balthazar

While we're setting the record straight, the xxxS / Sxxx wasn't in the luxury segment until the 1990s; it was just a run-of-the-mill family sedan prior to. Like a Plymouth. EDIT :: I take it back- you could get better in a Plymouth (1965 here). Whew- look at those MB door panels! ~

SMK keeping things in perspective

Why start now?

We were talking about older cars, when they used to be able to tow; '71 Pontiac towing guide- up to Class 3 / 6000 lbs with up to 600 lbs tongue weight.

^ Guess yer not a potential autonomous driving vehicle consumer.

I can’t help to note the unspoken parallel here: most of the tariff fallout worry centers around price increases , yet almost no one talks about the same issue in discussions about electric cars, which START at 25% higher and go to 100% more.

'54 Firebird I ~

Lil fella was perturbed when I disturbed his nap under some leaves I was raking.

All the way to the left, the ghostly shape, is a human foot.

OOOO! Close! except... not a movie. But horrific; yes.

Uhhh, the same design of pullies, hanging, from some ropes...

People have specifically challenged / questioned his net worth, then advocated for tax returns as if that would answer that question. I've read such in forums and I've seen talking heads on TV express it. I didn't realize so many people have never done their own taxes before. OK, so specifically talking about where his past wealth came from- I have some issue with that as it occurred as a private citizen before he took public office. Anything since should be on the table, or perhaps as far back as his official announcement of candidacy, but prior to shouldn't be pertinent. This country has recently gone down the path that any nefarious event that happened in any point of a private persons life, even decades & decades earlier, should 'rightfully' prevent that person from earning a living in the present or future. Too commonly; it amounts to a vindictive overreach. Or 'vigilante social media vengeance', if you like. surreal : What specifically would -in an ideal situation- you expect to learn from his personal tax return? As dwight alluded to; you're not going to see -for example- a 1099 from the Kremlin. There's just not much information on them as to sources of income. And dwight is correct; if it was illicit, you're not going to see it at all. But dwight- they don't teach tax code in K-12, bud. Until personal tax report release becomes a legal condition of the office, as opposed to voluntary as it is now, I would defer to the decision of the candidate. That said, if he clearly said he would release them (which he did, but only did what- 1 year?), then he should uphold that 'promise'…. but I never hold my breath waiting. Interesting accounting of the Trump Organization; it is bewilderingly multifaceted : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trump_Organization

Familiar with an LLC?

Well of course! Actually, as common built they have much taller sidewalls- the enemy of a shitty ride is short uber-stiff sidewalls (and suspension)- no absorption. COE has 10-ply 20-in tires, hard as a rock. I'm not sure the ride would be different if it had solid rubber tires. - - - - - Factory-built circa '52 Cadillac with bullet-proof glass ~

Tax returns do not report net worth.

Those things certainly aren’t currently failing China .

Just upgrade to Load Range E tires- they hold their structural shape with next to no air in them. ? - - - - -

In the interest of facts & equalibrium, wilipedia has a list of defunct casinos in the Las Vegas valley alone that numbers 47. Casinos apparently go belly up with considerable frequency. MOST industries see frequent individual failures- there are entire gas station brands that have disappeared- perhaps 100, and there are more people & more vehicles every year. A large public business's failure is seldom attributable to a single particular individual. I'm going to assume Trump was not personally running or establishing any policies on the running of any casinos that bore his name. That's in no way a claim that he has not done ruinous things. it's just this sort of loosey goosey nonsense talk ['Trump can't even run a casino'] that grinds my gears. Now, tell me via industry stats that he WAS directly involved in aspects of running them AND his branded casinos have had a failure rate 2 or 3 times that of the industry average, and I start to swing the needle back to point at Trump, tho that alone doesn't tell me what happened.. I prefer to keep things factual, which is to say; better than "fact-based truths" [whatever that may be].

Is the airless tire finally ready?? It’s been pitched for 50 years now. BTW - I don’t believe there’s any market reason for them AND I’d be real curious to see them in high cornering loads and packed full of slush & mud.

I’m not against those programs, it’s just the incredible waste within each & the extreme negligence Gov’t consistently shows in running them.

Minor point : your are getting paid; at the end of day 1 you have 1 cent. Major point : I got the $10,737,418 as the cumulative income. Starting with 1 penny doubled everything by the end - see how little bits add up to huge bits?

^ Agreed on the GN opinion. Exteriors are appealing for the '80s, but I could not live with the interiors, and only the GM (vs. the 442 / Monte / GP) have appropriate performance (stock; there's always mods / power train swaps). I don't know what the power output was, but there was a Riviera Type S turbo (FWD at this point tho) ~ These were sharp cars & still look really good.

Well, it’s Govt that made it that expensive. Site I got the $1.2M number said the last time it was done it was $600K, but you see; lead paint. Not only was it required to tarp the ENTIRE scaffolding, it had to be sandblasted to bare metal, then painted.

If Gov’t focused & pointedly targeted internal waste & fraud alone, 100s of billions of dollars would appear as if by magic. ‘Free’ dollars, in effect. They won’t do it. One of the most appealing, budget-centric proposals I ever heard was the ‘penny plan’. If I have it correct, all Gov’t entities would take a 1% budget cut; one penny on the dollar. Virtually indistinguishable, yet I recall howls of protest and ridicule that ‘that would never work/ do anything’. Consider the following: hire me to work for you for 30 days. Pay me one penny on day 1. Only caveat: my pay doubles everyday and it’s an unbreakable contract. Sound like a good deal for the employer, right? In 5 days, I’ve made 31 cents. After 10 days, I’ve made a total of $10.23. “Not workable” for me, right? Not going to accomplish anything, right? Got a calculator & a scrap of paper?