nc211

Well my friends, the economy, and an offer that we simply can't refuse, has caused us to accept the position being offered to me in Chicago. My wife and I returned home last night after spending 3 days there looking around "and freezing our butts off". We arrived on Saturday morning, went to the Hancock building in downtown, had lunch at the signature room on the 95th floor, facing Lake Michigan and watching sheets of lake-effect snow come in. We looked at eachother and said "what in the hell are we doing here?". But, a couple days later, and a few tanks of gas spent exploring the surrounding areas, we found a beautiful subburb called Glen Ellyn. On Monday night, we found a home originally built in 1906 that had been fully renovated "down to the studs" in 2005 for sale. I won't tell you the price, but I will say that most homes in that area are in the very high 6 figure arena, with several in the 7 figure area. The housing market there is in the tank, price reductions of $50k-$100k are happening across the board....so it's a renters market! The owners are willing to lease it to us, and we're now working on those terms and conditions. But I am confident we'll get it "only one thing stands in our way...they're agreement to suspend the for-sale aspect of the house while we're there". So, it looks as though the NC211 family will be living in Chicago in a few months. You yanks better perpare yourselves! The Grit express is on it's way! For my fellow Chicago friends and family on here.....any pointers/suggestions on the area would be of great appreciation!

NC211, you are now my financial advisor! I never thought i would be able to fill my civic from 1/4 tank for $24 again! Hahahaa... Sadly, the ability to read some of the future, doesn't mean I have any powers to avoid it. If I did, believe me, I'd of steered us clear of the mess going on now, and what's coming down the chute at us during the next 12 to 24 months. We're in the poo-poo amigos. And we have $4.50 a gallon prices to blame for it "among other areas too". Bad news, is just that to most americans, bad news. But when it's at your local gas station, it's bad reality. I certainly hope the incoming powers of government think this through and put in the right protections in the commodoties sector so we never face what we faced a few months, again. And if we do, it better really be about supply and demand, not speculation and fear.

Thanks amigo. I tell ya', the hits just keep on coming sometimes. You know the drill, we all know the drill. Everyone hits those bumpy parts of the road where it seems to be coming from all sides, then it passes. We're probably going to Chicago in March. The office isn't scheduled to close until Feb, so we've got time to enjoy the holidays, put the house on the market "although the company might buy it from me instead", and avoid Chicago for at least this winter. At the end of the day, as the emotion of this challenge fades and we're able to think more clearly about the path and opportunities ahead "thankful to just have them", the sting of this decision is fading. We're actually starting to get a little excited about the prospect of seeing a few things in life. If we have to do this, now would be the time to do it, as our son is only 6 months old. So we've got a few years before his personality starts to be formed by his environment. Which hopefully should be enough time for this economy to recover, the opportunities to start coming back, and we can get back to the part of the country that we love...the southeast. Eitherway, we're going to lose the house. We either replace it with a nicer one, but in a distant location. Or we have to sell it because we'll not beable to afford it. Chicago lets my wife stay home with our son, puts considerable more money in our pocket, and lets me hide under a rock from the economy. Plus, continue building on my experience, finally pick up my MBA, and keep moving up towards the top of the top of what I do for a living. But, have to leave NC for it. Or, we pass on the offer, and I go into the unemployment sector with the hundreds of thousands of others coming from the banking communities and Wall Street "even though I don't do what they do". So, at that angle of approach, it's really a no-brainer for us. Plus, I've got enough frequent flyer miles for my wife and son to come home at least once a month for the next 2 years. Which is a must for me! Everyone is going to get a blackberry, and everyone is going to get a webcam. So we'll beable to ease the distance a little via technology as well. I'm just not looking forward to the winters, and riding the train into the office everyday. But, it beats the alternative. They're throwing 6 figures at us to do this now, which is pretty much impossible to pass up. We've been in the upper end of the 5 figure range here. A 43% increase in income.

