Robert Hall

Wierd..I don't see the big deal with Pontiac having a rebadged Holden. After all, Holdens aren't sold in the US, so it's not like it's a clone of something else at a dealership across the street. I'd much rather drive a modern G8 than a dated FWD Grand Prix rental car...

Strange that the Lucerne Super has lower horsepower than the LaCrosse Super. Different engines I know, and the LaX Super output is the same as other Ws with V8s, but shouldn't the Lucerne be more super since it's the senior model?

On a similar thread, one of my coworkers came up to me today and was excited...'You have to see my new car! I'll drive to lunch'. Ok...he didn't say what it was, but ok. So four of us leave at 11:30 with him, and walk to the parking garage...and get in his shiny new... '07 Corolla. White with a gray interior, automatic. Replaced his '99 that was white with a gray interior, automatic. Very exciting. Not.

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It really doesn't matter what name they use..these are using the generic COT body, so they could just use 'Chevrolet', 'Ford', 'Dodge' and 'Toyota' decals instead of model names. I don't see how using a particular model name on a generic NASCAR would 'stimulate sales', since there is no relationship between the race car and the production car.

Cool..one of my coworkers is very good with voices, and does a spot-on Milton.

Cool..I have my red Swingline stapler and Initech coffee mug in my cube at work. At a previous job, my nickname was 'Hallbert'. I have both a Dilbert day-by-day calendar and a wall calendar in my cube.

This thread is hilarious...who cares what Alpha is made of--bits of Zeta, Kappa, XYZ, BS, whatever. What is important for car enthusiasts is the possibility that GM may have a compact RWD platform in the future.

I guess HW figures their primary target market (6-12 year old boys) like the big rim look. Some of the new HWs still look good, I picked up their new Cayman and Ferrari 599 today, and they look great. Overall though, for modern subjects in ~1:64th scale, I prefer recent Matchbox and Sikus. For vintage cars, I like Johnny Lightning and Greenlight..

Mine is probably pretty high...but I'm not singularly obsessive about one thing or another.. I have a BS and MS in Computer Science, as well as 3 years towards a PhD...have worked in the software industry for a decade, have 9 computers (2 Linux desktops, 1 Sun Workstation, 3 Windows desktops (98, 2000, XP), 3 laptops (Win 98, 2000, Mac OS X) at home (all working).. have a ton of computer books that I've read. I read Dr. Dobbs Journal, IEEE Computer, and many software blogs every month, but I also subscribe to 6 car magazines and pick up 1 music mag a month (usually Q). I've dabbled with video games but don't really get into them, but I'm a big music and movie fanatic. Not into comic books (not even much when I was a kid---I preferred reading Car & Driver and Road & Track from about age 7 on). Never got into D&D or other role-playing games, but I love trivia games (NTN, Trivial Pursuit). I don't read sci-fi or fantasy, but have enjoyed some sci-fi movies (2001, 2010, Blade Runner, Gattaca, Minority Report, Dark City, Strange Days to name a few that I liked). I do have the collector gene, though..collecting (and building) model cars and diecast cars. I go to 2-3 software conferences every year.. I spend way too much time online, but don't have a Blackberry. I love cars, car trivia, but love travel, reading, dining out, museums, rock concerts, etc... I'm kind of fanatical about maps---before I visit a city, I'll study the street and underground maps in detail. I'm shy with women, though I've had a few serious relationships--one that lasted 4+ years and is coming apart now, was engaged once, etc. I've tended to date professionals--women that are accountants, software recruiters, software testers, management consultants.. I've always thought of myself as an extroverted introvert..I love my personal time but enjoy hanging out with my friends and cubies...an evening at the pub, a day at a car show, a car club road trip, etc..

Ugghh...gold trim. Padded top. Excess chrome. Only thing missing for the full-tacky look is wide whites..

Yes...even almost 3 years in, it still stands out..I love the proportions--long wheelbase, short tail, low roof..though it's a bit too slab sided.

