Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

An interesting study released by the "International Council on Clean Transportation"

A couple of clear Myth Busters, the world is adding renewable energy replacing coal the dirtiest of power generation, but even with that taken into account BEVs still are far cleaner in all global markets than ICE. The other observation is that the current versus paris accord shows that an acceleration in renewable energy development is needed if the global markets are to reach their commitment to the Paris Agreement.

End result is that it still does not change the fact that electric auto's emit fewer emissions than ICE helping in the battle of global climate change.

Quote:

In addition to its global scope, the study is methodologically comprehensive in considering all relevant powertrain types, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and an array of fuel types including biofuels, electrofuels, hydrogen, and electricity. The life-cycle GHG emissions of cars registered in 2021 are compared with those of cars expected to be registered in 2030. In addition, this study is distinct from earlier LCA literature in four key aspects:

• It considers the lifetime average carbon intensity of the fuel and electricity mixes, including biofuels and biogas. Based on stated policies, it accounts for changes in the carbon intensity during the useful lifetime of the vehicles.
• It considers the fuel and electricity consumption in average real-world usage instead of solely relying on official test values. This is especially important for assessing the GHG emissions of PHEVs. 
• It uses recent data on industrial-scale battery production and considers regional battery supply chains. This results in significantly lower battery production emissions than in earlier studies.  
• It incorporates the near-term global warming potential of methane leakage emissions of natural gas and natural gas-derived hydrogen pathways. Different from other GHGs, methane contributes several times more to global warming in the first 20 years after emission than is reflected by the 100-year global warming potential.

Results show that even for cars registered today, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have by far the lowest life-cycle GHG emissions. As illustrated in the figure below, emissions over the lifetime of average medium-size BEVs registered today are already lower than comparable gasoline cars by 66%–69% in Europe, 60%–68% in the United States, 37%–45% in China, and 19%–34% in India. Additionally, as the electricity mix continues to decarbonize, the life-cycle emissions gap between BEVs and gasoline vehicles increases substantially when considering medium-size cars projected to be registered in 2030. 

A global comparison of the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of combustion engine and electric passenger cars | International Council on Clean Transportation (theicct.org)

Download link for the paper: https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Global-LCA-passenger-cars-jul2021_0.pdf

[balthazar]

^ Well... ONE myth busted according to the above chart is that vehicle maintenance is nearly identical, and no where near the '80% less' some claims have made. But we knew that already.

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

More...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

Ram...

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Interesting abandodned cars...

https://www.reizen-en-reistips.nl/verdwenen-hotspot-autokerkhof-in-chatillon/?fbclid=IwAR2_eWGRnPDjJCXXLUf-68KCPxffp6AO-9_z9aOfPmWEqmFHto7I1ThqQh4

[A Horse With No Name]

Intelligent question...

 

 

One more vintage racing pic, and then I am done for the day...

 

[trinacriabob]

I was there.  I marked it on my calendar.

Easily on the Top 10 list of the coolest things I've seen in my life.

And thousands of people lining both sides of the bay (in summer clothing on this February day) watching and cheering seemed to agree with me.

This was almost 15 years ago ...

[balthazar]

[daves87rs]

On 7/26/2021 at 4:49 PM, A Horse With No Name said:

Intelligent question...

 

 

One more vintage racing pic, and then I am done for the day...

 

Really like the look of that one…..

[balthazar]

[oldshurst442]

Cadillac for Cadillac.  Montreal style

[G. David Felt]

@balthazar @oldshurst442 Cadillac Hotel Seattle Style from the early 1900's and still open and running today.

[oldshurst442]

 

https://www.historymuseum.ca/virtual-museum-of-new-france/the-explorers/antoine-laumet-dit-de-lamothe-cadillac-1694-1701/

 

Montreal and Detroit forever linked!

                  

 

 

 

[oldshurst442]

 

 

                           

 

Let's play Monopoly!   

I soooo want to own property in Venice Beach on the Boardwalk and on Park Ave New York!!!

 

[balthazar]

^ You don't want Venice Beach property today! 

 

- - - - -

Edited July 30, 2021 by balthazar

[oldshurst442]

The "like" was for the Ford.

Its sad for the state of poverty in 1st world countries. And I selfishly ignored the stories of Venice Beach and their homeless situation. Kinda how I ignore Montreal's situation too...

 

 

[daves87rs]

22 hours ago, David said:

@balthazar @oldshurst442 Cadillac Hotel Seattle Style from the early 1900's and still open and running today.

Very cool

[trinacriabob]

This was definitely random.  I was looking at photos in the review of the new Kia K5 and saw photos of the last Riv in another link.

I miss interiors and cabins like this.  A lot.

[balthazar]

[daves87rs]

16 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

This was definitely random.  I was looking at photos in the review of the new Kia K5 and saw photos of the last Riv in another link.

I miss interiors and cabins like this.  A lot.

Comfy!

[trinacriabob]

7 hours ago, daves87rs said:

Comfy!

Yes.  I also remember how nice the sweep of the dash is, and I liked the circular gauges and how they lean back.  The last Riv's exterior was a little strange from some angles, but, from the inside, I think I would have liked being its pilot.

