Random Thoughts Thread

[G. David Felt]

Very interesting, a Texas Power Company assembled a list of states where it pays to switch to an EV. While all 50 states can save you money if you hold the EV for 10 years over an ICE, these 10 states save you the most the fastest.

The 10 states in America where switching to an EV will save you the most money

[A Horse With No Name]

Car parts for classics are impacted also....

 

He misidentifies the car is a 67 when it is a 66.....

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Fascinating on how the economy is changing how and where we keep gold....

 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Car parts for classics are impacted also....

 

He misidentifies the car is a 67 when it is a 66.....

 

Sadly, Incompetent leadership is what #47 is and jobs are at stake due to the ignorance of the current administration. Like he said, they work on a diverse number of autos, but it does not matter as we are a global economy and there is no going back to the so-called golden age of America in the 50's, 60's that boomers want to relive. Time to dump the current idiots and bring in folks that are able to understand that we live in a multi-cultural society that is based on a global economy.

[A Horse With No Name]

I would love to fly on this. 

[G. David Felt]

Awesome award.

This EV Just Beat the Competition at Top Gear’s 2025 Awards—And It Seats Seven

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Ford Europe is in real, real trouble. 

[G. David Felt]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Ford Europe is in real, real trouble. 

Unlike GM, Ford should have taken the bankruptcy and dumped a ton of debt. Ford is in trouble and I do not see them having an easy way out with all the debt and recalls.

[G. David Felt]

Interesting read, but I have to disagree with the story that auto companies are going away from AA/AC as GM lost my business due to not embracing this and auto companies are so slow to update and keep their software current, so hard pass on this. Another reason why Rivian fell off our choice as we loved the auto, but the lack of AA/AC was a deal breaker for the wife. It required her to learn another new tech interface that she has no interest in doing, she already has everything setup the way she likes on her cell phone.

I feel that GM is being used to make a blanket statement that all are going away from it when I am not seeing that.

The Real Reason Automakers Are Ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto

[trinacriabob]

Good afternoon:

Is this one ugly s.o.b. or what?  (Not political.) It's all those years of "clean living "

- - - - -

I found this under RFK Jr. laser eyes ... like something out of the "Twilight Zone."

[Robert Hall]

He has a really creepy voice also. 

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

He has a really creepy voice also. 

I'll have to give a listen.  I would imagine.

Two words say it all:  Mary Richardson (Kennedy).  I learned of this in the last 6 months or so.

This is what I refer to when Americans, and others, should NOT forget and forgive easily.

[trinacriabob]

Random thoughts ... for real:

A lot of last-gen Impalas are on the road and in excellent condition.  Except for those thick pillars, they did dial in the ride and handling.

Yes, SUVs are easier to get into and out of.

I'm having breakfast at IKEA in Jacksonville ... frickin' hot here these days. Cheap and pretty good breakfast.  Free coffee (or tea) ... hello!!!

Love the custom homes on the A1a south of Ponte Vedra Beach.

[Robert Hall]

I do miss having a nearby IKEA store.  I drove past the one on I-25 in the south Denver suburbs last week. (First time back in a decade, got rain and snow but a lot of sunshine).  I miss the Front Range sometimes.  

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

I do miss having a nearby IKEA store.  I drove past the one on I-25 in the south Denver suburbs last week. (First time back in a decade, got rain and snow but a lot of sunshine).  I miss the Front Range sometimes.  

For buying things, I don't like IKEA.  For the bright cafe', I do. 

Yep, Denver and those dips in weather that go away very soon.  

[A Horse With No Name]

On 5/15/2025 at 10:40 AM, G. David Felt said:

Unlike GM, Ford should have taken the bankruptcy and dumped a ton of debt. Ford is in trouble and I do not see them having an easy way out with all the debt and recalls.

With the Tariffs, my old angry calls for shuttering plants have been answered. Domestic automakers will not faire well. 

20 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

For buying things, I don't like IKEA.  For the bright cafe', I do. 

Yep, Denver and those dips in weather that go away very soon.  

Cafe is good, furniture not my cup of tea. 

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Nissan will be on the chopping block. The world automotive market will change dramatically in the next ten years. 

