G. David Felt

I loved the large concerts in my college days, and am not whining about it, but stating what i see as way too many people thinking these 80 year old prunes are worth your hard earned money when they cannot dance, sing or over all perform like they did 30 to 40 years ago. Perfect example is Queen, Awesome music and if they come to Seattle I would pay money to see Adam Lambert sing those songs. The music is great even still for the old band mates and same with Rolling Stones, Who, etc. Musicians tend to have a longer better life in playing the music than the singers do. Find a young man who can perform the way Mick Jagger did 30 to 40 years ago and have them sing the songs while the current band plays and I am there to rock out. Your right that Jazz and the Frank Sinatra types would not do well in a Cement style large multiple thousand stadium. Depending on what you put into your Home Theater, the experience can be every bit as good if not better than a Theater. Yes, screen size does matter, surround sound and add On's such as chair vibrators help to really send home the experience. Considering how dirty and smelly the theaters are, even the new ones that have leather chairs and serve food with adult beverages, I have not seen a reason to see any Movie anymore at a theater. But then most do not have a theater like I have, so as you say, the experience is very different from home to theater for most people.

This discussion reminds me of a cool movie from the 1981. Heavy Metal Heavy Metal (1981) - IMDb

You can enjoy the old prune of a performer which is your right and the freedom we enjoy; I also will enjoy my higher expectations of an enjoyable night. Rather have a dinner performance at a jazz club now or a small venue with an artist than in a large cement block with thousands of others in terrible acoustic presentations. Just my personal preference versus yours or Roberts or anyone else. Like others here, I would rather sit in the comfort of my home theater chair and watch my James Bond collection on my Theater system where I can pause the movie, hit the bathroom, get food I want of higher quality and relax than go to a public theater or performance hall. Guess as I have gotten older, I expect better quality of performance and experience than to try and live in my college days of loud concert venues.

Very cool to see how well GM is doing for third quarter highlights. PowerPoint Presentation (gm.com)

I love it when I can see Keiko Matsui in concert at Jazz Alley. She usually comes every two years for a week. Keiko Matsui Toshio Kadomatsu OFFICIAL SITE (toshiki-kadomatsu.jp) Fell in love with his jazz especially the Sea is a Lady Album. Married my wife who walked down the isle to June Bride in December. At 40:33 is June Bride, great song, Love this as enjoyable background music.

Personal choice as I would not spend the money to see them now, rather watch earlier recordings of them performing and listen to the songs when they were in their prime, but then I know I am an odd duck in comparison to those that go to the concerts. I also have moved to much smaller venues for enjoyment. Have not been to a major concert since my college days in Japan when I saw Depech Mode Music for the Masses concert that was awesome. Now I enjoy going to Jazz Alley in Seattle for a meal show. This is just a much more enjoyable experience IMHO. Dimitriou's Jazz Alley - Home

Personal style will always be a personal preference, the bigger issue I have with the Honda is why limit the charging speed to 155kW compared to the blazer that can like the Acura do the full 190 kW of power. If auto companies are going to convert folks over, they need to give all the benefits of fast charging at all levels of an auto line. In other words, I see no benefit to GM if they gave the full recharge speed to Cadillac and 2/3rds to GMC/Buick and half to Chevrolet. Slow charging is one of the biggest issues with folks considering EVs. We have seen the discussions over the past few years with so many stories of people bitching about charging speed.

