nc211

its from ike, disturbing the refineries in tx and la. the fear was in the distrubution of the actual gasoline to your local station. they said a blip could last about 3 or 4 days, max. friday morning gas was 3.55 here. friday night it was 4.20plus. i bought just enough for a few days only, and kept my receipt for proof of price gauging, which is rampid here. this morning though, were back to 3.79

On my home computer, I actually have several live video clips from that day. That was when Kazaa and Napster were still around, and I went on and downloaded all that I could, for my own personal history of that day. One day my son will come to me with questions about 9/11, and if he's old enough and mature enough to comprehend it, I will sit down with him and we'll watch them together. One of the most intense video clips I have, isn't actually of that day, but the monolog of David Letterman when he returned to the air afterwards in his NYC studio. For as long as I live, I will never forget Bush's speech to the house on Sept. 20th. In my opinion, it was probably the best speech any politician has ever given, besides Roosevelt's "day of infamy" speech after Pearl Harbor. I'll also never forget how blood-thirsty this country was after the attacks. That was somewhat scary. Being in Alabama at the time, it was a parade of pistols. I must commend this great country for not running into a corner and hiding. I don't mean in a military way, I mean in a normal way of life. It's pretty amazing to me, that after such shocking attacks and all the threats against NYC and Washington, DC over the years following, that both cities have been in the top 4 fastest growing cities in America. To me, that really says something about this great country. Even though we're paying for it a little in the economy right now, it too shall pass. When the vast majority of communities are slowing down in growth, if not reversing a bit, NYC and DC continue to climb. One look across the DC skyline will confirm it, with their near 20 construction cranes high in the air, with more to come! Some may say the economic model of the past 5 years "cheap money and relaxed lending regulations" was nothing more then a ploy to divert American focus away from the war, and I don't necessarily disagree with that, we have really created a lot of wonderful things since 9/11. When some would of been paralyzed by such an event as 9/11, we weren't. I think those who lost their lives on that day, and those who've given their lives since then, would be quite proud of their countrymen to march on in their memory! I know I am!

SWO: As you know, I am familiar with DC, and can only imagine what that was like! It's tough enough to get around at 2:00pm on any given Tuesday down there. At the end of this day, I am always exhausted due to the adrenaline fueled moments of utter rage I still feel pumping through my veins. But, as many of you old-timers have witness with me over the years, I've calmed down a lot. But on this day, it pumps through me like a freight train. I'll refrain from a rant though. I think I've posted enough of them on here over the years. My dad was running down the runway at KC on a flight to NYC, when the pilot abrubtly pulled the throttles and stood on the brakes. He came over the radio and said "something has happened in NYC and the FAA has ordered a nationwide airspace closure". He's a former Air Force pilot and new whatever it was, was something beyond our history, if the FAA took measures like that. I, was working in B'ham Alabama at a commercial real estate shop. I remember walking out of my apartment and turning off the TV as Katie Curic was just comming on with news of a small plane hitting the WTC. I had just got my 01' Maxima and was looking forward to a nice, cool, clear morning drive in it. Had the windows down, roof open, and enjoying the 1st new car I had bought on my own. I sat in our conference room on the 25th floor of the SouthTrust Tower "main tower of downtown Birmingham", watching 9/11 unfold. As our fellow Alabama members will confirm, that tower use to have a big "S" on the top, that looked like a "$". We evacuated faster than rabbits. I, and a real estate saleman buddy of mine were at the Oak Hill Bar in Homewood Village by 2:00 pm, having a beer and in shock. What a horrible day....just horrible. Ok..one rant: We haven't "officailly" caught Osama Bin Buttchecked because we've pimped him out as the basis for our involvment in the middle east. I think if we had done a snatch-n-grab on him, then closed the book, we'd of had another just like him crop up, and another and another with no real military presence to combat it there. I also think Iraq was nothing more than a battle-ground for the fight. Afghanastan with it's mountainous terrain was too difficult. But in the open dessert...it was target practice. We showed up, and said "let's get it on". I think capturing him early, would of been sort of like when you capture a low-level drug dealer. Instead of arresting him, you use him as a plant to lead you all those who support him. Then you kill the *BLEEP*s Clint Eastwood style! Ok, I'm done...sorry, couldn't help myself. God bless this great country, and ALL of those wonderful men & women out there protecting not just this country, but this world, from those too cowardly to fight in the open w/o a scarf on their face!

