I really hate the winds we have here on a normal day,but these were by far one of the scariest! My area is a bit of a wind tunnel,the air is never still here,which is why it always boggles me when I have powdery mildew problems on certain plants! We do not lack air circulation that is for sure! I assume there are other factors I am unaware of. Maria,60 is a scary number,I hope you make it through ok! Just a few more hours and we are out of dodge! Daisy,I am so sorry to hear about your Clubhouse! I hope there wasnt too much lost! Glad to hear you are safe!:) PV,it is so terrible those people died! I was hoping we all would make it through this with nothing more than property damage. I am sad for their families.:( Please stay off that terrace! Oh Lizzy! Poor Wiggles! Is he/she ok? I am sorry to hear how bad it got you! That is alot of damage,I will keep my fingers crossed for you that no more happens! "We sure paid for the mild temps recently. Enough already!" you got that right! Thanks token!:) Right now it has picked up again,I am fortunate to have my power still. One of my pines is a blue spruce that is taller than my house,than there is the equally tall scrub pine directly behind me. At the top of the yard there are 3 different types of pine and my beloved maple. So far so good,they are doing the Hola Hoop out there and it is scary. I have been trying to keep from looking out the window,but I keep hearing these loud bangs and have to investigate......I just came in from wrestling my gate for my deck shut,it was like someone 10 times my size was on the other side pushing it! I cant wait for my family to get home so I know they are safe and sound. Everyone hold on and be safe!

"...It's possible to make a car that does not break. Period..." Really? Even LEXUS owners have problems with their cars! And my old boss bought a new S class Mercedes. (S500) And it was eventually declared a "LEMON" and was replaced. Automobiles are still assembled by humans. And those huumans can have bad days and miss something on the line. It happens. And yes, not too long ago all American automakers built crap. But the quality has improved a great deal. So a Buick that's over 10 years old is not even in the same league as a Buick that's 2 years old as far as engineering goes. As a matter of fact, in 1999 we rented a brand new Park Avenue while on vacation. My wife called it a piece of garbage compared to our '88 Volvo. The power seat controls came off in her hand! Yeah, garbage! But I'll guarantee that the Lucerne is light years ahead of that Park Ave! In both quality and engineering.

Have the trouble codes been read? No where in your post did I see that you took the car to a dealer or transmission shop and have a diagnostic done on the tranny. It may be nothing more than something disconnected or a failing sensor.

I just travelled from London Ontario via Port Huron, then Flint, through MI via I-75 to their UP, WI, MN, and ND to Saskatchewan and later to Edmonton in Alberta in Canada, source of much of the oil and natural gas that the U.S. gets from Canada ... and was surprised at the low volume of traffic on that route - in tourist season. I used the method described above along much of that course, especially at night, when traffic was lighter. I have no idea how many miles I travelled with the engine not running, but it was substantial. And hardly ever did I interfere with the travel of anyone else using the road. Same strategy on the return trip. Last evening I started from near London Ontario and came down through Detroit, then down I-75 to Knoxville TN, then across on I-40 to Lake Junaluska, near Asheville, NC to a reunion of over 200 former missionaries and development workers to Korea, arriving just before the dinner hour. Though traffic was somewhat heavier, especially at rush hour, than on the northern route, I was able to coast dozens of times, without interfering with the rate of travel of people following me. Sometimes on a long downhill slope with rather light gradient, I'd re-start for a short speed-up of travel, part way down the hill, then coast again. I really appreciate the great effort that was expended to build that highway through the rocky hills/mountains of Kentucky, Tenessee and North Carolina: through the Great Smokies. More than I did earlier ... and I think that's an added benefit to my increased awareness of the importance of conservation of our resources, especially petroleum, plus reducing global warming and pollution. This profligate lifestyle that we've self-centredly carried out for three generations or less can't continue. And now, we have the gall to tell the rapidly industrializing countries, especially China, India, Brazil, etc. that tey've got to take an important role in decreasing pollution ... when we have three cars in every driveway, and they have about 1 car in 200 driveways (or is that 100)? Where do we get such gall? Many of us in the U.S. and Canada claim to be Christian. I wonder what God has to say about such heedless, greedy selfishness? ole joyful