G. David Felt

Question to the Cheers and Gear folks. I have been invited to a Xmas party over a month ago. A week ago, they decided to do a white elephant gift exchange. OK, can order something on Amazon Prime and get it. Now today, just a few days before the party, they have asked for everyone to dress Formal, break out the tux, the cocktail dress and formal shoes and enjoy the evening. My response was I have not owned a tie or any formal / Business cloths since the Early 90's as this computer engineer formal is a nice pair of Blue Jeans and a Polo Shirt. Less to say, some of the other comments on the party thread have been making me think I should just pass on showing up. This is the 21st Century, we are in a Pandemic and formal wear is the last thing I would be thinking of. Do you still have any formalwear and if so when was the last time you wore it? Yes or No Would you still go to the party even in blue jeans and a polo shirt? Part of me says go and let them all just deal with it, I will be comfy. Looking for your thoughts. Thank you,

LOL my Niece is married to a Samoan which has a HUGE community down in Puyallup. Very familiar with this community since we spend time in it and they are very down to earth people. I live up in Mountlake Terrace where the huge Korean population is as well as Chinese and Japanese. All 3 tend to fall into the two categories I have mentioned. My wife always gets comments in Korean that they are surprised she is driving an SS and not a Korean or Japanese brand by other older Asians. LOL Those Asians that do drive American Iron love the big V8's and room of the trucks / SUVs, but drive terribly slooooooow.

I am now 100% from home and will travel for the first time since this started next year as Dell returns to Vegas from May 2nd to 5th for DTW 2022. This will be a hybrid as we will have both the physical show and an online one. Dell Technologies World - Dell Technologies World 2022 | May 2-5 This should be interesting to see how the Covid-19 thing affects people traveling. I am thinking we will have about 1/3 less attending in person.

Hope everyone is doing well, and everyone is vaccinated. Just got my booster shot and flu shot so feeling awesome about skiing this winter. No effects on me, but the wife did come home very tired yesterday, so we went to bed early. Other than the shot point in the arm, no problems. Found this research very interesting SARS-CoV-2 infects human adipose tissue and elicits an inflammatory response consistent with severe COVID-19 | bioRxiv

Reading this made me crack up laughing. Late night hosts burn Fox News for flubbing its 'war on Christmas' framing with torched Christmas tree (msn.com)

With the heavy Asian population here in the PNW you have two extremes, the older ones in their Acura, Lexus, Toyota driving slow in all lanes and then the young Asian population in their BMW/MB driving like assholes in some driving game. Interesting observation I saw last night going to my son's house for family dinner. 3 different Audi's and all were blowing bluish smoke out the tailpipes. Audi has been a brand I have seen more bad rings on than any other for oil burning. VW would be next in line which makes me think this is a family production problem.

Would be interesting to have broken open the trans filter and looked inside to see what all was captured. I find the filters speak volumes about what caused the death of the trans. Reminds me of the only Trans I had gone bad on me in my 1994 suburban, just before the warranty was over at 75K miles, the transmission blew. Had it towed to my local GMC where I bought it new, and I was shown by the mechanic the filter that had captured some rare metal casting waste and a piece that was in the actual gear area that clearly got missed in production and ended up causing it to self-destruct. Lucky for me GM no questions asked honored the warranty and replaced the trans. That trans is still in my Suburban with 225,000 miles on it and I just follow the OEM scheduled maintenance.

Same here, you have the terrible Toyota and Lexus Drivers driving slow everywhere especially in the far-left lane and then you have the Asshole BMW and MB drivers cutting everyone off thinking they are on the German Autobahn. Two extreme idiots.

Agree, still some great stock buys out there. Hard to say if this is really that mustang on top that was restored, but considering that less than 1% are restored, if it is sitting around rusting out like the top pic shows and contaminating the ground. I bet the owner would have taken cash from a recycler who would pick it up and recycle into new products. Yes the bottom mustang is a lovely looking car and you know that was probably a very solid 5 figures of cash to make it that way. We all know most auto's never get that treatment. I have also been very clear about the large amount of steel/glass/ etc. that is sitting around both consumer and commercial stuff that should be recycled. Yes, if no one after advertising wanted to buy it as a project auto, nothing wrong with crushing it to make new products.

VOLTEMPO is deploying in the UK first their scalable, modular hyperfast HyperCharging stations for both business and consumers. This 1,000kW or 1MW chargers is a game changer and is backwards compatible with all current EVs. This DC HyperCharging system can support up to 24 EVs at the same time delivering a full charge in approximately 6 minutes depending on your EVs onboard charging support. VOLTEMPO is working closely with government agencies, stakeholders and interested companies wanting to implement their charging system in commercial and retail solutions. According to VOLTEMPO, the first commercial installation will take place at a charging hub at the Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham at the start of 2022. From new offices in Austin Texas USA, sales and installation will start in 2023 and then a European Launch in 2024. Additional information can be looked at in their FAQ section. VOLTEMPO Measurable Benefits are as follows: Up to 30% faster charging, through dynamic power management. Typically, 30% cheaper installation, through our patented centralized charging design. 70% fast installation, installed in hours or days, not months, through modular construction. Future-ready design: ready to accept future charging standards, including wireless and megawatt charging as new standards emerge. Start small, grow at your own pace. Boost power with more power modules; increase capacity by adding charging bays. Hyper scalable: capable of servicing 30% more charging outlets for the same power availability. Market-leading return on investment, with a typical payback of 3-5 years. | Voltempo™ View full article

@balthazar For you, a HELL RUNNER!

