Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

Still alive, sleeping allot, taking my pain meds and watching a little TV when not sleeping.

Sorry I did not get to posting a story on the Huge Kia reveal at the LA Auto Show or the Reveal on the Hyundai Ioniq 9.

Will tey to get caught up once I am not sleeping so much. Right now only on my cell phone.

[ccap41]

21 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

Still alive, sleeping allot, taking my pain meds and watching a little TV when not sleeping.

Sorry I did not get to posting a story on the Huge Kia reveal at the LA Auto Show or the Reveal on the Hyundai Ioniq 9.

Will tey to get caught up once I am not sleeping so much. Right now only on my cell phone.

Heal up quickly! 

What'd you have surgery for? 

[oldshurst442]

17 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Heal up quickly! 

What'd you have surgery for? 

@G. David Felt  is such a lazy ass bum, isnt he?

He sleeps all day that  &@#%*!@$  bum!!!  

 

39 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

Still alive, sleeping allot, taking my pain meds and watching a little TV when not sleeping.

Sorry I did not get to posting a story on the Huge Kia reveal at the LA Auto Show or the Reveal on the Hyundai Ioniq 9.

Will tey to get caught up once I am not sleeping so much. Right now only on my cell phone.

7 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1791763588421868

 

Rusty Toyota Tacoma frames, part 9 billion

 

We arent supposed to speak about Toyota problems.  You'll be called an @$$hole, be questioned of your ancestry and citizenship...   

Edited Thursday at 10:28 PM by oldshurst442

[oldshurst442]

I didnt click on @A Horse With No Name facebook link because:

1. Facebook. I try to avoid Facebook as much as possible. Not hard to do anymore. Hope it dies sson though. I digress. Ill save THAT rant for another day. I think Ill start another Toyota hatred rant in the coming days instead...

2. I sooooo much hate Toyota, that I cant even bring myself to celebrate over Toyota problem stories because of the hatred being soooooo strong that even I try to avoid ANYTHING Toyota related.   (I do like some vehicles they produce as a disclaimer)

But...I did listen to this one

 

Alls I got to say is...Toyota NEVER even HAD that reliabilty thing EVEN in the 1990s as that video is saying as the engine sludge thing HAPPENED in the late 1990s.  And even THEN, Toyota blamed the consumer...  So blaming the consumer is NOTHING new to Toyota. But the video is bang on!!!

And as I was youtubing googling Toyota to retrieve that video above...I ran into Scotty Kilmore.

 

And he JUST released this video

 

 

Not gonna watch these videos, so I do NOT know of he has a clickbait title, but even Scotty has just acknowledged Toyota boo boos.    I have watched Scotty like 4 or 5 videos 5 years ago or something like that. 

But Ill repeat, Toyota NEVER had this mythical relkiabilty thing. Some cars were built like tanks from them. Some cars are STILL built like gtanks from them. But they have had they SAME amount, but probably MORE shytty cars failing then any OTHER OEM...   But hey...  The Toyota kool-aid was some delicious shyte back in the day. Glad I NEVER drank it though. 

But if Scotty is TRULY dissing Toyota's reliability, it MUST be a very REAL thing.

But it ALWAYS HAD been a thing.  Oh well...

[oldshurst442]

I am STILL waiting for everybody and his brother to pull a "Im NEVER gonna drive a piece of shyte Toyota ever again"  like they did with GM, Ford and Chrysler.  But then again, Americans DID vote for Trump a SECOND time....

And Canadians WILL vote for Polievre...  Im asking too much.

[Robert Hall]

13 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

I am STILL waiting for everybody and his brother to pull a "Im NEVER gonna drive a piece of shyte Toyota ever again"  like they did with GM, Ford and Chrysler.  But then again, Americans DID vote for Trump a SECOND time....

And Canadians WILL vote for Polievre...  Im asking too much.

My cousin Mike in Kentucky worked for Toyota (quality control for interior assemblies) for 30 years and retired from them a few years ago, drives a 10 yr old Tacoma and his wife has a 10 yr old Camry.   He does like my Cadillac, though.   The funny thing is his adult children (all my age or so) seem to drive GMs. 

I've never been a Toyota fan or hater, but I wouldn't mind having a Lexus LC500 convertible in nori green. 

[Drew Dowdell]

All. I'm cleaning up some file debris on the server this morning (taking backups first of course). I found a large (9g) chunk of image files that I don't think the site is actually using because they are stored elsewhere.  I am zipping them up and moving them off the server to make our backups smaller.

If you notice any images recently going missing, please let me know. 

[surreal1272]

5 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

My cousin Mike in Kentucky worked for Toyota (quality control for interior assemblies) for 30 years and retired from them a few years ago, drives a 10 yr old Tacoma and his wife has a 10 yr old Camry.   He does like my Cadillac, though.   The funny thing is his adult children (all my age or so) seem to drive GMs. 

I've never been a Toyota fan or hater, but I wouldn't mind having a Lexus LC500 convertible in nori green. 

The LC500 is just a damn fine looking car, regardless of who makes it. Lexus mucks up a lot of exteriors (and not just with the "predator" grill) but the LC500 is not one of them.

 

19 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Still alive, sleeping allot, taking my pain meds and watching a little TV when not sleeping.

Sorry I did not get to posting a story on the Huge Kia reveal at the LA Auto Show or the Reveal on the Hyundai Ioniq 9.

