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I could really see this in the driveway next to the Ranger. Getting close to 27 MPG out of it, which is insane for a pickup truck. Plenty of Power, enjoying it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Kream https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-black-keys-delta-kream/ For Drew, Oldshurst, Balthazar...kind of cool how old Oldsmobiles still figure into our culture 50 years later. Headphones and speakers for listening to music...I like both equally much, headphones reveal a lot of details and speakers give you a more physical sound

Self inflicted...

I like this bike as it reminds me of the only motorcycle that I really ever desired, but was married with kids, so bikes have been a no go now as the responsible father I am. But I love the Yamaha Stryker. The Stryker which is gone for the 2022 model year, RIP will be missed I believe as they have given up on the cruiser market, but has that fatty backside you talk about. I get the sleek European racer design which this bike has, and maybe it is designed that way for ease of holding multiple people as well as weight. Either way, in Green it is lovely!

I ranted a tad about this, but Im glad you brought it back to light. This leaves the door right open for Porsche and/or Audi to (Taycan/E Tron GT) to deliver on a 500 range, 1000 HP-ish super EV sedan that does 0-60 in under 2 seconds. Porsche, from what I have learned from their history, is that Porsche does NOT like taking a backseat to ANYBODY... They fell very short with their Taycan as compared to the Model S, but you just KNOW that Porsche is NOT resting on its laurels. They WILL end up out-performing Tesla in the next gen Taycan... GM and its Hummer EV, If you look at the supposed specs, and GM usually sandbags their numbers, the Hummer EV does 0-60 in 3 seconds, has 1000 HP and has a range of 350 miles. Freedom mode engaged. The Hummer EV has also a 9000 lbs weight and is as big as a house... Imagine what that drivetrain will do in a waaaay less big and heavy package. Lets say a Cadillac V EV or Chevy EV muscle car... To say that the regular Plaid is good enough is simply foolish. I know he would prefer to NOT want to admit that his engineers cant deliver... If his engineers CAN deliver this 1000 HP, 0-60 in the 1 sec range and 500 EV mile range, then Telsa SHOULD produce it. In limited numbers if anything. Tesla could solidify dominance. By not producing it, Tesla opens the door WIDE open for another to take EV superiority... When Tesla was the only game in town, Tesla's EV tech seemed impressive and downright dominant. Especially when all others were producing compliance EVs. And rightfully so. But other OEMs are figuring the tech out...and quite fast I might add...

The last 2000 miles I have montored it very closely. Almost right at 27 mpg. Everything from having the rear diff locked on logging/unpaved roads in rural PA and Ohio to curising at 80, getting caught in traffic jams, hauling heavy loads of lumber and landscaping materials, etc. I am probably mostly commuting to work which is lightly travelled two and 4 lane highway where I am running 45-55. But I use the truck for everything. FWIW the Finance guy who did my paperwork had a 4wd Ranger, and he averaged about 24-24.5, so the 10 speed probably does have something to do with it. Motor is never strained. I like both Boeing and Airbus, but yeah. a lot of Boeings pains are self inflicted. Sadly. What did they cross it with, a Duck billed platypus? I love the Super Guppy and the Guppies, built from B377's and their military counterpart. Modern version of that...

They probably realized they cannot come through on both claims of 1100hp and 520 miles of range... https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a36647484/tesla-model-s-plaid-canceled/

Good philosophy for Monday...

I love the A340, but its time has come and gone. Kind of digging the sleek look of two engine planes lately. I love the vibe of the A350 and B 787 both. Be interesting to see what happens with the XLR version of the A321. This video has a lot of clear thinking in it RE the 757 and 321 XLR It would be interesting to see how many cycles the 757's have flown. They won't be cash cows forever, and the A321 is much more efficient. $250 at my local scrap metal yard, ACE Iron and scrap. love those guys, they pay cash... This is an interesting video in terms of how differently we do things vs thbe 1960's...

