Wasn't Oldsmobile grouping Cutlass Supreme and Cutlass Ciera sales together for awhile, under the theory that they were both officially Cutlasses?
Oldsmobile's marketing might have done that, to proclaim the Cutlass the most popular nameplate in America. But in official rankings that were done independently, sales were always separated. In 1984, the Cutlass Supreme was #4 and the Ciera was #9, while in 1985 they reversed...#4 for the Ciera and #9 for the Supreme.
Another useless tidbit that's stuck in my mind all these years is that in 1985 the LeSabre was #18, with around 150,000 units sold.
I did own a ’94 Cadillac Deville (Northstar) for a couple of years. The engine was nice, though I was always disappointed in the mid-teens gas mileage I got commuting to work. But, handling-wise, it was a real pig. No road feel at all – it was like you were driving in a video game. I could just have well been sitting on my living room sofa. On second thought, the Caddy was probably more comfortable than my living room. Not what I am looking for in a car.
I also had a 1994 Cadillac Deville (4.9 V-8) finished in drop-dead gorgeous Carmine Red with Parchment leather interior. I broke the demographic as I was only 29 when I purchased it. Oh, the ride was extremely comfortable - just like sitting in my living room. However, I had no problem driving the car aggressively. Though it only had the 4.9 V-8 rated at a mere 200 hp, it seemed a lot more powerful and faster than that modest rating warranted. The fuel economy was actually pretty decent. I could manage 25 MPG highway. I agree the Northstar can be a fuel pig in city driving. My 2002 Seville STS didn't seem bad, but my DTS is disappointing.
People speaking from inexperience again. Ask the man who has owned TWO Northstar-powered Cadillacs. The Northstar is a very fine engine - very smooth, very reliable, and a lot of guts! If I'm not watching the speedometer, she'll be doing 100mph+ without me even realizing it.
I didn't say the Northstar wasn't powerful or smooth. I don't care if you've owned 50 Northstar powered cars. It doesn't change the FACT that their are smoother and more powerful normally aspirated engines of similar displacement out there. I've driven Northstar powered Cadillacs. They are smooth and powerful, but not on the same level of a BMW or Lexus v8, just look at the . As far as reliability, I'm glad yours have been great, but issues with the early Northstars have been well documented and reported.
I guess with using GM quality math one could determine the Northstar is the best of the three.
I will say, the other cars are all more expensive and the Northstar is now the oldest engine of the bunch and hasn't been upgraded in a while, so it's competing against newer versions of the BMW and Lexus v8. From what I've read a new version of the Northstar isn't going to happen and the v8 engine is probably going to be trucks only in the future after new fuel economy regs go into effect.
Well the reason why you aren't getting more than 25 mpg is because your needle is probably all the way to the right off the numbers!!! :P Seriously your wife's Grand Prix, I assume has the 3800 in it right??? How aren't you getting 30 mpg highway or are you saying you are getting 25 mpg combined fuel economy city/hwy???
I can speak for the DTS, as it is a bigger, heavier, car than my former Seville. I would assume lemko is getting at least 25 mpg. highway???
Mr. Lemko, what kind of fuel economy are you getting in the DTS performance??? What is the wife getting with her union made LaCrosse???
I agree the Northstar can be a fuel pig in city driving. My 2002 Seville STS didn't seem bad, but my DTS is disappointing.
I'd say that would apply to any heavy vehicle with a v8 engine. I'd guess your DTS is heavier than the STS you had. Edmunds has a 15/22 rating for the DTS, a Suburban is not much worse rated at 14/20.
Agree with you on looking better than the TL. However hottest looking FWD sedan on the market right now I would say is the Buick Lucerne Super or the Cadillac DTS Performance that Lemko, drives. It will be the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, here shortly!!! I also still like the Saab 9-3 line-up that is also FWD based
I can speak for the DTS, as it is a bigger, heavier, car than my former Seville. I would assume lemko is getting at least 25 mpg. highway???
