Random Thoughts Thread

[ccap41]

6 minutes ago, David said:

OUCH, this sucks for Toyota and all these RAV4's

Almost 2 million recalled.

Toyota Recalls Certain 2013-2018 Toyota RAV4 Models - Toyota USA Newsroom

What a silly recall. People replace their batteries with batteries shaped differently and Toyota issues a recall for this? 

Also, this is news to you? 

"Some replacement 12-volt batteries of the size specified for the subject vehicles have smaller top dimensions than others. If a small-top battery is used for replacement and the hold-down clamp is not tightened correctly, the battery could move when the vehicle is driven with forceful turns. The movement could cause the positive battery terminal to contact the hold-down clamp and short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire."

[Robert Hall]

Still got some fall color in my little woods, but a lot of leaves down. 

[Robert Hall]

Got the leaves piled up on the tree lawn for the city to Hoover up. 

[G. David Felt]

14 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

What a silly recall. People replace their batteries with batteries shaped differently and Toyota issues a recall for this? 

Also, this is news to you? 

"Some replacement 12-volt batteries of the size specified for the subject vehicles have smaller top dimensions than others. If a small-top battery is used for replacement and the hold-down clamp is not tightened correctly, the battery could move when the vehicle is driven with forceful turns. The movement could cause the positive battery terminal to contact the hold-down clamp and short circuit, increasing the risk of a fire."

Actually if you follow the threads in their recall, Toyota has reduced the size of the original 12V battery and now their battery cradel does not hold it in place. If you use 3rd party 12V batteries, most are still traditional size from your auto parts store, but looking at a new RAV4 the battery is much smaller than it used to which is my understanding.

3 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Got the leaves piled up on the tree lawn for the city to Hoover up. 

Leaves are just now changing here in Seattle and dropping. City does not suck them up, you have to bag them and put them out for pickup.

[ccap41]

OUCH, this sucks for Cadillac and all 17 Cadillac XT5 and XT6 owners, PLUS Acadia owners. 

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2023/10/2024-cadillac-xt5-and-xt6-recalled-for-missing-windshield-adhesive/

 

[surreal1272]

33 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

OUCH, this sucks for Cadillac and all 17 Cadillac XT5 and XT6 owners, PLUS Acadia owners. 

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2023/10/2024-cadillac-xt5-and-xt6-recalled-for-missing-windshield-adhesive/

 

"GMs are much more reliable today and have been for years..."

 

Also GM ☝️

 

I kid (mostly) but that doesn't look good on a luxury make. That's pretty simple stuff. 

[oldshurst442]

I wonder if those two quipsters rode their bikes today.

Jack did tell me that they are wild.   

[trinacriabob]

On this first Tuesday of November, elect to join me in wishing Drew @Drew Dowdell an especially excellent day.

Happy birthday, Drew!

[oldshurst442]

Happy 45th

 @Drew Dowdell

 

[G. David Felt]

Happy Birthday Drew!!!

[Robert Hall]

Happy Birthday, Drew! 

[ccap41]

Happy Birthday, @Drew Dowdell!

[surreal1272]

Happy Birthday @Drew Dowdell!

[trinacriabob]

On 11/6/2023 at 1:42 PM, David said:

Leaves are just now changing here in Seattle and dropping. City does not suck them up, you have to bag them and put them out for pickup.

Fall color in the ~at sea level parts of the Puget Sound B/basin (WA) and in the Portland area/Willamette Valley (OR) does occur in early November, so it's nice that it's "deferred."

That way, a person can head to Eastern Canada, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and a few other places to also see peak color about a month earlier.

I'm very much taken with autumn color.

[trinacriabob]

I was wrong about the SS United States' speed on the Blue Riband winning crossing.  Maybe you don't give a rat's a$$, but I'll still correct myself and tell you.

I believe it was averaging around 35 knots, which might be 41 mph.  It was NOT 41 knots.

I wouldn't want a transatlantic crossing on any great ocean liner to be over in 4 days or less.  Since there are no ports of call on the route, you can settle in for 5 or 6 days and take in all the different and interesting things there are to do on board.