Initially when I heard the news Friday night of the takeover, I thought the stuff had hit the fan. But as the weekend went on and I was able to spend some time tinkering and thinking in the garage, I changed my mind about this. Fannie & Freddie have always been a GSE "Government Sponsored Entity", a quasi-like arrangement. In the past, these two horses only played in the shadows of the market on the wholesale side, where they would simply buy mortgages from banks. But, as times changed, they took on a more "retail" position, especially in the commercial markets "apartments". There are many unkind feelings about that move, as many view it as unfair practice. For instance, our investments are funded with our own money, for our own clients. We play on a level playing field, and we're not backed by the government. Fannie & Freddie are, and in my opinion, took advantage of that. The government simply removed the "retail" aspect of the two operations and have pulled their cards closer to the vest. I think, for the time being, it's a good move. It's a far better one then trying to recover as "retail" players, which I doubt is possible. Plus, as I've said in the past, media perception plays a huge role in market confidence. With the government in the driver's seat now, and knowing how "secretive" they can be, it might be a good thing to shut down the media spin for a few months and get them off the front pages. It's very difficult to do anything when you're constantly under the microscope. One thing to remember though, as some media guys don't seem to realize, is that the cost to the tax payers, are the losses sustained, not the entire 5 trillion dollars worth of both portfolios. True losses are those mortgages that have stopped paying. Book losses are the ones where perceived home values have fallen. For example: Take 100 homes, each mortgaged with $80k mortgages each, and appraised at $100k each. That's a portfolio value of $10,000,000 (100x100,000). Of that $10,000,000 value, $8,000,000 worth of loans are against it. The "book" loss, or somewhat phantom loss, is when the home's value drops 10% due to over-supply in it's neighborhood. When home builders drop their prices for new construction to compete with existing, well most folks will pick the new construction, because it "smells new". So, the existing 100 homes drop in value. That's a "book" loss, and in my opinion, is being super-over-emphasised in the market. That's the "cost to tax payers" that is being reported, but in all actuallity, that $8,000,000 worth of mortgages continue to perform at a 98% level, which is pretty damn good! Banks are going under for several reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is due to "loss reserve" requirements that can't be met. This is due to that "book" loss. Many banks that over-stretched into the subprime and alt-a platforms, of 90%-95% LTV's, have now found that LTV ratio heading north of 100% "as values fall faster then the loan's amortized schedule". So, the fed requires them to set aside cash to their assets to compensate for that "book" loss. Which, in turn, kills thier ability to make money. Banks real money makers are those interest rates on their loans, but they've got to have the cash to lend. If it's all tied up in loss-reserves, they're screwed. I've said it before, just keep an eye on your local bank parking lots for repo'd cars/boats/RV's, ATV's. When you start to see those showing up, you'll know we're in the briarpatch. People will let their toys go way before they'll let their shelter go. I have yet to see that happen, in any meaningful way. Slow retail performance is being forecasted, and will probably hurt your local mall. As I mentioned earlier with the list of some retail outlets closing stores, people are tightening their budgets "for gas, food, etc". When the government tax rebate "stimulus" checks began to arrive, the government players said it would fix this. It didn't. But what I don't think they've realized is that many of us simply don't "want" anything at the moment. After 3 years of "buy buy buy" everything in sight, I think many of us are simply content with what we've got. How many of us have an HDTV now? How many of us have a computer that works just fine? How many of us have acquired many nice things over the past 3 years, and are now simply content with playing with them, instead of replacing them for even nicer? So many economists forget the "human element". If you put $5,000 cash in my hand and said "go spend it", my response would be "on what?" I think the "consumer" driven society is in a down-cycle at the moment, and won't come back until some of those things we've recently acquired need to be replaced. Or, the market place comes out with something that is just dang cool, we've gotta' have it! The last thing I've seen like that, are these LCD/Plasma TV's. And even then, prices have dropped so much that even Walmart sells them. But at the end of the day, we have nearly 10,000,000 new homes sitting vacant. We over built the residential sector over the past 3 years, and fannie/freddie are big components to blame for this "they were buying EVERYTHING being thrown at it from originating banks, simply put = they put too much money into the markets". Those have to be cycled through the market before the sun will shine again. This country grows it's population base at about a 1.2% level each year, or approximately the size of Atlanta. So, it's only a matter of time. In the meantime, the only thing you and I can do, is take care of your stuff! Clean those gutters, wax that car, fix that rotten wood, and get on your Home Owners Association to monitor your neighborhood. If you start seeing more "rentals" showing up, make sure you hammer the owners so they know they must continue to maintain the property and not leave it to the tenant. I say this "and experiencing it a little in my neighborhood" because many owners are being pulled to the bargains of the new construction. And instead of selling their existing homes, are choosing to rent them instead, which I think is a fools game. One big-ticket item will wipe-out all profits "like a new roof, hvac, etc." You've got to fight the absentee landlord-ism right now. This environment is ripe for them too. Borrow a pressure washer and go clean up the entry signs into your neighborhood. Start a campaign to get folks to invest $5 bucks into a can of paint, and 30 minutes to put a fresh coat on their mailbox posts out front. That sort of stuff is the only way combat depreciation, and maintain your home's marketablity appeal. Especially if you're competing with new construction, like I am here in Raleigh. We're still building! Especially on the western edges between Raleigh and Chapel Hill/Durham. Thankfully though, I live in one of the only neighborhoods in my area where you can still get a nice sized house under the $325,000 level.

