mustang84

That would be spectacular to see in person. For sitting out in the weather for nearly 24 years, some of those cars look like they're in great shape. I'd take that Javelin too.

Thanks 68! :) I'm still trying to figure out whether the owner of the F'bird started that fire or it just happens to be a really good Photoshop... :AH-HA_wink:

As funny as that would be, I wouldn't want to use it. I mean, you're wiping your rear with $20 toilet paper! Now if I was rich...

Saw an early 80s AMC Eagle yesterday on our way to Omaha for Thanksgiving.

I've only gone shopping on Black Friday once. The fact that people actually get to the stores at 3 AM and pitch tents is pathetic. I'd rather just pay a slightly higher price than try to shuffle myself through a store full of middle-aged, bargain-hunting men and women. Everything is picked over by about 10:00 anyway.

Happy B-day to you Fly and Happy Turkey Day to all!

New sig AND avatar. I finally figured out animated GIFs.

These days, all the talk is about how Detroit is losing X amount of market share each year to imports. Well, I did a little thinking about it tonight and have written up this nice little example to show it in a different light of thinking: For simplicity's sake, I'll only deal with 4 companies and small numbers In 1900, there are two companies, GM and Ford. Each company sells 1 car in that year, meaning that they each hold 50% market share. Then in 1950, a newcomer, Mercedes, comes to the US market. While GM and Ford have each sold 10 cars, Mercedes sells 2 cars that year. Calculating that out with 22 cars total for that year, GM's market share is 45%, Ford's market share is 45%, and Mercedes' market share is 9%. In 1975, GM sells 40 cars, Ford sells 35 cars, and Mercedes sells 15 cars. Another newcomer, Toyota, sells 10 cars. With 100 cars sold that year, the market share in 1975: GM is 40%, Ford is 35%, Mercedes is 15%, and Toyota is 10%. In 2000, GM sells 50 cars, Ford sells 40 cars, Mercedes buys out another car company and sells a total of 30 cars, and Toyota, who has experienced massive growth, sells 35 cars. The total car sales for that year is 155. GM's market share is 32%, Ford's market share is 25%, Mercedes' market share is 19%, and Toyota's market share is 22%. In conclusion, each company sold more cars per year, but every year since 1900 GM and Ford lost market share, while Toyota and Mercedes gained market share. GM and Ford will never have the market share they had back in the 1950s for one simple reason; more car companies exist today. So the next time some news article moans on about GM's lost market share, just remember that GM has been losing market share since the very beginning. The massive losses in market share over the last few years for GM and Ford are bad, but the market share loss over the last 50 years or so is just a natural balancing act due to more competition. Even if GM and Ford turn their losses around and start selling more cars, they will never get market share back up to those historic levels because too much competition exists today.

One time I went to McDonald's when I was younger and filled it up with every kind of pop that was there (yes, I say pop). It was nastiest thing I've ever had...there was coke, diet coke, mellow yellow, sprite, mr. pibb, lemonade, and some type of red juice. :puke: We have a restaurant called Hickory Park where they let you mix in flavors with your pop. Usually I get Coke with grape flavor in it.

Amen.

Blue or green eyes, blonde or brunette hair, and a nice tan. I tend to prefer shorter girls (5'2-5'8) which is probably odd since I'm 6'4, but my girlfriends in the past have always been short. I'm with Z28, no big noses...something about a big nose on a girl just looks very unfeminine. The current girl I'm after has these very stiking green eyes and dark brown hair...I'm definately a sucker for pretty eyes. But besides looks, they have to have a good personality. They need to be genuine and passionate about what they do or what they like. I value personality about equally to looks.

For those embarrassing interactions between your cousins at family gatherings, do yourself a favor and grab an ice cold 7-Up!

