Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

This looks so freakin great.

 

[trinacriabob]

While I really like Panera's concept and vibe, their portion control is, literally, for the birds.

[G. David Felt]

On 3/29/2025 at 8:13 AM, Drew Dowdell said:

But on the topic of politics. I have a tariff story I want to work on that is bound to get hyper political about how the tariffs are about to kill off one whole segment of cars.  Do we think we can handle it without getting nasty with each other?

Been thinking on this and I honestly have to say that I think the Tariffs are going to do what 47 is not wanting to have happen. The DEATH of ICE!!!

First is IRA has been a massive hit in regard to investing in battery plants and EV production plants.

Second is ICE autos are far more complex than EVs with the average ICE having between 20,000 to 30,000 parts and most of the small stuff is imported in.

Third EVs are far simpler to produce here in America with the average EV having between 15,000 to 20,000 components and the motor, battery and controler plant as well as wiring is already built here. As the RAW Material for Lithium and other battery components builds up in North America, I see no reason to go backwards for the Boomers with more ICE, but move forward with Hybrids for the Boomers and pure EVs for those that have common sense on moving forward into the future.

Tariffs is death to ICE more than EVs as it also brings parity in price to EVs due to the increase in prices for ICE built outside the U.S.

People will see this now that various auto companies have stated like VW/Audi/Porsche will have a Tariff line on the window invoice showing how much extra money will be paid to the U.S. government. Taxation at it's biggest point ever since 1930.

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

While I really like Panera's concept and vibe, their portion control is, literally, for the birds.

Pathetic that they kept prices the same and shrunkflation has happened in the portion size. Pretty much you have to order double to get what they used to serve.

[G. David Felt]

If Chinese UK MG ever gets their EVs here, GAME OVER for Tesla. After reading this story and looking at what MG is doing in Europe and the Asian rim, I can see these under $35,000 EVs making a big hit here.

I drove this Chinese EV and it's just another example of the trouble Tesla is in

This makes me even feel stronger that if Kia and GM get their $25K to $35K EVs going here, that masses will buy them.

[G. David Felt]

This should be interesting if it is accurate on the new generation of Cadillac Sedans being EVs.

Cadillac's Electric CT4, CT5 Replacement: Everything We Know

@Robert Hall You just might have a new choice in the near future.

[G. David Felt]

I have to agree with this early investor and current stockholder that feels Tesla is doomed unless Musk goes!

They need a new face of Tesla and one that is focused on Tesla the auto company and not distracted by robots, AI and other stuff that TESLA is NOT.

Key Tesla investor makes blunt prediction for the company's future

[trinacriabob]

2 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Pathetic that they kept prices the same and shrunkflation has happened in the portion size. Pretty much you have to order double to get what they used to serve.

The thing is that Panera offers a better laptop and hot drink environment than does Starbucks and they cash in on that.  It's "space rental."

The tab for a HALF chicken avocado chipotle sandwich and a small CUP of baked potato soup (both good, not great) was absurd.  Coffee, tea, and lemonade are roughly the same.

I go there because it's near a friend's condo and it's better for having a discussion than a fairly nice Starbucks nearby.  A Starbucks has to have an excellent interior for me to go there and pay their now crazy prices for coffee and tea.

[G. David Felt]

It sucks that stupid leadership with Tariffs is keeping us from getting a decent mid level EV.

2025 Kia EV5 Review: Why This Electric SUV Makes More Sense Than A Model Y | Carscoops

[G. David Felt]

With the idiot tariff war, we will have to watch from afar as better EVs are kept from America due to the ignorant leardership.

This Is Land Rover’s New Defender Baby EV | Carscoops

From glue on only to weld screws on, drill holes and new glue patches and misaligned trim pieces now due to poor engineering.

Tesla’s Recall Fix Left This Cybertruck With A Burn Mark And Panel Gap | Carscoops

 

[A Horse With No Name]

20 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

If Chinese UK MG ever gets their EVs here, GAME OVER for Tesla. After reading this story and looking at what MG is doing in Europe and the Asian rim, I can see these under $35,000 EVs making a big hit here.

