Drew Dowdell

Makes me think of airliners. CT5 DT7 DC9 747 A380* * A-class Cadillac with a 3800 series IV

Why can't we have the long, ongoing bitterness for the past mistakes of the media as the media has for the past mistakes of GM?

unless clinton was actually there, I'm uninterested.

Most men don't. Then there are those who are Mars experts.

So... they test the vehicle in a crash... but they don't test to see if the ESC even works? I can buy a 1998 Eldorado with the ESC label on the back, wonder if that'd qualify.

I"m all for you buying whatever car you want, but you should pay closer to the actual cost of the damage you do. I think that people should be discouraged financially from buying fuel inefficient vehicles. You want a Rolls Royce Phantom? Fine, but you need to pay a yearly pollution/gas guzzler tax that will go to more/better public transportation and tax credits for ZEV, PZEV, and alternative fuel vehicles. Additionally, rather than miles per gallon, vehicles should be rated by pollutants per 100 miles. This will instantly change the focus from fuel efficiency to vehicle cleanliness. My Avalanche might get worse fuel mileage than your Datsun, but I can guar-enn-tee that the Avalanche is a cleaner burning vehicle. Buy whatever you want, just be prepared to pay for it.

Quite honestly I don't care if we are warming or cooling or staying the same. I think we should make every effort to restrict the amount of pollution we create. Hypothetical - If we were entering a period of cooling, would you advocate for people to remove the catalytic converters from their PZLEV Focuses?

There you have it folks, the Global Warming debate has been settled by a 27 year old Car Salesman/Accountant from Massachusetts.

So, let me get this straight. If global warming isn't true... then it's ok to pollute without regard for air quality?

Truck Rated Safe, With Asterisk Synopsis Link to NY Time article WHEN the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced the latest list of what it considers the safest vehicles last week, there was a surprising newcomer: a pickup truck. The newcomer is the Toyota Tundra, which beat its domestic competitors from Ford, Nissan and Dodge. The Chevrolet Silverado and a close relative, the GMC Sierra, were not among the vehicles tested. Starting last year, the institute added a crash-prevention feature, electronic stability control, to its criteria. The Tundra got the top pick designation even though its stability control system doesn’t work when four-wheel-drive is engaged. That has drawn criticism from Consumer Reports. “It’s troubling to me that the one time you would really need E.S.C. — in the snow — that there is no E.S.C. available,” said David Champion, senior director of auto testing for Consumer Reports. Mr. Champion noted that pickups like the Silverado and Dodge Ram had stability control systems that continued to work in four-wheel drive. Toyota said its stability control would not work in four-wheel drive because the company chose a particularly rugged design that does not incorporate a center differential. In most four-wheel-drive vehicles, the differentials deliver power to all the wheels. Toyota said that a heavy-duty truck like the Tundra wouldn’t benefit from having a center differential because that’s just one more weak part that can break. You mean, like all the other parts on the Tundra that seem to break. And when did the Tundra become HD anyway? - Oldsmoboi The insurance institute was unaware that Toyota’s system did not work when four-wheel drive was engaged, a spokesman, Russ Rader, said. But “the Tundra has electronic stability control and it gets the award.” That didn't come up in tests? - Oldsmoboi When you've ceded the test quality highground to Consumer Reports, it's really time to reevaluate how you do things.

The ultimate stop to help Golden Gate bridge accident averted by selfless driver Posted Nov 29th 2007 7:58PM by John Neff We don't particularly enjoy posting about auto accidents, as totaled cars and injured humans is never a good conversation starter. Every once in a while, though, we get an opportunity to post about a crash that didn't happen thanks to the quick thinking and selfless nature of a good samaritan. Such a near miss happened yesterday in San Francisco when a driver on the Golden Gate became unconscious and her Jeep Grand Cherokee came to a stop in the second lane from the center divide. John Beatty almost rammed his Ford F-350 into the back of the Jeep, but stopped just in time. The 50-year-old man from Mill Valley, CA then noticed the Jeep began to creep forward and to the left. Realizing it was headed towards the divide and into oncoming traffic, Beatty positioned his truck in front of the SUV so that it would hit him instead of crossing over. He then guided the Jeep across two lanes of road, which had fortunately been cleared of traffic when other drivers began to realize what Beatty was doing. Unfortunately, there is a sad ending to this story, as the unconscious driver of the Jeep eventually died at the hospital. If it hadn't been for Beatty, however, you would've heard about a fatal multi-car accident on the Golden Gate bridge last night.

So one source is wrong at the U.N..... oh pinch me Virginia! It cannot be! There is plenty of other evidence available. REGARDLESS.... there is no reason to accept excess pollution and excess waste of fuel. If we were all driving Chevy Volt variants and all had wind/solar/hydro powered homes and suddenly the earth decides it's going to go into a cooling spell, you won't see calls for people to remove their catalytic converters to try and warm the place up a bit. Pollution is bad by definition and we should make every attempt possible to reduce it.

uh... yeah. Toyota has *nothing* to be worried about from GM... or even Ford.....

This is why I take the bus to work and the CTS is in a locked garage.

I don't think anyone dislikes you 68.... I just think ritalin should seriously be considered as an option.

but C&G is a special source. It's the combination of insiders, auto spys, and car nerds that make this place special.

But Toyota "styles" the front end to look like a snow plow so it appears shorter.

Hmm, I was able to do 21 in an 85 Toronado with the 307 @ 65. have you released the parking brake? edit: Oh wait. Does the Cutlass have a 4-speed or 3-speed? My Toro had a rebuilt 4-speed with overdrive.

Have you gotten the Cutlass tuned up and a carb adjustment yet? Even a 307 should be good for 23-25 highway if you're not racing it.

That's kinda why I recommend the Cutlass. Manual was available, but rare. Might be hard to find, but not impossible. Just stay away from the 3.4 DOHC, it's a good engine as long as you luv it long time, but it's pricey to repair. Take a look at that Cutlass I linked you to for $3995. It's the 3.1 and automatic, but it's a red convertible and will likely be fairly reliable. Mine lasted at least till 160k before I traded it on the CTS... and that was with the 3.4 DOHC. Stick with a 3800 and you'll probably be ok. Yes there were some bad ones out there, but they've been mostly weeded out by now. The 3.1 is ok, but it's a bit of a slug in these cars. Point of advice. If you do get a W-body, and it's a coupe with the vertical door handles, start junkyard shopping for another pair ASAP. It wasn't a bad design, but the handles were made out of pot metal and can snap fairly easily. Worst case scenario you can still get the full mechanism from the dealer for about $125. I've spotted them on Ebay too. It's not hard to replace the handle on your own with very basic tools.

two years ago I booked a room in the Ren Center about 2 weeks before the show.... wasn't terribly expensive either

Well that's two strikes against the Miata then....but seriously. get an old civic inside of your price range. once you start earning more money then aim for the miata or the 318i. I know you won't take most of our advice, but a W-body would suit you just fine for now. They're reasonable on gas, very reliable with the 3800, terrible resale so you can pick one up cheap, relatively inexpensive to repair, and reasonably safe. Perhaps something like a 1994 Cutlass Supreme Convertible or a Pontiac GrandPrix coupe

OMG! WTF?! GM has to plan around people who's lease expires in November?! What about the unlucky ones who's lease expires in October? OR... last January? FWIW, most leasing companies will allow you to extend your lease a month or two. I know GMAC will allow me to extend mine... especially if I'm buying another GM.

I will help anyone I can. I am generally courteous in my driving, but I will be extra nice to GM owners... especially other Cadillac owners.