Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

Interesting, story on The Drive about 8 auto's that cannot pass over the Brooklyn Bridge due to their 3 ton weight limit.

http://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/1720/8-cars-that-legally-cant-cross-the-brooklyn-bridge

Seems pretty much every full size truck and SUV plus a couple cars that were surprising.

[G. David Felt]

Seems California has introduced Legislation that would make the State stop the sale of ICE auto's in 2040.

http://www.thedrive.com/sheetmetal/17359/california-lawmaker-introduces-bill-calling-for-all-electric-car-sales-by-2040

 

[G. David Felt]

RoadRalley Estonia Style,  Check out around 2:50 where they use a tractor to remove a broken car. LOL

So many russian / European cars.

[G. David Felt]

Today is a totally random day and this is amazing to see how they shipped new cars in the 70's.

[balthazar]

[G. David Felt]

Based on the latest data from 2015 of buying trends based on female versus male registrations of auto's in the US.

[trinacriabob]

  On 2/21/2018 at 2:46 PM, ykX said:

Watched last night an episode of Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars getting Coffee" on Netflix.  He had 1965 Buick Riviera.  I am usually not into that kind of cars, but boy this car is simply gorgeous.  Pictures simply don't do it justice.

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There was a lot of dowdy stuff, relatively speaking, going on at that time.  This was not dowdy in any way, either on the outside or on the inside.  The interior of these was wonderful.  And, those vertical headlights that opened up like cracking an egg and then hid away were unique.  Looking at this photo, that could only be Florida ... meh, it could be GA or SC or ...

  On 2/21/2018 at 5:46 PM, dfelt said:

Based on the latest data from 2015 of buying trends based on female versus male registrations of auto's in the US.

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Are these rank ordered by gender?  It would be interesting to know the relative tilt of the purchases by gender.  Some of these don't surprise me.  Some of them do.  Of all the cars on that list, the only one I like is the Chevrolet SS.  And I liked that car before I even saw the list, not that that would do anything to change my mind.

Chev SS

Edited February 21, 2018 by trinacriabob

[G. David Felt]

  On 2/21/2018 at 2:46 PM, ykX said:

Watched last night an episode of Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars getting Coffee" on Netflix.  He had 1965 Buick Riviera.  I am usually not into that kind of cars, but boy this car is simply gorgeous.  Pictures simply don't do it justice.

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I loved the way the Headlights opened and closed. Like a crab claw, so very Cool!  

[G. David Felt]

  On 2/21/2018 at 8:56 PM, trinacriabob said:

Are these rank ordered by gender?  It would be interesting to know the relative tilt of the purchases by gender.  Some of these don't surprise me.  Some of them do.  Of all the cars on that list, the only one I like is the Chevrolet SS.  And I liked that car before I even saw the list, not that that would do anything to change my mind.

Chev SS

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This list is broken into two columns with the sex listed at the top, column on the left are the top 25 auto's bought by men, column on the right is the top 25 bought by woman.

Interesting column lists of autos I say.

[G. David Felt]

Seems stormy water is ahead for autonomous auto's and the mapping they use to get around. This PDF is from Financial Times which requires a subscription.

driverless_cars__mapping_the_trouble_ahead.pdfFetching info...

[balthazar]

1929 Cadillac V8 tow truck, pulling a bus ~

[daves87rs]

  On 2/21/2018 at 3:40 PM, dfelt said:

RoadRalley Estonia Style,  Check out around 2:50 where they use a tractor to remove a broken car. LOL

So many russian / European cars.

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Pretty cool!

Lots of cars all over the place...

[trinacriabob]

Stocks can be weird.  General Motors (GM) has a much higher per share valuation than does Ford (F).  GM's price moves up and down, while F's doesn't do much at all.  If you went to a chart, you can see that it has been very flat ... for most of its life.  I've always sensed that GM experiences these peaks and valleys while Ford seems to sort of chug along.  Yet Ford has never needed a bailout.  Let's hope they never will.

[ccap41]

  On 2/21/2018 at 5:46 PM, dfelt said:

Based on the latest data from 2015 of buying trends based on female versus male registrations of auto's in the US.

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I'd agree with most of those male buyers. The only cars on that list that I would never in my life consider are the 918 Spyder and i8. Everything else seems either more masculine(trucks) or very enthusiast-based. 

