G. David Felt

Interesting as the German Environmentalist take action against Tesla, Porsche, etc. for hurting the planet and ignoring the problems in the world. 10 Tesla Model Y EVs Burn In Frankfurt, Anonymous Letter Claims Responsibility (insideevs.com) Very cool Tech, have a Level 2 Bidirectional charger in your home so your Kia EV9 SUV can power your house for up to 4 days if you lose power. 2024 Kia EV9 bidirectional charging: Here’s how it will work (greencarreports.com)

Interesting read and I agree with much of the comments that Tesla will never reach 10 million let alone 20 million yearly auto sales with Musk as the CEO. Report: Tesla Next-Gen EVs To Initially Be Produced In Texas Instead Of Mexico (insideevs.com) Mexico GF is on hold indefinitely as Tesla has admitted they will have to have Engineers on site 24/7 to make sure the Robotaxi and 25K EV if it really happens will get built right and as of right now, Tesla Engineers have said NO to relocating to Mexico. Seems when a cheaper EV and taxis from Tesla happen, production at Austin is where it will be and scalling up at China and Germany where Tesla is laying off people due to low sales of their autos.

That is a huge assumption that a hand-built luxury SUV from Toyota would not sell. As is proof with the Lexus Line, the Century SUV & Sedan could very well sell under the Lexus line in many markets and in some it would sell just fine as a Toyota. I know for a fact that in Mongolia, having a Toyota pretty much means you have achieved the 1% crowd and Toyota is the product to strive for, not Mercedes, Not BMW, Not Audi, but Toyota. A few other products are like this, Jeep is one of those products that in Mongolia people with disposable income want a Jeep over Mercedes. This I know first hand due to my close Mongolian friends and having been there. It is crazy, but Toyota is what everyone strives for and even here in the U.S. Mongolians only want Toyota. The Century will never go away from being a hand built ubber luxury auto line due to the Japanese Royal Family only gets driven around in Century auto's much like how our president only gets driven around in a custom Cadillac.

Good looking truck, should continue to sell well to the Jeep faithful.

This really rocks, love the AT4 version.

Let's look at your math in this statement. Century @ 30 sold per month, @ $10,000 profit = $300,000 a month or $3.6 million a year for a niche product sold in Japan to Politicians, Executives and families in the 1% bracket that want a hand built Japanese product, not something that is imported from Germany. Corolla @ 100,000 sold per month, @ $50 profit = $5 million or $60 million a year for a generic appliance that requires considerable marketing, shipping to markets, etc. Yes, they make more initial profit on the Corolla, but they have costs that eat into that profit to sell this auto around the world. You have stated that Mercedes makes the best in the world and people who have money want to buy the best. You are ignoring those that want a product from their home country and have no problem paying for it. Same here there are those of us that will pay extra for American Made niche products of quality. Many Japanese buy these Century autos for their status. End of line!!!

Since like 99.9% of your posts you never actually give facts or website to verify your information, lets take a closer look at the Century. Century | Vehicle Gallery | Toyota Brand | Mobility | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website Here is the actual press release of the all new 2018 Century Sedan, the first redesigned Century in 21 years. Toyota Rolls Out First Fully Redesigned Century in 21 Years | Toyota | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website At this time, Toyota projected only 50 hand built units a month would make them money in a very small market as they dropped the V12 last available in the 2017 model year. As @surreal1272 clearly stated, a V8 Hybrid system started in the 2018 and went through the 2023 model year. Starting with the 2024 model year, both the Century Sedan and Century SUV will move to the V6 hybrid system. Quote: "Series Parallel Plug-in Hybrid System (2GR-FXS 3.5-liter V6 engine)" Official Century SUV webpage for building and pricing out your Uber Luxury SUV. Toyota Century | Toyota Motor Corporation Website Official Century Sedan webpage for building and pricing out your Uber Luxury Sedan Toyota Century | Toyota Motor Corporation Website I do like it in the Red Mica Toyota Century | Price & Grade | Toyota Motor Corporation Website The Century has a certain elegance to it that is lost by the German brands in the last couple of Decades and Cadillac has recouped it along with Genesis.

