G. David Felt

Amazing to read that those of us with similar love of the auto industry also have similar career tracks. I went and graduated from Medical school, had a close friend die in my arms and with the help of my Grandfather went to Osaka Japan to do an internship at Minolta Corporation. Was asked to stay as long as I went back to school, so got a degree from Kobe University in International Marketing and sales and fell in Love. Was denied as I was not Japanese, came home met the woman who became my wife via an introduction from my parents. Yes arranged marriage for this white guy to a Korean who has two amazing kids. Alex my son was 4 and Amy my daughter was 8. We are now 28 years and a few days later of marriage as we got married on Dec 24th. Had my own business that went strong till the state changed the laws about CNG and sold it to a bigger company that could deal with the politics. Been part of multiple startups in the tech industry that have failed and been sold to bigger companies. Been at Dell Tech now for 9 years but via mergers as I went to Isilon Storage which was bought by EMC and merged with Dell to become Dell Tech. Longest place I have ever worked but love my job. We all find out path in life with many interesting bumps and detours. HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE! Wishing you all a very exciting and prosperous year full of adventure. Looking forward to the next 50 years. Yup that would make be 102 since I am just now Mid Life.

DOHHHHHHHH ? Where did the time fly again? Wow, sad that I cannot find more auto's to love in the last 10 years. I am very excited about the EVs that are going to launch over the next 2 years and hopefully will have a new group of auto's to love and own.

Totally agree, This is probably one of the best well sourced Wiki pages about the history and the relevant digital version today of Encyclopedias. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia I love the clear factual sources on this wiki page. If I was to have kids today, as my son is 32 and Daughter is 36, I would sign up for the digital Britannica access as you constantly have the latest valid sources for school use. Makes a great gift to Nieces and nephews too.

@balthazar Totally agree +1,000,000,000,000 times on the abuse of campaign donations. I honestly think 180 days is plenty of time for re-election and election campaigns and not what Potus 45 has turned into almost 4yr constant campaign donation / spending. In regards to Wiki, @balthazar @Robert Hall @oldshurst442 I love the fact that we have NOT lost our encyclopedia sources. https://www.britannica.com/

Colleges make it very clear that WIKI is NOT a reliable source of info though many use it for such and I believe not all but most is valid information. Sadly, Wiki really needs to find a better way to become a valid source of Info for the masses.

2006 Escalade ESV Platinum, yes I still like it better than any newer version due to the type of seats it has. 2008 Trailblazer SS, still love it like the day I bought it. 2017 Trackhawk, son went with a different configuration, but love it. 2017 Buick Envision Premium 2019 Corvette ZR1, Yup love the car, even though I can barely fit.

Yes always cool to hear V8's but this is just nothing special compared to the Supercharger whirl of the GM V8. NO German brand has ever done that. This is mostly Exhaust noise. Pass on that and take as Pointed out to me the Modern LT5 Supercharged V8 in an Escalade V. @ 2:13 you can hear the LT5 Supercharger wine before the exhuast takes over the noise output.

BREAKING NEWS: Carlos Ghosn has fled Japan and shown up in Lebanon his original birth Country and will hold news Conferences next week to balance out the injustice system of Japan. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/ex-nissan-boss-carlos-ghosn-flees-to-lebanon-slams-japans-justice-system/2019/12/30/61e89258-2b7c-11ea-bffe-020c88b3f120_story.html

In thinking about the Blackwing, I would honestly rather have the LS9 Supercharged engine in the Escalade V than a Twin Turbo V8. This would have a sound very unique to the Escalade V that no other Luxury SUV would have. Plus no Turbo Lag Solid strong pull across the whole RPM band, just so much to like about the Supercharged V8 from GM.

