Drew Dowdell

Thanks guys. This is what I alluded to in one of my "for sale" threads where I stated that this was part of my master plan to be a 2009 CTS-D driver.

So here's the deal. In November 2006 my partner started having an affair with a 68 year old rich guy. Those of you who know me well enough know that I'm not exactly hurting for money. After a few months of painfully trying to reconcile Chas and I finally split in the middle of February 2007. This, in effect, devastated me. I can't even look at an ad for a retirement home without wanting to vomit. Not only did I lose Chas, but I lost the family that came with him. I was very close to his parents.... his dad especially. I have no family here in Pittsburgh. I also lost a number of friends in the "divorce" leaving me feeling even more isolated. In the meantime, Chas "Nicole Smith" and his sugar daddy are regularly seen out together at various gay gathering places. I can't seem to go to any of the gay bars without someone who vaguely knows both of us coming up to me and saying "Oh Chas and his BF were just here" or "You should have seen the two of them together, it was just gross". So I've stopped going to such places completely. I've stopped dating. I don't see the point. I have been traveling a bit recently both for work and pleasure. I try to get out of the city almost every weekend. I've found that I am happiest when I'm not here.... so I began looking for places to move to. The answer came in a friend I made in the springtime. A German graduate exchange student and I became good friends. He and his partner are getting married in August. I will be attending their wedding in Cologne, Germany. This is my first step in moving to Germany. They have invited and encouraged me to move to Cologne with them and start a new life there. They think they can get me an I.T. job at the Bank of Cologne if I decide I need one. I've analyzed my finances and I found out that if I just didn't have the cars, I could quit my job and live just off the rental income from my portfolio of apartment buildings. My intention is to sell both of the cars and use a combination of public transit and my Flexcar account. This alone will save me $12,000 a year. If I run into a very very nice 79-85 Toronado, I'll buy it, put a trailer hitch on it for maintaining my buildings, and put it into storage once I move to Germany. My company pays a very generous bonus on Feb 15th of every year. I want to wait for that bonus and in the meantime tie up as many loose ends I have here in Pittsburgh. I won't be selling any of my property. The house I live in will be rented out for additional income. I've always wanted to live in Europe. I see this whole situation as an opportunity, a motive, and a solution. Germany isn't a permanent move. At this point I am thinking I'll be there about two years and then come back to Pittsburgh. But I need time to get away, heal, reflect, and explore. So there you have it..... how Oldsmoboi crashed and how he's going to be put back together again.

I'm not. I'm parting with both the CTS and Avalanche and not replacing them right away. ...... I suppose I should post a life update and let you guys in on what's happened and what will be happening over the next year.

I'm going to have to disagree with F-O-G on this one. It wasn't that Ford was healthy... it was just that the money hadn't run out yet. A healthy Ford doesn't bring out the 1996 Taurus then only give it a mild makeover to try and correct things. A healthy Ford doesn't let Mercury and Lincoln wither on the vine. A healthy Ford doesn't bring us a production Thunderbird but leave the Continental in the "concept" stage. A healthy Ford doesn't bring out the Excursion only to cancel it 4 years later. A healthy Ford.... well.. you get the point.

The Swap-a-Lease listing is now up.

I think he is suggesting that if GM has to build the diesels for Europe anyway, why not sell them here also.

love it!

supply and demand....... but as you can see, these pics are of substantially higher quality.

This is all part of my master plan to really be a 2009 CTS-D driver.

Sure, I'll e-mail you the pics for $50.

Check them out while they're hot

GMTruckguy.... the vanity plate for you should be some variation of "THELIMIT" as in... the Sky's The Limit.

Cerberus Showing Intersted in Jaguar. Cerberus Capital Management could be coming around for another bite of the automotive apple, creating the potential for the organization of a new auto company, which would include more than just Chrysler.

As if they actually had plans for refinery expansion. There is enough of an oligopoly now that they can restrict production to drive the price up because there is not enough capacity. It's in the oil companies financial best interest to NOT build new refineries.

Note to Nissan.... it's not the engine.

*note to self; don't put any car I actually plan on keeping in the ground for 50 years*

F-O-G, I've never been much of an F-body fan. I'd take the biggest, softest, quietest, Oldsmobile, Buick, or Cadillac, jew canoe over an F-body any day..... but when I opened this thread and saw your cars, I thought "Damn, those are hot!". I don't really have anything to contribute for vanity plate ideas... just wanted to pay the compliment.

oh... I was just joking because of those balloons in the background..... damn... what a waist of a snarky comment....

This is the car for people who want a Town Car but can't afford it and only want to buy new so they can get the warranty.

How does looking like a 3 or 4 year old BMW make something like the Aura or the Fusion or heck even the Camry look dated?

I can't imagine why you'd need... or want... a truck engine to go 6500rpm.

Now get me a 2.8 litre turbo diesel CTS.

About the same HP as the 5.3 with 200ft/lbs more torque. put a 6-speed behind it with a VEEERY high final gear and see a 30mpg truck.

SRX Commercial - Morning ritual

We've been slacking around here of late.....