Will tey to get caught up once I am not sleeping so much. Right now only on my cell phone.

I feel you on that. A year ago, it was my right hip (post surgery) and I was doing the same thing as you for a few weeks lol. Rest and recover.

[oldshurst442]

8 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I've never been a Toyota fan or hater, but I wouldn't mind having a Lexus LC500 convertible in nori green. 

I became a hater when I realized Toyota is just another same ole same ole corporate greed company like any other and when I realized that they had sheeple followers that they had brainwashed thinking that Toyota can never do any harm.  It wasnt a right away hatred either.  It took time. I first noticed something was off about Toyota with the aforementioned engine sludge thing.  And it took years after that when I started questioning folk that drove Toyotas and then incident after incident happened and yet nobody ever was pissed about Toyota's failures.  It all came to a boiling point with me with the unintended acceleration debacle and had it NOT for Toyota settling out of court of billions of dollars, I myself would have chucked it to stupid drivers, but Toyota plead guilty quietly and paid that tremendous fine.  And it peeved me more to see that AMERICAN media kept that quiet also, but also downplyed the WHOLE thing by them ALSO blaming the American driver coming up with excuse after excuse defending Toyota.  And then I read (call it a consipracy theory if you want to) a report (not on the internet) that Japanese automakers convinced the American buyer to perform their regular maintenance at the dealerships and when their was a problem akin to catastrophic failure with the vehicle, the dealership would repair the problem without the owner knowing about the problem and all that was also subsidized by the Japanese government and the WORST offenders of this were Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Subaru in the 1980s. 

Another reason why I dont like this company is that they stopped producing cars for the enthusiast for a little while.  Boring appliance after boring appliance made especially for dumb people that would be better off using public transportation. And in more recent times, better calling an Uber.  

I like some cars of theirs. I have pointed this out plenty of times.  No need for me to justify what cars and trucks I like from them.  But you did mention the Lexus LC500 and yeah!  THAT would be one awesome creation.  Id take mine in coupe form though. But if I was doing this car MY way, Id LS/LT swap it.  Nothing crazy done to the engine, just with enough HP and torque to best Lexus' original efforts.  500HP and 500ft/lbs.  In HP, its not much more than what Lexus done, but its the torque figures that make the difference in my make belief dream LC 500. 

[trinacriabob]

On 11/21/2024 at 8:38 AM, A Horse With No Name said:

Boeing is screwing itself....

Right.  It's not the aircraft themselves, but the haste and sloppiness.  ("Haste makes waste.")  This 777 X is ambitious and the folding wingtips are novel.  They will be very late with delivering this plane. 

I now like some Boeing and some Airbus.  It's a mix.  In the recent past, I took a ride on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and I definitely like it more than the Airbus 350 (even though the Airbus 350 has that photogenic curved winglets).  The cabin fatigue from flying is much reduced on the Dreamliner.

Yesterday, I was on two domestic Boeing 737 Max 8 segments back to back on Southwest.  I like its newer features - ambient lighting, larger bins, a little quieter.  So, if it's working, it's a very nice rendition of the 737.  It's too bad that their newest version of this storied workhorse had to be tainted.  I get on and sigh.  If it keeps a clean track record going forward, people may be less weirded out as the statistics may become better.

On 11/21/2024 at 10:05 AM, A Horse With No Name said:

I really find this stand quite attractive. Would probably do well for my Stereo equipment. 

It is.  However, I'm not a fan of the leg design, which is also now popular on sofas.  The biggest turnoff for me in sofas - when I bought a sleeper for another room with the last stimulus money - was the amount of product that had nailheads all over the place.

[Robert Hall]

@trinacriabob in your flying in recent years, have you had a trip on an A380?    If so, how does it compare to the larger Boeings? 

[Robert Hall]

On 11/20/2024 at 5:24 AM, trinacriabob said:

No, 300 is not to my liking ... pref 400, or 350.

I am not in a home charging situation.  Until that situation settles, I will not be considering an EV.

My car has a supposed 525 mile highway crusing range on a full tank (19.5 gallons).   I haven't fully tested that since I tend to fill up at 1/2 tank when on road trips..but I have recorded averages of 29.5 and 30 mpg on road trips, which is pretty good for a comfortable 4200lb AWD sedan..

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

@trinacriabob in your flying in recent years, have you had a trip on an A380?    If so, how does it compare to the larger Boeings? 

Argh.  This is a question I almost want to avoid.

The A380 is incredible.  Yes, I had a roundtrip through AA on British.  They have a small economy section at the back, upstairs.  Then I flew a one way from Italy to New York-JFK on an Emirates "fifth freedom" flight segment.  They have economy taking the entire main level, with none upstairs.

Economy seats are a little wider on the A380 ... definitely on Emirates, at least.  It was an outstanding flight because of that.  On British, I paid for an economy seat upstairs and the curvature of the exterior translates into windows that are too sloped and with an odd and bigger void in between the cabin and the exterior.  I will be sitting downstairs if there is a future flight on one.

The 747-8 isn't as comfortable in economy because the seats are traditional economy width.  I feel more comfortable in one because I know it.  It's also much more photogenic all the way around.  You feel good when it pulls up to the gate and you see that beautiful and proportioned machine through the big glass windows.

