Random Thoughts Thread

[oldshurst442]

Rant #1

Everytime I hear a Twisted Sister song or hear Dee Snider's (awesome) voice somewhere, Im quickly remembering how much of a douchebag Al Gore and his shytty ex-bride was and is.  

[oldshurst442]

Rant #2

Lysol kills 99.9% of bacteria in the air...

Maybe I dont WANT to kill them?  Human immune evolution has relied and CONTINUES to rely on that  99.9%  of bacteria in the air so humans could continue to survive and evolve...

 And while Covid is still in the air, it aint Lysol spray that will prevent me from contracting it. 

And dont aerosols contain those CFCs that damage the ozone layer? 

So what gains to we get if we kill our ozones and let cancer inducing UV rays to harm us if we Lysol the planet away?  Keep in mind that not ALL 99.9% of bacteria in the air are of the bad variety.  There ARE some bacteria that are not only useful to us, but also PROTECT us from the bad ones...

I HATE those Lysol commercials. 

[oldshurst442]

Rant #3

Its INCREDIBLE how much we have let corporations dictate how we live our lives.

Its not only with the shytty Lysol style advertising bullshyte we have to endure in every facet of our lives just looking at anything in the urban horizon. Full billboards and on any TV or computer screen...  

But...

We need to be reminded what BUYING season it is when we enter ANY retail store.  

Black Friday this and Black Friday that and XMAS is here and this is not EVEN when Halloween has even arrived.  Its WORSE now and American Thanksgiving is STILL but a couple of days away.  

XMAS music everywhere you go, but there is NO snow on the ground. Its above freezing still in Montreal and we are in the 3rd week of November but even us Canadians now have to endure this shytty Black Friday sales...  A PHOQUING holiday that is not even a holiday...its just a spending money day.  

And the REASON why there is no snow on the ground in Montreal and its STILL above freezing in phoquing November ALMOST December is BECAUSE now, the WHOLE planet consumes useless shyte and all the factories of the world and shipping transports are full on force pollutin' because of man's GREATEST invention:   MONEY and GREED.

 

I miss that point in time when we truly had freedom in our lives and we were NOT directed by the corporate world when it WAS the time to celebrate.   With FAMILY and FRIENDS.  Love and friendship.  NOT with quarterly financial reports so XMAS season starts 4  months before the 25th of December and Summer season starts  BEFORE the bloody groundhound even SEES his own phoquing shadow. 

[surreal1272]

I have to say that the mobile version of this site has become more unusable due to the pop up ads and videos. I get the reason for the ads but the execution of them takes away from the usability. 

[David]

OUCH, this hurts.

CFPB Orders Toyota Motor Credit to Pay $60 Million for Illegal Lending and Credit Reporting Misconduct | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (consumerfinance.gov)

[riviera74]

4 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

I have to say that the mobile version of this site has become more unusable due to the pop up ads and videos. I get the reason for the ads but the execution of them takes away from the usability. 

I understand, but for me to avoid those ads, I paid the membership fee so that I do not have to deal with them.  $15 a year is quite a bargain.

[David]

4 hours ago, riviera74 said:

I understand, but for me to avoid those ads, I paid the membership fee so that I do not have to deal with them.  $15 a year is quite a bargain.

I still get a single add popup on the page I leave open that I have to close. Do you get this?

Example is if I click on the Cheers & Gears logo in the upper left corner to go to the home page, I get a single popup that I have to close before I can look at the home page.

[David]

As expected Toyota grabbed headlines about a breakthrough solid state batteries, but clearly they have not invented them yet and even if they can actually deliver, it will be limited to 10,000 EVs globally by 2030.

 

Guess they still think hydrogen is the way to go. 😆

 

https://electrek.co/2023/11/21/toyotas-long-range-solid-state-ev-batteries-limited/

[surreal1272]

5 hours ago, David said:

I still get a single add popup on the page I leave open that I have to close. Do you get this?

Example is if I click on the Cheers & Gears logo in the upper left corner to go to the home page, I get a single popup that I have to close before I can look at the home page.