I drove this Chinese EV and it's just another example of the trouble Tesla is in

This makes me even feel stronger that if Kia and GM get their $25K to $35K EVs going here, that masses will buy them.

They are everywhere in Mexico

 

 

[ccap41]

51 minutes ago, G. David Felt said:

It sucks that stupid leadership with Tariffs is keeping us from getting a decent mid level EV.

2025 Kia EV5 Review: Why This Electric SUV Makes More Sense Than A Model Y | Carscoops

It wasn't coming to the US prior to Trump even being in office, let alone any tariff talk. 

https://electrek.co/2025/01/31/kia-ev5-sadly-not-coming-to-us-but-will-arrive-next-door/

 

[trinacriabob]

35 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

What an exacting craft with beautiful results.

[G. David Felt]

4 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

It wasn't coming to the US prior to Trump even being in office, let alone any tariff talk. 

https://electrek.co/2025/01/31/kia-ev5-sadly-not-coming-to-us-but-will-arrive-next-door/

 

Canada and Mexico are slated to get it, so that would if popular enough always possibly open the doors to having it here. But now it is truly off the table.

[G. David Felt]

This totally sums it up well, had a good laugh and the ending comment is spot on!
John Oliver Nails Most ‘Stunningly Dumb’ Part of Trump Crash
 

During a CEO presentation of their end of year report and first quarter results. He was informed of the stock market crash and said the following: ‘Oh really? Oh s—. OK.‘”

 

[trinacriabob]

They seemingly can't come up with a solution for this:

if you put a "do not disturb" placard on your lodging location's door handle, when the door is opened or closed, the placard seems to fall to the floor about half the time ... it's almost like a coin toss.

Sad.

[G. David Felt]

104% Chinese Tariff, talk about killing the auto industry.

[A Horse With No Name]

9 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

104% Chinese Tariff, talk about killing the auto industry.

Yes...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Looks like an interesting adventure. 

[ccap41]

10 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

104% Chinese Tariff, talk about killing the auto industry.

Of all industries to kill, the auto industry isn't one of them. There are only a handful of autos built in China, right? Nautilus, Envision, and probably something else. 

[G. David Felt]

21 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Of all industries to kill, the auto industry isn't one of them. There are only a handful of autos built in China, right? Nautilus, Envision, and probably something else. 

It is the bigger picture that many parts for the auto industry come from China.

Example is pretty much all new electric parts such as Alternator, distributor caps, etc. most come from China. It is not about the few Buick or Ford, etc. fully built auto's that come from China, but the bigger area of individual parts.

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Yes...

 

Not totally in agreement on this as California has a huge culture of EV conversion on these vans. I think it is mostly maybe a European issue.

[Robert Hall]

Speaking of origin of parts, reading the window sticker 26% of the parts on my Cadillac came from China, 22% from Mexico, 38% from the US/Canada.  

[ccap41]

11 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Speaking of origin of parts, reading the window sticker 26% of the parts on my Cadillac came from China, 22% from Mexico, 38% from the US/Canada.  

Where can this be found? I have my window sticker but I don't see a breakdown on it.

Also, what about the other 14%? 

Lincoln Navigator Window Sticker.pdf

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, G. David Felt said:

It is the bigger picture that many parts for the auto industry come from China.

Example is pretty much all new electric parts such as Alternator, distributor caps, etc. most come from China. It is not about the few Buick or Ford, etc. fully built auto's that come from China, but the bigger area of individual parts.

Not totally in agreement on this as California has a huge culture of EV conversion on these vans. I think it is mostly maybe a European issue.

California does have a ton of them. Since they are super popular, and since they wouldn't have to meet EOA emissions standards, I wonder if someone could re pop bodies for these like they do for the Camaro/Mustang/30's Fords, etc.

Dynacorn should look into this, they would make a fortune.

Plus, starting with fresh steel rather than a 60 year old hulk would save a ton of time and money.

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

Where can this be found? I have my window sticker but I don't see a breakdown on it.

