Lamar

Who gets three-year-olds hooked on cigarettes?

Sporcle is my 3rd-biggest online time waster. 40/42. Missed Fiat and, of all things, Holden.

When I went to pick my car up from Pep Boys, I saw a Rambler 700 Classic sedan. Tan, and in the parking lot waiting for service. Someone has been taking care of that one. As a matter of fact, there's an old (probably from the same decade) Buick about two stores down that I need to go get a closer look at. It's for sale.

Roughly 20 minutes each way. However, my job is on a two-lane road in a rural part of the county, and they've been doing construction recently, which has resulted in them having to close one lane at a time.

Saw a current-gen Acura TL, all black. Even the grille and wheels. MUCH better than the... thing that they have going now.

Don't hold back now, whiteknight! But you're spot on.

I'll twist the convo, if I may... What brand of hot dogs does everyone like??

I see your points. The M5 and M6 share that same V10 and will probably share the same V8TT next go 'round... the M3 is the only car that got its own engine, but even that one was the V10 with two cylinders lopped off. ... yeah, and that V8 comes from the M SUVs that BMW said they'd never build. Chances are the 6 in the next M3 will be highly related to the turbo-6 that they have in the 5 GT. (but that's just my speculation)

Why not? I mean, it's not like it's uncharted territory in the luxury hi-po segment. Mercedes-Benz, for example, uses the same 6.2L V8 in the AMG models of the C, E, CL, CLS, S, SL, and ML-classes.

Ketchup. Sorry, Chicagoans...

I'd have no problem with a midlevel engine making around 300 HP. Which is why I mentioned either the 3.6 NA or the 2.8T. It'd be nice if there were a way to compare those two engines in comparable cars... but there are no RWD applications of the latter. I'd prefer if they made the car the "value" leader instead of the "price" leader. By HP metrics, the current value leader is the G37... less expensive than a base 328i, but with 330 HP. I expect that difference to be more pronounced once the G25 comes over.

I'm talking about using the 2.8T for a midlevel application. If they do twin-turbo the 3.6 in a production car, the assumption is that it will be a top-level engine... wherever they put it. Oh, and if 270-330 HP is the norm, you're gonna have to explain the 3-Series' 230 HP, the IS 250's 204 HP, the A4's 211 HP, the C300's 228 HP, and the upcoming G25's estimated 215 HP offerings, all of which most likely outsell the uprated engines.

Well, here's hoping that GM, in its first iteration of a brand spanking new post-Chapter 11 platform, has learned how not to make it heavy.

Interesting. One thing... and not to derail, but won't the Regal GS be getting a higher-powered engine, and isn't the 220/258 rating for the Regal Turbo? Back to the topic, though, what you explained makes sense. I'm gonna pick your brain a bit... what do you know about the 2.8T and what it can do if turned longitudinally? And how would it compare to the 3.6?

Also, yesterday, I saw the two ugliest CUVs to come out of Germany yet... the MB GLK and the BMW X6. Both on a truck. At least the X6 was an M.

Ah, the Audi A4 route, I see. I vote A, but I'd detune the I4T a bit (for efficiency's sake) and put the 3.6 in the middle.

So how do you explain BMW's newly released Z4 sDrive35iS? Or that the X6 is smaller than the X5? Cadillac is at least progressing toward a progression with ATS coming before CTS. STS, if they revive it (whenever they decide on a proper flagship again) will still fit. The last Eldorado was actually named ETC before it died. Speaking of Eldorado, it's not even the same kind of car as the XLR, so the name won't work. Speaking of the SLS, I think it may mean something in German that we here aren't privy to. "SL" stands for "Sport Leicht" (Sport Light). From there, they add a K for "Kurz," which means "short." "R" = "Rennsport" for "racing." However, I can't find what the last S stands for...

Oh yeah... almost forgot. Thursday while on my way to DC, we passed a Buick Grand National.

While getting out to enjoy the sun, I saw an Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

Seven. Thanks, man. My wife made me a brownie cake that I haven't gotten to touch yet. But I will.

Thanks, all. It hit me last night that I am officially "late 20s" now.

Thank you, sir. So far, aside from the fact that I've had to go to work, it's been a good one.

Then I have learned something new today.

^ That can't have been an '88; I used to drive one. That was a redesign year for the pickup. To answer the original post, I saw a disconcertingly high number of new Lexus RXs yesterday on my way to work, each one as bland as the other.