Steve, if you get the LS "finally", what I am going to do in regards of chanting the G35 kicks the ES330's butt? Man, it's bad enough the market's in the can, my kid has figured out when to pee "when changing diaper, on dad", and my hair is falling out, now you're gonna go do something like this to me? I guess I better get up there soon, get you really good and drunk, and talk you into a Ford Taurus or something like that! Actually, just last week, I was in your neighborhood for the day. I could not get the blackberry to connect to the internet to contact you, or check my address book, but I was right there in Bethesda. Was checking on our two projects on Rockville Pike "actually 3 projects but one is about done". I mistakenly had the navigation unit set to "shortest distance" instead of "fastest time" back to Reagan airport, so I took a nice tour all the way down Rockville Pike to the airport. Took an hour, but man, are the honey's out in DC or what! Every street corner: bombshell babes....everywhere! I was thinking how funny it would be if I could find your office address, see your car in the parking lot, sneak up to it when nobody was looking and snap a picture of me licking the windshield, then post it on here later! Hahaha!! Anyway, regarding the Carmax route. I'm sure you'll do your homework, but one thing I've noticed down here with our Carmax store, is nearly all the cars are from up north, and sometimes when you look under them, you can easily tell what the roadsalt has done. Just becareful with them. Also, ours down here won't negotiate on price. It's either take or leave it type shop here. Ours also tries to clean your clock on trade value. If you could get one from a Lexus dealership, think you could negotiate an extended bumper-to-bumper warranty with the price? Granted, we all know how tough the LS is, but we also know how damn expensive they can be to fix. I'm always a little weary of a used car with under 40k miles, especially a LS, becuase they are so perfect. Kind of makes you wonder why the owner got rid of it? But, like me and mine, sometimes you just need a different type of car. In regards to W6RU's comments about the perceived negativety of the V8 in this market. I kicked some tires recently with trading our 07' Mazda 3 GT for a 05' Lexus ES330. The salesman immediately went into "kill the trade value" mode from the start. I told him "if you think that value is correct, then one of us isn't paying attention to the market. Since I've got the keys, which one of us do you think it is?" He laughed, but was clearly ticked "as was I at a $13k trade offer". Well, just last week, he called me at the office to tell me they just gave $17.5K trade value on a 07 Mazda 3 S', which has about half the options ours does. He said, and I quote, "management will bend over backwards to get all non-4cylinder engines off our lot" and said I could pretty much rest assured that they'd offer me around $19k for the Mazda. That's NUTS! I'm almost tempted to do it. Bet everytime I think I'm serious, I get a day with cooler temps which allows me to drop the windows and turn off the a/c, and race around like a teenager, which keeps me from wanting to trade it.

I hear ya' man. A GTR! Oh...you dog! Now that should be some fun! But, "and I'm not knocking your age", please promise me that if you do get one, you won't be the one getting passed on those two lane roads out there! I agree, there is a premium paid for the "L" badge. But, there's one to be paid on all new cars, which is why I normally don't buy new "unless it's under $20k +/-". For new, Lexus isn't cheap. But for a used buy, they're certainly one of the best values to be had if you can avoid the dealership's overly priced shop. But, after going from my cable-driven 95' LS400 tank, to the computer controlled setup of the 05 4runner, I certainly agree with you about working on cars. It's a whole new ballgame. 1st thing I had to do was buy some $250 computer so I could "talk" to the car. I'm still trying to figure out how that thing works completely. It says it can do all sorts of things, but all I can get it to do is read the codes while the car sits in the garage. After wasting 2 hours of my life trying to erase the transmission codes to reset the shifting patterns to tailor my driving style, I said a few dozen choice words, had the neighbor's bratty kids asking mommy "what's a dirty SOB?", and simply yanked the power cables from the battery. Although I love Lexus "a big part of that is this website", and plan on having another one later, I must admit as well, with such nice driving characteristics of Toyota in general, it's a little tough for me to swallow the price differences between Toyota and Lexus, especially in the service area. I'll probably "selectively" forget that though when it comes time to buy that gently used 05' LS430 and get back to my roots. But if I were in the market for a new convertible, like the SC430, I'd probably have to save the extra coins and get the Solera instead.

