Random Thoughts Thread

[ccap41]

Yeah... Let's hear all about only the GM vehicles... 

Moar Cruze! ??‍♂️ 

[A Horse With No Name]

48 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Yeah... Let's hear all about only the GM vehicles... 

Moar Cruze! ??‍♂️ 

I literally almost lost my dinner reading this...andcI am eating out at the minute.

18 hours ago, balthazar said:

Some questions from the Experiential World Inventory (test for schizophrenia) (answered either true or false)  ~
• I seem to have discovered the secrets of the universe.
• Animals try to fool me.
• I am afraid I may forget my own name.
• People are parasites.
• I sometimes keep talking to convince myself I exist.
• Someone is making copies of me.
• I am in the far, far distance.
and two of my most favorite :
• I do not know what my hands will do next.
• The terrors of hell approach.

Times I have felt all of the above at the same time...is that a problem?

[A Horse With No Name]

11 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Oooooo... electric cars are coming!  So soon! 

 

Mid century modern archtecture rocks!

5 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I've recently tried out a bunch of cars. Here is the list. I want to know if there are any, in particular, you think I should focus on.  If you could pick your top 3.
GMC Terrain Denali, Chevy Cruze RS Red-line, CT6 Platinum SuperCruise, Infiniti QX80, Chevy Camaro Convertible, '19 Jetta, '19 Subaru Ascent, 19 Infiniti QX50, '19 Altima AWD, '19 M-B CLS 450 Designo, Mazda Miata

The following were off-road only - Wrangler, GMC Sierra AT4, Ram Rebel

I have a new Avalon Limited that a client just bought who will let me test it also.

CT6 Miata and Camaro ragtop please.

[Robert Hall]

CT6, Miata and Wrangler would be quite interesting to me..

[balthazar]

31 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Times I have felt all of the above at the same time...is that a problem?

I doubt it- the test has 400 statements and must be scored & interpreted to determine anything.

A friend/customer of mine co-developed the test, he was quite brilliant, but unfortunately he passed in February at 95 years of age. I wasn't aware, beforehand, how much he was involved in this area of study, as I would have loved to review the subject of my writings with him (unilaterally diagnosed as schizophrenic). I wonder now -with his credentials- if he could have obtained archived files on my subject.

[ocnblu]

[ocnblu]

Sierra AT4, Ram Rebel, Terrain Denali.

 

Hi Casa, I do not have a Henry Ford quote in my signature.

Edited October 10, 2018 by ocnblu

[Cmicasa the Great]

2 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Sierra AT4, Ram Rebel, Terrain Denali.

 

Hi Casa, I do not have a Henry Ford quote in my signature.

 

Now that I look at it.. it was Dave quoting what U said. He does.. but my point still stands. EV is the way of the future.. or some derivative of it. ICEs running on Fossil fuels need to go. It simply is unsustainable 

3 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Mid century modern archtecture rocks!

 

Come to Baltimore.. areas such as Pikesville, which is a suburb. It literally has tens of thousands of homes just like that in the pic

[daves87rs]

11 hours ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

@ocnblu  Gotta be honest.. I've been a gear-head all my life.. but I don't get your hate of EVs. If they look good, go fast, and can handle.. I really don't have issue with them and see the positive ramifications for the future considering this planet is bordering on 8 Billion people. Get rid of half of them and the ICE is fine I guess.. but the environment simply can not sustain the ICE much longer. If your issue is being able to WORK ON THEM... tear one down.. and learn how it works. Ironically U have a Henry Ford Quote in your sig... here's another one.. that rings true and should be remembered as we move forward into the future

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

Anyway... As the industry continues to shift towards a CUV heavy line-up.. I love that GM is standing fast on still producing cars as well. Got me to thinking that perhaps the one things that FCA has done right is stick to their guns on design.. which sounds crazy considering that they really haven't redesigned much in the last 10 years. Think about it... their biggest sellers are the Challenger, Charger, Jeeps, and Ram.. all of which essentially look the same as they did 10 years ago. and none of which are riding on any new platforms sides a few augmentations here and there. THIS IS TOYOTA PHILOSOPHY that won them a lot of perceived positivity. Just keep improving on instead of re-engineering and there is no way the design/engineering can let U down.. because its the same thing over and over again. In fact.. people become used to it even if its nothing extraordinary and almost need it to look like that. BASICALLY if the Camaro had of stayed on ZETA or even switched to Alpha but retained this look (including the taillight assembly) sales would still be thru the roof:

 

Well, I’m the one with the Henry Ford sig, but I do agree with you. We only have to look at the mega hurricanes so far to realize something has to be done...