You are a premium subscriber so you don't get all the pop ups I do. Not just the ad after the first page clock. It's the constant video pop up that come up and on a mobile device, the "x" (to close) button is so small that you will click on the video 9 times out of 10. The desktop version is much more manageable in this regard but I am all but done with using the site on my phone.

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

You are a premium subscriber so you don't get all the pop ups I do. Not just the ad after the first page clock. It's the constant video pop up that come up and on a mobile device, the "x" (to close) button is so small that you will click on the video 9 times out of 10. The desktop version is much more manageable in this regard but I am all but done with using the site on my phone.

Yeah, I'm a premium subscriber and see a huge number of ads when trying to access the site on Safari on my iPhone.  I would have thought being a premium subscriber would reduce the number of ads, but It's pretty much unusable on a phone with all the ads....so I usually only go to the site on my laptop.

[ccap41]

On 11/19/2023 at 6:51 AM, Robert Hall said:

I'm sure there is a substantial price difference...

Of course there will! Then Cadillac will have horrible sales numbers because they're trying to sell the same thing at a much higher cost. 

Ford/Lincoln will probably end up doing the same thing but I can only hope Lincoln differentiates enough to justify existing. 

On 11/20/2023 at 12:19 AM, David said:

Interesting read,  very true that there is a lack of training for sales folks on how to sell EVs.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/car-dealers-love-electric-cars-just-dont-cant-convince-shoppers-2023-11

One of my good friends that sells at a Chevy/Buick/GMC dealership hates everything that GM has come out with. Everything electric they've sold has been nothing but a nightmare that's always in the service bays. 

I certainly wouldn't say dealerships love electric cars quite yet. 

[ccap41]

17 hours ago, surreal1272 said:

I have to say that the mobile version of this site has become more unusable due to the pop up ads and videos. I get the reason for the ads but the execution of them takes away from the usability. 

For that reason, I only use the desktop version when I'm at work. It's a bit of a bummer but, it is what it is. 

[David]

2 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Of course there will! Then Cadillac will have horrible sales numbers because they're trying to sell the same thing at a much higher cost. 

Ford/Lincoln will probably end up doing the same thing but I can only hope Lincoln differentiates enough to justify existing. 

One of my good friends that sells at a Chevy/Buick/GMC dealership hates everything that GM has come out with. Everything electric they've sold has been nothing but a nightmare that's always in the service bays. 

I certainly wouldn't say dealerships love electric cars quite yet. 

I will say that we still have a ways to go in working out the kinks, much like how the first decade of Tesla was nothing pretty for the S quality wise before things settled down to more fit-n-finish issues, but yes we still have plenty of quality issues to work out.

I am hoping that the 3 month delay for Equinox EV was just not getting the battery plants online but also added QA testing of the EV as this needs to be a homerun hit for GM.

I do feel that no matter the Legacy OEM, there is a ton of training to do from Sales to Service yet for EVs and sadly it does not help when you have a company like Ford that is only requiring Level 2 home charging chargers to be installed at dealerships. This is pathetic. GM if your top tier is requiring Level 3 charger on site, but middle and bottom tier are level 2. I feel all should be level 3 no matter what.

I wonder if @Drew Dowdell sees the same large pop up when he uses the app on his phone. I stopped and went with just regular browser on my phone when away from the home. Far more usable than the app.

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, David said:

I do feel that no matter the Legacy OEM, there is a ton of training to do from Sales to Service yet for EVs and sadly it does not help when you have a company like Ford that is only requiring Level 2 home charging chargers to be installed at dealerships. This is pathetic. GM if your top tier is requiring Level 3 charger on site, but middle and bottom tier are level 2. I feel all should be level 3 no matter what.

I find it a little funny that my local Ford dealership has a level 2 charger but my local GM dealer has a CCS fast charger that...you guessed it... out of order. 

[trinacriabob]

It's the eve of Thanksgiving, so Happy Thanksgiving to us Americans (U.S., that is) and have a great extended weekend.

It's easy to default to being negative with everything that's going on around us, so think of things to be thankful for - the more I think about this, I have a fair bit to be thankful for - and go for the GLASS HALF FULL outlook.

