The O.C.

Mitsu is WAY safer....... New Lancer BLOWS this away....... I've never been a big fan of the Impreza/EVO, but I'm really disappointed in this.

F*CK that....I'm wearin' the outfit....! (.....anyone know where I can find a magic lasso.....?)

Guys, "LA CAR" an online automotive website about the southern California car culture will be at AutoBooks in Burbank tomorrow, Saturday, 3-24-07. If any of you have time, come down between 11am and 3pm. Located at 3524 West Magnolia Boulevard in Burbank, AutoBooks is Southern California's largest automotive bookstore and one of the best places for car enthusiasts to hang out on a Saturday afternoon. It's not unusual to see celebrities, car designers, and others in the industry stopping by (Jay Leno is a regular, who I've seen there before myself.) AutoBooks has been around since 1951. It was begun as a mostly mail-order sideline by Road & Track staffer Harry Morrow. Over the years, the store has become not only a place to pick up the latest books and magazines, but a place where people from all facets of the automotive world meet. A few cars will be on display: 1994 Mercedes-Benz E320 Cabriolet (I'm bringing....) 2007 Shelby GT500 1966 Ford Mustang 19?? BMW 633CSi C5 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe LA CAR "Project Car" "Prius-Bazooka" LA CAR "Project Car" 2007 Lexus RX400h But if I know AutoBooks, people from all over will bring their "special" rides. I'll be there too.....with OCCarNut.....would love to see some of you guys! Cheers, Chris

LUV HUR.......!!!!!!!! You need to add a "speaking bubble" that says something like...."No, no....that wasn't a question......."

Disneyland? YUCK...! I know it's the opposite way from where you are heading, but if you really want to see some wonderful beach cities, head south to Huntington Beach ("Surf City") then down through Newport Beach, Laguna Beach (my FAVORITE), Dana Point, San Clemente. San Diego is a "must-see" as well......but that will take another day for you to go see. My best advice is to avoid too many of the "tourist" attractions......and see the "real" southern California. Stay away from too much "inland" stuff..... Have fun!

......and where they live...... GM-loving Michigan? Import-humping California? Etc......

I couldn't make this one up....it's so good..... I was on the 405 and in the #1 lane (fast lane) was this crabby looking old bitch going 45mph or so while all the normal traffic was flowing 75-80+........I was about the 5th or 6th person behind her and everyone ended up going around her. WELL....I noticed as all of us were going around her in the #2 lane, she was staring forward.....with her right arm outstretched to the right....and the old bag was GIVING US ALL THE FINGER...! She just kept it there pointed out the window as we all passed her. The BEST PART? A few cars behind ME, was a COP.....! I watched in my rearview mirror and when the cop pulled up alongside her, she obviously was giving him the "bird" as well..... He promptly slowed down, pulled behind her, and pulled her wrinkly ass over. Most laughing I've done in a long time......

I agree.....BV....you are very handsome.....and you seem to have a great personality. In fact, the quicker you get out of town and into the "Big City" I think you'll be VERY happy!

I'm sorry to hear that bud.......

That's the beauty of it......get a new 335i Coupe with the wonderful twin-turbo inline-6. In fact, most of the road tests show that with the optional Sport Package, it presents handling numbers quite close to, if not matching the previous-gen M3...!

Your arguments are a stretch at best. Lutz himself told me the only reason we didn't have the 3.6L in the G6 from the beginning....AND why the 3800 was the base engine in the Lucerne was because of production capacity. Do you know how many Toyota-branded vehicles have 5-and 6-speed automatics? I bet it's quite a number.....fact of the matter is....you don't see someone like Toyota (or Honda, or BMW, et al) having to make excuses for not having competitive features in their vehicles because of "production capacity." My point about the engines is that Toyota seemingly went from the "old" 3.3L V6s to the new 3.5L V6s in most of their products in a year or two's time....I don't remember any significant "lag" when their products were uncompetitive because they "couldn't get enough 3.5L engines."

That's a time-honored excuse that General Motors has used for decades....."we don't have production capacity...." Waaaaaa, waaaaaa, waaaaaa If I remember correctly, that was the excuse they used a few years ago for not giving us the excellent 3.6L HF V6 in more models....... I don't see any of the other major manufacturers having such "production capacity" issues for it's seemingly most important products. To not plan ahead, and to not invest in order to make your most important products competitive in the marketplace is just plane absurdity to me. I don't see Toyota having "production capacity" problems with it's excellent new 3.5L V6 engine for example?

Plus.....remember the poll asked who people thought "manufactured better vehicles" This doesn't just mean quality......the poll leaves it open for people to interpret styling, engineering, product development, availablility of features, and yes probably quality. Take each company's best selling sedan......Camry versus Impala. There's NO QUESTION in my mind that the Camry is a newer, fresher, better packaged, and more up-to-date design than the Impala. Whether you like the styling better or not....it's hard to argue GM's strengths compared to Toyota's in this segment. GM's BEST effort, AURA, only comes merely close to being competitive. I predict Malibu will be MUCH closer.... But I'm sure people are thinking along these exact lines when answering a poll such as this. Change the poll to "trucks" and the outcome might very well have been different.

Yeah....he's quite the "speciman"

Awwww.....just got some pics back from Xmas....... This is my friend Paul (left) and I.....probably reading C&G on my laptop......looks pretty bad with all the liquor/alcohol on the table, eh? LOL Me and my mother (flew in from Tampa) trying to figure out how to carve the turkey.....(I was never good at such things) The ole' "Ex" Aaron (we still live together and own the house together) and mom with the fruits of their labor.....

