Howell High School Bagpiper

 

• German press is quoting VW sales chief Christian Klingler as saying VW will be courting former Chrysler dealers and former GM dealers to become VW dealers. VW has set itself high growth targets in the US, and it needs way more stores to make that happen.
• GM's sales chief Mark LeNeve this week told the "New GM" dealers that, in order to be retained, they'll have to shuck their co-affiliations with other brands--like Hyundai and Kia and Subaru and VW--and sell only GM stuff from now on. Fat chance. Some "lucky" GM dealers are already telling GM what to do with that one.

THE FORD FALCON LIVES! (in Australia)
Long ago, Australia got the same compact Ford Falcon as America did.  Ford killed Falcon in America, but Ford Australia just kept making it better--and bigger. Now it's a full sized car; the flagship of Ford Australia.
http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1178841241534&pagename=Page&site=FOA&c=DFYPage
 
And it's a wagon
http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1178838247879&pagename=Page&site=FOA&c=DFYPage
 
And it's a Ford Ranchero
http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1178841241685&pagename=Page&site=FOA&c=DFYPage
 
 
Ford's new models, Euro designed, already on sale overseas and will come here in 2010.
 
This new Fiesta that will come to America
http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1178856688217&pagename=Page&site=FOA&c=DFYPage
 
The new Focus that will come to America
http://www.ford.com.au/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1178864264255&pagename=FOA%2FDFYPage%2FFord-FullwidthLegacy&site=FOA&c=DFYPage

 

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If you are not over 50, some of you may not be aware of some of these words or phrases.

I know some of you will not understand this message, but I bet you know someone who might.


FENDER SKIRTS

I came across this phrase yesterday 'FENDER SKIRTS.'


A term I haven't heard in a long time, and thinking about 'fender skirts' started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice like 'curb feelers'



And 'steering knobs.' (AKA) suicide knob, Neckers Knobs.



Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first.

Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

Remember 'Continental kits?'

They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.



When did we quit calling them 'emergency brakes?'

At some point 'parking brake' became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with 'emergency brake.'

I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the 'foot feed..'  Many today do not even know what a clutch is or that the dimmer switch used to be on the floor.

Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the 'running board' up to the house?

Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore - 'store-bought.' Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.

'Coast to coast' is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing. Now we take the term 'world wide' for granted. This floors me.

On a smaller scale, 'wall-to-wall' was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.

When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase 'in a family way ?' It's hard to imagine that the word 'pregnant' was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company, so we had all that talk about stork visits and 'being in a family way' or simply 'expecting.'

Apparently 'brassiere' is a word no longer in usage. I said it the other day and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just 'bra' now. 'Unmentionables' probably wouldn't be understood at all.

I always loved going to the 'picture show,' but I considered 'movie' an affectation.

Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure-'60s word I came across the other day - 'rat fink.' Ooh, what a nasty put-down!

Here's a word I miss - 'percolator.' That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with? 'Coffee maker.' How dull. Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this.
?
I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like 'DynaFlow' and 'Electrolux.' Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with 'SpectraVision!'

Food for thought - Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening kids with castor oil anymore.

Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most, 'supper.' Now everybody says 'dinner.' Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts

Someone forwarded this to me. I thought some of us of a 'certain age' would remember most of these.





Just for fun, pass it along to others of 'a certain age'!





IF YOU AREN'T OF A CERTAIN AGE. YOU MUST KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS.





Let me add one more to this list....
I remember them all.....   and really wish they still had the high beam switch on the floor...     also how many remember the automatic high beam dimmer switch mounted on the dash and when the lights of an oncoming car appeared your lights would automatically dim.....   could sure use that today....  buttholes can't seem to find the switch on the steering column....

 

 

GM seeks provision for its suppliers

http://www.freep.com/article/20090417/BUSINESS01/90417040/1210/BUSINESS/GM+seeks+bankruptcy+provision+for+hundreds+of+suppliers 

General Motors will argue that hundreds of its suppliers are “critical vendors” that require timely payments if it seeks bankruptcy protection, Financial Times reports, setting the stage for what would be the most sweeping attempt ever to win special treatment for such contractors, people close to the matter say. In bankruptcy petitions, companies often request special treatment for a small number of suppliers, but GM would stand a good chance of winning protection for more suppliers because of the large number that provide just-in-time parts, bankruptcy experts say. See full story on GM seeking to protect hundreds of suppliers. By Julie MacIntosh • Financial Times

GM's bondholders (which are mainly institutions and pension funds) are going to wait until GM is in C11 and take their case to the bankruptcy court. They're probably hosed either way, but there's a lot of anger at GM's board and mgmt for letting things get this far out of hand, and some bondholders want it in the record.

Of course, there's also another question to be answered, like: Who were the MBA dopes who couldn't read deeply into GM's books, couldn't look at GM's market share getting hammered for the last 20 years, yet still snapped up GM bonds like candy? Plenty of stupid to go around here.

A better idea from Ford (of Europe).
 
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/ford-transit-connect-gets-personal-touch/
 
Now...let me see...this looks familiar somehow...about 175 inches long, about 68 inches high, 4-cylinder powered; practical, sensible, blocky, yet oddly attracting.
 
Oh, now I remember...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926468,00.html

Found while reading car articles at NYT. 
 
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/motown-circa-1967-inspires-a-canadian-band/
 
Not cheerful, but worth a look from an artistic point of view.
 

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