[G. David Felt]

Latest news on NACS

More automakers plug into Tesla's EV charging network | Reuters

[ccap41]

1 minute ago, David said:

Latest news on NACS

More automakers plug into Tesla's EV charging network | Reuters

Thank god everybody made the switch to the superior charging infrastructure. 

One of the biggest holdups in the switch to EVs is the garbage-@ss infrastructure that's not ran by Tesla. 

[G. David Felt]

29 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Thank God everybody made the switch to the superior charging infrastructure. 

One of the biggest holdups in the switch to EVs is the garbage-@ss infrastructure that's not run by Tesla. 

Interesting is all the auto companies that have stated they would also go NACS but are not on the list like Genesis, Lexus, Infinity and Acura. I am thinking that since they are divisions, they went with the core company as Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac are not listed since they are all under GM.

The reason I bring this up is because consumers are not as aware of who owns what brands. Would be nice if Reuters had listed parent company and brands underneath that parent company label.

[trinacriabob]

Do you get a kick out of different types of names?  And wonder why kids' parents gave them those names?

I had a guy named Supreme help me at a business in the Toronto area when I was there over Canada Day weekend.  He said it was more in synch with the Motown group than with the Oldsmobile product.

There was a guy who worked at one of the hotels I stayed at in Portugal last summer.  He was very cool.  Portugal has a huge diaspora that includes Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Goa (near India), and more.  His name was Majeek, and I think it was a spin on Magic.  He was definitely not from Goa, nor South Asian, so it wasn't a name from India.  

But, coming back around to the U.S., there was a guy who worked at a big box retailer who would bring out my on-line orders.  He had a great name:  Daejohn.  It made me think of dijon mustard ... or that he could be John by day, but someone else at night.

If you're going to name a kid, be sure to ask yourself how you would like going to school and into the workforce with that name.

[G. David Felt]

6 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Do you get a kick out of different types of names?  And wonder why kids' parents gave them those names?

I had a guy named Supreme help me at a business in the Toronto area when I was there over Canada Day weekend.  He said it was more in synch with the Motown group than with the Oldsmobile product.

There was a guy who worked at one of the hotels I stayed at in Portugal last summer.  He was very cool.  Portugal has a huge diaspora that includes Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Goa (near India), and more.  His name was Majeek, and I think it was a spin on Magic.  He was definitely not from Goa, nor South Asian, so it wasn't a name from India.  

But, coming back around to the U.S., there was a guy who worked at a big box retailer who would bring out my on-line orders.  He had a great name:  Daejohn.  It made me think of dijon mustard ... or that he could be John by day, but someone else at night.

If you're going to name a kid, be sure to ask yourself how you would like going to school and into the workforce with that name.

Becoming a grandparent in March 2024, it has been interesting listening to my son and daughter in-law talk about names for the coming grandson. 

Names are interesting and parents need to take into consideration the name but also pronunciation. My wife being Korean, English as a second language has a really hard time with R's, L's due to the lack of use in her native language. So as it has come up, some names are harder for my wife to say than others.

Typing this I draw a blank on the half a dozen names they told us they are considering, but they did rule out strange names such as how some famous folks have called their kid Apple.

Doing a bing search on top 2023 baby names, the Bing search engine returned the following:

According to Parade, some of the most unusual baby names for 2023 include:

1. Aero
2. Alaska
3. Ari
4. Ashlynn
5. Aspen
6. Astrid
7. Azure
8. Bear
9. Beckett
10. Birdie
11. Bode
12. Brynlee
13. Cadence
14. Cami
15. Case
16. Caspian
17. Charlize
18. Cheyenne
19. Cora
20. Crew
21. Cyrus
22. Dagon
23. Dahlia
24. Damon
25. Daphne
26. Darra
27. Daxton
28. Dawson

You can find more unusual baby names for boys and girls in Parade’s article ¹.

Another source, The Mummy Bubble, reports that some of the new arrivals to the top 100 most popular baby names include Blake, Brody, Kai, Rupert, Tobias, and Nathan ².

Mumsnet has also compiled a list of 200 unusual and unique baby names for both boys and girls ³.