One time last year, when Lemko drove out to Harrisburg to meet Grbeck and I for a car show, he managed to sink his highway mileage down to something like 22-23 mpg, I believe. However, I'll let him explain what he did to get it that low. :shades:
The DTS gets 17 City / 24 Hwy. The car does seem a lot heavier than my 2002 Seville STS, but it is at least 6 inches longer and has a lot more stuff in it.
Girlfriend's LaCrosse is awesome: 21 City / 29 Hwy - comparable to my Park Ave. It too seems like a bigger car than the '88 Park Ave that looks downright petite next to it.
we keep Alaska and Hawaii because we need Alaska for the beautiful climate and tropical surfing and Kona coffee, and we need hawaii for the snow, oil, and the beautiful view of Russia...
Or is it the other way around???...I always had trouble with geography, I guess my teachers were future UAW workers...have I ever mentioned the overpaid floorsweepers???... :P :shades:
I just HAD to see what that Northstar could do out on the East-West PA Turnpike! :shades: No traffic and NO STATE TROOPERS! Made it to grbeck's place in record time.
I assume has the 3800 in it right??? How aren't you getting 30 mpg highway or are you saying you are getting 25 mpg combined fuel economy city/hwy???
Yes, it has the 3800. Combined driving which is usually around 21-22mpg every time I fill it up for her. Strictly hwy has been 25-26. EPA ratings are 18/28/21combined. So it's well within the ratings. I've only owned one vehicle that could achieve stated hwy mileage driving 70-75mph and that was my '00 Jetta TDI (diesel).
My Suburban was probably the worst at getting stated mileage. Setting the cruise at 75mph which we did our every 3 months on our 750mile trek from Wichita to Indiana back when we lived in Kansas, would yield about 14mpg. Best I every got on that trip was 17.5 but I drove under 70 and had favorable winds. My Expedition at 75 routinely gets 15-16@ 75 but having the 6 speed trans means it turns around 2000-2100rpm @ 75 where my Suburban with the 4 speed would turn roughly 2000rpm round 70mph, both with 3.73 rear dif.
DETROIT -(Dow Jones)- General Motors Corp. (GM) remains mired in a tug-of-war between its bond holders and the United Auto Workers as the company faces a March 31 deadline to get deals in place with both groups.
A top United Auto Workers official is accusing bond holders and other lenders to General Motors and Chrysler LLC of stalling a debt-swap deal needed to win more federal aid.
In a letter sent this week to U.S. lawmakers, UAW legislative chief Alan Reuther says bond holders and other lenders are resisting terms set by the U.S. government when it extended emergency loans to the auto makers.
But GM's bondholders hold a far different view. The committee representing key bondholders feels hamstrung by a government mandate that the lenders swap two- thirds of their debt for equity and get nonpreferential treatment behind non- bondholder creditors, a person familiar talks between the company and bondholders' committee said Thursday. The thinking is that such a deal is unlikely to get enough support from thousands of bondholders who would need to agree on a debt swap.
"Bondholders are being asked to take nearly all of the risk of the viability of this enterprise going forward," the person said. "If the preferred solution is an out-of-court restructuring, and you want agreement from nearly all bondholders, then there needs to be some level of shared sacrifice for all the stakeholders, including management and the unions."
Why would the bondholders want to give up their position. They can wait for the C7 and get their money out of property and asset sales. The UAW has the most to lose and they are not giving up much.
The ones on my radar screen are a 3 or 5 series BMW, Lexus G35, maybe an Imprezza WR-X, and the CTS. Note there’s only one offering by the D3 in that list. Same here except Acura TL, this car is too big now for me.
