False Alarm

Or Jeep Masters, Part II.

As per my previous post, I took my Jeep in to Jeep Masters of Austin last week for a new starter. Like I said earlier they gave my Jeep a now-complementary once over of all the things it needed. Like any car with 73k miles on it, there are things that need attention. I did receive a dire warning from the shop that my lower radiator hose was going to go at any moment and for $108.00 they would replace the upper and lower. The price was very fair, but having given the Jeep a once over recently I was suspect. I declined.

But they are professionals, so I headed over to AutoZone for new hoses. Boo Hiss to AutoZone for not carrying these common wear and tear parts. I had to wait for three days for hoses to arrive. (How many Grand Cherokees do you see in one day?) So today I ripped up my knuckles and pulled the hoses out, put new one's in, and flushed the cooling system. The last part was not required until 100k, but when does it hurt to do this early?

Getting the easiest thing done first, I replaced the upper hose, no problem. The lower hose, is not fun, but not impossible either. Much to my disappointment, my lower hose was fine. No dry cracks or striations from bulging. Once cleaned up it was hard to tell from new. While no hose lasts forever, this one was not going to blow. I would have driven to El Paso with a hose in this condition and not thought about it twice. I'm really not upset at doing the job, you do need to replace the hoses and belts on your car. I just won't be doing it later.

I love small independent shops. There were two that I used in Los Angeles that I swore by. Once was in Hawthorne the other in Hollywood. I send people there all the time when asked and I still have their numbers. I'm disappointed because I wanted this to be my Jeep shop. I understand every shop has to make it's money, but unwarranted scare tactics are no way to keep my business or earn my sought-after recommendation.

Catch-Up and Tune-Up

Happy New Year to everyone, I've been preoccupied a bit lately. My Mom came in from Christmas and we did a bunch of home improvement projects. I was stuck on colors for my laundry room and guest bathroom and she came through with some great choices. And she also painted the rooms for me! Go Mom! New Years was lame as I've been sick with the stomach flu for the past week.

Here a few Christmas shots of the kids (dogs) as it's all about them. They truly enjoy getting packages and playing with the boxes. I kid you not, Baxter and Logan took a box from the garbage in the backyard and tore it to shreds while having the time of their lives. Oh what a mess. Mike's dog Ripley stayed with me while he went home to his family and she was an absolute riot playing with this plastic bag of Milk Bone snacks. She dragged it around the living room until the contents spilled out. How resourceful. Of course Baxter being 90 lbs of pure energy he was yelled at a few times and took refuge behind the couch.


Austin today is incredibly nice for those of you freezing or my friends in California who are soaking. The forecast today was 75 and sunny. Perfect day to get outside and give the Jeep a tune-up. Earlier in the week I had taken the Jeep to Jeep Masters here in Austin to have a starter put in. No foul, they wear out over time and need to be replaced. I give mixed reviews to Jeep Masters, while they did a through review of my Jeep for problems they could fix, they attempted to charge me for the review itself. They were kind and took it off the bill as I had just asked for a new starter, however I opened the hood today and found they had not re-secured the air filter box when they opened it. Kinda sloppy, so the jury is out on them.

Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2008!

Merry Christmas

I have not bought a Christmas tree in years. Generally I throw some ornaments on a terminally ill houseplant that I have spent the year trying to kill. This year's Christmas miracle surely has to be that this plant is alive after 12 months in my care. Nonetheless, I'll still try and kill it by hanging overweight ornaments on it. Someone referred to it as a "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree". That tree was dead and brown, although this one is sure to meet the same fate in the near future.

I'm off to pick my Mom up at the airport soon. She's going to enjoy a week of 60 degree temperatures, which will be double of what Buffalo has this time of year. I've long since forgotten what it's like to have snow at Christmas.

Merry Christmas and safe travels to all.

300

It's a great bowling score. A decent car from Chrysler. A movie about warriors. And now it is officially my maximum bench press.

Some people run, some people lift. I don't run, well. I lift far much better and genetically that's what nature intended. Not that I can't run, about six years ago I was running five miles a day, three times a week. My body and mind hated every step, but I could do it. I'm in awe of people that can run marathons or cross-country. For the record though, I did run the Peachtree 10K when I was 25 and I still have my number.

