Random Thoughts Thread

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, frogger said:

He is good, better now with Jack Singapore instead of Turbowski.  Looking forward to a C8 review from him eventually.

I've only been watching his videos for a month or so, seen mostly recent ones and some older ones...not sure who the guy is that appears at the end of some, acting like his enemy (Turbowski?)    And I notice some say the garage segments say 'without Turbowski'...

[ocnblu]

WATCH OUT, IT'S GOING VIRAL!

Edited February 26, 2020 by ocnblu

[balthazar]

^ Corollavirus!

[ocnblu]

Well, that's a Corona, but yeah... 

[riviera74]

5 hours ago, balthazar said:

2020 Explorer interior (tho it may well be the top trim) :

Correct, but it's near impossible to get a gas pump installed on private residential property, and there's 270 million IC vehicles in the U.S. (vs. only 9 million horses).

If that is the top trim, that is really ordinary.  I suspect that the Lincoln equivalent has a much nicer interior.  Also, these days the Explorer is nowadays a police vehicle for the most part, hence the rental/fleet issues.

[balthazar]

1 hour ago, ocnblu said:

Well, that's a Corona, but yeah... 

Oh it is??  Typical me; I don't pay attention to the toyoters much. 🤮

30 minutes ago, riviera74 said:

If that is the top trim, that is really ordinary.  I suspect that the Lincoln equivalent has a much nicer interior.

1. It doesn't look 'really ordinary' IMO (it's a Ford, yes?), but more to the point - it doesn't look really cheap. Not Ram Tradesman cheap.
2. Shouldn't a Lincoln equivalent be much nicer??

[balthazar]

[David]

In Seattle George town district we had a very cool Hat's n Boots gas station that I grew up around. The Cowboy Boots were the bath rooms.

This was it 5 years or so ago as it got landmark status.

It was a Texaco gas station last when it finally closed down.

Now it is a restored park for everyone.

[balthazar]

[pizzaguy]

Sometimes I question myself, why am I typing this. 

[ocnblu]

7 hours ago, balthazar said:

I just realized the left rear wheel is off this Mopar product.

[David]

Weird that in all the years GM owned Opel and Vauxhall they said they could never make it profitable. Yet PSA Group within the first year after buying them have them as profitable divisions.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/peugeot-maker-sees-record-profit-virus-clouds-horizon-69225919

Something is sure crooked in GM House.

[Robert Hall]

Fascinating random video I saw posted on a couple FB groups...a guy with an in-car camera documenting his commute home on the 405 in LA...in 1988!   A real time capsule of traffic and radio from 30+ years ago.

 

 

[daves87rs]

8 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

Fascinating random video I saw posted on a couple FB groups...a guy with an in-car camera documenting his commute home on the 405 in LA...in 1988!   A real time capsule of traffic and radio from 30+ years ago.

 

 

Something calming about it...not sure why.....

[riviera74]

10 hours ago, dfelt said:

Weird that in all the years GM owned Opel and Vauxhall they said they could never make it profitable. Yet PSA Group within the first year after buying them have them as profitable divisions.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/peugeot-maker-sees-record-profit-virus-clouds-horizon-69225919

Something is sure crooked in GM House.

It is highly suspicious that GM had not made $$$$ in Europe for several years but PSA Group saved Euros and made a profit off of the same Opel/Vauxhall in ONE YEAR!  I do wonder what kind of accounting shenanigans GM was pulling all these years.

[ocnblu]

[dwightlooi]

9 hours ago, riviera74 said:

It is highly suspicious that GM had not made $$$$ in Europe for several years but PSA Group saved Euros and made a profit off of the same Opel/Vauxhall in ONE YEAR!  I do wonder what kind of accounting shenanigans GM was pulling all these years.

Look, if it is profitable it is TAXABLE. If it is breaking even or losing money, it is not. It is very easy to make a division lose money -- just make it do a ton of R&D and prototyping which soaks up all the profits and then some. Now, once developed, the technology is then "shared" or gifted to the rest of the company. NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

This is why high corporate taxes is pointless in the era of multinational corporations. Where do you think they take their loses and where do you think they move the profits? If you guess high tax countries and low tax countries, maybe you are not retarded afterall!

