Random Thoughts Thread

[ccap41]

11 minutes ago, ykX said:

If you loose your job you can sell that vehicle, and most likely end owning way less than 10k, probably loose just few grand, no more.

Yeah, that would make more sense to me. 

[David]

OUCH, want a C8 Corvette Cheap? Check out this 3,419 mile C8 Corvette. Very cheap to the right owner. Seems the dealer put the corvette up for service on a lift and did not pay attention to the lift points that have changed on the C8 Corvette. As such Boom down it came.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/34849/want-a-cheap-c8-corvette-buy-the-one-that-fell-off-a-dealers-lift

[Robert Hall]

Ouch.  Wonder if it has suspension and other underneath damage.  A little bondo and paint...

Edited July 15, 2020 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

On 7/14/2020 at 2:06 PM, Robert Hall said:

Yeah, I did that with my username a year or so ago, got tired of Cubical and Moltar.  Rob or Robert, never, ever Bob. 

I'm too lazy to change my handle.  I'm very on board with your assessment.  Bob is sort of pedestrian.  And not even used that much, with people tending to use Rob nowadays.  The only issue I have with Rob is that it sounds somewhat "frat boy."  Robert is probably the best variant and it's what I use on a daily basis.  My parents and relatives append(ed) an "o" to it, which is/was to be expected.

@David  Hope your hand heals up.  I've been through a different sort of injury with a hand.  Fortunately, it was the hand I don't use that much.  However, during the healing phase, I was away and, during that Easter season, I pushed myself to kill two birds with one stone that last Friday - Good Friday observance AND unlimited mini lobsters at Harvey's hotel/casino up at Lake Tahoe, which has long been discontinued because I'm thinking there was no way it could pencil.

Edited July 16, 2020 by trinacriabob

[David]

5 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

I'm too lazy to change my handle.  I'm very on board with your assessment.  Bob is sort of pedestrian.  And not even used that much, with people tending to use Rob nowadays.  The only issue I have with Rob is that it sounds somewhat "frat boy."  Robert is probably the best variant and it's what I use on a daily basis.  My parents and relatives append(ed) an "o" to it, which is/was to be expected.

Roberto is so AI Robot!    

[daves87rs]

13 hours ago, ykX said:

Maximum 15k per transaction, so you buy lets say a $35k vehicle and within a year you loose your job.  You still will owe at least $25k on a loan and they will cover up to $15k.  So you loose your vehicle AND will still owe about 10k in loans.

How does it help people?

It’s not. I do not expect folks to finish paying the rest either.

Not an option for most folks

1 hour ago, trinacriabob said:

I'm too lazy to change my handle.  I'm very on board with your assessment.  Bob is sort of pedestrian.  And not even used that much, with people tending to use Rob nowadays.  The only issue I have with Rob is that it sounds somewhat "frat boy."  Robert is probably the best variant and it's what I use on a daily basis.  My parents and relatives append(ed) an "o" to it, which is/was to be expected.

@David  Hope your hand heals up.  I've been through a different sort of injury with a hand.  Fortunately, it was the hand I don't use that much.  However, during the healing phase, I was away and, during that Easter season, I pushed myself to kill two birds with one stone that last Friday - Good Friday observance AND unlimited mini lobsters at Harvey's hotel/casino up at Lake Tahoe, which has long been discontinued because I'm thinking there was no way it could pencil.

I’ve considered changing my handle as well....

[balthazar]

When is an F-350 not a Ford?

When it's a GMC!

[USA-1]

17 hours ago, ykX said:

Maximum 15k per transaction, so you buy lets say a $35k vehicle and within a year you loose your job.  You still will owe at least $25k on a loan and they will cover up to $15k.  So you loose your vehicle AND will still owe about 10k in loans.

How does it help people?

Right. There's always hidden fine print on those kinds of "gotta move some metal" deals. Always ask yourself, What if...?

[USA-1]

Lordstown Endurance pickup

Fugly front-end...

GM rear bumper corner steps.

https://insideevs.com/news/434141/lordstown-endurance-truck-interior/

 

[ocnblu]

Looks like some sort of hokey home built "custom" Silverado, you can see it in the cab and bed as well.  I will bet you $20 this is a 2020 Silverado with a cheesy 90's Sci-Fi body kit and a Duracell where the 5.3 belongs.  Look at the doors/roof, roof spoiler, door mirrors and interior a-pillar trim and grab handles... lifted directly.  TOO FUNNY.

Edited July 16, 2020 by ocnblu

[David]

4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Looks like some sort of hokey home built "custom" Silverado, you can see it in the cab and bed as well.  I will bet you $20 this is a 2020 Silverado with a cheesy 90's Sci-Fi body kit and a Duracell where the 5.3 belongs.  Look at the doors/roof, roof spoiler, door mirrors and interior a-pillar trim and grab handles... lifted directly.  TOO FUNNY.