The humidification is good on both planes.

It's really sad that no more passenger quadjets are being produced.  It's easier to get onto an A380 if Europe bound (British, Lufthansa, Emirates, and others via connections, with Air France holding back).  For a 747-8, Lufthansa is the only choice and I am grateful to them for that.

[A Horse With No Name]

On 11/21/2024 at 5:49 PM, oldshurst442 said:

I am STILL waiting for everybody and his brother to pull a "Im NEVER gonna drive a piece of shyte Toyota ever again"  like they did with GM, Ford and Chrysler.  But then again, Americans DID vote for Trump a SECOND time....

And Canadians WILL vote for Polievre...  Im asking too much.

Right now I am looking at retirement in Latin America. Maybe somewhere where I won't even have to own a car. Life without driving might be really interesting. 

On 11/23/2024 at 10:37 AM, Robert Hall said:

My car has a supposed 525 mile highway crusing range on a full tank (19.5 gallons).   I haven't fully tested that since I tend to fill up at 1/2 tank when on road trips..but I have recorded averages of 29.5 and 30 mpg on road trips, which is pretty good for a comfortable 4200lb AWD sedan..

Modern cars are indeed amazing. 

On 11/23/2024 at 10:22 AM, trinacriabob said:

Right.  It's not the aircraft themselves, but the haste and sloppiness.  ("Haste makes waste.")  This 777 X is ambitious and the folding wingtips are novel.  They will be very late with delivering this plane. 

I now like some Boeing and some Airbus.  It's a mix.  In the recent past, I took a ride on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and I definitely like it more than the Airbus 350 (even though the Airbus 350 has that photogenic curved winglets).  The cabin fatigue from flying is much reduced on the Dreamliner.

Yesterday, I was on two domestic Boeing 737 Max 8 segments back to back on Southwest.  I like its newer features - ambient lighting, larger bins, a little quieter.  So, if it's working, it's a very nice rendition of the 737.  It's too bad that their newest version of this storied workhorse had to be tainted.  I get on and sigh.  If it keeps a clean track record going forward, people may be less weirded out as the statistics may become better.

It is.  However, I'm not a fan of the leg design, which is also now popular on sofas.  The biggest turnoff for me in sofas - when I bought a sleeper for another room with the last stimulus money - was the amount of product that had nailheads all over the place.

Sadly yes, I love flying on the 737 MAX. It's just a matter of the ethical flaws of Boeing in its production...

On 11/22/2024 at 9:08 AM, Drew Dowdell said:

All. I'm cleaning up some file debris on the server this morning (taking backups first of course). I found a large (9g) chunk of image files that I don't think the site is actually using because they are stored elsewhere.  I am zipping them up and moving them off the server to make our backups smaller.

If you notice any images recently going missing, please let me know. 

I demand the restoration of that picture of a white Pontiac G6 I posted in 2012...you ungrateful internet host...(sarcasm...)

On 11/22/2024 at 12:33 PM, surreal1272 said:

The LC500 is just a damn fine looking car, regardless of who makes it. Lexus mucks up a lot of exteriors (and not just with the "predator" grill) but the LC500 is not one of them.

 

I feel you on that. A year ago, it was my right hip (post surgery) and I was doing the same thing as you for a few weeks lol. Rest and recover.

This particular Lexus is lust worthy. 

[Robert Hall]

9 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Right now I am looking at retirement in Latin America. Maybe somewhere where I won't even have to own a car. Life without driving might be really interesting. 

 

I wouldn't mind retiring to somewhere walkable where I don't need to drive, but can drive when I want to..  

[G. David Felt]

On 11/21/2024 at 2:10 PM, ccap41 said:

Heal up quickly! 

What'd you have surgery for? 

After years of Body building, PowerLifting from the Age of 12 and Slalom racing from the age of 5 here in the PNW, my body finally caused my right meniscus pad to rip in two, if it was a partial tear in the front where the blood vessels are, it could have healed on its own taking it easy for a year, sadly the full tear does not heal in the back and causes pressure on the nerves causing my leg to fail due to extreme pain when I pinch the nerve.

The doctor here popped my knee apart, went in with orthoscopic tools and stitched up the meniscus pad and then popped my knee back together.

Up and moving around in small stints as I Ice and let the swelling go down, 7 days of minimal movement to allow everything including the two access points to heal up. Hardest ever as I am such an active person, this sitting is driving me nuts. Still sleeping allot, but been ages since I slept like this, so probably good for the whole body and mind. From a usual 5 to 6 hours of sleep a day to about 12hrs now, but will probably end back up to my normal once things heal.

OUCH, this sucks as it happened here in Washington. Good thing the trucker has insurance.
Lamborghini Diablo Falls Off Truck During Failed Delivery

[G. David Felt]

This is cool, modern Hurst that is Green!

The Chevrolet Silverado EV Would Make A Great Hearse | American Cars And Racing

Honda seems to be nailing it with the Ultium platform for their first EV.

Honda's first electric SUV is already a top-selling EV in the US — here's what's driving interest

[oldshurst442]

2 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

After years of Body building, PowerLifting from the Age of 12 and Slalom racing from the age of 5 here in the PNW, my body finally caused my right meniscus pad to rip in two, if it was a partial tear in the front where the blood vessels are, it could have healed on its own taking it easy for a year, sadly the full tear does not heal in the back and causes pressure on the nerves causing my leg to fail due to extreme pain when I pinch the nerve.

