oldshurst442

The movie Money Ball, and this scene, eerily sums up this conversation...And this movie is truly based on real life events on how the Oakland A's did things with analytics. Grady being Blu and Billy being, well, the future of electric vehicle production... Adapt or die. And like @Cmicasa the Great said. If electrics dont work out, but they will, GM will just revert to be building ICE cars again. The memo is this though. GM will not stop producing ICE. GM will just stop producing cars that dont sell. GM's press conference just before the Detroit autoshow did say that GM has made itself the world's most successful CUV/SUV producer and seller!!! And if you hadnt noticed, those successful CUVs/SUVs ALL have ICE in them!!!

As with Balthy, I did not like the fact that these English asshats were critical, unnecessarily, on an American icon. Henry Ford had his issues. But his issues never concerned England, or Europe. Those English asshats want to revise history, I guess, but 'twas England and France that made Hitler into a monster...if those English asshats really want to suggest something about WW2 and Hitler... This is why I never like Jeremy Clarkson. Although some shticks of his were funny, I never liked the way his "humour" portrayed American cars and America in general, in his programs. One could say it was jokes for TV viewing pleasure, but I always sensed there was some sort of truth to his "jokes" on how he really felt about American cars and worse, for American people. He is one uncouth, smarmy, blowhard English limey... I wasnt surprised at all when the news broke out that he hit one of his TV's shows assistant and he got fired for it. And if you guys do not believe me he is an uncouth bastard, just listen to what he said and how he handled his firing. Not once did he take ownership of his actions. And he blamed the assistant and the BBC for killing a good thing that he had on TV... The ONLY thing that he ever did that I applaud him for, is that he also punched Piers Morgan on the nose. A worse uncouth, smarmy, blowhard English limey than himself!!!

@Drew Dowdell The downvote was for the video. Not for you posting it, but for the vid itself. This pic reminded me of Star Wars. -"Star Wars???!!! What are you, drunk? " -Nah man! Check this out! Dex's Diner from the Prequels, dudes and dudettes! You know, a 1950s vibe to it all... (tries to leave the room quietly without anybody noticing...)

Now, back to what I was listening to. I just love videos of girls enjoying life, being happy and living it up. Especially when a classic automobile is at their disposal. A Quebecoise singer. Very sexy girl back in the day. (She is quite a looker still today I might add) Good singer and her songs just...fun!

Kevin Costner. I like him as an actor. Many people get annoyed with his acting, but I like him. I like him mostly when he plays government officials of some kind. Yeah...No Way Out. He is fantastic in that. I havent seen that movie in ages. Over the weekend I saw A Perfect World. He was a criminal in that one. I liked him in that too. The Untouchables was a fantastic movie and he was a fantastic Elliott Ness. JFK... awesome I also love when he plays the part of athletes or sports related movies. I liked Waterworld. Hell, I even liked his portrayal of Robin Hood. Gene Hackman. This is a legendary actor of our modern times. After the Golden Age of Hollywood, which ended in the 1960s I think, the next generation would be Gene's generation. Well, in his generation, he is amongst the best of the best.

I understand the merits of public transport. That is why I am a huuuuuge advocator for it. Like I said, Im a hypocrite when it comes to this. And...selfish. I think I do not want to let go of my car and use public transportation because...because I think I was traumatized using public transport when I was younger waiting for the stupid bus to come, waiting outside in the freezing cold in the winter, even in the bus shelter as its only an open shelter with no heating, waiting for the stupid bus to come, freezing my balls off, and then getting on, and no place to sit. Or in the summer, waiting for the bus to arrive, getting on the bus, no place to sit, and standing next to a stinky person because sweaty and stinky because no take shower and no deodorant... Yeah...no thanx! And I dont care how much money I could save.... Ill gladly take the wear and tear, the gridlock, the potholes, the occasional speeding tickets, the occasional asshat that cuts me off over waiting for the bus to come while I freeze my ballz off! (paying for parking daily...?) (its expensive in downtown Montreal...?) Funk dat! I think I STILL want to use my car. If I had to do a budget, Id cut down on other things JUST to keep on parking downtown. If it means less internet usage and less satellite TV channels...then so be it!