Why don't all three just shake hands and go togeather and pressure Obama and Congress to fix the currency manipulation and un free-trade!!! :confuse: :mad:
I'm suprised!!! The series III 3800 must not be as fuel efficient as the Series II like I have??? :confuse:
That or it's how we drive it. One thing I've noticed with the GP vs. other GM cars I've driven with the 3800 is delayed upshifts. During routine acceleration it usually doesn't shift up to the next gear until nearly 3,000rpm and it downshifts much sooner. Every other GM car I've driven seems to upshift much sooner and downshifts much slower/later. Makes it peppy, but probably costs some fuel economy.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger's announcement Thursday that he plans to retire next year set off new speculation about who will replace him and what impact a new leader could have on Detroit automakers already struggling with great uncertainties.
Just what kind of golden parachute does he get from the UAW? I would say having a legacy of bankrupting the American Auto Industry and Blue Shield should get him a handsome settlement. That is what I call bringing them to their knees. Something the UAW excels at.
pressure Obama and Congress to fix the currency manipulation and un free-trade
Our currency has been in trouble for a very long time. Now the UN wants to do away with the dollar. Go to a universal form of exchange. This Congress and President LOVE the stinking UN so we may see the end of the greenback and become just another country in the global community.
Fair trade is what people try to get for their old GM car and get screwed. I learned 20 years ago not to buy a GM vehicle on time. It does not keep up with the payments. You almost always owe more when you go to sell than you will be offered in trade. Pay cash and sell on Craigslist and you will do better than the next guy.
You asked what I think about the standoff between GM, the UAW and Bondholders.
Well the bondholders loaned GM money in good faith that they would pay it back with interest. The UAW and GM went into an unholy alliance using the retirees as expendable pawns. Both the UAW and GM are to blame for the imminent loss of health care that was promised to the retirees. Why should the bond holders lose because of that poor deal between the UAW and the D3?
You are a wise buyer. And you keep your cars past the 5 year loan period. That is not what GM wants to see. They want you to change at least every 3 years. I cannot tell you how many people have told me I would trade in my car, but it is not worth what I owe on it.
Bondholders are more like owners. At least they own a bunch of debt. If they invest in a company that's not a going concern, then that's part of the risk that they took on when they put their money to work.
Workers had a contract with the company; we'll give you our time and skills and you'll pay us a wage now and when we retire.
Which group deserves to suffer the most harm and loss if the company goes south?
I don't trade cars in - I run 'em 'til they drop. The 2 cars I drive regularly are 22 and 17 years old. Detroit hates me
I've probably asked you this before but I can't remember...what two cars are those? I drove to work today in a 1985 Silverado. My newest car is a 2000 Intrepid, so the I'm probably not on the auto industry's most loved lists, either!
Which group deserves to suffer the most harm and loss if the company goes south?
Well, if the bondholders (owners) suffer more, then investors are going to be reluctant to invest (either through stocks or bonds) in a company. So, a company cannot get off the ground or cannot keep going, short of a venture capital firm stepping in or a taxpayer bailout.
If the workers suffer more, they can always go work someplace else :P The company can almost always replace them.
Man, no way could I keep a car 20 years (unless it was something special). Actually, I've never kept a car more than 4 years. After about two years I get an itch for something different. But I rarely buy new either. I haven't bought a new car since '00. I like to buy them nearly new at a year or two old when someone else has taken a nice 25-45% hair cut and I still can get a relatively new vehicle with the features I want. I probably would have kept the Suburban longer if it wasn't for the fact that it was costing me about $1k every 3 months to keep maintained and that was well before it hit 100k miles. After that it was really going down hill. It must have been built on a Friday immediately after a 6 Corona siesta.
With the current climate that might be hard to do with my next purchase. I hear used values are going up and with production going down, it might get harder for me to find as good of deals on used that I've grown accustom to.
Man, no way could I keep a car 20 years (unless it was something special). Actually, I've never kept a car more than 4 years. After about two years I get an itch for something different. But I rarely buy new either. I haven't bought a new car since '00.
I'm probably not going to buy a brand-new car anytime soon, especially when I think about how fast the value of my 2000 Intrepid dropped. It's a moot point now, as the car's 9 1/2 years old, with 145,000 miles, but at the time I could've probably found a year-old one for around $12-13K, with maybe 10-15,000 miles on it. I think mine ended up being around $19,400, brand-new. I can never remember the price of the car itself...just the out-the-door price of $22,389, which included sales tax, shipping, fees and crap, and a $1200 extended warranty that I never had to use.
