Random Thoughts Thread

[Drew Dowdell]

I do think some of those safety features should be standard.  I had a really near miss on Rt 1 in NJ after leaving @balthazar's place on Monday. Two Toyota Minivans stopped in the middle of Rt 1 but no traffic around them. The Encore handled the swerve well. 

[A Horse With No Name]

52 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

Honestly... sounds good. 

Getting ready to eat some very spicy Thai. ..they might put out a bit of the fire afterwards...

[A Horse With No Name]

48 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I do think some of those safety features should be standard.  I had a really near miss on Rt 1 in NJ after leaving @balthazar's place on Monday. Two Toyota Minivans stopped in the middle of Rt 1 but no traffic around them. The Encore handled the swerve well. 

The Encore seems like a nice vehicle. I have looked at a few longingly as they sat on used car lots..

[G. David Felt]

This is an interesting story about the drop in value for CUVs.

http://suvsite.net/worst-of-the-worst-suvs-plummeting-in-value/?utm_source=taboola&utm_campaign=2621236&utm_medium=msn-msn-home&utm_content=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.taboola.com%2Flibtrc%2Fstatic%2Fthumbnails%2F120ec2e59dc141a54a262407da191107.jpg__These+SUVs+Will+Soon+Be+Worthless+–+SUVs+Plummeting+In+Value&utm_term=540msn-msn-home&tict=1

 

[Drew Dowdell]

7 minutes ago, dfelt said:

This is an interesting story about the drop in value for CUVs.

http://suvsite.net/worst-of-the-worst-suvs-plummeting-in-value/?utm_source=taboola&utm_campaign=2621236&utm_medium=msn-msn-home&utm_content=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.taboola.com%2Flibtrc%2Fstatic%2Fthumbnails%2F120ec2e59dc141a54a262407da191107.jpg__These+SUVs+Will+Soon+Be+Worthless+–+SUVs+Plummeting+In+Value&utm_term=540msn-msn-home&tict=1

 

gah, I hate those sites that make you click next for every vehicle.  They're nothing but spammy spam ad sites.

[G. David Felt]

4 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

gah, I hate those sites that make you click next for every vehicle.  They're nothing but spammy spam ad sites.

Yes, I do hate that also, but I thought it was insteresting to see that the one CUV with the highest residual value but lowest upfront cost was the Hyundai CUV.

[balthazar]

Ferrari! 

[riviera74]

Looks more like a 1970 burgundy Firebird to me.

[G. David Felt]

Soooooo, Seems the news is abuzz tonight of a 850HP Hybrid Corvette.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/mid-engine-c8-corvette-hybrid-z06-zr1-leak/

This all from some so called leaked documents posted into the Corvette Forum.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c8-general-discussion/4313915-z06-and-zr1-leak.html

If true, some ICE Fans are not gonna be happy.  ? 

[A Horse With No Name]

16 hours ago, dfelt said:

Yes, I do hate that also, but I thought it was insteresting to see that the one CUV with the highest residual value but lowest upfront cost was the Hyundai CUV.

Hyundai is playing their A game....

[A Horse With No Name]

8 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Looks more like a 1970 burgundy Firebird to me.

There is a Firebird with a Ferrari motor swap, this might be that car.

More than 30 first responders from 10 Ohio departments dismantled Toyota Priuses on the Columbus Campus August 20-23. It was part of Columbus State’s Alternative-Fuel Vehicle Extrication Workshop. Faculty members taught firefighters the differences between traditional and alternative-fuel transport, including hybrid, electric, and compressed natural gas. Participants explored and drove different types of “alt-fuel” vehicles. They also learned how to quickly and safely disable them to remove passengers in emergency situations. A collaboration between Columbus State’s Automotive Technologies and Fire Science programs, the workshop is part of the college’s Pathways for Alternative-Energy Automotive Technicians initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Snip....

This is from my wife's Community College where she works...I fin ally found a post that can make both Dfelt and Ocn happy!

[frogger]

Haha my neighbour had his Prius set on fire (arson, I suspect maybe from a college student he failed) a few years ago.. batteries popping woke me up at 2 in the morning.

 

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Some music for Thursday..