Also, food unites people.  See below:

And, finally, take it easy on the tryptophan. 

[David]

3 hours ago, ccap41 said:

I find it a little funny that my local Ford dealership has a level 2 charger but my local GM dealer has a CCS fast charger that...you guessed it... out of order. 

Agree that is pathetic.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!!

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

 

[David]

This is a funny read. 10 Glaring Problems With Toyota No One Talks About (msn.com)

[oldshurst442]

3 hours ago, David said:

This is a funny read. 10 Glaring Problems With Toyota No One Talks About (msn.com)

 

David:  Toyota is too funny.  They build psycho cars that try to kill you.  Run, run, run, run, run, run, run away from Psycho Killa Toyota!!! Qu'est-ce que c'est? Fa-fa-fa-fa, fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa!!!

1. Sudden Power Loss and Battery Fires - RAV4 2013-2018 
2. Oil Sludge – 1997-2005 Toyota Avalon, 2001-2005 Highlander
3. Premature Frame Corrosion – 2005-2010 Tacoma, 2005-2008 Sequoia 
4. Unintended Acceleration – 2005–2012 Toyota Avalon, 2007-2021 Toyota Tundra 

 

 

Oldshurst442:   Hey, hey, hey, hey!!!   Won't you come see about it?  I'll be alone, talkin' about it!  You know it, baby!  Ill tell you about their troubles and doubts  Give you everything, inside and out!!!  

Don't you forget about THIS!!!
Don't, don't, don't, don't
Don't you forget about THAT!!!

1. Melting Dashboard – 2003-2005 Toyota 4Runner, 2004–2010 Sienna
2. Excessive Oil Consumption – 2007 Toyota Camry, RAV4
3. Faulty Brakes – 2007 Toyota Camry, 2001 Toyota Sequoia

 

 

Toyota don't give a damn 'bout their reputation
Living in the past,  they can do whatever they want  to do and that's what their gonna do

 

They never gonna care 'bout their bad reputation
Oh no, not them, oh no, not them
Sticky Pedal, boys!  (accelerate!!!)

An' they don't give a damn 'bout their reputation
The world's in trouble, 'cause there's no communication
An' everyone can say what they wanna say
It never gets better, anyway

So why should they care about a bad reputation, anyway?  
Oh no, not them, oh no, not them!!!

 

 

SURREAL:  Shut, shut your mouth!!!   'Cause I'm not listening anyhow!!!  I've had enough, enough of you!!!

 

 

David:   Don't get angry with me
I never caused you no pain
I won't be angry with you
But  Toyotas DONT DRIVE straight (Yeah)
It hasn't been for awhile and the river's run dry
They haven't made a decent car I wanna know why
Why you angry with me
Why you angry?

 

 

Oldshurst442 to SURREAL:

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by oldshurst442

[surreal1272]

15 hours ago, David said:

This is a funny read. 10 Glaring Problems With Toyota No One Talks About (msn.com)

Either you have dementia or you need to come up with better material. You posted that exact article just over a month ago. But hey, what do I know? I’m just pointing out facts. 
 

 

And to the lunatic who thinks his opinion means Jack squat, no it’s not Johnny Cash. It’s just little ole me sitting by the morning fire…

 

Leave my name out of any future discussions. It’s that simple lunatic. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by surreal1272

[surreal1272]

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/gm-recalls-1-million-suvs-over-defect-that-could-cause-air-bag-to-rupture/
 

 

And who can forget this little gem…

https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2014/0520/GM-recall-General-Motors-adds-2.4-million-vehicles-to-recall?cmpid=mkt:ggl:dsa-np&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_KqbyrbfggMV1TjUAR388gXjEAMYASAAEgLDaPD_BwE

 

And I’m out. Enjoy your weekend folks, except for the butthurt A hole up north. Enjoy the misery you’ve kept as company all these years.

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by surreal1272

[surreal1272]

Great job at turning this site into just another trolling cesspool @David. Blu would be proud. 

[Drew Dowdell]

I’m going to be working on the ads this coming week . I am not happy with the ads provider we’re using. If you’re seeing ads but are a subscriber, let me know

[oldshurst442]

I dont mind the ads, @Drew Dowdell

But I keep on seeing middle fingers.     

