El Kabong
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Everything posted by El Kabong
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Tesla Increases Lobbying Efforts To Break Into Michigan
El Kabong replied to William Maley's topic in Tesla
The UAW has taken their lumps since '08 as well as the automakers. But at the end of the day all they do is make what they're given to make. Anti-union sentiment is illogical. In a nation supposedly founded on checks and balances, unions are a natural extension of that ethos into the marketplace. In short, they keep the bigwigs honest. -
The irony is that the Cavalier's worst aspect was the suspension, which was the Contour's best. No joke-the A-arms up front made the Ford a great handler. It was the rest of that car that was a disaster.
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Tesla Increases Lobbying Efforts To Break Into Michigan
El Kabong replied to William Maley's topic in Tesla
Because he's got bigger fish to fry. Think about it: the last two attempts at this were bankrolled by the two largest automakers in the world, and the outcome was iffy even then. He doesn't have the capital to spend on legal battles. Concentrate on product. -
By and large my dealer experiences have been good, with one notable exception. There was a kid in a Central Ontatio Nissan dealership who put me in the drivers seat of a used Cavalier that hadn't been properly inspected on trade-in. I promptly took off for a test drive and upon hitting my first bump on the road veered violently into the next lane. Needless to say, I didn't get that Cavalier. Instead I got a used Contour, which was content to siphon my bank account dry for the next three years.
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Tesla Increases Lobbying Efforts To Break Into Michigan
El Kabong replied to William Maley's topic in Tesla
So the UAW and traditional dealers are still scared. I fail to see how the UAW has anything to do with this. -
Tesla Increases Lobbying Efforts To Break Into Michigan
El Kabong replied to William Maley's topic in Tesla
Leaving aside all the arguments for and against what Tesla is trying to do, this is just a waste of their time, finances, and energy. Elon Musk cannot change the world. Whether his ego can stand that is the question.- 196 replies
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It's not a matter of affording the equipment. It's whether or not the voltage is even legal for residential use. This isn't a situation like using hi-voltage ignition and low amperage, like furnace wire. What we're talking about here (probably) is jumping a 240V, 40A circuit to 800V and about 12A. That's an awful lot of arcing and sparking for Joe Schmoe to have in the garage.
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Just hook it up to a high tension line for 15 minutes... I'm thinking small, very well-protected step-up residential transformer. And probably no inductive charging at that potential. I know up here anything over 750V is handled by a different section of the Electrical Code than most residential or commercial applications.
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800V charging? That's pretty ambitious.
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Either way, it would be an object lesson for Musk. From my perspective, he never perfected the assembly line, nor has he been able to capitalize on the cost savings inherent in such a venture. These things were already done, long ago. He isn't even the first guy to have a good stab at electric cars-Studebaker in particular was really good at them before the Model T's sheer numbers and similar torque squashed development of them. Hey, I'm not hating on the idea of electric cars. Nor am I hating on Elon Musk. But even a self-made billionaire is going to face an uphill battle going against long established carmakers once he has their undivided attention.
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The price was the clincher, but there were other factors in play. The biggest surprise for me was when they mentioned how big and heavy the Shelby was. That's the kind of thing you usually hear about the Camaro... And this was the Shelby version, let's not forget.
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They loved both of them, but they said the Camaro made more sense. Well. Poop. Link here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0sNUs-xRRjk
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Henry Ford wasn't arrogant so much as he was a pioneer-nobody had ever combined ideas like he did with such success. He was a visionary who eventually became a prisoner of his vision, both with product (his obsession with the Model T allowed GM's brand strategy to overtake him in the 20s and never look back) and with business (running roughshod over Edsel). Elon Musk is a compelling character. But he's trying to change the automotive world, not create it.
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I believe the plucky independent is about to see the establishment steal all its thunder. Unless Musk shuts down all his other ventures or allies himself with a partner he's pooched-he just is. He has no proprietary tech to set him apart, his cars are remarkably good first efforts but still lacking as cars, and he's got distractions both legit (infrastructure) and self-inflicted (trying to bypass the franchise model for dealerships). He's far surpassed the likes of Preston Tucker and John DeLorean, but it's hard to see him going a lot farther as is.
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You have not felt pain until you have seen a 3.0 V6 chow down 11 quarts of low-ash synthetic.
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I was dragged out to the theatre tonight to see "Creed." I was afraid it would be a Rocky movie, but it turned out to be a movie with Rocky in it. As it turns out, that makes a huge difference. You should go see it.
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Ok, I'm quite happy to include or exclude Tesla as you all wish. But in the immortal words of Axl Rose, I'm not the only one with whom those feelings I share: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a26859/bob-lutz-tesla/
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I don't hate Tesla. But I'm a realist
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S'all good man. Look: you're the money guy. Can you tell me that Tesla can turn an honest profit in time to do a Gen 2 Model S (2020?). Or that the Bolt won't hurt any expansion plans they have?
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Not a chance, man. GM and the Germans have money to burn. Elon's already burnt money.
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...aaaaand just like that, it begins: http://blog.caranddriver.com/its-on-like-elon-porsches-mission-e-electric-sedan-headed-to-production/
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I lol'ed a lot through the article, because nearly all that stuff has happened to me (including court silliness. Sadly, I chose to represent myself, with less-successful results). Now I own a clean record and a radar detector that gathers dust. Link to a fun read here: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a27505/how-i-got-rid-of-my-radar-detector-and-stopped-getting-tickets/
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Trust me Drew-he's well aware of who the sideshow freaks are already. He's had plenty of dealings
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Their interiors are pretty crap for the price. And their prices are still too high. The celebrity tree-hugger demographic will only carry them so far. They need to get better at building CARS, as opposed to being an electric car maker. I do think it's possible for them to do it still, but pre-deposits aren't really worth a lot these days (or any days really. See also: Jag XJ220). All it would take is for Cadillac or Benz to do an electric S-Class or Omega (or an E-Tron Audi for that matter) and Elon would be in a bind.
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"Hey man, you guys have any '16 Camaros in?" "Naw, we'll have two coming in next week. One of them will be a 2SS." "Cool. See you next week."
