Random Thoughts Thread

[balthazar]

[trinacriabob]

2 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

 

Those are not so much as Greek fries as they are  cultural appropriated Greek oriented American fast junk food...(I aint sayin' they are not delicious, could very well be, I dont doubt it!) 

These are Greek potatoes...

 

The problem in Greece is how many places actually do serve french fries, especially in tacky tourist venues.  If I can and do get seasoned, lemon soaked Greek potatoes on this side of the pond, I want them in Greece, too.  That "go to" gyro place in the tourist books that's near the Monastiraki Metro in Athens served up french fries and the Greeks looked as happy as clams eating them with their gyros.  I was not.

[oldshurst442]

33 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

The problem in Greece is how many places actually do serve french fries, especially in tacky tourist venues.  If I can and do get seasoned, lemon soaked Greek potatoes on this side of the pond, I want them in Greece, too.  That "go to" gyro place in the tourist books that's near the Monastiraki Metro in Athens served up french fries and the Greeks looked as happy as clams eating them with their gyros.  I was not.

Blame the (North American) tourist for that...Possibly the American or Canadian Greek on top of all that...

And we were there last summer...I think I know what joint you are talking about

 

Yeah...my mom made the best Greek potatoes.  I miss those.  I miss my mommy. 

The wife is a good cook too. She cooks authentic Greek food quite alright. My belly is proof.

But nothing beats momma's cooking.  *SIGH*

I agree though about questioning the authenticity of it all.

Although, Athens in general has changed for the better IMO....however, the street food that you got in Athens during the 70's and 80s' will forever be gone.  Today, first of all, you cant get a souvlaki stick sold by a vendor with a grill on a sidewalk, who also grilled corn too to begin with. That is loooong gone.  But even the souvlaki, although still delicious, its not the way it used to be.  Back then, it was beyond delicious. It was heavenly.  At least  that is how I remembered it anyway...

Edited May 26, 2019 by oldshurst442

[trinacriabob]

Give some of the credit to UK folks who have to have their "fish and chips" wherever they go - the Canaries, the Balearics, Portugal, etc., etc.  Some streets in beach towns in the south of Portugal may as well have been transplanted from the UK - pubs and "fish and chips" ad nauseum ...

But, best of all, the Athens Metro now goes all the way into the airport and there are no train changes to get into the historical center.  I was last there before they completed the Metro into the new (opened in 2001) airport.

Edited May 26, 2019 by trinacriabob

[balthazar]

why.

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by balthazar

[balthazar]

[balthazar]

[balthazar]

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Was there as wide a variety of tire sizes back then as there are today?  I would imagine it was a lot simpler getting tires then as they'd almost all be a specific size like 22" don't care about the width. 

[Robert Hall]

Seems like in the ancient world the tire choices were tall and skinny or more tall and skinny.  

[G. David Felt]

@ocnblu You should love this story!

Tesla is now doomed. The EV dream will soon come crashing down. Here is why, and how it will end.

http://flip.it/HoyL3J

[Drew Dowdell]

7 minutes ago, dfelt said:

@ocnblu You should love this story!

Tesla is now doomed. The EV dream will soon come crashing down. Here is why, and how it will end.

http://flip.it/HoyL3J

Interesting that they blame most of it on Musk, but a large chunk of the failure is also directly a result of Trump's trade war with China. 

[balthazar]

^ don’t see how that effected the crashed US sales (which, BTW, are supposedly poised to be the best ever in May). Also seems many other OEMs would be likewise affected; not seeing that either.

Tesla is doing horribly bad, business-case wise, and has been all along. That’s primarily an internal issue, not a global trade issue.

Edited May 28, 2019 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

48 minutes ago, balthazar said:

^ don’t see how that effected the crashed US sales (which, BTW, are supposedly poised to be the best ever in May). Also seems many other OEMs would be likewise affected; not seeing that either.

Tesla is doing horribly bad, business-case wise, and has been all along. That’s primarily an internal issue, not a global trade issue.

I didn't imply that it did effect US sales. EU sales are up.   I agree with the general premise that Musk is the liability, the problem is that he's been the liability for years and it may be too late.  Spending all that money to get those stupid doors on the Model X when people would have bought it with normal doors anyway put Tesla at least a year behind in getting the Model X out the door right when SUV sales were spiking. 

Other OEMs already have their manufacturing in China.  Cadillac builds Chinese Cadillacs in China. Buick builds Chinese Buicks in China or other non-US places like Korea. Ford is going to be building Lincolns in China.  Tesla hasn't finished their factory there and it will be a while before it will be online and pushing out cars (now the question is, "if ever?").  So a $35k Model 3 now bases at $75k equivalent in China due to the tariffs. 