 

Hey @surreal1272

 

 

 

 

 

[Robert Hall]

11 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I’m going to be working on the ads this coming week . I am not happy with the ads provider we’re using. If you’re seeing ads but are a subscriber, let me know

I'm not seeing ads on Safari on the desktop, but am seeing a lot of ads on mobile Safari.   The site is pretty much unusable on mobile because of the ads.

[surreal1272]

On 11/25/2023 at 9:56 AM, surreal1272 said:

On 11/24/2023 at 6:49 PM, David said:

This is a funny read. 10 Glaring Problems With Toyota No One Talks About (msn.com)

Either you have dementia or you need to come up with better material. You posted that exact article just over a month ago. But hey, what do I know? I’m just pointing out facts. 

Slight correction. It’s not the exact same article but the last article repeats 80% of what was already in the previous article so my core point stands. Your troll post was obvious and of course, the favored Canadian Lemming bit on it because well…who really cares, but I would run out of space on the this if I responded in kind with all the issues GM has faced just since 2000. Again, for the blind folks in the back, I am not touting Toyota or propping them up. They have had their fair share of screw ups and lemons and their EVs are a joke but it is still a FRACTION of what has happened to GM during the same time period that @David sourced for Toyota. It’s not even close and there is literally mountains of data to back this up but I’m guessing GM fans suffering from the Mandela Effect will never see it that way. To them, I say “tough s***”. Facts are still facts even if you don’t want to agree with them. 

Edited November 26, 2023 by surreal1272

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

I see ads as a subscriber. Not only that, I could not edit posts I posted for a week or more then it started working again. That is why that one post under heritage got double posted. I was deleting posts and reposting them and then removing the other. I do not know.  I thought maybe I did something. 

Just for your information:

 

[David]

Good info

 

16 hours ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I’m going to be working on the ads this coming week . I am not happy with the ads provider we’re using. If you’re seeing ads but are a subscriber, let me know

For edge, chrome and Firefox I get a single pop-up ad when I go to a forum channel like Random or to the home page on my personal and work computer system.  On my Samsung Ultra 22 phone both chrome and Samsung browser seem to allow  multiple pop-up ads. Very weird, I keep it somewhat under control by using the chrome browser so I just get the single ad per forums channel. 

[David]

This will be cool to see how long term these EVs stack up against each other.

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/our-long-term-chevy-blazer-ev-meets-its-biggest-competition.html

[David]

Another Interesting read: Report: EVs Less Likely to Catch Fire Than Gas-Powered Cars - Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com)

 

How electric vehicle tax credits will work in 2024, and a list of cars that qualify (msn.com)

[trinacriabob]

Give thanks a few days later that @David is on board ... but wish him a happy birthday TODAY!

Enjoy your special day and let us know how you celebrated it.

[David]

2 hours ago, trinacriabob said:

Give thanks a few days later that @David is on board ... but wish him a happy birthday TODAY!

Enjoy your special day and let us know how you celebrated it.

Celebrating tonight with the family and friends. Korean Bulgogi, side dishes and of course Soju Bombs.  

If you have never heard of a Korean Soju Bomb or Japanese Saki Bomb, they are pretty much the same thing, a 3:7 mixture or take one pint of Korean or Japanese beer, add a shot of Soju or Saki and pound it down while eating good food.

How to Do a Soju Bomb: Best Way To Drink Soju Is In This Beer Cocktail - Thrillist

@Drew Dowdell Have to laugh this morning at the ads as I have never seen one so big covering the whole webpage.

[David]

Seems while American auto companies are now putting on hold plans to convert or build EV / Battery Plants, Hyundai is moving forward.

Hyundai Motor Advances Electrification Vision with New EV–dedicated Plant in Ulsan, Building on Its Brand Heritage (hyundaimotorgroup.com)

Hyundai Motor to halt Asan factory in S.Korea for EV factory construction | Reuters

[Drew Dowdell]

@NINETY EIGHT REGENCY @David @Robert Hall @smk4565 @ccap41 and others.