FORD NEWS - Next Week is the reveal of the production Pickup Maverick! JUNE 8th 2021 Yes, it’s True. An All-New Compact Pickup is Coming to the Built Ford Tough Lineup: The All-New 2022 Ford Maverick | Ford Media Center Yes if you do not recognize her, this is Gabrielle Union. Actress / Singer

I e-mailed my sales dude a couple of times; no responses. But dealer is less than 2 miles up the road from me, and every time I stopped in, he was there, and the service was immediate & great. Why would you go to a Tesla store, test-drive a model, then say 'OK, bye!', drive back home to sit at your laptop, creating accounts and passwords, logging in, clicking thru 2 dozen links to 'e-sign' everything, HOPING all the forms & numbers were right, having no one to ask any questions of... why— just so you could be near your own toilet? I don't get it; you were RIGHT THERE at the store, just buy it RIGHT THERE. I told my sales dude 'no dealer ID sticker on the truck'. He said 'no problem'. When I went to pick it up, the sticker was on there, NBD; I mentioned it, it was right outside the detail bays and they took care of it in seconds. If I bought it online & say it got delivered... there'd the unwanted sticker would be and I'd have to drive back to the Tesla store. I mentioned paying full MSRP, right? Is it really worth thousands and thousands of dollars to avoid an hour at the dealership? What are you doing buying a shitty Tesla if you have that kind of money to waste?

Not in Texas apparently lol. I have bought ten cars form dealerships and have never been in one more than two hours tops. Please stop with the exaggeration. And again, Elon has stock. He does not billions of his own money to compete with dealer Association. Having said that, this is dumb to a whole other level. Texas is about 100 years behind the times here but then again, Texas.

^ Have fun paying full MSRP.

If daimler lumps profit together by corporation, how do you know they don't lump ATPs together by corporation? I'd like to see definitive info on this point if there is any.

Being a Chevrolet German Brand that Mercedes is, lets take out that asian blip and you are only looking at 1,132,867 auto's sold around the rest of the world of which only 284,824 were sold in the US. Cadillac sold in the US only 129,495. So much closer than you state. Over all GM sold 6.83 Million Auto's Compared to MB. • General Motors - global vehicles sales in 2020 | Statista Now for some weird reason, I cannot find actual ATP for either company, but last I heard Cadillac was much higher than MB. Post a link to actual online info if you are going to respond saying MB has a higher ATP. Now lets poke at your Daimler Profit figure as that is NOT Mercedes-benz profit. Annual report & full year results 2020 | Daimler Daimler had a NET PROFIT of only $4 Billion Euro's for 2020 which included Mercedes-benz. Daimler Q1 results 2021 | Daimler Mercedes-benz DID NOT have a 5.7 Billion profit. The Net Profit for the company was 4.4 Billion for Daimler and 5.7 billion for EBIT. Actual report breaks it down as follows: $4.078 Billion EBIT is NOT $5.7 Billion Profit. Seems for Q1 2021 Mercedes-benz had a true profit of $3.841 billion. Hate to burst your bubble, but GM killed it in Q1 far out earning MB. Adjusted EBIT for GM in Q1 2021 was $4.4 Billion dollars compared to $3.841 billion for MB. PowerPoint Presentation (gm.com) I believe GM and Ford are going to crush long term Tesla and Daimler needs to figure out how to build and sell auto's here in the US as well as the rest of the world.

Disconnected: starter wire, shift linkage, trans mount, some sort of heat shield, 1 motor mount bolt, speedo cable. Left: other motor mount bolt, oil pressure wire, coil wire (to harness). Fun laying under a cob-web-dripping, rust flaking car undoing fasteners last tightened in 1964. Talked to my friend who's motor is in the shop right now- he says maybe another week or 2. Them my bro's '65 GTO motor goes in, with a promised '2.5-3 month' turnaround. Then mine. Mine is going to be a dream- so many pieces cleaned, painted, threaded chased, etc. Going to completely disassemble the motor other than the valves/valve springs. Plus it's all original- no whackadoodle retro-fits to figure out.

Kingsbury High School yearbook, Memphis, 1961 :

This was an actual for sale advertisement...

Read this on Inside EVs, Europe has had the Mazda MX-30 for 6 months, Japan coming up on a Year and the US will get the MX-30 later this year as a 2022 model. For a Bev, it has good specifications, yet seems to be more of a compliance auto than a true global competition auto: Mazda MX-30 specs (Europe and U.S.): 200 km (124 miles) of WLTP range energy consumption of 19 kWh/100 km (62 miles) WLTP 35.5 kWh battery pack (prismatic cells, total nominal voltage of 355 V) 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.7 seconds top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph) front-wheel drive (e-SKYACTIV powertrain) AC synchronous motor: 107 kW (145 PS) and 271 Nm AC charging using 6.6 kW on-board charger DC fast charging (CCS Combo) 20-80% in about 36 minutes (up to 50 kW) Overall length × overall width × overall height: 4,395mm × 1,795mm × 1,570mm Wheelbase 2,655mm curb weight of 1,720–1,750 kg out of total 2,119 kg permissible So this BEV will weigh in at 3,858 lbs, have 143 HP and 200 lb-ft of torque. No Mazda designed power train as they have turned to Hitachi and is using their Astemo Motor to power this auto as Hitachi is looking to become a primary BEV supplier. Limited battery range and not being very quick tends to push this into a Compliance auto with a starting price of $36,881.00. In this regards is Mazda taking a Toyota approach that they do not believe EV's are needed due to their heavy investment in SkyActiv engines or is it a lack of R&D money? Will be interesting to see what happens. Mazda MX-30 Is Powered By Hitachi Astemo (insideevs.com) Some interesting reviews on this CUV.