Finally, Fatherly has predicted that the following 20 unusual baby names could dominate 2023:

1. Luxury
2. Aurelia
3. Maeve
4. Eloise
5. Alice
6. Aurora
7. Isla
8. Luna
9. Ophelia
10. Iris
11. Aria
12. Nova
13. Eden
14. Freya
15. Luna
16. Arlo
17. Atticus
18. Theodore
19. Jasper
20. Levi

You can read more about these predictions in Fatherly’s article ⁴.

[trinacriabob]

Don't get me started on the lists above.  I will come back around to take a swipe at those.

One of the things that sort of irritate me is how people name a kid with a foreign first name a few generations down as if to culturally appropriate or channel the culture.  I've seen kids with names like Enzo,  Giovanni, and several others.  These people do not speak Italian, they probably have never been there or their going there is brief, and their connection to the country is tenuous.  It's just recent trendy stupidity.  Enzo comes from Vincenzo, so name that kid Vincent.  And give that Giovanni the name John.  (I know I can't tell people what to name their kids.)  I find this a little insulting since Italian-Americans went through discrimination up until the last few decades and this is when their parents who had come to North America named them Michael, Joseph, Louis, Mark, and other "normal" names.  And it's likely that these types described above were more connected to the culture.  So, it's ludicrous that people who are removed from the culture have the foreign names.  And it's also these people, who with a great grandfather on one side, clutter the consular channels to get dual citizenship for God knows what.

* end of rant *

[Robert Hall]

9 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Don't get me started on the lists above.  I will come back around to take a swipe at those.

One of the things that sort of irritate me is how people name a kid with a foreign first name a few generations down as if to culturally appropriate or channel the culture.  I've seen kids with names like Enzo,  Giovanni, and several others.  These people do not speak Italian, they probably have never been there or their going there is brief, and their connection to the country is tenuous.  It's just recent trendy stupidity.  Enzo comes from Vincenzo, so name that kid Vincent.  And give that Giovanni the name John.  (I know I can't tell people what to name their kids.)  I find this a little insulting since Italian-Americans went through discrimination up until the last few decades and this is when their parents who had come to North America named them Michael, Joseph, Louis, Mark, and other "normal" names.  And it's likely that these types described above were more connected to the culture.  So, it's ludicrous that people who are removed from the culture have the foreign names.  And it's also these people, who with a great grandfather on one side, clutter the consular channels to get dual citizenship for God knows what.

* end of rant *

I went to high school with a  Rossi, Enzo and a Giovanna..3 siblings whose parents immigrated from Italy to S. Florida in the 60s..  They were the 1st generation born in the US in their family.   The kids spoke a bit of Italian IIRC.   I wonder how they named their kids..

I've worked w/ people who had unusual names, and not names that would be considered 'ethnic'..  like a Jhonathn.. spelled like that, said his parents were non-conformist and wanted a non-standard spelling for his name..   also went to high school with a guy named Sky Rockett.   

Then there were people whose names seemed unfortunate...like a Richard Head (just like the actor)...hated being called Dick.  We shared an office in grad school.  

Also worked with a Vincen... don't know what happened to the 'T' at the end. 

[Robert Hall]

10 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Don't get me started on the lists above.  I will come back around to take a swipe at those.

One of the things that sort of irritate me is how people name a kid with a foreign first name a few generations down as if to culturally appropriate or channel the culture.  I've seen kids with names like Enzo,  Giovanni, and several others.  These people do not speak Italian, they probably have never been there or their going there is brief, and their connection to the country is tenuous.  It's just recent trendy stupidity.  Enzo comes from Vincenzo, so name that kid Vincent.  And give that Giovanni the name John.  (I know I can't tell people what to name their kids.)  I find this a little insulting since Italian-Americans went through discrimination up until the last few decades and this is when their parents who had come to North America named them Michael, Joseph, Louis, Mark, and other "normal" names.  And it's likely that these types described above were more connected to the culture.  So, it's ludicrous that people who are removed from the culture have the foreign names.  And it's also these people, who with a great grandfather on one side, clutter the consular channels to get dual citizenship for God knows what.

* end of rant *

I went to high school with a  Rossi, Enzo and a Giovanna..3 siblings whose parents immigrated from Italy to S. Florida in the 60s..  They were the 1st generation born in the US in their family.   The kids spoke a bit of Italian IIRC.   I wonder how they named their kids..