The prior ad supplier has been removed, and we went back to the one prior to that.  The ads were just way too intrusive and even though I tried repeatedly to cut the ads back with the new supplier, the AI fought me and added new placements that I did not approve.  Even with the mess it made, it didn't improve revenue dramatically over the prior supplier.

That said, I am still going to be looking for ways to increase ad revenue including some marketing opportunities with Amazon and others.  In those cases, they will be more like product reviews and articles that I write but include an affiliate link in the text and the site will make a commission if you make a purchase through that link.  Because the articles will be written by me, they will not fall under the Premium subscriber exemption.

Thank you for putting up with the last ad supplier for so long. I apologize for letting it get so bad before fixing it.

[David]

Cool next year models of Tahoe and Suburban.

The Best Get Better: Meet Chevrolet’s New 2025 Tahoe and Suburban

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

4 minutes ago, David said:

Cool next year models of Tahoe and Suburban.

The Best Get Better: Meet Chevrolet’s New 2025 Tahoe and Suburban

Go check what I posted in the Chevrolet section.......

[ccap41]

13 hours ago, David said:

Cool next year models of Tahoe and Suburban.

The Best Get Better: Meet Chevrolet’s New 2025 Tahoe and Suburban

If only they'd step out of the stone age with those engines and join Toyota with modern turbo and/or hybrid engines. 

[ccap41]

15 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

If only they'd step out of the stone age with those engines and join Toyota with modern turbo and/or hybrid engines. 

...and Ford and Ram...

[David]

Very cool battery plant in Moses Lake Washington.

Next-gen battery startup Sila breaks ground on Washington facility with $100M in DOE support – GeekWire

[oldshurst442]

7 hours ago, ccap41 said:

If only they'd step out of the stone age with those engines and join Toyota with modern turbo and/or hybrid engines. 

 

7 hours ago, ccap41 said:

...and Ford and Ram...

GM announced that it would spend nearly 1 billion dollars for a new 6th generation small block V8.  I didnt think that GM's V8s need turbos for base applications.  If that is what you meant and concerning the Tahoe and Suburban.    As for the hybrid thing, GM decided not to go that route when transforming their business to all EVs.  In hindsight, that was a bad move.  But who could have predicted that?   But they should have predicted that as GM has also been known to sleep with Big Oil... So...all that anti-EV talk rhetoric from all KINDS of shytty sources in the USofA should have given them a clue as to what was going to happen 3-5 years down the line when they decided to nix hybrids...

Ram...they do have a new inline 6.  

Stellantis does have state of the art 4 cylinders and turbos.  We just dont get those here.  

As for Toyota, they had ancient engines and only this year with the new Tacoma things have changed for the modern.  

At least this is how I view things...

 

 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by oldshurst442

[David]

Interesting how the news is saying that GM is stopping the funding for EVs and investing in ICE and buying shares back.

https://pressroom.gm.com/gmbx/us/en/pressroom/home/news.detail.html/Pages/news/us/en/2023/nov/1129-businessupdate.html

Yet the facts are while they are increasing the dividend and buying stock, there is no stopping the committed funding to EVs.

Interesting info as they finalize the 2024 budget year taking into account the new UAW agreements.

[David]

Another interesting read as I compare Hyundai EV Platform to GM's Ultium Platform.

Hyundai Has Its Own Take on GM’s Ultium Battery Architecture (autoweek.com)

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About GM's Ultium Platform - And More! - CleanTechnica

[surreal1272]

1 hour ago, David said:

Interesting how the news is saying that GM is stopping the funding for EVs and investing in ICE and buying shares back.

https://pressroom.gm.com/gmbx/us/en/pressroom/home/news.detail.html/Pages/news/us/en/2023/nov/1129-businessupdate.html

Yet the facts are while they are increasing the dividend and buying stock, there is no stopping the committed funding to EVs.

Interesting info as they finalize the 2024 budget year taking into account the new UAW agreements.

And you have the nerve to call me a “fan boi” with that candy coated post. 
 

 

[David]

31 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

And you have the nerve to call me a “fan boi” with that candy coated post. 
 

