One nice thing about such a long refresh is that my fairly shiny original paint job 1994 Ford Ranger with 248k miles certainly doesn't look like its 15 years old and 3 generations back.

That said, when this one dies I will be very interested in picking up a slightly used 2011, but hopefully it will be at least 5 years from now.

I have a 94 Ford Ranger with 248,500k and commute 60+ miles a day on it with no problems at all. Hell it still has the stock plugs in it! My wife has a 97 Buick LeSabre with 147k and she does almost as much mileage a day as well. They aren't flashy rides, but I haven't had a car payment in years, change the oil and do most repairs on my own, and don't have to worry about spending lots of cash on insurance and car payments every month. While I miss my Z-28 convertible, I do not miss the payment, higher maintenance/insurance costs, etc. and will not be replacing one of these until the wheels fall off.

I live just on the edge of WRALs coverage and love the channel. I have no desire to watch any other local news broadcast, and I find myself very letdown whenever I travel as I compare other far larger cities news coverage to WRAL and they always come up short.

That said, I fear this technology will not make it far, as WRAL will not get support from cellular carriers. Both AT&T and Verizon have their own MediaFLO MobileTV solutions, but neither has any coverage in NC. The cellular carriers are charging $13 & $15/month for this service. What incentive will they have to give up that revenue stream and throw more technology in their phones at a greater expense?

I hope it happens. I doubt it will ever become a standard thing like Bluetooth compatibility, but I think it would definitely be a nice option to be able to tune into local TV stations from my cellphone or smartphone without going through a wireless network or paying a premium for access.

You are both wrong and right.

The G'zOne had a 2.0MP camera. That was the first model, which was gigantic. The Type S was smaller and apparently downgraded the camera to a VGA camera. So the first model had a 2.0 MP camera, the 2nd model did not.

However Chris, you are wrong on one other thing. Verizon does have one other phone with external battery charging contacts. The Coupe, which is targetted to senior citizens uses an external charging stand to make it easier to charge. However it is not waterproof, nor does it have the screw locked battery like the G'zOne.

Living in a rural area and subscribing to both services, I think I can comment on that John Smith.

When Echostar and Direct tried to merge, the only competition they had in rural areas (like where I live) was each other. When I moved in the country I had no option except an antenna that would get ONE CBS affiliate. The nearest movie store was a 30+ mile drive, so renting movies was out of the question. And with some trees in my area blocking satellite signals from both satellite TV companies I was stuck with that one shitty CBS station. There was no other option for me. Eventually I signed up for NetFlix and have had it for years. I since moved to another house that has a clear line of sight and have DISH. But in very rural locations there is literally NO alternative to Dish/Direct.

In comparison on my commute to work, I have competition from multiple AM/FM stations, my iPod, my satellite radio, and more. I can even get online and stream Pandora through my aircard in my laptop. So thats 5 choices for just myself in a rural area. I think that should help you understand the difference John.

I am probably switching to Direct as well. I have been with Dish for several years and am out of contract, but they would not give me a free HD/DVR box. Direct is glad to hook me up with this, but DISH is obviously not interested in keeping me as a subscriber. As soon as I get moved to my new place, DISH is done.

ARE YOU LISTENING CHARLIE. YOU ARE DOING NEXT TO NOTHING TO KEEP YOUR CURRENT SUBSCRIBERS WHO ARE READY TO JUMP TO HD. WHY SHOULD WE PAY $150-$200 FOR AN HD BOX WITH YOU WHEN DIRECT IS GIVING THE DAMN THINGS AWAY FOR FREE???? THANKS FOR THE INCENTIVE TO STICK AROUND AND APPRECIATION FOR OUR YEARS AS A CUSTOMER!

I agree 64k I think is what it is, is not that great. I don't have a high end system in my little Ford Ranger, so I can't tell a big difference, but I'm sure in a nicer car it would be noticeable.

And I wasn't just calling you out. I have seen some other posts from the bloggers that at least I felt were bashing on XM/Sirius. And the fanboys of satrad such as myself are pretty hardcore about it, though I will be the first to admit its flaws, just like you said.

Sorry to burst the autoblog bubble, but HD radios choice is horrible. Its run by the same commercial monkeys that have ruined our current FM/AM choices. I hardly think they are going to be running all these stations commercial free and with much improved content. Face it, its going to be more of the same on HD.

I'd rather take the huge variety of choices available on Sirius and XM instead of channel hopping trying to miss commercials on FM/AM stations. And BTW, HD-AM has been canned for the time being due to massive bleedover to other channels. So much for that half of the spectrum getting any improvements.

I do find it ironic many of the Autoblog bloggers seem to have a vendetta against Satellite Radio, even though it can now be found standard on many of these new cars we talk about. Ford just announced a renewed partnership with Sirius, and put the penetration rate at 70% of all cars produced being equipped with it. Thats a pretty big deal, and apparently many people are enjoying these 3 and 6 month free trials enough that they are dropping the bucks when it comes time to renew.

I am currently driving a 94 Ford Ranger with the 4-cylinder and stick shift. Has 219k on the odometer and I add 60+ miles a day. Still runs like a top and the paint has held up better than some of my newer vehicles. So while I'm more of a GM man, I have to say I have had fewer problems with my Ranger than any of my other cars.

They are about to get paid off by the Taylors on Alamo and National stock. The company is being bought out by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, to help get them a better position in the airport rental car market.