Top Gear & MotorWeek recently both reviewed the new M3, and both were left drooling on the steering wheel. Said it was completely breath-takingly awesome! I'd love to have one, but I don't see a baby's seat fitting in it "nor should it", and I'd have to sell my house, wife, child, dna, blood, and excellent credit score to get one. Not so much for the actual cost, but the insurance rates would kill me, because you KNOW I'd be in jail within days of taking ownership for going 180 mph somewhere. I haven't driven the speed limit since getting the Mazda in April 07 "got ticket first week we had it-1st one in 16 years". If I'm that bad with a 2.3 4 banger, imagine me with a V8 M3!!!

Your problems: 1) The thump you feel in the back, matched by a "defective" wheel in the front right, makes me think you probably hit a pot hole at some point prior to your last tire rotation, and it probably tore the rear carrier arm bushing. It's actually quite normal on all cars for some suspension bushings to wear out after 6 years "the rubber starts to crack". But I agree is a bit early for a SC430 with 40k. Bushings seem to be more sensitive to age than to mileage. Your warranty should of covered this. 2) Engine won't idle when it's cold? What do you mean? Are you saying it idles high, like in the 1,600 rpm range? Then settles back down to normal area around 500 rpms? If so, that's not a problem, that's a requirement of all cars today, thanks to the EPA. All cars idle high when cold so they warm up faster. A warm engine produces less pollution. But, if that's not what your car is doing, and just dies or you have to hold the idle with the gas peddle, then again, it's a warranty item "probably the TPS or MAF sensor". Again, basic parts that simply do wear out on all cars. 3) Sulfur smell from exhaust: No arguments here from me. 4runner owners, GX470 owners, LX470 owners, Tundras, and even a couple LS460 owners have been complaining about this FOR YEARS! Especially the 4runner owners! I have an 05' V8 4runner that can make your eyes water under a heavy foot with the back window down. I agree, Toyota has a company wide problem with their cat's about this. There are TSB's issued to replace the cat's with different ones "at least on the 4runner there is" that seem to fix it. It's covered under the company-wide emissions warranty of 8 years or 80k miles. I haven't fixed mine, simply because I like it, it's a great trick to get tailgaters off your bumper! Nothing like a 4.7 Liter !Removed! in your face to make you go away! But, in a convertible like yours, I can see where that might be too much to handle. Toyota says it's "fuel related", and to some degree it is, but not completely, unless you're putting in Paris Hilton fuel which makes everything smell "hot". 4) The new water pump/timing belt/ etc... I have to say, that's a buyer-beware situation man, as it's clearly stated in your owner's manual maintenance schedule to be done (either at 90k miles or 72 months). Now, having Lexus tell you to do it or void the warranty, that sucks, and I can see where you'd be ticked! But, it's part of the maintenance of the car too. I'm sure your timing belt and pump is probably fine at those miles, but age also plays a bit factor. In my opinion, not doing the service after 6 years of service, is no different then not doing it at 90k miles. You run the risk of the two parts wearing out. Most cars require this (at least all the ones I've owned over the years, including Nissan products-2 of them). If not the belt "chain driven", the waterpump for sure. But, I agree, you might be getting hosed a little bit there by the dealership. Hey, some are called "stealerships" for a reason. 5) Trim pieces: What can I say? It's plastic on a piece of machinery that takes a lot of abuse over it's lifetime. Sh*t happens man. Two pieces of plastic wear out on a car with a gazzillion parts working in harmony, ain't that bad really. Ever own a Chevy? Even the new $50k+ Tahoes and Diesel trucks have major problems like that, with 1/100th the miles. If you think Nissan's any better with their Infiniti badged G37....I hate to say it, but that thing won't be even close to the SC430. Granted, it may not stink like someone just dropped one in your lunchbox, but you can bet, you can absolutely bet, that you'll be dealing with a "broken fan blade in the a/c blower in the dash" type stuff. Brake rotors that cost several hundreds of dollars a piece, rattles to start to show after about 10k miles, thanks to their stiff ride and cheaper insulation materials in the suspension arena. They're nice, but they're nowhere near the quality of build of a Toyota. Heck, not too many things are. The two I've had personally (92' Sentra SE-R & 2001 Maxima SE) weren't the same car after the first 12k miles. My dad has that minivan of thiers "can't think of the name" and he's had to replace the a/c motor twice due the blades braking, along with several modules, and I can't tell you how bad that thing rattles. It has 35k miles. They all seem to get louder on the road too. Lots of road noise seems to creep into the cabin over time, even with new tires. A co-worker of mine has the G35 Coupe, and that thing is the biggest POS on the road! Granted, it looks good out there on those California roads, but that utter piece of monkeydung is always broken. Either won't start, or the rotors warp so badly they can't be turned, or the radio shorts out the windshield wipers, or the heated seats won't turn off and drain the battery, or the security system activates on it's own and shuts the car down while she's going down the freeway....it's just one thing after another. Last I hear, she traded it in for an Audi 4. Now...THAT says something when you trade for an Audi! But, I understand your frustration, I really do. However, I think you're letting your frustration spill-over to Lexus in general. They're not perfect, but nothing is. They're about as close as you can get though, in my opinion. I think that's one of the problems with Lexus. So many years of advertising slogans of "pursuit of perfection" makes people think they're perfect. When in reality, they're just cars, that take several thousand hard bumps, debrie, abuse, neglect, harsh weather conditions, time and time again. Things wear out, especially after 6 years of life. Don't believe me? Wanna' see my hairline at 35 years of age? That's proof enough!