[daves87rs]

30 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Yes.  I also remember how nice the sweep of the dash is, and I liked the circular gauges and how they lean back.  The last Riv's exterior was a little strange from some angles, but, from the inside, I think I would have liked being its pilot.

Plus i love the simple layout of it as well….

[surreal1272]

A perfect example of the bizarro world that is known as the used car market. This my Flex right now, private party value. I paid $12,500 for it 18 months ago.

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

Yes.  I also remember how nice the sweep of the dash is, and I liked the circular gauges and how they lean back.  The last Riv's exterior was a little strange from some angles, but, from the inside, I think I would have liked being its pilot.

The dash of the last Riv reminds me a bit of the original Riv...it had a prominent console and center stack and leaned back dash, big gauges, etc...

[balthazar]

 

[trinacriabob]

13 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

The dash of the last Riv reminds me a bit of the original Riv...it had a prominent console and center stack and leaned back dash, big gauges, etc...

Wow.  I didn't realize that.  It's the "reboot" of an older interior, and a very good job of it.

Like that dome light on the side of the console.  I think I see a manual window crank.  If so, that's wild.

[Robert Hall]

7 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I think I see a manual window crank.  If so, that's wild.

Yeah, power windows must have been an option...but that was almost 60 years ago..weird to think of a car with a luxury image w/ manual windows.   One thing I've noticed on some photos are two window cranks, and some with no window cranks.   I'm guessing the second crank was for the vent windows?  Never been in a car w/ a crank for vent windows, used to them being manual, though I've seen some cars with power ones (though not the swivel style). 

W/o power windows:

 

w/ power windows:

Edited August 1, 2021 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

Yes; 2nd smaller/upper crank was for the vent window. Manual, swiveling vent windows were in cheap cars; lux models got cranks.

In ‘64 @ Pontiac, power vents were a separate option; my car has power windows with manual (cranked) vents. Only seen 1 ‘64 GP with power vents.

Then you could go over to Cadillac and get the full boat : 4 power windows plus 4 power vents! ?

[Robert Hall]

IIRC my Dad's '70s and 80s Continentals/Town Cars had power vent windows in the front doors, but they weren't the pivoting style--little glass triangles that went up and down..rarely used them IIRC as those cars had AC.  

[trinacriabob]

On 7/31/2021 at 9:57 AM, surreal1272 said:

A perfect example of the bizarro world that is known as the used car market. This my Flex right now, private party value. I paid $12,500 for it 18 months ago.

I always thought my car, a 2008, was worth about $4,000, plus or minus.  In looking at the ads, they are asking $5,000 to $6,000 for them.  Whether they get it is another story.  But it incentivizes me to take good care of the car.

After a little over 100,000 miles, it got its FIRST tune-up a few months ago.  Yesterday, I took it on a small one day road trip. Almost all flat, freeway, negligible traffic, cruise at 63 mph the whole way.  31.5 mpg on the outbound, with A/C on, and  34.3 mpg on the return, with no A/C and cooler outside. (I could be 1/2 a MPG off, but close.)  That's phenomenal for a 3800 V6 and a 4 speed automatic, and tells me it's real tight.

Makes me wonder if I can, and should, keep putting off the purchase ...

[G. David Felt]

The added item by the dealer on this yukon would be a deal breaker for me. No dealer has the right to put their crappy name on my auto that I buy.

[trinacriabob]

@David  ^ The above practice is far less common in the West than it is in the East, Midwest, and South.  It is an obnoxious practice, it's free advertising, and it's irrelevant if you move out of that area, thereby blighting your vehicle.  It's probably not as common in the West because distances are greater and density is lower.  Just a thought.

[balthazar]

It's vinyl lettering; it peels off in 2 minutes.
Go ahead and buy it.

[daves87rs]

On 7/31/2021 at 9:57 AM, surreal1272 said:

A perfect example of the bizarro world that is known as the used car market. This my Flex right now, private party value. I paid $12,500 for it 18 months ago.

Yep, it’s crazy. The lease my my Equinox is up at the end of the year. Since it is a base model (LS) the buyout is cheaper. I could buy a used one off the lot at 22k, or just buy mine at 15K. I was pretty much going to buy it before hand, but with all the crazy now I’ve got money aside to keep her for good….

I’m wondering what the choices might even be by the holidays…..

[oldshurst442]

Concerning the dealership advert lettering on a vehicle:

One could request they remove the stickers on the car.  Not a big deal and the dealership will comply.

 I have asked they remove the advertising on all the cars I have ever bought. Not because of the obnoxious free advert I may give them while I drive my car, but because I feel that the stickers uglify the vehicle.  And not one time has a salesman or dealership given me ANY grief for my request. And they have complied each and every time.

EDIT:

PS::  My dad's cars always had the dealership stickers on his car. And from an early age  I hated that look. From an early age I vowed to never have them on my cars. 

PSS: What I did like was when dealerships gave you a front license vanity plate with their name and logo. They dont do that anymore. They barely give you key chains...

