Drew Dowdell

FCA is paying Tesla hundreds of millions of dollar to pool their vehicles with Tesla to avoid EU fines over emissions. Tesla put out an invitation to other automakers to use its fleet to lower their emissions totals and FCA took them up on it. Neither company released financial specifics of the deal, but it is estimated by the Financial Times to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Similar to California which allows manufactures with a surplus of ZEV credits to sell them to manufacturers who need them, the EU Commission allows manufacturers to pool together their fleets to avoid paying fines. Tesla makes significant money selling these credits in the US, earning $103.4m in 2018 and $279.7m in 2017. Once set up, the pool in Europe is good for several years. Vehicles in 2018 are allowed an average CO2 emission of 120.5g per kilometer. That figure will drop to 95g per kilometer next year. FCA's average for 2018 was 123g per kilometer, one of the largest off the mark of the 13 major manufacturers. FCA is seen to have fallen to near the back of the pack when in comes to reigning in CO2 emissions. FCA was forecast to be facing fines exceeding €2 billion ($2.25 billion) without pooling with Tesla. View full article

And they're still smarter than any of us on finance.

I don't know your financial background Balth, but I'm inclined to put more credence on the people at UBS and Morgan Stanley.

As I was saying.... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2019-tax-refunds-smaller-tax-refunds-are-now-hurting-retail-spending-wall-street-fears-2019-04-03/?ftag=COS-05-10aaa0h&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_content=5ca942c2e6dfda0001dc8b6f&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook Analysts say this year's lower tax refunds are largely to blame for a sizable drop in retail spending in the first quarter. UBS says its initial estimate of tax refunds received this season was too optimistic by a whopping $25 billion. For the median family's refund amounted to more than three weeks' pay last year, JP Morgan Chase found. The refund shortfall comes at an awkward time—just as the economy is already cooling off after last year's tax-cut-fueled spending jump.

The V8 isn't going anywhere, Mustang fans won't allow it.

I have not censored any posts in this thread. Keep it on topic and not about each other, but otherwise have at it.

CAFE

According to sources familiar with Tesla software, Tesla is preparing to update the Model S and Model X with new, more efficient motors. Recent software updates have appeared that make reference to the new motors. The new motors with the codename "Raven", are permanent magnet reluctance motors as found in the Model 3. These motors have the benefit of pre-excitation from the magnets giving them an efficiency advantage. They also work to reduce the overall costs of the vehicle. In the Model 3, the motors can achieve an efficiency rating higher than 97% compared to 93% on the Model S/X. The difference in efficiency is even more marked in stop and go traffic where the Model 3 is much more efficient than the AC induction motors in the Models S and X. These upgrades could work out to a longer range and better performance for the pair. Tesla sales, though up year over year, have recently crashed down 31% from the previous quarter . While the timing of the release of these upgrades is not known, there are rumors that Tesla is planning a major interior refresh for the pair for 2020, so it could be matched with those updates. Important timing when vehicles like the Porsche Taycan, Audi E-Tron , and Polestar 2 will be hitting the market over the next 18 months. View full article