Sorry to be pedantic. But is "eminent bankruptcy" correct? Eminent apparently means something important but the bankruptcy should probably be described as "imminent"?
When the Ren Cen opened, I was still living on the west side of the state & came back to Detroit to visit my mom.
We took a trip down to see the shops and had late lunch at the Summit. That's what the top floor restaurant was called back then. As it slowly rotated we enjoyed watching the city go from daylight to dark as the sun set.
On that same visit, or near that same time frame, we went to Dearborn to the Fairlane Town Center. The shopping mall was like nothing I'd ever seen; my small west Michigan town didn't even have a shoe store.
In those days, you could take an elevated tram from the mall to the Hyatt Regency hotel. There was a top-floor rotating restaurant there, too.
Such optimistic times they were. It makes me sad to see just how bad things are now.
@Formerlythegreatestdriver: I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but when you're an 11-yr. old kid, an elevated tram is like something out of Star Trek. As I recall, there was a long wait to ride in it too, mainly because of its novelty.
I visited the Ren Center back when it was Ford HQ and I remember thinking how it looked like the first skyscraper built after the apocalypse.
"All around them the scars of war had scorched the earth. But out of the ashes a few brave men had built a giant glass tube and named it Renaissance. Protected by only a thick wall of concrete from the dangerous ghetto zombies outside, they set about to revitalize the city from within..."
@Ash78: The big, phallic tower at the center is a Marriott hotel. The base of the building and the five towers are occupied by GM -- well, mostly. I don't think they're as full as they used to be judging by the ease of finding parking on a trip to the RenCen last month.
Coach Insignia's the name of the restaurant. Actually, the name is the insignia of a Coach. Like Prince, it has no spoken name.
@elwood: You have to come at the end of October.. the views are magnificent, all aglow in shades of red, orange and yellow, against a moving pallet of dark black hues.
Sure it may be fall, but when your 90 floors above the city, the fact that it's burning doesn't even enter your mind.
The Solstice is a great car. I have over 17,000 miles on mine (2007 GXP with the Z0K package) and it has been 100% reliable, has won me several SCCA ProSolo and National Tours, gets 34 mpg on the highway and has even got my picture taken by admiring ladies! I traded my '06 Miata for it and I couldn't be happier and sing the car's praises every chance I get.
@solracer: If the Solstice puts up with the abuse ladled upon it by SolMonkeyRacer while still staying together, it must be good.
I should know, I'm an owner of a vehicle formerly owned by SolRacer, from back in his days of Miata individualism. Now, the Miata is a tough as an impact socket, and my buddy SolRacer knows not the meaning of smooth inputs. ;-) He does drive fast though, and my Miata continues to put up with abuse, like the happy little Mule it is, to this day.
Let's hope the Peugeot we're driving at Arse-freeze can handle our caning...
Not to be nitpicky, but the Chevy is a Bel Air; for '62 the Impala switched to the "fauxvertible" roofline, while the Bel Air hardtops retained the "bubbletop" greenhouse of '61.
And for what it's worth, I'd have a hard time choosing between the Riv and the '56(?) Buick.
my 1950's style complex comes complete with 0 insulative qualities and windows that seem to radiate air as cold as dick cheneys heart.
im tempted to fire up the wall mounted gas heater, but the knowledge that my manager simply spray paints them to "like new" at each turn of tenants has my toxicity sense tingling
@damnelantra™: Or you could always move down here. 68 degrees today in Atlanta and it's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow. I honestly don't see how people deal with horribly cold weather. I spent 10 days in subzero temps in Canada and thought I was going to die. I don't care what anybody says, snow is evil.
Oh, and the Sky is far more attractive than the Solstice but both cars are quite nice IMHO.
@medmoney: dude im in los angeles. it was fucking 109 in the summer. and now i feel like i need a winter mitten to keep my man jewels from freezing off.
