That’s only because NOBODY will sell us a small, light truck! I don’t need an F-150 for the occasional Ikea or Costco run. I would LOVE something like my old ‘78 Toyota truck, but the huge, bloated, overpriced open-trunk sedans they sell now just doesn’t hack it day-to-day.

They’ll never get that much money back unless the plant stays for 50 years. I’m near the other NC site that was fighting for it. They just couldn’t cough up the jack to win, and I’m kind of glad for that.

Well, truthfully, there are very few U-Boats wandering the North Atlantic these days.

I was remembering an old article I was reading years ago. The article mentioned ‘10 nice cars we can’t buy in the U.S.’. What sticks in my mind is that the top two were the Honda Fit and the Toyota Yaris. Now, both of those are available here now, so we can’t give up ALL hope of nice little Japanese boxes!

That’s about right. Driving up the coast, you wouldn’t even know you went from one city to the next if it wasn’t for signs.

The last time I lived out there, some commutes were over 100 miles. I had a friend lived way East of Pasadena who worked in L.A. So it might not be too far off the mark. Heck, I knew people who lived in Merced and commuted to S.F.

But way, way nicer looking.

When do we get the list of GMs on the airbag thing? I thought that was the only bullet my Chevy avoided.

And that’s true. In Japan, Mitsu Heavy Industries was making money on dozers, etc.

I feel the pain, too. In Nov ‘99, I got a new 2000 short-bed standard-cab Silverado, in red, mind you, for $18 k. I’ve thought about a new truck for some time, but I just get a major head spin looking at the price tags.

If only, instead of all this gee-whiz stuff, it would have incorporated a simpler design with a downward price bump.

Maybe. But what the VA guy told me is that the VA loan paperwork is set in stone. Association fees would essentially be part of your mortgage, since they are required. And the HOA can change them at will. Therefore they are excluded on VA paperwork.

Except a Porsche 911... I bet that would be every bit as awesome as I dream it is. 

One of the good things about a VA loan is the ‘No Mandatory HOA’ clause.

Well, the last was my Wife’s Buick.

When you get close to the price of my first HOUSE, that’s just a bit ridiculous. My last 2 cars together weren’t that much.

This is way different that what was going on when I was there in ‘77-’78. They had weirded out cars like these, but most of them were tiny things. I mean, some had wheels and tires like go-karts. Subaru vans, itty bitty Hondas, and lots of 3-wheeled things. There’s some pics maybe still in the attic somewhere.

You, sir, have rally beat the odds, then. I figured I was safe with Chevy, but now...

After the ignition switch, the fuel pump, and the ignition switch AGAIN, I felt I had finally had the curse lifted with the airbag thing. But it looks like I may be wrong. Since I have a ‘09 GM, I now lie awake at night waiting for this list.

What about the little Fiat? Isn’t ‘Abarth’ Italian for Scorpion or something?