Free Republic

The "Not Your Father's Oldsmobile" marketing effort alienated people of all ages with strange nepotism.When Ransom E. Olds lent his moniker to one of America's first automakers all the way back in 1897, he couldn't have known that 90 years into the future the Oldsmobile brand would make an ill-fated attempt to distance itself from the geriatric associations of the Olds surname. At the end of the 1980s, Oldsmobile was determined to shake the image that it built boring cars for sleepy seniors. The end result was the indelible "This Is Not Your Father's Oldsmobile" catchphrase, birthed from one of...

An old Air Force friend of mine was doing some research and found himself leafing through the papers of retired Brig. Gen. Terryl Schwalier. Those attuned to USAF history will recall that Schwalier was the commander at the center of controversy surrounding the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, a terrorist attack which killed 19 and injured 498 at a remote airbase in Saudi Arabia. Schwalier was scapegoated by the Clinton Administration, which triggered the resignation of Gen. Ronald Fogleman, whose integrity prevented him from continuing as the Air ForceÂ’s Chief of Staff in the face of what he viewed as an...

In the aftermath of the attacks on Pearl Harbour during World War Two stories emerged of sailors who were trapped in the sunken battleships, some even survived for weeks. Those who were trapped underwater banged continuously on the side of the ship so that anyone would hear them and come to their rescue. When the noises were first heard many thought it was just loose wreckage or part of the clean-up operation for the destroyed harbour. However the day after the attack, crewmen realised that there was an eerie banging noise coming from the foward hull of the USS West...

Federal bailout funding may have prevented General Motors from going through a normal bankruptcy process, but it has come at a significant price in terms of reputation and potential buyers. Fifty percent (50%) of American adults are less likely to buy a GM car because of the bailout. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds just four percent (4%) are more likely to buy from the company that critics refer to as Government Motors. Forty-two percent (42%) say the bailout has had no impact on their buying plans one way or the other. The flip side of the data...

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) -- Legendary fighter pilot, retired Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, died June 14 from congestive heart failure one month short of his 85th birthday. General Olds, rated a triple ace for having shot down a total of 16 enemy aircraft during World War II and the Vietnam War, served his country in assignments to England, Germany, Libya, Thailand and the United States, in positions of squadron, base, group and wing commander, and assignments to Headquarters U.S. Air Force and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "Triple-ace Robin Olds' legendary leadership and heroic service to the cause...

Kunsan Airmen pay tribute to triple ace fighter pilot "Members of the 8th Fighter Wing, known as the "Wolf Pack," honored Brig. Gen. Robin Olds, who passed away June 14, during a commemoration event June 19.  General Olds, former commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing and also known as the first "Wolf," was a triple ace" 6/19/2007 6:37:38 PM This story was written by Staff Sgt. Alice Moore Kunsan Airmen pay tribute to triple ace fighter pilot Honoring the memory of Gen. Robin Olds Honoring the memory of Gen. Robin Olds Airmen from the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air...

NOTE: Mark Foley should have resigned earlier and should be prosecuted to the full extend of the law. ========================================================== GREAT BACKGROUND IS HERE - Farrar thrust himself through the open window and into the car. Looking up, he found the body of a young woman. Her head was cocked back, her face pressed into the footwell. Both hands gripped the front edge of the back seat to hold herself in conformity with its upholstered contours. It was not the position assumed by a person knocked unconscious by the impact of a crash, Farrar said. "If she had been dead or...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is investigating Cadillac and Oldsmobile vehicles after consumers reported six fires due to fuel leaks, the National Highway Safety Administration said Monday. NHTSA is investigating Cadillac DeVilles, Eldorados and Sevilles and Oldsmobile Auroras after getting 69 complaints from consumers in the last two years. No injuries have been reported. Around 400,000 vehicles from model years 1995-97 could be affected. NHTSA said many of the complaints describe fuel spraying from small holes in plastic sections of the fuel rail, which is a pipe that supplies fuel to the injectors. Cadillac and Oldsmobile vehicles have the same...

Compulsory sex education for five-year-olds will be demanded today by government advisers on teenage pregnancy, as an essential step towards halving the under-18 concep tion rate by 2010. The teaching of sex and relationships in primary schools is not progressing fast enough to prepare children for the earlier onset of puberty, the Independent Advisory Group on Teenage Pregnancy will warn ministers in its annual report. The advisers have been encouraged by a 10% reduction in the teenage conception rate since 1998, and they attribute part of this improvement to more confident teaching of personal, social and health education (PSHE) in...