I wouldnt want to install that vanity plate on the front of my car, its just that it was a neat thing. 

 

Edited August 2, 2021 by oldshurst442

[trinacriabob]

20 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Concerning the dealership advert lettering on a vehicle:

One could request they remove the stickers on the car.  Not a big deal and the dealership will comply.

 I have asked they remove the advertising on all the cars I have ever bought. Not because of the obnoxious free advert I may give them while I drive my car, but because I feel that the stickers uglify the vehicle.  And not one time has a salesman or dealership given me ANY grief for my request. And they have complied each and every time.

EDIT:

PS::  My dad's cars always had the dealership stickers on his car. And from an early age  I hated that look. From an early age I vowed to never have them on my cars. 

PSS: What I did like was when dealerships gave you a front license vanity plate with their name and logo. They dont do that anymore. They barely give you key chains...

I wouldnt want to install that vanity plate on the front of my car, its just that it was a neat thing. 

 

I wasn't used to the stickers.  They put on license plate frames when I was growing up ... and no sticker.  Many people think dealership license plate frames are ugly, too.

I'm sure they'd remove the sticker.  Once I started seeing them, usually on out of state cars that had been brought into the state, I, too, hated that look.

[balthazar]

I had requested they not put the dealer ID on my GMC when I ordered it, but on pickup day (ha!) there it was on the tailgate. They took it right off, no problem.

Vintage dealer license frames are hot commodities. My '64's dealer was a pretty big, multi-brand Chicago outfit, but apparently they didn't have them (never seen one). No dealer ID badge. I'd grab and install a reasonably-priced frame if I ever found one- that's a 'paperwork' car.

The '59 was a pretty small rural PA store- that car had a chromed dealer badge bolted thru the rear fascia- I deleted it at the bodywork stage. I've never found any advertising for that dealer other than a Pennsylvania Buick dealer listing.
There's a guy on FB doing really nice period dealer frames, not sure what he charges: 

[A Horse With No Name]

18 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

I always thought my car, a 2008, was worth about $4,000, plus or minus.  In looking at the ads, they are asking $5,000 to $6,000 for them.  Whether they get it is another story.  But it incentivizes me to take good care of the car.

After a little over 100,000 miles, it got its FIRST tune-up a few months ago.  Yesterday, I took it on a small one day road trip. Almost all flat, freeway, negligible traffic, cruise at 63 mph the whole way.  31.5 mpg on the outbound, with A/C on, and  34.3 mpg on the return, with no A/C and cooler outside. (I could be 1/2 a MPG off, but close.)  That's phenomenal for a 3800 V6 and a 4 speed automatic, and tells me it's real tight.

Makes me wonder if I can, and should, keep putting off the purchase ...

Probnably indefinitely. My son just bought a near perfect 2001 Buick with the 3800 V6 to replace his 2004 Clapped out 270,000 mile Impala. He paid $1500 and got real lucky. It's nearly as tight as my ranger. These cars will run forever. Neighbors Buick Went past 300,000 a few years ago and is chugging along towards 400,000.

Neat vintage pic...

13 hours ago, David said:

The added item by the dealer on this yukon would be a deal breaker for me. No dealer has the right to put their crappy name on my auto that I buy.

Take it off yourself though, the dealership will use a razor blade and screw up the paint...

[A Horse With No Name]

With a 460 big block...

[trinacriabob]

14 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

With a 460 big block...

I had forgotten all about these engines.  Mostly reserved for their big boulevardiers.  Remember the Ford Elite?  They could be had with different V8s:  351, 400, and 460!

"Interesting," though not necessarily attractive ...

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

[A Horse With No Name]

Modern technology is great...

 

Last one for today...going to hell for posting this but..

 

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

I had forgotten all about these engines.  Mostly reserved for their big boulevardiers.  Remember the Ford Elite?  They could be had with different V8s:  351, 400, and 460!

"Interesting," though not necessarily attractive ...

They lack the grace of the earlier 70's torinos.

From Clifton gorge where we hiked yesterday. 

[A Horse With No Name]

Interesting career in real estate...

 

[Robert Hall]

My favorite of the '72-79 BOF Ford & Mercury midsize models...the '72 Gran Torino Sport..love that roofline and the big grille and bumper.     

 

Interesting how much the styling had changed by the end of the run of that generation.   Squint and you can see the windshield is still the same (as was the dash and other interior bits).   the outside was squared off for '77 when the Torino became the LTD II.

 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Robert Hall

[A Horse With No Name]

 

Loved this movie, had a Gran Torino as a star in the film...

 

[Robert Hall]

I observed a random or not so random pattern today.  Beautiful sunny 72F today, so the yard services were out in force...my yard service, the guy across the street's service, and one down the street...3 different companies.   All have black double cab 2016-2018 GMC Sierra pickups towing their trailers.  All w/ chrome wheels.  At least one is a Denali.   So I guess black Sierras are the pickup of choice of suburban Cleveland yard service proprietors. (admittedly a small sample size of one street).  On the next street over, I spotted another yard service w/ a red 14-15 Silverado...