[trinacriabob]

While I very much miss my first 2 cars - both rear wheel drive Cutlass Supreme coupes (and the head of thick dark brown curly hair I had at that time) - front wheel drive does a better job of getting you home  .... even if you have to go slow!

[David]

According to the Incoming COO, Ford is in Dire straights as it was back when it put everything up for loans to survive compared to the bankruptcy by the cross town rivals.

https://www.autonews.com/executives/farley-says-ford-faces-sense-urgency-similar-financial-crisis

[David]

Good read and I have to say the writer hits a number of valid points. Chevrolet Impala is worth Eulogizing according to this writer.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/32351/the-last-car-why-the-chevy-impala-is-worth-eulogizing

 

[riviera74]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Good read and I have to say the writer hits a number of valid points. Chevrolet Impala is worth Eulogizing according to this writer.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/32351/the-last-car-why-the-chevy-impala-is-worth-eulogizing

 

Which one would essentially replace the Impala's place in Chevy lore: Tahoe or Equinox?  GM's greatest mistake was ditching RWD in all but the pickup trucks and replacing everything with FWD.  Really sad, especially since the 300/Charger twins still sell.

[Robert Hall]

2 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Which one would essentially replace the Impala's place in Chevy lore: Tahoe or Equinox?  GM's greatest mistake was ditching RWD in all but the pickup trucks and replacing everything with FWD.  Really sad, especially since the 300/Charger twins still sell.

Traverse.  FWD, V6, largish family car....Tahoe kind of fits the old Impala formula up through '96---full size, BOF, V8 large family car. 

Edited February 27, 2020 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

[balthazar]

1 of 1,285 '60 Eldorado Biarritz's ~

[trinacriabob]

On 2/25/2020 at 11:47 PM, dfelt said:

In Seattle George town district we had a very cool Hat's n Boots gas station that I grew up around. The Cowboy Boots were the bath rooms.

This was it 5 years or so ago as it got landmark status.

It was a Texaco gas station last when it finally closed down.

Now it is a restored park for everyone.

So you lived in the SW part of the city for a little while?  I'm wondering if that area is going through any kind of renaissance or is poised to because everything is so expensive.  I knew a lady who lived in a condo in Bitter Lake and looking onto Bitter Lake and was impressed that some parts in the NW part of the city are nice.  They weren't that popular, as in cool, when I lived there, but they were definitely nice.  Regardless, I think the East Side, from Bellevue up to Woodinville, are the nicest parts of that metro area.  Mercer Island, a true (surfer's) "footprint," is very nice but has a weird feel.

[trinacriabob]

On 2/26/2020 at 12:49 PM, Robert Hall said:

Fascinating random video I saw posted on a couple FB groups...a guy with an in-car camera documenting his commute home on the 405 in LA...in 1988!   A real time capsule of traffic and radio from 30+ years ago.

 

 

My family lived in a couple of different homes within walking distance of some of those places shown along that freeway route.  I believe I see 5 lanes.  Now there are 6 or 7.

My dad used to complain that there was so much traffic on the 405 at off peak hours ... but it was flowing.  Now, with 6 or 7 lanes, it can be gridlocked at random times throughout the day.  The 405 is literally the biggest "Memory Lane" in my life.  I think I probably drove on it every day from the time I got my license up to my mid-20s when I was in town / at home.

[balthazar]

13 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

While I very much miss my first 2 cars...

Still have mine squirreled away in the shop!
This year marks 34 years of ownership. 😮

Edited February 28, 2020 by balthazar

[David]

I sold my very first auto, a Chevrolet 1976 Series 5 Luv Truck that I restored to New like condition for double what my dad paid for it new and still came out ahead as I used the money for college.

My 2nd auto which was my very first new car purchase was a 1991 Ford Escort GT that was built for Ford by Mazda and my wife was seriously injured when rear ended in it totaling the auto.

I still have my 3rd ever purchased car. 1994 GMC SLE Suburban. Love it still!