For me: Late July, 8:30 pm, 83 degree water temp, 22 Ft Boston Whaler, Wilmington NC, 5 hours of sitting in the sun drinking beer while fishing a few miles off shore with my buddies, making that big wide left turn around the channel marker into the Inner Coastal Waterway (ICW) from Figure 8 island, heading south under the drawbridge at 45 mph towards home. Sun setting to the right, beer buzz chillin' to the left, and some "Tuesdays' Gone" by Skynyrd rattling around in the middle with the wind in your face, salt water spray in your hair, and the slight humming of twin Yahmaha 225's in the back ground. To me, that's most peaceful moment of my life and hope to get it back someday. Damn, I miss it something awful sometimes. You didn't say it had to be "car" related! ;) OR: being the only boat on the water and slowly crawling along the side of the ICW around midnight after too many beers and shrimps at Docksides and realizing the next morning while you're having your coffee and looking out your kitchen window at your buddies in their boats looking at the back of yours sitting in your dock, that you've got a dozen of their crab-pots wrapped around the prop. That's a one-time only mistake, but funny.

Ralph, man, you crack me up! Why do I have a feeling you've got that magical litter-box in the trunk of that 460, the air set to recirculate, and just grinning ear to ear going 90mph down the freeway while the cat clings to the rear deck speaker grill for dear life! Haha... Good to see no major damage to your property! I'm sure Blake is probably ok too, heck, he's probably somewhere around DesMoines now in his new 99' LS400. He probably plugged in is arsenal of gadgets, pointed north, and his still cruisin'. Steve, looks like we're on deck for some tropical weather this weekend. Looks to be a washout around here starting tomorrow from Hanna, and up your way during the weekend. Better hope Ike doesn't follow, otherwise we all might become lumberjacks around here. I remember in 96', Hurricane Bertha (Cat. 1) hit us, then Fran (Cat. 3) followed before the ground could dry out from Bertha....it was a huge freakin' lumberjack mess!

Haha...RX, ain't nobody gonna mistake you for a Dubbya' fan, ever! Gas Prices: If you look at all the seperate ingredients, a perfectly brewed recovery is in the making. Here's why: 1: price drops of oil these days are being driven by "supply and demand" characteristics alone, mostly. Fears of dropping demand are now world wide, including the emerging markets. Some dollar strengthening is helping, but only about 10%. 2: Iraq is quickly winding down!! And, it's not being done by us, but rather by them! THEY are ready for us to pull back and come home. Now, that's the true "Mission Accomplished". 3: China is poised for the Olympic Syndrome. Kind of like the day after Christmas for kids. 4: Dubia, one hell of an overly built monster, with beautiful structures, about 70% complete, and practically no infrastructer to support it, keeping vacancies of all that newly built real estate quite high. That's going to get quite costly, and could put them in a very desperate position that transfers the price points of buyers of oil, to the buyers, not the sellers. There are more and more studies coming out weekly now about the dangers of Dubia's big gamble. 5: No...more...Bush! The world wants him gone! They've been wanting him gone for some time...well, now they're going to get their wish! 6: The dollar: well, when you're at the bottom, there is only one way to go. If "demand" has pushed oil prices down to sub $100's, Bush leaves office, the world regains confidence in us, parties are held for Iraq's success...the dollar starts a strong rally back, oil will fall even further! The key here, is where the price of oil is at the start of the dollar's return. If it were at the $147 like a few weeks ago, then it'd probably be where it is today, $105. But, if oil gets to about $95, then the dollar makes it's move, it could easily eat up that $30 premium....and put it right at $65....or where OPEC's been saying is the actual cost of the last barrell of the day to produce. Just my theories...