The Lightning is a sport bike. The Livewire is like a naked bike, right? (real question) Naked bikes are like a hybrid sort, right? (real question) Like a cross between a sport bike and a cruiser, right? (real question) If Im right with my assumptions above, and if Im right in thinking that the sport bike market niche is a different one than the naked bike market niche and maybe then Ill be right in thinking that the shoppers of these two bikes do not really cross shop? But maybe they do because a naked bike has the (probably 85% of the speed of a speed bike, but 100% of the comfort of a cruiser, but because the speed is there, and the image of a crotch rocket is also there, maybe the Lightning and Livewire will be crossshopped. What the hell do I know? I do not know much about motorcycles. Not my style. I think they are cool and all, but, not my style. If I had to choose between the two, Id take the Livewire. I do not like speed bikes all that much.

The N-Line... Sounds like a Subway route. "Take the B-Line to Clarke Station. Get off, make the transfer to the McGill terminal and find the N-Line and from there, you should be able to get to the zoo." Pathetic... For me...its the eNd of the line!!!

The South Shall Rise Again! Look away! Look away! Dixie land? Oopsies!

From that article: Just by reading that very 1st paragraph, and really not giving two shytes about the rest of the article, still read it though, the only thing I got from it was... AINT IT THE AMERICAN DREAM TO BE AN OWNER OF A CAR???!!! SO WHY THE CONFUSION AS TO WHY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ALWAYS SEEMS TO GET THE SHAFT IN AMERICA???!!! Im a hypocrite on this subject though. Im a HUUUGE advocator for public transport but I aint NEVER EVER...EVER gonna give up MY car to ride the damned bus and metro. Even if I worked downphoquingtown. I say I would take public transport if I worked downtown. But that is just a big fat LIE!!! Ever since I had 100% full access to a car, either my dad's because he retired or my very own not too long after he retired, I had stopped taking public transport and I NEVER looked back. I was 20 years old when that happened. I took the bus and metro a couple of times between the ages of 20 and 21, ONLY because I wanted, had to, study for exams, so I studied on the bus because I did not study the night before because clubbing was obviouly more important!!! But yeah. The good 'ole American Dream. Forget Uber and LYFT and all that. Owning a car and the freedom to go where the phoque you want will ALWAYS trump public transport. Which in turn, will also make UBER and LYFT go by the wayside too. The power of the freedom to use YOUR OWN CAR whenever YOU want wherever YOU wanna go without ANY waiting is too damn strong for even a network of autonomous driving vehicles to fail...We all happily put up with traffic and gridlock because the power of the freedom to use YOUR OWN CAR whenever YOU want wherever YOU wanna go without ANY waiting IS that strong...

You folk bitchin' 'bout taxes? Something or other 'bout services? Quebec resident here! We take the cake!!!

I do not know why, but your post reminded me of this classic scene

The Buick Bamboo... The perfect name for a Chinese market only Buick cute ute crossover!

The Florida Keys look gorgeous! I see you have moved around in your life time. And you aint done yet! ? With Montreal weather being frigid the last couple of days and a snow storm to come in the next few, a place with hot, sun kissed beaches sounds good right about now, never you mind when retirement comes!!!

The Continental lacks the smoothness of the concept. Those very subtle touches that differentiates a build quality of a true luxury brand versus a mainstream one. The Continental's body gaps look like they belong on a Ford. Not worthy of a Lincoln and certainly not worthy of the Continental badge. Continental Fusion The gaps look tighter on the Continental. Which is a step up on the Ford. As it should be. But on the concept, from Lincoln itself, Lincoln KNOWS how luxury should be, yet did not follow through on the production Continental... Concept It makes a BIG visual difference for someone spending huge coin on a luxury car. I think a longer wheelbase would have helped too.