I've worked w/ people who had unusual names, and not names that would be considered 'ethnic'..  like a Jhonathn.. spelled like that, said his parents were non-conformist and wanted a non-standard spelling for his name..   also went to high school with a guy named Sky Rockett.   

Then there were people whose names seemed unfortunate...like a Richard Head (just like the actor)...hated being called Dick.  We shared an office in grad school.  

Also worked with a Vincen... don't know what happened to the 'T' at the end. 

As far as naming babies, there has been a trend in the last 20 years of names seemingly made-up rather than previously exising--such as lots of names ending in -den (Kayden, Jayden, Chaden, etc).   Also names borrowed from series like Game of Thrones seem to be popular..

Maybe people should be forward looking and use names that sound like they are from the future, as Elon Musk did with his kids... why not names like Ae37-XD, a Zdx223-b, Khelbhar, Gzhn, Ztorr, etc..

Edited November 9, 2023 by Robert Hall

[G. David Felt]

50 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

As far as naming babies, there has been a trend in the last 20 years of names seemingly made-up rather than previously exising--such as lots of names ending in -den (Kayden, Jayden, Chaden, etc).   Also names borrowed from series like Game of Thrones seem to be popular..

Maybe people should be forward looking and use names that sound like they are from the future, as Elon Musk did with his kids... why not names like Ae37-XD, a Zdx223-b, Khelbhar, Gzhn, Ztorr, etc..

It is interesting to see how names from TV shows are popular in naming babies.

I wonder how AI will deal with pronunciation of strange forward looking names as you posted. 

? How does one say Ae37-XD or Gzhn???????

Can you imagine the bullying they will get?

[Robert Hall]

9 minutes ago, David said:

It is interesting to see how names from TV shows are popular in naming babies.

I wonder how AI will deal with pronunciation of strange forward looking names as you posted. 

? How does one say Ae37-XD or Gzhn???????

Can you imagine the bullying they will get?

'Gzhn' would be pronounced 'John'.. maybe 'Ae37-XD' could be 'Alex'... 

[ccap41]

12 hours ago, David said:

Becoming a grandparent in March 2024, it has been interesting listening to my son and daughter in-law talk about names for the coming grandson. 

My wife and I are expecting our first in January and names are where we are completely stumped. We're having a girl but no name we've heard has really stuck out to us yet. 

[Robert Hall]

4 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

My wife and I are expecting our first in January and names are where we are completely stumped. We're having a girl but no name we've heard has really stuck out to us yet. 

Can always use the name of a beloved grandmother or aunt.. my folks did that w/ my sister's name (which is still a very common name in the UK but has become quite uncommon in the US). 

[trinacriabob]

4 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I went to high school with a  Rossi, Enzo and a Giovanna..3 siblings whose parents immigrated from Italy to S. Florida in the 60s..  They were the 1st generation born in the US in their family.   The kids spoke a bit of Italian IIRC.   I wonder how they named their kids..

All funny, but this stood out.  Interesting.  Were they first-gens born in the Northeast and then transplanted down or were these kids born in Florida?  They probably understood the language more than they spoke it ... and they might have even understood wooden spoons! Rossi was the first name of one of them?  That is Italy's most common surname.  I just looked it up - Smith is the most common last name in the U.S.

[Robert Hall]

33 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

All funny, but this stood out.  Interesting.  Were they first-gens born in the Northeast and then transplanted down or were these kids born in Florida?  They probably understood the language more than they spoke it ... and they might have even understood wooden spoons! Rossi was the first name of one of them?  That is Italy's most common surname.  I just looked it up - Smith is the most common last name in the U.S.

Rossi Nuccio.. the kids I went to school with were the 1st gen...parents were born in Italy and immigrated to the US in the late 60s I believe..we went to school together in Marathon in the 80s.   IIRC, they had a home in Marathon and one in Westchester County, NY--I think the kids were born up there. 

[G. David Felt]

8 hours ago, ccap41 said:

My wife and I are expecting our first in January and names are where we are completely stumped. We're having a girl but no name we've heard has really stuck out to us yet. 

Congratulations, becoming a parent is an amazing journey and I wish you and your wife all the best for what a rewarding and challenging journey of parenthood will be. 

Names while many will say go common and US based can still be a beautiful thing to also think of places or trips you and your wife did.