SEGMN: Like I've said in the past, I don't disagree with you on the limited supply issues, it's just the natural course of life, nothing is forever, including "us". Your point of installing solar panels on your home is exactly what I'm talking about when I say technology will create a slower drain on the supply, by infusing new methods into the grid to supplement. The point here, is the price at the pump of today, not 5 years from now. You're a science guy, I'm a numbers investor guy. I think it's safe to say that you give my theories about 20% support, and I about the same to yours. Which, ain't bad, at all! But, to stay on target for today's oil situation: Did anyone notice oil dropped over $4 bucks while hurricane Gustav was going through the oil fields? Even when those platforms were shut down completely, along with the refineries, it still tanked! Can you imagine what would of happened if this were just 8 weeks ago? The bubble has popped, and will continue it's downward spiral towards the election. People have a clearer view now of where this country is going to go "McCain or Obama". Both have viable options to address this. I for one, am at the point of not caring who wins anymore, I just want it over and get this nasty uncertainty in the air out of here. Uncertainty creates stagnation, and brings in the vultures. As we get closer to election day, I'm still predicting prices will continue to fall. I'll make a prediction, and I won't come back an edit it later if I'm wrong.... I predict oil is in the range of $65 - $75 a barrell by March 09', and gas prices are in the mid to low $2 range. I could be wrong, but my gut is telling me elsewise. Foriegn investors are all saying the US is positioning itself for one hell of a market recovery... Gee...imagine that...forcasting a "recovery" after the election... Wow, my $30k education sure doesn't compete with those $200k+ Harvards. As for the "subprime" mess...well, it's only a mess when the mortgages arent' paid....things settle down, and we could very easily see the housing pressures ease up quite a bit!

Blake & Ralph, hope you guys make it through the next few days ok. I know you're both in/around the New Orleans area. Be safe, we'll be thinking of you guys! We might be dealing with one ourselves later this week, as nobody seems to know what the other one "can't remember the name" is going to do. But if memory serves me right "doubtful though", if it gets into the gulf stream anywhere around Jacksonville, it usually comes up and comes in right at the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, NC. We're due for ours "been 8 years", but you guys certainly aren't! Be careful and safe, Amigos!

I think my avatar speaks for itself! Although I didn't care for the movie itself, the Dukes of Hazzard had a few great scenes, especially when they jumped onto the freeway. That's one hell of a stunt! It's amazing the car's alignment wasn't even affected, and how it would magically repair itself in a blink of the eye. Lexus better catch up, they're a little behind in quality. But, for me, two of the best car scenes are from DeNiro's "Ronan", and the Jason Borne movies in general.

MotorWeek reviewed this car "Lincoln Mks" this week and I was able to watch it Sunday morning "huge feat with 3month old around". They "originally" thought the 3.7 V6 was too underpowered to compete in this class. But "now" think it's a great match considering current gas prices. They said it's no rocket ship, but it's no sloutch either. They loved everything about it, except for the cheap dash guages. Said they were "cheap, bland, common across the entire model line". They said the handling was typical Lincoln, understeer-floatiness, but with a few hints of tightness. Othewise, they loved it!

I absolutely agree! Wachovia "walk-all-over-ya'" certainly has some significant cracks right now. My gut says more than is being reported. But doubt they'll go under either. However, I do know they've practically disappeared from the big real estate lending game at the moment. So much "B & C" paper on their books, the required "reserves for loss" rules are locking up their capital. That, matched to the utter disappearance of wall street money for real estate, has them "and several others" pinned down at the moment. Funny enough though, credit unions are doing a-ok. And they can thank the american bankers association for it, as they've blocked the credit union's desire to increase their exposure to the commercial real estate world for several years. Credit Unions have been capped at 12% of their asset base exposure to commercial real estate since the 90's. They've been trying for the past several years to get congress to lift it to 20%, but the ABA has argued "unfair practices", since Credit Unions are non-profits..aka..no tax liability..aka..savings passed along in better rates. In our neighborhood, CFCU is the only one that makes commercial loans in the $10m-$20m window"Legacy in Winston does too, but much smaller $500k". However, interesting to note: State Employees Credit Union is the second largest in the nation! And they don't offer commercial anything, and just serve the population base of NC, yet they're #2 by a large margin. Only Navy Federal is bigger...by a large margin as well. The pink elephant in the room is Freddie/Fannie... Those two horses are in deep trouble. If they go down, then all bets are off in the economy and we've got huge problems. Mortgage rates will skyrocket, which will slaughter home prices across the entire country. We could go from "recession" to full on "depression" overnight, literally. It's scary man, real scary. I know several uber-players are starting to wiggle into positions to somewhat ease the blow, if it happens.