But boy-oh-boy look at all of those CUVs on the female list. There is the answer as to why their sales are through the roof the past handful of years. 

[frogger]

LOL I'd like to see the average MSRP of the male vs female list.  Apparently they would only splurge on Infiniti.

 

[balthazar]

  On 2/22/2018 at 2:41 PM, trinacriabob said:

Stocks can be weird.  General Motors (GM) has a much higher per share valuation than does Ford (F).  GM's price moves up and down, while F's doesn't do much at all.  If you went to a chart, you can see that it has been very flat ... for most of its life.  I've always sensed that GM experiences these peaks and valleys while Ford seems to sort of chug along. 

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Of course, discussion of auto stocks immediately brings Tesla to mind. A $344/share, it's a textbook study in the suspension of reality. The company's business metrics do not apply to Tesla, but in that such is the case, 'that which is given can be taken away' is potentially enacted all the faster.

I debated buying Ford when it was about $2/share, at that price might have bought 1000 shares & been up 8 grand today, but I didn't pull the trigger.

[G. David Felt]

  On 2/22/2018 at 2:41 PM, trinacriabob said:

Stocks can be weird.  General Motors (GM) has a much higher per share valuation than does Ford (F).  GM's price moves up and down, while F's doesn't do much at all.  If you went to a chart, you can see that it has been very flat ... for most of its life.  I've always sensed that GM experiences these peaks and valleys while Ford seems to sort of chug along.  Yet Ford has never needed a bailout.  Let's hope they never will.

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Ford SHOULD have taken a bankruptcy, instead they are upside down in debt. The next few years will be interesting to see if they can reduce debt to a more manageable point. They should have used it to dump the crazy debt load they had and the union pension. Then they would have been in a far better financial position.

Before anyone accuses me of hating on Ford, this is not any hate at all, I like Ford. 

This is business sense 101, it was a time that would have been best to clean up a history of poor mgmt. decisions to secure a better financial position. Instead they are now in deep debt.

[ccap41]

  On 2/22/2018 at 3:32 PM, dfelt said:

Ford SHOULD have taken a bankruptcy, instead they are upside down in debt. The next few years will be interesting to see if they can reduce debt to a more manageable point. They should have used it to dump the crazy debt load they had and the union pension. Then they would have been in a far better financial position.

Before anyone accuses me of hating on Ford, this is not any hate at all, I like Ford. 

This is business sense 101, it was a time that would have been best to clean up a history of poor mgmt. decisions to secure a better financial position. Instead they are now in deep debt.

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It would have made business sense but it would have pissed off millions and f@#ked over millions. I think them not going belly up like their fellow Americans has helped them out with the public. I know my dad will never buy a GM vehicle again and their last two purchases were a Tacoma and a Fusion. The Taco would have been a Ranger but, you guessed it, they didn't make one in 2013. My dad isn't the only person like that. 

[G. David Felt]

  On 2/22/2018 at 3:41 PM, ccap41 said:

It would have made business sense but it would have pissed off millions and f@#ked over millions. I think them not going belly up like their fellow Americans has helped them out with the public. I know my dad will never buy a GM vehicle again and their last two purchases were a Tacoma and a Fusion. The Taco would have been a Ranger but, you guessed it, they didn't make one in 2013. My dad isn't the only person like that. 

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I understand that but I think many more would have been destroyed if GM had not gone the Bankrupt route and I think Ford would be way off better than they are now. Chrysler Co was the mistake letting an idiot company like Fiat buy them.

[A Horse With No Name]

  On 2/21/2018 at 3:52 PM, dfelt said:

Today is a totally random day and this is amazing to see how they shipped new cars in the 70's.

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Probably rusted before they hit dealers...Vegas were really bad...

 

  On 2/22/2018 at 3:12 PM, balthazar said:

Of course, discussion of auto stocks immediately brings Tesla to mind. A $344/share, it's a textbook study in the suspension of reality. The company's business metrics do not apply to Tesla, but in that such is the case, 'that which is given can be taken away' is potentially enacted all the faster.

I debated buying Ford when it was about $2/share, at that price might have bought 1000 shares & been up 8 grand today, but I didn't pull the trigger.

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Tesla is wildly over valued....