The doctor here popped my knee apart, went in with orthoscopic tools and stitched up the meniscus pad and then popped my knee back together.

Up and moving around in small stints as I Ice and let the swelling go down, 7 days of minimal movement to allow everything including the two access points to heal up. Hardest ever as I am such an active person, this sitting is driving me nuts. Still sleeping allot, but been ages since I slept like this, so probably good for the whole body and mind. From a usual 5 to 6 hours of sleep a day to about 12hrs now, but will probably end back up to my normal once things heal.

OUCH, this sucks as it happened here in Washington. Good thing the trucker has insurance.
Lamborghini Diablo Falls Off Truck During Failed Delivery

 

Glad you are healing just fine.  Pretty soon you'll have to do knee exercises, squats...  

 

When I read about link about the Lambo I was "yeah, no big deal. Insurance will pay and Lambo will repair."  Thinking it was a brand new Lambo...

 

Yeah...not a good thing. They dont make those no more.  Insurance money is ok, but parts are hard to come by.  So not a good thing.  

[oldshurst442]

2 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

This is cool, modern Hurst that is Green!

The Chevrolet Silverado EV Would Make A Great Hearse | American Cars And Racing

Honda seems to be nailing it with the Ultium platform for their first EV.

Honda's first electric SUV is already a top-selling EV in the US — here's what's driving interest

 

Great for Honda and great for GM.  18 000 units through October.  

https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/q3-2024-ev-sales/

https://insideevs.com/news/737158/us-ev-sales-q3-2024/

 

Both those links say that EV sales hit a new high record in sales in the US. 

GM is behind Tesla in 2nd place and Hyundai/KIA/Genesis is in 3rd place.

I havent seen any Honda Prologues where I live, in Montreal or in my neck of the woods, but I do see plenty of Blazers and Equinoxes daily.  No EV Silverados or Sierras.  But I have seen 6 (in total) Hummers. 2 in my neighborhood and 4 on the island of Montreal. 1 downtown and 2 in Dorval and 1 on the highway 20 in Montreal.     I see quite a few F150 EVs though.  But not as nearly as much as I see Blazers and Equinoxes.  The Blazer is a recent addition in the line-up I think up here in Quebec and already in my neighborhood Ive seen at LEAST 10. 

Ive only seen 1 Cybertruck.  On the highway 20 in Montreal. (Different days from the Hummer) and  I must admit that it looks very rad in the wild.  But I guess its because vehicles today are just soooooo damn bland that anything different is actually a GOOD thing. Even if its the Cybertruck... 

Tesla Model 3s are ubiquitous. But so are the Hyundai/KIA EVs. And the Equinox is fast becoming that common too.  And the Blazer looks like it will join that club. 

 

 

The article from insideevs states that 10% market share is within reach.

I remember discussing this with a good internet friend by the name of @balthazar, which I miss dearly, he stated that it will take a loooong time before we reach 10% EV market share let alone 50%.   I do not remember what exactly was the timeline he was suggesting, but not to put that on his nose, just wanting to say that there IS a STRONG want for EVs in the US and Canadian market. Its just that those that do NOT want EVs have a very very VERY loud voice about denouncing them so they spread FUD and mis/dis information purposelly AND   purposefully...    

I also wanted to point out, because PLENTY of us here was saying this to deaf ears, that WHEN OEMS FINALLY offer a DIVERSE option of EVs that actually CATER to the physically needs of consumers, then consumers WILL consume EVs.

The lies spread about range and charging times delayed the EV purchases, but BECAUSE the PUSH for EVs was slightly MORE relentless, and THIS is what we got now. That little hiccup last year was because of delayed production due to various reasons, fear of FUD was one of them, but 10% in market share for 2025 is a GREAT place to be.  Too bad for DJT as THAT might put a kink in that growth.  Wait and see what happens next. 

Edited Monday at 09:39 PM by oldshurst442

[oldshurst442]

7 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Right now I am looking at retirement in Latin America. Maybe somewhere where I won't even have to own a car. Life without driving might be really interesting. 

 Montreal mayor madame Valerie Plante and some of her borough representatives wants this to be a thing for Montreal.  Life without driving.  She is envisioning, but she wont seek a 3rd term on account that her cabinet might be accused for fraud and other stuff, there was and is talk since the summer about some touchy things there so she pre-emptively announced 2 weeks ago that she wont seek a 3rd term, she has another year to go for her term to end, she might want to join Trump's team...but that is for another discussion and Im digressing...  She is envisioning a city like a city in Europe where everything is within walking distance and biking distance. And I mean everything.  Actually, its a VERY good idea. Montreal was built that way in the beginning anyway because Montreal was a city waaaaay before the automobile. So the older parts of Montreal are still that way. Nothing has changed. Its just that businesses where closed during our 1st and 2nd referendums for separation from Canada which put a huge dent in the city's economic development.  Her team revitalised the already green spaces we had, made them bigger, made some renovations to a great amount of public spaces, made those green with grass and trees, enlargened some sidewalks, made bicycle paths everywhere, and made some roads car free.  Many drivers hated this idea, myself included, but 7 years of her vision and NOBODY could deny that it HAS become a success FOR the people and FAMILIES LIVING in those areas.  And to be real and honest about the whole thing, she did and still DOES want to EXPAND or Metro system but our Premier, Monsieur Legault, he says that Quebec does not have the funds for more Montreal projects and Canada also has OTHER major cities and towns that NEED public funding for their municipal projects.  He was not against public transportation to be expanded in Montreal, but lack of funds was the culprit.  To be fair to him though, Montreal got a new bridge, because the old one ws about to fall down, the new Champlain bridge. Montreal got a new highway system to accomodate said new bridge. Montreal got a new magnetic train that will enhance Montreal's metro system which has an elaborate path. Montreal will get another new bridge as there is another bridge about to fall down.  Montreal gets monies constantly for all kinds of failing infrastructure and other provinces bitch and whine...