54 minutes ago, balthazar said:

crashed US sales (which, BTW, are supposedly poised to be the best ever in May)

Also.... no.

Quote

May isn’t shaping up to be a sales winner for automakers doing business in the United States. Like past months in the current calendar, volume is predicted to decline, year over year, with the annual tally for 2019 expected to fall for the first time in years.

That’s according to a joint report from LMC Automotive and J.D. Power. Backing up the claims is a reversal of the recent trend of declining incentive spending, plus the fact that new cars are spending an increasing number of days sitting on lots. The most since the recession, in fact.

Incentive Spending on the Rise As More Vehicles Loiter on Lots

[balthazar]

5 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Also.... no.

Incentive Spending on the Rise As More Vehicles Loiter on Lots

That's a market overview prediction. In response to my post RE Tesla, Musk has hinted at a boom month :
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-sales-set-for-record-breaking-quarter-ceo-elon-musk-reportedly-says/

We'll see what actually happens- his word is worth a teaspoon of coffee grounds.

Edited May 28, 2019 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

4 minutes ago, balthazar said:

That's a market overview prediction. In response to my post RE Tesla, Musk has hinted at a boom month :
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-sales-set-for-record-breaking-quarter-ceo-elon-musk-reportedly-says/

We'll see what actually happens- his word is worth a teaspoon of coffee grounds.

Ah I thought you were referring to the market as a whole. I retract my statement.

[ocnblu]

I find it absolutely hilarious that every angle is used to try to blame the current US President.  When it is obvious what is really going on.  The jig is up.

[G. David Felt]

11 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

I find it absolutely hilarious that every angle is used to try to blame the current US President.  When it is obvious what is really going on.  The jig is up.

Explain please, How is the current presidents trade war not responsible for higher cost across the board to exporting and importing into both countries?

[ocnblu]

8 hours ago, dfelt said:

Explain please, How is the current presidents trade war not responsible for higher cost across the board to exporting and importing into both countries?

The list of failures, broken promises, etc. etc. at Tesla is EPIC.  The company needed NOTHING else to fail, yet... somehow it is the president's fault.

[G. David Felt]

Interesting read on why Dyson will beat Tesla in the electric car war!

Can The Dyson Vacuum Cleaner Guy Build A Better Electric Car Than Tesla's Elon Musk?

http://flip.it/mdE6P5

[G. David Felt]

3 hours ago, ocnblu said:

The list of failures, broken promises, etc. etc. at Tesla is EPIC.  The company needed NOTHING else to fail, yet... somehow it is the president's fault.

You are right on all the points of Tesla Failure except the last one which is what the discussion is about. The fact that Trumps Trade war is the reason a $35,000 car imported into China has a starting price tag of $75,000

The Trump Trade War is hurting business ability to sell into China for American Businesses.

[balthazar]

Whoa- that kind of pricing for imported Chinese market cars has been going on a LOT longer than just the last 2 years. Huge tariffs, forced partnerships- that's China's doing, not Trump's. China has been waging a trade war for decades. 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Whoa- that kind of pricing for imported Chinese market cars has been going on a LOT longer than just the last 2 years. Huge tariffs, forced partnerships- that's China's doing, not Trump's. China has been waging a trade war for decades. 

Yes there has been a trade war going on for a long time, but the tariffs on electric cars jumped up big time. Before Trumps Trade war, the Tariff was 10% on importing an Electric car, after trump announced tariffs of 25% on Chinese goods, China then went 100% tariff on select items of which Tesla was one of them causing the auto to double in cost according to Bloomberg story on past and current trade war.

[riviera74]

2 hours ago, balthazar said:

Whoa- that kind of pricing for imported Chinese market cars has been going on a LOT longer than just the last 2 years. Huge tariffs, forced partnerships- that's China's doing, not Trump's. China has been waging a trade war for decades. 

China has been practicing mercantilism since about 1978.  Trade wars are a tool in that arsenal.

[balthazar]

The fact that China can mandate a 50% partnership in a foreign company as a condition of selling in their own market is head-spinning. Likewise, so is the fact that other countries are just supposed to sit there and allow it to happen with no commerce-based retaliation.

IMO, much like most of internal US commerce, there should be -not a tariff on imports-, but a licensing fee for foreign-based corporations. No; Honda of American is not a domestic company; charge them a license fee. Make it fat.

