Drew Dowdell

Different account. You're thinking of @VenSeattle. All of the accounts were new signups that got through 2 layers of spam filters. I pay for an extra layer of spam security for this site, that's why incidents like this are relatively rare compared to other sites. The first line spam firewall has blocked over 5,400 attacks over the last 7 days, and it's like that every week. So 11 getting through once every few months is still fantastic results. There's a second layer of spam filter as well. These spammers were reported to both.

And by '94 they had the LT-1 which made the 4,500 lb Fleetwood an 8.5 second car, and the Roadmaster 4,250 lb sedan an 8 second car. That sounds pokey by today's standards, but this was 30+ years ago and an 8.5 second Fleetwood is still way faster than most people need to be driving.

The 2.8 liter V6. Very complex 30 valve engines. Not the most powerful at a modest 190 hp, but buuuutter smooth and surprising low end torque.

2001 - 2004

Extreeeeeemly rare. There was a guy near me that had one in black. Wild machines.

I think its an appropriate update to keep with the times. I don't think they'll keep it in production long. Maybe 3 years and then a new platform. Being the cheapest non-Nissan EV, having pretty fast charging, and available super cruise makes it a compelling entry.

Before anyone complains that there isn't an increase in range, they switched to LFP batteries that have a lower energy density but a much better fast charge resilience profile. LFPs last a lot longer without degradation, they are cheaper and more environmentally friendly, and can fast charge better and without long term damage.

That's because the blundering idiot did tariffs wrong. Tariffs should only be used to protect existing or newly emerging industries, or in cases where a country is dumping products (like China did with solar panels and wind turbine equipment, and will do with batteries). Biden got the tariffs on Chinese EVs right because it paired that with domestic incentives to build those battery factories here. Obama reacted to the Chinese economic threat too late on solar panels and the entire domestic solar panel manufacturing industry got wiped out. Tariffs can be a useful tool when used with some precision. This is just a big senile orange elephant swinging a wrecking ball. The catch there is that they're both made in china. Those on the lower end of the economic ladder who are on the right do have a valid grievance with the way the economy is set up. While they are wrong about its cause, ignoring their needs has clearly resulted in suffering for the rest of us.

You wanna have Chinese wages in the US too? One of my clients outsources their helpdesk to the Philippines. I've been involved in the hiring process and what they're paying the outsourcing company (who takes a cut) for a month salary is half what someone would make working in the US at federal minimum wage. I'm sure China is similar.

I always liked that face too. My post earlier today has me looking at W210 diesels as my business vehicle... because I'm like on day 1 of no more car payment of course. lol

Yeah, my mom probably found it on sale. My parents liked Sears, Sears Surplus, and BeST (A chain that is nearly impossible to google). It's funny, in my family that you can tell who bought something by where it was bought. My grandmother who just passed last year was a Bloomingdales and Strawbridge & Clothier lady. My great grandparents on the other side were Wannamakers. Other grandmother was JC Penny and Sears. Albert's family was all Kaufmann's and Horn's.

Stephen Miller 10/6/2025: “A district court judge has no conceivable authority whatsoever to restrict the President…” Hitler, Reichstag speech (1933): “The German nation will no longer tolerate that its will be nullified by judges of a corrupt system.” Miller: “The President has undisputed authority under both statute and the Constitution to deploy troops… to defend a federal facility.” Hitler Speech, Berlin 1934: “The Führer alone is the bearer of the will of the nation; his authority is the highest law.” Miller: “This large-scale political violence is domestic terrorism.” Hitler, Munich 1923: “Whoever resists us is not a political opponent but an enemy of the nation, deserving no mercy.” Miller: “The Portland Police have refused to render aid and assistance to ICE officers… The attacks on ICE are violent armed resistance designed to incapacitate the federal government.” Goebbels, 1934: “Whoever obstructs the work of the state, whoever aids its enemies, commits treason against the nation.” Miller: “We’re going to liberate this city from the criminal element that has plagued it for generations.” Hitler, Reichstag speech, 1933: “We will liberate Germany from the poison that has corroded it from within for generations.” Stephen miller, Memphis speech to LEOs: “I see the guns and badges in this room. You are unleashed. The handcuffs you’re carrying—they’re not on you anymore, they’re on the criminals.” Hitler, Speech to SA and SS, 1934: “You are the soldiers of a new Germany. You are released from the weakness of the past—your duty is to act, not to hesitate.” They're not even hiding the plagiarism.

Back when I was first driving, I was firmly in the GM and Lincoln camp. Import cars did not really attract me, but there was one. I much prefer the split headlight versions, but the peanut headlight CLK Cabrio is not something I'd say no to. I do still keep an eye out for a late-run W210 sedan with a diesel.

I had one of those Nissan Zs as a really large plastic car as a kid, it was a favorite. I think I'm going to treat myself to a nice vintage turntable this Christmas. My old El'Cheapo turntable from when I was 16 bit the dust a few years ago and I just dropped it off for recycling last week. I bought it new at Bradlees circa 1994 if anyone remembers that place.