I do like the look of the bike....a lot...'

Guppy

It's actually a pretty compelling bike but that rear tire sticks out like a sore thumb. It needs to be wider just for the sake of "presence". It has a wide/bubbly rear fender and a toothpick underneath.

Boeing looked to compete with the Concord jet and had developed mock ups of the Boing 2707 supersonic jet with the mock ups built in Everett Washington. Why Did Boeing Never Produce Its Supersonic 2707? - Simple Flying Boeing launch customer for the 2707 was PanAm and they had this conceptual art that Boeing did: United Airlines was the second launch customer. If you ever get a chance to visit Seattle, you can actually check out the Mock Model in the Airplane Museum Boeing has. If you really want to see lots of cool stuff on planes and Auto's, this guys Flickr account is amazing. Clearly he has a deep passion about Planes and Auto's. Reminds me of @balthazar passion for old auto's. ausdew’s albums | Flickr

This quirky plane helps build a lovely one. Dreamliner Beauty

You're averaging close to 27mpg with your 2.3T, 2WD Ranger in combined driving? What kind of mix do you think you do, percent city/highway? I'm averaging 22.8mpg over the entire life(of my ownership) in my 2.3T AWD MKC. I know I'm losing some mpg in AWD vs 2WD, but I'd bet there's a decent gain with your 10spd auto vs my older 6spd auto. I'd say my overall combined mix is 60/40, 55/45 highway/city. I do a lot of short trips but miles are accumulated with the longer drives(obviously).

On FB Marketplace for $2750 :

So it seems without China, Daimler would have had a very bad 2020 year across the board on all models, especially in the car business. Daimler Global Media Site Worse yet is Daimler shows a 33% reduction in 2020 for global sales. Yes Page 30 of their annual report. OUCH. Now looking at Tesla, continual increase in debt, interesting that unlike other auto companies that like their spreadsheets to clarify the business for all to compare and understand, there are few charts and mostly written words in Tesla filing with the SEC as the business requires. This would make an investor naturally wonder, what is being hidden here? Tesla, Inc. 2020 Annual Report 10-K (sec.report) Not much in this report shows Tesla growing, clearly they have debt.

Tesla made 721 million in profit in 2020, almost entirely due to the sale of intangible carbon credits. General Motors made 6.4 billion in profit in 2020. General Motors is doing fine. General Motors is 9 times more profitable than Tesla in 2020... 29 times more profitable if you lose the carbon credits at Tesla.

Corolla Cross--for the buyer that finds the CH-R too weird and the Rav4 too big...

Yes, the OEMs definitely know how to build autos at volume...been doing it for decades. It seems Tesla is still very much a startup when it comes to their mindset...move fast and break things.

Anyone else see this yet? FIRST EVER!!!!! COROLLA CROSS!!!!

I had to respond. I grew up with JAL ... sort of. When I was a kid, I'd ride my bike with a friend to LAX and, at the time, JAL had a beautiful 747. Didn't they all? We'd go up to the theme building observation deck and got a 360 degree view of all the terminals and the runways. JAL does use the Boeing 787 Dreamliner quite a bit and I've seen it land at LAX. What a beautiful wing design. I really thought JAL would be a Boeing 777-X customer. I guess not. I am not an expert on the B-777, having only flown on it just once. United used the 2-5-2 seating on the one I flew on from DC to Denver and onward. I didn't like that layout. I am not a fan of Airbus because it's Airbus and not Boeing. I think this new A-350, with its "masked" cockpit window, is sort of ugly. But I can't argue with the seating layout of 2-4-2 on the A-330 and the A-340. The A-340 is fading away and it's my favorite Airbus product, with its 4 smaller engines, but operators don't like how thirsty it is. The A-330 is comfortable enough, except for one really long flight from Frankfurt to Calgary, with a connection back home to the Pac NW, that was too long and was pushing against strong headwinds. Boeing's "Dreamliner" is just that:

I love the idea of wagons that really haul like that…

Interesting speed video.