You know, my thinking is, when you're at the bottom, there is only one way to go. In the past, as I'm sure you'll probably agree RX, when the stink hit the fan, it usually took one or two sectors with it. In this situation, which I can say is the most severe in my life time, it seems to be impacting all sectors. There doesn't seem to be a pocket to hide in to ride it out. A few weeks ago, I thought commercial real estate would be the pocket, but now, I'm starting to agree with the reports that it's the next shoe to drop in this mess. Unlike the dot.com tank 8 years ago, and the residential housing meltdown now, CRE underwriting fundamentals have maintained strong principles. But, I think it's going to get wacked next year too. My company has come back with a better offer for us to go to Chicago, and we've decided to take it. Honestly, it's the only rock I can find to hide under until this blows over, and keep moving up in the business. Very gut-wrenching decision, but we've got to do it. The state of this economy and the struggles it is causing people, hit me square between the eyes today. While on the way back from the local computer store earlier today with my wife and son, I received a heartbreaking phone call from my brother in KC. A dear family friend, father of 3 little girls, and former asset manager of my dad's old company, was discovered yesterday by his wife slumped over their family computer dead. He was only 39, was working on his resume, and suffered a massive heart attack. They don't make men like that anymore, he was a true man of the upmost character and strength. It's 12:45am right now as I type this. I'm sitting here with the baby monitor to my left, and my 5th beer to my right. And as I sit here, my heart is simply breaking for my friend's family, and fellow countrymen. So I say this about what Obama is facing: A success wouldn't be a recovery, but simply the ability to stop this mess. Level the playing field and make yesterday's closing bell the bottom. That would be a sucess in my book. I swear on everything I stand for in this life, the FBI better put some of those CEO's from Wall Street in jail for this. I don't think they're completely to blame for the underlying trigger of this. But they are to blame for the severity of it. The global reach of it, and the wide spectrum of casualties it's going to take with it.

I AGREE!!! I think one of the problems with the economy, is the confidence of the players, which has been beaten down so much for so long with so much negative stuff.

I just want to bring to everyone's attention who are feeling the fear of this economy thanks to all of these negative reports coming out from analysts. Some are saying we'll lose 2 million jobs next year, and only regain 500k in 2010. Some are saying well lose 1 million next year, and regain 1.2 million in 2010. Almost all are saying it's economic doom and gloom for the next 12-18 months. Are we in for some bumpy times? You betcha'. I for one have been tossed onto the fire myself, thanks to my boss deciding to retire EARLY at the end of Jan, and the home office deciding to close this office. They've given me the option to move to Chicago and do the same job I do here, which would equate to a significant step backwards in our standard of living, amongst other hardships to my family. BUT, I want to point something out to you all regarding all of these forecast reports from these "professional economists". Many of these are being written by the same folks who just a few months ago insisted oil would be $200+ by this time and that we would never see sub $100 prices again, ever. And they're also the ones who said 3 years ago that the economic financial engine of this country was the strongest, safest, and most solid that it had ever been in our national history, while Guss the bus-driver with is $40k income was closing on his $500k McMansion. So, don't let all of this negative junk get you down too much. Yes, we have a problem with the housing market. Yes, we've (the government and tax payers) have taken on a lot of debt with this bailout, but don't think of it as a bailout, think of it as an "investment" with the potential of huge profits back to the government and taxpayers. We'll get through this, and the band will start to play once again. Probably in 12 months or so, is my guess. Just remember, these analysts are reporting this stuff with yesterday data. The thing about "data", is that it doesn't take into account the key element of any sucessful outcomes.....the human element. Plus, when you use a benchmark from the peak of the chart, any downturn will look even worse. But when you use a benchmark from just a few years ago "say 2004", we're actually readjusting to that level. Not all of this 1918 crap, which is just horsesh*t to bring up. We've come A LONG way from the great depression, and short of a few nukes going off in NYC and DC, I doublt it'll ever happen again. Well, certainly not right now anyway, and not from this correction.

There's nothing else to "debate", it's done. You know us, we only get vocal when we've got crap to argue about. I think we're all in the hangover stage from 2 solid years of listening to these blowhards on the news every night campaigning and saying things to frighten the american public away from one side or the other. I for one, am numb at the moment actually, and preoccupied by the economic b/s storm that's still brewing. Thankfully we've still got the "gas prices" thread to bark about! Although, that one's pretty slow at the moment too. Guess I'm gonna have to fuel up this place with somemore economic forecasting boogie-magic, eh? I'll go post in that thread now... ;)