 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[G. David Felt]

@ocnblu Perfect for you, a Diesel 4x4 Corvette.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/a-teenage-kansas-farmer-built-this-diesel-off-road-corvette-and-its-a-stroke-of-genius/ar-AAGtoKY?li=BBnb7Kz

Interesting take on wether or not a recession / depression is coming.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/this-is-the-factor-thats-likely-to-determine-whether-theres-a-us-recession/ar-AAGv9EF?li=BBnb7Kz

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[Drew Dowdell]

4 hours ago, dfelt said:

Interesting take on whether or not a recession / depression is coming.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/this-is-the-factor-thats-likely-to-determine-whether-theres-a-us-recession/ar-AAGv9EF?li=BBnb7Kz

That article is right that we're in a weird place.... If the recession does come, I don't expect it to be as bad as the last one. The structural problems that caused the last recession just aren't there. We're not heading for a depression. 

[balthazar]

Plus; the always infallible & productive Congress did all sorts of things to prevent another 2008/9.

Right?

[G. David Felt]

Seems we are killing a 1,000 people a year due to red light runs and AAA is suggesting everyone use red light cameras since cops cannot be everywhere to try and reduce the deaths.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/08/29/traffic-deaths-red-light-running-aaa-study/2122242001/

[balthazar]

Fine, but make them fee-free; only there to record events. NJ had scores of red light cameras, they were only revenue-generators and since, they've (miraculously) been removed after major backlash. There was also evidence they were causing accidents as people slammed on their brakes at the last second.

[G. David Felt]

16 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Fine, but make them fee-free; only there to record events. NJ had scores of red light cameras, they were only revenue-generators and since, they've (miraculously) been removed after major backlash. There was also evidence they were causing accidents as people slammed on their brakes at the last second.

I will agree with you, the cities around where I live that have installed them says they are making the streets safer, but one did acknowledge a 10 times increase in accidents from people slamming on the brakes and being rear ended.

I HATE the red light cameras myself.

[balthazar]

An alarming percentage of 'for your safety' implementations are merely for revenue generation.

Another story here in NJ where lawmakers wanted to institute penalties to employers who 'didn't pay workers what they said they would', which of course is laudable on the face of it… but you KNOW none of the fine money would go to any affected workers, but to the State. Hypocritical.

[G. David Felt]

@Robert Hall Here is a new hate for you, Nissan in making the new 2020 GT-R Nismo with a sale price of $212,000 is because every piece on the auto that can be has been replaced with a Carbon fiber part.

https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/29281/heres-why-nissan-thinks-it-can-charge-212000-for-the-2020-nissan-gt-r-nismo

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, dfelt said:

@Robert Hall Here is a new hate for you, Nissan in making the new 2020 GT-R Nismo with a sale price of $212,000 is because every piece on the auto that can be has been replaced with a Carbon fiber part.

https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/29281/heres-why-nissan-thinks-it-can-charge-212000-for-the-2020-nissan-gt-r-nismo

Gak...that much CF is nausea-inducing.

[G. David Felt]

Interesting read, California has motion AB5 that is going through the house and senate and looks to have gained the votes to pass that could end up killing Uber and Lyft as it would designate all of their drivers as employees and not contractors.

Course Uber and Lyft are presenting their own living wage solution to their fleet of Contractors hoping to avoid AB5 from becoming law in California.

https://jalopnik.com/uber-and-lyft-dont-have-a-right-to-exist-1837680434

Seems Paris is going to have noise cameras to photograph and send a ticket for noise due to the increase in extremely noisy motorbikes such as Harley's.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-noise-motorcycles/paris-suburb-pioneers-noise-radar-to-fine-roaring-motorcycles-idUSKCN1VK1AA

 

[ccap41]

Jalopnik isn't a credible source. 

[G. David Felt]

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

Jalopnik isn't a credible source. 

Yet they did seem to nail this one for factual news reporting.

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB5

Seems this is a bill aimed at more than Uber and Lyft but any company that employees thousands of contractors long term, they are not contractors but actual employees. This clearly defines employees versus independent contractors.

