And the award for the best shade throwing goes to...

[Burning Petard]

Andy, back in the late sixties, I was a young father with two kids in diapers and I wanted a small station wagon. On paper the Chevy Vega looked to be just what I needed. I shopped around at local dealers in central Michigan and nobody had one with a stick shift. The auto tranny was the 2-speed same as they were using in the big iron sedans. In the little Vega with the small engine, it was constantly shifting up and down hunting for a gear that would work with the low torque. Nearly 50 miles away I found a Buick dealer that had the Opel model 54 (Kadet B) that was very similar to the Vega wagon, with a stick. I bought it As I was leaving that dealer, a Plymouth dealer across the street called me over and talked to me. For the same exact price he could put me in a new full sized Plymouth 4-door. He could not get it into his head that I actually PREFERRED a small car. That Opel lasted me for a 160K with little trouble. I killed it after somebody backed into me in a parking lot and bent the frame in the middle. It also was ready for an engine rebuild--the valve cam shaft was worn nearly round but it still ran. I rebuilt the carb once my self. The base had a neat little leaf bi-metal spring operated mushroom valve that opened to let in more air when the engine was cold. I thought that was an interesting idea that I had never seen before, but I was pretty ignorant.

Meanwhile, time revealed the Vega was plagued with many problems. That was my last exposure to any GM car and that one was made in Germany.

snailgate.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Yes, the Ford Escort and the Hillman (Chrysler UK) Hunter were small cars by US standards, mid-size by UK standards. Another reason for smaller cars in Europe, apart from economy because gas (petrol) is much more expensive, is parking. US standard parking lot spaces are 8.5 to 9 feet and the UK is typically 2.4 metres = 7.87 feet (7'10") . That extra 8 inches makes quite a difference (insert appropriate joke here). I rented a Nissan Juke once in the UK which is a small SUV - it was all they had - and it was a bugger to park almost anywhere. I'm going to be in UK next week and I have rented a BMW 3-series - it's not too enormous and should be reasonable to park. But I have noticed that the SUV trend in UK is increasing.

[Scooter]

[Big RR]

[BoSoxGal]

One of my favorite political cartoonists through this whole Trump era - a brilliant Canadian, of course.

[Big RR]

Is that his head up his ass or his ass up is head? Either would be accurate for him.

[Scooter]

[Scooter]

[ex-khobar Andy]

Those who actually understand and study war say that lethality is not the issue. The US Military is not short of that, never has been, and Hegseth's focus on that is just idiotic. He dismantled the Office of Net Assessment which thought outside the box as to what the next demands on the US might be. The man is a dangerous fool and I am no great fan of US military adventurism (Vietnam, Grenada, Iraq etc.)

[Scooter]

[Scooter]

[Sue U]

But blue and orange he looks like the Mets. Oh, they're both from Queens, so at least that tracks

[BoSoxGal]

Hoisted on your own petard, Poilievre!