Three hundred was a particular number of pounds I wanted to bench press by Christmas of this year. I hit it a week early after a very botched attempt last week. A shout out to my workout partner Vern who kept my chest from being sliced in two. I deviated from my usual warm up and I paid for it. Today he spotted me as I benched 300 pounds three times with no assistance. It may sound somewhat of a meathead thing to do, but I'm going with what I'm good at. And for the record, my blood test will pass Congressional scrutiny.

Back in 2004 I was not sure when my future held for upper body weightlifting. I had torn my rotator cuff and split a tendon during a rugby tournament in 2003. My surgeon, Dr. Christine Ekstrand at UCLA Medical Center said the best I could ever hope for was 90 percent recovery for my shoulder. That was the best, the most likely was 70 to 80 percent. She must have been a better surgeon then analyst as today there is no difference between the left and the right shoulder. ADI Physical Therapy in Hollywood deserves credit as well. I never missed an appointment.

Now that I've met this goal, I'm not heading any higher. I will stay at 300 and get more reps. Increasing weight is a slippery slope and every joint and muscle on my body works fine and I'd like to keep it that way. In case your wondering, the only supplement I take is amino acids. Any nutritionist would probably label my diet as "somewhat crappy", and with the donut intake I'm not going to argue. I tip the scales at 220 pounds.

This month marks one year in Texas. And everything is bigger here, including me. Must be something in the water...

Mr. Beef and Pizza

Brrr. I think that's the best phrase to describe Chicago in December. It certainly was appropriate last Friday as I flew up there in the morning to meet my friend Mike who had taken an earlier flight.

Now a week ago, I had no intention of heading to Chicago in the late fall. Mike had purchased a 1988 Pontiac Fiero and was going to drive it down it back to Austin. I said I'd watch his dog to help out. Last minute plane tickets to Chicago were not in my budget and while I'm a generally helpful person riding 18 hours or 1170 miles in a two seat Fiero is not the first thing on my list of things to do this month, or even year. The weather forecast was calling for snow though, and at a Christmas party last Saturday, my friend Gary offered up a free plane ticket. Mike has never driven in snow. I'm from Buffalo. Say no more.

It's important to have goals and Mike's has always been to own the car of his high school dreams, a 1988 Pontiac Fiero GT. A few weeks earlier he had found one on AutoTrader and it's a gem. In immaculate shape, this 20 year old car has only 30,000 miles on it. But it was in Chicago. Sounds crazy to some, but remember six months ago, I bought a 20 year old BMW is New Jersey and drove it back to Austin. So I did all I could to help.

We arrived at the dealership and it was all that the car promised to be in the pictures. The friendly folks at Muller Pontiac in Highland Park had the paperwork ready and within 45 minutes we were on our way. With the weather threatening to turn horrible, we made plans to head South that day rather then do some Chicago sightseeing. But first we need lunch.

Quintessentially Chicago, I headed for Mr. Beef and Pizza in Mt. Prospect. Turns out the downtown location that I once lived a few blocks from had closed. I'm sure it's footprint is now a condo structure. Mr. Beef and Pizza did not disappoint, and we were so lucky as to have won a free hamburger for our next visit before 1/8/08. Luck would hold out for the rest of the trip back to Austin.

I decided our road names for this trip would be Mr. Beef and Pizza. Me being the beefy Irishman, I got to be Mr. Beef by default. Mike was Pizza. He's not even Italian, but actually more English. If we could have found a Mr. Beef and Shepard's Pie, things would have been pefect. Hmm. No such luck. At about 2:00 pm the dynamic duo hit Illinois' I-294 and headed South.

Mike was not interested in driving in Chicago, so I took the helm despite the clear roads. The sky did look like it was about to open up into a snowstorm, but we made it out of Chicago to I-57 without a drop of anything from the sky. Illinois is a very long state and we made it all the way to Marion and spent the night. The next day we drove about 14 hours straight and made it back to Round Rock about 10:30.

I was surprised at how well the Fiero had help up over the past 20 years. There were no interior rattles, the engine ran great and the car tracked straight forward. I would like to say everything worked well, but there were a few things that needed attention. I'm certain there's a small vacuum leak that's keeping the cruise control from working and the engine surging slightly at idle. Pop-up headlight always fail and sure enough, in Sulphur Springs, TX after dinner we suddenly had a Fiero that was winking at everyone. Any 20 year old car is going to need repair as I assured Mike who was having a minor melt down. Part of owning a classic car is fixing your classic car. The only guarantee you get with a 20 year old car is that you're going to have to fix it.