I have to pay a license fee yearly to do business, yet zero testing or certification is done in accordance with that license. It's a money-grab, quite simply. 
 

Quote

...the Tariff was 10% on importing an Electric car, after trump announced tariffs of 25% on Chinese goods, China then went 100% tariff on select items of which Tesla was one...

Is that not 'China's Trade war'? They want to maintain their imbalance, because it means money. There was zero mandate they increase import tariffs- they're seeing a monstrous surplus. 
- - - - - 

Edited May 29, 2019 by balthazar

[G. David Felt]

Seems Tesla original founder is back at it to create solid state AI /ML battery packs for the EV industry.

Tesla founder launches new electric car battery startup and there’s a twist

http://flip.it/bWjvCN

[G. David Felt]

Good Read:

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/more-than-30-years-of-us-trade-with-china-in-one-chart/

This also was a very interesting read: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/will-dysfunctional-politics-finally-end-the-american-century/

[G. David Felt]

Interesting read, but the Data collected so far is showing that the batteries in a Nissan Leaf should last 22 years and then 2nd life in energy storage past that. Nissan is exploring other options of profit generation once the batteries need to come out of the auto's.

https://chargedevs.com/newswire/nissan-leaf-batteries-should-last-22-years/

 

[balthazar]

^ does Nissan own the batteries in private vehicles, or is it more an issue that they’re just not removable/ replaceable outside dealer service departments?

[G. David Felt]

1 minute ago, balthazar said:

^ does Nissan own the batteries in private vehicles, or is it more an issue that they’re just not removable/ replaceable outside dealer service departments?

Nissan does not own the batteries. Owners can go to 3rd party garages to have the batteries replaced, but it does take a special lift to support, unbolt and drop the battery pack down.

Nissan is building much like Tesla and GM Wall power packs with the old batteries since they can still handle a charge, usually 70 to 80% of the cells work. As such you get a storage device for solar or wind power generation. Nissan is looking at both commercial and residential aspects of reusing the old batteries rather than just recycling them. 

GM does this with the VOLT batteries as does Tesla.

[G. David Felt]

Some cool news of the Day!

Hennesy is building a 1000HP Gladiator with the Hellcat Engine - https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1123320_jeep-gladiator-based-2020-hennessey-maximus-1000-revealed-with-1000-horsepower

Long Shot EV maker Byton has finished crash testing and cold weather testing in inner Mongolia and is now doing heat testing and is on target to begin mass production later this year with sales to start in China, mid 2020 in America and late 2020 in Europe. Funny the jabs they take at Tesla in the story below.

https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1123276_byton-readies-for-china-production-of-45k-us-bound-electric-suv

Interesting read on VW's battery battle it is having with it's suppliers. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1123294_50-billion-vw-battery-plan-could-need-revamp-after-samsung-cuts-back

Final interesting story is that Chevron and EVGo has signed an agreement and opened their first Gas / Charge station for public use of high speed charging with both Nissan funky connector and the industry standard CCS plug. As EVGo builds out charging at California Chevron stations, Chevron will monitor and could possibly as early as late 2020 make it a national contract to add Charging to the thousands of gas stations Chevron operates in North America. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1123206_want-to-charge-up-evgo-builds-chargers-at-chevron-gas-stations 

[Robert Hall]

Anyone see the article today speculating about a Ford-GM merger?   May just be BS, but who knows.  Interesting times...

[ocnblu]

39 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Anyone see the article today speculating about a Ford-GM merger?   May just be BS, but who knows.  Interesting times...

Yes, it is easy to speculate that it is meant to stir things up... but who knows...

[Robert Hall]

This is the article I saw...on multiple FB automotive pages, an 'analyst'..Douglas A. McIntyre of 24/7 Wall St.

https://speedsociety.com/generalmotors-ford-merger-soon/?fbclid=IwAR1sibwgRTvdPQd89QOa28J46ls42_U4yWjNqmnK5ryeCW6eez6Z17KAIII

[ocnblu]

US version of the 2021 Chevy Trailblazer is pretty darn spunky looking... word is it will not replace the Trax, it is a little bigger, more modern and more expensive.  About the size of my Compass, matching the new Encore GX.  I am, right now, keenly innerested in learning more about the 2021 Chevy Trailblazer.

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

Yes, it is easy to speculate that it is meant to stir things up... but who knows...