 

Where does it say they are pulling funding for EVs? They have canceled non-binding agreements and have delayed production starts, but there is nothing that says they have pulled EV funding.

[surreal1272]

5 minutes ago, David said:

Where does it say they are pulling funding for EVs? They have canceled non-binding agreements and have delayed production starts, but there is nothing that says they have pulled EV funding.

Your complete inability to read between the lines is unbelievable. Reducing production goals by a country mile is, in effect, a reduction in funding. You are attempting to sugarcoat their situation by inferring that they are okay when they are not, currently. Not saying they don’t eventually reach their goals and see real fruits from their labor but what you are saying here is nothing more than speculation to counter the less than rosy picture painted here. 

[David]

Very cool tech coming from Hyundai which ended ICE R&D in 2021 as they move towards their long range EV Future.
Hyundai Motor and Kia Unveil Paradigm-Shifting 'Uni Wheel' Drive System to Transform Mobility Design - Hyundai Newsroom

 

[surreal1272]

Fanboy Tactics 101: When proven wrong, resort to deflection, sprinkle some projection and personal attacks, and outright ignore all facts that are contrary to their narrative. Then wash, rinse, repeat and act like none the previous events happened when they start spreading the same FUD next time.

 

Never has that been more true than in the last 48 hours here. 

[surreal1272]

And speaking of fanboy logic, I could have sworn there was someone here touting the endless virtues of the upcoming Cybertruck and the phenomenal range it will have. Maybe they can explain this little tidbit I just came across (from it's release yesterday).

 

"It remains to be seen how towing will affect the estimated driving ranges quoted by Tesla for the various Cybertruck models. The forthcoming $60,990 rear-drive base model is estimated to go 250 miles per charge and get from zero to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds. All-wheel-drive models are claimed to go 340 miles per charge and reach 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, while the Cyberbeast is said to reach 60 mph in 2.6 seconds (on a prepped surface, without a rollout) and go 320 miles per charge."

 

Source:

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2024-tesla-cybertruck-first-look-review/

 

 

This numbers are pretty much dead even with the Ford Lightning, with a higher starting price to boot. So much for that vaunted Tesla hype.

Edited December 1, 2023 by surreal1272

[ccap41]

14 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

GM announced that it would spend nearly 1 billion dollars for a new 6th generation small block V8.  I didnt think that GM's V8s need turbos for base applications.  If that is what you meant and concerning the Tahoe and Suburban.    As for the hybrid thing, GM decided not to go that route when transforming their business to all EVs.  In hindsight, that was a bad move.  But who could have predicted that?   But they should have predicted that as GM has also been known to sleep with Big Oil... So...all that anti-EV talk rhetoric from all KINDS of shytty sources in the USofA should have given them a clue as to what was going to happen 3-5 years down the line when they decided to nix hybrids...

I just think it's silly that GM HAD hybrids in their BOF vehicles but just let them go. If they would have stuck with those, they would have easily been the best on the market today. 

It's also pretty ridiculous to think they'd be able to convince everybody to skip over hybrids on their way to EVs. All of us car guys understand the advantage of EVs but 99% of the population will not do research and are scared of a few headlines they read as they scroll the internets. 

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

And speaking of fanboy logic, I could have sworn there was someone here touting the endless virtues of the upcoming Cybertruck and the phenomenal range it will have. Maybe they can explain this little tidbit I just came across (from it's release yesterday).

Ohhhh I thought this EXACT same thing last night when I read a few things on the Cybertruck. MSRP, Range, towing capacity... nothing is close to the claims. 

Those ranges are only slightly further than Ford's and the Lightning came out like 3 years ago now. Ford's small battery in RWD is rated for 240 miles. Big battery and 4WD is rated for 320 miles. 

[surreal1272]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

Ohhhh I thought this EXACT same thing last night when I read a few things on the Cybertruck. MSRP, Range, towing capacity... nothing is close to the claims. 

 

On top of that, the only way you get close to 500 miles of range (470, to be exact), is to add a separate extended battery pack that sits where? In the bed of an already compromised truck bed.

 

But I am certain it will still be a hit despite the lies about it on literally every front.💀