Interest rates on used cars were higher back then, though. While I got 0.9% on the Intrepid, I remember used car rates were running around 6.75-7% at the credit union. A $12K loan at 6.75% comes out to about $2170 in interest over 5 years, while the $20,389 I financed at 0.9% was only around $470 in interest. Fairly big difference, although here the used car still represents a pretty big savings.
If I still did the amount of driving I used to, I'm sure the Intrepid would have been worn out and tossed years ago. I think I put around 36,000 miles on it in about 14 months. But that tapered off. By the time I made the 60th payment, it had around 99,000 miles on it. I remember it turning 100,000 on Christmas Eve, 2004. And over the past year it only clocked about 6,000 miles.
At the rate I drive nowadays, I guess any new car I bought would last forever!
As was pointed out. You stiff the investors and they do not loan anymore money. You stiff the retirees and they can sue you for breech of contract. All the more reason for GM to just call it quits and see what they can sell to pay off the $100B in debt and VEBA for existing retirees only. The rest are on their own. Some responsibility has to fall on the workers. They should show some common sense when they see the company losing money year after year. As far as buying Saab and other poor investments. That is where the board of directors are responsible. They should have dumped the CEO 11 years ago when he proved gutless in dealing with the UAW on strike. That was the perfect opportunity to pull out of those unsustainable contracts and he blew it. He could have rid GM of the UAW and Gettlefinger forever. They could have moved to Mexico, Brazil, China even set up new factories in states that are not anti business.
They are all looking alike to me. NO APPEAL at all. Makes no difference who assembled them. Will the people looking for a 4 door sedan buy them is the big question.
It looks to me like Unions such as the UAW have had it made so long they do not know how to be reasonable. As cities declare bankruptcy, states will soon follow. Who is to blame? Union workers DO NOT represent mainstream American working people. They are the elite and many times overpaid segment of the population. Riding on the backs of lower paid working people.
The city of Vallejo filed for bankruptcy protection Friday to deal with a ballooning budget deficit caused by soaring employee costs and declining tax revenue.
The San Francisco Bay area suburb of about 120,000 residents became the largest California city to seek bankruptcy protection.
The seven-member City Council voted to authorize the city manager to file for bankruptcy protection on May 6 after months of failed negotiations with its police and firefighters unions.
After that vote, city officials and union representatives continued to meet in hopes of reaching a last-minute deal to stave off the bankruptcy filing, but the two sides couldn't come to an agreement.
Many officials and residents blame Vallejo's chronic financial problems on labor contracts that they say provide overly generous pay and benefits to the city's police officers and firefighters. Those city workers comprise about three-quarters of Vallejo's general fund.
I find it hard to accept when We pay some 300lb donut munching cop $150k per year to sit along the road running a speed trap. Like the one that just got his job back in Nebraska.
Well there car is becoming more and more valuable as the pre-owned inventory dry's up gagrice. As I said to you a while ago that pre-owned vehicles have jumped in value $1500-$2500 and explaining that to the used car buyer well can be difficult as NADA, KBB, haven't kept up with the times despite our complaints!!!
You have zero respect for all unions except your own and I would love to see proof that these donut munching 300 lbs. cops are munching down $150K a yr. It sounds like the right-wingers in their single wide trailers are upset that because they had a criminal record a mile long and got no where in life because they were lazy but a born again christians "the cure" that they get upset that someone makes a livable income and they are paid peanuts because they were under achievers!!! :mad: $150K in San Francisco, is like bread crumbs anyways. A house in a safe neighborhood will run you million bucks.
You make me laugh trying to say the LaCrosse, looks like the Mazda 6. Sure it's swoopy like the 6 but the LaCrosse, is elagant and sporty at the same time. The LaCrosse, uses premium materials and touches that will make even Lexus, drivers blush with envy!!!!
