Hudson

How about Def Leppard's "High n' Dry" or "Hit and Run" instead?

The GM plan (not rumor, scheduled plan) as I've seen it has four Zeta vehicles being built in Oshawa: Camaro (100,000), Impala (250,000), Lucerne, and DTS. The total volume of those four cars puts the plant at its capacity of about 500,000 units. This is what I know for sure right now. Things might change and may have changed since the document I saw was published, but this isn't rumor...or conjecture...these are facts. There's no room for the G8 in Oshawa....and there's no product planned for Hamtramck. Hamtramck could always be called into service for more products, but that's a guess.

I always found Boston's "Smokin'" to be a great cruisin' song. I also like "Metallic Blue" by House of Lords, "Inside Information" by Foreigner, "Here & Now" by Letters to Cleo, and (for fun) "The Majesty of Rock" by Spinal Tap.

The plans as I've read them have the Impala, Camaro, Lucerne, and Cadillac DTS produced in volumes of just over 500,000 units at the Oshawa plant with no spare room.

The Rendezvous went in January...the Rainier and Terraza leave this year. That leaves....two cars and a crossover. Pretty skimpy!

Is there a reason why a two-year old (?) crash test of a Land Wind is still making news? Hasnt' this been posted on a few dozen sites for quite some time now? Yes, the Chinese are a bit behind the Japanese, Koreans, Americans, and Europeans...but they're also moving quicker than any of the aforementioned. I expect the Chinese vehicles to be four- or five-star vehicles in just a few years. And I never expected the Land Wind (nee 1992 Isuzu Rodeo) to make it to the US market anyway.

1919 Briggs & Stratton Flyer

In addition to the previously menioned Sintra and GL8 and Chinese Regal and LaCrosse, didn't you miss the Chevrolet Impala from your list?

Auburn Speedster

The Monte Carlo dies in June. The Grand Prix dies in November. The LaCrosse will last another year. But the RWD Impala won't be ready until the summer of 2010, which means the FWD Impala will likely last that long as well. You've got three years still to say goodbye.

Anyone going to the show on Saturday or Sunday?

Kaiser Darrin PS: Thanks for the reference, Harley.

1967 Ford Thunderbird

Lotus Europa

1941 Chrysler Newport

Nash Healey

Bill Hicks was great, but I don't see Leary as ripping off his material. They had a similar slant, but different material and delivery.

Most of the comedians listed above have been, at one time or another, high on my personal list. My current favorites include Lewis Black (for his honest views of the world and politics), Ellen Degeneres (for her better-than-Seinfeld observational humor at a G/PG level), Eddie Izzard (for his views of the world and history), and Carlos Mencia (if you like his show, you need to see his stand-up set running on Comedy Central). At their peak, I enjoyed Sam Kinison, Richard Pryor, Steven Wright, Mitch Hedberg, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Bill Cosby, Dennis Miller, George Carlin, and Denis Leary.

The next generation Grand Cherokee will be offered in both 5-passenger and 7-passenger editions. I'm not sure if that means that they'll be in two different bodies (ala Trailblazer/EXT), but there will be two versions. I assume that they'll remain "compact."

My problem with the Jeep Compass is that it's so cheap. I wouldn't mind a car-based Jeep product if it were a serious vehicle...something akin to a WRX with rally implications, but I'd never take the Compass rallying. And then there's the interior which is among the cheapest in the market. Sure, the Compass is thousands less than a V6(!) Rav4, but it's nearly down 100hp as well. And the Rav4 has much more interior space...and is more off-roadable (even though I'd never take either one off road). I spent a month driving a Dodge Caliber (the sibling to the Compass) and I grew to not hate so much (I can't say "love" or even "like") the CVT, but the car is still cheap. Please don't confuse this with "inexpensive," which is a good thing..."cheap" is a bad thing. Interior materials were described to me as being the quality of the interior of an Igloo cooler. My 3,000-mile Caliber had an annoying rattle in the driver's side door, which I can't attribute to all Caliber/Compass vehicles, but it's a sign of the quality of materials. Did Jeep really need this vehicle? Couldn't they have done better? I'm not being critical because this is a non-GM product...I'd be just as critical if it were, say, a Hummer or GMC. This vehicle is not worthy of the Jeep brand.

This is pretty much what should be done, in a car. Adding a towed vehicle is another story.In a typical car, brake with the vehicle in gear but there's no need to downshift, unless conditions warrant...towing or slippery road conditions might necessitate this. Downshift in a manual transmissioned vehicle was encouraged when vehicles didn't have vacuum brake boost or disc brakes. Today's cars do no need the additional engine braking under normal conditions. However, unnecessary clutching and de-clutching will put some wear on internal parts. Only shift into neutral when necessary. A fully depressed clutch pedal will cause the least wear on your clutch where shifting in and out of neutral causes the clutch to be engaged/disengaged four times (twice when shifting into neutral and twice when shifting back into gear).

Porsche 951

Dodge Ram 50

Renault 25

The Eagle Medallion...er, Renault Medallion...er, Renault 21 beat me but I had to post this one. Citroen DS21