ShadowDog

The mob mentality with the one-sided viewpoint is tough to debate with. When all is good, nobody notices, or even cares when they do notice; when all is bad, everyone thinks they have the right to voice their uninformed 'opinion'.

Wow, all these old commercials from twenty years ago immediately remind me of better days as a kid.

I sure hope it hasn't already been turned into roofing tin.

Yup, just a closer look at what it takes to get us where we are. It's more than people jawing speculation around a boardroom table, it's information and direct correlation of cause and effect. It's bean-counting, but it's also butt-kissing and politics in one package. Also worth noting is that company politics runs companies the exact same way, with or without government assistance.

W.O.W. Now, while I'm not comparing the whole mass-equal-safer argument, it's funny how we relate size with death traps when back then, as it would appear, anything less than a dump truck would be a death trap.

The part that really chaps my ass. "Eh, build them, someone will buy them." "Wait, what are we building again?" "I don't know, didn't you see the commercial last month? I think we had it up for a week or so?" Everything was based on the premise of volume sales. Even the UAW negotiated for its stupid job-bank program on this premise, using a kind of leverage against management to ensure they produced volume in order to avoid down-time. What choice does one have? I simply see the failure summed up as so many backward-thinking policies and peculiar goal-setting that just did not consider the clear possibilities of the future.

My brother's very first car was a Dodge Detomaso model which was a sister to the Duster, or rather, the Turismo. We did some body and paint work, cleaned up the interior and added some go-fast-but-don't-blow-up goodies. It wasn't too bad but for the gear shifter which was so rubbery, you literally never knew if you were going into second, or fourth. It looked cool, for its day, but it was a piece-o-crap.

I always loved that truck. When younger, I built a model of it and loved the description... comes in any color, as long as it's black. I might have even owned one if I were a little older when they first appeared. DAMN... and my brain just reminded me about the version they made in the last generation GMC Sonoma pickup... what an ew.

In my experience, just stick to what traits you find important for any-time-but-white seasons. Trying to find one all-season tire better than another for winter is like trying to decide which average-talent should move into the finals on American Idol. In other words, most will do just about the same in the winter as far as all-season's go, none will excel and there are worse among them. Anyway, a tread pattern with less large-sized blocks and a softer tread can help. The theory, as it has been explained to me, is that a smaller tread block offers more flexibility to keep traction on slick roads. More directly lateral slits offer more traction in snowy or slushy conditions. They'll also be noisier, but you'll have to find the compromise somewhere. Believe me, I've tried to figure this one out before and there's no clear answer. I travel some of the worst winter roads between southern British Columbia, Alberta, and until recently, Saskatchewan. I chose to own two sets of wheels with tires: Nice wheels with summer tires offering great wet traction, low noise and higher performance; then the stock wheels with winter tires for, well, $h!ty winter driving. A half-hour with a floor jack and a socket wrench is all the grief I ever have now with all the benefits of fantastic year-round traction.

As Ron White would say, "You can't fix stupid." But hell, that damned thread crashed my MAC!

It works, to some degree... but sometimes it's the buyers whom screw it all up. The sad thing is how many consumers would still attempt to haggle out a better deal. The whole 'something for nothing' mentality I face with some of our clients is frustrating when dealing with people complaining about everything on an invoice, including the fricken' government taxes!!! "I shouldn't have to pay that... can't we just do this as a cash deal?"

Erm, hmm, would like the arrow-style lights up front without the nose-pushed-up-looking nostrils, no Pep-boys side inlets, a tad more feature contours to the rear and ... oh, what's the point now?

Simply because I'm curious, what's the story? Is the whole situation because of new development elsewhere in the city that has left the older buildings to become vacant? Or have things taken such a downturn over the last decade that the business environment has decayed and its population has moved? That just looks like something out of "I am Legend".

How funny. My thoughts exactly. What? No cheers to Car and Driver for 'getting it right'?

I just cannot understand what compels hip-hop and bubblegum music fans to pick a piece of crap like that and popularize it? People thought the 80s was the decade of forgettable music, might as well toss in almost everything after 2000. Take away the crap and the good stuff amounts to little. I'm so happy I have a taste for things other than flavor-of-the-month, garbage, forgettable music that comes from... well, flavor-of-the-month, garbage, forgettable "artists". Thank you for putting this lousy song back into my head for the next few days... oh joy.