The bottom line is the 2010 Buick Lacrosse, is the finest automobile ever built for the middle to upper middle class. Sure a Rolls, Bentley, Mercedes, and some Jaguar's might offer a few more luxury touches but none of them are priced under $50K and the new LaCrosse, is even nicer than my favorite luxury car the MKS. The only thing that comes close is the CTS, which I love to death but I like lemko, prefer the smooth, library quiet, ride and luxury over just raw performance. If I need to get my sports car fix well I can ask mom for the Saturn Sky Redline, keys for a few hours!!! :shades:
Wouldn't currency manipulation hurt GM since more than half their cars are made in other countries. And bonds aren't insured, they are an investment just like stocks. The bond holders deserve a hair cut just like the stock holders.
Comments
Oldsmobile's marketing might have done that, to proclaim the Cutlass the most popular nameplate in America. But in official rankings that were done independently, sales were always separated. In 1984, the Cutlass Supreme was #4 and the Ciera was #9, while in 1985 they reversed...#4 for the Ciera and #9 for the Supreme.
Another useless tidbit that's stuck in my mind all these years is that in 1985 the LeSabre was #18, with around 150,000 units sold.
I also had a 1994 Cadillac Deville (4.9 V-8) finished in drop-dead gorgeous Carmine Red with Parchment leather interior. I broke the demographic as I was only 29 when I purchased it. Oh, the ride was extremely comfortable - just like sitting in my living room. However, I had no problem driving the car aggressively. Though it only had the 4.9 V-8 rated at a mere 200 hp, it seemed a lot more powerful and faster than that modest rating warranted. The fuel economy was actually pretty decent. I could manage 25 MPG highway. I agree the Northstar can be a fuel pig in city driving. My 2002 Seville STS didn't seem bad, but my DTS is disappointing.
I didn't say the Northstar wasn't powerful or smooth. I don't care if you've owned 50 Northstar powered cars. It doesn't change the FACT that their are smoother and more powerful normally aspirated engines of similar displacement out there. I've driven Northstar powered Cadillacs. They are smooth and powerful, but not on the same level of a BMW or Lexus v8, just look at the . As far as reliability, I'm glad yours have been great, but issues with the early Northstars have been well documented and reported.
Northstar 4.6L v8 320hp@6400rpm 315ft-lbs@4400rpm (STS)
BMW 4.8L v8 360hp@6300rpm 360ft-lbs@3400rpm
Lexus 4.6L v8 357hp@6400rpm 344ft-lbs @4100rpm
I guess with using GM quality math one could determine the Northstar is the best of the three.
I will say, the other cars are all more expensive and the Northstar is now the oldest engine of the bunch and hasn't been upgraded in a while, so it's competing against newer versions of the BMW and Lexus v8. From what I've read a new version of the Northstar isn't going to happen and the v8 engine is probably going to be trucks only in the future after new fuel economy regs go into effect.
I can speak for the DTS, as it is a bigger, heavier, car than my former Seville. I would assume lemko is getting at least 25 mpg. highway???
Mr. Lemko, what kind of fuel economy are you getting in the DTS performance??? What is the wife getting with her union made LaCrosse???
-Rocky
I'd say that would apply to any heavy vehicle with a v8 engine. I'd guess your DTS is heavier than the STS you had. Edmunds has a 15/22 rating for the DTS, a Suburban is not much worse rated at 14/20.
-Rocky
-Rocky
-Rocky
One time last year, when Lemko drove out to Harrisburg to meet Grbeck and I for a car show, he managed to sink his highway mileage down to something like 22-23 mpg, I believe. However, I'll let him explain what he did to get it that low. :shades:
Girlfriend's LaCrosse is awesome: 21 City / 29 Hwy - comparable to my Park Ave. It too seems like a bigger car than the '88 Park Ave that looks downright petite next to it.