Also, what about the other 14%? 

Lincoln Navigator Window Sticker.pdf 1.3 MB · 2 downloads

 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

Speaking of origin of parts, reading the window sticker 26% of the parts on my Cadillac came from China, 22% from Mexico, 38% from the US/Canada.  

Wait for retroactive tariffs, ICE will be by to reposes a large part of your car and send it back across the border/across the ocean.

 

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

 

I can't navigate to that portion of the window sticker.

[ccap41]

1 minute ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Wait for retroactive tariffs, ICE will be by to reposes a large part of your car and send it back across the border/across the ocean.

 

It's a GM car made with Chinese parts, those parts are probably already broken and ready to fall off. 🤣

I joke I joke

3 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

I can't navigate to that portion of the window sticker.

What portion is it supposed to be in? 

[A Horse With No Name]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Of all industries to kill, the auto industry isn't one of them. There are only a handful of autos built in China, right? Nautilus, Envision, and probably something else. 

A huge number of critical parts are imported, especially tech parts from places like Taiwan. Remember during covid all of the parking lots full of assembled vehicles awaiting parts because they couldn't be completed? I see something like this happening.

As much as I make Noam Chomsky look like George W Bush, and as much as I $h! talk Washington and this country, I really would rather buy stuff made in the USA at the end of the day.  Maybe we will start building more stuff here.

We will see.

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

It's a GM car made with Chinese parts, those parts are probably already broken and ready to fall off. 🤣

I joke I joke

What portion is it supposed to be in? 

I am unsure, I was joking also.

As a GM product, it is self disassembling, it does not need Chinese help.

I joke I joke...but in every bit of sarcasm, a bit of truth...

17 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

They seemingly can't come up with a solution for this:

if you put a "do not disturb" placard on your lodging location's door handle, when the door is opened or closed, the placard seems to fall to the floor about half the time ... it's almost like a coin toss.

Sad.

And then people bitch that their room wasn't cleaned when they had do not disturb on the door all day.

Americans are not known for great intellect, at least not most of us. Carl Sagan and Niel Degrasse Tyson are notable exceptions.

[G. David Felt]

20 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

 

This is weird that you do not have in the lower right hand corner the Part Content listing that is supposed to be there as it became a requirement in 1994. This is a failure from Ford / Lincoln if that is the original label.

You can look up the part content by going here: Part 583 American Automobile Labeling Act Reports | NHTSA

It is current but who knows for how long since Idiot47 and his Dark master Musk is destroying the U.S.

Specifically for 2017 this is the complete list of all Auto makers: 2017_aala_alpha_year.pdf

I find it weird that Ford list's it as 61% U.S. / Canada Content and blanks for where the rest comes from.

In fact looking at this, Ford/Lincoln seems to do a terrible job of reporting their actual part content, but he did say on Fox News this week that Ford brings in about 40% of parts from across the globe for assembly in their auto's that they build in the U.S. and Canada.

My EV9 which was one built in Korea is listed as 100% assembled in Korea, 95% parts from Korea and 4% parts from United States, 1% from China. 

I suspect the 1% is the raw materials for the battery pack.

[Robert Hall]

On mine, there is a box on the lower right marked 'PARTS CONTENT INFORMATION'. 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[G. David Felt]

Very Interesting, Jeff Bezo is funding this EV Truck Startup that has been running since 2022.

I signed up for newsletter, but not much else is known about it.

Slate

Stories are coming out, will be interesting as Jeff Bezo is saying the truck will start at $25,000 which we have heard this before from others.

A New $25,000 American EV Truck Company Is Backed By Jeff Bezos: Report

Found a hidden FAQ site: Slate FAQ

SLATE Reveal is targeted in 14 days and 8hrs from now.

[trinacriabob]

8 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

On mine, there is a box on the lower right marked 'PARTS CONTENT INFORMATION'. 

It has always been nicely laid out on GM product window stickers.

