Communication is very important - and these days it couldn't be easier to stay in touch. Thanks to the convenience of the cell phone it's possible to order a pizza on the fly, phone in an addition to that honey do shopping list, or even check on the nintendo playin' - potato chip stuffin' baby sitter… provided you have call waiting! But most importantly, these little marvels allow us to keep in contact with our loved ones. I can tell you I feel a lot better knowing that my wife can very easily phone me should she have car troubles or need a quick phone hug.

After owning one of these little babies for a while; you will come to realize just how much you take it for granted when it's broken. I opted for one of the micro models - actually a gift from my wife - a Motorola StarTac, very small with tons of features, a very nice gift. I have to admit though within the first month I had to take it to the shop - the ringer went out. 3 months later… the same thing. After the 2^nd repair it lasted to about 3 month's past the manufacture's warrantee. I took it in to my service provider and asked what he could do. He said, "Well, it is out of warrantee, but Motorola is a good company. I'm sure they'll fix it no charge. I'll let you know before they make the repair." I was satisfied with that. It had provided me with great service and was in reality out of warrantee; at least he seemed to be working with me. A week went by and I got a call from my service provider telling me that my phone was ready - no charge. I was happy to get the message. When I went to pick it up, I had found that Motorola had done one better, they had actually given my a brand new phone and it was the next higher model to boot! Along with my new phone came a very apologetic letter regarding the situation. Kudos to the Motorola team… Thanks guys!

The Losers… General Motors Corporation.

Being a patriotic American and Veteran, I have to admit that I believe in supporting our country and our way of life. I buy American when ever possible and have owned and driven Chevy's since I could reach the pedals. The only thing that I can say is… they don't make 'em like they used to. I have owned 3 Cavaliers over the past 3 years - a 1995, 1997 & 1998. Because I do have a back ground in the auto repair industry, I know of certain rules of thumb pertaining to purchasing a new car. One of the golden rules being to shy away from 1^st model years - this being the 1^st year with major body style changes. One of the other golden rules that I try to obey is… keep the wife happy. O.K., so I admit I do try to spoil her - as much as I can afford anyway - and when she said that she wanted her 1995 Cavalier and gave in and we purchased one. The car was a good performer, the ride was a little stiff, and I had a couple of mechanical problems, and leaks but overall it was a good car - hey, I purchased 2 more right? The 1^st was traded in for a loaded model with all the whistles and bells. But it still carried over some of the problems from the first car. Wipers that chattered, a squeaky dash and a truck leak none of which the dealer could ever "find" when the car was taken in for service. Well needless to say… the need arose for me to purchase another car. I had taken a job that was a considerable distance from home and needed something that could get some better gas mileage… enter the third and last Chevy that I will probably ever own. I purchased another Cavalier - jokes on me eh? I mean come on now, wouldn't there have been enough complaints from other owners that would prompt them to make some product changes? Well, I guess not. This car is definitely the worst of the three. My wife complains more than I do when she rides in it. Personally I have had to deal with the wiper chatter, stalling, and electrical system problems. When I took the vehicle in for service, always the same thing… NPF or "No Problem Found" in mechanics terms. What it basically came down to was getting under the hood myself, finding the problems, and then taking it in and pointing them out to the Service Advisor so that he could direct the technician (I use that term loosely) on exactly what needed to be done! When I expressed my dismay, the comment from the Service Advisor was (and I quote) "Hey, I didn't make the car." I felt like firing the guy myself! I guess what was most disappointing to me was the fact that this guy could care less about my problem and was not acting like a representative of the company he works for. Upon leaving the facility, I checked out my copy of the repair order and found that the repairs that he made were not reflected by the description on the repair order! I then realized what was going on here - it was so that the "Technician" could clock more time and be paid more by the company. Maybe if he had done a better job in the first place - as few mechanics do these days - he would have gotten something that I have not seen since I closed my tool box over 10 years ago… a tip. Shame shame on you GM, you should care a little better for your customers. Oh, but that's right… what do you care anyway - considering I hear a rumor that they are thinking about stopping production and shutting down? That rumor comes from somebody with over 40 years in the industry, but hey, it is just a rumor…