Don’t call him “father of the year.”

Michael Monahan, 35, of Fall River, Massachusetts, is alleged to have locked his children, ages 3 and 6, in the trunk of his Pontiac Trans Am for several minutes while he ran an errand at a sailing shop on Tuesday morning.  Monahan told police that his sons enjoyed playing in the trunk of the car.

Nonethless, Monahan was charged with assault and child endangerment.  Monahan was arraigned on the charges on Wednesday, November 25.  He entered a plea of not guilty and was released on bond.

The boys are now in the custody of their mother.

The original article is posted at http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/massachusetts/fall-river-father-accused-of-putting-kids-in-trunk

This Thanksgiving week, General Motors has officially ceased production of it’s Pontiac brand of vehicles as a result of the bailout by the U.S. government.  Not only could the car maker not meet it’s financial obligations but, the fact is that the car’s brand no longer had the appeal it once did and sales were declining.

The last Pontiac G-8 rolled off the assembly line in Orion heading for a fleet order rather than a museum for posterity sake yesterday.  http://www.detnews.com/article/20091126/AUTO01/911260411/Pontiac-reaches-end-of-the-line/?imw=Y 

http://www.pontiac.com/ has the official closeout information on remaining vehicles for sale with deals as low as o% financing for six years or cash back offers up to $4,500.  As a wake up call to anyone buying a car, six years is an absurd amount of time to pay off a car, especially when the warranty ends before you pay it off.

With discount offers like this across most of GM’s product line up, how they are ever going to make money, get out of bankruptcy and away from government ownership is beyond any one’s guess. 

Besides the 1000’s of job losses at Pontiac plants, NUMMI the joint venture between  GM and Toyota venture looks to be shutting its doors as well. http://www.mercurynews.com/drive/ci_13766495 From the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment by state http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm is listed.  Like the climategate, how true these numbers are is any one’s guess.

I recall the 1978 Pontiac Bonneville that I learned to drive in.  What a tank, but it had the radio antennae built into the glass which was pretty cool.  In 1982 came the Firebird and was featured on the TV Show Knight Rider.  I never owned one, but a lot of my buddies did and it was a girl magnet.

Pontiac Fiero

In 1984,  my dad through a mid life crisis or whatever, found the Pontiac Fiero much more in the spirit of things.  What a car it was and far removed from anything on the market.  The damned things body was made of plastic!  We’ll some sort of poly-resin- that when a grocery cart hit it it bounced off with no damage.  With no USA steel to give it strength, on impact the car crumbled.  Luckily, we never crashed it but traded it it on something or another.  Might have been the Cadillac Sedan De Ville with the horrendous 4-6-8 valve engine- another GM disaster.

Our Fiero was hot red in color with every option known to man, including the fabulous sound system from Bose.  Nothing like Van Halen screaming at you at ten decibels while driving down the highway. A definite babe magnet of a car.  It made you want to live in the fast lane or at least drive in it.

Chief Pontiac, Ottawa Tribe

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa Tribe must be glad to know that the spirit of the Pontiac brand of vehicles will go on- in memory at least.  He was quoted as saying, 

According to a French chronicler, in a second council Pontiac proclaimed:

It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our lands this nation which seeks only to destroy us. You see as well as I that we can no longer supply our needs, as we have done from our brothers, the French…. Therefore, my brothers, we must all swear their destruction and wait no longer. Nothing prevents us; they are few in numbers, and we can accomplish it.   Peckham, Indian Uprising, 119–20; Dixon, Never Come to Peace, 109. via  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Pontiac#cite_note-8

It didn’t turn out so good for the Indians being forced to reservations, but in the long run some tribes are probably more financially stable than the U.S. government,  thanks to good fiscal policy and casino’s.

Ironically enough, the Pontiac Silverdome was sold this month for $583,000 USD to a Toronto, Canadadian businessman. Completed in 1975 as the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium, at a cost of $55.7 million, the Silverdome seats 80,311. It contains 102 luxury suites and 7,384 club seats. more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Silverdome

“While still not sure what he’ll ultimately do with the stadium, adjacent fieldhouse and 127 acres of land, Apostolopoulos said he’d like to return it to being a place that hosts football, soccer, hockey and basketball as well as concerts.  “People today like sports so we have to keep it for sports events,” he said. “Whatever they like, we’ll do.” But Apostolopoulos said the zoning does allow for the tearing down of the stadium and the building of houses, apartments or almost any other kind of construction.” http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/729769–toronto-developer-snaps-up-vacant-pontiac-silverdome

At less than $5000 USD an acre that was a good deal for any pilgrim. 