Happy Birthday @A Horse With No Name

Check out this list, this is what makes car enthusiasm exciting IMHO. 12 Best Electric Car Conversions You Can Buy Right Now | HiConsumption Converting toxic belching auto's to quiet speedy rides that allow you to enjoy the old auto with less maintenance is what I find exciting. I hope to do this with my 1994 GMC Suburban SLT giving it a HUGE Frunk! Check Out These Options for Converting Classic Cars to EVs (motortrend.com) A brief guide to electric conversions for classic cars | Ars Technica

Thank you for proving my point that you have no real knowledge that the Toyota Century does not make them money. Just like low production custom built autos from any auto maker, there could be various ways that the company shows a profit on these small production auto's.

How do you know it did not do that great? What proof do you have cause if you sight low sales numbers then we have to say that Mercedes is failing due to all the models with low sales numbers. Same with BMW, Audi, Cadillac, etc.

For those that are into Chemistry, seems Korean researchers have finally figured out how to use Silicon in building Anodes for Lithium-ion batteries that increases storage by a factor of 10. This is a huge breakthrough and one that will find it's way into future Solid-state batteries. Revolutionary Battery Technology to Boost EV Range 10-fold or More » POSTECH The next step is to take this into prototype production and then beta testing of the battery cells. Exciting times for sure in the battery research and development area.

Weird, I totally missed this post, what thread did you post this in? Very valid points you made.

In 2016 buying a 2017 model year, the whole Chinese thing was not an issue for people then. R&D is still R&D if it can make a stronger brand even stronger, then why not kill off Buick. GM, Ford, Etc. so many have killed off cars due to not selling 100,000 or more units, so why keep Buick when it sells so little. Put the money into Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC. It will be interesting to watch as relations between China and the US change if people there still want to buy a US auto. I see and understand the point of those that want a foreign car, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

I can see your points you make, but the Sales increase is still a small number of actual units sold here. Yes, the EVs built here will be a win for Buick for sure. Agree that they should have been doing the building of the Envision along with the XT4 here all along. Yet with that said, is the small number of units sold really making a decent profit for GM that would justify them keeping the product line being built and sold here? I have to wonder about that considering how GM has in the past stretched themselves thin over too many name plates.

Recently, I have had many conversations with coworkers as well as family and friends with one large consistent thread, if possible, at all rates, they will not buy Chinese made products anymore. Japanese and Korean are fine, but a strong shift away from Chinese made products. The leading example of this is my sister who owns a 2017 Buick Envision and drives it daily for around 200 to 300 miles as she is an in-home care nurse for open wounds. As such she needs a solid auto and of course hers is well over 100,000 miles now, so she has started the search to figure out what she wants next and has told me she loves her Buick but will not buy another since they are Chinese made and not American made. Same with consumer home products such as cookware, I am seeing a large increase from this same group in buying American made even when it is more expensive over cheap Chinese made products. An example is the many family and friends that have decided to go back to heavier cookware made by Smithey. Smithey Ironware Company | Premium Cast Iron Cookware So this brings us back to the main focus on this opinion, Is Buick a Dying Brand that will cease to exist in the U.S.? We have already seen the death of standalone dealerships as GMC and Buick merged, they pretty much have clone copies of autos in the same segments. Is there any real reason to keep Buick alive in the U.S. with the following sales numbers? Buick Sales Story that I pulled these numbers from: Would it be a better use of GM funds to close up Buick and direct those sales, R&D dollars, Marketing dollars, etc. to GMC, Chevrolet and Cadillac? My personal take is Yes, time to kill off Buick and focus on the GM family of Entry level Chevrolet, Mid Level GMC and Luxury Level Cadillac. Sound off and tell me what you think!

