The O.C.

OK.....maybe you guys are talking about her in "McCain's Trend?"

I simply CAN'T believe I'm the first one to throw this up on The Lounge..... I friggin' love her.......sometimes I can't pin my finger on why I do......but I see some surprising strength in the way she carries herself, in the way she speaks (scripted or not)....and I see strength in the many things she has accomplished as Governor of Alaska. (I'll admit I had to do my own research on her to know much....) In addition, she seems like a "normal" working woman with a "normal" family. And, she has charm a-plenty, I think......VERY un-Hillary-like.......(and I'm somewhat of a Hillary fan, believe it or not....) I think Obama has been knocked off kilter quite a bit by the recent announcement by McCain of Palin as his running mate.....I really don't think Obama saw this coming....at all....and I think he's kicking himself because he could've had Hillary.......(but alas he was too proud to ask her to be his V.P. running mate.) Many criticize that McCain is old.....and should he pass away, she would be the President. And many feel she wouldn't be able to handle it, or wouldn't be effective in foreign affairs. Well, first of all, McCain has to die FIRST for her to get the top job. And secondly, I think I'd rather have her experience as a mayor and governor than I would have Obama in the FIRST place....! She is supposedly quite conservative, but time will tell if she's conservative to a detrimental effect.....I'm betting she won't be.

You know.....this thread is six pages long.....but DodgeFan's post above sums it ALL up nicely and neatly.

But what I see, in SoCal, is not "predominantly Mexican areas" per se, but ENTIRE CITIES....... Look at what happened to Santa Ana.......I think 88% hispanic population, largest city (~340,000 people) in Orange County.....and the vast majority of the city is now one big trash heap..... At least when I go into Chinatown, or other Asian areas such as Alhambra, the San Gabriel Valley.....it still appears that the local population has pride in it's neighborhoods and does a realtively fine job of keeping them up....and they seem vibrant....etc....

Dude....even as we speak.....today....the Hummer signs are down, and they've ALREADY replaced 3/4 of the fascia with the SMART design.....(they haven't torn down the quonssett hut section yet.) It's called "SMART Centre of Las Vegas"

Well, I can say that now that I've sold quite a few Escalades, I can tell you the one thing that, ironically, people buy the Escalade for, is because it is the biggest luxury SUV on the market. In this case, SIZE is one of the primary factors in the sale of the Escalade. I've sold quite a few against Range Rover due to the fact that the RR is simply "not big enough." Now whether this size-factor is due to true roominess, or the simple bling factor of it all, I'm not sure......but I see a move from GMT-900 to a Lambda as sure death for the Escalade name. Lambda would have made a great, new SRX however......

Just to clarify....'cause I know I'm coming across as an ass.... But I have nothing wrong with ANYONE of hispanic or mexican origin..... But I do have a HUGE problem with illegal immigration and the lack of assimilation into our English culture that invariably is a result of said illegal immigration.... And I have a HUGE problem with the fact that our government won't do anything about it....instead only pandering to the special interests that benefit from this situation.....

....and the rampant illegal immigration.....and all the money (our money) poured into taking care of them when they go to the emergency room.......or the jobs lost to U.S. citizens that, I'm sorry, they WOULD DO.... All this flak about "jobs that U.S. citizens won't do" is horsecrap. Why do you think that when you walk into a McDonalds in southern California all the workers are hispanic (and most possibly illegal) when you go next door to the In-And-Out Burger and they are all high-school middle-class white kids? Because In-And-Out Burger pays a fair wage and attracts a type of worker a step above than the immigrant/migrant worker that will work for dog wages.... There's something wrong when something like 80% of our illegal immigrants in this country are hispanic..........with the remaining 20% to be made up of ALL the other ethnicities around the world....

True.... But let's not kid ourselves.....English IS our official language.....even if not written in stone. For right or for wrong, English is a world-wide language.....it's the official language of the international airline industry. ANY airline pilot flying any plane in any country HAS to speak English. It is the one constant used to keep sanity in the airways between pilots, airports, and control towers. Look at how many foreign countries have English splashed around everywhere you go......street signs in English (and their native tongue), store signs in English, etc., etc. BUT, we aren't talking about the rest of the world. We are talking about OUR country. And no, I don't mind Chinese signs in Chinatown, or other such things....but I know that when I go to the ATM, it doesn't ask me if I speak "Chinese" or "Deutsch" or "French" or "Italian" or "German" or "Russian" or anything else....it asks for only "Spanish" or "English." That's wrong.

I will agree with DF though......the Mexican situation seems to be quite a bit more drastic than any other immigrant group in the U.S. right now. Also having lived in SoCal, it's an incredibly depressing combination of rampant illegal immigration and their seeming refusal to assimilate into our culture (in ways such as learning english, etc.) I too am so frustrated that, now, in order to use the ATM, or call a toll-free customer assistance number, you have to "press 1 to CONTINUE in English...." And it's EVERYWHERE. We aren't just talking about the Chinese having a "Chinatown" in San Francisco, L.A., etc........the immigrant/migrant mexican population is overrunning our country....and not conforming. AND, it's not simply a "Mexican" thing.....it's the immigrant/migrant faction that is causing most of this. I work with a guy from Tijuana and Mexico City that moved here a few years ago. Know what? He learned english. But, he is also a relatively middle-to-upper class guy from Mexico......not a migrant worker sneaking over the boarder.

Well, I WAS adapted...so you could say that I was lucky and given a life, instead of aborted. So maybe some reasonable compromise should be made to where if it's too late, it's illegal.....but I just have a hard time imposing my moral/ethical/whatever-you-want-to-call-it on some woman's decision in this matter.

I still giggle uncontrollably everytime I see someone drive by with a pair of truck nuts hanging off the trailer hitch......