Day three of Mike's Fiero ownership did not start out well. On the way back to the airport to retrieve his truck, we ran out of gas. Oh, I guess the fuel gauge needs some attention too. This unhappy Mike photo was taken on 183 here in Austin. We don't normally stop next to run-down trailer parks for photo shoots. No thanks to AAA of Texas, after 90 minutes of not showing up to give me a gallon of gas, Mike walked over to the gas station that opened at 10:00am and bought a gas can. We were back on our way. Tripple A receives a tripple F for service as my original quote was for no longer then 45 minutes. I don't think I sold Mike on the AAA membership but an auto club membership of some kind is quintessential when your car is out of warranty.

In the end, all's well that ends well. We're home, the Fiero is in one piece. And my hot tub is waiting for me.

Wrapping Things Up

No, it's not Christmas wrap either. Today is my last day of classes at UT for my Certification in Project Management. Unless I do something incredibly egregious I'm going to pass this course and receive my certification. However, I'm no slouch. Next month I start finishing up my Certification in Human Resource Management, but that will be online learning.

No more drives downtown to UT. I will miss going to class that's for sure. We had a great group to work in and our presentation on Monday went well.

Now to celebrate with a weekend adventure... Stay Tuned!

Year One

One year ago today I closed on my house. The picture on the top is from my first blog entry. It was taken by the realtor when I was looking at my house. I took another one today, wow the trees have grown. I guess that three feet of rain and fertilizer sticks really did their job.

Nothing eventful to report lately. But thanks for checking in... :)

Improved Home Improvement

Just a bit more housework going on lately. Nothing too crazy but coming up to my first anniversary so I'm going to spruce the place up a bit.

Sometime ago a I ranted about an awful experience I had a Lowes. Well they have redeemed themselves. A few weeks ago they had an incredible appliance sale on Maytag. When I mean incredible, I do mean incredible. After selling my old appliances, a new dishwasher, stove and over-the-range microwave set me back less them two fill ups on a pick-up truck. I kid you not. And it was all their middle grade appliances too, not builders grade. Since I can install appliances myself, I really cleaned up. Delivery was free too. Nice.

Well all was not well Sunday night when I attempted to install the last appliance, the Range. The rough in specs were 30 inches. No problem, the builder who built my place left exactly 30 inches to install a stove. The width of one Maytag stove? Exactly 30 inches as well. Not believing my eyes, I measured again and again. It would not budge. The tale of the tape measure does not lie, that range was not going to fit.

According to Lowes website the range is 29 7/8 inches. If it were, it would have slid in nicely and I would have posted this a day earlier. With receipts and tape measure in hand, off to Lowes I went. Here is the incredible part. I arrived at Lowes at 10:00 am Monday morning. At 11:12 am, the same morning, I waived goodbye to the Lowes delivery guys who dropped off a new upgraded Frigidaire range. Of course we made sure it fit before they left.

Without any fuss or muss, Amanda and I walked over to the Maytag range in the store and she agreed. It simply was replaced. Such service is typically reserved for Nordstorm shoppers, not mass market home stores. Amanda's manger of course received a nice letter. With their price matching policies, I'll never need to shop for appliances anywhere else. And I won't.

When you come to visit next time, the first thing you'll see is my new front door. A DIY design on-a-dime project if there ever was one. Just cruising through craigslist I found this front door that was sun damaged. It was originally stained, but there was no way it would ever be stained again with the sun damage. It could be painted however! Coffee Bean from Eddie Bauer Home, thank you. Some new door hardware and mounting adjustments and I was set. Much improved.

So there it is. Come knock on my new front door and I might just might cook for you.

New Truck, Blue Truck

I never turn down someone's request for help in buying a car. I know there is so much to think about and the vast vault of automotive knowledge in my brain needs to be tapped every so often or it will burst. This time it was my friend Mike's turn to suffer through my exhaustive download of automotive information.

So here is his new truck. He's happy and I know his mom is reading this now. Yes you'll see it at Thanksgiving.

In a watershed moment for Ford Motor Company, the last issue of Consumer Reports recommended the F150 due to it's strong record of reliability for the present model. Of greater shock was that they did not recommend the Toyota Tundra due to it's numerous powertrain problems. Historically reliable Toyota has become a victim of it's own growth. It's not easy building that many cars and getting it right.

