balthazar

The white one up above is the '68 Astro-Vette, as opposed to the '67 Corvair Astro I or the '67 XP-880 Astro II or the '69 Astro III (which was a turbine-powered 3-wheeler). The blue job in your sig is too new for me. Sure looks like a variant of the Corvette Indy design (of which there seem to be a few)...

I'd much rather see Nash-Healey return.

I'm willing to bet she hasn't touched your thing, HE. ;) Yes she does. DSLs.

It was a thread about mitsu, not mitsu vs. GM. Not bringing up an unrelated company's pratices is hardly "hypocritical". Must FlyBri likewise mention every other incentive-reliant marque/corporation for his points about mitsu to be legit??? This incessant 'but what about GM??' is exactly the same type of crap my 2 sons argue over all the time and they don't get it either.

I cannot help but to furiously wonder what a '50s or '60s Duesenberg would be like...

AFAIK, only windshields are laminated and all other glass is tempered. Tempered glass shatters into little cubes- it's not that easy to cut yourself on tempered glass... which is why it's federally mandated and has been for years. Without a doubt the SRX's panroramic panel is tempered. Windshields are not tempered for the simple reason that the manner in which it shatters renders it nearly opaque- an obvious safety hazard when at speed. Tempered is also relatively easy to break as opposed to laminated, which is quite tough. At least they were... before modern windshields became as thin as a wooden matchstick.

I went to CCS for my freshman year. Irony squared: more than once I was told that my designs leaned toward retro themes; now look at what's hot. I was ahead of the curve if only the instructors there could've seen it.

Even Kevin Bacon has at least 6 degrees of separation.

Have had Verizon/Motorola StarTac- same phone- for 3-4 years running. Very good phone, great reception. Was in the Verizon Wireless store tonight looking to upgrade, but because my name is not on the account (which is my brother's), they could not get me the deal I have coming since he upgraded the plan. In looking over the phones, I see the same overcomplication as in the auto industry: there is little to no choice for those who do NOT want text messaging, video capability, Bluetooth, games, ringtones, and all that other ridiculous garbage. It very well may make me keep running the Motorola...

Blorf; don't like them and see nothing 'muscular' about spindly-spoked wheels at all. But it's that 'dish' concavity to them that reminds me of those cheap '70s chrome 'basket' wires after the wires fall out. TT-IIs have a much heavier, more substantial look to them. Actually, between my 2 posts here I grabbed a 7-series pic and chopped a TT-II on the front. Nick was partially right: it looks great & better than the grey alloy factory ones, but something's not right. And yes; we all know Nick drinks deep & often from the bmw- punch bowl. Question is: what will he do when the party's over and the lights go out? ;)

the 7-series is a big bland slug with a droopy ass & fugly wheels that would be amazingly classed up by the addition of TT-IIs. Wouldn't fix the ass end but would make the whole mess that much more attractive.

There are 2 cars in the woods behind my house. There is very little left of either due primarily to kids playing on them over the years. One is a circa '64 Falcon 4-dr sedan and the other is a circa '63 Valiant station wagon (currently upsidedown). Neither has a single usable part left. About a mile away in the woods is a '58 Chevrolet 4-dr sedan (either a Biscayne or Del Ray): I-6. The only usable parts left I took & sold on eBay: the aluminum headlight bezels.

Anything is pretty much possible. I've seen Buick 455 & Chevy 454 V8s in Metropolitans. But I believe it's safe to say Chevrolet will never put any more cylinders than 8 in a Corvette (or any other Chevrolet, for that matter).

Not a bad choice- looks like a simpler Solstice knock-off. But you asked our opinions on what wheels we like, without specifying that they go on an Ion. Personally, I prefer a more 'solid' wheel; I don't find brakes that asthetically interesting. American Racing's Salt Flat Special:

That's Natalie Carroll, "The Firebird Girl" who first appeared with the new '82 T/A. She was used a few years. If I recall correctly, there was a somewhat racy calendar of her (PG rated) and I think it was a 'draped over Pontiacs in bikinis' type. I don't remember the details for sure except I believe PMD felt it a bit too 'much' and it is quite hard to find these days and probably somewhat collectible (I've never seen it).

Only thing I've ever in my life throw out a car window was completely biodegradable (not paper either; I'm talking apple core/banana peel) and that was never on the road or anyone's lawn-- only into the brush/woods.

I agree with others here: this IS a wisely-chosen battle. And the point is moreso that toyota quality is falling and GM's as a whole is rising (some divisions such as Cadillac and Buick have had long runs at the top). Look at hyundai: they get all sorts of mad credit from many 'journalists' because their quality has risen a bunch, tho the fact that it's still unquestionably poor is glossed right over.

'Journalists' today are caught up in an incessant circle of comparisons they cannot seem to break free of. Cars are inevitably compared to one particular one in one particular area >>"The seats are not nearly as comfortable as those in Car X"<<, which only implies everything else is uncomfortable instead of primarily what it is: different. This sort of mindset only fosters homogenization and disdain for uniqueness. You need to read vintage automotive article (say: pre '70) and see what (for the most part) a balanced analysis of the individual vehicle is... rather that a subjective tour de force of groundless comparisons. Needless to say: the ego-centric attitiude and mandatory cliche' proliferation likewise adds to the indegestion of modern 'journalists'. (Clarkson, anyone?? ;))

Shortie: I remember as a kid looking over Dad's shoulder while he drove at night and seeing the red Indian Head high beam indicator on our Pontiac's speedo. I was always somewhat awestruck by it- it seemed such a.... 'non-automotive' symbol and thusly... somehow both mysterious and powerful.

Chevy that starts with the letter G : Greenbriar Ford (division) that starts with D : Deluxe Can't come up with anything quickly for Dodge or Pontiac.

Is the entire backing on the center stack also brushed aluminum- because that looks exactly like black plastic also. Or is it just awful photography making it look cheap? Was looking at printed pics of this car's interior today, and the tumescent, overly-emphasized stitching has to go. Otherwise it looks very inviting in pics. Not that dick again...

This Duesenberg proposal was circa 1980. It used a stretched deVille frame (going from 121" wheelbase to 133"), and used the '77-79 Cadillac 425 V-8. Twin turbocharging was a planned option. It was supposed to cost about $100K but as far as I have been able to discern, only the one prototype was ever built. The company was lead by 2 nephews of Fred & August Duesenberg.

Quite the fan club in here! Don't sign me up, tho. Overall the vantage looks pretty good, tho there are a number of small details inconsistant & frankly: pedestrian relative to the car's price. Here's one: the pig costs $110,000, has really beautifully-grained wood that's not buried in a half-inch of snotty plastic for a change, yet still uses air vents made of molded black plastic! No F-ing way at $110 grand! My neighbor has a DB7 that I looked over (and under) real well recently, and the car is pure junk and laughable in design & engineering at $25K, nevermind the $70-someK it cost new. I would vehemently hope, for A-M's sake, that the Vantage/Vanquish are world's better (overall they look to be via the pics)...

Currently own 2 Pontiacs, 2 Fords and 1 Buick. Would like to add another Ford to the stable, but otherwise am quite happy with my 'iron harem'.

Any gap due to photography angle (quite minor here) would be located at the farthest point from the viewer's eye since the gauge face is mounted below the circular edge of the housing. In this pic, such would be centered where the "150" marking is (look at the dimensionality of black hub of the needle), but that isn't the case here. The only other option is shoddy assembly work. Regardless, if viewing the gauge from anything other than dead straight on is likely (as in the case of a gauge in a car), at least add another 1/8" inch of gauge face so a big black gap isn't blatantly obvious. It looks like sh!t.