Sidex, welcome my friend to the American LOC boards! I think you'll find that we'll probably ask you more questions, than you of us, as our curiousity of your home is quite strong! You speak very good english too! And the pictures of your area are quite nice. Welcome, and feel free to ask any of us anything. Man, I love the internet! It's simply amazing that I'm sitting here, in Raleigh North Carolina, talking to a guy in a small town in Russia! And not only that, but on the night we're electing a new President of our nation. Besides a few photos of Pam Anderson, this is what the internet is all about! My dad is a retired US Air Force bomber pilot. He use to fly B52 bombers, with 7 nuke bombs over the northern atlantic ocean. He was part of a group called Chrome Dome, which were in the air 24/7 flying circles over the atlantic, ready to attack Russia on a moment's notice. This was back in the 60's and 70's. 15 years ago he was invited to Moscow as part of a business envoy to help establish the commercial real estate investment industry. On many occasions since that trip, he tells us about how he drove the tourist boat down the river through Moscow "bribed the boat's captain with a pack of Marlboro cig's", and could barely hold back the tears. He said it was one of the most powerful moments of his life to actually see the church steeples and certain roof-tops of major buildings that he only saw from spy photos. He knew those buildings instantly, because he was to use them as "turn & drop" points during a bomb run to nuke Moscow. He said the thought of actually being one of the few guys on earth who's mission was to erase such a beautiful place off the face of the earth, broke him down to tears, and said it was one of the best, and shameful moments of his life. I'm glad it never happened, and hope it NEVER does!!

Thanks D', I greatly appreciate the kind and warm comments. Now is a challenging time for me, but I'm confident that one door is closing for another "and better" door to open. I just have to find it. I'm doing my research in the area, have found a couple unique and strong potential doors for what I do. Thankfully though, I do have a few months to work with, and I'm with an outfit that is very good to folks like me in a situation like this. It's unfortunate, but I've got one sweet set of dancin' shoes, and know how to use them. I'm a bit rusty, but nonetheless, it'll come back to me once I get going...

......well folks, here we are..election day...and gas prices are the lowest they've been in a couple of years!! I can remember when gas hit the $2.00 mark back in 2004, and I was ticked! Now, I'm thrilled! Now, let's see what the post election bounce to the state of confidence in our markets bring. It could be a double edge sword, or it could be the beginning of a wonderful era of returning cheap gas prices! We'll just have to wait and see...but for now, it sure is nice to be back in the sub-$2's....