Besides, as long as we still have choice, things should be fine. ICE doesn’t need to go away, but I get the feeling EV will only continue to get better and cooler as well! But, as long as emissions can be controlled, I think ICE still has a place here at the table as well......

8 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I've recently tried out a bunch of cars. Here is the list. I want to know if there are any, in particular, you think I should focus on.  If you could pick your top 3.
GMC Terrain Denali, Chevy Cruze RS Red-line, CT6 Platinum SuperCruise, Infiniti QX80, Chevy Camaro Convertible, '19 Jetta, '19 Subaru Ascent, 19 Infiniti QX50, '19 Altima AWD, '19 M-B CLS 450 Designo, Mazda Miata

The following were off-road only - Wrangler, GMC Sierra AT4, Ram Rebel

I have a new Avalon Limited that a client just bought who will let me test it also.

Actually, I would love to hear about the off road ones...nice change there.’

 

Like the Mazda and subie too.....

[balthazar]

[G. David Felt]

15 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Sandblast it and repaint it and it will look so sweet with those new rims and tires.

[balthazar]

And destroy that beautiful patina ?? ?

[A Horse With No Name]

5 hours ago, balthazar said:

And destroy that beautiful patina ?? ?

House of color Kandy pink with a hybrid toyota drivetrain. If your going to destroy it go all of the way.

And yes that is sarcasm.

12 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Sierra AT4, Ram Rebel, Terrain Denali.

 

Hi Casa, I do not have a Henry Ford quote in my signature.

I have a Henry Ford doll with pins and needles in it placed in my desk drawer at work though.

Edited October 11, 2018 by A Horse With No Name

[William Maley]

17 hours ago, balthazar said:

[jealous rage] DAMMIT! [/jealous rage]
Don't care for the rims on that one- I'm fussy that way (98% of aftermarket rims are worse than factory).

I have no 2nd choice. OK, the CT6 if it was the 4.2TT (not out yet, right?) - then the Cruze RS 2nd.

Yeah, the 4.2TT doesn't come out till next year (I think). I did see one as I was driving through Milford this past week.

[G. David Felt]

Loving me some Caddy and GMC SUV Love!

 

 

[G. David Felt]

@Drew Dowdell Let the recession begin:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/11/why-are-markets-plunging-and-which-stocks-are-worst-hit-us-interest-rates-trade-war 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/10/10/why-stock-market-went-down-so-much/1593803002/ 

[A Horse With No Name]

I love the Guardian as a news source.

[G. David Felt]

@balthazar What do you think?

 

 

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions ?

 

 

Sexy Ford, Yes I would take this over a Mustang! 

 

 

[G. David Felt]

Gotta Love Custom old trucks!  

 

Custom cars, nothing better.

 

 

[balthazar]

'No' on the '58-59 Chevy: hate the rims and the intercooler/plumbing needs to move under hood.

- - - - -

Edited October 12, 2018 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

Yes on that Damn charger though.

[ocnblu]

You can go here if you are tired of waiting on Chevy's "build and price" to show up on their site: 

 

https://www.gmsupplierdiscount.com/build-and-price/

[balthazar]

^ without pics, it's kinda worthless.

- - - - -
 

[Drew Dowdell]

On 10/11/2018 at 3:40 PM, dfelt said:

@Drew Dowdell Let the recession begin:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/oct/11/why-are-markets-plunging-and-which-stocks-are-worst-hit-us-interest-rates-trade-war 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/10/10/why-stock-market-went-down-so-much/1593803002/ 

Not quite yet.... this might be a setup for it... but it’s not hitting yet.  When housing sales plummet, that’s when to take cover.

I’m starting to think the Ford is heading towards bankruptcy in the next recession though. 

[A Horse With No Name]

3 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Not quite yet.... this might be a setup for it... but it’s not hitting yet.  When housing sales plummet, that’s when to take cover.

I’m starting to think the Ford is heading towards bankruptcy in the next recession though. 

They have a ton of cash on hand though. Much as I would like to see it happen I think they will weather through.

[Drew Dowdell]

On ‎10‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 4:20 PM, balthazar said:

[jealous rage] DAMMIT! [/jealous rage]
Don't care for the rims on that one- I'm fussy that way (98% of aftermarket rims are worse than factory).

I have no 2nd choice. OK, the CT6 if it was the 4.2TT (not out yet, right?) - then the Cruze RS 2nd.

