Random Thoughts Thread

[Robert Hall]

31 minutes ago, dfelt said:

Let's hope they stay true to the roots and keep it a RWD SUV rather than a FWD CUV based. If they do that I think it will still sell but loose some off road creds for a FWD/AWD CUV.

It's already common knowledge the Bronco will be based on the Ranger, so it will be RWD/BOF.  

Now the baby Bronco (rumored to be Bronco Scout) will be FWD CUV since it's based on the Escape. 

[Drew Dowdell]

Happy Birthday @dwightlooi!!

[dwightlooi]

17 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Happy Birthday @dwightlooi!!

Thanks!

[David]

Happy Birthday @dwightlooi It has been great having you share your auto engine knowledge.

Thank you!

[David]

In other news, seems a number of key states have officially fallen into a recession from mid-west to east coast. 

Pennsylvania alone shed 8,000 manufacturing jobs this year.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-09-09/a-manufacturing-recession-could-cost-trump-a-second-term

Seems a wide diverse group of manufactures from auto company suppliers to farm equipment manifactures are in contraction.

[balthazar]

^ A number of manufacturers have seen contractions, not their state. Business is cyclical for a wide range of reasons, it has always been this way.
Buick sold 737K in '55 and 404K in '57. In the same period, Plymouth sold 401K and 762K.

[A Horse With No Name]

Turn down the sound as it is a political advertisement....but liked seeing a Camaro in this clip.

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

^ A number of manufacturers have seen contractions, not their state. Business is cyclical for a wide range of reasons, it has always been this way.
Buick sold 737K in '55 and 404K in '57. In the same period, Plymouth sold 401K and 762K.

And by '58, the country was in a recession. In your example, a luxury make drops significantly while a budget brand goes up. 

[ccap41]

On 9/7/2019 at 2:42 PM, Robert Hall said:

Speaking of the Gladiator, got a fold out Gladiator mini-brochure (top edge shaped like a mountain range) in the mail along w/ a card from my CDJR dealer inviting me in to test drive the Gladiator...

The clutter around that desk gives me anxiety. 

[balthazar]

2 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

And by '58, the country was in a recession. In your example, a luxury make drops significantly while a budget brand goes up. 

True, but the recession didn't hit until ‘58. And while things improved for ‘59-60, Buick still went lower than ‘57 in those 2 years. Point was: “a wide range of factors” contributes to business health. Looking at a single business as support for a national health is disingenuous, even if that singular example supports the national trend.

[Robert Hall]

18 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

The clutter around that desk gives me anxiety. 

Yeah, I'm definitely not a clean-desk type of worker...I have no fear of clutter. 

7 minutes ago, balthazar said:

True, but the recession didn't hit until ‘58. And while things improved for ‘59-60, Buick still went lower than ‘57 in those 2 years. Point was: “a wide range of factors” contributes to business health. Looking at a single business as support for a national health is disingenuous, even if that singular example supports the national trend.

That's data from over 60 years ago, though...how is relevant to today?   The job market and the nature of the economy is very different today.

Edited September 10, 2019 by Robert Hall

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

Yeah, I'm definitely not a clean-desk type of worker...I have no fear of clutter. 

My desk isn't spotless but I can't let it get cluttered with useless stuff like THE PREVIOUS DAY(S) CALENDAR DATES! 

[Robert Hall]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

My desk isn't spotless but I can't let it get cluttered with useless stuff like THE PREVIOUS DAY(S) CALENDAR DATES! 

Sometimes I get busy and get behind a week or so on the calendar.   When the weather is nice, I tend to not work at that desk and instead sit out on the patio most of the day w/ my laptop. 

 

IMG_2518.HEIC

Edited September 10, 2019 by Robert Hall

[ccap41]

Just now, Robert Hall said:

Sometimes I get busy and get behind a week or so on the calendar.

I get that, I've done that before. I don't/won't understand leaving them on the desk and not throwing them away though... 

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

That's data from over 60 years ago, though...how is relevant to today?   The job market and the nature of the economy is very different today.

How often to you think principles of commerce & economics are reinvented?

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

How often to you think principles of commerce & economics are reinvented?

The higher level stuff? Every 20 years or so.

 

[balthazar]

[daves87rs]

On 9/9/2019 at 7:01 AM, A Horse With No Name said:

I will loose my Ford hater card for posting this, but i am interested in the Bronco when it comes out. I think it will be an interesting little buggy.... 

depends on what you want....the cost of cars seems to have gone up really substantially. 