Because Europeans are very patriotic towards their cars. The French will only buy French cars. Italians will only buy Italian cars Germans laugh at everything that is not German. Hell, the Japanese are the same way. They only buy Japanese cars Only the Americans, and the British, are not that way towards their automotive industry... Maybe you need to see other places? Germany is a beautiful country. Europe is a must at least once in your lifetime... THAT is what I am sayin...Mercedes ALWAYS built other things in Europe. Mercedes Benz is NOT just a luxury brand. They are everything in Europe. Cadillac is JUST a luxury brand. They dont do anything else but luxury since the 1st day they were makin' cars. Over 100 years ago... Cadillac is not, should not, be about volume...

Yes. But in Europe. Not here in North America. Cadillac was NEVER a full line brand with commercial trucks, military trucks, buses, taxis... There were Cadillac hearses and ambulances, but those were aftermarket outfitters that did the conversions. Not from the factory. Mercedes, if marketed properly, could succeed as a full line brand in North America. They keep slippin though. Cadillac cant. No amount of marketing would make Cadillac a full line brand. If Cadillac succeeded in making an alternative to a Chevrolet Malibu Premier, People would not buy the CT6 Blackwing if Cadillac would succeed to be an alternative to a Malibu Premier. And honestly, do we, the people of North America, really want Cadillac to sell us their version of the Malibu Premier and their competitor to the Mercedes Sprinter? I dont think GM CEOs want that either. Maybe owners of Cadillac dealers want that... I fell in love with the Mercedes Sprinter this past summer on our family vacation to Greece. But its not the Sprinter that inspires me to own a Mercedes one day... Is this how we should look at Mercedes and Cadillac? Boy, that Sprinter hauls so much stuff...I must buy the SL Black Series right now!!! In Europe, there is no disconnect with a Mercedes in every garage philosophy. There is no lapse from traveling in the subway and then getting on a Mercedes city bus and then seeing a rich dude pull up in front of the bus in his SL when you get off the next bus stop. In the US...we havent seen that, have we? Cadillac tried that sort of thing and failed, because Cadillac should ONLY sell to the 1%ers. THAT is how we view Cadillac and we should continue to do so...because Cadillac always sold dreams to us and actually sold those dreams for real to the 1%ers...

Oh...I think Mercedes cares... In Europe they dont. Because in Europe Mercedes has a history of re-building European confidence and sold cars to match a re-building Europe after the war. Hence the W123... Cadillac was never put in a position like that. Well, the idiot CEOs of the 1980s wanted a Cadillac for every American garage with the likes of the Cimarron and look what happened to that Cadillac image... Mercedes tried that too over here... But it did not go too well, they since changed their strategy with the CLA...but its still a cheap econobox. Cadillac has not done that with the ATS but its Cadillac that gets shafted by the badge snobs and the shyte American automotive press... Point being... Luxury cars are just that...luxury cars. Not meant for the masses... Taxis and luxury cars are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Limo service is to cater to the affluent. And they need the Escalades and the S Classes. Taxis are meant for the masses.

Sure, the old W123 was built like a tank. Especially the diesel. Lots of those in Africa and in Europe. But you know what? The 1977 downsized Chevy Bel Air/Impala/Caprice was also built like a tank. The thing is, today's Mercedes is nowhere near that level...

Maybe they do... The problem with the Mercedes Taxis in Europe is that they are built and sold like Chevrolet taxis here. And...there are trim levels of those Mercedes cars that are EXACTLY how the Impala LTs are over here. In fact, an Impala LTZ is miles ahead in terms of luxury where those E Class Mercedes cars of Europe are... Sure, the E Class of Europe is also sold with the same high end luxurious stuff we get in North America. But the E Class is also bought and sold like an Impala LT as well...