I remember a friend who played trumpet with me in jazz band and until now have not thought of her as we drifted apart once our careers took off and we got married, but I will never forget her as her parents named her after a garden they always went to and where he proposed to his wife, the garden was a Rose Garden here in the UW botanical garden. As such Rose grew up to be a great trumpet player and eventually went to college and works in the medical field.

Names can mean many things, so do not feel you have to stay mainstream if it is an important meaning to you and your wife.

[trinacriabob]

Stretching the dollar (in addition to Cafe 150):

I don't really like Burger King, but, on Whopper Wednesdays, their regular and meatless Whopper are $3 through the app, so I went in, used the app for an Impossible Whopper, and it adds points to my account for future redemption.  Bonus offers can kick up the points faster, so those need to be penciled out in my head.

I last went in to redeem most of my points for a customized BK Big Fish sandwich.  That was free.

I saw their slice of chocolate pie that looks way better than a Mickey D's apple pie and got one.  Because I had to wait a bit, I picked up my 2 bags and saw that the kid had put a small order of onion rings in there.  I looked perplexed and he sort of motioned not to worry about it.  This was starting to look very caloric, but I ate those onion rings anyway because I rarely do.

I put the small balance I owed on my credit card, where lodging and restaurant purchases (obviously in addition to airline ticket purchases on the airline sponsoring the card) get twice the miles.

Edited November 10, 2023 by trinacriabob

[trinacriabob]

Just thought about this because I just saw this:

I saw an early 2000s Impala and saw how they still had the rubber bumper strips integrated into the body-colored bumpers, which are now how bumpers are designed/made in their entirety.

It's much easier to see a severe dent or ding in a polyurethane bumper.  It makes me think they changed to this to create more work for body shops.  Ya think?

[Robert Hall]

26 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Just thought about this because I just saw this:

I saw an early 2000s Impala and saw how they still had the rubber bumper strips integrated into the body-colored bumpers, which are now how bumpers are designed/made in their entirety.

It's much easier to see a severe dent or ding in a polyurethane bumper.  It makes me think they changed to this to create more work for body shops.  Ya think?

Cheaper to manufacture...fewer parts.   And it looks cleaner without the strips inset into the bumpers. 

Edited November 12, 2023 by Robert Hall

[G. David Felt]

While from March 2023, I have to say I agree with the writer on why my next auto will be an EV.

4 Reasons to Buy an Electric Car That Have Nothing to Do With Going Green (businessinsider.com)

[A Horse With No Name]

[trinacriabob]

It seems like I am always cleaning my inbox from surveys querying any customer service or similar interaction you just had.

Dang.  Anymore, it seems like you get sent one anytime you wipe your a$$.

[oldshurst442]

7 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

It seems like I am always cleaning my inbox from surveys querying any customer service or similar interaction you just had.

Dang.  Anymore, it seems like you get sent one anytime you wipe your a$$.

 LOL

Customer service is a buzz phrase that is 40 years old already.  But corporate businesses that peddle customer service to be their #1 priority almost always have THE worst customer service practices but almost ALWAYS have the most ELABORATE customer survey surveys and almost always are at the forefront of customer survey deployment technology. 

Im too, am sick...SICK and tired of all the customer service buzzword buzz buzz and their shytty surveys. 

If they truly cared about customer service, they would PAY their staff decent wages,  they would not only hire the proper amlount of staff, but would have REAL fulltime staff that are PROPERLY trained to do their tasks at hand and not ONLY would they would PAY for that training, but would CONSTANTLY keep their FULLTIME staff up to date with their knowledge of whatever knowledge their staff would need to accomplish their tasks.  Not only that, they would offer their staff all kinds of benefits like healthcare and pension plans.   

But alas...someitime in America and in Canada, both of our countries declared war on the worker and although we ALL hate the corporate fat cat, we have allowed the corporate fat cat to rule us.

I bet that XMAS jingles are playing in EVERY major US and Canadian retail stores as of last Monday...and I bet every single ONE of those retail stores preaches customer service...

 

[oldshurst442]

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45825905/porsche-turbo-models-get-exclusive-badge/

 

Article states about what kind of shytty branding of a logo that Porsche Turbos will get.  But Im not  whining about Porsche's decision here.  