April 2020 Honda / Acura signed a deal with GM to use the Ultium Platform to produce two SUVs, one for Honda and one for Acura that would target the 2024 model year with an end of 2023 on sale date. Today we give you the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX: Let's dive into how much these two vehicles are the same and yet different. Both are built on the GM Ultium platform and will come off the same assembly line according to Honda. We will present a bullet list here for quick comparison of the basic info that folks like to know about these two vehicles: Pricing Honda Prologue to start upper $40K with top end hitting $60K Acura ZDX to start around $60K and top end hitting $70K range Mileage Honda Prologue to have an EPA range rating of 300 miles Acura ZDX to have an EPA range rating of 325 miles Charging Both models will handle 800V DC fast charging Honda will recharge 65 miles of range per 10 minutes, charging rates up to 155 kW Acura will recharge 81 miles of range per 10 minutes, charging rates up to 190 kW Battery Capacity Honda - 85 kWh Acura - 102 kWh Powertrain details Honda - 288 HP / 333 lb-ft AWD - 2WD TBA Acura - ZDX 340 HP RWD / TBA AWD - ZDX Type S 500 HP torque for all models TBA Trim Levels Honda - EX, Touring and Elite Acura - A spec and Type S TouchScreen Auto Android Snap Dragon system powered by Android that will allow Apple CarPlay & Android Auto cell phone connectivity use Honda and Acura will have 11" instrument display and 11.3" central touch screen Safety systems are marketed under the Honda or Acura name, but include things like a 360-degree vision camera system, blind spot detection of autos and humans, a various assortment of Smart technology Cargo Space Honda - 25.2 cu-ft behinds rear seats, with seats down 57.7 cu-ft and a .5 cu-ft hidden space under rear cargo area Acura - TBA Wheel options Honda 19" or 21" depending on trim Acura 20" or 22" depending on trim Suspension Honda - multi-link, fixed coil Acura - A spec multi-link, fixed coil with amplitude reactive damper system. Type S multi-link Air suspension with High-performance Adaptive damper system EV Size Honda Wheelbase - 121.8" Length - 192" Width - 78.3" Height - 64.7" Acura Wheelbase - 121.8" Length - 197.7" Width - 77" Height - 64.4" Towing Capacity Honda - 5,000 lbs Acura - 3,500 lbs Audio Systems Honda - 12 speaker Bose system with subwoofer Acura - Bang & Olufsen Surround sound system Charging ports - 3.0A - USB C 45W charging ports for both brands Brakes Standard Honda Brakes Acura has an option to upgrade to Brembo brakes from a premium brake More details can be found at either website: 2024 Honda Prologue – All-Electric SUV | Honda 2024 Acura ZDX Type S | Electrified Performance With having taken a crash comparison course between the two SUV's based on the GM Ultium platform, let's see visually how these two vehicles stack up. Interior Dashboards Back storage area Acura has been very limiting in their interior pictures of the ZDX compared to Honda. With what is available, one can say that interior space and layout will be pretty identical in many ways from the 60/40 split rear seat to the dash and sky roof. Honda has talked highly about how the SUV will have a very open green house feel. One noticeable area of identicalness between Honda and Acura is the blah black and white two-tone interior both models seem to be sharing. This is what GM had on the Chevrolet Bolt and makes one wonder why Honda and Acura are doing this blah, cold interior? Style is as expected with Honda taking a very conservative approach to their exterior look compared to Acura more aggressive look. The final part of Honda/Acura EV approach is that they have also joined the NACS party. While the 2024 model year will come with CCS ports, in 2025 as a 2026 model year, they will move to the NACS ports. They have also joined the other auto companies that are planning to build out a large North American charging company to compete with Tesla Super Charging stations and with other companies like ChargePoint and Electrify America. Depending on what a person seeks with their EV, it is a personal choice about spending more or less for an auto and both have a wide variety of options for buyers with these two SUVs. View full article

@oldshurst442 @ccap41 Lets just call them Datsun! Thank you for posting this, great info on the engine. Interesting about the freedom to develop the electrical system. In this regard, I wonder how much of the Ultium electrical system might make it into the Cadillac racing auto since they have the freedom if I am understanding it to use their engineering knowledge to power the team to wins. This will favor those companies who are ahead on the EV front in applying it to Hybrid applications.

@oldshurst442 @Robert Hall Love the music you guys are talking about but would not waste any money to see them in concert now, way over the hill and the songs do not sound anything like they did when they were in their prime. At Dell Technology World 2019 we had for our customer appreciation party Eric Clapton. I have always loved his music and guitar playing. Brought the wife that year, so spent the $145 for an extra ticket for her to see him in concert. She had spent the day relaxing and listening to all his music online. We went to the concert and left after the 3rd song, was the biggest let down and worst performance of his music ever. He was 74 then and just as I have seen broadcasts of Jagger and others, they just are not what they used to be and need to retire IMHO. There comes a time when you can appreciate the desire to perform and do what you did when you were younger, but need to pass the baton on to the more youthful and be more of a mentor.

See more and more stories on the upcoming Chevrolet EV Pickup, I hope @Drew Dowdell can get his hands on a week testing of the truck for a full review. That would be so cool. Here's Why The Chevrolet Silverado EV Is A Gamechanger (topspeed.com)

Very Cool, I am seeing more and more stories on how the EV9 will be a game changer at the price point they have stated. This EV Just Declared War On The Three-row Electric SUV Segment (topspeed.com) I agree with Top Speed that this will set a level that others will have to step up too and Tesla has NOTHING on this.

Belated Happy Birthday CCAP41! I hope you had a great day.

This is too funny, never seen a Mach-e Hearst till now and that is crazy looking, reminds me of the Munsters. Photo of ‘menacingly’ unusual car at charging station sparks debate online: ‘I wouldn't be caught dead in that!’ (thecooldown.com)

In searching for this, the Cadillac 1998 STS was the first model to have the Steering column tilt and adjustment setting saved due to it being completely electronic and tied into the setting for seat, mirrors, radio and HVAC also. Cadillac CTS, ATS and current cars have it also as does the LYRIQ. I have discovered that the Steering Wheel position was added in 2021 Model Year for the Escalade when they went away from a manual steering wheel column to an electronic one.

No Escalade has memory for seat, pedals and mirrors, but nothing for the steering column. The seat does go all the way back when you go to exit and return to the preset position when you get in unless you press one of the two settings buttons.

