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I thought I was being QUITE specific when I stated "official announcement of production". Trade/enthusiast chatter and spy shots are not official. Buick showed the Wildcat mid-engine concept, fully functional, in numerous settings, plus it saw a ton of press. But it was never announced it was going into production. Therefore, the 'production clock' never started. As opposed to March 2016 and the Tesla Model 3.

The tax will be charged on any other car as well. Of course taxes on $25k car will be smaller than on $35k. I think with some decent options it still will be a $40k car. Would I pay right now $35-40k for Tesla? No, there are many other options at the moment that better suitable for my needs for the money. However, the point is in another 5 years or so the car market will start looking differently.

So Tesla moved a solid 25,250 Model 3s in Dec. Of course, even Musk was saying 'buy now- tax credit cut coming Jan 1!'. Seems people did just that. What happened in Jan?? Sales slide 75%, to 6500 units. What happened in Feb?? Sales slid another 12%, to 5750 units. Now, Tesla's monthly sales volumes traditionally turn 'volatility' to 10, but this is back to May-June sales numbers, in the peak of the "production hell". Let me know if anyone sees an op-ed wondering ''can Tesla turn the sales slump around??' anytime in March. ;)

Can everyone hear me again now? Sorry about the downtime, we had an important file go corrupt.

So lets see out of curiosity if bare bones Model 3 makes financial sense. (Specially for you @balthazar ) Model 3 has converted fuel economy of 128 mpg city/ 117 mpg highway (supposedly equivalent kWh to mpg) Lets take bare bones Honda Accord, it will be about $10-12k cheaper than Tesla and it has fuel economy of 30 mpg city/ 38 mpg highway Tesla of course is RWD and much faster than Accord but lets say for the average consumer it doesn't matter Lets take average for Tesla 120 mpg and average for Honda 35 mpg. At average of $3 per gallon driving 12000 miles a year will cost $300 in Tesla and $1029 in Accord. So the difference is $729 per year and it will take almost 14 years to make up the price difference. Considering Tesla requires less maintenance (no oil changes, transmission, less brake wear out) it might go down to 10 years optimistically. So on paper it doesn't make financial sense compared to base common sedan. Personally though, I think I would rather drive base Model 3 than Accord.

When was the ME vette originally announced for production again? There's a difference between toying with a concept behind closed doors, and making a public official announcement it's going into production. 99.99999% of consumers have no idea of the long ME corvette proposals going back to '73.

Source said ad was from 1937 ~

OEMs have GOT to stop with the disingenuous advertising. The car is not "$55,500", you pay $63,000, and MAYBE you get some (or all) of a credit on your taxes. Or nothing. Volvo has no idea (and why would they even care). So the actual prices per above are : $63,000 and $55,000. And the volvos this year are $33,700 to $52,300. Instead of electrifying Volvos, they've created a new, luxury-priced 'brand', assumedly to justify charging more than ever before.

Took exactly 3 entire years from the unveiling to having the $35K version available. Model 3 is due for a refresh next year and the bulk of it's pre-orderers haven't even gotten their first car yet. I don't want to hear another mention ever again that GM is slow to produce an unveiled production-intended vehicle.

My pleasure! Lots more out there too! I certainly would not say being between the GN and the GNX (quicker than the Corvette that year) is in any way "pretty boring" If you recall the 1/4 mile stats pic from '79 I posted, 1985 was just starting to come out of a terrible era for performance. And the Olds Aerotech was a performance bomb- didn't it do 200 MPH with the Quad-4? Off the charts. RE the Wildcat - Aerotech - ME corvette concepts... I think the Divisions were still coming off of their recently-stripped autonomy and were still able to eek out some headstrong moves like these 3.

I googled and learned that the engine is a 3.8 liter Buick V6 reworked by McLaren. No surprise there. One could clearly see its Buick's 3800 and no surprise that McLaren was the builder of the engine when one figures out that the concept was showcased in 1985. What surprised me was that this concept was showcased in 1985...as a Buick mid-engined affair. Before The Corvette Indy ME and the Oldsmobile Aerotech. Sure there was a couple of mid-engined Corvette concepts in the 1970s, Buick got into that game too ahead of Oldsmobile. Impressive. Another thing that surprised me was this Buick was not a fast concept like the Aerotech was. I thought maybe that numbers would rival and beat the Buick GNX numbers. But no. Below the GNX numbers and a tad higher than the Grand National numbers making this concept pretty boring for stats comparisons... It was supposedly high tech inside though... Im glad to have read about it. Again, thanx Balthy for always giving me something new to see!