Has a Glitch in the Matrix been found? Newsweek had this story on a reddit post, very interesting. Glitch in the Matrix' Found After People Spot 'CGI Water' Coming Out of Faucet (newsweek.com) The comments are amusing.

Electric auto updates for the day. BYD, one of North America's largest school bus builders has announced their electric bus product line. The buses have a 155 mile range, more than enough for a typical bus route. They come in 35, 38 & 40 foot lengths with seating up to 84 kids and can be equipped with ADA liftgates. The buses much like what BYD sells in Europe will have bi-directional charging and BYD says that the electric school buses cut fuel cost and maintenance cost by 60% when compared to Diesel versions. I will say they are very nice compared to the school buses of the 80 I rode in growing up. BYD to Revolutionize Electric School Buses - BYD USA BMW has revealed their all-new I4 BEV sedan for North America with deliveries starting Autumn 2021. The first-ever BMW i4. (bmwgroup.com) You can find a very long list of firsts that BMW is claiming at the press release link above. There are also a ton of high res pictures and videos also. Just included two here of the HUGE kidney front end that is a Love Hate relationship I suspect for many. Tesla 3 was clearly the yard stick to measure by as this is a BMW clone pretty much of what Tesla Built. Interior dash Interior back with rear seats folded down. Not very flat for sure. Final news is from 7-Eleven. They had over the last couple decades moved away from having gas stations with their stores though one can find many around still. 7-Eleven has announced that by the end of 2021, they will have 500 Fast DC charging stations installed at select 7-Eleven stores. 7-Eleven has also stated that they are pushing to reduce their own CO2 emission by 50% by 2030 and this starts by having all Texas and Illinois stores powered by 100% wind energy. Florida stores will be powered by Solar energy. Other states will come online to support green energy as solutions are presented in each state joining their original state of Washington using 100% hydro power. Tuesday, June 01, 2021 PR: 7-Eleven Charges Forward with Installation of 500 Electric Vehicle Ports by End of 2022, Providing Convenient Charging Options that Drive a More Sustainable Future

It has nothing to do with what the Dealer Association says. There's very tangible reasons to have dealer franchises. First is; once a manufacturer becomes a volume one, it reduces the OEM's workload/overhead, but more importantly, it fosters competition. Once a manufacturer handles ALL sales directly, there's no more price competition to benefit the consumer. No competing dealers, just one, full, factory MSRP price. I read Tesla has raised its prices 5 times this year already.

>>Oh; and how does one “drive a vehicle online”??<< This would be an answer of some sort, I guess... Add some accessories Maybe a VR set to make things a tad more 'realistic' And looksie here, he could even test drive the very 'first' automobile he so thinks it is...

How’d you come up with “5 hours”?? ? Oh; and how does one “drive a vehicle online”?? ?‍♀️

WOW, this is a crazy accident captured on the dashcam. Try explaining this to your boss.

And Cadillac didn't outsell Tesla and Mercedes why? If Tesla is so bad, why do they outsell Lexus, Mercedes, BMW and Audi in the USA? Tesla outsold Dodge too, a brand with much cheaper cars. Mercedes sold 2.087 million cars in a "very bad year", I bet a lot of luxury car companies wish their bad years were 2 million units sold. Daimler made $5.36 billion in profit Q1 of 2021, compared to $3 billion for GM and $3.2 billion for Ford. $7 billion for Toyota, but they are also a bigger company than all those other guys.

4.4 Billion Euros is $5.36 Billion, because math. And Daimler numbers are all together, much like GM doesn't split out Cadillac brand profit, they all get lumped in. Once Daimler Trucks becomes one company, and Mercedes-Benz becomes another, then maybe it will be very easy to see Mercedes numbers. Also Asia is Mercedes biggest market, you can't just say drop their #1 market and they aren't that much. Also Mercedes outsells Cadillac 2 to 1 in Cadillac's home market. How are Cadillac sales going in Europe on Mercedes home turf? A better use of ATP is within segment, so for example the GLS has a $95,807 ATP for Q1 of 2021, and the Escalade's is $99,396. Escalade sells in 20.2 days on average, GLS 19.9 days, so those 2 are very close. And better to argue head to head in a segment than brand to brand, when brands have a wide difference in product usually. Plus I don't know why brand ATP matters, Maserati has a fantastic ATP, probably over $90,000 and they might not even be around in 5 years, and they might not even turn a profit.