Im gonna bitch about rag tag mags getting it wrong.  

 

Automakers love to separate out model lines and trim levels as their own sub-brands. Take a look at the next Corvette you see, or the next Bronco. You won't see any Chevrolet bowties or Ford ovals shouting about who actually builds the iconic vehicles. Now, Porsche is gearing up to do something similar with the capital-T Turbo models in its lineup.

The fiction author of this article gets it wrong about Corvette.   ALL Corvettes, including the current gen C8 and the Chevrolet bowtie is INDEED showcased.  And it so happens to be a tad more prevalent than other generations to boot.

 

Hey rag tag mag CarandDriver: Leave the Corvette name and logo out of YOUR mouth!!!

[oldshurst442]

On 11/9/2023 at 9:31 AM, ccap41 said:

My wife and I are expecting our first in January and names are where we are completely stumped. We're having a girl but no name we've heard has really stuck out to us yet. 

 

I missed this...

Im sorry that I did.  I am happy for you both! 

A girl!!!  

 

 

PS:

Im going to be expecting my cyber "Its a Girl" cigar...

[G. David Felt]

OUCH, this does not bode well for Ford. Scrapping plants and not looking long term is how your competition will beat you. Ford is behind GM and will killing a battery plant for European sales, this will put them behind everyone else as the Chinese have entered the market and are not slowing down nor is the German companies.

LG Energy Solution, Ford Scrap Plans for Joint Battery Plant - The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Business > Business

[ccap41]

16 minutes ago, David said:

OUCH, this does not bode well for Ford. Scrapping plants and not looking long term is how your competition will beat you. Ford is behind GM and will killing a battery plant for European sales, this will put them behind everyone else as the Chinese have entered the market and are not slowing down nor is the German companies.

LG Energy Solution, Ford Scrap Plans for Joint Battery Plant - The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Business > Business

I mean, they still have the three US plants all still going up. 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

I mean, they still have the three US plants all still going up. 

Yes, but the whole idea was to have a plant in Europe to supply battery packs to their European assembly operation. I feel this will allow the Chinese who get unlimited backing from the gov to get a strong foothold in Europe and will delay Ford from being competitive after this slowdown is over. I get it that many auto companies are delaying building plants now, but Korea is not delaying or GM for battery plants.

It is easy to delay starting to build an EV by a few months like GM has done to get supplies inline to ensure plenty of inventory for the dealers, but delaying or right out killing a battery plant as Ford has done will really delay their ability to compete as it takes about 2 years to get a battery plant online and at this point, even with a 1yr slow down in economy and folks buying new EVs, this plant still would not be online till 2026 which the economy will be robust again I feel and Ford will then be a couple years behind the competition.

Ford seems to be not looking long term in the game but only short term and at this point with the UAW members declining the new pay package, Ford should move to more automation and reduce the need for humans on the assembly line. Get ahead and not delay which will cause them to fall behind.

I feel Ford has many obstacles now to long term growth and as such, this is just another hindrance rather than a plan for the future.

Could Ford be gone by 2030, no I do not think so, but they could have to merge with another stronger auto company to survive.

Just my thoughts on this imho.

[G. David Felt]

Cool that GM is now an F1 Power Unit Manufacture. Cadillac will race on Cadillac motors.

GM Registers as a Formula 1 Power Unit Manufacturer (cadillac.com)

[ccap41]

48 minutes ago, David said:

, even with a 1yr slow down in economy and folks buying new EVs, this plant still would not be online till 2026 which the economy will be robust again I feel and Ford will then be a couple years behind the competition.

The problem is not enough people ARE buying EVs. Otherwise they wouldn't have cancelled the plans for the plant.

"The slowdown in Europe's EV market is the biggest cause of the delays. According to the International Energy Agency, the EV market in the EU grew 40 percent annually on average from 2017 to 2019, but growth slowed to 15 percent last year. Volkswagen also said EV orders in Europe fell from 300,000 cars in 2022 to 150,000 this year.

But EV battery makers are merely still cautiously optimistic. Although the Turkish plant has been canceled, LGES will still supply Ford with EV batteries from its existing factories."

Edited November 15, 2023 by ccap41

[G. David Felt]

4 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

The problem is not enough people ARE buying EVs. Otherwise they wouldn't have cancelled the plans for the plant.

