Random Thoughts Thread

[daves87rs 809]

8 hours ago, dfelt said:

 

+1 for me as I value it even when we Bitch like Highschool Girls over certain topics! 

Agreed!

In the end we all fight-but the respect and friendship is there.....  

[dfelt 3,817 5 Vehicles]

 

Had no Idea that these were fully loaded $52K Canadian dollars and they used to have a $14K rebate but that is over now to the North. WOW. Price is a big issue for the car in 2019 to this reviewer and due to the Polar Vortex, it took longer to charge, but over all not a bad auto to the guy.

[A Horse With No Name 3,178]

52 minutes ago, dfelt said:

 

Had no Idea that these were fully loaded $52K Canadian dollars and they used to have a $14K rebate but that is over now to the North. WOW. Price is a big issue for the car in 2019 to this reviewer and due to the Polar Vortex, it took longer to charge, but over all not a bad auto to the guy.

I would so rock one of these in my fleet.

[ykX 456]

Went yesterday to the Philly Auto Show, was pretty decent show, also midweek very few people, good opportunity to see all the cars. 

Few thoughts:

Blazer - in person looks not as good as in pictures.  Still a different take at mid size crossover.  Looks inside and out different than most vanilla crossovers.  I wish it would drive as sporty as it looks.

G70 - looks great, interior looks very nice and very driver oriented.  However, after I adjusted front seat for my height the back seat had about as much space as a Mustang.  Even less than my G37, and I think they are very similar in size.  Shame, I think it will hurt it.  Just because of that I would got with Stinger even though it is not as nice inside.

Miata RF - sat in it and asked the show girl close the roof.  I fit well and I am 6'1".  Fits like glove, really like it.

GT500 - looks awesome,  However, I think I prefer GT350.

They had Bullitt there as well, and people could sit in it.  Looks great, comfortable inside.  I am torn between Mustang and Miata, I want them both

Jeep Gladiator - actually looks very awkward to me.  I didn't like it.  Regular Wrangler is great.

iPace - it is more of a wagon than a crossover.  I was surprised how low is it.  Interior is really nice.

Looked at few other cars but no special impressions.

Edited February 8 by ykX

[oldshurst442 2,007]

28 minutes ago, dfelt said:

 

Had no Idea that these were fully loaded $52K Canadian dollars and they used to have a $14K rebate but that is over now to the North. WOW. Price is a big issue for the car in 2019 to this reviewer and due to the Polar Vortex, it took longer to charge, but over all not a bad auto to the guy.

 

Yup. For me, its not about the price. Well, its not JUST the price tag, but how small it really is.  I get that tech is expensive and the early adopters have to foot the bill for new tech, and usually Im NOT the first early adopters, but somewhere between, the second wave of early adopters to just before half of the population accepts the new tech.  

Its just that the Bolt is a sub-compact. I dont do sub-compact cars. And Im guessing many people are like me in that they too, dont do sub-compacts.  This is where General Motors really needs a BEV slightly BIGGER than the Cruze/Volt. It could be slightly smaller than the Malibu, but ideally, for the masses for GM to really sell 200 000-400 000 BEVs per year, like Tesla's Model 3, is really doing a Chevy Trax, but more so an Equinox sized CUV BEV. 

If they truly are serious, which I think NOW they are, but when they did the Bolt and released the Bolt for sale, I think they just wanted to be the first to market. (with an "affordable" BEV to beat the Model 3.)  But I feel that was a piss poor effort, in hindsight.

It is NO secret now as it was NO secret then:

1. sub-compact hatchbacks do NOT sell well in the North American market. Like ever. 

2. compact, but more mid-sized CUVs are the hot ticket items 5 years ago and even more so today. But the trends were showing themselves then.  

Piss poor attempt to capture the market with piss poor decisions or the product (the packaging) and piss poor marketing. Being the first to market, while it works if you got the perfect product, is NOT a good marketing strategy...and the Bolt is NOT the perfect product in its class. The Telsa Model 3 wipes the floor with it. And THAT is the reality. 

The Bolt is a very good BEV. The Model 3 is eons ahead of it. 