Pretty much you can kiss the era of fully Loaded $25K autos goodbye. Inflation and world increase in everything is pushing prices to the new level of $30K auto as entry level and fully loaded as $35K to $40K. The only way to keep pace is to increase ones skills so that you can increase ones pay. Sadly, we will see many fall behind and have to rely on public transit as price increases continue to cause everything to be more expensive. I know many boomers that think the prices are crazy and want everything to go back to the 1960's/70's/80's in price and that will never happen. I know one who is capable of working but she thinks she is entitled to be retired on top of never having planned for retirement so survives on $1,000 a month from Social Security and has an auto and she is complaining about $5 gas but drives an old 1984 Camaro Z28 and will only put in Chevron gas. Choices we make will play a roll in the quality of life one lives.

I hope Toyota eventually brings the Century line to the U.S. I think it would do well.

Awesome, great to hear, saw him on Slack already!

US: Ford Sold Almost 7,000 BEVs In August 2023 (insideevs.com) Very cool for Ford to have increased EV sales.

Toyota Century | Functions & Performance | Driving Performance | Toyota Motor Corporation Website

I know this is supposed to be about watches but wanted to close out our ride discussion. @Drew Dowdell @ccap41 Magneride was bought from Delphi by BWI group and I have to wonder if this is why GM is moving away from Magneride which is amazing. Once you have it, and then ride in a non-magneride there is a noticeable difference. MagneRide® Active Suspension System – BWI Group Back in 2020 GM Authority did a good job on the whole MagneRide or MRC with the comparison of Version 3 to version 4 that I would love to have in my EV Escalade IQ ESV if they build it. Advantages Of New GM Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 | GM Authority Thought this was a good story on the differences between standard and MagneRide. What Is Magnetic Ride Control, And How Does It Differ From Traditional Suspension? | DrivingLine QUOTE: Under BWI's ownership, MagneRide's availability has expanded from its initial internal GM usage and Ferrari-licensed implementation to include applications such as the Ford Mustang, the Lamborghini Aventador, numerous high performance Audi models, the Acura NSX, several Acura SUVs, as well as members of the Land Rover sport-utility vehicle family. GM overview of ARC General Motors Adaptive Ride Control | GM Authority Latest shows that Magneride 4.0 is being used across the Cadillac Family and EVs. Search Results (cadillac.com) I will say that in regard to watches, I love my clock in the Escalade. Simple, easy to read and classy for what it does well.

Guess that is why the Cybertruck is shaped that way, to slide easily out as it is shit.

@ccap41 FYI, this is what the 2006 Escalade ESV Platinum edition looks like and mine is 100% stock.

One you're right the Escalade is Bling and if I could get what I own with no Chrome, I would have. But it comes down to space and comfort and Motor Trend has clearly shown their Bias to attack the U.S. auto companies when they do not spend money advertising in their magazines. I will always challenge professionals who have shown their Bias to always go with a German or Asian brand and no since I have owned plenty of non-GM autos, I do not think I have as big a bias as the rag magazines compared to my own experience of driving them. I have spent far more time behind the wheel on road trips than those magazine editors/writers who get it for a week. Spend 10's of thousands of miles on the road and tell me if you can sit in the German CUVs for 5 to 6 hours on such a short wheel base compared to the wheel base of my Escalade ESV. They can blow all they want that the G-Wagon is superior to the Escalade ESV, but interior space, comfort and time on the road says otherwise. 2006 Cadillac Escalade ESV vs. 2006 Mercedes-Benz G-Class | Cars.com 130 inch wheelbase versus 112 inch wheelbase makes a big difference in comfort of driving down the road and basic laws of engineering cannot change the fact that the Escalade ESV will give a better ride than the G-Wagon. I will also put up my Magana ride suspension against the G-Wagon for comfort on road trips. I have yet to see any German that has built an auto that can handle long road trips including the very common 6 to 8 hours behind a whee. But that is my years of experience driving a large SUV on the roads of America over a journalist who drives it for a few days. You have a right to your opinion on going with the journalist who has driven it for a few days or an owner who has driven it for years in all kinds of weather.