-Rocky
Or is it the other way around???...I always had trouble with geography, I guess my teachers were future UAW workers...have I ever mentioned the overpaid floorsweepers???... :P
Yes, it has the 3800. Combined driving which is usually around 21-22mpg every time I fill it up for her. Strictly hwy has been 25-26. EPA ratings are 18/28/21combined. So it's well within the ratings. I've only owned one vehicle that could achieve stated hwy mileage driving 70-75mph and that was my '00 Jetta TDI (diesel).
My Suburban was probably the worst at getting stated mileage. Setting the cruise at 75mph which we did our every 3 months on our 750mile trek from Wichita to Indiana back when we lived in Kansas, would yield about 14mpg. Best I every got on that trip was 17.5 but I drove under 70 and had favorable winds. My Expedition at 75 routinely gets 15-16@ 75 but having the 6 speed trans means it turns around 2000-2100rpm @ 75 where my Suburban with the 4 speed would turn roughly 2000rpm round 70mph, both with 3.73 rear dif.
I assumed the G/F's LaCrosse, sips fuel like rorr, does rum and coke!!!
-Rocky
I didn't know that was possible. Did you dump a case of donuts at one of the exits! LOL
-Rocky
A top United Auto Workers official is accusing bond holders and other lenders to General Motors and Chrysler LLC of stalling a debt-swap deal needed to win more federal aid.
In a letter sent this week to U.S. lawmakers, UAW legislative chief Alan Reuther says bond holders and other lenders are resisting terms set by the U.S. government when it extended emergency loans to the auto makers.
But GM's bondholders hold a far different view. The committee representing key bondholders feels hamstrung by a government mandate that the lenders swap two- thirds of their debt for equity and get nonpreferential treatment behind non- bondholder creditors, a person familiar talks between the company and bondholders' committee said Thursday. The thinking is that such a deal is unlikely to get enough support from thousands of bondholders who would need to agree on a debt swap.
"Bondholders are being asked to take nearly all of the risk of the viability of this enterprise going forward," the person said. "If the preferred solution is an out-of-court restructuring, and you want agreement from nearly all bondholders, then there needs to be some level of shared sacrifice for all the stakeholders, including management and the unions."
Why would the bondholders want to give up their position. They can wait for the C7 and get their money out of property and asset sales. The UAW has the most to lose and they are not giving up much.
-Rocky
Gagrice, what is your prediction regarding your UAW, story you posted???
-Rocky
-Rocky
-Rocky
Same here except Acura TL, this car is too big now for me.
-Rocky
That or it's how we drive it. One thing I've noticed with the GP vs. other GM cars I've driven with the 3800 is delayed upshifts. During routine acceleration it usually doesn't shift up to the next gear until nearly 3,000rpm and it downshifts much sooner. Every other GM car I've driven seems to upshift much sooner and downshifts much slower/later. Makes it peppy, but probably costs some fuel economy.
Just what kind of golden parachute does he get from the UAW? I would say having a legacy of bankrupting the American Auto Industry and Blue Shield should get him a handsome settlement. That is what I call bringing them to their knees. Something the UAW excels at.
Our currency has been in trouble for a very long time. Now the UN wants to do away with the dollar. Go to a universal form of exchange. This Congress and President LOVE the stinking UN so we may see the end of the greenback and become just another country in the global community.
Fair trade is what people try to get for their old GM car and get screwed. I learned 20 years ago not to buy a GM vehicle on time. It does not keep up with the payments. You almost always owe more when you go to sell than you will be offered in trade. Pay cash and sell on Craigslist and you will do better than the next guy.
You asked what I think about the standoff between GM, the UAW and Bondholders.
Well the bondholders loaned GM money in good faith that they would pay it back with interest. The UAW and GM went into an unholy alliance using the retirees as expendable pawns. Both the UAW and GM are to blame for the imminent loss of health care that was promised to the retirees. Why should the bond holders lose because of that poor deal between the UAW and the D3?