Very cool, was wondering that myself and this site says in 2013 his networth at the time of his death was equal to $199 Billion of 2013 Dollars. https://www.therichest.com/celebnetworth/celebrity-business/men/henry-ford-net-worth/ Here they say it was $200 Billion https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/ceos/henry-ford-net-worth/ No matter what, he is listed as the wealthiest Businessman in the world still today by his net worth at the time of his death. WOW ? So this site says that in 1947 at the time of his death his net worth was $44.3 billion https://www.ns-businesshub.com/popular/ford-net-worth/ 1947 $44.3 Billion dollars is equal to 2019 $517,656,832,558.14 https://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=1000000&year=1947 WOW, That is just crazy crazy amount of money, he would be a half a trillion net worth today.

Baked

Based on the years you expect to own the Flex and the miles to drive it, 2000 over a 6 to 10 year life is cheap ownership to gain the cell phone compatibility IMHO.

Cheese! ? To go with the Pasta

Cool, Nitto have been good to me in the past, but now the Escalade and SS has Michilin Defenders and they have been great, used to have Bridgestone, but changed as Michilin sips down to the 10% level unlike Bridgestone that goes to 50% and so I have gotten very good life and grip in all kinds of weather. Yes they are more expensive, but if your driving road trip miles which I do they seem to last very well. Like I said well past stated mileage life for me, but Mileage will vary per person. Looks like you could buy a newer head unit and put it in as they did not change the dash from what I can tell.

@surreal1272 Very nice ride, congratulations. If your willing to invest, there are great 20" rim tires you can get that give long life. Bridgestone, Michelin, I have used them on all my auto's and they have always lasted longer than the mileage warranty.

Gotta love XMAS Presents, Rivian has made it official, with the order of a Quad motor AWD R1T or R1S you get the Tank Mode.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Years Drew and to all the amazing members here at Cheers and Gears!

Sad all that contamination and now the disposal of thousands of gallons of fuel due to flooding.

I have seen this on so many mid west gas stations that have had to dispose of the contaminated GAS in the ground. LOL, Goes both ways.

@surreal1272 Happy belated B-day

Rivian has become one of the best electric auto start ups with secured $3 billion in funding in the last year. https://electrek.co/2019/12/23/rivian-funding-tesla-investor/ Seems the 100,000 Amazon electric van order is valued @ $3 billion alone on top of building Fords F150 EV and bringing out their own truck and suv next year. Will be exciting to see how they affect other auto makers.

Might not want to buy one any time soon as the Turbo 4 banger has been getting bad press. https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/227170-2019-t1-silverado-4cyl-engine-problems/ I loved this post in the thread, LOL

Not off by much but it is stated that the M5 is 241 g/km of CO2. https://www.nextgreencar.com/emissions/make-model/bmw/m5/ Which is higher than the Mercedes AMG version at 200 g/km of CO2 https://www.nextgreencar.com/view-car/75323/mercedes-benz-e-class-saloon-e-53-amg-premium-4matic+-speedshift-tct-petrol-semi-automatic-9-speed/ Course all performance auto's have high CO2 output, corvette is no difference for what is sold in Europe. Yet like you are fond of stating, Hybrids / EVs will fix it all and replace the ICE version. Corvette is expected to have a Twin Turbo V8 Hybrid version to reduce those emissions. https://www.motor1.com/news/384042/c8-chevy-zr1-hybrid-900hp/

Death of AMG is nothing NEW, this has been forecast since 2017. https://www.carthrottle.com/post/the-death-of-amg-as-we-know-it-has-been-confirmed-and-its-coming-to-take-our-v8s/ Over the last 3 years, everyone has stated how the death of AMG will change the performance industry. https://www.carscoops.com/2018/04/death-mercedes-amgs-v12-will-mark-end-era/ V12 dead, V8 Dead, V6 death coming to a dealership near you soon. Technology is changing the way the game is played and will not really cause an uproar till Trucks and Full Size SUVs are told they cannot have Diesel, V8's or V6's. Some are going to to have a heart attack when that happens while others will embrace the change and move forward in the 21st century towards the 22nd.

Agreed, I have bought Ford stock and sat on it, till after years of no change, I dumped it and even now, small change this is compared to other companies. I have never figured out why Ford over the last 20 years has never really grown in value like others have. I use a knife to cut them open and eat and not squirt myself. Hate it when that happens.