Happy Birthday, Peanut

I like this Buick Wildcat. I never knew this concept existed. Thank-you Balthy, this is a nice Birthday present you gave me. Now I will google and learn!

I like the idea of the thing being charged up and ready to go every morning.

Yeah, I couldn't imagine ordering a vehicle without a test drive first. And time sitting in it and checking out the ergonomics, etc.

Have a 2nd cousin that lives in St Pete- heard some real 'rat hole' stories even in his immediate neighborhood. - - - - - House of Magic, 1955-1979 ~

They built a concept rocket. The idea that sending a car in space is the only way to make it the fastest car ever....

Sharky ~ Shoddy ~

I did take my dad (he was reluctant) to look at a gold '62 Studebaker GT Hawk. That car was, IIRC $1000, and to be fair he did look it over, but again- it was too old (this would have been 1985-86). I asked him about it about a year ago- he didn't remember seeing it. I can still picture the black vinyl interior and the dent in the top of one front fender that must've come from a baseball bat wielded in anger, and I can pick out the house on Pennington Rd where it was. Always liked the GT Hawks.

Me too- it's were all my windfall billions will go; building semi-production '50s concepts. I wonder if Tesla will EVER have enough money to afford building a concept vehicle.

I don't know what you are talking about...I am still waiting for the gorgeous concept cars of the 50s and sixties to make it into production.

you know how hard that was to type that out!?

this will become the litmus test to see if muhrican consumers are willing to skip the dealer.

Storm Troopers?

Wanna take another guess?

I totally agree as Ford sales person is like the worst to deal with out there. So pushy, arrogant and uninformed about their products details. I have no problem when bad dealerships go away. But for me, I have certain needs as you know and being able to actually sit in one and test it out will always have me going to a dealership over on-line buying.

Mercedes-Benz majority sucking big time! Only one worse is Nissan. WOW ?

Car & Driver piece is stating the '$35K' is actually $36,200 with the destination charge. Not sure offhand if that's commonly tossed in with a random MSRP or not. I'm willing to forgo that addition for this discussion. However what I am NOT willing to forgo is the included tax credit. $35,000 plus $3750 is $38,750. On the Accord side you have oil changes (At $50 per, times 1.6 changes per year: $80, most other maintenance is minor or deferred to the 75K or 100K miles interval. 3 reportedly costs about $200/ 10K miles in electricity, but don't forget you are also paying more tax on the purchase, more in insurance, around $1000 to upgrade your electric in the garage... these add to the bottom line too. And EV will never work for me for a number of reasons, but it might for my wife. I just don't see a clear cost advantage at this point. Maybe in 10 years.

Given how nasty the F and I guys are when you buy a car at a traditional dealership, I will feel no sorrow if they go the way of the dodo bird.

A purchase of a Model 3 is almost like a tribute to Elon Musk. Just getting a Model T was a nod to Henry Ford. Also I think this version availability has nothing to do with being able to actually manufacture the standard model. It has everything to do with the Polestar 2. That thing is going to be the first real competitor to Model 3. And it also sells online only.

Very true, weird color names, but at least the auto is better looking than the Tesla 3. I could actually be happy to be seen in this car if I fit. That is the rub, while many young people might be happy to order on-line with no physical checking out of the auto, I cannot and will not ever do that as I have to check for my leg room and head room. This is why I am concerned that Tesla is shooting themselves in the foot. One Size fits all the shopping model will never make. Give me a Dealership.

The Model 3 was unveiled March 2016. The first deliveries were July 2017. Ford is even worse with their whole GT500, Ranger, and Bronco situations. The C8 has been spotted testing in September 2018 and it supposedly a 2020?

Pretty dull exterior color choices...funny how they call the black 'Void'. Not much going on w/ interior colors, the barley is tolerable...the slate and charcoal are too depressing.