Workers had a contract with the company; we'll give you our time and skills and you'll pay us a wage now and when we retire.
Which group deserves to suffer the most harm and loss if the company goes south?
I've probably asked you this before but I can't remember...what two cars are those? I drove to work today in a 1985 Silverado. My newest car is a 2000 Intrepid, so the I'm probably not on the auto industry's most loved lists, either!
Because the Japanese are masters of refinement.
The Americans are masters of original research and design.
I'm not sure if you have, but I may have posted this info in one of the other forums, maybe "Fix or Trade Up"?.
Anyway, first car is an '87 BMW 325 with around 190,00 miles on it (original clutch).
Second is a '92 Nissan Sentra SE-R with 143,000 miles.
Well, if the bondholders (owners) suffer more, then investors are going to be reluctant to invest (either through stocks or bonds) in a company. So, a company cannot get off the ground or cannot keep going, short of a venture capital firm stepping in or a taxpayer bailout.
If the workers suffer more, they can always go work someplace else :P The company can almost always replace them.
With the current climate that might be hard to do with my next purchase. I hear used values are going up and with production going down, it might get harder for me to find as good of deals on used that I've grown accustom to.
I'm probably not going to buy a brand-new car anytime soon, especially when I think about how fast the value of my 2000 Intrepid dropped. It's a moot point now, as the car's 9 1/2 years old, with 145,000 miles, but at the time I could've probably found a year-old one for around $12-13K, with maybe 10-15,000 miles on it. I think mine ended up being around $19,400, brand-new. I can never remember the price of the car itself...just the out-the-door price of $22,389, which included sales tax, shipping, fees and crap, and a $1200 extended warranty that I never had to use.
Interest rates on used cars were higher back then, though. While I got 0.9% on the Intrepid, I remember used car rates were running around 6.75-7% at the credit union. A $12K loan at 6.75% comes out to about $2170 in interest over 5 years, while the $20,389 I financed at 0.9% was only around $470 in interest. Fairly big difference, although here the used car still represents a pretty big savings.
If I still did the amount of driving I used to, I'm sure the Intrepid would have been worn out and tossed years ago. I think I put around 36,000 miles on it in about 14 months. But that tapered off. By the time I made the 60th payment, it had around 99,000 miles on it. I remember it turning 100,000 on Christmas Eve, 2004. And over the past year it only clocked about 6,000 miles.
At the rate I drive nowadays, I guess any new car I bought would last forever!
The city of Vallejo filed for bankruptcy protection Friday to deal with a ballooning budget deficit caused by soaring employee costs and declining tax revenue.
The San Francisco Bay area suburb of about 120,000 residents became the largest California city to seek bankruptcy protection.
The seven-member City Council voted to authorize the city manager to file for bankruptcy protection on May 6 after months of failed negotiations with its police and firefighters unions.
After that vote, city officials and union representatives continued to meet in hopes of reaching a last-minute deal to stave off the bankruptcy filing, but the two sides couldn't come to an agreement.
Many officials and residents blame Vallejo's chronic financial problems on labor contracts that they say provide overly generous pay and benefits to the city's police officers and firefighters. Those city workers comprise about three-quarters of Vallejo's general fund.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/23/vallejo-calif-files-for-b_n_103356.html-
I find it hard to accept when We pay some 300lb donut munching cop $150k per year to sit along the road running a speed trap. Like the one that just got his job back in Nebraska.
-Rocky
-Rocky
The bottom line is the 2010 Buick Lacrosse, is the finest automobile ever built for the middle to upper middle class. Sure a Rolls, Bentley, Mercedes, and some Jaguar's might offer a few more luxury touches but none of them are priced under $50K and the new LaCrosse, is even nicer than my favorite luxury car the MKS. The only thing that comes close is the CTS, which I love to death but I like lemko, prefer the smooth, library quiet, ride and luxury over just raw performance. If I need to get my sports car fix well I can ask mom for the Saturn Sky Redline, keys for a few hours!!! :shades:
-Rocky