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Dear Dub, What do you make of this mess that Detroit finds themselves in? Has it affected your shop? John Q...

Coming out of the Thanksgiving weekend, what I am most thankful for is making it back home to San Francisco without incident driving a 16' rental truck. I had to rent a truck to take back a piece of furniture and a few miscellaneous boxes that my parents had been storing for me since I left home back in 1996. I finally bought a house this summer, so I was going to have space for the gorgeous china cabinet I inherited from my grandmother...

Time again to serve up the turkey of the year!  There were many candidates for Grandma Schwatrz to choose from for her dinner platter, but she decided to go no-frills and serve a turkey with almost no trimmings this year. As much as some people are passionate about the smart, even some of them see the drawbacks: As much as I love the Smart and probably will get one, the idea of a 3 person version of a similar car is the only real factor that's holding things up.     - If Smart had a flatter rear floor (perfectly flat) and a bit of work, it might be possible for them to fit a third person in the rear sideways behind the passenger (6 inch thinner dash and everything moved up 6-8 inches for the passenger might be enough space)  So other than a total redesign, you're ready to buy one? And I'm sure that third person in the car will be very comfortable shoe-horned in sideways with nothing but a bit of glass and sheet metal between him and the front end of pretty much any vehicle that might rear end you...

Sometimes the timing of letters is perfect, like a horror story right around Halloween. And the moral of this story is... the job of basic automotive eductation is never done!..

Dear Dub, I have a problem with my classic car eating tires. It's not a "restoration" so we don't have to worry about finding parts as I've installed all new modern suspension parts and some great looking wheels. I've had it on the alignment machine and it's right on manufacturer specs for the car and it still chews up tires...

Dear Dub, They say the clothes make the man. What about the car? Should I be worried about what my Yugo says about me?..

Since I could have been killed and you might learn something from it, I have to tell you about the car that came into the shop yesterday. A guy visiting his daughter who is attending the local college comes in and says her car is riding really loud and rough. So I go out for a test ride with him and talk about road rumble!..

Dear Dub, Friends and family think I spend too much time and money on my cars and call me a car nut. I don't think I am, I just like my cars. Do I have a problem?..

Sometimes you run across an AP story that's just too juicy to pass up commenting on. Man arrested after excessive horn blowing GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — Sometimes, blowing your own horn is too much of a good thing...

Dear Dub, In all the hub bub in the stock market recently and bailout deals and all that, the bailout of the automakers seems kind of lost in the shuffle. With all the money that the government is getting ready to throw around, do you think we should bailout Detroit? One of the Undecided Dark days in Detroit Their sales are way down Smug smiles of the past Have turned to a frown They didn't adapt to the changing game They forged right ahead making more of the same Gas may be rising But no problems they see So General Motors Brings us the Hummer H3 The dinosaurs thought They were too big to fail But they were wrong too Now we're hearing the wail We need to survive Just lend us some money If it wasn't so sad This all would be funny I know it sounds cruel and heartless and mean But sometimes bad companies do leave the scene You dug your own hole Don't sit there and cry Say, here's an idea Try building something we'll buy!