marchdecember

There was a grey Solstice parked in the KFC parking lot today. That was the color I was going to get... it looks nice, but the convertible top for some reason looks really cheap. Given the high cost (both monetary and otherwise) of actually getting one of these, I'm not sure it's worth it... especially when you live somewhere as rainy as this.

Of course, if one just happened to show up under my tree, I certainly wouldn't complain.

I'm seeing new Work from Home signs lately, that include the logo of an exciting new MLM business called Xtreme Health. Xtreme Health is different from Herbalife, in that it is trying to look more like a legitimate business. I even saw an Xtreme Health kiosk at the mall. Unfortunately, no matter how good the product, it's still using a horrible inefficient method of distribution. You know how you want to eliminate the middle man to get a good deal? Well MLM is like the king of middle men (and women.) The average salesperson has to support all kinds of people who are above them on the pyramid (or triangle, or whatever.)

Xtreme Health is a new ephedra-free system for losing weight. Ephedra based products actually worked pretty well, but like most effective weight-loss wonder drugs, they had the nasty habit of killing people. As far as I can tell, there is no reason to believe a safe herbal weight loss product exists, and Xtreme Health is no exception. That said, if you want to buy their products, hey, it's your money, and they probably won't HARM you at least. You never know... maybe they work.

But if you are poor and need extra cash, or you're just gullible, or whatever, please don't spend one dime on these MLM systems. They don't work, and I hate to see people get ripped off just so some fat cat who came up with yet another scam company can buy a new yacht or whatever. Please stay far away from Xtreme Health, or Herbalife, or Ameriprise, or Quixtar/Amway. Please stay far, far away.

The Detroit Auto Show opened up Monday, and they've got all sorts of new cars for you to see. Once upon a time the Detroit show was more a showcase for wild concepts that cars that might actually be built, but automakers for once are showering us with actual vehicles they might build. And here's a kicker... the cars might actually look like the concepts!

Here's some of the best from this year's show!

2007 Toyota Camry

Next year's Camry comes with a 268HP V6, reclining rear seats, push-button start, and a remote start system that automatically starts when you approach the car. It's almost enough to make you want to buy one! Nearly half a million already do every year.

2007 Jeep Wrangler

Look! It's the new Jeep Wrangler. Looks just like the old Jeep Wrangler, but it's not.

200x Dodge Challenger

Look for the inevitable aftermarket Cuda modification kit. Sign me up... for the car AND the kit!

Also worth seeing...

2007 Buick Enclave
200x Chevrolet Camaro

Some poor woman bought a 2005 Chevy Uplander with a ton of problems with it, including a problem with the headlights. GM has declared it to be a problem vehicle, yet she is still stuck with it. Shouldn't a large corporation like this replace problem vehicles immediately? Otherwise they make customers angry. Those customers go complain. Others read it. They post on their blog about it. You see where this is going.

Lemon vehicles happen, and I'm sure there are lemon Toyotas and Hyundais as well. Sometimes you aren't going to get a great vehicle. But consumers understand this. What they can't understand is being forced to drive the unsafe vehicle around while somebody at GM makes a decision. I'd be afraid to purchase a Chevrolet now, not because it might be a lemon, but because GM doesn't seem to know how to handle their customers... because I would be STUCK with the lemon.

Here's some advice for General Motors. Replace the van now! Just go, get another Uplander, and give it to her! Or, give her a refund, and allow her to buy a Honda or Toyota so she doesn't have to deal with this sort of thing again. Just because you make poor products doesn't mean you should make the customer suffer. Has GM forgotten that the customer is always right? Sure seems like it to me.

UPDATE: Good news! Plus, I make a cool picture!

Crossposted at Newsvine.

I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!

You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Awesome!

UPDATE: Max and December have taken the quiz as well. See their results, and add your own, here.

This guy gets his Jag S-Type rear-ended by a Hummer H2 on the freeway, but the H2 driver is insured by 21st Century Insurance. The H2 driver is clearly at fault, and 21st Century agrees to this, but then come the buts and ands. I hate companies like this... they start treating people like numbers, and they lose their way.

Ironically... I mean, they are called 21st Century Insurance yet they don't seem to understand that in the 21st Century these sorts of business practices will get you bad publicity.

There were only 20 diggs on this item when I found it on digg, but I bet there's going to be a LOT more.

read more | digg story

We may have seen the first spy shots of the next generation Dodge Avenger (Stratus), thanks to an alert reader/photographer over at GMInsideNews. (The photographer writes to say his name is Matt Semeniuk. It's important, okay?)

It certainly has the baby Charger dimensions one would expect of the next-gen Stratus. Or is it something else?

UPDATE: This could also be a 2008 Chrysler Sebring. They are based off the same platform. In fact, it may very well be a Sebring, and not it's Avenger brother.