You can build yours here: https://www.polestar.com/us/ You have the Charcoal Weave Tech with Black Ash Deco or Nappa Leather Barley with wood deco. My $63,000 Moon colored Polestar with the Nappa two tone interior, fully loaded.

St Augustine seems like it would be a fun place to vacation. I still like the Keys, though they are pretty vulnerable to hurricanes like last year.

I've NOT seen any official announcement / stage unveiling from Chevrolet yet. Drew?

Like GM would ever make such a good decision post BK.

All of south Florida, Save for the L in Fort Lauderdale and perhaps Palm beach, seems to have become a rathole. Tampa seems to be the only civilized place in teh state, and I really despise Orlando.

Like the mythical mid engined Corvette...

I still wonder if Tesla will survive...

"Evasive Steering Assist, Active Lane Keeping Assist, Active Blind Spot Assist, Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic, and Pre-Safe Plus." oh my god; no.

Until Blu checks in here, I get to be the old man. I was 12 in 1978. I was already into vintage iron then, tho of course I didn't own anything (neither did anyone in my family). Somewhere I have a 'top 5' list I used to do, when it struck me, I'd list the cars I liked that week. The vast bulk was vintage stuff even when I was in my teens; '50s/60s domestic iron. Reel back from the despair : A Porsche 911 barely broke into the high 14s, a Trans Am was pulling down low 15s, and these were 'fast' cars. A Ferrari 308 was a 15.8 sec car!! Sorry if I couldn't get excited. - - - - - When I was... I think 16, I told my father I wanted to buy a car I'd found. It was a flattop '59 Catalina, it had no title, no ignition key, and someone had heaved a cement block thru the rear wrap window. It was $50 but it might as well have been $5000- dad said no way and he didn't even see it. When I was 23, I bought my '59 Invicta. THAT was an event of high lust, especially when held up against the anemic plastic junk of 1989. No contest.

In 1985, I was 12 years old. There were Porsche 911s on my radar. The A-Team GMC van, the 3rd gen Pontiac Trans Am and KITT that I loved, but like every teen aged boy during this time.... I saw both movies at the cinema... A red Countach is what I wanted then as a 12 year old and going back into time for 1985, a red Countach for a dream garage for when I was 12 years odls is what I would want now... At 22 years old, in 1995, A 1995 Pontiac Firebird Firehawk or 1995 Trans Am is what I wanted then...and now. I was 32 in 2005, and although I bought a 2005 Impala SS in 2005, but I really wanted a Chrysler 300C, the car I truly lusted over was a 2005 M-B CLS 55 AMG. The CLS 63 AMG is want I really want but that came out in 2006. So Ill stick to the CLS 55 AMG of 2005 I was 42 in 2015...and I was and still am tempted by the Devil with the Hellcat! The Demon is in the Motley Crew video, but its ther Hellcat that was available in 2015 and its the Hellcat that I still want! And although Im not 52 yet, tomorrow I get to be 46...God willing. So we do 2019 as 2025 is still a ways away... Cadillac CT6-V So much for the EV movement in this dream garage!!!

Are some folk listing their picks if they were 12, while some are listed their picks from WHEN they were 12? Horsey- you did a '69, a '70 and a '68. Izz confoozed.

And there's the rub. As nice as that one is, for the same amount of money, I would go for a V8 Jeep Cherokee instead. I don't need a 3rd row. If I get a Durango instead of the GC some day, the rear seats will be semi-permanently lowered.

I'm definitely more in favor of the GLE.... the GLC grille looks old at this point even with the refresh.

Good quick resolution vibes to you, blu! Here's a deliciously greeny Caddy to ferry those vibes ~

Sorry to hear about that. The first thing that you should do, and if you havent done so already,THEN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR???!!!, is call your credit card company to explain your situation and maybe even cancel your credit card!!! Like lets go...do it now!!! PRONTO!

I rode the TGV from Paris to Avignon and back last August. Much better than flying.

Outside looks ok...interior is too dark and gloomy. I'm sure the interior is fine as far as materials and fit and finish, I really like the current Volvo interior designs. But I prefer their interiors with color and wood rather than the coalmine look...