FYI: Some of the victims of high gas prices.... 1. Ann Taylor is closing 117 stores nationwide. 2.Eddie Bauer to close more stores.The company has already closed 27 shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year. 3.Cache is closing 20 to 23 stores this year. 4.Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, and Catherines are closing 150 stores nationwide. 5.Talbots, and J. Jill are closing all 78 of its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22 underperforming stores. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbots women's and J.Jill. 6.Gap Inc. will be closing 85 stores. 7.Foot Locker to close 140 stores. 8.Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its stores. 9.Levitz, the furniture retailer, is going out of business and closing all 76 of its stores in December. 10.Zales, Piercing Pagoda plans to close 82 stores by July 31. It has also announced that it is closing another 23 underperforming stores. 11.The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Walt Disney, in a news release, said it has also obtained the right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. 12.Home Depot has 15 store closings. 13.CompUSA clarifies details on its store closings. Any extended warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. 14.Macy's is closing 9stores. 15.Movie Gallery is closing 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit. They plan to close 400 of 3,500 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the video rental chain closed last fall. 16.Pacific Sunwear is closing 153 Demostores. 17.Pep Boys is closing 33 stores. 18.Sprint Nextel is closing 125 retail locations. 19.J. C. Penney, Lowe's, and OfficeDepot are scaling back. 20.Ethan Allen Interiors announced plans to close 12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs. 21.Wilsons the Leather Experts is closing 158 stores. 22.Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. 23.Bombay Company: The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. 24.KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the United Statesas part of its bankruptcy reorganization. 25.Dillard's plans to close morestores. 26.Steve and Barry’s Clothing, whichhas 240 stores filed for bankruptcy. 27.Starbucks is in the process ofclosing 600 stores.

OUCH! Well, I'll stop complaining!

Actually, I do think they're incorrect, mostly "I can see you rolling your eyes at me!". I agree someday we'll run out of oil. We'll also run out of food, space, wood, Polar Bears, etc.. To say "we better stop or we're going to run out of supply", is a pretty broad basis for theory. I don't disagree with them, or anyone, that says we'll run out. But, those three examples you cite, honestly, don't really sell me. T Boone Pickens is an investor by nature. He won't do anything that doesn't have a double-digit return on cost. There isn't a bone in my body that thinks his "plan" is to save the country, before lining his pockets with cash. I don't disagree with what he wants to do, but I don't put a lot of weight on his theories simply for the fact of his own personal interest in it. For Hubbert's calculations to be accurate, he must know the total supply of oil in the world and demand cycles. That's just not possible to know. It can be speculated, but it can't be confirmed, especially in a scientific model of accuracy. Furthermore, as the article mentioned, it has not been accepted by all as fact. James Woolsey's theories, very well might be true. However, I must admit, I'm not going to take anything seriously that's being "editedly published" on a website with links to other stories about "Did Sept 11 victims die for Enron?" from the Natural Law Party Wessex. Furthermore, Woolsey's theory about our invasion of Iraq was for just oil, is one I don't totally agree with. Our invasion of Iraq, for whatever reason not published, I believe was for us to (a) establish a forward base of operations in the hotbed of hatred for America to react against the elevated tactics of terrorists, as demonstrated on 9/11; (B) open the door to Iran if needed; © long-term investment in giving the majority population of Iraq the freedoms we enjoy, and win over their support to prevent further attacks like 9/11 against us. That, has finally started to take shape with our unwaivered commitment to stick it out and protect the innocents from the terrorist death squads. The payback in loyalty to us for this has the potential to be huge. If it were for oil, then we wouldn't be worried about supply and demand over here. SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME (SEGMN), I don't disagree that we'll hit the bell curve peak someday. I don't disagree that when that happens, it won't be pretty. But, I don't think we're at that level yet, and won't be for quite some time. Not with a few trillion barrels of oil in US territory, a few trillion square meters of natural gas sitting 35 miles off the coast of Destin, Florida. I do think we've all heard the alarm-clock though during the past several months, and we'll react with better technology "hybrids", infusion of alternate energy sources to supplement the grid "wind, solar, hydro". But doom n' gloom of oil going bye bye, just isn't something I'm willing to accept in my lifetime. Our supply hasn't been tapped for decades due to global economic balancing reasons, not because of supply worries. The world economic stage dictates just about everything. Otherwise, we'd of had oil platforms wrapped around this country since 1976 like a blanket and gas would be $.25 cents a gallon.