I've never really gotten into country, but I dig this song by Commander Cody: My pappy said, "Son, you're gonna' drive me to drinkin' If you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln." Have you heard this story of the Hot Rod Race When Fords and Lincolns was settin' the pace. That story is true, I'm here to say I was drivin' that Model A. It's got a Lincoln motor and it's really souped up. That Model A body makes it look like a pup. It's got eight cylinders; uses them all. It's got overdrive, just won't stall. With a 4-barrel carb and a dual exhaust, With 4.11 gears you can really get lost. It's got safety tubes, but I ain't scared. The brakes are good, tires fair. Pulled out of San Pedro late one night The moon and the stars was shinin' bright. We was drivin' up Grapevine Hill Passing cars like they was standing still. All of a sudden in a wink of an eye A Cadillac sedan passed us by. I said, "Boys, that's a mark for me!" By then the taillight was all you could see. Now the fellas was ribbin' me for bein' behind, So I thought I'd make the Lincoln unwind. Took my foot off the gas and man alive, I shoved it on down into overdrive. Wound it up to a hundred-and-ten My speedometer said that I hit top end. My foot was blue, like lead to the floor. That's all there is and there ain't no more. Now the boys all thought I'd lost my sense And telephone poles looked like a picket fence. They said, "Slow down! I see spots! The lines on the road just look like dots." Took a corner; sideswiped a truck, Crossed my fingers just for luck. My fenders was clickin' the guardrail posts. The guy beside me was white as a ghost. Smoke was comin' from out of the back When I started to gain on that Cadillac. Knew I could catch him, I thought I could pass. Don't you know by then we'd be low on gas? We had flames comin' from out of the side. Feel the tension. Man! What a ride! I said, "Look out, boys, I've got a license to fly!" And that Caddy pulled over and let us by. Now all of a sudden she started to knockin', And down in the dips she started to rockin'. I looked in my mirror; a red light was blinkin' The cops was after my Hot Rod Lincoln! They arrested me and they put me in jail. And called my pappy to throw my bail. And he said, "Son, you're gonna' drive me to drinkin' If you don't stop drivin' that Hot... Rod... Lincoln!"

What a joke, there are new releases more deserving of this award than the Civic. I would really like to know their reasoning behind choosing it...was it the fuel economy? The interior? Driving dynamics? It surely wasn't the exterior styling. The Fusion, Sonata, and Solstice were my top three picks and all three are very deserving of this honor. Is MT going Car and Driver now? I was really beginning to like them too...

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. Maybe not in the more import friendly parts of the country, but in Middle America this thing will be a hit. I know plenty of kids from high school and college who would kill for something like this. Classic muscle is looked upon very fondly around here...in the summertime you'll see driveway after driveway with some old Detroit iron parked in it. My senior year in high school, the car voted best ride in our yearbook was a 1986 Monte Carlo SS, and the year before that was a 1969 Chevelle SS. This is the type of car Detroit needs. That love it or hate it styling on the Mustang, 300, and Charger has garnered so much more attention for Ford and DCX than the forgettable styling on the GTO for GM. I like the GTO, but the styling is too jellybean for such a storied nameplate. Those three cars have brought back some mojo that Detroit lost in the 90s. I think retro can be updated...just like classic designs evolved in the 70s due to changing technology, these modern iterations will evolve as we continue to advance in automobile design. I could think of half a dozen things that could be done to make the '05 Mustang look better, and I'm not even a professional designer. The way I see retro; it's a way to return to a nameplate's roots. The 4th gen Camaro wandered far astray into this long, awkward vehicle with extra long doors and the 4th gen Mustang was filled with fake scoops and stamped "Mustang" script in the bumper left over from the 80s. The new Mustang is much more true to Mustang heritage than the last generation, and sales are reflecting that.

Yeah, I saw that yesterday. Granted, it's for the Canadian market, but come on...it's a Civic with some Acura badges and slightly different headlights and taillights. The side profile is '06 Civic all the way.

I saw this one at GMI

Wow! I love it, even as retro as it is! I hope we're entering a second muscle car era...first the Mustang, now the Challenger...we just need a Camaro to round it off. The only thing I'd say is TOO retro is the front end, especially the quad round headlamps. If they were something a little more streamlined I think it would do wonders for it. But otherwise, I love everything else about it...the shape, the taillights, the wheels.

We're a GM/Ford mix, although my dad is primarily a GM guy. My dad's dad is all Ford though...so I've been raised around both. My dad's past vehicles: 1973 Firebird Espirit 1968 Corvette 350 (still owns) 1978 Corvette Silver 25th Anniversary (still owns) 1978 Dodge Warlock 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit diesel 1986 Cutlass Supreme 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis 1992 Oldsmobile Delta 88 (current daily driver) My mom's past vehicles: Early 1970s Ford 1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V 1985 Cutlass Ciera 1988 Dodge Colt 1990 Lumina Euro 1993 Mercury Villager 1996 Windstar 2004 Explorer XLT (current daily driver) My past vehicles: 1990 Lumina Euro (same one my mom drove...I got it after my dad bought the Delta 88) 1994 Lumina Euro (current daily driver) My sister's past vehicles: 1990 Lumina Euro (same car...she got it when it had over 200,000 miles) 1997 Monte Carlo LS (current daily driver)

