mustang84

Sorry to hear about your dad, PCS.

Yesterday at work I rode with one of my co-workers to lunch in his '07 Lexus GS450. And after work, a bunch of us went out to a bar and I rode in an older Lexus IS300 (probably an '02 or so). My impression after being in both: what's the big deal? Especially the GS...the interior plastics were hard as a rock and grained no better than a Cobalt. I've also been in a new Avalon and Prius and neither impressed me as far as interiors go. I'd say the Avalon was the best of all mentioned above, however. This brings me to my second point. Why do all car manufacturers do big swaths of plastic now for the doors and dash? My Lumina has cloth on the doors and some type of soft touch fake leather for the dash. The only spots where you find hard plastic are around the vents, an inset panel on the passenger side, the underside of the dash, and on the pillars. Even the arm rest is cloth, while most today are just cheap plastic that clicks shut. With a few exceptions, it seems like most mfrs. have gone to huge swaths of molded plastic that look like they were made in one piece on a computer. And it's not just the mainstream brands....even Lexus has done it. I think that's why it's so special when you get in an older car...they just don't make 'em like they used to.

HALLELUJAH!

I would like to emphasize this point again. A CNN poll had the same results last night. The middle class is the heart and soul of this country, and if we suffer, everyone suffers. Companies don't make money if consumers aren't buying products...the entrepeneurs of this country realize that. Even Warren Buffet, the oracle of Omaha, backs Obama. The cries of socialism / communism are just people drumming up drama. This is a reversal of the last eight years of damage.

One thing I've noticed the last few months is that very little news has been covered here. I try to contribute to the Ford subforum when I can, but even the GM forums have been kinda dry lately. I don't know if it's all the bad news lately that has soured everyone's moods or people are just busy, but it seems like both BON and GMI have far more news stories posted these days.

I think if the Republicans want to succeed, they will have to go the Libertarian route. The younger generations no longer connect with the Bible-belt dominating, socially conservative GOP. Look at the polls tonight...66% of young voters chose Obama. The Republican party's message is tired and dated, and it's only going to get worse in the next 10-20 years.

+2

One of my die-hard Republican acquaintences is already going into self-destruct mode and lashing out at Obama supporters over facebook. Her lastest status is something about she'll be the one smirking in four years.

Has anyone been watching CNN? They're using hologram technology to "beam" people into the studio using 42 camera vantage points. Apparently it's a television first or something.

I voted early about a week and a half ago, so today is going to be nice and relaxing.

I've never had the blue screen on my current Compaq (bought in 2003), but it's kinda pokey. It's a Celeron 2.4 ghz, but even after a fresh defrag and disk cleanup, it still doesn't run very fast. It only has 512 mb of memory though, so I'm sure that's most of the problem.

XP Home at home, XP Pro at work. But I bought a new computer this weekend and will soon be running Vista Home here. We have a 64-bit XP machine at work and it is lightning fast for 3D Studio Max renderings. It does double the work that the 32 bit machines can handle.

I saw a black Buick Estate station wagon from the mid 70s the other day. I've seen Vista Cruisers a couple times before, but I don't think I've ever seen the Buick version.

Today I filled up for under $35 for the first time in a long time. $2.17 for regular and I put in about 16 gallons. It's hard to believe I was paying double that only a few months ago.

Urkle

Last I heard it was $1.97 in Des Moines (that was about a week ago). Here in Eastern Iowa it's about $2.19 for regular.

Won't happen in a million years. I hope this GM merger falls through. GM needs to work out its problems on its own. Pillaging Chrysler for liquidity to buy them time is irresponsible and won't do anything but delay the losses for a little bit longer. Ford took a totally different path than GM that earned them plenty of criticism the last couple years; modest product updates and delaying launches until a global rollout was ready. Now we're starting to see the benefits; Ford has more cash on hand and narrower losses, enough to float them until 2010. They are on the verge of releasing the new global models, a new 38 mpg Fusion, and they have a modestly updated F-150 out that is apparently selling fairly briskly. I don't think GM spent nearly as much time streamlining operations and cleaning house as Ford has, and adding Chrysler to the mess will just delay the inevitable. Unfortunately, it's gotten to the point where GM is in such dire straights that they are doing anything to survive, even if it means 75,000 jobs at Chrysler go away. I hope the loans can float GM until the economy improves, but I'm really losing faith in GM's leadership. My ideal buyer for Chrysler is Hyundai. I don't really care for Hyundai, but I'd rather have them do it than GM. Hyundai would make greater inroads to the US market with an expanded dealership network and could build up Chrysler as a credible luxury brand (I don't see Hyundai ever moving out of the near-lux category). Hyundai could use a competitive truck and would probably keep the Dodge brand around as a truck/SUV brand (and maybe a specialty car or two like the Challenger). Jeep would also be an asset for them.

What did she say that was so bad? I love how the video is titled BRAINWASHED OBAMA supporter in big, bold letters, but what she said is mild compared to some of the racist and bigoted garbage coming out of the McCain side. She sounds like the typical voter that is having a hard time making ends meet in this horrible economy. Is it the "touching moment" comment that is raising hairs? I'd take that over the "Jesus will be coming back to save us if Obama is elected" crap from the far right.

Well, they don't have many freeways because they don't really need them. In CR for example you can get anywhere on the fringe of the city to downtown within 20 minutes, even with traffic, and we have about 250,000 living here. All we have is 1 interstate that runs north-south and a four lane divided highway that loops around the south side of the city. Most midwestern cities under 400,000 are pretty accessible and have nice commutes.

Not to mention that every time my Motor Trend arrives it looks like its been sitting in someone's bathroom for a couple weeks.

I'm guessing it's because you're 7 hours ahead? All I see is the run-of-the-mill Google getup.

Limey Brits...

It appears to be pretty accurate. I know for a fact that Iowa's unemployment rate is about 4.2% as of September, while some other states are approaching 8% right now. And I'd wager that most of the unemployment are in the small towns and rural areas where jobs are trickling away. All the states listed except for one are central US states, which typically ride out both the booms and busts. Wellmark is currently building a new HQ in downtown Des Moines and Wells Fargo, Aviva, and Allied have all expanded workforce and built new buildings within the last couple years. Google has a new data center under construction across the river from Omaha, and Gallup is also expanding its Omaha campus. Living around here, it really doesn't feel like we are in a recession...my company is having its second best year ever (last year was our best).

This is mostly why I'm not really a fan of the CTS coupe, even though I love the CTS sedan to death.

Great post, I totally agree. My view is this: if I had to pay $1000 extra in taxes each year to ensure that my future children and their future children would have better education, better infrastructure, better health care, and a better quality of life...I would not be against it at all. I believe in working hard and being rewarded proportionally for your work (and my whole life I have worked hard to get where I'm at), but I also believe in giving back to my community and making life better for future generations. One thing that always pisses me off is when a small local tax that would benefit schools, jobs, recreation, etc. fails because a bunch of old people whine about "no more taxes." Meanwhile, this area has been in decline for three decades and people aren't moving here because there is no opportunity or amenities. This type of mindset is why Rust Belt communities are dying, and on a macro scale, this type of mindset is why the US is falling into decline. Nothing about the above paragraph is "socialism"...it's called investing in our future. Instead of great men like Andrew Carnagie making millions and generously giving back to the community, we have execs like those of AIG and Bear Stearns that drive the country into ruin and leave with $400 million severance packages.