™©® by repective owners.

Open wide, say ahhh and check out more posts from Ahrcanum including our Swine Flu report that started  in April and is updated regularly at http://ahrcanum.wordpress.com/swine-flu-report/

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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

- Dr. Joachim Schmidt: “We will continue this positive trend, and we expect sales in the fourth quarter to be above last year’s level.”
- Record sales in China – Schmidt: “We expect Mercedes-Benz Cars to increase its sales in China by more than 50 percent in full-year 2009.”
- Mercedes-Benz USA posts best monthly result since the beginning of the year, with sales up by 21 percent in October
- E- and S-Class sedans maintain market leadership

Stuttgart, Germany, Nov 06, 2009 – In October, global sales were up at Mercedes-Benz for the first time this year. Mercedes-Benz was able to increase sales significantly in October by seven percent to 88,400 units (October 2008: 82,500. The smart brand sold 9,300 (October 2008: 11,300) units (minus 18 percent). With the delivery of 97,700 passenger cars (October 2008: 93,800), total sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars increased by four percent. The October sales increase was due to the E-Class and the new generation of the S-Class as well as to high growth rates in many regions such as North America and Asia/Pacific. Sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles were also above last year’s level in Western Europe.

“We will continue this positive trend in the coming months, and we expect sales in the fourth quarter to be above the level of the same period of last year,” said Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Head of Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars. Contributing to this development will be the new E-Class and the new generation S-Class, as well as the ongoing strong growth rates in the Asia/Pacific region, particularly in China. By the end of September, Mercedes-Benz had already sold more vehicles in China than in all of last year. Says Schmidt: “Mercedes-Benz Cars will continue to grow at a dynamic rate in China, and we expect the increase for 2009 as a whole to amount to more than 50 percent.”

In October Mercedes-Benz once again set a sales record in China, with sales rising by 78 percent to 6,600 units (October 2008: 3,700). As a result, since the start of the year, Mercedes-Benz has been the fastest-growing premium brand in China. In October, Mercedes-Benz Cars also delivered more vehicles than ever before to the Asia/Pacific region as a whole, handing over 14,100 passenger vehicles to customers (October 2008: 10,500) for an increase of 34 percent. High growth rates were also posted in October in Australia (up 22 percent) and South Korea (up 63 percent).

In the United States, October was the best month of the year so far for Mercedes-Benz. Sales bucked the general market trend, rising by 21 percentto 18,200 units (October 2008: 15,000). This was the first time this year that sales were substantially higher than in 2008, and ensured that Mercedes-Benz remains the strongest German premium brand in the U.S. Contributing factors here included the E-Class, deliveries of which tripled to 6,100 units, and the GLK, which was once again the best-selling vehicle in its class in October, with deliveries of 1,800 units. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz posted another sales record in Canada in October, increasing customer deliveries by 28 percent to 2,200 passenger vehicles (October 2008: 1,700).

In the Western Europe region (not including Germany), Mercedes-Benz increased its sales by seven percent in October, thanks in particular to the high increases for the new E-Class. The brand enjoyed strong growth amounting to 55 percent in the UK, with a total of 5,800 units sold.

Sales of new E-Class continued to develop positively in the past month, with worldwide deliveries doubling in October to 17,100 units. Double-digit sales increases were registered in almost all markets. That made it once again the clear market leader in its segment. The company expects the launch of the new station wagon, which can be seen at dealerships starting on November 21, to give an additional positive boost to the E-Class family.

The new generation of the S-Class also got off to a successful start. Worldwide sales of the S-Class sedan were slightly above the previous year's level. Since the beginning of this year, the sedan has been the best-selling sedan in its segment. In China, which is now the biggest market for the S-Class, 1,100 luxury sedans were delivered to customers in October alone, which represents an increase of 12 percent. The sedan also sold very well in Germany, with an increase of 42 percent, and in Japan, where October sales increased by 13 percent. Mercedes-Benz sold 15,100 units of its SUVs worldwide (2008: 14,800), with an increase of two percent. The GLK, which was especially popular, enjoyed mainly double-digit growth rates in the Western European markets.

Overview of Sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars

Copyright © 2009, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Nov 06, 2009 – In October, global sales were up at Mercedes-Benz for the first time this year. Mercedes-Benz was able to increase sales significantly in October by seven percent to 88,400 units (October 2008: 82,500. The smart brand sold 9,300 (October 2008: 11,300) units (minus 18 percent). With the delivery of 97,700 passenger cars (October 2008: 93,800), total sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars increased by four percent. The October sales increase was due to the E-Class and the new generation of the S-Class as well as to high growth rates in many regions such as North America and Asia/Pacific. Sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles were also above last year’s level in Western Europe.

