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riviera74

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Everything posted by riviera74

  1. riviera74
    That is a nice little achievement. Now somebody needs to buy Tesla out of Elon's hands STAT. Toyota or a Chinese/Indian automaker will suffice.
  2. riviera74
    Sergio, like Cerberus and Daimler before him, saw a property to be exploited rather than maintained and cultivated. Wall Street capitalism has its points, but the financial subjugation of the economy one sector at a time is really causing some serious problems for all concerned. . . . . except for the 1%. Which is why Sergio is doing this: the search for more money. Corporate raiders on Wall Street would be proud of this guy. Michigan on the other hand . . . .
  3. riviera74
    I wonder how many of these changes to the 2019 Charger will show up in the Chrysler 300.
  4. riviera74
    Well, Scott Pruitt is working on ending the rapid acceleration of CAFE standards after 2020 so these will probably pass muster. More importantly, CAFE depends on volume so these Challengers will only be sold at fewer than 100 each (if not 100 total). FCA is far more likely to try to push FIAT 500s to compensate, if the 500s would sell. While I would like to see CAFE go the way of the Pinto, that requires legislation. This administration is not very good at putting policies in via Congress at all.
  5. riviera74
    Of course tariffs will raise costs and hurt consumers across the board and possibly kill jobs. Does the president care? Of course not. Do his base voters care? Well, maybe . . . . possibly . . . .
  6. riviera74
    The idea works, but not the name. Understandable given that it takes a few weeks for the new model to ramp up production.
  7. riviera74
    If you want EVs to be successful, oil has to exceed $100 a barrel for at least 3-5 years. The resulting high gas prices will push a lot of people into (available) EVs at that point. Just remember what happened when oil prices crested $140 a barrel and we has $4-5 for a gallon of gas.
  8. riviera74
    Embargo OPEC? Good luck with that. I am not sure the Permian basin in Texas and and all the crude in Alaska will satisfy American needs for 20 years, let alone 50. I would support a VAT on crude oil so that all Americans can dump the ICE vehicles for an EV for this reason: we should be using less crude period. If every passenger car was an EV, there would be no need for us to worry about gas prices again. Then the USA could join and (possibly) take over OPEC and run it as we see fit. As for oil subsidies, those needed to die when oil was $10 a barrel 20 years ago. The second best time is right now.
  9. riviera74
    Not all of the 1% want to brag about how much net worth they have with a half-million dollar SUV. Many millionaires drive more common cars than you might think. Only those who don't know better will spend way too much on this vehicle.
  10. riviera74
    Same reason GM did not put out crossovers 16 years ago (for the most part): BOF SUVs were way more profitable back then, at least until $4 a gallon gas and the recession killed a lot of them.
  11. riviera74
    The 3800 would be a better choice? How about the 3900 the Lucerne had between 2009-11, or the later model Impalas before that engine was replaced with the corporate 3.6? The 2.5 I4 is too weak to handle crossovers larger than an Encore. GM should just put in the 2.0T in all larger crossovers that do not need a v6 and call it a day. Why? Torque, not horsepower, is the real key to good driving period.
  12. riviera74
    It is rather sad that our President is pursuing a policy that benefits few and hurts a lot of people here and abroad. And all of this is for what exactly? Since when is protectionism good policy? Since when is autarky good? I would say NEVER under any circumstances. Trade wars tend to beget shooting wars, so tread carefully and buy your next car sooner than later. Of course, the Chinese warned any who would listen: May you live in interesting times.
  13. riviera74
    When it comes to any American car marque, Sergio DGAF. FCA should ideally be broken up and out of Sergio's hands.
  14. riviera74
    If compact and subcompact cars were selling like compact and subcompact crossovers, no one would cut the cars out of their lineups at all. For a subcompact to really do well, you need $4 a gallon minimum.
  15. riviera74
    That 1 billion euro fine: where do the proceeds go once VW pays it?
  16. riviera74
    Someone needs to take bets as to whether Tesla survives the next 24 months. I will take the under.
  17. riviera74
    This could have worked in 1980. The problem is is that too much has changed and a LOT of parts come from a lot of places. Protectionism is bad policy, regardless of industry period. Autarky is very bad policy period. Too bad our president does not understand this at all. Our president has been anti-free trade for more than thirty years and this is what we get from him. Too bad our Congress refuses to take back those arbitrary tariff policies via legislation NOW. This bad policy needs to be rescinded immediately, regardless of his protectionist instincts and those of his political base.
  18. riviera74
    All serious car innovations start at the most expensive models and then go downmarket. The only major exception to this rule is the 1940 Oldsmobile with the first automatic transmission.
  19. riviera74
    Elon Musk counted his chickens before they hatched. No wonder so many people are demanding refunds for model 3s that will not appear until 2021 at best. They would all be better off buying a Chevy Bolt, or at the least a hybrid Cadillac.
  20. riviera74
    Governments picking winners and losers (otherwise known as industrial policy) seldom works well for markets or consumers. Too bad Trump never ran a real multinational corporation: at that point he would recognize that free trade and minimal governmental interference on the consumer-facing side are good things to have as policy. Then again, the GOP rank-and-file probably prefer protectionism (if not autarky), whereas their (former?) leaders and elites actually prefer free trade and NO industrial policy.
  21. riviera74
    FIAT deserves to die (at least in the USA). As for Chrysler and Dodge, merge the two brands at this point.
  22. riviera74
    Apparently Nissan has learned what GM figured out post-BK: market share does not pay the bills; profits and cash flow do.
  23. riviera74
    Sounds rather wasteful, especially when gas prices are already up 30 cents in a month and will probably get more expensive for the rest of summer. The real question is whether the crossover thing will peter out if gas prices breach $4 a gallon just like SUVs did in 2008 and the culling began apace.
  24. riviera74
    No need for a Matrix when Toyota already has the RAV4 built on the same platform.
  25. riviera74
    Q: What is the advantage of a solid rear axle vs. an IRS other than cost?
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