BV, I was a really quiet kid in school just like you. Part of it was because I lived in a part of town where there weren't any other kids around my age to play with, so I never really got that interaction that most kids get at a young age. In middle school, I was definately one of the shyest kids in my grade. About 8th grade, I started opening up more and by my Junior year in high school I was much more outgoing than I used to be. Now in college, I talk to strangers and other people besides my friends without the anxiety that I used to have. I think a lot of shy people are lacking self-confidence...they are afraid to speak up for fear that they might say something wrong or people will look at them funny. But you know what? If you don't do anything about it, nothing will change. I had to make an effort to be outgoing, and it completely changed my personality. People discovered that I had a pretty good sense of humor that they had never known about. They got to know me better and included me in activities. I made a lot of new friends that would have never happened if I had kept being quiet like a church mouse. Don't go skipping school...it's not the answer. School should be one of the most important things in your life right now. It's essential to finding a good job later in life...if you don't even have a high school diploma, employers will not be impressed and pass right over you when the time comes to hire. An HS diploma is ESSENTIAL to succeeding in your adult life. I realize it's hard to concentrate when you have a lot on your mind, but find ways to shut out the distractions. I like to put on my headphones when I study...it creates a nice sonic barrier from the distractions around me. Maybe you do that already, I don't know. But the point is...whether it means studying in a new place or finding ways to drone out the distractions, you have to find something that works for you. Here are some studying tips that I picked up from my Environmental Theory class: Study in cool temperatures Make sure you have abundant light...the greater the contrast of the ink and paper, the easier it is on your eyes to stay focused Sit upright in a comfortable chair at a desk...lounging on a bed or couch only makes it easier to fall asleep Peppermint aroma has been found to increase alertness in people Get up every half an hour or so and stretch; large movements of muscles helps keep you focused. I've found that studying for an hour and then taking a short 10-15 minute break makes it much easier to learn than going about it in one solid 3 or 4 hour block. I can't be much help with the depression because I've never experienced it before, but do like the others have said and seek some type of counseling. Letting things like that go unchanged will only make it get worse. And Croc is right...your parents know what is best. I went through that moody stage around age 17 or so where I didn't want to have anything to do with them and wanted to get out of the house, but I outgrew it and now have come to realize they're a lot smarter than I gave them credit for. If you go off to college, you will appreciate them even more. Just remember that someday you may be a dad and have the challenge of trying to raise a kid while still letting him or her retain some freedom that they desire. It's a balancing act...when it seemed like my parents were nagging me, it was really them trying to motivate me. They want to see me succeed. I didn't see it then, but I see it now. Hopefully this helps some. I don't know you that well, but some of the things you mentioned were things I went through once upon a time. The late teens are some of the most stressful years of your life...after that, things get clearer. Keep your head up, BV!

My bad, the Marilyn Manson one was actually Twiggy Ramirez. Here's Manson from the early 80s. As for the Korn one, Fieldy is the one called "Reggie" and Head is the one called "Brian." Not all the band members are in these pics...some joined later, others were in different bands. On the Foo Fighters one, Chris Schifflet is the second one over. The rest formed other alternative bands in the 90s.

Here are some more exposed pics. Even the nerd rockers Weezer were glam a few years earlier. Here are members of Weezer in earlier bands Zoom and Avant Garde. Korn in their 1986 band RagTyme. The Foo Fighters in their 1989 band Lost Kittenz. Members of Staind in the band Bad Boy Trigger. Marilyn Manson in his 1992 band Booogy. Not very goth...more like surfer beach bum. If you guys want to see where I'm getting these from, go here: Link

Honda commercials are about as yawn-inducing as their cars. The only cool Honda commercial I have ever seen is the cog one where they have action-reaction forces that eventually electronically trigger the hatch on an Accord to close. Everything else is bargain-basement quality advertising, especially anything to do with that cartoon baffoon.

A midsize/large RWD coupe with a V8 making about 350 hp, 5-speed manual, preferably a Buick, Mercury, or Lincoln. It would be long and low but still having a muscular stance. Black leather bucket seats with white stitching, dual exhaust, great sound system, moonroof, two-tone interior, and aluminum dash trim. The exterior would have an agressive front end, distinctive grille with chrome highlights, some chrome trim pieces, HID headlights and LED taillights, RWD proportions, and five-spoke 18" aluminum rims.