“We will continue this positive trend in the coming months, and we expect sales in the fourth quarter to be above the level of the same period of last year,” said Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Head of Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars. Contributing to this development will be the new E-Class and the new generation S-Class, as well as the ongoing strong growth rates in the Asia/Pacific region, particularly in China. By the end of September, Mercedes-Benz had already sold more vehicles in China than in all of last year. Says Schmidt: “Mercedes-Benz Cars will continue to grow at a dynamic rate in China, and we expect the increase for 2009 as a whole to amount to more than 50 percent.”

In October Mercedes-Benz once again set a sales record in China, with sales rising by 78 percent to 6,600 units (October 2008: 3,700). As a result, since the start of the year, Mercedes-Benz has been the fastest-growing premium brand in China. In October, Mercedes-Benz Cars also delivered more vehicles than ever before to the Asia/Pacific region as a whole, handing over 14,100 passenger vehicles to customers (October 2008: 10,500) for an increase of 34 percent. High growth rates were also posted in October in Australia (up 22 percent) and South Korea (up 63 percent).

In the United States, October was the best month of the year so far for Mercedes-Benz. Sales bucked the general market trend, rising by 21 percentto 18,200 units (October 2008: 15,000). This was the first time this year that sales were substantially higher than in 2008, and ensured that Mercedes-Benz remains the strongest German premium brand in the U.S. Contributing factors here included the E-Class, deliveries of which tripled to 6,100 units, and the GLK, which was once again the best-selling vehicle in its class in October, with deliveries of 1,800 units. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz posted another sales record in Canada in October, increasing customer deliveries by 28 percent to 2,200 passenger vehicles (October 2008: 1,700).

In the Western Europe region (not including Germany), Mercedes-Benz increased its sales by seven percent in October, thanks in particular to the high increases for the new E-Class. The brand enjoyed strong growth amounting to 55 percent in the UK, with a total of 5,800 units sold.

Sales of new E-Class continued to develop positively in the past month, with worldwide deliveries doubling in October to 17,100 units. Double-digit sales increases were registered in almost all markets. That made it once again the clear market leader in its segment. The company expects the launch of the new station wagon, which can be seen at dealerships starting on November 21, to give an additional positive boost to the E-Class family.

The new generation of the S-Class also got off to a successful start. Worldwide sales of the S-Class sedan were slightly above the previous year's level. Since the beginning of this year, the sedan has been the best-selling sedan in its segment. In China, which is now the biggest market for the S-Class, 1,100 luxury sedans were delivered to customers in October alone, which represents an increase of 12 percent. The sedan also sold very well in Germany, with an increase of 42 percent, and in Japan, where October sales increased by 13 percent. Mercedes-Benz sold 15,100 units of its SUVs worldwide (2008: 14,800), with an increase of two percent. The GLK, which was especially popular, enjoyed mainly double-digit growth rates in the Western European markets.

Overview of Sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars

Source >> Mercedes-Benz-Blog — Unmistakable. Unique. Classy. Mercedes-Benz. – Mercedes-Benz Boosts Sales by Seven Percent
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For 2010 the Legacy looks more aggressive and sporty. The headlights are angled more, the character lines create a more muscular look, along with bigger wheel arches. The Legacy has a more modern, mainstream, Japanese appearance. It will be more competitive in the midsize sedan segment, but it's aggressive styling wouldn't look at home in a forest carrying mountain bikes like the old Legacy did.

While the exterior doesn't give thoughts of the usual Subaru activities of hiking and kayaking, the interior gives impressions of a more mainstream midsize sedan at home in mall parking lots. Comfortably designed for the driver and passenger with easy to use controls, soft cream leather seats, and class leading passenger space. Steering wheel controls are standard on the 2.5i Limited are well laid out and easy for the driver to use. Subaru's shortcomings in quality with their use of hard plastic, flimsy door panels, and cheap wood trim left me disappointed, while the previous generation Legacy excelled in quality.

