For no apparent reason, our wireless Verizon DSL connection is back to the usual speed. As a test, I quickly looked up a bunch of old 1980s music videos on YouTube, and ended up wallowing in nostalgia (Elvis Costello, Alphaville, Joe Jackson, etc). YouTube is a damn efficient time waster!

Do you remember when French cars were sold in the US in the 1970s and 80s? I'm thinking of the Renault 5 "Le Car", the Alliance, and the sporty Fuego. Peugeot 505 sedans and and station wagons were not uncommon to see on American highways in the 1980s. When I visited my cousin in Italy several years ago, we drove around in a Renault Clio. It was quick, nimble, and got great gas mileage, the perfect vehicle for the crowded streets of Naples, where she lived. Some say the quality control was lousy, and French cars are too small for the US. But weren't pretty much ALL cars crappy in the 1970s and into the 80s? Even the best of the German and Japanese cars from that time are crude in comparison with 21st century vehicles. I'd buy a Peugeot 207 CC without hesitation, well, aside from the slightly funky styling. A side benefit of buying a French car would be it would serve as a rolling advertisement of your blue-state, anti-Bush, anti-Francophobe attitude, just like driving a Prius makes an eco-friendly statement, or driving a Hummer is a big F-you to everyone else on the road. I think it's time for the French automakers to get back into the US market, and while we're at it, how about reintroducing FIATs and other classic European makes? Our roads could use a little European flair as an antidote to all those dull Japanese sedans and boxy American SUVs. Then again, we are very very happy with our Mazda 3, and it is utterly reliable and fun to drive...