Very cool to see that Hyundai and Kia are ready to battle Tesla for battery efficiency. Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 top 300 miles of EPA range, beat all rivals but Model Y in efficiency (greencarreports.com)

Yup, I saw all those crazy markups at the Lexus dealership that is selling this used Cadillac. I would love to know the story on it as stated by the Cadillac Society story. Would be interesting to know why the person who bought it originally sold it.

Some interesting Crazy news via Cadillac Society website: 309 miles, Used CT5-V Blackwing for $150,000? This Almost-New 2022 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Is Listed At $150K (cadillacsociety.com) Chip Shortage has had many features removed from Cadillac and other GM brands on 2022 models, but it seems one is coming back that was supposed to be on all 2022 Escalades, SuperCruise. Super Cruise Driver Assist Technology Returns To 2022 Cadillac Escalade (cadillacsociety.com) This just re-enforces why the 2021, 2022 and 2023 model year autos should be avoided if you really do not need to buy an auto. Missing features that in this case should be standard after all it is a luxury brand. 2022 Cadillac Models Will Have Limited Heated Steering Wheel Availability (cadillacsociety.com) For those interested in Tech and wanting to see how far we have come in Robotics and facial movement, check this video out. Freaky amazing if you ask me. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/corywarfield_meet-ameca-the-humanoid-from-engineered-activity-6872414486662320128-Q_Tx

@ccap41 Down Vote is not against you, but what you quoted. Of course, this narcissistic world's richest person would say this. He begged the Federal gov and California for all kinds of tax breaks, EVs subsidiaries to get his company going. Still doing it now for the tax breaks Texas gave him, China and Germany gave him. Double Standard Asshole. The fact is he is a lousy greedy CEO that thinks of himself first and as long as he is on top, he wants to stop anyone and everyone else from doing well. He knows that once GM, Ford and other legacy auto companies get up to speed they can destroy Tesla. My gut also tells me he fears Rivian as Tesla has the WRONG product lineup now as the bulk of society wants Compact to Full-size Trucks / SUVs. Not a CUV built on a Car platform that has minimal room inside. Why not help the average man out with jobs that the feds help pay for in the short run. After all the 1% has taken so much money, paid so little tax's and after the last administration with almost $7 trillion in debt spent one could easily say what is a few billion more. Rather than spend on defense companies, time to trim the defense budget and re-invest in America infrastructure and the auto industry. US Debt by President | Chart & Per President Deficit | Self. I know there are those that will not agree with me, but IMHO, time to cut off the Pork Fat to Defense and focus on the middle-income men and woman of America.

This is sure an OUCH to listen to when he tries to go through the mud bog.

My gut tells me that the IC is due to these words already being trademarked by other companies. I did look at both Lyric and Optic and they are trademarked by other companies, I have to assume the same with other words. I also am thinking that someone in Marketing feels there is value in IQ for people shopping since it does relate to intelligence. Thoughts? My Hip is really bothering me this morning as we have a winter storm here, so I am feeling my 54 years of age. Course not gonna stop me from skiing and I know I will feel better for being more physical.

Feeling our age? Welcome to the group! I can respect this as I also upon coming across this in the Trademark section for what Cadillac has been up to this November made me initially say WTF. But as others have pointed out, I am far happier that they are some sort of misspelled name than alpha numeric follow the German clone's crap. I do think that Optiq and Symoliq will follow Lyriq as some sort of cuv/suv and that I can see a Celestiq as a car. I get and am happy they are not throwing away the built-up recognition of Escalade. Let's be glad they did not decide to go with Escalaiq or ESCALAIQ for the EV version.