Wow...what a rant. I needed to say that.

All in all, yes, living a life  without the need to drive to buy the essentials in life truly is a that is withing walking distance is a great thing.  And really, a thing that ALL cities should be striving for. Even new cities that are within the continental United States of America.   A car is a car and it does equal freedom.  But living a life without a need for a car ALL THE TIME is also another TYPE of freedom that modern humans have forgotten.  We need a car for the freedom of travel. But we also need the freedom FROM a car. 

[trinacriabob]

6 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

After years of Body building, PowerLifting from the Age of 12 and Slalom racing from the age of 5 here in the PNW, my body finally caused my right meniscus pad to rip in two, if it was a partial tear in the front where the blood vessels are, it could have healed on its own taking it easy for a year, sadly the full tear does not heal in the back and causes pressure on the nerves causing my leg to fail due to extreme pain when I pinch the nerve.

The doctor here popped my knee apart, went in with orthoscopic tools and stitched up the meniscus pad and then popped my knee back together.

Up and moving around in small stints as I Ice and let the swelling go down, 7 days of minimal movement to allow everything including the two access points to heal up. Hardest ever as I am such an active person, this sitting is driving me nuts. Still sleeping allot, but been ages since I slept like this, so probably good for the whole body and mind. From a usual 5 to 6 hours of sleep a day to about 12hrs now, but will probably end back up to my normal once things heal.

Ok, I see.  Yes, for an active person, it's not easy.  Even though a few covid episodes were mild (thanking vaccination and boosters), 4 or 5 days of laying around was not to my liking and got me down.

There are some things I won't do anymore and haven't done for a while.  One is messing with free weights ... I want the weight machines to restrict and regulate any movements. Parenthetically, "regulate" was one great Dr. Ruth Westheimer "rrrr" word (where she rolled that "r" in an unmistakably Germanic way).

The other is that I no longer swim in a saltwater body of water.  And some warm, turquoise ones really beckon.

Wishing you a speedy and very satisfactory recovery!

[trinacriabob]

On 11/22/2024 at 7:22 AM, Robert Hall said:

My cousin Mike in Kentucky worked for Toyota (quality control for interior assemblies) for 30 years and retired from them a few years ago, drives a 10 yr old Tacoma and his wife has a 10 yr old Camry.   He does like my Cadillac, though.   The funny thing is his adult children (all my age or so) seem to drive GMs. 

I had to chuckle because liking GM or Chevy (the heartbeat of America) and having ties to Kentucky could be more red than blue.  Growing up, I loved GM and, on the Left Coast, this mostly blue person still had to deal with, "Eew, you have an American car," or "Eew, why do you like big cars?"  (All the while I was thinking, "Why don't you GFY?")

[A Horse With No Name]

14 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

 Montreal mayor madame Valerie Plante and some of her borough representatives wants this to be a thing for Montreal.  Life without driving.  She is envisioning, but she wont seek a 3rd term on account that her cabinet might be accused for fraud and other stuff, there was and is talk since the summer about some touchy things there so she pre-emptively announced 2 weeks ago that she wont seek a 3rd term, she has another year to go for her term to end, she might want to join Trump's team...but that is for another discussion and Im digressing...  She is envisioning a city like a city in Europe where everything is within walking distance and biking distance. And I mean everything.  Actually, its a VERY good idea. Montreal was built that way in the beginning anyway because Montreal was a city waaaaay before the automobile. So the older parts of Montreal are still that way. Nothing has changed. Its just that businesses where closed during our 1st and 2nd referendums for separation from Canada which put a huge dent in the city's economic development.  Her team revitalised the already green spaces we had, made them bigger, made some renovations to a great amount of public spaces, made those green with grass and trees, enlargened some sidewalks, made bicycle paths everywhere, and made some roads car free.  Many drivers hated this idea, myself included, but 7 years of her vision and NOBODY could deny that it HAS become a success FOR the people and FAMILIES LIVING in those areas.  And to be real and honest about the whole thing, she did and still DOES want to EXPAND or Metro system but our Premier, Monsieur Legault, he says that Quebec does not have the funds for more Montreal projects and Canada also has OTHER major cities and towns that NEED public funding for their municipal projects.  He was not against public transportation to be expanded in Montreal, but lack of funds was the culprit.  To be fair to him though, Montreal got a new bridge, because the old one ws about to fall down, the new Champlain bridge. Montreal got a new highway system to accomodate said new bridge. Montreal got a new magnetic train that will enhance Montreal's metro system which has an elaborate path. Montreal will get another new bridge as there is another bridge about to fall down.  Montreal gets monies constantly for all kinds of failing infrastructure and other provinces bitch and whine...