You are hitting the nail on the head as the design team came from GM Chevrolet truck group. So I would expect some aspects of the work they did there to show up in this truck. Battery is between the wheels in the frame. Engine bay is a Frunk. over all nice EV Truck that will serve well to end users as it uses in-wheel hub motors for quad motor AWD. Another excellent truck with Tank Mode.  

[Robert Hall]

4 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Looks like some sort of hokey home built "custom" Silverado, you can see it in the cab and bed as well.  I will bet you $20 this is a 2020 Silverado with a cheesy 90's Sci-Fi body kit and a Duracell where the 5.3 belongs.  Look at the doors/roof, roof spoiler, door mirrors and interior a-pillar trim and grab handles... lifted directly.  TOO FUNNY.

The greenhouse looks a lot like the Silverado.  The front looks much better than the fugly current Silverado. 

[David]

7 hours ago, USA-1 said:

Lordstown Endurance pickup

Fugly front-end...

GM rear bumper corner steps.

https://insideevs.com/news/434141/lordstown-endurance-truck-interior/

 

Front end is way Better than the current butt ugly Chevrolet trucks out now. GMC is better looking than Chevrolet. This is far better airstream than Chevrolet is.

[Robert Hall]

And now for something completely random...whilst listening to a podcast, there was a discussion of 2+2 (4 seat) rear-mid engined cars--a very small space--only a handful have been built over the years.  Lamborghini Urracco, Ferrari GT4 and Mondial, and the Lotus Evora is the only one currently in production. 

Made me wonder--has their ever been a production 4dr, 4 seat rear-mid engined car?  I know of plenty of 4dr rear engined cars (Corvair, some Renaults, etc)....but a 4dr rear-mid?  Can't think of one...

[balthazar]

3 minutes ago, David said:

Front end is way Better than the current butt ugly Chevrolet trucks out now. 

Lordstown looks like a worn pencil eraser up front, and the random body ‘stripes’ have to go. It’s out of step with what the segment goes for. No; for sure it’s fairly hideous, even vs. the polarizing Silverado, plus it’s too expensive- it starts about $25K higher than the class leaders.

12 minutes ago, David said:

...the design team came from GM Chevrolet truck group. So I would expect some aspects of the work they did there to show up in this truck.

Kinda sad they couldn’t do a little more there to differentiate.

[David]

Very cool recovery of a Chevy Pickup at 11,000 feet.

 

[daves87rs]

That’s an interesting place to put a truck.....

[David]

Seems GM has decided to kill the Fuel cell car for the commercial market globally and focus the resources on EVs and ICE.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/gm-new-fuel-cell-electric-vehicle/

[riviera74]

16 minutes ago, David said:

Seems GM has decided to kill the Fuel cell car for the commercial market globally and focus the resources on EVs and ICE.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/gm-new-fuel-cell-electric-vehicle/

Sounds like a good idea.  Hydrogen is really hard to collect and harvest for fuel.

[trinacriabob]

Where the hell does a person go to get out of Dodge?

Is California open?  It sounds like it's closing again.  Is Florida open?  They report ICU capacity issues and closing some beaches.  My guess is that these closures are in critical areas, like Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.  And that the people they don't want down there are those hailing from NY/NJ/CT.  Is Texas open?  Wow.  This is starting to sound desperate.  Houston's a mess, in terms of COVID, but nearby Galveston has a beach.  That's Houston's draw, so to speak.  Now, South Padre can't be "closed" ... or can it?

[balthazar]

1961 :

[daves87rs]

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Where the hell does a person go to get out of Dodge?

Is California open?  It sounds like it's closing again.  Is Florida open?  They report ICU capacity issues and closing some beaches.  My guess is that these closures are in critical areas, like Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.  And that the people they don't want down there are those hailing from NY/NJ/CT.  Is Texas open?  Wow.  This is starting to sound desperate.  Houston's a mess, in terms of COVID, but nearby Galveston has a beach.  That's Houston's draw, so to speak.  Now, South Padre can't be "closed" ... or can it?

It is such a mess down there.....

[Robert Hall]

8 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Where the hell does a person go to get out of Dodge?

Is California open?  It sounds like it's closing again.  Is Florida open?  They report ICU capacity issues and closing some beaches.  My guess is that these closures are in critical areas, like Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.  And that the people they don't want down there are those hailing from NY/NJ/CT.  Is Texas open?  Wow.  This is starting to sound desperate.  Houston's a mess, in terms of COVID, but nearby Galveston has a beach.  That's Houston's draw, so to speak.  Now, South Padre can't be "closed" ... or can it?

It is crazy.. I may go to an NE Ohio beach this weekend, but not get out of my Jeep...just drive around and sight see....don't want to go around plague-infested humans. 