 

I actually find it attractive. 

I’m excited to see it as well.....

[A Horse With No Name]

https://barnfinds.com/1966-oldsmobile-ninety-eight-with-a-genuine-6748-miles/?fbclid=IwAR3dTmrn1Zz41PX9bdMYzsyGAktQVLtUxnr-xjS_68FtDi3iQ8MFPCcyTyM

[Drew Dowdell]

13 hours ago, balthazar said:

Built on bus bodies and road terribly according to reports.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Built on bus bodies and road terribly according to reports.

More of a publicity stunt than an actual train, but cool looking none the less. 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

A real train from the era....

 

[balthazar]

4 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Built on bus bodies and road terribly according to reports.

Wasnt it a functional concept; or was it put into production?

[David]

There is a guy that for 13yrs has been tuning regular auto's to sound like F1 race cars. 

While cool skill, not really sure I am a fan of a high pitch sound on a big block motor.

 

https://jalopnik.com/meet-the-quiet-japanese-tuner-who-makes-your-old-merced-1831320490 

[Drew Dowdell]

16 minutes ago, balthazar said:

Wasnt it a functional concept; or was it put into production?

The Aerotrain? There were a few demonstrators built. And several of the railways tried them out for extended runs. 

From Wikipedia:

 It utilized the experimental EMD LWT12 power car (U.S. Patent D177,814), coupled to a set of modified GM Truck & Coach Division 40-seat intercity highway bus bodies (U.S. Patent D179,006). The cars each rode on two axles with an air suspension system, which was intended to give a smooth ride, but had the opposite effect.

[A Horse With No Name]

It looks like at least one Aerotrain, or part of one, survived, interesting.

 

[A Horse With No Name]

 

[David]

Odd random 1990 Mazda Eunos Cosmo 2 door coupe.

https://jalopnik.com/?jwsource=em

 

[balthazar]

Electric Studebaker rollback ~

[Drew Dowdell]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

Electric Studebaker rollback ~

For when you didn't pay your Studebaker car note. 

Happy Birthday @A Horse With No Name

[A Horse With No Name]

Thanks, I am 54 today...times goes by fast. 

 

[David]

3 hours ago, A Horse With No Name said:

Thanks, I am 54 today...times goes by fast. 

 

54 Rocks!  your in your mid life stretch!

[balthazar]

Half way to 108!!

[Robert Hall]

Happy Birthday!

[Robert Hall]

Someone took out a light pole w/ a Mustang LX 5.0 and fled the scene a couple streets over from me this evening...

[David]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

Someone took out a light pole w/ a Mustang LX 5.0 and fled the scene a couple streets over from me this evening...

Stolen then?

Sad when a nice auto gets munched.

[Robert Hall]

No idea if it was stolen,  but a woman on the FB thread said it looks like her neighbor's car.

[daves87rs]

That is a bummer....looks like a fox body... 😞 

[balthazar]

[A Horse With No Name]

13 hours ago, balthazar said:

Half way to 108!!

I would love to live that long!

 

[daves87rs]

Just now, A Horse With No Name said:

I would love to live that long!

 

Hopefully lots of good things to see!!!

[balthazar]

^ Youtube 'kirk douglas 2018' as see if you still agree on the 108 thing.
- - - - -
How steep are the banks on the super speedways, you ask?

[ccap41]

14 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Someone took out a light pole w/ a Mustang LX 5.0 and fled the scene a couple streets over from me this evening...

Boy, does that piss me off..

[balthazar]

[regfootball]

Ford Edge ST test drive today. I just don’t think the idea of ‘sports crossover’ works well at the end of the day. But they also have a used Stelvio on the lot. Hmmm. The Stelvio has cobwebs on it. Lol

Edited September 14, 2019 by regfootball

[balthazar]

^ Nobody wants to be seen in an alfa romeo.
- - - - -

[regfootball]

Fix it again Tony 

[regfootball]

anyone with pointers on how to get rid of skunk smell from a car, let me know.  grrrrrrr .  was not me who hit the skunk remains

Edited September 15, 2019 by regfootball

[balthazar]

Would it surprise anyone that, according to a circa 1990 list I have access to, that General Motors had (38) billing codes for the FBI?
- - - - -

[balthazar]