And then we have Tesla's  (super)charging network.  I will keep on stressing that part as Tesla's image is not only the cool factor with its cars, and the crazy, zany Musk pet projects like the loop tube and the space rocket thing, but Tesla's image is strong with the EV folk with their charging network. 

 

 

[riviera74 630]

Dear GM:

We need an Equinox BEV stat.  Bolt is still too small.

Edited February 8 by riviera74
misspelling

[ykX 456]

6 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

Dear GM:

We need an Equinox BEV stat.  Bolt is still too small.

They should do Blazer electrical, it has the looks, now give it a good electrical powertrain to stand out.

[Robert Hall 3,975 4 Vehicles]

7 minutes ago, ykX said:

They should do Blazer electrical, it has the looks, now give it a good electrical powertrain to stand out.

'Blazer' could be a good name for an EV...use a little flame logo like an electrical fire..

[ccap41 2,603 3 Vehicles]

25 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

Dear GM:

We need an Equinox BEV stat.  Bolt is still too small.

So many of us have been saying this for years at this point. 

[oldshurst442 2,007]

38 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

Dear GM:

We need an Equinox BEV stat.  Bolt is still too small.

 

30 minutes ago, ykX said:

They should do Blazer electrical, it has the looks, now give it a good electrical powertrain to stand out.

 

Yeah...they should do a BEV Blazer, like yesterday.

This is where I do NOT understand the product planners. We saw a couple of years ago how many people forked over deposit monies for the Tesla Model 3 without ever seeing the car and how it looks on the inside and the outside. 

The crossover trend has been on the rise since the mid-1990s. 

Like...no-one at GM (or any other company for that matter) could marry the two together?

Is it THAT hard to come up with a BEV that meets the masses expectations?

CUVs sell. EVs DO sell.  Yes its only Tesla that has a run-a-way success rate. 

But man...dont CEOs see what I, and many other folk like you guys see that the Nissan Leaf just plain SUCKS visually. 

The BOLT SUCKS visually.

The Leaf and the Bolt are NOT the right package.  

The Model 3 is at the most minimum of car length and size. 

No one at these companies that get paid quite well, I might add, they cant figure that out? 

The Model X may not sell quite as high as the Model S...but it does sell.

This is where I do NOT buy the argument that only Tesla EVs have the capacity to sell.

1. The Model S and Model 3 sell in a CUV/SUV dominated world.

2. They are attractive, normal looking cars

3. They are NOT that affordable yet swathes of people are flocking to them

4. Both the Model 3 and Model S are quite capable in cargo hauling duties and are quite comfortable in daily driving their owners and their families from point A to point B without being CUVs. 

5. If Chevrolet has a tough time selling sedans, but they do not have a tough time selling Equinoxes, maybe a cool factor  BEV for them CAN be a BEV midsized, sporty CUV...like the Blazer... If you cant beat Tesla and their Model 3 because Chevy does not have a BMWesque little sedan to do battle head on with the Model 3, because the Bolt and the Model 3 are THAT different from one another, then Chevrolet could STILL play in that game by offering something COMPLETELY different yet just as cool as the Model 3 yet sticking it to Tesla by making a BEV Blazer and giving the fight to the Model X...

Undercutting the Model X in price. The Blazer as is, is a SEXIER SUV than the Model X (in all honestly, the Model X is ugly AF!!!)

Its easy as that...

There is NO risk. CUVs sell. They sell a lot. There IS a market for EVs.

GM and Chevy are NOT tapping into the right segment. Chevy has ITS strengths and they COULD do CUVs BETTER than Tesla.

I said that the Model 3 is eons ahead of the Bolt. Well, a BEV Blazer could be eons ahead of the Model X. Sure the Model X has cool rear doors. Make a Blazer a more practical and capable BEV CUV and Chevy might be able to peddle at least 200 000 BEV Blazers...at least...

You cannot tell me America is not ready for EVs when Tesla sells a ton.

You cannot use the Bolt and Leaf as proof because the Leaf and Bolt are crap as compared to the Model 3.

You cannot use the iPace as Jaguar does NOT have the charging network that Tesla has. The Jag asks Model S and Model X prices but Jag does NOT have the charging network behind it.

