Leaderboard

We're going to be in a huge natural gas crunch by next winter. I just locked in my rate for 12 months.

My sister used to work out there at Conoco Phillips...did a consulting contract for a couple of years that had her flying between Phoenix, Bartlesville, OK (in and out of Tulsa airport) and Houston most every week. Said the drivers on I-10 outside Houston were among the worst she'd seen..

This is true. Cadillac has leapt out in front of the Germans on the EV front. Not just in tech, but broad visual appeal. The Cadillacs look significantly better than their BMW and MB counterparts. Only Audi is competitive in looks, but Cadillac eclipses them in range and self-driving tech. It's strange bedfellows that Genesis and Cadillac are luxury brand with the better tech and styling over the Germans for EVs.

I will definitely have to look into that movie. I watched a documentary on Enron on Netflix a few years ago. I think it may be this movie, but I don't 100% recall the title, so I'm not sure. That whole situation is incredibly interesting to me and I love to learn more about it.

I would argue it's because they wouldn't sell regardless. Even the German ones don't sell in any number. Cadillac does have sport sedans and C&D just rated the CT5 V-Blackwing higher than the Germans.

There are different stock price patterns toward the end. They can just drift downward exponentially. Sometimes, they enjoy some weird upward ticks, and then drop. I'm not the biggest believer in efficient markets and some geek PhDs in econ/finance study them, but they probably have to give props to market efficiency so they don't rock the boat. I wonder how many academics think otherwise. TSLA is not a value stock, so people who aren't really, really financially comfortable should just stay away from it. The Enron thing was mind boggling ... the flow chart of how they did this was mind boggling, as in overly complex. There's an interesting movie called "The Smartest Guys in the Room" which we watched in a night class I took. The head perpetrator has an MBA from Northwestern. Of all the firms who recruited undergrads from the business school, Arthur Andersen was by far the most arrogant. (Not enough time and space for details.) I was actually pleased that they bit the dust and that they were the sacrificial lamb for reform.

This is super cool. However, I don't think it will actually do very well here. Any of the customizations will eat into the little 150 mile range. The larger battery version, whenever that may come out, would be more ideal. With that being said, this could be a perfect first car for a kid. Low power, two seats in a non-sporty vehicle, not a ton of range. Yeah, I'd buy a used one as a first vehicle for my kid(s).

Some weird news as Coal power plants turn up production. Data shows surprising shift at power plants across the US — here's what's happening

If the Germans were HONEST with their sales numbers and profits per model, the coupe / sports cars that are just 2 doors are probably money losers. As such, why have an auto just for Auto Sake, The current V series already kick ass over the Germans and the money is made in the SUVs, so at this point in time, your grabbing at straws to justify the German brands which are past their prime as they are behind in EV technology and have lost their luxury shine even in performance to others. As they say, every dog has its day and they had theirs and now Cadillac is surging again to come back to the top dog position.

It is an interesting idea to have this low cost vehicle that people can customize now they want. I suspect though that as much as people say they want a small truck or want a basic car with manual windows, etc they won't actually buy it. It's like people saying they want a manual transmission station wagon, but no one actually buys it.

I'm sure PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP isn't looking to go under with/for them. I couldn't imagine any accounting/auditing firm would be willing to put their life at stake over allowing fraud to happen under their oversight, but there's always a chance. I should clarify. I'm not trying to say they're clean of any wrongdoing. I'm just saying I couldn't imagine a company committing fraud that's comparable to Enron ever again, because of the measures that were put in place BECAUSE of Encon. I guess with David never saying anything positive about Tesla, it would be advantageous for him to continue to trash them while he's trying to short a stock. Buuuuut, it would be really smart of him to bet against the company in which he supposedly believes will fail.

Porsche, Mercedes and BMW are 3 of the most profitable car brands, I am pretty sure they know what they are doing. Cadillac sold 160,000 cars in 2024 (US sales) Audi sold 196,000. Mercedes, Lexus and BMW are in the 300s. I think Cadillac is on the right track with their EV's and they have to keep advancing the tech, going into Formula 1 is a right move. Cadillac is doing a lot of correct steps, but there is still a long journey ahead to overtake BMW.

Doesn't BMW sell more EV's than Cadillac and Genesis? And once Mercedes redoes their EV's they'll be fine. CLA this year, the AMG EV sedan is being shown this year, electric GLB and GLC I think next year, electric E-class in 2027 and so on. And not that I am big plug in hybrid believer because I think it adds a lot of weight and complexity, but Mercedes makes 11 plug-in hybrids, Cadillac and Genesis don't have any. And a lot of people think PHEV is where the market is going in the near future.

Having worked in energy not long after this happened and going through SOX audits was..... fun

Today is this individual's birthday. With this birthday, she now qualifies for reduced price deals at Denny's and many fast food restaurants. I wonder if she has ever set foot in a fast food joint. Interestingly enough, she is attending the Pope's funeral today. She's looking very "angular" in this photo.