Wow...what a rant. I needed to say that.

All in all, yes, living a life  without the need to drive to buy the essentials in life truly is a that is withing walking distance is a great thing.  And really, a thing that ALL cities should be striving for. Even new cities that are within the continental United States of America.   A car is a car and it does equal freedom.  But living a life without a need for a car ALL THE TIME is also another TYPE of freedom that modern humans have forgotten.  We need a car for the freedom of travel. But we also need the freedom FROM a car. 

Freedom from a car is kind of what I want at the moment. At the same time, love having one to drive all over the country to hike. 

11 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I had to chuckle because liking GM or Chevy (the heartbeat of America) and having ties to Kentucky could be more red than blue.  Growing up, I loved GM and, on the Left Coast, this mostly blue person still had to deal with, "Eew, you have an American car," or "Eew, why do you like big cars?"  (All the while I was thinking, "Why don't you GFY?")

My dislike of American cars is entirely political, in terms of so many things our government has done that I despise. Yes, I know every other government on the planet is effed up, but Americans have been given more than anyone else, it is ENTIRELY fair to hold the American public and American government to a higher standard.

 

This is sad, and there is a loss of life, but I think I hear a muffled "Boeing" right after the impact and fireball. What I just said about Americans being given more and held to a higher standard applies to American companies also. 

 

Hence, "GO AIRBUS"

Although I think this might have been pilot error rather than mechanical malfunction.  However, an A 320 is born to replace this dearly departed 737 and that is a good thing. 

Thinking of going to Europe, will avoid Ryanair as they are an exclusive Boeing Only company. Just like I love the crews, pilots, and prices of Southwest but prefer to fly other airlines if I can book on an Airbus. 

[A Horse With No Name]

15 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

 

Great for Honda and great for GM.  18 000 units through October.  

https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/q3-2024-ev-sales/

https://insideevs.com/news/737158/us-ev-sales-q3-2024/

 

Both those links say that EV sales hit a new high record in sales in the US. 

GM is behind Tesla in 2nd place and Hyundai/KIA/Genesis is in 3rd place.

I havent seen any Honda Prologues where I live, in Montreal or in my neck of the woods, but I do see plenty of Blazers and Equinoxes daily.  No EV Silverados or Sierras.  But I have seen 6 (in total) Hummers. 2 in my neighborhood and 4 on the island of Montreal. 1 downtown and 2 in Dorval and 1 on the highway 20 in Montreal.     I see quite a few F150 EVs though.  But not as nearly as much as I see Blazers and Equinoxes.  The Blazer is a recent addition in the line-up I think up here in Quebec and already in my neighborhood Ive seen at LEAST 10. 

Ive only seen 1 Cybertruck.  On the highway 20 in Montreal. (Different days from the Hummer) and  I must admit that it looks very rad in the wild.  But I guess its because vehicles today are just soooooo damn bland that anything different is actually a GOOD thing. Even if its the Cybertruck... 

Tesla Model 3s are ubiquitous. But so are the Hyundai/KIA EVs. And the Equinox is fast becoming that common too.  And the Blazer looks like it will join that club. 

 

 

The article from insideevs states that 10% market share is within reach.

I remember discussing this with a good internet friend by the name of @balthazar, which I miss dearly, he stated that it will take a loooong time before we reach 10% EV market share let alone 50%.   I do not remember what exactly was the timeline he was suggesting, but not to put that on his nose, just wanting to say that there IS a STRONG want for EVs in the US and Canadian market. Its just that those that do NOT want EVs have a very very VERY loud voice about denouncing them so they spread FUD and mis/dis information purposelly AND   purposefully...    

I also wanted to point out, because PLENTY of us here was saying this to deaf ears, that WHEN OEMS FINALLY offer a DIVERSE option of EVs that actually CATER to the physically needs of consumers, then consumers WILL consume EVs.

The lies spread about range and charging times delayed the EV purchases, but BECAUSE the PUSH for EVs was slightly MORE relentless, and THIS is what we got now. That little hiccup last year was because of delayed production due to various reasons, fear of FUD was one of them, but 10% in market share for 2025 is a GREAT place to be.  Too bad for DJT as THAT might put a kink in that growth.  Wait and see what happens next. 

See the Carl Sagan quote I posted earlier about America being left behind. There will be jack $h! for charging infrastructure under Trumps administration. 

I so want to avoid buying another car.....maybe ever. 

16 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

 

Glad you are healing just fine.  Pretty soon you'll have to do knee exercises, squats...  

 

When I read about link about the Lambo I was "yeah, no big deal. Insurance will pay and Lambo will repair."  Thinking it was a brand new Lambo...

 

Yeah...not a good thing. They dont make those no more.  Insurance money is ok, but parts are hard to come by.  So not a good thing.  

Exotics just don't do it for me. Emotionally, I should care but this might as well be a 25 year old Cavalier with hail damage and Ohio Rust....

22 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

I wouldn't mind retiring to somewhere walkable where I don't need to drive, but can drive when I want to..  

Being married, if we moved on a bus line we could keep one car and use it infrequently. 

Would leave open the idea of a vehicle to go take hiking. 

18 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

This is cool, modern Hurst that is Green!