[trinacriabob]

I got sidetracked reading and forgot what "random thought" I was going to throw out.  

This week has to have been one to put so many people in a funk.  First, this coronavirus is capturing the headlines and they make it seem so random, in geography, in how it is spread, and in how it runs its course for the people affected.  Then, in 4 days, the market - rather, the DJIA as a barometer of it - loses over 10% of its value.  

But isn't the news meant to be depressing in general?

[balthazar]

I believe the mortality rate for the Coronavirus is currently leas than 1%, which is far far less deadly than many other recent communicative afflictions (MERS, SARS, etc).
But of course it's hyped like mad to sell clicks.

Edited February 28, 2020 by balthazar

[balthazar]

[ocnblu]

Let's see if this lure works

[David]

3 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Let's see if this lure works

That is a Forgetable Car. Meh

[Robert Hall]

37 minutes ago, dfelt said:

That is a Forgetable Car. Meh

You didn't get ocnblu's reference, though?  (Our fearless leader Drew used to own one).

[David]

19 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

You didn't get ocnblu's reference, though?  (Our fearless leader Drew used to own one).

Thank you Robert, I truly did not make that connection till now and now I understand. Got it, Thank you again.

[ccap41]

14 hours ago, balthazar said:

I believe the mortality rate for the Coronavirus is currently leas than 1%, which is far far less deadly than many other recent communicative afflictions (MERS, SARS, etc).
But of course it's hyped like mad to sell clicks.

~2.5%

[balthazar]

^ correct. At the moment live count is reportedly 84,144 cases and 2876 deaths : 3.4%. I read my calculator wrong above.

SARS was 10% and MERS was 35%. Where it probably strikes differently is; MERS killed about 860, and SARS about 775 - COVID-19 has obviously well outstripped those other 2.

Edited February 28, 2020 by balthazar

[balthazar]

 

 

[trinacriabob]

3 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

You didn't get ocnblu's reference, though?  (Our fearless leader Drew used to own one).

He did ?!?

[dwightlooi]

3 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

~2.5%

2.5% is utter rubbish. It will be much higher, probably around 10~15%. You need to compare the death rate to the recovery rate, not the total infected. Not even taking into account under reporting by China for economic reasons, we have:-

• 84,144 infected (total)
• 39,749 have concluded their illness (recovered or died)
• 2,876 dead
• 36,873 recovered
• Death ratio 7.2%

If and when you have millions infected, you are not going to have a hospital bed and intensive care for people who need it.

• 36,308 currently sick
• 8,087 in serious or critical condition
• Serious illness ratio is 18.2%

Without ample medicare care, more than half -- probably closer to three quarters -- of 18.2% who become seriously ill will die. If there is no no vaccine and no effective anti-viral treatment (which I am optimistic there will be), we can expect about half the world population infected at some point and that 10% of those infected will die. This is disease has the potential to kill 390 million people or about 5 times more than WWII.

[trinacriabob]

14 hours ago, balthazar said:

I believe the mortality rate for the Coronavirus is currently leas than 1%, which is far far less deadly than many other recent communicative afflictions (MERS, SARS, etc).
But of course it's hyped like mad to sell clicks.

There is a coronavirus chart by age groups (in increments of 10) and the likelihood of mortality for each of those age groups.

I somewhat remember SARS - one can only guess it meant Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome.  Early 2000s, right?  How did that all shake out and how long did it rattle up the American and global public?

 

[Robert Hall]

4 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

He did ?!?

Yes, before the Olds Toronado...I think it was a long time ago before C&G, but he's mentioned it before.  Ocn posted that to try and get him to come out of exile and post something...

[trinacriabob]

Chart - COVID-19 - small chart - when averaged together, it's obviously higher than 1 or 2%.  The table does not reflect the distribution of age groups (alive in the general population), so that could lower the percentage some.  (I somewhat recall that, on average, American women today live to 83 and American men today live to 79.)

For those over 80 (and in poor health), it's bad news.  Of course, the news focuses on the younger and healthier people who have succumbed to it because that's more alarming.