Subaru has used it's new Lineartronic CVT transmission in the new Legacy. It provides a very smooth drive with gearshifts that are as smooth as a hot knife through butter. The paddle shifters are possibly the easiest I've ever used for manual shifting and coupled with the CVT provide a smooth ride. The base 2.5 liter engine feels very underpowered. Subaru's have been known to have a tighter suspension and this Legacy is completely different. The drive feels more like an everyday sedan focused more on driver comfort than a Subaru has ever been. Everyday driving is more polished and tranquilizing than the previous generation Legacy. I took the Legacy through some winding country roads where Subarus usually shine, and was very surprised. Clumsiness and body roll plagued the Legacy like an old woman without her walker. The 2.5 liter 170 hp engine made the Legacy feel underpowered and heavy. The other two optional 256 or 265 hp engines would make the Legacy feel more capable for everyday driving. Even with Subaru's all wheel drive system it felt as though it lacked Subaru's willingness to go off road, instead focusing on a smooth and comfortable drive for those city folk.

The redesigned Legacy is a Subaru aimed more towards a mainstream market. It's comfortable ride and cabin make for a pleasing highway and city drive. Aggressive styling coupled with it's soft ride may scare away some loyal Subaru owners and attract a different buyer. The Legacy lacks what makes Subaru a Subaru. It has evolved into a mainstream car, one that won't be found driving through dirt trails or going on camping trips, instead will be at home on highways and city streets.

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This is an old photo of one of my Dad’s GTO’s. 

 This was the ‘67 I believe.

The Pontiac Silverdome

If you are a homeowner in the United States, you may have noticed that we are in the midst of a vast, nationwide experiment being conducted to determine what things are actually worth. In the recent past, no one worried much about what their things were worth, if those things were buildings and/or properties.

What were they worth? More than they were worth yesterday.

Unfortunately, those days are gone. They’re as gone as all those 2007 episodes of “Flip This House” which A&E was forced to pull permanently from syndication after it was revealed that featured local developer Sam Leccima was a fraud. Sam didn’t own those houses he claimed to have sold on the show, his renovations were fake, and his profits came solely from scammed investors in his “Leccima Real Estate Company.” Sam didn’t even own a real estate license.

A scant two years later, it turns out Sam wasn’t the only one with outsized notions of his own value. Now we’re all watching our neighbors hang out “House for Sale” signs, followed by “Reduced to Sell” signs, followed by “Make an Offer!” signs.

Optimists in the crowd keep saying that this is a great time to buy. And perhaps it is, especially if you’re looking for a larger home. Something on 127 acres of land and, say, seating for 80,000. Which brings us to today’s Real Estate Bargain of the Day, the Pontiac Silverdome. The former home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions.

Even if you don’t know a touchdown from a home run, you know the Pontiac Silverdome. It’s that stadium that was always on the TV in the other room on Thanksgiving Day while you were in the kitchen helping Aunt Sally mash the turnips. It’s the ancestral home of the Turducken, that vile turkey/duck/chicken thing John Madden was always foisting upon members of the winning football team on Thanksgiving Day.

In 2008, the Pontiac City Council approved the sale of the Pontiac Silverdome to one H. Wallace Parker, president and CEO of Silver Stallion Development Corporation, for $20 million. Parker had some fuzzy notion of building what he called a “horse-themed development” which would include a racetrack and “equine research facility.” He didn’t, however, have access to anything close to $20 million. So the Pontiac City Council reduced the purchase price to $17 million. Still, no go.

On Monday, the Pontiac City Council—which, like everyone else in the state of Michigan, is kinda hard up for cash at the moment—cancelled the existing sale to Parker and auctioned off the Silverdome. Bidding was less than spirited. Indeed, the final bid from an undisclosed Canadian buyer came in at $583,000. I’m betting that the buyer is some retired Saskatchewan wheat farmer who bought it so that he and his buddies can come down on Thanksgiving Day and play their own damned football game with two-hand-touch rules and tubs of Labatt’s beer on ice in both Silverdome end zones.

So there you have it. An accurate barometer of what things are worth in our Great Recession. Are you a little peeved that your $550K house is now worth $400K? Well, how many bathrooms does your house have? Do you have twenty industrial-sized facilities on three floors? How high is your entryway atrium? Can you fit a scoreboard in it? How’s your parking situation? Do you have 127 acres of asphalt, with easy highway access?

No? Then take heart! If Pontiac, Michigan is the future, then the future hasn’t quite arrived in your neck of the woods. Yet.

“A Bloomfield Hills attorney who offered $20 million for the Pontiac Silverdome two years ago will be in court today to ask a judge to block its sale this week for $583,000,” reports The Detroit News.

“The 80,300-seat Silverdome and adjacent 127 acres were sold Monday in a closed-door auction attended by only a few city officials and four invited bidders. A still-unidentified Toronto group was chosen to take over the Silverdome, built in 1975 at a cost of $55.7 million. The group said it hopes to bring a soccer league to the venue.