  On 2/21/2018 at 9:03 PM, dfelt said:

I loved the way the Headlights opened and closed. Like a crab claw, so very Cool!  

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This has to rate as one of the five or so best looking post war American cars.  I almost bought one when I bought my 66 Mustang fastback years ago.

[trinacriabob]

I'd just like to make $500 in what is now a long-term (oh yes, long-term) capital gain on F stock and call it a day with them, as in whew.  Their dividends are paltry. 

I'm o.k. with their cars.  The gap between GM and Ford in terms of product desirability has shrunken quite a bit in my book.

[ccap41]

  On 2/22/2018 at 4:38 PM, dfelt said:

I understand that but I think many more would have been destroyed if GM had not gone the Bankrupt route and I think Ford would be way off better than they are now. Chrysler Co was the mistake letting an idiot company like Fiat buy them.

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Oh absolutely, not doubting that one bit. Our country and therefore global economy would have been completely f@#ked had they all just folded. 

They might be in a better financial spot or they might not have been in a better financial spot by taking all of the loans. We will never really know the unmeasurables like people that have turned to them because they don't want to support a company who our tax dollars had to bail them out of. 

  On 2/22/2018 at 4:50 PM, trinacriabob said:

I'd just like to make $500 in what is now a long-term (oh yes, long-term) capital gain on F stock and call it a day with them, as in whew.  Their dividends are paltry. 

I'm o.k. with their cars.  The gap between GM and Ford in terms of product desirability has shrunken quite a bit in my book.

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They actually pay a pretty good dividend percent-wise.

[trinacriabob]

F.I.A.T. always meant Fix It Again, Tony while growing up.  It was on a trip to Italy, and which included Turin, that I learned F.I.A.T. means Fabbrica Italiana Automobilistica Torino.  Their city tram system goes right along the thoroughfare in front of their headquarters.

I would have to agree that F.I.A.T. qualifies as an "idiot company" based on their products ... more misses than hits.  I'm sure their management ranks must be rife with highbrow Italian pomposity, too.

[A Horse With No Name]

  On 2/22/2018 at 4:56 PM, trinacriabob said:

F.I.A.T. always meant Fix It Again, Tony while growing up.  It was on a trip to Italy, and which included Turin, that I learned F.I.A.T. means Fabbrica Italiana Automobilistica Torino.  Their city tram system goes right along the thoroughfare in front of their headquarters.

I would have to agree that F.I.A.T. qualifies as an "idiot company" based on their products ... more misses than hits.  I'm sure their management ranks must be rife with highbrow Italian pomposity, too.

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The Italian equivalent to built by elves in the Black Forrest...maybe built by Guido in an alley?

Offshore wind farms that are not tethered to the sea bed are doing much better than expected...significant because a whole lot of wind energy is available offshore in waters over 60 meters deep.

Link;

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/16/hywind-scotland-worlds-first-floating-wind-farm-performing-better-expected/

Also, global sea levels rising much faster than expected...]

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/us/news/articles/extreme-weather/global-sea-level-rise-us-flood-rain-nasa-el-nino-la-nina-pacific-climate-melting-ice-greenland-fossil-fuel/95694

[A Horse With No Name]

Remington is in financial trouble;

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/13/remington-bankruptcy-guns-trump-slump-sales

In news of the weird, Florida considering outlawing child marriage;

https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2018/feb/06/it-put-an-end-to-my-childhood-the-hidden-scandal-of-us-child-marriage

 

Arizona moving towards renewable energy, a good thing.

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/16/arizona-implement-huge-energy-storage-mandate-aim-80-renewables-2050/

[A Horse With No Name]

America is seeing a rise in flat earth belief...father of one of my daughters friends is a devout proponent of the flat earth...

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/12/31/rapper-b-o-b-bill-nye-needs-to-read-more-books-to-understand-the-flat-earth/

Seven natural ways to become a virgin again...

http://borlem.me/7-natural-simple-ways-become-virgin/?1=1&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=93&sc=rnmiq&vi=7904385

[ccap41]

  On 2/22/2018 at 6:09 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

Offshore wind farms that are not tethered to the sea bed are doing much better than expected...significant because a whole lot of wind energy is available offshore in waters over 60 meters deep.

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That is AWESOME. We need to capitalize on this technology, asap. 