The Chevrolet Silverado EV Would Make A Great Hearse | American Cars And Racing

Honda seems to be nailing it with the Ultium platform for their first EV.

Honda's first electric SUV is already a top-selling EV in the US — here's what's driving interest

ABM....Anybody But Musk. You can buy membership in the Satanic temple for $35 apparently...I would buy a car from the devil himself before I would give Musk a dime. Honda doesn't do it for me too much, but glad they are doing well. 

[A Horse With No Name]

18 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

After years of Body building, PowerLifting from the Age of 12 and Slalom racing from the age of 5 here in the PNW, my body finally caused my right meniscus pad to rip in two, if it was a partial tear in the front where the blood vessels are, it could have healed on its own taking it easy for a year, sadly the full tear does not heal in the back and causes pressure on the nerves causing my leg to fail due to extreme pain when I pinch the nerve.

The doctor here popped my knee apart, went in with orthoscopic tools and stitched up the meniscus pad and then popped my knee back together.

Up and moving around in small stints as I Ice and let the swelling go down, 7 days of minimal movement to allow everything including the two access points to heal up. Hardest ever as I am such an active person, this sitting is driving me nuts. Still sleeping allot, but been ages since I slept like this, so probably good for the whole body and mind. From a usual 5 to 6 hours of sleep a day to about 12hrs now, but will probably end back up to my normal once things heal.

OUCH, this sucks as it happened here in Washington. Good thing the trucker has insurance.
Lamborghini Diablo Falls Off Truck During Failed Delivery

Hope you heal quickly. We are all falling apart like an Italian sports car, without any of us having a classical Italian good look...except for one member in particular who is actually Italian...

Interesting philosophical take. 

D Felt, looking for other parts that are no longer functioning properly in addition to his knee. 

[Drew Dowdell]

I'm all in favor of the guillotine part of the cycle at the moment. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Balthazar never liked them, but the early 70's Torino is a good design...

 

 

 

1 minute ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I'm all in favor of the guillotine part of the cycle at the moment. 

Without a doubt....

When the Irony meter gets pegged...

Listening to new music, kind of a bit hip hopish but she has an amazing voice!

[Drew Dowdell]

1 minute ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Balthazar never liked them, but the early 70's Torino is a good design...

 

I don't like much from Ford in the '70s, but this is def nice. 

[A Horse With No Name]

My friend Rusty died, sadly...

Just now, Drew Dowdell said:

I don't like much from Ford in the '70s, but this is def nice. 

I would love to own one. 

I hate throwing away broken tools, but I don't have the time to fix everything. Cleaning up my workshop. 

An old college graduation pic of me...

 

Speaking of 70's Fords, not a huge fan of the alter 70's T birds but this was out and about on a nice November day when I took off for a medical appointment. At this point, anything to break the monotony of modern bland automobiles...the bronco is nice also. 

Cool woodworking project, not mine. Wooden turntable with record storage. 

[Robert Hall]

The '72 Gran Torino is one of my favorite early 70s Fords..love the Sportsroof fastback roofline.   I also really like the '71-72 Galaxies and LTDs..huge cars with very crisp lines.  

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Just now, Robert Hall said:

The '72 Gran Torino is one of my favorite early 70s Fords..love the Sportsroof fastback roofline.   I also really like the '71-72 Galaxies and LTDs..huge cars with very crisp lines.  

 

 

I would love a 71-72 LTD convertible. Not easy to find as few were made and fewer survive. Going with my dad to pick up a blue 71 Country Squire and having a blue Mach one Mustang next to it in the service bay....was the start of my love of cars. 

Wooden sculpture my friend Scott made....

 

Bowl that Scott made, about 5600 different pieces of wood in this. 

On the back of a pickup truck when I pulled into a Thai restaurant for dinner. Evenings go a little bit better with a Buzz and a Woody...

[A Horse With No Name]

 

Me at the Ohio Theater to hear The Columbus Symphony Orchestra. 

Last one for today, from Palo Duro Canyon in Amarillo. I so want to be back on the road again....with or without a car!

[A Horse With No Name]

Okay, I lied, this is the final one. Cool vintage video!

[Robert Hall]

Speaking of Packards, can't recall if I posted about this here, but I went to the National Packard Museum in Warren (OH) last month...some really neat exhibits and cars.  The 40s and 50s models had so much neat detailing. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Just now, Robert Hall said:

Speaking of Packards, can't recall if I posted about this here, but I went to the National Packard Museum in Warren (OH) last month...some really neat exhibits and cars.  The 40s and 50s models had so much neat detailing. 

It is a road trip I need to take. 

[Robert Hall]

Just now, A Horse With No Name said:

It is a road trip I need to take. 

There is also a Packard museum on the other side of the state...Dayton area IIRC.  I want to visit that one also. 

[A Horse With No Name]

9 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

There is also a Packard museum on the other side of the state...Dayton area IIRC.  I want to visit that one also. 

Been by there....yeah. Dayton is a cool and under rated city. 

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

Me at the Ohio Theater to hear The Columbus Symphony Orchestra. 

Last one for today, from Palo Duro Canyon in Amarillo. I so want to be back on the road again....with or without a car!

Cool theater ... just kidding, but it is, though. You look good ... been hiking and into fitness, I suppose.

