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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    You have no sense of whimsy. I don't think general consumers know, care OR can tell that an intangible "platform" is shared, and after decades of derision against GM for 'platform sharing'- low & behold- many of the major conglomerates have only been moving toward doing the exact same thing. Now... not only are rivals partnering up to build each other components and whole vehicles, business conservatism is forcing brands to be more & more & more alike in product. 2.0L AND 3.0L ENGINES FOR EVERYONE!!! :P
  2. balthazar
    I understand; drop of $2000, but by the end of 2019 the tax credit will have halved twice, making a given Tesla $3625 'more expensive' than on 12.31.18 (in people's minds).
  3. balthazar
    Nonsense- same lineup model-for-model! Who cares if the parent company is different? :D What about my 'we should always want more choice' statement? ?
  4. balthazar
    Mercedes & BMW are both 'overlappin in the USA'. Seriously; I thought more choice was always betterer.
  5. balthazar
    Could you clarify this a bit more for me?
  6. balthazar
    Don't you have GPS?? OHH; you meant Atlis. See how F'd up that spelling is?
  7. balthazar
    Oh, yer one of those folk who talks to movies, eh?
  8. balthazar
    The only EVs, either automotive or 2-wheel, that are affordable / close to the median pricing of a new one, are those offered by mainstream corporations heavily invested in IC product that covers the EV loses. The livewire is not priced high to gouge the fan base, it's priced high because it costs so much to build. I now am of the opinion that it's pricing, not infrastructure or range anxiety that is the tallest obstacle to mainstream EV acceptance.
  9. balthazar
    Yet- you still cannot legally hold a phone to your ear and talk while driving. Interesting.
  10. balthazar
    If anyone reading this would be so kind as to indulge me; a brief panels of related questions. Give me your opinion please ~ 1. UFOs- are any of them extra-terrestrial? 2. Do you believe that living extra-terrestrials have been in direct contact with humans in an official capacity (ie; communication with either/or government/military/scienctists)?
  11. balthazar
    67% of GDP is consumer-sourced. Although obviously some balance of spending & saving is the most desirable- consumer spending keeps Big Gov't breathing.
  12. balthazar
    Getting a strong SIlverado vibe off the front : busy with an Eastwood glare. This one does look better than the Rivian (which I don't hate the looks of but it's certainly not 'trucky'). Relatively easy these days to build a one-off and get tons of press/free advertising... but as usual we'll have to wait & see it they build any; Faraday was founded 4.5 years ago and still nothing. As far as the rear end goes- there's only so much design can do when there's a uber-important tailgate involved.
  13. balthazar
    That's why I said '75% of the BEVs available today'; it's representative of the state of the segment currently (rather than the optimum). But I get your point regarding the better ones.
  14. balthazar
    "The US Government is so big and so vast, that if you leave it alone, it would cover itself up." ~ U.S. Army Colonel Phillip Corso (ret)
  15. balthazar
    If interest rates & car prices are an actual factor (I question it strongly), EVs are in for 'double trouble'- a Tesla is going to be $3500 'more expensive' by the end of this year, and they're already a multiple of the average new car price as it is. Bolt is in the same boat (tho it's MSRP is far more palatable).
  16. balthazar
    'During' pic of header construction. Arrows show severed collector, positioned on a movable wooden stand, but providing a 'target' for the re-flowing of the individual pipes. Was able to (initially) to re-use the 2 cut-off pieces, which you see taped/clamped here. If you look back one page to the post dated Sept 13, you can see the original header configuration, showing how tube 1 and tube 4 would be going right into the steering box, basically sitting 'outboard of' tubes 2 & 3. I also decided to (temporarily) mount the dash substructure and the steering column so I could eyeball the column-shifted trans linkage. I have to go with an aftermarket universal linkage (Lokar) anyway, but it should be fine.
  17. balthazar
    LOL- I actually randomly posted the LeSabre shot, didn't even 'see' the swoosh as related to the convo. - - - - - Some of my wife's motley cousins :
  18. balthazar
  19. balthazar
    Farms were the norm, and they often had tractors before automobiles, plus kerosene for heaters, etc. 'Storage systems' = fuel can. My point was the average household both was more likely to have fuel to offer, as well as more likely willing to offer it. But 99% of the early cars were used for local pleasure trips. People very very seldom 'commuted'- they either worked on their/a local farm/ lived in town/ rode horses long distances/ took a train. Many many Model Ts were put to work as a farm vehicle as opposed to transportation. I am seeing different numbers but I'll go with the most common- a Model T had a 10 gal tank and got about 15 MPG (I see estimated from 13-21, but remember; this is at very low speeds), so that 150 mile range is still better than 75% of todays' BEV's range (fiat 500e : 84 miles).
  20. balthazar
    Irish laundry company, in business until 1987 (tho this pic is apparently from the '40s). Electric vans. There's a Wiki entry on it :
  21. balthazar
    OMG- electric motor RPM is irrelevant; a Dyson vacuum V10 motor does 125,000 RPM.
  22. balthazar
    [Jeep video] There were some Marmon-Herrington 4x4 conversions on my COE's generation model- with the 'granny' low and the ridiculous gearing (5.83/8.11) it would be interesting to see one rock crawl. - - - - -
  23. balthazar
    100% battery, or 'BEVs' (Battery Electric Vehicles) : All Teslas Chevy Bolt Nissan Leaf Fiat 500e VW e-Golf Smart ED Kia Soul EV Honda Clarity BEV Ford Focus Electric Hyundai Ioniq Jag i-Pace MB B250e So, there's a good double-handful so far... but the only ones that sell moderately well are the Teslas, the Bolt & the Leaf. Fiat 500e is next on the list but only moved 2250 units last year & all the others are far lower in sales.
  24. balthazar
    It remains to be seen if in fact the CT6 is no longer available.
  25. balthazar
    I don't believe it's a matter of 'not being designed for the American market' - US consumers readily snap ANYTHING up that comes off a boat. Seriously- there's no design/amenities issue with Audi. Simply put- every brand that was a few model luxury line, for some reason, feels pressured to morph into a 12 model lineup going down below the average price of a new car. IMO- the market is oversaturated & diluted. Couple that with the 'cheap' brands coming way up in all areas and -even with the total volume being the same- you are going to see consumer shift.
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