[A Horse With No Name]

For a hundred grand, a flat earth travel vacation to...the end of the earth...

https://journeytoedge.wordpress.com/

Televangelist Jim Baker considering another Civil War...

https://www.nova-magazine.net/jim-bakker-if-president-trump-is-impeached-christians-will-rise-from-the-shadows-to-start-another-civil-war-video/?utm_content=buffer58ab8&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Solar Eclipses not caused by Moon....who knew?

https://krishna.org/astronomy-debunked-solar-eclipses-are-not-caused-by-the-moon/

Fahrenheit is caused by the devil himself, apparently...

https://imgur.com/a/KISKQ

[A Horse With No Name]

On a more serious note, good read on how scientists try to visualize prehistoric life...

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n04/francis-gooding/feathered-furred-or-coloured

Good Vox article on why coal is in permanent decline.

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/10/19/16494472/trump-coal-futile

[Robert Hall]

Strange days we live in.. a rise in mass ignorance and stupidity in an era of great technological and scientific advancement...

[A Horse With No Name]

Obviously interested by the news of the weird today...

[daves87rs]

  On 2/22/2018 at 3:32 PM, dfelt said:

Ford SHOULD have taken a bankruptcy, instead they are upside down in debt. The next few years will be interesting to see if they can reduce debt to a more manageable point. They should have used it to dump the crazy debt load they had and the union pension. Then they would have been in a far better financial position.

Before anyone accuses me of hating on Ford, this is not any hate at all, I like Ford. 

This is business sense 101, it was a time that would have been best to clean up a history of poor mgmt. decisions to secure a better financial position. Instead they are now in deep debt.

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Sadly, it's going to be a mess over there. I just hope I do not see much in layoffs, since I have many friends who work there. Sucky part is that it is going to mean mean we are going to lose some cool stuff at Ford...

  On 2/22/2018 at 6:41 PM, Cubical-aka-Moltar said:

Strange days we live in.. a rise in mass ignorance and stupidity in an era of great technological and scientific advancement...

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Two words sum it up- Tide Pods

Scary part is I almost can't blame the kids anymore......

[A Horse With No Name]

  On 2/22/2018 at 6:46 PM, daves87rs said:

Sadly, it's going to be a mess over there. I just hope I do not see much in layoffs, since I have many friends who work there. Sucky part is that it is going to mean mean we are going to lose some cool stuff at Ford...

Two words sum it up- Tide Pods

Scary part is I almost can't blame the kids anymore......

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Only a small minority of kids are doing this...it is just an odd fad.

And yes, I think we are in for some rough times in the auto industry.  I wonder how SUV sales will go in terms of imports-I see fewer and fewer domestic SUV's on the road all of the time it seems.

[G. David Felt]

  On 2/22/2018 at 7:06 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

Only a small minority of kids are doing this...it is just an odd fad.

And yes, I think we are in for some rough times in the auto industry.  I wonder how SUV sales will go in terms of imports-I see fewer and fewer domestic SUV's on the road all of the time it seems.

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Weird as I see plenty of domestic CUV/SUVs with EV versions.

[Robert Hall]

US CUV/SUV sales still seem pretty strong..I see a lot of Jeeps, lots of GM models from Equinoxes to Tahoes/Burbans/etc around...plenty of Fords also.   Was the same way in AZ--saw a lot of domestic CUVs/SUVs amidst a lot of import brands..

Edited February 22, 2018 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[daves87rs]

  On 2/22/2018 at 7:06 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

Only a small minority of kids are doing this...it is just an odd fad.

And yes, I think we are in for some rough times in the auto industry.  I wonder how SUV sales will go in terms of imports-I see fewer and fewer domestic SUV's on the road all of the time it seems.

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True, but you wouldn't know it by the hype on facebook! 

Though I have to say the deals on sedans right now are making me rethink an CUV (Escape, Nox) . And thhe deals on the malibu and fusion keep getting better....

[A Horse With No Name]

  On 2/22/2018 at 7:57 PM, daves87rs said:

 

True, but you wouldn't know it by the hype on facebook! 

Though I have to say the deals on sedans right now are making me rethink an CUV (Escape, Nox) . And thhe deals on the malibu and fusion keep getting better....

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...and the resale on both keeps tanking...