UPDATE 2: Jalopnik takes notice of the next Avenger... thanks to little ol' me! I get stuff mentioned on big blogs all the time. Now why can't I get any traffic myself!? (Come on, go see what got mentioned!)

UPDATE 3: Spy shot photographer Chris Doane confirms it's the next-generation Chrysler Sebring.

This... this is really a stunning Camry commercial. Not only does it show off the next Camry, which is really nice looking, but it really illustrates where the domestics have gone wrong.

Wow. Even I want one now.

Remember earlier when I told you about the mom of four (or some number) kids that bought a Chevy Uplander only to find out it was a total piece of junk?

Well I took it upon myself to champion this poor woman, and to help her get a new van, or a refund for her old one.

And I am proud to say that today she has been contacted with an offer to purchase her van back. Now, in fairness, this has absolutely everything to do with threats from her lawyer, and nothing to do with me. But I did make this picture to make her and other Uplander owners feel better.

I think that was pretty constructive, don't you?

It's the new 2007 Lincoln Navigator. And it is... ugly.

I guess after a while you might get used to it. I mean... ugly people gotta get some lovin' too, right?

In a few days, the next generation 3-Series coupe will be revealed. Until then, we've got to rely on these photographs of a lightly camo'ed 3 in the wild.

Very nice!

Remember that crazy MR I ran into last year at Shoreline?

Well, I didn't literally run into it, but I saw it. Well, lately I've been seeing it everywhere. I saw it a couple weeks ago on the road, and then on Sunday at Alderwood Mall. I also saw the other NYG Neon there too. The gal who drives it works there, last I talked to them.

I love the new VW commercials with the guy from Prison Break. I've only seen the original, but I guess there are more (here and here.) Cool.

Coming across 520 I saw my first R-class.

Honestly, it kind of looks good in person. Jennifer did not agree. Then there was an earthquake and the bridge sank and we all died. Not really, but now that I've stopped crossing the bridge twice a day I wonder about these things.

Okay, these are really cool. I obviously need to get a 300C with some of these. Or maybe an Escalade. Or something else ridiculous.

They start around $15,000. Yikes.

Speaking of pimping my ride, Jennifer wants to unpimp her ride for real. It's her German heritage, for sure. Representin' Deutschland, Yo!

Okay, this is pretty cool!

Too bad GM didn't make this. Cause that would look pretty cool on the street. Not that anybody would buy it.

Seen today in Lake City... an all-new 2007 Dodge Caliber. The new Neon replacement is amazingly even uglier (and more truck-like) in person.

Hey, just between you and me, but it looks like Dodge replaced their once-wildly successful Neon with a station wagon!

Previously: I Spy: Mercedes R-Class. (Saw another one yesterday too!)

Check out the new 2007 Oldsmobile Aurora!

It's nice to see they've finally got a new Aurora out! It kinda-

What?! Oh. I guess I'm wrong. This is the new 2007 Saturn Aura!!! Well, how was I supposed to know? It looks like an Oldsmobile to me.

Here's the new Saturn Outlook too.

So did the Olds designers just move over to Saturn?

Seen today in the Eastgate neighborhood of Bellevue (slogan: Bellevue for Poor People): a blue 2007 Toyota Yaris sedan.

You know, it actually looks kinda nice!

Previously: 2007 Dodge Caliber
Mercedes-Benz R-Class

I'm seeing these R-Classes all over now.

This is the new XL-7.

BIZARRE!

I can't decide if it's ugly or beautiful, to be honest.

According to a new site from the government, if your child is under 4'9" they need a booster seat in the car.

REALLY? Doesn't 4'9" seem kind of tall? I mean, a few inches shorter and my wife would need one. We are really safety conscious these days. Check out how your kid is supposed to ride in a car.

That is the best behaved kid in a car I've ever seen. He's either on some serious Ritalin or he's just completed his first Scientology training course.

In some states these booster seats are actually required up until age 9! Kids sure get a lot more protection from the nanny state these days. These regulations are intended to protect kids from adult-sized shoulder belts. When I was a kid we were lucky if the car even HAD seat belts.

UPDATE: Jennifer says she was lucky when the car had a rear seat. When I was a kid I rode to Return of the Jedi behind the rear seat of a Ford Pinto.

Now THAT'S dangerous!

Looks like someone has caught the next generation 3 series coupe uncamoflauged on it's way to an auto show?

ZOINKIES! I... kinda... like it. More pictures here.

Long time no see.

Who needs traffic laws? They sure don't in India.

Hey, here's another great video! Oh, yeah, I know, it's the same exact video, but the subject is Videos of the Day, and if I show it twice, it's technically not a lie.

Wow. BMWs started getting weird the last few years... some might even say ugly. I never thought they'd start getting awkward and downright boring. Leftlane News has the pics.