I was hoping someone would make comments about that car, as I really like the looks of it! I'm really glad to hear such good reviews about an American made car! Everytime the commercial comes on the TV, I always pay attention. I think Ford is really onto something with incorporating Volvo's frames across the model lines. As I've mentioned before about our little Mazda 3 "Volvo s40 frame", the ride is actually quite nice. The suspension and super low profile tires hurt it a bit on bumps, but otherwise it's quite impressive. If I could get my wife comfortable with Ford, I would have to take a pretty serious look at their products. I like their new designs of late. My neighbor has the Mercury version of the 500, it's dark blue, awd, and really is quite nice. Sharp looking too. Chevy better get on the ball...I think Ford is set to be the 1st American automaker to make the rebound/recovery.

Hey Chief, happy b'day! One more step closer to your AARP discount card!

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for a second day on estimates that a U.S. Energy Department report today will show a decline in gasoline supplies. Stockpiles last week probably fell 3 million barrels from 202.8 million barrels the previous week, according to the median of 14 responses in a Bloomberg News analyst survey. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. repeated its forecast that oil will top last month's $147.27 record this year because of emerging-market demand. And so the Labor Day rally begins..... Funny how demand tanks, yet prices still go up because now supply is too low? What'chew talkin' 'bout Willis!?!?! Tell me this ain't some bull-sh*t. Supplies are dropping because refineries are operating at low levels,'' said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president for energy risk management at MF Global Ltd. in New York. ``There is no place to get gasoline except for existing stockpiles.'' Uh... can you say "market manipulation tactics?" What a profits grab. First they tell us we're using too much...so we all cut back. Now, they say we're using too little and they won't refine anymore because of it. What a bunch of back-room bull-sh*t! If this doesn't show you that certain folks don't "want" the prices to settle back down...i don't know what will. Goldman Sachs has a massive portfolio of oil futures it's hoping won't tank, which is exactly why their trying to fan the flames of concern. You know all that chatter in the news about 1 major US bank/investment shop being predicted to go under this year? I wouldn't be one bit suprised if it's not Goldman Sachs.

They squeek, that's one of the drawbacks of them. But are you greasing the pins too? I see where you're trying to grease the outter bushing/inner holder of the arm, but what about the inside hole of the bushing and the pins"bolts" that hold the arm onto the bushing. That's one big area for lots of the noises they make.

WOW! I agree! I'm a bit suprised the engine wasn't ruined by all of that bent valve, chipped wheel, etc... damage. I'm curious how it drives now too, and how many miles you've got on it? I would certainly have to think this was a "glitch" problem, as stuff like that certainly isn't a Toyota characteristic in general.

You know, one of these days Lexus is going to get their !Removed!'s handed to them for this type of stuff, in my opinion. The 1st lexus I ever drove, which led me to my former LS400, was a used GS300 we were looking at in 04'. We pulled out into traffic, went about a mile and were approaching the onramp to the freeway, when all of the sudden with no warning, the gas peddle went to mush, the lights came on, and it just died in the middle of the road. Luckily enough we had enough momentum to coast to the side of the road "actually in the middle of the road". We sat there for a minute, spooked pretty badly as cars wizzed by us. I tried restarting it, it started, ran fine all the way back to the dealership "immediately returned the car". One of the biggest threads in the LS400 section is about the car just dieing after a highway cruise. Granted, all cars do breakdown at some point, but man, I'd have to think there is a bit of a glitch here that could be quite deadly if it were to happen at the wrong time. I say this, because we actually did lose family friends in 93' by something exactly like this. They were driving their new Jag down to Key West. They were on that long narrow bridge that leads down to the Keys, when their Jag just shut off while in gear. The gearing acted like a brake so they didn't have much coasting ability. Unfortunately they weren't able to pull over "too narrow of a road" and were hit from behind. The hit broke the gas line, which hit the hot brakes, caught fire, and they were killed. Needless to say, their two kids "both adults at the time" sued the living hell out of Jag for it, and won big time "took 6 years then Jag settled the night before the trial was to start". The problem? I believe was a faulty fuel relay that was clearly documented in other models around the globe for the past 3 years. Do I think you can "sue" Lexus for this? No, I doubt it. But if the car is brand spankin' new?? then I would assume you could probably switch it out for a different one "I don't know the mileage on yours though". Furthermore, I'd suspect they would probably insist you give their repairs a chance first though.