Wrangler 4dr, but his wife convinced him to get a RAV4. Another coworker drove an '97 Grand Cherokee and an '02 Mustang GT convertible, after marriage both are gone--she has a new Lexus RX and he has a Prius now.

I'm wondering if my friend Steve is going to let his new wife control his car choices...his cars from his single guy days are an '02 Maxima SE and a '91 Acura NSX. She has a '99 Intrepid, and has been hinting that she wants a new Lexus RX for her birthday next month... I don't know if he's going to cave or not...

It definitely needs a Buick rear...real Buicks have horizontal taillights...not vertical Impala lights.

New (no particular order): Infiniti G37 Infiniti G35 Infiniti M35/45 Mazda RX-8 Lexus IS Lexus LS Lexus GS Acura TL Nissan 350Z Nissan Altima Older: Acura NSX (pre-facelift) Datsun 240Z Nissan 300ZX ('90s) Toyota Supra (1st gen) Toyota Supra (4th gen) Mazda RX-7 (3rd gen) Lexus SC300/400 Infiniti Q45 (1st gen) Acura CL (2nd gen) Acura Legend coupe (1st gen)

Brave man..sounds like a fun trip... though I couldn't imagine taking a road trip of that length/duration in something other than a late model car with low miles, and with A/C (June will be hot and humid in many of those places).

Yes, but those AM radios still work, the 8 track players still work, etc. The problem in this scenario is GM is breaking backward compatibility of a service without providing an upgrade path.

I agree with Reg (believe it or not).. The '90s '4DSC' Maximas were pretty sweet cars... up through the last generation, they were THE FWD sports sedan, a title which the TL has taken now, IMHO. I think the Maxima should stay FWD and sporty, but how does would coexist with the Altima? I couldn't see it going to the RWD platform, as it would intrude on the G35's space then.. I think the sedan market is big enough to support FWD family sedans (Altima), FWD sport sedans (Maxima), and RWD sport sedans (G35)..

Combine them into "Drive Beautiful is Beyond Precision!"

Speaking of 'donks', there's a moron around here with a black mid-80s Cutlass 442 raised up on 24" rims...looks ridiculous.

That GMC Zeta is cool... I'd like to see a Saturn Zeta. Call it Aurora, that name would fit well with Astra and Aura. How about a Hummer Zeta wagon ?

I saw a yellow F360 Modena...in the rain today...less than a mile from where I saw a black Lamborghini Diablo roadster last week. I saw a 2nd gen Aurora this morning also...a pretty rare car around here...they were a sweet looking car, esp. the front end and profile...

I noticed the Mitsu Galant wasn't even on the midsize list...their sales must be pretty looow...

37 in June here... AUGGGHHHHH....40 is just 37 1/2 months away for me...

The TL and TL-S are some of few FWD cars I like...they are pretty sweet inside and out, and drive great (a coworker has an '06 TL, I've driven it a couple times).

Reputation. Resale value. Consumer Reports rankings. Features.

About the 'getting married, settled down' thing, lots of my married friends either haven't gotten married until their early '30s or are in their mid-to-late '30s are on their second marriages (they had brief starter marriages in their twenties) and are now having kids for the first time at 35-40 or more...and interestingly, all are transplants to here from elsewhere--East Coast, Midwest, West Coast..

IIRC, that was a character that Chevy Chase's 'Fletch' posed as in the movie 'Fletch'.. (love that movie).

I saw a clean silver w/ black top '76 Grand Prix this morning...haven't seen one of those in ages..

You want old, I remember quite well when GNR's Appetite For Distruction was released...I was in high school, rollin' in my 5.0 in S. Florida..

I'm an early adopter and a middle adopter with some things...consumer electronics, I jumped on CDs, DVD and TiVo early, but waited until 1080p sets came out to jump into HD. As far as cars, my Jeep is a 2000--I intentionally waited a year after the '99 redesign for the initial kinks to get fixed....may do the same with my next car... maybe an '09 G8 or '09 CTS. Not sure exactly what I want next, depends on if I keep the Jeep for winter use.

The times I've been there, I've usually hung out on the beach south of the pier and the 3rd street mall area...there are definitely some scruffy areas around..my next CA beach trip, I'll probably go to Hermosa Beach..I like it quite a bit. Last summer, I spent a week in Pacific Beach in San Diego...I like that area a lot..kind of funky old beach townish yet modern..

The thing is, the Ws are so outdated now, how do GM expect to be competitive at all in 2-3 years with them? Simply on price?

On the subject of best hotels, I would say the nicest overall I've stayed at in the US (quality and condition of room, comfort of beds, etc) were probably the Hilton Hawaiian Village (Waikiki, Honolulu) and the Loews Santa Monica.. the Grand Hyatt, Union Square San Francisco is quite nice also..stayed there several times when I've been in SF for conferences and work meetings.

True enough...it will be up to the Malibu, G6 and Aura to compete with the big 3 (Toyota, Nissan, Honda) and keep GM out of complete irrelevance with the mainstream sedan buyers...