You cannot use the Leaf and Bolt as "affordable" BEVs when in actual fact, they are about the same price as the Model 3...Tesla has a charging network behind it.

The other EVs are based on same model cars that are considerably more expensive than their ICE model counterparts.  The Volt 2nd gen included over the Cruze but it still did well enough. 

A BEV Blazer, although GM does not have the charging network of Telsa, will have a huuuuge price advantage OVER the Model X. Maybe EV folk will overlook that.  Its not as if the Blazer comes cheap either. But a 60 000 BEV Blazer, (what?) I think the ICE Blazer is 50 000, still undercuts the Model X considerably at 60 thousand...

They wont make money off a BEV Blazer?

Well...didnt GM just say they will go full out on EVs anyway...so moot point!!!

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8 by oldshurst442

[ocnblu 1,806 6 Vehicles]

So now Dodge is pulling back on their mid-size Ram pickup plans, saying a final decision is not made.  Bozos.

[dfelt 3,817 5 Vehicles]

6 inches over night, now a foot on tje ground and people.are freakin out. Crazy for seattle. Well off to go shovel again.

[Robert Hall 3,975 4 Vehicles]

Winter...is your driveway sloped downward from the street?   Heard the Seattle area had a big storm yesterday...

[balthazar 5,230 3 Vehicles]

I kinda think the Bolt is "cute".
- - - - -
These trucks are 'Relay's, built in Wabash Indiana from '27-33. They had an interesting 6x4 model with dual inline 8s and dual transmissions that each drove one of the 2 rear axles. Did a quickie google image search for 'Relay truck' and nothing came up- wonder how many survived.

Edited February 10 by balthazar

[dfelt 3,817 5 Vehicles]

12 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Winter...is your driveway sloped downward from the street?   Heard the Seattle area had a big storm yesterday...

Yes, it slopes down, before I had the new cement drive way installed, I put in a massive drain in front of the garage to keep it from flooding. Drive way is 36 feet wide and 65 feet long. 9 suburbans can fit on it just fine.

Just allot of shoveling. Took me 6hrs to do it all and then I went to my parents and did theirs which was another 3hrs. So 9hrs of shoveling. Got my workout in today. Calling for 3 more inches tomorrow, 3 to 5 inches on monday with a break on tuesday into wednesday and then next front moves in and they say it could dump 5 to 10 inches more. Been a long time since the seattle area got this kind of snow.

Loving it, home now and gonna shower, go to bed and get up and go skiing tomorrow with my son.

Rock on all, stay safe and warm this winter.

[daves87rs 809]

Think we are getting some of that snow....

[Cmicasa the Great 1,250]

[daves87rs 809]

24 minutes ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

The chrome...it’s blinding!!!  

[Cmicasa the Great 1,250]

4 hours ago, daves87rs said:

The chrome...it’s blinding!!!  

I'm loving it in the flesh.. or metal.. lol.. I don't know why GM puts out CGI visuals when the real thing is always better..

 And this one.. the Custom has my heart 

 

 

[ocnblu 1,806 6 Vehicles]

 

[dfelt 3,817 5 Vehicles]

23 hours ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

Reminds me of a Rapper with a Grill!  

[A Horse With No Name 3,178]

19 hours ago, Cmicasa the Great said:

I'm loving it in the flesh.. or metal.. lol.. I don't know why GM puts out CGI visuals when the real thing is always better..

 And this one.. the Custom has my heart 

 

 

That looks much better with less Chrome.

 

Neat model railroad Video.

[A Horse With No Name 3,178]

Very impressive fabrication in building this.

17 hours ago, ocnblu said:

 

I disagree with Drew....I love this generation CTS. absolutely love it.

[balthazar 5,230 3 Vehicles]

As I continue to list/document Pontiac dealers, I've come across a number of this sort of arrangement, which is utterly alien to us now. Multiple 'automotive-PLUS' dealerships :

[dfelt 3,817 5 Vehicles]

5 hours ago, balthazar said:

As I continue to list/document Pontiac dealers, I've come across a number of this sort of arrangement, which is utterly alien to us now. Multiple 'automotive-PLUS' dealerships :

All in one shopping for the farmer, gotta love that.