A big I Spy update! Why do you care what cars I've seen on the roads? I don't know. I just like to write about it.

So I caught a black FJ Cruiser in Shoreline today. On the road it really looks nice... better in person than in pictures!

I've also been seeing a lot of 2007 S-Classes on the road. I don't know how long these cars have been out, but I just call 'em like I see 'em. They look real nice too!

And then today Jennifer and I dropped by our local Smart dealer. Well, kind of... they are Smart Fortwos that have been imported and modified to be street legal in (most of) America. They actually look nicer than I thought they would. In fairness, normally I don't mention cars unless I see them on the actual road. (I've seen FJs at the Toyota dealer for a while now, for example.) But I have a hard time believing anyone will spend $26-28K for one of these cars. Yes, they get good gas mileage... 40MPG or so. Yes, they're easy to park. Yes, they're cute. But a Prius isn't exactly giant, it gets even better gas mileage, and it's probably a lot safer in a wreck. (Plus it's cheaper.) And hybrids are cool these days.

You know those racing games where you're driving crazy through the city and somehow you don't hit any other cars. What if somebody did that in real life? Well... I guess they did.

For some reason one of these was prowling the streets of Kirkland a few days ago... a previous generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class. It was across the street from the Green Car Company... importers of the tiny Smart ForTwo, so maybe they were taking an A-Class for a spin? How should I know. It's really ugly in person.

So the other day there was a blue Viper GTS on Bothell Way. This isn't particularly noteworthy in and of itself. But the guy sure wanted everybody's attention, because he was sitting there at the intersection revving his engine very loudly so everyone would notice him. A lot of people must have been really impressed, because you could see everyone staring and looking at his super cool car.

On 145th today there was a gray and blue Arnage headed west. Bentley sightings aren't all that exciting around here, but I must say the Arnage is particularly ugly.

For $200,000 you'd think they wouldn't have to use spare taillights from a PT Cruiser.

I've seen two Pontiac Solstii this week, both in a drab shade of gray. Neither did anything for me, as usual. But I just saw the new Saturn Sky during lunch! The Sky is basically a Solstice with some slightly different sheetmetal, and a different interior. It looks really nice!!!

Unfortunately, it's still got that horrible convertible top. And also it's made by GM. I can't forget that.

Gas was under $3.00 a gallon yesterday at the local Gasco, and Safeway was selling it for $2.97 (with 10 cent discount.) It's nice to see gas prices come back to a reasonable level. Wait a second! That's not reasonable!!!!!!

Also, seen off 405 was a guy working on his Lotus Esprit which appeared to have broken down. Jennifer wanted to know why he was working on his trunk. :)

Last night in Woodinville there was absolutely no parking at the local Quiznos. Now, nobody was actually going to Quiznos, they were all going to the fancy wine place next door. That's why their cars were so nice. Parked right next to each other, and in a no parking area at that, were a bright yellow Gallardo and a Ferrari Something-Or-Other. I can't ever tell them apart. They're nice cars though, and they've still a that special something that makes you say "Woah!" They're not like Porsches. Those things are like Hondas around here.

I have always loved, even since I was a kid, figuring out what parts they use for the headlights and taillights on RVs. The other day we passed an RV that was using the taillights off a Grand Am! It used to be they only got these things off trucks. But not anymore. These days they look pretty wild.

This RV obviously stole it's lights from a Ford F-150. The grille looks to be from the same truck as well.

These sure look like they're off a Toyota Camry.

Taillights off a Ford Explorer SportTrac, aren't they? What's bizarre is they look so out of place. They had to go out of their way to fit them on. Why not just use something more tame. It's like Ford made an excess of them and were willing to sell them cheap.

Taillights off a previous generation Vette.

Off a Dodge Ram.

Looks like these are off a Chevy Impala.

I know, I need a life.

It turns out photos don't do the Dodge Nitro justice. It's actually a very nice looking vehicle. If I wanted a Jeep Liberty with a cross-hair grill, I could buy one and even use my same license plate. That would be cool.

I didn't even know such a thing existed.

To tell the truth, I think it's actually better looking than the sedan. But then again, I'm a poor judge of such things. I drive two of the most reviled vehicles on the planet. If only I could buy an Aztek, I would complete my collection, and then I would rule the earth with my tribute to bad taste, poor quality, and weird Japanese sensibilities! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Please someone explain this to me.

What kind of bizarro world am I living in where General Motors and Ford no longer sell rear wheel drive sedans, but Hyundai is prepared to enter the luxury RWD market with this vehicle.

What is going on?

I love trucks and I love new truck designs. I've always like to see modern takes on the class semi-truck. I just miss the cab over engine designs you used to see on the highways. (Think Optimus Prime.) Those were awesome!

Peterbilt

Kenworth

Lots more after the break!