I've rented a Mustang convertible on every fun trip to CA over the last decade except when I got a T-Bird convertible a couple of years ago and 350Z last year (all from Hertz) (work trips to San Jose and Oakland I've gotten stuck with Avis--Cavaliers, Malibus, Grand Ams, etc). Lots to see and do in the LA area...Hollywood has it's attractions, Beverly Hills is fun for shopping and people-watching, and for scenic drives, I enjoy driving the canyons (Laurel, Coldwater, Mullholland Drive, Topanga, etc) and the PCH through LA County and Orange County.. I like Griffith Park for walks, the Observatory, even a trip to Forest Lawn Cemetery was fun. I like the area around the Petersen Museum downtown. I esp. like spending time in the beach towns, like Santa Monica, Venice, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach... I've seen most of the coastal areas from Malibu to San Diego, and from Monterey to San Francisco via Santa Cruz, but I have yet to see Big Sur, San Simieon, Santa Barbara...next time.

Not bad...looks better than GM's appliances in this market segment (the Ws), and it has a 6-spd auto.

Mo' money, mo' work, mo' problems. I guess I'm upper middle class, making about $120k/year. I know that if pursued more career opportunities, got my MBA, I could make more but I'd have to work alot more. Currently, I'm content with working 45-50hrs a week and having 4 weeks a year vacation, and my job is pretty satisfying overall. I like having enough money to dine out frequently, buy cool gadgets, and travel often. But I don't want to work 60 hrs a week or more to get it. I don't want to be a workaholic like my sister, though she's making around $200k a year in management consulting, she also flies every week and works about 65-70 hrs a week.

Greece is on my to-do list..haven't been there yet. I've been to Italy twice, in 2003 and 2004. I loved Rome, Florence and Venice--what a unique place..I was only there for a day, want to go back and stay longer. Didn't go into Naples, went around it (drove from Rome to Pompeii to Sorrento, down the Amalfi Coast (loved it) to Salerno and then back to Rome. I want to go back to the Amalfi coast, spend more time in Positano and go to Capri. As far as northern Italy, I liked Milan for a big city, but my favorite places were probably the lakes--Como and Maggiore..beautiful with the Alps close by...I took a few boat rides around Lake Como and Lake Maggiore..I really liked the town of Stressa on Lake Maggiore. I want to back and explore more in the Alps as well as Tuscany.

Sweet. 445 lbs sounds pretty light for a DOHC V8. Should be a cool powerplant.. I wonder what a used '08 M3 will go for in '10.

I'm not that familiar with current Saabs, but I liked the old pre-GM 900 (turbo, convertible, etc) and 9000 back in the '80s-90s..they had a certain quirkiness and intellectual cool about them (I always associated them with lefty academicians, which was part of their demographic, I believe). I had a fair bit of seat time in my sister's 900 Turbo that she had in Boston in the '90s and it was a pretty sweet drive (though not as fun as the 300ZX Turbo she had before the Saab).

A deal with Proton would give GM more plant capacity and market share in Asia (and potentially eliminate/absorb a Chevywoo competitor in Europe).

Ahh, yeah..forgot about the 4.3.

I can relate... I left Michigan at 25...I left grad school at the U of M and moved to Chicago then on to Colorado. That was 1997. The Michigan job market in my field (software engineering) looked weak then, I can only assume it is worse now.

Most people don't care about the long term consequences of global warming..they are content to live for today and let their children or grandchildren 20-50 years down the road deal with a ruined, uninhabitable world... 'fu*k the future'.

Hey..that sounds like an idea the deranged guy from the UK would have come up with...I don't recall his handle (Andy?), but he was on here a couple of years ago with outrageous ideas like a 4-cyl Corvette...

Looks good...I like the two-toning...on a light colour like silver, the darker bottom trim reduces the vertical thickness, makes it look less tall. It's nice to see a crossover with some side sculpturing, so many of them are too slab-sided.

Maybe a different decklid, taillights, and bumper. Whoopie.