Thanks to my dad, Mike enjoyed a steep discount on his truck with Ford's Friend and Neighbors program. If you're reading this, you're pretty much my friend I assume. This program is also known as the X plan. A few of you have taken advantage of this and if you haven't hit me up. The plan is basically 91% or MSRP and all incentives are included. At times there are additional incentives for X plan buyers, such as the additional $500 rebate that Mike used on his truck.

Keep in mind I'll talk to you about any car and you don't need to be buying a Ford. But of course I'll strongly suggest it....

Hook 'Em Horns

This was meant to be yesterday's blog but the arrival of my niece pushed it to today. Being a non-Texan by birth, I would say that the arrival of a new niece is more important then football, but the natives here might argue that. It's my call and Chloe wins.

Everyone knows about Texas and football. Not having attended college here I landed in Austin without an allegiance to any team. I have friends who went to A&M as well as UT and whoever took me to a game first, I would pledge me support to that team. Last Saturday UT won my affections thanks to Mike. Go Longhorns!

I've been to numerous professional football games, but never to a college game. And certainly not to a college that takes it's football as seriously as UT. I thought that going to a school with a big football team would be fun, but the majority of the 84,000 in attendance were not students. It's not cheap to go to a game, even for students. I think the lure of the big school athletics like UT is the lifelong affiliation once you graduate and can afford the price of admission.

It was a perfect day for football. The weather was cool and there was a bit of a breeze. Prior to the kickoff, we spent a few hour tailgating in the parking lot with Mike's friend Terri. What a spread she put out. I think she was the belle of the LBJ Parking lot as her tailgate party had LIVE satellite television. We watched A&M loose to Missouri. Several other less fortunate tailgater's crept over to watch the game with us.

Once inside the stadium it was a sea of burnt orange. Last fall when I bought my house I was in Sears looking for a new washer and dryer. I came across a set and exclaimed to my salesperson, "Who buys a pumpkin colored washer and dryer?". I had so much to learn.

UT won and it was a great game. They handily beat Texas Tech, and everyone in the stands was polite to our guests from the opposing team in my section. The half time show was actually interesting to watch as both marching bands took turns on the field. There was plenty of tradition although I failed get a look at Bevo, the UT mascot.

There are two things Texas loves. It's football and itself. I've been told many times by natives, "There's Texas and there's not Texas".

And they're right.

Oh Baby

She's here! Yesterday my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Chloe Elizabeth Santoro. Mother and daughter are doing fine after an intense 17 hours of labor. She's a few weeks early but she's still 8 lbs. Not a bad size and thankfully she arrived when she did as if she stayed full term, she may have hit the double digits which is common in my family.

She's adorable and perfect. I now have four nieces and one nephew. You can count on more baby pictures to come in the upcoming weeks.

Blow Hard

Here's Big Red, my new favorite toy. No shop is complete without an air compressor to inflate tires or remove those unbelievably tight and difficult suspension bolts. Not to mention brake caliper bolts too. Nothing like a good impact wrench to take your lug nuts off without hurting yourself.

Mucho thanks to Mom and Dad for the early Christmas present.

Last week i picked up the new front springs to my 635CSi and met a set of unweilding brake caliper bolts while trying to remove the front strut tower. The car has about 110k on it which means it's had about two brake jobs in the past 19 years. Those brake calipers bolts have not moved since daytrading was an occupation. They are very happy where they are but I need to change that.

But not today. I've inflated the tires a bit and played with all the accessories. Hats off to the guys at Home Depot for being so helpful. I hit the guys up at the contractor desk and they could not have helped me more in picking out the right model and the correct nailer for the woodworking jobs I have planned for my house. I know I usually slam Home Depot, but these guys were great. You bet I'm going to fill out that survey at the bottom of my receipt.

I can't stop smiling and playing with it. I've properly inflated the tires on all my cars. The difference between men and boys certainly is the size of their toys.

Candy Land

I think I did ok, but it sure has been a long time. When I was 10 years old my family left the suburbs for rural living. There's not much trick-or-treating when the houses are miles apart. Since then I've lived in apartments and condos mostly. I did live in a house in the Hollywood Hills for several years, but on a street that's at a 20% grade and with thirteen steps up to the front door deters even the most avid trick-or-treater.