GM's Cadillac division is to be their first all-electric division for the GM company and with that, Cadillac introduced and has since started pre-orders for the Cadillac LYRIQ. Cadillac has since in press releases stated a new refined level of luxury will be brought to the all-electric Cadillac product line. This will start with Heritage marks on the electric auto's such as their vertical tail lights. Cadillac has also stated that an Escalade electric SUV was forthcoming and many myself included wondered if they would hold onto the Escalade name or use something new? We now have that in a flurry of trademark filings by GM for the Cadillac division. This would indicate that the IQ is that defining mark on an electric vehicle as all the names end in IQ or have IQ in the name. This product lineup is to be built on variations of the Ultium battery pack / Powertrain. Cadillac's Electric Auto Lineup based on Trademark filings: LYRIQ Escalade IQ Escalade IQL OPTIQ CELESTIQ SYMBOLIQ This is by some a welcome return to names that were and still are considered very American in comparison to those past executives that pushed a German agenda on the brand with letters and numbers where only the Escalade name plate survived. This brings up the big question to everyone reading this: What do you think of the new names, and on what type of electric vehicle do you think these will get applied? Keep in mind that GM has shifted to pretty much a CUV/SUV and Full-size truck lineup, yet on the roadmap of EVs there still seems to be a few cars listed as well. Sound off by posting your thoughts on the IQ names, and where you feel these names will be applied. CUV, SUV, Truck, or Car? Cadillac Pressroom - United States - LYRIQ Cadillac iq trademark search Escalade iq trademark search Escalade iq trademark Escalade iql trademark Optiq trademark Celestiq trademark Symboliq trademark Ascendiq trademark Lumistiq trademark Vistiq trademark View full article

This totally sucks, seems there is faulty Valve Lifter lock pin Springs on the 6.2L V8 motors. Cadillac will assess and replace all valves and springs. Service Update Released For Cadillac Escalade V8 Valve Lifter Issues (cadillacsociety.com)

Lovely, restored auto as an example and maybe 1 of only a handful that have been restored out of the millions originally produced and you have exaggerated my statement. Yes, many auto pick n pull yards are gone. In fact, the last one by me here on Highway 99 closed last summer after the Pandemic hit hard. The family had stated that the 50 some odd acres of auto's had more value in being scrapped, and the land being repurposed even with the ground clean up required by the EPA than the original business that was started 3 generations ago. The bulk of society has moved to a consumable and replace model and you and I who love different types of old autos and the rest of those here on Cheers and Gears are the minority. As such, just like we had our cash for clunkers to get people to upgrade to new auto's. We need a cash for scrap to clean up the farms, businesses and those places especially in the rural areas where we do find plenty of old steel autos, semi's, commercial equipment that could be better used by recycling. Those that want to hold onto old autos in storage, great it is after all your auto and your money spent to hold onto it. Yet we still have an excess of steel, aluminum, glass, etc. products sitting around on land that could be repurposed into new products. Many people are not wanting to spend the time and money to get rid of things like what you see in the images I have posted. As such, if we are going to spend taxpayers dollars, I would rather we spend it on something that would create jobs, clean up the land and have an end result benefit than just blow it on social programs that have had minimal if any results or to cover pork barrel spending that seems to be the rage now in DC. Better for the planet, better for society and the human population. Cash for Scrap.

Recycling into another Corolla is not needed when there are so many other products that it can be recycled into to help society. You storing it for another 50 years is also another problem you have touched on and that is the excessive Hording by Americans that do not have the means to ever restore an item to usable condition. This brings up another issue I have and that is with the excessive Historical tagging of buildings, roads, etc. Everything has a useful life and then dies. Great Circle of life and trying to save everything when History should be in the books to learn from is another difference. Cost have gone crazy up due to so many buildings, roads, even simple warehouses that people feel are historical for one reason or another and as such, once tagged have to be saved and the cost to save that building, road, item is crazy high. Last time I was in Boston, I was shocked by the crazy number of historical places that had limited use but because it was a barn or horse stable from the American revolution someone got it saved even roads way too small for today's autos are saved because someone thought it was a special horse and buggy road. End result we horde way too much when a useful life is done and needs to go back into the circle of life. Nope I do not assume as many autos can be maintained to run for decades without being upgraded. I am focused on the amount of steel that is sitting around that will never be used, never be made usable and is covered in blackberry vines to having trees grown through them, etc. from farms to businesses as another example lumberjack mills and folks that had their own small business of harvesting trees for wood use that closed up and you see a ton of old steel equipment rusting away. So much steel could be recycled rather than just left rotting and when hoses finally rot out and dump their chemical soup onto the planet it poisons the water table. You all know you have seen stuff like this: That would be better served being recycled than ripping up the planet to get the raw materials to build this steel. Be it old auto's that are rotting or commercial equipment, we can take better care of our planet if we recycle than try and save everything by hording it a building especially when the person has no means to actually get it going again. When I see this kind of thing sitting on property: A part of me says yes, I wish they all could be on the road running and being used, but the realist in me knows they never will and rather than have them pollute the ground, would it not be better to recycle them, put a little cash in the owners pocket and get the steel, glass, etc. back into use for other products.

LOL, meant 50,000 or 50K Here is a company that resells these engines due to the laws in Japan and explain it well. Reasons why JDM engines are low mileage. JDM Engines in California, Florida, Georgia, Colorado. (usedjapanmotors.com) Shanken law ensures only newer vehicles on road. This makes it possible for vehicles older than three years with low miles to be sold as a used car for export or to be dismantled for auto parts. Shanken law is the main reason why engines imported from Japan have extremely low mileage.