I take it all back

.........awaiting the birth!

 

GM, on the other hand, had to resort to silly crapola like giving their

A - HA!!!! That explains it. I somehow knew that nobody would be stupid
enough to buy an Aztek, as butt-frickin' ugly as they are. So they're all
GM employees, eh? Yeah, I'll buy that. It's the only explanation that
makes sense. -Dave

 

Are those 40 modern cars or 40 cars of any year? I can't think of too many
better looking modern cars. BMW...no, Benz...no, all the Japanese
makes...no...other American cars...well the vette. Also, have you driven
one? The high beltline gives it a real gangster feel, and somehow makes the
car more comfortable. Reminds me of the...er, um W117 (?) (the 450SEL
body...I really need to work on my memory of chassis numbers)
Richard

 

And following that, the after-birth (stolen from Mel Brooks: "History of
the World - Part 1" - referring to the birth of art, and then the
critics being the inevitable afterbirth).

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")

 

Well, then you're even more deluded than I originally thought, 'cause I'm
not.

DS

 

Of any year.

DS

 

Looks like this thread has been "hijacked" by the bitch boys, but I'll
respond anyway. I saw one too, at the dealer, and looked at it all over and
sat in it. It looks fantastic. It appears large, powerful, and luxuruious
far beyond its cost. I think they could charge $50k for it if they wanted
to, so the way it's priced I think you'll see a lot of "touring" 300s on the
road. I have a 94 LHS, which stickered for $30k a decade ago, and the 300
is a lot more car than that.

I also think if it comes up behind you, you'd want to move over; the nose,
and particularly the healights, are really high.

My least favorite thing about it is the trunk lid area. I hated that on the
300m, and darned if that wasn't the only thing they copied. In pictures, I
thought the C-pillar looked too Mercedes, but it's not as bad in person.

 

I was living an hour from Detriot (spelling intentional) at the time the
Aztek was released. They didn't show up on the roads, they didn't show up
on the roads, they didn't show up on the roads, then suddenly *BLAM*,
there were scads of them running around. An associate with family members
working for GM told me about the "get Azteks on the road in the hands of
our employees so the public at large will think they're cool and popular"
thing. Only from the mind of GM...

Or a "No, really, it's different!" Buick Rendezvous. Have you seen the
size of the incentives they've offered on these two road toads just to get
them to move?

DS

 

Yeah, Dan, right!

 

I somehow knew that nobody would be stupid enough to buy an Aztek,

Hmm. In the past few weeks, you also described a '94 LHS as a 'road toad'.
Picked the same term for the abominable Aztec, did you?

Yikes! No accounting for taste, I suppose!

--Geoff

 

I think it qualifies from a rear or rear-3/4 view, certainly. Not so bad
from the front.

DS

 

And, its just "the next thing." Auto mags never notice what is good,
they're only interested in "new." Thats how junkers like the Renault
Alliance win "Car of the Year."

My change of heart for the 300 is based solely on actually seeing it in
the flesh (or sheetmetal as the case may be.)

 

If you want to be that naive, go right ahead. I still contend that it is
not JUST advertising dollars, but a shallow-minded bias toward "new and
improved!" whether or not anything is truly 'improved' that lead car
magazines to slather praises on new models. At any rate, praise or
criticism of a model from any of the generic new-car magazines, Consumer
reports, JD power, etc. is meaningless in my mind.

Implication? I've always assumed it as fact.

 

The Scion (which looks like a shrunken Element) has stolen the title, I
think.

 

I'd like to see the actual sales profile. My observation is they sold a
HUGE flurry when the thing first came out, but haven't moved a single
one in the past 6 months (OK, I exaggerate). My point being there was a
small-but-willing market that now seems to be satisfied.

 

Who cares about THAT.... my question is "how do you back up to get at it
if you've got a flat tire (duh!) that reduces your ground clearance by a
few inches?" Wouldn't the undercarriage snag on the spare? What if
you're on uneven ground? That CAN'T be how it really works!

If so, its just further proof that minivans have strayed SO far from
their original market niche (inexpensive, practical) that they've become
ridiculous. I do like the fold-to-the-floor seating,though.

 

If so, its just further proof that minivans have strayed SO far from

Extend that same thinking across all passenger car and light duty truck
vehicle segments, and you're spot-on. *Everything* is more expensive and
complicated than it needs to be, and it's ostensibly all being done in the
name of satisfying the consumer. Apparently we've come to demand luxury
appointments in our pickup trucks, pickup-truck utility in our cars, and
other nonsense that does little, if anything, to really make the driving
experience more efficient, practical, or inexpensive.

Sure, it's a nice idea. But when given the choice as we were recently
between picking a van with that feature, or picking a far less expensive '03
van without the whoop-de-doo seats, we made the less expensive choice. It
just made a lot more sense to realize that it was something we could live
without and didn't need to pay for.

I guess we're unusual. <shrug>

--Geoff

 

My newest vehicle is a '93 and my SECOND-newest is a '73. I'm more
unusual than you are...

Seriously, I'm rarely tempted by new cars (the 300-C is an exception)
because they're just too ridiculously tarted-out with useless fluff for
my taste. That would be OK if it didn't also jack the price up to 3x
what a car should really be worth.

 

I'm glad to see that finding typographical slips is one skill you
possess. Is it the only one?


Matt

 

No, I also trade jabs with assholes like you (sorry, I just gave you a
promotion). YOU are the one who questioned my lack of sufficient vocabulary. As
such you were portraying yourself above reproach on anything dealing with
expressing oneself when communicating in the written word. Because of that I
just could not resist.