[G. David Felt]

Seems Climate activist are attacking auto dealerships in Europe and destroying said Autos. One Group calling themselves "Rocks in the Gearbox" are under investigation for this damage and threats. As such, security is being stepped up for the Frankfurt Auto Show.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-frankfurt-security/frankfurt-auto-show-tightens-security-after-anti-car-vandalism-idUSKCN1VJ1TY

[balthazar]

It's been my understanding that uber/lyft drivers 1. use their own vehicles, 2. chose their own work locations, 3. set their own schedules & hours. IMO, this is NOT an 'employee', esp WRT unemployment; if you decide when & how much you work, you cannot expect unemployment when you do not/cannot.
- - - - - 

[ccap41]

6 minutes ago, balthazar said:

... if you decide when & how much you work, you cannot expect unemployment when you do not/cannot.

I cannot agree more. 

[G. David Felt]

Seems while some think GM is a rag doll to be blasted on social media about, GM is Flints #1 employer for the area. Plus adding more jobs.

https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2019/aug/0805-cca.html

Flint seems to even list them as the number 1 employer.

https://www.citytowninfo.com/places/michigan/flint/work

[balthazar]

GM is to be perpetually viewed as akin to Big Gov’t; huge volume, never to reduce payroll or facilities or contracts or anything. They must be there forever, doing mass production of cheaply priced products, no matter how the industry is doing.

Edited September 25, 2019 by balthazar

[G. David Felt]

Cadillac Society web site mocked up what they think the new Escalade will look like and I have to say if that is what comes out, FAILURE!

http://cadillacsociety.com/2019/08/29/2021-cadillac-escalade-rendered/#comment-44603

Rebadge of the Blazer is NOT what you want on the Escalade no the weird L shaped rear lights. Neither picture  says luxury to me.

[balthazar]

“Rebadge”? Really??

[G. David Felt]

5 minutes ago, balthazar said:

“Rebadge”? Really??

Yes, looks like a larger size of the blazer to me.

[ccap41]

The rear looks good but I'm not a huge fan of the front end on the Escalade's size. 

[riviera74]

4 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

The rear looks good but I'm not a huge fan of the front end on the Escalade's size. 

That photoshopped front end WILL NOT be part of the new Escalade for one reason: it does not fit the Escalade brand.  It is one thing for the XT4/XT5/XT6 to have a face like that.  But an Escalade deserves a face that matches its presence.

[ccap41]

Just now, riviera74 said:

That photoshopped front end WILL NOT be part of the new Escalade for one reason: it does not fit the Escalade brand.  It is one thing for the XT4/XT5/XT6 to have a face like that.  But an Escalade deserves a face that matches its presence.

I completely agree and I'm going to assume that is true until I see otherwise. It just doesn't fit the size. I'm not sure why but it just doesn't. 

[G. David Felt]

8 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

That photoshopped front end WILL NOT be part of the new Escalade for one reason: it does not fit the Escalade brand.  It is one thing for the XT4/XT5/XT6 to have a face like that.  But an Escalade deserves a face that matches its presence.

 

6 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

I completely agree and I'm going to assume that is true until I see otherwise. It just doesn't fit the size. I'm not sure why but it just doesn't. 

Be interesting to see what the end result is, I can see where they got this from by using Escala style with the best pictures of the front end  are on this site and it does tend to imply the Blazer like headlights.

https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1120463_2021-cadillac-escalade-spy-shots

Yet you can see so many wires to LED lights screwed on that I think much is just put on to make it street legal. Interesting that they have the Chevy, GMC, and current Escalade along with Lincoln and the rest of the competition.

Here is to being positive they will go Luxury big time and keep the heritage of the Escalade.

[Robert Hall]

Maybe the next 'Slade will look like a scaled up XT6.  And the Tahoe will look like a scaled up Blazer (or they will uglify it with a Silverado-like nose). 

[trinacriabob]

I'm all about Southwest Airlines and then Delta or United Airlines (about a tie).  I don't fly them much anymore, but Alaska is an excellent airline - probably even better than Delta or United.

I have never flown on Spirit or Frontier.  They sometimes have that remote nonstop and/or the best fare before add-ons.  I have read some horror stories.  But then, it's always those who are livid that are sounding off.  I'm sure that, most of the time, their flights get off and arrive close to schedule and the bags make it onto the plane and then onto the luggage carousel.