Well, guess it's my turn, eh fellas! I'm absolutely voting for Obama now, no question in my mind. And I'll tell you why. Out of this entire financial mess we're in now, there is only ONE real, actual, can be clearly identified, can be clearly blamed, trigger that caused it.... the lack of regulation oversight in the housing financial market, single family. Nobody was watching as bad loan after bad loan was approved, then packaged into securitization pools of utter nonsense called CDO's "collateral debt obligations" with rating agencies on the payroll to give those packages AAA credit ratings. Match that with Greenspan's lack of understanding what too much liquidity in the market place can lead too "he kept interest rates too low for too long", and you've got a perfect brew of crap-soup. As a former credit union guy in commercial lending, I knew when the NCUA regulators would come to town and rip through our books to make sure we were doing it right. But, where in the h*ll were the same counterparters over at the FDIC on the bank side? Of all the mess, this is the one and only true trigger. The rest of this stuff, is "emotional" plays on the lack of confidence that has spread across the world. And if the world wants Obama, then I do to. We have got to break out of this cowboy, you do it our way or else, frame of mind, especially right now. And this is coming from the member of this forum who for years had G.W. Bush as his avatar and defending his actions. I also think that in a nation with an annual growth rate of approx. the size of Atlanta, "out of the box" thinking is needed sometimes...this is one of those times. Cutting spending across the board will only allow our infrastructure to continue aging "I'm talking roads, bridges, schools, etc". Obama is right, we've been using the ax for the past several years....we now need a scalpel and do a little open-heart surgery on the nation. It wasn't Clinton's "house for everyone" platform that did this. It was the reversal of regulations with the banking and financial markets over the past 8 years that did it. It allowed scumbag used car salesmen to become residential mortgage brokers. The system was abused, and now it's toast. I'm also voting for Obama for very personal reasons. As many of you know, and/or have figured out about me, I'm in commercial real estate lending for one of the nation's largest private insurance companies. We're one of the only ones left on the stage right now, with over $1.5 billion to invest. I've issued investment committments for single projects north of $350m+. I got here over the past 6 years by taking the long road, learning the runs on the ladder, when most others simply went straight to MBA school and got in at this level from there "but don't know how to do it". I'm not proud to admit that I've foreclosed on nursing homes in Alabama "quit that place inside of 6 months", I've hidden out in the residential sector with National City Mortgage after 9/11. I've financed start-ups, SBA, business lines of credit, doctor offices, entire fleets of service vehicles, over the road 18 wheelers, even airplanes. I can walk into just about any mall in this country and tell you which shops are going to make it, and which aren't, just by the type of cash register they have. But, even though I'm now with an operation "have been for the past 2 1/2 years" that is not hurting, is not over staffed, and has cornered the market....I'm being forced to decide between moving to Chicago, or losing my job. My boss is retiring at the end of Jan., and the powers that be have decided to give our footprint "east coast" to the Chicago office. To top it off, my wife's only sibling is preparing to be deployed to Afhganistan to help sweep the caves, a 22 year old kid from small town NC, on his 1st tour, at Christmas time. So, I'm now being forced with the decision of being the guy who takes the other child of that family "and only grandchild" away from parents who are also preparing to send their other kid to war, or lose my job and enter a job market that hasn't been this bad in my entire 35 years of life. I don't know if we could sell our home, I don't know how I can afford Chicago for a family of 3 "and 3 cats", I don't know how my Carolina Girl wife can handle Chicago....I just don't know. I'm pinned in a corner at the moment, and growing more and more angry as the hours go by. So, am I going to vote for the guy who wants to put in regulators on Wall Street to prevent this from happening again? You're d*mn right! Am I going to vote for the guy who wants to bring the "other" American pride to the world stage, our minds, our spirit, our friendly nature, instead of anger, intimidation, and war, you're d*mn right I am. I AM the head of the household of that middle class family he's talking about. I am at the brink of busting out into a very successful career, but am now faced with certain disaster eitherway to get it. We will be fine and will ride this out ok, no worries. But what's left of my hair line, is quickly turning gray now. I watch my 5 month old boy sleeping at night, and outside of the overwhelming love I feel for him, is an increasing sense of rage against those who have caused all of this and are forcing me to make the toughest decision of my life...leave my home or lose my job. I'm now 100% certain that McCain didn't drive me away to Obama. No sir...Obama won my vote fair-n'-square. You've got to admit guys....he's an up from the bootstraps kind of guy, the most unlikely candidate to ever be this far, and yet has taken down the most powerful candidates of his party along the way. I know I'll probably get bashed for the following, but there was once a president who did not have a lot of experience either, and sucessfully stared down the Russians in our own backyard, and energized a tired and scared country to put a man on the moon. I'm not saying Obama is this guy, but I am saying that I'm now excited by the prospect of that sense of American spirit returning. McCain....doesn't have that energy anymore. Obama is going to win this election, and he's going to do it because he's worked hard for it over the past two years of campaigning. There's something there about him, and after 2 years, if there weren't something there about him, I think he would've been sniffed out and booted a long time ago. I mean, his name is Barrack Hussien Obama for crying out loud. He's a black guy, with minimal experience, skinny as a rail, and has taken b/s from his competitors ranging from his church to home to his family members to his religion. Yet, here he stands, with the vast majority of the WORLD praying he wins. Yet, here he stands, victorious against the Clinton machine. Yet, here he stands, facing friggin' John McCain for crying out loud, and beating him too. I don't know about you guys, but I like a guy who can take that kind of beating and still walk tall. To me, that sounds exactly like the America needed to take the world stage and start fixing problems.

Not necessarily SWO, the industry data we're seeing and hearing about China is starting to mimick our own economic indicators for a bumpy ride. Property values over there have begun to reverse course as well, which was the initial trigger to our current condition. We're not sure if they'll hit a full recession, like we are, but the feeling is their growth will go completely flat while the world corrects the on-going errors of current. The two question at the moment though for China are in thier oil positions, and product safety. It's bluntly obvious now that several investment banks truly were trying to manipulate the oil sector over the summer to stay afloat, but when they ran it up to a point of forcing folks to stop spending their excess income on anything but gas, and parking their cars, oil imploded and the cash-runners took their profits and split. Unfortunetaly for the i-banks, they were too heavy in that sector and put too much on the bet of $200 a barrel. It's fascinating to me to watch actually. When oil hit the $120 price point, the tumbling of i-banks began. There was simply no other sectors for them to run to, and simply ran out of runway and crashed. We're not sure yet if China's players were, or have, made bets of similiar fashion. It wasn't until recently that the government suspended the subsidies on oil... We're also not sure what impact of their product safety record will have on the consumer's mind. I for one, try to avoid "buying China", if possible. Even if it's an extra $5-$10 bucks.