Interesting as I have never seen this before till the Kia and never heard of it. One would have thought Mercedes would have talked about making life easier for the driver and highlight this.

Very cool to see that prices are dropping much faster on the cost of battery cells than expected. EVs Set to Match Gas Guzzlers in Price as Battery Costs Plummet - CNET

@smk4565 It is official, the EV9 will start in RWD base at $54,900. ALL-NEW 2024 KIA EV9 STARTS AT $54,900(1) (kiamedia.com) QUOTE: Kia America announced today the base price for the all-new 2024 Kia EV9, Kia’s first three-row SUV EV. Starting at just $54,9001 (excluding destination), the EV9 Light RWD will come standard with DC fast-charging capability, roomy accommodations for up to seven passengers, full SynTex leather-trimmed seating, 19-inch alloy wheels, 8-way power adjustable driver’s seat with heating4 and ventilation all powered by a seamless permanent magnet synchronous electric motor that produces 215 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque.

Agree, I feel Nissan sat on the Leaf at a time that they should have advanced it to be a Tesla 3 fighter and better than Tesla offers. They are now playing catchup, will be interesting to see what comes of this refocus and change to younger leadership on EV design.

The lady in the blue shorts and sports bra is really getting into it.

NISSAN Motors which sparked the electrification of cars has announced that effective immediately, every new Nissan model in Europe will be 100% electric from now on as all R&D will only be done on EVs and the Nissan products will be 100% electric starting in 2030. Nissan President and CEO Makoto Uchida stated that EVs are the ultimate mobility solution with more than 1 million Nissan customers having already made the switch and are experiencing the fun of driving electric. Long-term vision: Nissan Ambition 2030 | Our Company | Nissan Motor Corporation Global Website (nissan-global.com) Nissan has updated and released their Ambition 2030 plan which was originally released in November 2021 with reaching carbon neutrality and zero-emission vehicles by 2050 globally. This has been dialed in as Nissan has acknowledged that the new emissions standards by Europe have made it unprofitable to continue to develop and sell ICE autos in Europe. Globally NISSAN MOTORS has committed to using their EV platform to develop and introduce 27 electrified vehicles for global markets with 19 being pure EVs and the rest Hybrid depending on markets. Nissan has also committed to have Cobalt free batteries by 2028 in their EVs globally as they move to make their EV batteries solid-state with an average cost per kWh of $75 by 2028 and $65 per kWh by 2030 on par with the cost of gasoline vehicles. Nissan has stated that from 2018 to 2022 sales of Electric vehicles rose from 5% to 44% for the whole auto market in Europe as Nissan EV sales have rose from 1% to 16% in Europe with a total sales of EV and Hybrid making 50% of Nissan sales in Europe. Nissan is expecting this to reach 98% in the next 3 years. With Nissan having an R&D center in Cranfield and Bedfordshire England, they wanted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the London design studio with the unveiling of this all-new sporty urban electric concept car built on their new EV platform. The Concept 20-23 was lead by Nissans younger members of the Nissan Design Europe (NDE) team with a simple directive of designing a car they would want to drive with no constraints on the streets of the city where they work. This team took this to heart in using the influences from Nissan's Formula E success in building a 3-door hatchback body-style that incorporates extreme aerodynamics and deep skirts to direct the airflow away from the front of the car, auto cooling of brakes and the battery pack and out the rear of the car. Everything on the auto is low power usage components including the LED lighting from the front to the interior to the rear of the car. Safety has taken a focus in that one has to step over a brace bar to get into their seats and carbon fiber components are used throughout the car to give lite weight to the EV yet being minimalistic. Complete gallery of the car can be found at the press release here: Nissan celebrates 20th anniversary of London design studio with unveil of Concept 20-23 show car (nissannews.com) Nissan is looking to the future of exciting desirable cars, trucks and SUVs in EV format for global consumption starting with the European market. Nissan counts down to electric-only sales in Europe (nissannews.com) View full article

Tour-X reminded me of this and our discussion of SUV love/hate versus cars. Made me realize after seeing @ccap41 ask for his like/dislike of his Tour-X made me realize this was a perfect time to update this thread. Youthful is a good thing as staying physical, mental and driven is a must as we age. Like I said, it sucks as how slow we heal as we get older. Like @Robert Hall did, I am thinking of getting a Jacuzzi next year after I finish the backyard remodel which got postponed due to my son buying a fixer upper Home for his growing family. He surprised his mom and I that he and his wife are expecting, so going to be a grandpa again, so now extra effort to get the new home ready for the family to move into. Been using Tylenol/Advil to get through the hours of standing and working on the house. Will say that I am excited to hear from @regfootball on an update on his Tour-X love/hate at 37,000 miles. Will say, I would love a lifted AWD Tour-X as I think it would be a great auto especially in EV form for folks to drive. Imagine with the right packaging a huge FRUNK on that station wagon.