Someone brought up this topic a few days ago, asking me what my dream cars were as a child.

If you're an automotive enthusiast you can likely rattle off the dream cars of your youth without taking a breath. Dozens of images flow through my mind when I think about what cars fascinated me as a kid. But to give the question merit I think you have to define "childhood." The cars that excited me in grade school, late '70s Firebirds and '57 Chevys, weren't the same ones I lusted after in my teens. For me, I'll define "childhood" as 16 years old, or the year driving cars went from being fantasy to reality. At that age, these were my favorite vehicles (with period-correct photos to prove the point):

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As with so many of my automotive-related interests I acquired my joy of slot-car racing from my older brothers. They were playing with Aurora AFX cars and tracks in my earliest memories (the first Aurora sets were introduced in 1971) and I was happy to take up the cause when they outgrew the activity. If memory serves, it was about when they could start driving real cars. I finally sold all our remaining cars around 1999 on ebay. I was shocked when the random collection brought $110.

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I'm going to admit it -- my interest in professional football is at an all-time low. Growing up in Denver it was impossible not to be a fan of the Broncos, which ultimately paid off several years ago. But I don't live in football-crazed Denver anymore. Hell, I don't live in football anywhere anymore. Gotta love the second-largest city in the nation not having a pro team. Regardless, the Broncos have been mediocre at best for several years, and honestly I've got other ways to spend my Sundays. What, you think those old Triumph motocycles stay in tune by themselves?

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Of course nobody is still buying Chistmas gifts on December 24th, right?

But, in theory, if you still have to buy something for that car geek on your list you might stop by the local Radio Shack. They've got $8 remote control cars that range from Enzo Ferraris to Porsche Carrera GTs to Hummer H2s. I bought two of these toys in Ford GT form a couple months ago when I couldn't pass up the low price. Last week I saw some more, and because those first two were bubble-wrapped for future posterity it made sense to snag a couple more for the kiddies.

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If you're under the age of 40 and have ever picked up a joystick you're probably aware that we're on the brink of a major event in the gaming world. The third series in the Halo franchise hits stores at midnight tonight (in those stores willing to open at midnight). As a lifelong gamer (had an Atari 2600 in grade school) I'm still amazed at the level of technology and associated realism offered in modern gaming. And while I'd just assume leave many aspects of the Halo world inside my Xbox (sword-wielding aliens, a war-ravaged earth, purple chicks who get inside your head and tell you what to do), there's one Halo item that brings together my love of gaming and my love of automobiles -- the Warthog.

This four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering military vehicle is like a Jeep Wrangler on steroids. It can turn on a dime, climb over anything and happily bounce along after a 30-foot drop (though like any high-profile vehicle it can also roll over). Obviously there is no real-world version of the Warthog, but the Jeep Hurricane concept car from the 2005 Detroit Auto Show was surprisingly close. With two Hemis on board, one powering each axle, and the abiliy for each wheel to turn either direction --indepently -- the Hurricane had Warthog-like traction, plus a near-zero turning radius. Sure, the Hurricane was pretty over-the-top, but considering how close Chrysler got to making the Tomahawk...

Being the dutiful parent of a nine-year-old boy I put in my theatre time during the opening weekend of Transformers. However, in a pleasant surprise, the movie wasn't a completely pointless excercise for moi. As a mediocre fan at best (I watched the series occasionally back in mid '80s, but never had a toy and haven't followed it since), I have a very basic understanding of the storyline. But start talking "Series 1" and the like and I'm lost. While our own Daniel Pund was quick to point out the film's weak points (and they are plentiful) I was able to focus on the special effects and (albeit rare) witty dialogue and have a relatively good time.

But the incessant GM ad campaign that launched last week? It has me almost kissing my DVR for its ability to spare me from the belabored movie tie-in commercials featuring people's cars getting crushed by giant robots. Much more than the GM-heavy vehicle appearances in the film (which weren't as distracting as I feared) these commercials scream "Sell Out!" louder than...well, me at an Al Gore speech.

Okay, the suggestions are in and the winner is clear, though not surprising. The favorite car commecial, according to you guys, is the Rube-Goldberg inspired Australian Honda commerical, "The Cog." I remember when the link to this commercial first made the rounds in everybody's inbox, and it is an undeniably impressive series of events. I also like the solid directorial work that effectively captures the entire sequence. But here's my question, how much of this was real and how much was computer annimated/enhanced? I think I read somewhere it was all "real." Either way, here's the link:

 http://youtube.com/watch?v=OFTduBCb7Eo

However, my favorite car commercial of all time remains the Ridley Scott classic for the Nissan 300ZX. The commercial as a whole is pretty cool, but I love the end, where the 300ZX creates a sonic boom and flashes by and then...after a noticeable pause...when you think the commercial is done, the jet finally flies by.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w21qQFJ5rTU

Others sent in by readers include:

Alright guys, I've finally set up a specific email for people to send in their random thoughts, insightful observations or useless time-wasting links (definitely don't skimp on the latter). I've gotten an increasing amount of excellent information from readers who either email my direct account or know me well enough to call. In fact, tomorrow's Talk Back Tuesday is totally inspired by excellent reader feedback on a certain topic near-and-dear to my heart (hint: it's near and dear to Chicken Little's heart, too).

So, instead of making folks jump through hoops to send me this stuff, I've set up the email karloncars@edmunds.com to make it easy. I plan on throwing out various topics/questions each week where I'll want not just comments, but also links to stories/photos/vidoes as a response.

For instance, this week's Reader Feeder is: What is the best car commercial of all time? I have my vote already in place, and I've found it on YouTube. I'll put my link in the follow-up post to this topic, but I don't want to influence anyone's opinion. So send me not just your thoughts on this topic, but also the link(s) to your pick(s), and I'll do a round up at the end of this week that includes my pick.

Ah, the Mercury Montego. At some point in the brand's history this nameplate had a bit of muscular/performance flair, but like too many Mercury nameplates it ultimately became an oversized, underwhelming shadow of a Ford product. To me the Montego nameplate will always represent the blue car that was really a red car (that was really a gray car?) in the movie Used Cars. And to save the dealership from evil "Roy L. Fuchs" a superstitous car salesman had to jump a 1974 (or so) Montego sedan over a moving train. If you claim to be a car nut, or just enjoy the subject of buying and selling cars, you must see this movie.

The new Montego lives up to the nameplate's history, as it's basically a warmed over Ford Five-Hundred. And like the 1970s Montego, this version is being retired in favor of a more recognizable (and, Ford hopes, appealing) nameplate. The 1970s Montego was replaced by the "upsized" Mercury Cougar of 1977 (ugh, let's not go there...), and the current Montego will become the Sable for 2008.

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...we've got a good one going up on Monday about Smokey and the Bandit, a classic car movie that turns 30 this week. If you're of a certain age group this movie likely left an indelible impression on you when it premiered in 1977. It was the second-highest-grossing film of 1977 after Star Wars (another movie that left a large impact crater on my young psyche). The harsh truth of 1977 is that there wasn't a lot to celebrate in the world of automotive enthusiasm. Cars were weak, gas was no longer cheap, and it looked like we'd all be pedaling front-wheel drive hatchbacks before the end of the decade. Bandit was a total departure from this line of thinking, which is probably why it resonated so well across the fruited planes.

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