I subscribe to Automotive News, AutoWeek, Autocar, and WhatCar...... BUT in addition I buy C&D, MT, R&T, Automobile, TopGear, and CAR. I also usually buy TruckTrend and SportsCar. I "buy" those because there's a newsstand by me that tends to get all the rags even faster than what I used to get them on subscription. For example, C&D this month was on the newsstand on Sunday 2-24-07....I got it on the way to the airport.

Good.....except for getting slammed into a guardrail last night <ugh> It wasn't his fault.....he was on a circular two-lane onramp and this chick in a New Beetle was going too fast, lost control, and understeered into his lane right into him. In order to avoid her, the only place he could go was into the guardrail to his left. Ahhhh the benefits of insurance. All will be fixed...... Still love that truck though (X5).......always love it when I get the chance to get behind the wheel. (the new one is nice, too....)

Oh.....some of that "income" came from selling the Vette......and I didn't pay ANYWHERE near $80K for the Benz....LOL

Yeah....Cherry Creek is cool......there's a part to it where you can walk around....kindof like a little downtown.....with upscale shops, restaurants, etc. It's tough to find.....so make sure you ask good directions. Cherry Creek is kindof nestled in the middle of the city a bit SW of downtown and not right off the freeway....or very well marked..... Oh we have mountain lion attacks seemingly all the time. It's because of all the wilderness surrounding south OC with the mountains and stuff. They find a way to make their way into the 'burbs. Last year in fact, we had a fox hiding in the bushes/greenbelt between our house and our neighbor's house. One morning, I opened the door and the fox took off out of the bushes and Jefferson, my little schnauzer took off after him like a rocket.....the fox ran away....LOL, LOL. I was scared at the time for Jefferson but after I got him back in the house, I was busting up laughing.....this small little schnauzer with "no fear" taking off after this big fox barking and crap......what a little stud he is....HA

BV's legal.....BV's legal......BV's legal.......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 (just messin' with ya Cory.......heheheheheh)

Ah....nice catch....YES it was!

Take a drive into the mountains. That's always cool. Other than that, downtown Boulder is a cool area (about 30mins to the NW) and in Denver itself, check out Larimar Square in downtown, and definitely Cherry Creek Village (near downtown) as that's kindof Denver's "Beverly Hills." Lots of shops, restaurants, and places to walk around town and shop and eat. Finally, there's the Coors Brewery in Golden (20-30 mins west.) I'd say, other than Golden (brewery) and Boulder (college town) I'd avoid the Denver suburbs as they are quite bland and generic. You are better off seeing downtown and the Cherry Creek area.

Hey all.....thanks for the comments. I agree with everyone......this was when a Mercedes was a Mercedes. That's why I jumped on it. In fact, the thing I like about this car is that it ISN'T trying to be a "BMW." The CTS likes her.....she helps keep the miles off of the Caddy lease cause some weeks, I just drive the Mercedes. The two cars are actually a nice complement.....CTS, sporty, 6-speed manual, more of a sport sedan......Mercedes, auto, cruiser, more a German luxury car. The car IS in such great condition....it looks almost new inside and out. There's even a very minimal amount of stone chips on the front. In fact, dare I say this.....it's tighter and more solid at 93K miles than the '06 Corvette Convertible. And this car has absolutely no squeaks, creaks, or rattles. If you don't believe me, ask OCCarNut....as he's already ridden in the Benz a few times. All I can say is you guys that have never had the chance to ride in or drive an "old" Mercedes Benz really need to sometime to see what "engineering" is all about. They truly are hard-to-believe cars from that standpoint. The newer ones....I could care less about. (Finally, I should clarify....I didn't post this because I was in mourning.....but I had to sell the 'Vette. My ex-other-half that I own the house with was out of work for quite awhile and I needed the money from the Vette. But....I know I can always get another one somewhere down the road. Maybe a new Vette when the CTS lease is up....) I just need to do a few things.....the A/C needs charged, and I need a couple of new speakers for the stereo. Incidentally, the entire car is original, which I like...including the standard factory stereo..... Finally, some neat things for a '94 car.....it has those motorized seatbelt presenters that move forward with the seatbelt when you sit down.....the top powers back and retracts under the decklid like most current convertibles do.....it has those pop-up "roll bars" behind the rear seats (I think this may have been the first car to have these.) Auto down windows.....power telescope wheel (but no tilt incidentally).....articulating single wiper (very cool)......and finally, one of the neatest kinds of coolness....the GRILLE goes up with the hood!!!!!!!! (Very "Mercedes Benz") Sorry for rambling.....but I'm excited to have something different/kinda unique in the driveway to kindof take away the depression from selling the 'Vette..... Cheers

Check again.....added about five more.... Cheers

Here's my new toy! You guys know this car.......1994 Mercedes-Benz E320 Cabriolet..... Here's some facts: 1) Three model years ('93, '94, '95) 2) Total production was about 2,200 between all three years 3) Hand-built 4) NOT a "convertible version" of the E320 coupe 5) Uprated 3.0L Inline-6 with about 217hp (versus 177hp in the sedans) 6) Base MSRP (in '94) was about $77,000.....most went for around $80,000 with options I came across this car and it was an absolute STEAL. One of my best friends, who is a dealer/wholesaler, helped me find it. It's got 93,000 miles on it (not that you'd EVER know it) and the interior looks so much like new it's kinda scary. No paintwork on the body, and EVERY service record FROM M-Benz Beverly Hills. One-owner car too. This car drives like what I remember a TRUE Mercedes-Benz to drive like.....that kindof wafty, slightly floaty feel as you do down the road but with an amazing lack of body roll in the corners and a granite-like feel to the chassis and suspension. The 3.0L inline-6 sounds just like a BMW and is quite torquey. Plus, it has those "spongy/springy" bucket seats that the old Benzs had. Finally? NO CUPHOLDERS (at all......) Let me know what you think! (Paint is not bad on trunklid....it was dew from the morning dampness)