Anyone working a Fairfax who is surprised by this hasn't been paying attention. The plant keeps losing product, first the Malibu and then the XT4. The next gen Bolt isn't ready yet. It really doesn't have anything to do with tariffs though, it should be getting more product due to tariffs, not less. They should move Envision production there because it is mechanically similar to the XT4, and then make some Buick EVs off of Bolt.

no, but this month is 18 years together.

eh, I'm mean yeah there's gonna be some issues in automotive finance, but I'm not sure that a 10 year old Cruze with bad transmission and the owner still owes $1900 is really evidence of that. I took over the loan on my father-in-law's Cruze after he couldn't drive anymore, and aside from it not having cruise-control, it was a perfectly fine little car. It ran nicely, rode nicely, and could tickle 40mpg on highway trips. Every once in a while I see an LTZ in that dark green and they were handsome in that setup.

Submitted the final payment this morning. No car payments for at least a couple years now until we need to replace the Chrysler. Pulling back my spending wherever I can even though I'm doing better than ever financially.

At no point in history has rounding up people at gunpoint and shipping them off to camps or deportation without the benefit of charge or trial been done by “the good guys”.

Part of this was planned a few years ago. Hyundai moved production of the Ioniq 5 to the U.S. to help with pricing. before tariffs were a thing. I think the 2026 model year is the first full year of US production.

A blue wave in the House is nearly certain and will go a long way to halting the current wave of shenanigans. The midterms are 13 months away and given how many decades have passed since Jan 20, 2025, I'm not convinced we'll even make it. A blue senate is unlikely. There aren't enough flippable red seats to take. Maybe a longshot like Andy Bashir taking out McConnell.... but I think he's gonna run for Prez.

No. He had a gross misunderstanding, intentional or not, of what DEI is. The rest of that quote does not improve the context. He said he specifically questioned the pilot's competence because of skin color. Just like he questioned Justice Jackson's abilities to be a supreme court justice. Direct quote: "If we would have said three weeks ago […] that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative-action picks, we would have been called racist. But now they're coming out and they're saying it for us! They're coming out and they're saying, "I'm only here because of affirmative action." Yeah, we know. You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person's slot to go be taken somewhat seriously. Kirk then played a clip of Jackson Lee speaking in Congress, saying she had been admitted to educational institutions on affirmative action. Kirk then went on to make his point again: "We know. We know. It's very obvious to us you are not smart enough to be able to get it on your own. "I could not make it on my own, so I needed to take opportunities from someone more deserving." That's not how Affirmative Action worked. It didn't take spots away from those more deserving, it took slots away from the mediocre old-white-boys club who only would have gotten in because they're a legacy. A black pilot is a pilot because he completed all the required training, not because of some quota. DEI DOESN'T HAVE QUOTAS. DEI is just about making sure that anyone qualified is able to apply and potentially win the position regardless of gender, sex, race, religion, sexuality, etc. So to wonder if United/Delta/American put a black pilot in the driver seat just because he was black and they needed to meet a quota is just plain racist. There's a pilot shortage anyway, so anyone who is white and qualified is going to be able to find a job if they want one. No. That's a cop-out "Well I don't agree with everything Mussolini did, but at least he made the trains run on time." Don't say you agree with some of the things a nazi says without being able to very strongly qualify it. He was a bigot against race, sexuality, gender, women, and more. So unless its "Well I agree with him that the sky is blue", you're probably better off just not agreeing with him on anything.

This was the first school shooting Republicans cared about. There was another school shooting within minutes and it barely made the news .

I think you need to look deeper at this. He made his money, millions of it, by talking, so he has a natural desire to keep the conversation going. He was also incredibly disingenuous about it. It's all well and good to say we shouldn't build walls, but he was responsible for building or reinforcing most of them. This tweet is just rage bait designed to get the right wing angry at the gays, many of whom serve in the military. May is Military Appreciation month. So not only is he spreading bigotry, he's also spreading misinformation.... and he did that All. The. Time. When he got shot, he was in the process of trying to blame mass shootings on trans people. I frequently see people say that he was taken out of context, but when you go look up the entire context, what he's saying is even worse. You know what dead guy you don't have to ever explain context about? Mr. Rogers. Did you know he also kept a public list of professors who taught on subjects like feminism, LGBT issues, or even just American history that he didn't like? He posted these professors pictures and contact information on his website and turned his supporters loose on them flooding them with death threats, sending barrages of e-mail and phone calls to universities to get these professors fired, some of them even having to uproot their lives and move. Doesn't sound very in the spirit of "just keep talking" does it? Imagine having 100,000 people e-mail your boss saying you need to be fired in the worst terms possible. That's not very freedom of speechy of him. He spread Covid misinformation too, something which conservatives have been 100% wrong about on every angle of the subject for over 5 years now. His entire operation was grift. Getting people angry in order to extract money from them. Heck, his memorial service yesterday was selling Merch! His wife set up a gofundme even though they've been bringing in millions for years. So, while you feel you may have some alignment on his views, I would highly encourage you to find out what he was really about and the positions he took specifically to build the very walls he was claiming to want to pull down. But feel free to post a position he had that you agree with and I'll take a wack at it.

It really does, though some non-wrapped are better than others, and I do like wood on the wheel as well, we have that in the 300. Honda non-wrapped wheels tend to be good. Chrysler, GM and Ford non-wrapped wheels are awful. VW and Toyota are tolerable but nothing special.