5 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Yes, before the Olds Toronado...I think it was a long time ago before C&G, but he's mentioned it before.  Ocn posted that to try and get him to come out of exile and post something...

I'll take the Toronado any day of the week and twice on Sundays.

[ccap41]

34 minutes ago, balthazar said:

^ correct. At the moment live count is reportedly 84,144 cases and 2876 deaths : 3.4%. I read my calculator wrong above.

Is that just China or global? 

It's actually kindof tough to find good information on it as every news outlet is spitting information out and some are thorough and some are not. 

[ccap41]

23 minutes ago, dwightlooi said:

2.5% is utter rubbish. It will be much higher, probably around 10~15%. You need to compare the death rate to the recovery rate, not the total infected. Not even taking into account under reporting by China for economic reasons, we have:-

• 84,144 infected (total)
• 39,749 have concluded their illness (recovered or died)
• 2,876 dead
• 36,873 recovered
• Death ratio 7.2%

If and when you have millions infected, you are not going to have a hospital bed and intensive care for people who need it.

• 36,308 currently sick
• 8,087 in serious or critical condition
• Serious illness ratio is 18.2%

Without ample medicare care, more than half -- probably closer to three quarters -- of 18.2% who become seriously ill will die. If there is no no vaccine and no effective anti-viral treatment (which I am optimistic there will be), we can expect about half the world population infected at some point and that 10% of those infected will die. This is disease has the potential to kill 390 million people or about 5 times more than WWII.

How are you concluding a 7.2% death rate?

I completely agree with your latter part that if millions are infected that there simply will not be enough room for everybody. 

[balthazar]

If 2,876 died and 36,873 recovered, what are the other 44,395 infected people classified as?

[dwightlooi]

11 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

How are you concluding a 7.2% death rate?

I completely agree with your latter part that if millions are infected that there simply will not be enough room for everybody. 

Dead divided by dead plus recovered. You do not count people who are still sick because some of them will die but haven't died yet.

2876 / (2876 + 36873) = 0.072354

I also believe that the death rate will go up when you have millions of people sick because when the medical care the you get is an asprin, a bottle of water and a cot in a converted stadium you are more likely to die than if you have 10 nurses, 5 doctors and a specialist from the CDC to fussy over your daily progress like you do now, with a respirator, an ECMO machine and all the gadgets of a good ICU at their disposal if you need it.

8 minutes ago, balthazar said:

If 2,876 died and 36,873 recovered, what are the other 44,395 infected people classified as?

Sick?

Edited February 28, 2020 by dwightlooi

[ccap41]

4 minutes ago, dwightlooi said:

Dead divided by dead plus recovered. You do not count people who are still sick because some of them will die but haven't died yet.

Ahhh that makes perfect sense. Thank you! 

[David]

Chevrolet has put up a nice 2020 Corvett Stingray gallery.

https://www.chevrolet.com/performance/corvette?evar36=eml_chev_adhoc_corvettebarrettjackson_0220_16293324474#gallery

 

[David]

Seems Diesel gate is far from over as Porsche HQ is raided to collect evidence.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-emissions-porsche/porsches-offices-searched-as-part-of-ongoing-diesel-probe-der-spiegel-idUSKCN20M1HR

Swiss bans ALL events with people gathering in size of 1,000 or more. Why is this important?

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-swiss/swiss-anti-viral-ban-on-large-events-hits-geneva-car-show-head-on-idUSKCN20M18O

Geneva Auto Show canceled just days before it is scheduled to open. They list how some of the auto companies are going to deal with new auto or concept introductions in the story. Last year 660,000 attended the show, those that bought tickets in advanced will get refunds, but since the Health Department canceled the show, the OEM Auto companies will NOT get a refund.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-geneva-cancellation/axing-of-geneva-car-show-forces-manufacturers-to-rethink-car-launches-idUSKCN20M1NH

In what is called a Squeeze out offer, VW has made a tender offer to buy out all minority stock holders of Audi. VW owns 99.64% of the stock. They want the last .36%.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-audi-buyout/vw-offers-to-buy-out-minority-shareholders-in-audi-idUSKCN20M2XJ