Ouch. Gotta feel bad for that guy. Maybe a trend could be started to boost GM sales; that is, new car purchases financed by insurance companies.

If my '04 ever took a sudden and immediate dump, I would give it major scrutiny and test it out. My car only really sees a 35 mile round-trip once or twice a week. I drive it the whole one mile up the hill to go to work on terribly rainy days (pedal bike on good days). I'm the perfect candidate for this car.

Ironically, I found the absolute perfect example of a cross-shopper living next door. My neighbors own the following: A late model GMC Sierra HD; 2003 Civic Hatch; and a collectors-condition second-gen Firebird Trans-Am and Camaro each. One of their sons was looking for a starter car while going to college. Something efficient and practical but sporty for a young guy. Given the types of cars their father grew up with, also being a GMC truck buyer exclusively (he's owned three different trucks from GMC in the past 15 years), you'd think he'd be dead-set on a domestic car. That wasn't the case here. His son drives a nice, silver... ...and he really enjoys it. He'd love to find himself in a new car like the Camaro or Genesis; however, his dad is smart and says, "You want one, go buy one. As long as you still need me to help you finance a vehicle, you'll be getting a used car." With what he's driving now, he's not complaining. I asked him if he'd consider the new variations for the Camaro or Hyundia Genesis and he basically said, 'I'd really have to be paying close attention to all the details. I'm not willing to compromise on anything that I like about the Tiburon. If one of them does something better, it would also have to be better than the alternate with regard to handling and practicality.' He didn't think he could be too heavily interested in a V8 Camaro, not knowing how the V6 would stack up against his preferences. By this, I mean he would have to actually try the V6 for himself before he had an opinion to share. Smart kid. He wouldn't fit in around here. It's a bummer that he is not yet in the position to consider a new car; however, like so many of us, he likes to pretend he would be buying one so he can give them a try so he can form his own conclusions. I'll let you know what he finds.

It's a five year coolant and doesn't require a lot of effort to drain/flush & fill. You can do simple inspections of the fluid condition over time: 1) It should remain clear; 2) It should not have particulates floating in it; 3) It should not smell with fuel, oil or have an ammonia scent. Aside from that, you can have it tested to ensure it will still perform effectively to prevent freezing or boiling.

Wow, for a second there I almost forgot that, when it comes to automotive writers, I don't really care what they're thinking on the subject of... ...ooo ice cream.

The Camaro wasn't designed for its all-out performance in its V6 version while the Genesis was. When has anyone ever been truly excited about the maximum performance of held within a V6 Camaro or Mustang? This comparison is valid because Chevrolet just happens to offer their car, which was purpose-built to hold a V8 under its hood, with a V6 as a base model for those wanting nothing more. If an unbiased consumers were in the market for a sporty V6, should they not have all V6 cars to choose from? Would they not have the Genesis on the same list? Would they like to find out for themselves which is the better car based on what they hold important in V6 offerings? I guess the rationale here is that the Camaro should be better just because it exists.

LOL oh boo-hoo, they must be forgetting that there is more than just a couple heritage 'Vette models. The only difference is that they all didn't exactly share the same timeline in production is all.

Yeah, all well and good... but many have given up on the useless media forecasts and analysts' crystal ball predictions, never mind reading straight from a PR message declaring 'The future's so bright I gotta wear shades'. Show me the money.

It must just be up to the rental agency then, or just how poorly one is managed. My wife handled invoicing and warranties at a GM dealership that regularly had Enterprise rentals come in. You see, they had an agreement with the agency that all courtesy vehicles the shop needed would come from Enterprise. If they didn't have a GM handy, the courtesy vehicle would be free of charge. The service shops always got a detail on the mileage of the cars on their invoice. Since all of these GM vehicles came from this particular dealership, they would have an updated list of the mileage and servicing. I was told that the same system was in place with the Dodge dealership as well, but I don't know if they monitored their vehicles the same way.

You, me and plenty of others, both here and all across the globe; however, I still haven't heard but one report of fact on how bankruptcy does not equal warranties becoming null and void. That is a troublesome issue for GM and Chrysler simply because the sheeple are an ignorant mass and just won't bite on trust for them with a new automobile. What I really want to see is a survey conducted on new car buyers outside of the domestic makes to find out what influences helped them make their decision. I wouldn't doubt sales staff must be enjoying the ability to plant stupid and erroneous fears in the minds of consumers in order to make a sale.