"Wow OAA9898 you called me a lier and a retard in one post LOL.Sure its just one case and I said they make them better today then they did back then.But it is a true story.I guess you just do not believe everything you read.Just every thing Consumer Distorts and JD powers writes?Still its a fact you do not see 20 year old Rice burners on the road.Thats a fact.Maybe up on blocks.Even this retard can see that." Actually they did make them good, even back then. Why do you think the imports were so popular? American cars in the '70s were gas hogs of substandard quality. All cars built back then were of abysmal quality in comparison to todays cars. I'm not suggesting imports were perfect at all; however, every car in the 70s had rust problems. The problem with imports back then was that very few mechanics would touch them, so dealer maintenance was necessary and expensive (and therefore often left undone). Guess what happens if you don't change the timing belt on an interference engine? It snaps and the pistons hit the valves, and well, you can guess the rest. If your car has over a 100,000 miles on it, and the engine is ruined due to a snapped timing belt (due to poor maintenance) you could put a couple thousand dollars into an eight or nine year old car, or cut your losses. What choice do you think a lot of consumers made? BTW, in 1985, Honda and Toyota sales were growing but were far from being at the volume of domestic cars sold at the time. Of course you see more domestics; thats simply due to the fact that more domestics were sold. Japanese car companies concentrated their sales in markets were demand was the highest, like on the West coast. You live in Illinois, the demand for gasoline was and is much higher in California, and probably always will be; therefore, there was a greater demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. Hence, more Hondas and Toyotas were sold there as opposed to where you and I live, the Midwest. Despite what you may believe, everything is not the same everywhere, johndeere. And thanks to competition cars today are far better then they would be without Japanese Imports. Thanks, Japan. Don't knock Consumer Reports. Unlike J.D. Power & Associates, they are one of the only non-for-profit consumer advocacy groups left in the country. They accept no advertisements, corporate donations, and don't allow their name to be advertised by manufacturers. Say what you will, that they're biased towards foreign cars, or other garbage like that - but it will be completely unfounded.

We got a straight chrome one from Motiv (a mid priced subsidiary of Ginger) and it seems very sturdy. It's not Target cheap, but they have great warranties and a great reputation. (We have the rollers on it and it hasn't scratched at all.)

I have installed many white subway tile showers. I've priced subways from Walker Zanger, Home Depot, Dal Tile and Arizona Tile. The least $$ is Arizona tile at $.67 ea. They are thinner then the others, but it won't make a difference in waterproofing. I have always used light grey as the grout color because white turns yellow over time. You'd be surprised how "white" it looks. As for waterproofing- this can be done a few ways. We always have our crews lathe and float the walls and hot mop the pan (floor). Other like different products, but I find hot mop the best for custom showers. Your contractor will know whats best. Good luck!

In the interest of keeping this thread alive, and in response (much belated) to orcagirl, I say this: do you have both fabrics to feel and look at in front of you? Which was more appealing? My own understanding (not yet the voice of experience) is that acrylics and acrylic blends tend to hold up well to regular use, do not stain easily/ ever, and are, as you noted, less expensive than many other fibers. In this sense, if you like the "hand" of the cotton/ acrylic blend option, you are unlikely to be any less satisfied by it five years from now than today. However, if you do NOT have both fabrics in front of you to touch, answering becomes much more difficult! (Also, as an aside to justerrilynn, I LOVE the way those little stools turned out! Wow!)