[G. David Felt]

Nice Read on the ZR2 Pickup from Chevy.
http://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/18677/2018-chevrolet-colorado-zr2-review-in-vermont-tonka-truck-for-big-kids-gets-the-green-mountain-test

Learned allot about the truck and the benefits it has over the Raptor.

White house seems to like the Oregon / Washington way of a miles tax rather than a fuel tax.

http://www.thedrive.com/news/18705/white-house-praises-per-mile-vehicle-taxes-for-infrastructure-funding

[balthazar]

Here's your Chevrolet sport truck, the 800HP Silverado Yenko SC :

Edited February 22, 2018 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

I would so give my eye teeth for those trucks. 

[Robert Hall]

  On 2/22/2018 at 9:58 PM, balthazar said:

Here's your Chevrolet sport truck, the 800HP Silverado Yenko SC :

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That's pretty cool..didn't realize Yenko still existed as a company..thought Don Yenko was dead.   Only 25 units built. I also didn't realize they still built short bed regular cab Silverados...haven't seen one in years..that is a sharp looking truck...

[balthazar]

For Moltar ~

[daves87rs]

  On 2/22/2018 at 9:58 PM, balthazar said:

Here's your Chevrolet sport truck, the 800HP Silverado Yenko SC :

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I'll take one in silver, please!!!

[G. David Felt]

  On 2/22/2018 at 9:58 PM, balthazar said:

Here's your Chevrolet sport truck, the 800HP Silverado Yenko SC :

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I take mine in GM Metallic Maroon!  

[trinacriabob]

  On 2/22/2018 at 4:51 PM, ccap41 said:

They actually pay a pretty good dividend percent-wise.

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The dividend yield may be good but the absolute amount is small.  The yield always looks better when the price drops, not that that's been the situation at Ford.  Their stock just seems to hover between $10 and $12.

[trinacriabob]

  On 2/22/2018 at 6:09 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

The Italian equivalent to built by elves in the Black Forrest...maybe built by Guido in an alley?

 

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There are no Guidos in Italy.  No open shirts, gold chains, and slicked back hair.  Or, if you see some variant of that, it will be more stylish (almost too much so) than pimpish.   Italian kids look at their Jersey Shore counterparts (age wise) with amusement and derision.   What you will see over there are the wrong parts of town with people that look menacing, so you know that you'd best be moving along.  Any more, a lot of the people occupying these districts might be from other parts of Europe, the Middle East/Asia, and (mostly North) Africa.  The number of undocumented people in Mediterranean Europe is large and creates tension and social problems.

[trinacriabob]

  On 2/22/2018 at 8:23 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

...and the resale on both keeps tanking...

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It's interesting how the window of time available to the domestics where they don't heavily discount popular new cars is a short/tight one.  The new Cruze is released and you pay close to MSRP.  The new Fusion is released ... ditto.  The new Malibu is released ... ditto.  Then, it goes away quickly, as these cars begin to dominate rental fleets.

Incidentally, since I find myself behind a latest-gen Malibu on an almost daily basis, its underpinnings are interesting.  If right behind one, you can see the wishbone arms of the rear suspension fairly clearly.  These arms have small round perforations in them.  And I'm laughing thinking "it's all about the neutral axis."

[balthazar]

This wee, 1240 SF house is a 1936 steel panel Art Deco unit (yes- those are large rust spots). I could easily see this in New Brunswick NJ (median household income: $38K), and it might be $60K there. But it's in Princeton NJ (median household income $116K), and it's in Princeton (yes: I know I said that already) so it's market value is just about $750K. Princeton is the most architecturally-diverse town I've ever been/worked in.

[G. David Felt]

  On 2/23/2018 at 4:38 AM, balthazar said:

This wee, 1240 SF house is a 1936 steel panel Art Deco unit (yes- those are large rust spots). I could easily see this in New Brunswick NJ (median household income: $38K), and it might be $60K there. But it's in Princeton NJ (median household income $116K), and it's in Princeton (yes: I know I said that already) so it's market value is just about $750K. Princeton is the most architecturally-diverse town I've ever been/worked in.

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WOW What a dump, looks like it is ready to be demolished and a new modern house built.

Knowing NJ to have crazy Sales tax, Income tax and property tax I bet the Property tax on the house is between 15-20K. Crazy