 

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

This is the article I saw...on multiple FB automotive pages, an 'analyst'..Douglas A. McIntyre of 24/7 Wall St.

https://speedsociety.com/generalmotors-ford-merger-soon/?fbclid=IwAR1sibwgRTvdPQd89QOa28J46ls42_U4yWjNqmnK5ryeCW6eez6Z17KAIII

The question I would ask is.... what would such a merger bring to either company.   Ford would get cash and access to platforms and GM would get... what?  F-150?

No, I see a VW-Ford pair up as much more likely than Ford-GM.   With Ford-VW, they have complimentary lineups.  VW still has car platforms that can be used. Ford has truck and (better) SUV platforms.  The only place they really overlap is a couple of SUVs and the commercial van segment.  Lincoln and Audi could even co-exist peacefully as two very different takes on luxury. 

Ford-PSA is another, though less desirable, option. It would allow Ford and PSA to consolidate EU operations.  It would give PSA access to the US market, and the two of them could take on China together. Maybe even throw a few sedan models back in the Ford brand portfolio. 

But no, not Ford - GM. 

[balthazar]

No anti-trust/monopoly concerns?

[Robert Hall]

I really can’t see GM merging with anyone or needing to merge.  I could see them acquiring an EV maker, though.  Too much overlap with Ford.  Ford does seem to be in a worse place currently.  

[Drew Dowdell]

6 minutes ago, balthazar said:

No anti-trust/monopoly concerns?

Wasn't it you who said we already have too many brands? 

In Germany there might be anti-trust concerns, but I doubt it here in the US. 

[regfootball]

Any news yet on the CT5-V AND CT4-V? today was supposed to be the day 

[G. David Felt]

43 minutes ago, regfootball said:

Any news yet on the CT5-V AND CT4-V? today was supposed to be the day 

According to https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a27156309/cadillac-ct5-v-future-performance-sedan/

The Debute is tomorrow on the 30th, not today on the 29th.

[regfootball]

21 minutes ago, dfelt said:

According to https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a27156309/cadillac-ct5-v-future-performance-sedan/

The Debute is tomorrow on the 30th, not today on the 29th.

Ah. Thanks got my days mixed up

[balthazar]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Wasn't it you who said we already have too many brands? 

In Germany there might be anti-trust concerns, but I doubt it here in the US. 

These rumored trysts aren't -so far as I've see- suggesting less brands. Yes; what I have said/meant is there are too many brands in the USDM. Mergers don't frequently reduce brands, merely corporations. 

[ocnblu]

6 hours ago, dfelt said:

The Debute

[balthazar]

[G. David Felt]

Interesting news Day this morning:

Consider yourself warned, 3 things that will cause your Social Security Benefits to go down!

• https://www.fool.com/retirement/2019/05/30/3-things-thatll-cause-your-social-security-benefit.aspx

Microsoft hints towards a new Modern OS with seamless updates! Yes I can confirm that MSFT is working on a new OS that will be a revolution away from Windows!

• https://thenextweb.com/microsoft/2019/05/30/microsoft-hints-towards-a-new-modern-os-with-seamless-updates/

Tesla Dashboard Touch Screens SUCK, 3 reasons why! Sounds like the same excuses people have used to throw at Cadillac about their touch screen.

• https://www.fastcompany.com/90356020/3-reasons-why-teslas-dashboard-touch-screens-suck

[G. David Felt]

Working out at 24hr fitness, Ellen show is on, young couple just won a new blazer RS. GM is giving 1 a week away over the summer on the show in a random drawing at the end. 

Best GM marketing I have seen in a while. Reminds me of the Oprah G6 car give away to the whole audience years ago. Should drive traffic into Chevrolet show rooms.

[ocnblu]

Local dealer is posting photos on their Facebook page showing the Blazer parked in different well-known locations around town, trying to drum up interest.  I sat in one Sunday at that local dealer... somebody forgot to lock it... or it was on purpose and they're checking their surveillance tapes to see who tries it out.

[regfootball]

21 hours ago, regfootball said:

Any news yet on the CT5-V AND CT4-V? today was supposed to be the day 

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2020-cadillac-ct4-v-ct5-v-debut/

 

CT4-V gets higher output turbocharged 2.7 litre four cylinder........

really digging the Ct4 actually, it looks like a nicely rubbed and oiled ATS.....

CT5 rear window still looks like shit in V gear

 

RWD and AWD available in both Ct4-V and Ct5-V

Edited May 30, 2019 by regfootball

[Robert Hall]

CT4 looks good..greenhouse looks very similar to the ATS.  The CT5 in V-trim...gak, that awful black trim against the orange paint..not good.