[A Horse With No Name]

 

 

[trinacriabob]

No bueno:  you pull up a restaurant's menu and there are no prices next to any of the line items

[A Horse With No Name]

59 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

No bueno:  you pull up a restaurant's menu and there are no prices next to any of the line items

I hate that...

 

 

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

No bueno:  you pull up a restaurant's menu and there are no prices next to any of the line items

For the most common places, I hate it and would go elsewhere. For places that I know will be very pricey and things are typically "market price", I expect it. 

[G. David Felt]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

No bueno:  you pull up a restaurant's menu and there are no prices next to any of the line items

Have you tried to buy a laptop, tablet or pretty much any electronic device that can be ordered customized? Many companies have stopped taking orders for the U.S. over the whole Tariff mess and this seems to have trickled down to food places too now that prices are so drastically changing hour by hour.

Very cool achievement for ev bike. 193 miles on a charge.

This Dynamic Electric Motorcycle Thumbs Its Nose at Range Anxiety — and Now Has the World Record to Prove It | Gear Patrol

We'll Wallstreet is calling it!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/fund-managers-quietly-fear-trump-doesn-t-have-a-tariff-plan-and-that-he-might-be-insane/ar-AA1CGm2F?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=9f51643133bb4ed69ca95254ef4825f7&ei=15

Seems insanity is the current status of our president (INSANE) as the industry and especially the auto industry collapses.

[A Horse With No Name]

18 hours ago, G. David Felt said:

Have you tried to buy a laptop, tablet or pretty much any electronic device that can be ordered customized? Many companies have stopped taking orders for the U.S. over the whole Tariff mess and this seems to have trickled down to food places too now that prices are so drastically changing hour by hour.

Very cool achievement for ev bike. 193 miles on a charge.

This Dynamic Electric Motorcycle Thumbs Its Nose at Range Anxiety — and Now Has the World Record to Prove It | Gear Patrol

We'll Wallstreet is calling it!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/fund-managers-quietly-fear-trump-doesn-t-have-a-tariff-plan-and-that-he-might-be-insane/ar-AA1CGm2F?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=9f51643133bb4ed69ca95254ef4825f7&ei=15

Seems insanity is the current status of our president (INSANE) as the industry and especially the auto industry collapses.

I won't shed a tear over Trump voting UAW workers being laid off and not called back to work. Walmart would hire greeters but no bueno on Chinese crap, so that career path is closed.

I love spaulted wood, have turned a good bit of it...

 

 

 

A small piece I turned out of a scrap last night when I couldn't fall asleep...

A hat turned by my friend Mike out of similar Maple, this hat was a tree two weeks ago...

Similar piece of Beech, spaulted, I like this form....

[A Horse With No Name]

Another piece I turned from scrap, wanted jsut the lid to have featured grain as to not overwhelm the piece...

A bowl my friend Sean Hunter turned out of sycamore, similar spaulting and insect damage. Looks much better in person...

Natural defects in the black locust vase on the left, I turned that one last week....

A beetle in Mexico city, I want to go back badly.

Mexico City, when is the last time you saw a rust free Gladiator just out in traffic?

Mexican Beer is the bomb...

Nothing rusts in Mexico City, and vintage iron is everywhere.

[A Horse With No Name]

70's Ford out in traffic, zero rust.

Fresh food everywhere...

Old American iron still in daily use on Oaxaca, Mexico. Pardon me please if I posted any of these before.

Last pic for a bit, I absolutely love ceramic and wood vessels of every sort, museums in Mexico are the bomb.

[A Horse With No Name]

Ok, one more, worth three minutes of your life, trust me...

 

[ccap41]

39 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Mexico City, when is the last time you saw a rust free Gladiator just out in traffic?

I actually saw an old Gladiator just this week. It was NOT rust free nor clean though. 

[G. David Felt]

Looks like self driving marketing deception is about to come crashing down to earth as China is looking to do what we have done for decades in protective measures of driving and what Musk is wanting to dismantle as he thinks Tesla knows better than the Feds.

3 Lives Lost, $15B Gone—Xiaomi’s SU7 Crash Is a Wake-Up Call for the EV Industry