Here are a few clips from some articles I'm seeing that suggest my theory... At the beginning of the year, OPEC producers felt confident that strong economic growth and tight supplies would keep oil prices high. When oil crossed the $100-a-barrel threshold in February, the cartel's president blamed speculators and said there was not much OPEC could do. But now, panic is gripping producers as prices drop. Oil is down by half since July, and the speed of the decline has stunned oil-rich governments that have become dependent on high prices. History suggests that OPEC will face a tough time propping up prices as oil consumption slows and the world teeters on the edge of a global recession, analysts said The cartel, which controls 40 percent of the world's oil exports, has found it difficult in the past to get all its members to abide by production cuts. When prices fall, producers have an incentive to increase their output to maximize revenue, not stick with OPEC quotas. The group's 13 members earned $730 billion from oil and gas exports last year, up 12 percent from the previous year, according to OPEC statistics. This year they are on track to hit $1 trillion. Iran and Venezuela, for example, need $95 a barrel to balance their budgets, according to various estimates. Saudi experts estimate the kingdom needs oil at $50 to $55 a barrel to balance its budget. Russia are also threatened by a prolonged period of lower prices. Last month, the Russian government sent a high-level delegation to attend an OPEC meeting as observers, a sign that Moscow is anxious.

You're darn right it's a SCAM! It's your car telling you it's time to change the oil, that's it! It's set at 5,000 mile intervals from when it's reset. So, if you buy the car with 0 miles, change the oil at 3,000 miles, the light will still come on at 5,000 miles. $200 bucks? Buddy, you've been hosed amigo. The "check engine light" is the one that triggers if there is a problem. The maintence light is simply for the oil changing. It should say that in the car's operating manual. And no, you won't void any type of warranty, especially if you owners manual tells you what it is and how to turn it off. To reset it: set the odo to the total mileage count of the car, turn off the car, push and HOLD the reset button on the odo menu while you turn the key to the acc position "electonics come on but don't start the car". Hold it for a few seconds, the light will blink a couple times, and go off for the next 5,000 miles. 4runners do it too.

It's Wednesday, there's been quite a lot of press about OPEC's pending production cuts...and oil is still holding in the $68-$70 window! I hope nobody invests in oil, as it's starting to be revealed that many of our enemies have banked HEAVILY on the prices remaining north of $100 to sustain their "programs". One shining light in this economic meltdown could be the fact that we bankrupt others that hate us, in the process! I'm talking about Iran, Venezuala, and Russia. Oddly enough, in light of the pending negative results for these countries on the oil collapse, they're now trying to structure another OPEC set up for natural gas... The only way to stop these evil empires "outside of conflict", is to not buy oil stocks, let it flatline to the hopefully correctly predicted levels of $35-$40 a barrel. Then, we'll see them scramble to make their national debt payments and burn through their reserves, and start begging the world "especially the #1 consumer" to start driving again, start rebuilding the economy. Oddly enough "and I know this is horrible to say in light of so many job cuts, possibly me included", there might be a silver lining in this for the best interests of our great nation. Apparently, we're not the only nation that has restructured their economic base during the past 5 years of massive consumer spending and inflated values! But, we're much better at weathering the kick-back storm that always appears from these types of periods in history. Iran, Russia, and the others, aren't! Moral of the story: let's continue conserving, rebuilding our savings account, and sit tight close to home for a bit longer. Go mow the grass, catch up on your favorite TV shows, take another "staycation" and check out what's new in your town. If we sit tight and let things shake out, we could very well come out ok. It's gonna hurt in the short term, but in the long term, we could be back to the good ole' days of cheap gas!