Scrolling through this thread, I find it AMAZING how many people in here have pretty much identified themselves as socially liberal/moderate and fiscally conservative (like me.) It's always been my beliefs that the far-right and far-left are a far bigger MINORITY than what their media attention gives them credit for.

I'm like you....I'm definitely fiscally conservative, but moderate (I wouldn't really say "liberal") on social issues.

You know....that's funny.....considering that she was instrumental as Governor of Alaska in something surrounding gay partner benefits for state employees, or for companies that do business in Alaska....something like that.... But that's the tough part about being Republican (or favoring Republicans like I do THIS time around) is that their conservative nature does little to protect the rights/liberties of gay people like me.... And I WON'T vote for a democrat simply because of their liberal stance on gay issues.... Like a big catch-22

So true, so true, so true. If your religious beliefs are that gays shouldn't be allowed to marry, than your "church" is free to deny sanctifying marriage or performing marriage ceremonies. HOWEVER, if on the other hand, MY religious faith and individual church supports and performs marriage ceremonies for gay people, then why can't that be allowed as well? (Just using the gay marriage thing as one example.) It's ALL ABOUT imposing OTHERS' beliefs on the general populace. It's like abortion. I'm pretty much neutral. Or, I guess I'm pro-choice. Abortion is something I will never deal with in regards to myself or my significant other (because I'm gay) so it will never impact me directly. SO, why should I try to "force" an opinion about abortion onto some woman or women that will never impact my life? Why should I even take a stance in the matter? It's also just like that bitch years ago from Michigan, I believe, that tried to get "Married With Children" taken off the air because she felt it was immoral (or some such thing.) Well, lady....if you don't like it, turn the friggin' channel.....don't let your kids watch it.....or whatever.....but don't try to impose YOUR MORALS onto a certain portion of the population that ISN'T offended by the show and maybe perhaps enjoy watching it..... OK....I need to stop....I'm getting heated up.....

Yes....<groan>......thank you...... From wikipedia....... "A brand is a collection of images and ideas representing an economic producer; more specifically, it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme that convey the essence of a company, product or service." (embolden for emphasis).....note again the descriptive words "name", "logo", "slogan", and "design scheme"......all things that differentiate Buick from Pontiac from GMC.

Hey I don't know if I posted this somewhere else, but Towbin Hummer, across the street from our Caddy store here on Sahara in LV is closing......and in it's place.....will be a SMART car franchise! Talk about going from one extreme to the other.....

Who needs to even turn off the StabiliTrack? Just take one '07 CTS, with 37,000 miles on the original Bridgestone Potenzas.....and a greasy, slippery, Las Vegas street (post-monsoon-rain event)......it's a power-sliding adventure! (At least until the axle-hop kicks in....)

OK.....again.....GM hasn't merged three brands into one. There are still three separate brands in place here..... Buick..... Pontiac..... GMC..... While it's true that the GM "divisions" don't exist like they used to......what GM HAS done.....and time will tell if it's an effective strategy.....is to merge the THREE brands into ONE distribution channel with shared marketing and advertising strategies. (Just like Lincoln and Mercury are separate brands that share a distribution channel.) The buying public still sees it as a BUICK LaCrosse, or a PONTIAC G8, or a GMC Sierra......not a Buick-Pontiac-GMC Lucerne or a Buick-Pontiac-GMC Solstice. And MY fear, IMHO, is that by doing this, (reducing models and merging the three brands into one distribution channel) they are running the risk of diluting any brand heritage or brand strength Buick, Pontiac, and GMC still have. There's no longer room for individual brand product focus (like that swoopy Riviera, or that Trans-Am, etc.) that could really help to elevate these once storied brands. Of course, I'm sure a major part of this move is the severe lack of $$$ to support three fully-functioning (and healthy) brands.....

Here's the crux of the problem with cars like the Lucerne, Super, and DTS. Even I can imagine enjoying a "traditional" big, luxurious, highway cruiser.....and in fact if given a choice over an STS or DTS, I'd most likely take a DTS (performance) for around the same money. BUT....people like us are a HUGE minority.....and cars like the Lucerne and DTS (even in "Super" form) are about as far away as can be from the types of products Buick and Cadillac need to be offering in order to insure long-term sucess.

I have an '07 CTS too......LOVE it.....already has 37,000 miles on it and it's as tight as day one......and I've only had two very minor problems the entire time (backup lights went out, and I had one faulty tire-pressure monitor.) What color do you have? Mine is black/black, with the "sport" package with 18-inch polished multi-spoke wheels, and a 6-speed manual.......only option mine doesn't have is navigation (GROAN) which, for some inexplicable reason, wasn't available with the sport package. (Edit: One thing I particularly like about my car is the absolute lack of chrome anywhere, except the "CTS" badge and the grille vents behind the black grille.....I really wish the '08 CTS offered a monochrome look. I'd like the black '08 CTS much better without the chrome around the windows or the huge chrome strip along the back of the decklid.....)

I'll let someone else spend the time to pull up the numbers. C'mon now.....you know as well as I do that neither LaCrosse NOR Lucerne are attracting "younger" buyers. Enclave? Yeah......

So this thread got me to thinking.......what do you all have out there? No tatoos or piercings for me.....although I've thought a tattoo might be fun, but don't know what I would get. I don't have the arms to do a "tribal" armband, but I've thought about something on my calf or around my ankle....I have pretty cute legs.... As far as piercings.....as of late, I HAVE considered a nipple ring. I find it extremely sexy on my ex, and any other guys I've been with that have had them. Plus, I think I'd like how it would make my nipple more sensitive....as my nipples get hard pretty easily anyways..... But I'm just a big pussy....so don't know if I'll ever do either.....