[trinacriabob]

1 hour ago, Robert Hall said:

It is crazy.. I may go to an NE Ohio beach this weekend, but not get out of my Jeep...just drive around and sight see....don't want to go around plague-infested humans. 

This might be just me.  A beach with spring break type crowding would be hazardous.  But, somehow, I don't see how beaches with towels, and humans, spaced 30 feet apart from each other would spread it.  When I was on the beach in So FL (above Palm Beach) for a few days around Memorial Day weekend, they were open and you had all the room in the world.  The spring break like behavior must be the reason they close down beaches in places.

[trinacriabob]

Do you know who this is?  (hint:  she's not American)

 

[oldshurst442]

7 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

It is crazy.. I may go to an NE Ohio beach this weekend, but not get out of my Jeep...just drive around and sight see....don't want to go around plague-infested humans. 

This had me laughing.  I got a visual cue from Robocop.

 

And then poof! This song popped in my head

 

Edited July 17, 2020 by oldshurst442

[balthazar]

After getting 'rained on' by the hot mess that NY was, NJ, NY, CT & ME are the only states RIGHT NOW still trending downward or staying at a low, level status. Odds are that is likely to change... unless we wall off the state.

Is... is that possible? Please?

[David]

6 minutes ago, balthazar said:

After getting 'rained on' by the hot mess that NY was, NJ, NY, CT & ME are the only states RIGHT NOW still trending downward or staying at a low, level status. Odds are that is likely to change... unless we wall off the state.

Is... is that possible? Please?

Na great Coronavirus apocalypses is coming.  After all NY still has the most infected.  

[daves87rs]

Numbers keep climbing here in MI.....

then again, we are shooting or stabbing folks who tell them to put on masks.... 😮 

[trinacriabob]

This person

grew up to be this person (getting warmer?)

who then grew up to be this person

Any takers?  Not of her, but of her unforgettable role in one great flick?

[Robert Hall]

The last photo (color pic) looks like a villain from 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'..the 1969 George Lazenby Bond film.   Her name was something like Rosa Klebb (sp?), IIRC.

Edit: the character's name was 'Irma Bunt'.  Not sure who Rosa Klebb was.   The actor was Ilse Steppat,  died in 1969 at age 52.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064757/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Edit: Rosa Klebb was a female villain in 1963's 'From Russia With Love', Sean Connery's 2nd outing as 007.

Edited July 18, 2020 by Robert Hall

[balthazar]

'65 Chrysler 300L - the last of the Lettercars.
Glass headlight covers (outlawed the following year).
One of 76 built at the factory as a 4-spd.

[trinacriabob]

59 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

The last photo (color pic) looks like a villain from 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'..the 1969 George Lazenby Bond film.   Her name was something like Rosa Klebb (sp?), IIRC.

Edit: the character's name was 'Irma Bunt'.  Not sure who Rosa Klebb was.   The actor was Ilse Steppat,  died in 1969 at age 52.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064757/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Edit: Rosa Klebb was a female villain in 1963's 'From Russia With Love', Sean Connery's 2nd outing as 007.

Spot on.

Unmistakably Irma Bunt.  There was about a handful of kids I knew, either through school or around the neighborhood, whose parents were German immigrants and we had a field day with Irma Bunt.  In the movie, mastermind Blofeld and hench(wo)man Irma Bunt were in Switzerland, but she was German.  

Trivia:  she was apparently a "hit" as a villainess and was due to come back in the next movie, "Diamonds Are Forever," but she was removed from the plot line because she died of a heart attack only 4 days after the release of "OHMSS."  Can you picture her giving Sean Connery and Jill St. John grief and just hanging around Las Vegas in general?  Funny.

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

Spot on.

Unmistakably Irma Bunt.  There was about a handful of kids I knew, either through school or around the neighborhood, whose parents were German immigrants and we had a field day with Irma Bunt.  In the movie, mastermind Blofeld and hench(wo)man Irma Bunt were in Switzerland, but she was German.  

Trivia:  she was apparently a "hit" as a villainess and was due to come back in the next movie, "Diamonds Are Forever," but she was removed from the plot line because she died of a heart attack only 4 days after the release of "OHMSS."  Can you picture her giving Sean Connery and Jill St. John grief and just hanging around Las Vegas in general?  Funny.

Always liked OHMSS....George Lazenby was a bit wooden as Bond, but I loved the scenery and Diana Rigg and her '69 Cougar.  Corgi back in the day did 1/64th diecast of several cars from that movie. 

I recently watched a documentary about George Lazenby, was pretty entertaining...he was a used car salesman from Australia turned model, and OHMSS was his first acting role.

[trinacriabob]

1 minute ago, Robert Hall said:

Always liked OHMSS....George Lazenby was a bit wooden as Bond, but I loved the scenery and Diana Rigg and her '69 Cougar.  Corgi back in the day did 1/64th diecast of several cars from that movie. 