@damnelantra™: I thought los angeles was where you moved so that you didn't have to deal with all the crappy seasons like winter? Good luck with staying warm. First time I went snowboarding it was -40 degrees, and I couldn't feel my jewels for a week after that experience.
To hell with global warming. I say we should all have to leave our cars running overnight to warm the planet up some more. Anything less than 50 degrees F is just too damn cold.
05/07/09
Sure, the building is damn eminent.
05/07/09
When the Ren Cen opened, I was still living on the west side of the state & came back to Detroit to visit my mom.
We took a trip down to see the shops and had late lunch at the Summit. That's what the top floor restaurant was called back then. As it slowly rotated we enjoyed watching the city go from daylight to dark as the sun set.
On that same visit, or near that same time frame, we went to Dearborn to the Fairlane Town Center. The shopping mall was like nothing I'd ever seen; my small west Michigan town didn't even have a shoe store.
In those days, you could take an elevated tram from the mall to the Hyatt Regency hotel. There was a top-floor rotating restaurant there, too.
Such optimistic times they were. It makes me sad to see just how bad things are now.
05/07/09
05/07/09
05/07/09
"All around them the scars of war had scorched the earth. But out of the ashes a few brave men had built a giant glass tube and named it Renaissance. Protected by only a thick wall of concrete from the dangerous ghetto zombies outside, they set about to revitalize the city from within..."
70s architects crack me up.
05/07/09
05/07/09
They should have installed boiling oil/tar cauldrons to keep that cesspool's postapocalyptic denizens from entering the building.
05/07/09
05/07/09
If only the address were 350 Shortblock Lane.
05/07/09
(is Coach Insignia the name of the restaurant, a purse store, or a special edition of an Opel sedan?)
05/07/09
Coach Insignia's the name of the restaurant. Actually, the name is the insignia of a Coach. Like Prince, it has no spoken name.
05/07/09
05/07/09
05/07/09
05/07/09
Sure it may be fall, but when your 90 floors above the city, the fact that it's burning doesn't even enter your mind.
05/07/09
05/07/09
12/17/08
12/17/08
I should know, I'm an owner of a vehicle formerly owned by SolRacer, from back in his days of Miata individualism. Now, the Miata is a tough as an impact socket, and my buddy SolRacer knows not the meaning of smooth inputs. ;-) He does drive fast though, and my Miata continues to put up with abuse, like the happy little Mule it is, to this day.
Let's hope the Peugeot we're driving at Arse-freeze can handle our caning...
12/17/08
And for what it's worth, I'd have a hard time choosing between the Riv and the '56(?) Buick.
12/17/08
2 seats
stick
front mid engine / rear drive
quick, nippy
sexy lines
very cool
12/17/08
12/17/08
1. The one where she THUDS to the floor, which made me laugh because I'm like that.
2. The one where he buys her a mini-trampoline and she rebounds up into his arms, which is not funny at all due to its ridiculous implausibility.
12/17/08
12/17/08
12/17/08
12/17/08
12/17/08
12/17/08
12/17/08
my 1950's style complex comes complete with 0 insulative qualities and windows that seem to radiate air as cold as dick cheneys heart.
im tempted to fire up the wall mounted gas heater, but the knowledge that my manager simply spray paints them to "like new" at each turn of tenants has my toxicity sense tingling
12/17/08
Oh, and the Sky is far more attractive than the Solstice but both cars are quite nice IMHO.
12/17/08
...i think im going to move to the equator next
12/17/08
To hell with global warming. I say we should all have to leave our cars running overnight to warm the planet up some more. Anything less than 50 degrees F is just too damn cold.
12/17/08
funny how things work out...
i would be on board with your plan for worldwide warmupyness. but then we com back to the 109 summer... then 114 summer... then 123 summer...
i think ill stop bitching about my 3 weeks of "cold" weather
12/17/08
Sooo, Smalley, what's your sign?
12/17/08
12/17/08