Now I live in a subdivision with about 600 homes, and there are families everywhere. It's my first time passing out candy and I guess I did ok. I went to Target yesterday and bought two big bags with 102 pieces each. I don't know why it was 102 versus 100. I did substantial product testing and found the candy was suitable for distribution to the children in my neighborhood. The bulk of the activity was between 7-9pm and there's about 30 pieces left.

All the kids dressed up and their parents stood at the end of the driveway as their kids made their junior attempts at door-to-door salesmenship. However, it would take the coldest heart to refuse a child a piece of candy on a night like this. The costumes were the usual timeless classics like Spiderman, Batman, Hobo's.. etc. And the most popular costume of the evening?

Every girl is Daddies' little Princess.

Hello Again

Just a quick news flash. My new cell phone arrived today, so you can resume using that number and my home number will once again bounce to my cell. Text messages return!

Not a great advancement in technology, but it's a Treo 650. I was all geeked out about the iPhone when it arrived and was sure I would get one. I am an early adopter of some Apple products, ie. Mac Mini and Powerbook. However I'm not really pleased about Apple's iPhone price reduction so early in the launch and on-again, off-again third party application lockout. Early adopters are your best customers and it's not the way to treat them. Also, I don't like being forced into AT&T as my cellular provider. I'll pick, thank you.

So I'm staying with T-Mobile for now. The new phone works great according to my first callers. TTYL!

Under Contract

It was a year ago today I first stepped foot into my house. It was not the first I had seen it as there was an extensive website with tours, photos and floorplans. I think I had spent about 30 minutes in the house before I decided to make an offer and go under contract. In the three prior times I had done this, the decision was about 30 minutes and there were no regrets. When it feels right you know it.

Moving to Austin was not a hard decision to make. Buying a house involves a series a large checks to be written and I didn't flinch once. The decision to move had been part of an on going conversation with friends of mine. My friend Jason had left So Cal shortly after I did. Our time was up.

I love my house. It's something I would not have had there. A year ago I wondered what I would do with 1900sf all to myself. I seem to have filled it up nicely except for one bedroom which remains empty. I may never use it while I live here and a three bedroom house may have been better suited over a four, but I like the floorplan and the option of having that extra room.

I know not everyone wants to own a home. They are a lot of work. Los Angeles is not a bad place if you want to rent. There are an enormous amount of rental properties available and laws that are tenant friendly. Texas is more landlord friendly. While the market there has slowed a bit, it' has not fallen off the face of the planet as some might have expected it too. It's still a struggle more most people to buy a decent place in Los Angeles area on a single income. My house in Round Rock would be about $900,000 in El Segundo.

There are other benefits as well. I can commute to UT in the city from the 'burbs in about 20 minutes to get to class. I can get just about anywhere in 20 minutes for that matter. There is no general angst about getting in the car and going somewhere. You'll get where you need to go, no worries.

And yesterday I jacked the BMW up in my garage and removed all the wheels and cleaned them in my driveway. My two dogs were playing in my backyard. That's priceless.

Damages

I don't watch much series television. So when I do, I'd like to think it's significant to me at least. Over the past 12 weeks there has been one show that I have not missed an episode of and I thought I'd share it with you.

FX's Damages appears on Tuesday evenings and it's marquee star is Glenn Close. The story revolves around her law firm and an attempt to settle a class action suit against Ted Danson who plays an Kenneth Lay type of character who's company took a dive like Enron.

There's murder and plot twists. You never know who to trust and neither do the characters. It's well written and shot. Glenn Close is great. The show is shot in NYC but makes no mention of it or uses the city's landmarks. Rather then Toronto passing as NYC, NYC is passing as any western city. There's a twist in its' self.

This Saturday FX is running a Damages marathon. If the weather is unpleasant where you live, I'd recommend catching up. Tuesday 10/23 is the big season finale where all the story lines are supposed to be wrapped up and I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Cold Front

Fall and a nice cold front is beginning to settle into Central Texas and it's more then welcome to stay for a while. Nice cooler temperatures recall lazy Sunday mornings when you can't seem to get moving. I don't mind, one of my favorite programs comes on at 10:00 am, Meet The Press

This Sunday's topic was off the usual political path and the guest was Bill Cosby. Yes that Bill Cosby, the Jell-o pushing loud colorful sweatered man who has made us laugh for generations. If you've kept up with the 'Cos lately, he's not a laughing man anymore. He's distraught with the status of African-Americans in the United States. I could regurgitate the somber statistics but they're of no surprise to anyone.