I recently watched a documentary about George Lazenby, was pretty entertaining...he was a used car salesman from Australia turned model, and OHMSS was his first acting role.

I also read he was difficult to work with and the role went to his head.  That's why he was not cast as 007 in "Diamonds" and Sean Connery returned.  Otherwise, "OHMSS" was easily one of the best movies in the series.  When was this documentary?  I believe he now lives on some ranch in the Southern California desert ... or once did.

I've never read any of the Ian Fleming novels.  So I don't know if James Bond is even described.  They have now gone through so many actors to play him that it's difficult to know which one is closest to the what Ian Fleming intended.

[Robert Hall]

4 minutes ago, trinacriabob said:

I also read he was difficult to work with and the role went to his head.  That's why he was not cast as 007 in "Diamonds" and Sean Connery returned.  Otherwise, "OHMSS" was easily one of the best movies in the series.  When was this documentary?  I believe he now lives on some ranch in the Southern California desert ... or once did.

 

'Becoming Bond'...2017..I streamed it on Hulu a few months ago.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6110504/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_7

I've read most of the novels--from Fleming and the continuation novels from the '80s-today..been a while since I've read the Fleming ones.

[trinacriabob]

Just for laughs ... Bond meets Irma Bunt for the first time before the helicopter ride up to Piz Gloria.

It goes without saying: I always get a chuckle out of flying on Lufthansa or walking through FRA airport.

[David]

[balthazar]

How/why CUVs have risen in popularity vs. cars; this is no longer possible:
 

[ocnblu]

Agreed.  Cars of a useful SIZE have been abandoned due to oppressive CAFE regulations.  So naturally people still need practical vehicles... hence the meteoric rise in popularity of trucks, SUV and CUV.

[daves87rs]

45 minutes ago, balthazar said:

How/why CUVs have risen in popularity vs. cars; this is no longer possible:
 

 

True. Cars quite often tend to be better for trips anyways. When we went to Disney World last year, our rental ended up an Outback. While roomy, it really wasn’t great for our luggage.  Our friends got a rental Ford Fusion- and had plenty of space for their stuff. Cars still have their value out there if folks understood it....

Most folks just want to sit up high with the other trucks/SUVs. Whether it be for ease of entry (like my parents/wife) or just to have that trendy ride....

I ended with my Nox due to the fact it tends to work well for camping..... 🙂 

[USA-1]

On 7/16/2020 at 7:27 AM, David said:

Front end is way Better than the current butt ugly Chevrolet trucks out now. GMC is better looking than Chevrolet. This is far better airstream than Chevrolet is.

 "Airstream" with a truck?! Talk about an oxymoron. 

As you know sales speak volumes and GM truck sales were up in pretty solid numbers before the Covid crash and they were still down far less in Q2 than all the other full-size truck manufacturers. 

Q1 2020 Silverado sales up 27%.  https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/04/chevrolet-silverado-sales-numbers-figures-results-fourth-quarter-q1-2020/

Q2 2020 Chevrolet and GMC truck sales are still down less (even combined) than each Ford and Ram. https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2020-us-pickup-truck-sales-figures-by-model/

 

Lordstown Motors will most likely run out of money before they even get started with sales anyway.

[USA-1]

Entertaining slide show of cars that could have been, but never were. Thank God some never were!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/autos/interesting-cars-canceled-before-reaching-the-showroom/ss-BB16xJoj?li=BBnb7Kz&fullscreen=true#image=13

[balthazar]

Aftermarket Buick V8 'Tomahawk' block, 555 CI, Stage 2 heads, FI. Supercharger geared to run as slow as possible, mild state of tune.
Screen in the background shows corrected HP :

[daves87rs]

Lots of trees down from the storms today....one just missed the Cobalt...

[USA-1]

Here ya go @oldshurst442

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/07/how-to-win-jeff-gordons-2020-corvette-stingray-video/

 

[oldshurst442]

Quote

Anger

 

3 hours ago, David said:

Southern

 

@ocnblu    

 

 

I say...I say 'ole boy, David wasnt that far off

 

I give you Anger & Southern, the only way I know. The Looney Tune way. 

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by oldshurst442

[trinacriabob]

Q:  I know we have a Tech section, but do we have any general tech question threads?

A:  ???

[daves87rs]

4 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

 

 

@ocnblu    

 

 

I say...I say 'ole boy, David wasnt that far off

 

I give you Anger & Southern, the only way I know. The Looney Tune way. 

 

What- no Daffy Duck? 🙂 

Edited July 20, 2020 by daves87rs

[ocnblu]

8 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

I say...I say 'ole boy, David wasnt that far off

LOL Portland, Oregon is not even remotely Southern.  The Statue's timing is not current.