Any experiences with and advice about Spirit or Frontier Airlines?  Thank you!

Edited August 30, 2019 by trinacriabob

[Robert Hall]

I used to fly Frontier a lot when I lived in Denver, but that’s been over a decade. They seemed comparable to Southwest.  I’ve heard a lot of bad about Spirit.  Here in Cleveland I’ll probably use Delta or American.  Used Southwest a lot when I lived in Phoenix, still would use them. 

Edited August 30, 2019 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

I'm all about Southwest Airlines and then Delta or United Airlines (about a tie).  I don't fly them much anymore, but Alaska is an excellent airline - probably even better than Delta or United.

I have never flown on Spirit or Frontier.  They sometimes have that remote nonstop and/or the best fare before add-ons.  I have read some horror stories.  But then, it's always those who are livid that are sounding off.  I'm sure that, most of the time, their flights get off and arrive close to schedule and the bags make it onto the plane and then onto the luggage carousel.

Any experiences with and advice about Spirit or Frontier Airlines?  Thank you!

Airlines I refuse to fly on due to horror experiences in the last 5 years: United, American, Spirit, Frontier and Southwest.

Mostly due to rude service, poor cleaning and nickle and diming you to death.

Alaska is my preferred airline right now, then Delta for Domestic.

International, you cannot beat Korean, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Qantas, Nippon, KLM and Lufthansa. Never have had a bad flight with any of them.

[trinacriabob]

58 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

I used to fly Frontier a lot when I lived in Denver, but that’s been over a decade. They seemed comparable to Southwest.  I’ve heard a lot of bad about Spirit.  Here in Cleveland I’ll probably use Delta or American.  Used Southwest a lot when I lived in Phoenix, still would use them. 

Thanks.  I very much agree on Southwest.  So it sounds like Frontier is o.k. and Spirit is the iffy one.  Spirit's website even looks a little "off."  But it's hard not to notice their taxi cab yellow aircraft.

14 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Airlines I refuse to fly on due to horror experiences in the last 5 years: United, American, Spirit, Frontier and Southwest.

Mostly due to rude service, poor cleaning and nickle and diming you to death.

Alaska is my preferred airline right now, then Delta for Domestic.

International, you cannot beat Korean, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Qantas, Nippon, KLM and Lufthansa. Never have had a bad flight with any of them.

Those are a LOT of horror experiences.  Even with Southwest?  Interesting.  Of the majors, I have done well with United.  (And I think Star Alliance is the best among the worldwide airline alliances.) Of the big domestics, I find American to be the most so-so.  Not a big fan.

I doubt I will fly across the Pacific anytime soon since I never have up to now.  It would be interesting to know if JAL is any good.  They were a big name at LAX when I was a kid and I loved seeing their jumbo there.

I will say that I've been hit and miss with Lufthansa.  They CAN be rude.  However, I applaud them and use them because they were the launch customer for the Boeing 747-8i (they operate 19 of them).  I'd love to fly with KLM someday.  They are operators of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a plane I only recently got to experience and think has an incredible cabin experience in terms of creature comforts (humidification, lighting, bin space, etc.)  Wow.  

Thanks.

[surreal1272]

6 hours ago, dfelt said:

Cadillac Society web site mocked up what they think the new Escalade will look like and I have to say if that is what comes out, FAILURE!

http://cadillacsociety.com/2019/08/29/2021-cadillac-escalade-rendered/#comment-44603

Rebadge of the Blazer is NOT what you want on the Escalade no the weird L shaped rear lights. Neither picture  says luxury to me.

Just “NO” to this photoshop fail. The front and back should be burned with napalm. 

[riviera74]

7 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Maybe the next 'Slade will look like a scaled up XT6.  And the Tahoe will look like a scaled up Blazer (or they will uglify it with a Silverado-like nose). 

Both would be very bad.  The Escalade looking like a scaled-up XT6 would be horrifying.  The Cadillac XTs should actually look more like the Escalade, not the other way around. 

If I needed seven seats, I would take a Buick Enclave Avenir over the XT6 any day of the week.  I would take an XT5 over an Envision however,  just for the extra passenger space for five.

[balthazar]

[balthazar]

circa '26 Buick test chassis ~ 

[balthazar]