Harry P.

I guess GM is getting a little tired of the endless recalls. This is one recall they are refusing to do. From bloomberg.com, July 7, 2014: GM, which has set a record for recalls this year as it tries to clear up lingering safety issues, is making an exception for rusting brake lines in almost 1.8 million pickups and sport-utility vehicles. Much like it did initially with flawed ignition switches in small cars linked to at least 13 deaths, GM says the corroded lines aren’t a safety hazard that requires a recall. Even with at least 26 crashes, three injuries and a four-year-old probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, GM is characterizing potential brake failure as normal wear-and-tear. NHTSA has been investigating the reports since January 2011. It opened a probe into 10 Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC models spanning the 1999 to 2003 model years, including the Escalade, Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe and Yukon.The investigation is still active, an agency spokesman said. The agency doesn’t comment on pending investigations, he said. The largest U.S. automaker says it’s up to owners to make sure rust won’t lead to a catastrophic failure. “They seem to be doing a lot of recalls, but on closer investigation, you find they’re more hesitant to do the recalls that cost more money,” said Mark Modica, an associate fellow with the National Legal and Policy Center, who was a onetime GM bondholder and a former manager at a Saturn dealership in Pennsylvania. “GM’s response has been quite callous.” GM’s pickups from the early 2000s include steel brake lines that owners claim are so rust-prone they fail without notice, spilling fluid. The lost fluid means a sudden, sometimes catastrophic loss of braking power, the owners say. GM puts the onus on inspecting brake lines on vehicle owners and their mechanics and denies there’s a defect. The pickups in question are long out of factory warranty, and owner’s manuals urge customers to have their brake lines inspected, said GM spokesman Alan Adler. More than 20 states require brake-line inspections at one- or two-year intervals or when stopped for a violation, he said. GM developed a repair kit that should cost about $500 to install, Adler said. Since no recall has been declared, dealers and third-party mechanics set their own prices to cover the parts and labor, he said. “Customers should negotiate the labor time and cost with the shop, and if unsatisfied with the price quoted, keep shopping,” Adler said. An analysis of NHTSA’s public complaints database by the Falls Church, Virginia-based National Legal and Policy Center, a research group focused on government and corporate corruption, shows 1,372 brake-line complaints in Chevrolet models from 1999 through 2008, compared with 153 in Ford-brand models, 58 for Toyota and 15 for Honda. A vehicle's brake lines is not one of the parts a person should expect to have to replace in the normal lifetime of a vehicle, said Bill Visnic, senior editor at Edmunds.com. “In a typical duty cycle, it should effectively last the life of the vehicle,” he said. “It’s down there with the chassis and it should be designed for that environment (to resist corrosion).”

Another day... another GM recall. From today's autonews.com: http://www.autonews.com/article/20140710/COPY01/307109936/gm-recalls-nearly-30000-saab-9-3-convertibles

Not here. I only buy a kit to build it. I'm not a collector.

Well... you're the one who said you were getting a bunch of unwanted calls. So turn off the dang phone and get a pedometer. Problem solved. If you insist on keeping the phone on all the time, then you can't really complain about getting calls, can you?

glue [gloo] noun 1. a hard, impure, protein gelatin, obtained by boiling skins, hoofs, and other animal substances in water, that when melted or diluted is a strong adhesive. 2. any of various solutions or preparations of this substance, used as an adhesive. 3. any of various other solutions or preparations that can be used as adhesives.

Booger.

Have you ever considered turning off the phone while you're working? There's no law that says you have to be accessible to everyone all the time. If it's an emergency, they can call you at your store's number. Just an idea... Why is everyone such a slave to their darn cell phone? When did we pass a law that says we must make ourselves available 24-7-365 to everyone?

Remember... the whole rest of the country isn't nearly as "car-centric" as southern California.

Volkswagen factory brochure from 1976... http://www.auto-brochures.com/makes/Volkswagen/Beetle/VW_US%20Beetle_1976.pdf Welcome to the Doddering Fool's Club. We've been saving you a seat.

If that's your everyday car. If a convertible is your "toy," then security isn't an issue. You just don't leave it unattended.

Apparently your wife is no fan of the dog...

Welcome aboard!

I don't have the answer to your question... but welcome back!

Not in a Target lot for sure!

Well, duh! I don't drive around in a convertible at high noon on a 90 degree day. And it's not my daily driver, it's my weekend toy. So I decide when and where I drive it...

I'm also a convertible owner ('67 Impala). And there's nothing "cooler" than cruising around with the top down on a nice clear, warm summer evening/night. No, they aren't "sensible." But they are cool.

All you have to do is hit "Edit" and delete the extra photo. I did it for you...

I like it... but have to admit I'd like to see it with a nice shiny paint job.

Actually I'm thinking about selling the Impala and getting a vintage Mustang instead. Because I'm 95% sure I'm going to buy a 2015 Mustang this fall... so I'd have a new one and a vintage one in the garage.

You are relentless!

The Munster's Koach. Koach with a "K." Not Munstermobile.

Man, I love the new Mustang. Gonna have to get my order in for one soon...

I agree with you in principle, but hasn't the Beetle/New Beetle been in continuous production (at least somewhere in the world) since 1938?

I know, right? Apparently I've been relegated to the "doddering fool" category. On my own thread!