“‘We believe we have strong grounds to challenge this sale,’ said attorney H. Wallace Parker of Silver Stallion Corp., whose efforts to buy the stadium stalled last year over disputes about repair work, lost property and a city-required fee.”

According to recently released research from TrueCar.com “the authority on car pricing”, Black Friday is the best day of the year to buy a new car- this may come as a shock for many who may think only think of Black Friday as a day to purchase TV’s, computers, and clothes. TrueCar.com’s research reveals that car buyers are likely to pay about 3% less for a car than they would on any average day during the rest of the year, thanks to manufacturer’s incentives and dealership discounts. Experts believe that this trend is caused by dealers who want to get in on the Black Friday madness, and many dealers say that they produce incentives to stand out from the noise in consumer markets.

Black Friday isn’t the only day to get a good deal on a Honda, GMC, or Buick at Brickell Motors of Miami. As a matter of fact, you can get your Black Friday shopping done early at Brickell, because when you buy any new vehicle at Brickell, you will receive a FREE 42″ Plasma TV! For more information, check out BrickellMotors.com/specials.

Black Friday is typically one of the busiest days in retail store history. Many people go shopping for clothes, electronics, and toys to find the greatest deals and steals of the year. Now you can find new vehicles on Black Friday for the same amount of added discounts. According to research done by the website Truecar.com, discounts for new vehicles on average are the biggest of the year on the day after Thanksgiving. Analysts looked at the day-by-day car pricing for the last several years, which pointed to Black Friday being the best day to purchase vehicles. “The discounts from dealerships, as well as manufacturers’ incentives, generate the highest discounts of the year on Black Friday,” said Jesse Toprak, an analyst for Truecar.com.

You can kill two birds with one stone when you shop for your next vehicle at Brickell Motors in Miami. For a limited time only they are offering a free 42” plasma TV with every new vehicle purchase. Brickell Motors sells a long line of used and new vehicles ranging from Honda, Buick, Pontiac, and GMC. Other dealerships in the Miami area are also offering great sales and specials this time of year. South Motors and The Collection are just a few of the highly reputable dealerships in town. Be sure to stop by your local Miami dealership to see what they have to offer you.

2010 Honda Civic at your Local Miami Dealership

This is my bud Zander’s 68′ Pontiac Firebird. His brother bought it as a rolling shell on eBay earlier this year. Plans changed for his brother, so Zander took on the project himself. As soon as it was in his possession the restoration process began. The very first thing he did was strip the car down, and had his mechanic fabricate a rotisserie to hold the car up. He took the car up to Indy to have all the surface rust removed in some chemicals. He found a 455 Longblock from a 75′ Grand Prix, ordered a Tremec 5 Speed Transmission, CCW Classics Wheels/Tires, Heidts Front Suspension, Strange Engineering Rear End (373 Gears), Wilwood 4 Piston Calipers, Wilwood 11″ Rotors, QA1 Coilovers, and hes replacing any OEM parts that requires it. He’s planning on painting it Lambo Grey, and is shitting for 450-500HP N/A. Hes shooting for the car to be done by early 2010 (Jan-Feb). Possibly look out for more updates on the ride! Any questions, shoot them my way.

]]> http://iwantmustang.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/mustang-commercials-the-60s/ Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:16:54 +0000 iwantmustang http://iwantmustang.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/mustang-commercials-the-60s/

This blog post goes for 60’s! Earlier I showed you some trailers from Mustang movies. I have also posted a lot of Mustang music videos. But now you can see the first steps of a Mustang in advertisement industry. There are more commercials of course and my blog is unlimited, but I really appreciate your time and trying to select the best ones:

First Mustang Commercial (1964) Ford Motor Company introduced the Mustang on April 16, 1964 with a commercial, shot at the New York World’s Fair.

This is my favorite from the 60’s, 1965 Ford Mustang Commercial

Stereo-sonic tape system in Mustang 1966

This commercial shows Ford Mustang full-line for 1967, featuring the new cabriolet and hardtop models.

Mustang makes it happen in 1968 commercial

According to this 1969 commercial Ford is the way you swing!

And I couldn’t hold this to the next entry, I love it, so funny! It’s from 2005, sorry

The article Today’s muscle cars ripe for collectors lists the top 7 cars that collectors have their eyes on.  What do you think of the list?

1. 2010 Shelby GT500

2. 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP

3. 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8

4. 2010 Chevy Corvette ZR1

5. 2008 Dodge Magnum (discontinued, but some can still be found around)

6. 2009 Cadillac CTS-V

7. 2010 Chevy Camaro SS

Copycat: 2005 Pontiac G6 vs 2005 Scion tC

Features

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