Two guys on here (one being me) have both said that their kickback problems were completely solved with new motor mounts. I saw where you assumed you weren't having motor mount problems, but I don't see where you've replaced them, or posted a date in the car's service history when they were replaced. If they are the originals (now 15 years old), I practically can guarantee you that they're ready to be replaced. I would stop the electrical hunt, and start with the mount hunt. If you don't address that possiblity, you could very well replace the entire engine, on the original mounts, and still have the kickback/clunk. It's the driver's side mount that wears out first, and when you start the car, the enigne torques inside the bay. When the mount gets old, it will force the metal supports of the mount against the frame of the car, causing a kickback sensation and clunk noise. That's all the advice I can give you amigo. I had a kickback problem too, and was solved for good with two new engine mounts. Unless if your car was heavily tweaked by the previous owner, I honestly think you're chasing your tail if you ignore the engine mounts.

I think the closest you can get to a "Lexus" minivan is a fully loaded Toyota Sienna. The reviews I've heard about that minivan, all say "Lexus".

I was next to a Genesis this morning on my way in, my first look at it. And honestly, there is still something "missing" about it, as with all of Hyundi cars. I can't describe what it is, maybe the back design on how it slopes down around the trunk, or the wheels, or something. But there is something about Hyundi cars that just turn me off, something in their appearance. To me, in person, the Genesis doesn't appeal to me like it does on TV. Just something looks "cheap" to me in the stance of the car. The front end is definetly a MB ripoff though, no doubt about it. The one this morning was black, and in my mirrors, it looked just like a big MB. But from the rear quarter panel, it still looked like a Hyundi Sonata. The overall size of it too was a bit disappointing. It looked like a typical Honda Accord in size, not a full size luxury car. All the toys that comes with it though, sure sounds nice. Honestly, Hyundi is the reason why our little Mazda 3 has such things as rain sensing wipers, trac control, computer, adjustable headlights, etc... They say it's so it can compete with Hyundi and like cars that offer a lot of features for cheap dollars. I must admit, I really like these little "toys" they put in.

A few ideas come to mind. First, check the wiring harness in the trunk, on the driver's side by the hinge. Make sure the wire isn't broken or lost it's insulation and touching the metal of the car. That's a little secret for many electronic gremlins of your model series. A little black wire. Second, it sounds like you're in need of some tune-up / clean-up in the engine. I'm willing to bet your intake manifold is in horrible shape. I bet the butterfly opening of the intake is probably caked with carbon, causing the car to get choked. It's an easy process to clean. I'd also be willing to say your egr filter is toast as well, which again isn't hard to clean and replace. I'd also be willing to bet the pvc valve is gunked up too. This is where I'd start first. Do some searches on here for "cleaning intake", "pvc", and "egr valve". You should find the right direction and instructions on how this is done. It's not hard, by any means. And the cost for the parts is probably around $30 bucks. You'll want a new throttle body gasket for when you remove it to clean it. You can buy a new pvc valve for like $5 bucks, and the egr filter can probably be cleaned and reused. I can't recall that website with so much specific help for his series "lexls.com?" or something along those lines? Can someone post it up for him? You'll probably want some some new plugs and wires too. But before doing that, search for "seafoam" and learn how to clean out the top of the intake and valves with that magical stuff. Do that before replacing your plugs, as it has been known to foul a plug or two. Of these recomendations, the cleaning of the intake is the only one requiring any real turning of the wrench "gotta' get to it". The PVC valve should be on the driver's side of the engine, towards the front, on the cam cap. The egr filter should be in that area too, up top, easy to get to. The seafoam only requires you to pop off a line from the brake's master cylinder and set in a cup of seafoam. Start the car, let it pull the fluid in, turn off the car, reattach the hose, let it sit for 30 mintues, start it back up "it'll caugh and stall at first", then rev it hard. That's it. Pretty easy to do "warning, it'll smoke out your neighborhood, so do it in the country". The plugs aren't hard, just time consuming. The ignition wires can be tricky to remap, just take your time. Start with the plugs first though before buying the wires, as it just might be a plug and not the wires too. Mine, at 135k miles, had the original wires, just new plugs, and that badboy ran like it was new.

The GX certianly rides better then the 4runner, quite a bit better actually. But, I'm not so sure the difference between the two setups warrants the cost difference between the two with regards to servicing the suspension. On a "normal" set up, it's a $100 strut and two bolts. On the air suspension, you're dealing with stuff Gman references to, like the height sensors, and then it's air bags, pumps, hoses, etc... I think the answer lies in the question of "is the ride worth it to you?" Many say yes, and I can see why. But many also say no, and I too can see why. I know on the LS series, we tell folks looking at older models to avoid the air suspension setup, as it costs nearly $1,500 per wheel to replace. I'm sure the GX is designed to take a lot more abuse then the LS, but if buying used, I'd be weary of that. The interior difference though between the GX and 4runner is no comparision. The GX is soooo nice! 4runner is nice too, but nowhere near the GX.