"The slowdown in Europe's EV market is the biggest cause of the delays. According to the International Energy Agency, the EV market in the EU grew 40 percent annually on average from 2017 to 2019, but growth slowed to 15 percent last year. Volkswagen also said EV orders in Europe fell from 300,000 cars in 2022 to 150,000 this year.

But EV battery makers are merely still cautiously optimistic. Although the Turkish plant has been canceled, LGES will still supply Ford with EV batteries from its existing factories."

Yes, they will continue to supply ford but at a possible reduced amount as sales increase again. This to me is a hinderance for growth when the market picks up again versus having constrained availability. 

I myself still think that with a 2yr time frame to build a new plant, that this will hold Ford back.

[ccap41]

49 minutes ago, David said:

Could Ford be gone by 2030, no I do not think so, but they could have to merge with another stronger auto company to survive.

Have you lost your marbles? 

You think they'll have to merge with somebody else, because EV sales are pretty flat across the globe and they're cancelling one plant In Europe? 

GM doesn't have a plant in Europe and there's currently no plans for one. Does that mean they ought to look for a partner come 2030, too? 

4 minutes ago, David said:

I myself still think that with a 2yr time frame to build a new plant, that this will hold Ford back.

I think GM will be equally "held back" because they don't have any plans for a European Ultium plant. 

[riviera74]

Why should FORD worry about EV sales if the sales are flat?  What if European buyers prefer ICE engines, or would rather buy EVs from VW/MB/BMW/PSA?  I fail to see why Dearborn should worry so much about EV sales there.

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Have you lost your marbles? 

You think they'll have to merge with somebody else, because EV sales are pretty flat across the globe and they're cancelling one plant In Europe? 

GM doesn't have a plant in Europe and there's currently no plans for one. Does that mean they ought to look for a partner come 2030, too? 

I think GM will be equally "held back" because they don't have any plans for a European Ultium plant. 

With many countries calling for the end of ICE sales by 2030, yes this is a concern especially for a company that makes the bulk of the profits on a single product line, F150.

Ford has committed to their manufacturing plants EVs in Europe. They announced new models and even showed off an EV Explorer to that market. 10 years from now can make a huge difference and I do not see the current leadership planning that far out.

GM has no large investments or manufacturing in Europe, so GM can survive on being a boutique EV sales division for Europe. Big difference in where Ford is at currently.

2 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Why should FORD worry about EV sales if the sales are flat?  What if European buyers prefer ICE engines, or would rather buy EVs from VW/MB/BMW/PSA?  I fail to see why Dearborn should worry so much about EV sales there.

Ford should worry about the future as we are 7 years away from ICE sales ending, China is making large in roads into the market and investing for the long haul even if it does cause them losses in the short term. Most of Europe has already set ICE end dates of 2030 to 2035. As such a company like Ford with Manufacturing plants and commitments to EV production there should be digging in for the long haul and not cutting back if they want to hold off new competition.

This whole thing is about the future, planning for it and not worrying about the old people who are afraid of change and technology. When has humanity ever stopped moving forward and changing. Just look at what computers have done from the 1970's to now. Many of the old companies that existed and were thought to be around forever are gone, Digital Computer, Compaq, etc. or in some cases they had to totally change and become something else to survive, Texas Instrument is a perfect example of being forced to change.

We already have the death of many auto companies and all I am saying is that change is going to happen whether specific groups of individuals want it or not. Long term, ICE is a dead platform 50 years from now and planning for the long-term survival of a company is not a bad thing.

[surreal1272]

25 minutes ago, David said:

yes this is a concern especially for a company that makes the bulk of the profits on a single product line, F150.

And how, exactly, is that any different from GM and their full size cash cow trucks?

 

Hint: It isn’t. 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

And how, exactly, is that any different from GM and their full size cash cow trucks?

 

Hint: It isn’t. 

Based on their sec filing Ford is heavy dependent on the truck with a far behind second place of SUVs and the mustang where GM is far more diverse on their product line based on sales of their trucks, suvs, the few cars and corvette.

To me from a mgmt. standpoint GM is better spread out than Ford. So yes I see it as a concern for Ford.