[balthazar]

I've been a good member here, well-behaved, haven't caused trouble/gotten any warnings.

Why must you taunt??

[Drew Dowdell]

15 minutes ago, balthazar said:

I've been a good member here, well-behaved, haven't caused trouble/gotten any warnings.

Why must you taunt??

Preview of my review.

 

Here's one for @smk4565

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Preview of my review.

 

Here's one for @smk4565

I don't know if I could see clear to owning one myself but Benz really does build some things with enthusiast appeal. 

[smk4565]

Nah, E-class, especially the E53.

[Drew Dowdell]

The CLS is my favorite Benz. The S Class is my second.

[A Horse With No Name]

12 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

The CLS is my favorite Benz. The S Class is my second.

Father of one of my students drives an S class. That thing does have a presence. 

[balthazar]

3 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Here's one for smk

Is it an A-class? a C-class? an E-class, a CLS-class? an S-class?  WHO CAN TELL????

- - - - -
Customer of mine has an S-class. I know it's older, but what year I don't know, maybe a '10. Haven't ridden in it, but have been inside it/it's trunk. It fails to impress.

Edited October 14, 2018 by balthazar

[A Horse With No Name]

22 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Is it an A-class? a C-class? an E-class, a CLS-class? an S-class?  WHO CAN TELL????

- - - - -
Customer of mine has an S-class. I know it's older, but what year I don't know, maybe a '10. Haven't ridden in it, but have been inside it/it's trunk. It fails to impress.

On the contrary. I find it very impressive...just not something I wish to own.

[ocnblu]

That is a Benz CLA, right?  The one that brings to mind a Dart SXT?

[balthazar]

Other that reading the badging, only a MB tech can tell. CLA/S-Coupe :

[balthazar]

'30 LaSalle at Milford Proving Grounds :

[Drew Dowdell]

11 hours ago, ocnblu said:

That is a Benz CLA, right?  The one that brings to mind a Dart SXT?

It's the CLS

[ocnblu]

Thanks!

[ocnblu]

Soooo HOT!!!

[Drew Dowdell]

[balthazar]

[G. David Felt]

On 10/13/2018 at 1:59 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

They have a ton of cash on hand though. Much as I would like to see it happen I think they will weather through.

Disagree, their Debt load is so big, I suspect that the next recession will cause them to finally have to go bankrupt to unload their excessive legacy debt and pension obligations.

[G. David Felt]

10 hours ago, balthazar said:

An SUV to make ya go H'mmmmm ?

Interesting how they got this from that above.

[G. David Felt]

https://jalopnik.com/the-strangest-desert-festival-in-the-world-makes-everyo-1829467474 

The ultimate tribute to the Mad Max series of movies. Check out the story and pictures. It has gotten crazy big and looks like allot of fun. I so could so many of you there!

[G. David Felt]

OUCH Ford is scaring people today with their $11 billion restructure plan and lay offs.

@A Horse With No Name

Seems the stock is down today to 2009 pricing. Recession level based on what this story is saying.

https://jalopnik.com/fords-layoff-plan-is-making-a-ton-of-people-nervous-re-1829751888

https://corporate.ford.com/homepage.html

Weird that no official info is on their web site.

 

[A Horse With No Name]

20 minutes ago, dfelt said:

OUCH Ford is scaring people today with their $11 billion restructure plan and lay offs.

@A Horse With No Name

Seems the stock is down today to 2009 pricing. Recession level based on what this story is saying.

https://jalopnik.com/fords-layoff-plan-is-making-a-ton-of-people-nervous-re-1829751888

https://corporate.ford.com/homepage.html

Weird that no official info is on their web site.

 

Years of building product that is not as desirable as the competition put them there.  I still say that Ford will be fine.  Dropping passenger cars and building vehicles they are passionate about (transit, F series, large SUV, luxury SUV, Mustang) is a huge win for them.

I am more concerned about GM actually.

[G. David Felt]

Any Hellboy Fans?

Leaked on Reddit, Hellboy 2019

https://www.toplessrobot.com/2018/10/hellboy-trailer-gets-leaked-via-the-typical-terrible-phone-footage.php 

Seems to be a back to the comic book focus and some very cool stuff. Excited for this in April 2019!

[A Horse With No Name]

I am a Hellcat fan if that counts.

[G. David Felt]

@ocnblu

You need to give this guy a big kiss as he has introduced legislation to end all EV tax breaks.
https://www.autoblog.com/2018/10/12/senator-barrasso-end-federal-ev-tax-credit/