Crossing Texas just to cross it can be a chore.  One night, I  was driving west on I-10 late at night in between semesters of school and pulled into a sketchy Motel 6 to get some shut eye, ignorantly not knowing what a dangerous place Beaumont TX was.

The next day, I checked out Rice Univ. and UT Austin but had to later duck my Cutlass Supreme under an I-10 freeway overpass in Van Horn TX because of Texas sized hail, huddled alongside a lot of other motorists.  That said, I slept in Van Horn that night.

I'm thinking West Texas, if you know where to look, has mountain scenery as well as crazy wildlife - rattlesnakes, bears, mountain lions, etc.  Years ago, they found a guy not too far west of Dallas - so, not mountainous and atypical habitat - lying in a creek bed and the only likely culprit seems to be a mountain lion.  It was always surprising how, every 10 years or so, a healthy and younger cyclist or outdoorsman in the mountains of SoCal would get taken down by a cougar since it was big news and it freaked people out.

[trinacriabob]

On a different note ...

... wouldn't it have been nice to pick up a simple mid century modern ranch when they were mostly ignored or viewed like all the other available ranch homes?  I've always liked their triangular transom windows and vaulted ceilings.

Also, there was a type of ranch known as a "bird house" that was popular in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley.  I believe that one or more of the protagonists lived in one in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," one of the funniest time piece cult movies out there, with the fictitious "Jeff Spicoli."

What is a parent to do if mother nature regales you with a kid like Jeff Spicoli?

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Watch Canada have an anti immigration fury just like the USA. This won't end well for anyone. 

And not just Canada. 

 

This conflict will not end well either. 

 

[Robert Hall]

A lot of unrest and instability in the world today.  I try and ignore the news and focus on things I can directly affect (work, pets, house, etc).   Dwelling on the world is just too depressing these days. 

[G. David Felt]

5 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Balthazar never liked them, but the early 70's Torino is a good design...

 

 

 

Without a doubt....

When the Irony meter gets pegged...

Love this Green Ford Torino, awesome car and reminds me of the Clint Eastwood movie about the car.

The POP has been connected with many pedophiles during his control of the church, and he refused to do anything about it. One Pop that can rot in hell for the abuse against kids. Everyone has a right to believe or not in divine deities, but for me, after decades of studying, have come to believe they do not exist and was created by man to control man. If 3,000 years ago some advanced race visited our planet, they would have found us to be primitive to a point that we would have seen them as deities, but in this regard, I feel we have allowed religion to ruin life for many due to manipulation of many by the few that crave power to control.

We are entering interesting times with ignorant people being given positions of power by a Narcissist that hates democracy, freedom and the love of humanity. I truly hope I end up wrong but am seeing too much of the fleecing of the American taxpayer by those that want to kill off government agencies to privatize the services at a higher cost to all, pushing us into a caste system again.

Funny that Texas wants to not have anything to do with illegals in their state, but now will happily rent out 1,400 acres near Austin Texas to house illegals till they can be processed and sent back home. Fleecing of America!!!

Texas agency buys ranch for Trump's border wall, mass deportation

Trump offered 1,400 acres by Texas official for deportation

End of line...

Back to our normal scheduled auto discussion.

[A Horse With No Name]

7 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

Love this Green Ford Torino, awesome car and reminds me of the Clint Eastwood movie about the car.

The POP has been connected with many pedophiles during his control of the church, and he refused to do anything about it. One Pop that can rot in hell for the abuse against kids. Everyone has a right to believe or not in divine deities, but for me, after decades of studying, have come to believe they do not exist and was created by man to control man. If 3,000 years ago some advanced race visited our planet, they would have found us to be primitive to a point that we would have seen them as deities, but in this regard, I feel we have allowed religion to ruin life for many due to manipulation of many by the few that crave power to control.

We are entering interesting times with ignorant people being given positions of power by a Narcissist that hates democracy, freedom and the love of humanity. I truly hope I end up wrong but am seeing too much of the fleecing of the American taxpayer by those that want to kill off government agencies to privatize the services at a higher cost to all, pushing us into a caste system again.

Funny that Texas wants to not have anything to do with illegals in their state, but now will happily rent out 1,400 acres near Austin Texas to house illegals till they can be processed and sent back home. Fleecing of America!!!

Texas agency buys ranch for Trump's border wall, mass deportation

Trump offered 1,400 acres by Texas official for deportation

End of line...

Back to our normal scheduled auto discussion.

Its unreal. 

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

A lot of unrest and instability in the world today.  I try and ignore the news and focus on things I can directly affect (work, pets, house, etc).   Dwelling on the world is just too depressing these days. 

I want to explore the world....

[Drew Dowdell]

I have way too many e-mail addresses.

There are few better feelings than cleaning out 2,000+ unread e-mails and actually deleting them rather than just "mark as read"

 

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

[trinacriabob]

This ...

... is what makes me very happy.

And when the biggest worry was that there would now be a catalytic converter under your car.

This is a '75 outside of Saint Louis that they wanted $ 9,995 for.  I think it's spoken for.  Beautiful Salon version of the Cutlass coupe with the tall burgundy bucket seats.

Not LG, as in "life's good," but, rather, "life was good."

[trinacriabob]

It used to be nice to visit Stbx every now and then.  

Their prices may not be prohibitive, but, now, they are ridiculous.  A medium hot tea was $ 2.45 or $ 2.65 and it's now $ 3.75.