I don't think he's turned his back on anyone, but the folks who threw him under the bus 4 years ago by parading him infront of the UN Security Counsel with bogus intelligence to support the invasion of Iraq, and tarnished his reputation. W' and his crew really screwed the pooch when they tossed Colin Powell out with the trash. That was a huge mistake. I don't know what role McCain has played in that regard to Powell, but I can only imagine if McCain truly was the "Maverick", his actions during that time would of, and should of, clearly earned Powell's respect and endorsement. But I do agree with you Lenore regarding some fresh air. This election process has gone on for far too long. So long, the candidates have simply run out of things to say, and are repeating themselves over and over again. McCain just seems like a bitter angry old man, and Obama seems too happy and too timid to take off the gloves and fight. I like Obama's cool-calm-collected approach to things, but sometimes I wish he'd "W'-up" and bite back with a clear shot, instead of just smiling and moving on. I hope, a new law is written about when campaigning can begin, and limit this stuff. It's been ongoing now for what, two years?

The only concern "and very expensive" repair about the GX series for me, is the air suspension set-up. Correct me if i'm wrong here fellas, but isn't one of the biggest differences between the 4runner and GX is the fact that the GX has air, and the 4runner has the normal strut and springs set up? Air suspension rides oh-so-smooth, but when they start to wear out, watch-out! It's probably one of the most expensive components on the car, and guaranteed to fail/wear-out far sooner then the engine and/or transmission "even if marginally maintained". That's the main reason why I went to the 4runner side. We looked at a couple used GX models when shopping, both had the air suspension, both were in the 65k-70k mileage range, and both scared me away. Mechanically speaking: A Toyota V8 engine is probably one of the best engines ever built, if not the best. I wouldn't worry about the engine or transmission. At 40k miles, the engine isn't even fully broken-in yet, to be honest. But, be weary of the air suspension a little. It's not that they're problematic, in fact just the oposite really. It's the fact that they will wear out, as all suspension does.

Hahaha.... John Edwards....what an idiot! Talk about a sleezebag. Hey, my wife has terminal cancer, wanna' go have an affair? What a pathetic excuse for being a man. Although, somewhat fitting considering how he made his money "ambulance chaser". I think Clay Aiken is also one of his love children. Someone needs to DNA those two.

Hahahah... I know, we're pretty bad! But, I've got another one: !Removed! Cheney's heart condition reads exactly like the warning label on Viagra "or so I'm told"! By the way, anyone heard from Monica lately? Some lady got all bent out of shape on a local blog associated with this story about Cheney. Said it wasn't nice to make fun of the VP of the USA, said it wasn't right to pick on him for having a medical condition. Until I reminded her Cheney doesn't have a medical condition, he is a medical condition.

I'm voting for him for several reasons. I don't like several aspects of Obama, but the world seems to. But, two of the reasons why I'm voting for him are as follows: (1), when he screws up and a scandal breaksout, I don't want the "oh, well, he's old, he's losing his mind" excuse to come into play, like it did with Reagan and the Iran Contra stuff. (2), I never want Hillary Clinton in the White House, period. Except for maybe the $10 tour, but with added security to make sure she stays within the velvet ropes. And you know she's hoping McCain wins, so she can run again in 4 years. It's so obvious to me that the Clintons are doing their standard two-faced routine. They're "stumpin" for Obama due to party obligations, but clearly want McCain to win, for pure selfish reasons. Those two "think" they're "deserved" to rule again. What arrogance. But, I will say this about Bush, and I hope Obama realizes this. There will be a glowing chapter in history for Bush. That chapter will be about when America really did do something for Africa. Bush really stepped up to the plate when it comes to helping those people. He made sure the money got to where it needed to be. I haven't heard one bad comment ever said about his performance in that regard, not even from Bono "who even praised Bush for his efforts". I would very much like to see W' continue in that role, if possible. $2 trillion dollars spent on the global economy. Can you imagine what 20% of that would do for Africa, if properly placed with the proper infrastructure to make sure corruption didn't creep in? It would be amazing. W' really did well in that regard.