While it's early in the race, we are tracking to elect the first female president of the United States. Barak Obama may be extremely competent, but it's hard to beat Hillary's experience and the war machine on her side. The two candidates though could be poster children of equal rights and the progress and lack thereof we have made over the last century.

If equal rights were a horse race, woman would be back in the barn getting brushed down while race relations would be still out on the track. Woman have not had an easy run of things but their message hits close to home. Most every home for that matter.

Woman did not make it to where they are today by hunting elk while wearing burlap underwear. In general, they still like pretty things and have softer pursuits. And all that is fine. The startling realization is that woman are fundamentally different from men. They have different physiology, thought patterns and interests. Race on the other hand is primarily a difference in skin color. So why are we still so far away from racial equality?

Home is where the heart is. It's hard to look someone in the eye across the dinner table and tell them they are inferior. It breaks their heart and if you have one, yours too. While it will never happen, a law requiring us to partner up with someone of a different race for the next 100 years probably would solve our racial problems. It's crazy idea anyway because love is what love is. But it could possibly work...

Lying next to someone in bed inherently makes them your equal. If you didn't agree, the next cold front could be the one coming across your pillow.

A Different Light

Yesterday I complained about too much light. I feel like I have a direct connection to mother nature or something like that. There was no sun today. At all.

So what to do? Like the kid in a candy store I headed to Lowe's and went on a landscape frenzy. I planted nine grass plants and five crepe myrtles in my back yard. Everything was 50% off, so I made out like a bandit. Done by three, the landscape plan for the backyard is nearly complete and well under budget. No sun and 70 degree weather meant I didn't even break a sweat.

But who cares when I can take cute doggy pictures instead. I know you could care less about what my backyard looks like. I get many more comments about doggy pictures anyway. So with today's overcast lighting I broke out the camera for a few more shots. Today they are in a larger format so you can click on them to make them bigger.

The biggest challenge today was not breaking through the limestone in the yard. Try getting two dogs less then 13 months old to look into the camera at the same time...

Baxter's BFF

It's been a week and I've shown great restraint in posting adorable puppy pictures. Obviously things are going well. Baxter and Logan are inseparable. Both of them play constantly together and enjoy the other's company. In one of the cutest things I've ever seen, they have pulled their beds together so they sleep right next to one another. Logan's only thirty pounds so he has taken to sleeping on my chest while I watch tv. What can I say, I'm a softie.

I can't hold out much longer, so here's some pictures. My house is not the greatest place to take photography. If I use the flash, the dogs end up with devil eyes. On the other hand, my house has an abundance of large windows and it's always bright in here so things are washed out.

Next time I'll venture outdoors with the camera.

Secret Admirer

I'm smitten and I feel guilty. I can't hold this in any longer. I'm in love with the new Cadillac CTS. Ok, it's not a Ford or Lincoln. I'm not normally a huge GM fan, the last car I liked and owned that was from GM was my 1984 Pontiac 6000STE. It was a great car and they had not made one as nice since. (I may be exaggerating here) The new Cadillac CTS has my eye and I can't seem to let go.

I'm a sucker for an aggressive front end on a vehicle. Hence my 635CSi, which was nicknamed "The Shark" for it's "get the #$^&##! out of my way" look in your rearview mirror. The present day Dodge Charger has a menacing looking front end as well. The new CTS has a front end that recalls a Burlington locomotive bearing down on you. I approve.

The whole look has the car moving forward even when it's standing still. The front quarter view from either side of the car emphasizes the rear track that is wider then passenger compartment. This gives the vehicle the athletic look of broad shoulders. This car looks like it was made to dance when the road says, "let's tango".

The interior does not disappoint. It's very modern and nothing like in another GM products. The dashboard comes from the same supplier Mercedes uses. The radio is not something available on any Impala or other bread and butter product in GM's stable. Cadillac is something special again and GM has spent the money to back it up. The Escalade may still be a tarted up Tahoe, but the CTS is it's own dog. It doesn't share it's body panels with anyone.

If this all sounds like I'm gushing, well no apologies. Remember, I'm smitten.