I remember a decade ago, when the politicians and the greenie folk were scolding the Detroit Big3 CEOs why do they keep on producing gas guzzling SUVs and the Detroit Big3 CEOs defended themselves by saying that that is what the consumers want. The politicians and the greenie folk all said bullshyte on that and forced FoMoCo, GM and Chryco. to produce smaller more economical cars... This is how Obamas new mileage standards came to be... THIS is how we got small displacement 4 bangers with turbos in our cars. THIS is how FoMoCo. got the name ecoboost from... https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/business/19emissions.html As you coud see, a decade later and the consumers NEVER gave two shytes about what greenies and politicians cared for...

I do not think its the car manufacturers that are pricing the consumers out of new cars. I think its the consumer itself that does it. Why is it that Ford is cutting its sedans in favor of producing and selling CUVs and SUVs? Why is GM almost doing the same? Why are Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords selling at a slight lesser rate than once before and why is it that Toyota's and Honda's CUVs outselling their sedan counterparts? When was the last time you actually saw or heard a suburban wife talk about how she wants to buy (not lease, because leasing too causes the consumer to out-price himself out of a new car) a base bare bones compact car? It seems suburbanites all want the most recent, option filled truck or SUV and who cares how much it costs... There was a time when down and out folk used to buy pick-up trucks, no options pick-up trucks, because these were the cheapest means of transportation anybody could buy... The consumers DEMANDED fully equipped cars over the decades and have migrated to higher priced CUVs and SUVs and 100 000 doallr work trucks to outshine their neighbors... Even if car manufacturers make and produce "affordable" no frill CUVs, the masses will NOT buy them or lease them. America has become a voracious consumer oriented society that just wants to outdo their neighbor...

LOL! Yeah. I was kinda joking. But I was kinda not. There is always a hint of truth to everything I say. Before I got car crazy, I was an airplane nut. During my teen years, I was more into airplanes than I was into cars (and I was car crazy then too). WW2 fighters. Jets fighters of any era. Commercial aircraft. You name it. This makes for an interesting debate. I did say that modern V8s could power WW2 fighters. I was being serious. (Im going by memory, its been a loooong time since I discussed WW2 aircraft. Im too lazy to google or reach out for my WW2 books on airplanes.) I did know that WW2 fighters had a minimum of 1200 HP. Some reached 1700HP. Some even surpassed 2000HP. Some were inline 12 cylinders while others were 18 cylinders in a radial configuration. Some were in an inverted V and some were supercharged. While others used nitrous oxide to achieve superior performance in high speed or to achieve high altitudes and faster climb rates and what not. OK...the part where I think that a modern V8 could have powered WW2 aircraft and obviously achieve the same performance numbers as those war birds. Those Rolls Royce/Merlin V12s that were in Spitfires and Mustangs, those radial 18 cylinder BMW engines that were found in the Focke Wulf 190s and all the others were huge, big, clunky and heavy. Sure, they produced about double what a Hellcat Hemi or the ZR1 LT5 produces, but I bet you that those V8s weigh less than half of what those old piston aircraft engines weighed. They definitely take up less space. Less space means the fighter could be that much smaller. Less weight means that a fighter needs less HP to propel it through the air. So...could a 840HP Demon Hemi crate engine propel a Mustang P51D to be as fast as the real Merlin powered P51d Mustang? (Which the P51D was the fastest piston engined airplane of the war. I do not know how to answer that. But I will try. I googled this part. Although I knew some things about it... The Red Bull airplane race planes use a Lycoming horizontally opposing 6 cylinder engine. Displacement is 541.5 cubic inches or 8.9 liters. Producing about 300 - 320 HP give or take. I knew that these planes go at about 280 MPH. (I googled-between 252 and 265MPH) Its a smaller airplane compared to a WW2 fighter. But it may be a tad more maneuverable. So...no clear answer. But I would simply say that most of the performance specs of a WW2 fighter would be intact if powered by a modern LT5 or Demon engine V8. So yeah. I stand by what I say. Joking or not!

Its mind boggling how powerful the engines were in the 1960s and early 1970s only to drop off and then sky rocket back. But with 4 and 6 cylinders. The V8s today? By God! They could power WW2 fighter aircraft.