 

My kind of road trip.

 

[A Horse With No Name]

Not a good time to fly in the USA, 

[Robert Hall]

2 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Not a good time to fly in the USA, 

I flew a couple weeks ago from CLE to DEN, since I have TSA Pre and Clear it was pretty easy.  But I really don't enjoy flying very much these days.  Flying again in August.. to DFW for work.

Edited Monday at 07:38 PM by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Not a good time to fly in the USA 

Indeed.

I was caught in it within the last week.  A beautiful flight on a Lufthansa jumbo, defying the jet stream headwind, was going to make Newark in 7.5 hours.  Cruising at 600 mph if going west is almost amazing. However, we then circled over the Hudson River Valley for almost an hour.  Cloudy outside, too.

I will now avoid that hub and try to use IAH-Houston Bush if on United if possible.  Big Texas skies.

I have a lot of respect for ATC folks.  They have so much on their plates.

[A Horse With No Name]

2 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Indeed.

I was caught in it within the last week.  A beautiful flight on a Lufthansa jumbo, defying the jet stream headwind, was going to make Newark in 7.5 hours.  Cruising at 600 mph if going west is almost amazing. However, we then circled over the Hudson River Valley for almost an hour.  Cloudy outside, too.

I will now avoid that hub and try to use IAH-Houston Bush if on United if possible.  Big Texas skies.

I have a lot of respect for ATC folks.  They have so much on their plates.

Yes. 

So easy for mistakes to be made, another great aviation video. 

14 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

I flew a couple weeks ago from CLE to DIA, since I have TSA Pre and Clear it was pretty easy.  But I really don't enjoy flying very much these days.  Flying again in August.. 

Flying again in September, into Boston. Maybe Florida before. We need to beef up our air traffic control systems. 

On a happier note...

 

[trinacriabob]

Good morning ...

 blame it on recent use of Lufthansa. 

[Drew Dowdell]

On 5/9/2025 at 11:49 AM, trinacriabob said:

A family invited people to dinner.  You didn't ask what they're making.

The main course is an octopus risotto.  And not much else.

I would think that's inappropriate.  I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't want to eat snails in someone's house in France or gator steaks in someone's backyard barbecue in Florida.

Your thoughts on serving a "polarizing" dish like that.

Also, some people have genuine seafood allergies.

[surreal1272]

My not quite new ride number 2…

 

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

My not quite new ride number 2…

 

Practicality got the best of ya... smart. 

So what made you go the minivan route?

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

My not quite new ride number 2…

 

These have the most luxury comfort ride of all the minivans. 

[trinacriabob]

6 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

My not quite new ride number 2…

Of this genre, these are among the more attractive.  Nice. 

[surreal1272]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

Practicality got the best of ya... smart. 

So what made you go the minivan route?

Well, on top of being a Wagon nut, I have always had a soft spot for vans overall. The first 13 years of my life were spent riding around in my dad's 71' Chevy Sport 10 van (with a 3 on the tree) and so that has always stuck with me. As far as for doing this now, the space and versatility were big needs. I sold the Flex a few years ago (when the market was insane lol) and have been driving a 2014 Kia Sorento since then. I still have it but needed something bigger and more comfy for some future road trips so I started stopping out minivans. This is the Touring L model so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles but I only needed a few of each lol. It is a 2018 with 101K miles and was well taken care of. It spent its first 50K miles as a corporate lease so maintenance was always done. I had some concerns about the 9 speed but those fears were alleviated once I put my foot through the floorboard a few times to test it. Best of all, NO PAYMENTS> I finally got some long overdue money owed to me and pst of that to get this for $13K. Needless to say, I am a happy camper right now. 

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

These have the most luxury comfort ride of all the minivans. 

It does ride well and I like that it rides on 17s instead of 18s or 19s. Softer ride on those. My best bud has the same year Limited model with the largest wheels and while his rides well, it is a little firmer on the bumps than this one. Again, pretty happy camper here.

 

13 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Of this genre, this are among the more attractive.  Nice. 

I wasn't real keen on them when they first came out but the look has aged well and my tastes have clearly changed as well lol.

Edited 12 hours ago by surreal1272

[surreal1272]

Some more pics.