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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    $700 / MONTH??? Yikes.
  2. balthazar
    You could have quintupled your investment had you bought it at $2 per in '08. In 1981, it was as low as .67 cents/share.
  3. balthazar
    Hence; I used dealer sites that posted both MSRPs and advertised prices. Greenbrook has 0 '17 LaCrosses, and 6 '18s. Of the 6, 1 is $3500 off, the others are about $1500. Perrine has 1 '18 and it's $2000 off. Their 1 '17 is a service / demo car. Straub has 1 '17, it's $4800 off. They have 3 '18s, they're about $900 off MSRP. Maxon has 0 '17s, 15 '18s, the biggest discount is about $2500 vs. sticker. Freehold has 0 '17s and 0 '18s. Flemington only lists 1 2019 LaCrosse. Kerbeck has 6 '18s, the biggest discount is about $2500. None of the Buick dealer's site's I checked DIDN'T have both prices posted on all cars. LaCrosse is in low inventory in NJ, and there's nothing close to $10K off on any of them via my observation. We're still being vague on if we're talking about '17s or '18s, anyway. Sorry reg, I just cannot even remotely duplicate your claim. how is that going to be possible when ???
  4. balthazar
    Your link predicts a ONE percent rise next year. Where exactly do you draw the line over which growth becomes "rapid"??
  5. balthazar
    What a biazzare marketing move for a luxury brand pinning their future hopes on a new segment.
  6. balthazar
    Through June, US vehicle sales are 8.6 million. Mathematically, that would equate to 17.2 million. OEMs (well, maybe Daimler excepted; showing the biggest YTD loss of all brands) should not be feeling any pressure to 'do steep discounts' when the volume is pretty much on par with the last few years. Thru June '18 : Ford : down 1.6% GM : up 3.4% FCA : up 4.1% honda : down 1.4% nissan : down 3% toyoyo : up 4.3% VW : up 5.3% hyundai : down 2.1% Daimler : down 11.3% BMW : up 2.7% GDP was over 20T in Mar-Apr-May; first time ever. Consumer spending in Q@ 2018 rose from 12.7B to 12.8B. There's no downturn happening to react to right now.
  7. balthazar
    I don't believe there is a rule of thumb for what a repair place 'should' charge- it's a matter of what they feel the market will bear, for the most part. However, 20% is common, I believe- it is in the construction trades. That may well be their discount from local, regular parts houses, so the price you 'see' looks really close. That said : the idler pulleys on my 2500HD went bad & threw the belt. It was late in the day, and it was right next to a local independent garage. He agreed to fix it, but couldn't get the pulleys until tomm, from the GM dealer. I volunteered to pick them up & deliver them to him when he opened, to speed the job, and he agreed. Unfortunately for him, he didn't arrange to have the dealer put them 'on his tab'. I was there a bit before the parts counter opened at 8AM- the pulleys were still packed. I paid out of pocket- parts guy didn't know me. I paid $32, garage tried to charge me $80. That's far too much.
  8. balthazar
    I simply responded to '52,000 LaCrosses sitting on lots at $10K off sticker- check any dealer site' by checking 'my' Buick dealers, where they had 1 2017 available @ 3600 off. Then I searched for an unsold 2017 3-series and the first one I found was $10K off. Just looked at 'my' mercedes dealer, they have a brand new '17 S550 AWD stickered at $75K- that's got to be around $35-40K off. Yes; dealers do not like having last year's models still in inventory. However, it's commonplace for it to happen. Buick cars are not in any more demand than any other brand's cars, so I would not be surprised if a higher number were in Buick's inventory. But anytime someone runs into the room and says '52,000 cars they can't even firesale = ridiculously overpriced', I think it's logical to ask for more details than 'that seems to be what I've seen randomly googling around'.
  9. balthazar
    You seem to be glossing over on the fact that '17s are now a MINIMUM of 1-year old cars... going to (semantically) being 2 yrs old in another month. You don't think leftovers are hugely discounted??? Why aren't '18's prices that low too? Oh yeah- because they're still new models. FIRST model I random searched, Beaumont TX, 2017 BMW 3-series, brand new: 331 days at that dealer, 584 days on car gurus. MSRP: $35,845. Sale price : $$25,845 - $10,000 off sticker, because it's "ridiculously overpriced iron". Or.... maybe because it's almost '2 years old'.
  10. balthazar
    Those are 2017's ; leftovers. In another month the '19s will be out.
  11. balthazar
    weather.com apparently believes "partly cloudy" and "mostly sunny" are 2 different things. The tiny graphics are significantly different, yet those words describe the exact same conditions. - - - - -
  12. balthazar
    What- is the planet supposed to just SIMMER until she makes up her mind or you start to shrink from old age??
  13. balthazar
    I might value anecdotal over hyperbole, tho ultimately I'd prefer empirical. My local Buick dealer current has (1) '18 La Crosse. It's sticker is $50,985 and its advertised price is $48,690, a difference of $2295. Guessing that would slot it under "well priced". They also show a brand new '17, MSRP: 48,995, advertised price: 45,390, a diff of $3605. I mean, I'd LIKE to believe ? Buick has thousands of unsold LaCrosse's sitting there at $10K off sticker, I just am not finding anything close to that with a random cursory glance.
  14. balthazar
    Pretty wild theory- have a list handy that illustrates that?
  15. balthazar
    Why put any brakes on forward progress? Why doesn't CA: 1. ban all gas & diesel vehicles, not only new sales but existing ownership, effectively Jan 1 2019 2. mandate ONLY full EV vehicles 3. invoke a 100 MPG standard anyway 4. build EV charging stations, 1 per square mile minimum, as the #1 infrastructure priority, to be completed by Jan 1 2020 5. establish a tax-funded general fund to compensate IC vehicle owners for cratered IC vehicle values (about 30M in CA) 6. establish a tax-funded general fund to cover rush development of over-the-road EV semi trucks in order to maintain the flow of commerce in & out of the state. In the meantime, on-road goods shipments must be hauled by EV-powered vehicles effective immediately... so in a fraction of the load size per vehicle. Also : https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/California-s-electricity-grid-is-changing-fast-12885084.php
  16. balthazar
    According to green car reports in Aug '17, CA is ranked 48th in public chargers vs. their EV pool. You'd think with their pushing they'd be in the top 5- so they have a LONG way to go in that fundamental infrastructure step. Ignoring it and implementing an IC ban is a reciepe for mass calamity.
  17. balthazar
    Face it; 54 MPG by '26 is not going to be achievable. It's not a matter of "rolling back" it's not"falling behind", it's simply way too short of a timeline. Eventually, given enough time, R&D and the very gradual movement of consumer preference/education, 54 IS possible (with enough EVs), but the timeline is unrealistic. Look at the world's leading EV manufacturer, Tesla- TEN YEARS of car production, and they MAY exceed 100K units in the US this year. Chevy is on track to sell 150K Malibus here, alone. Ever since the prius thingie circa '97, we've had at least electrical contribution to personal conveyances. But EV/PHEV still hovers around a mere 2% of all sales. After 20 years. People who think a state can ban IC and force the other (on average) 98% immediately into an electric MEANWHILE torpedo'ing their existing IC vehicle's value into the ground, are being obtuse.
  18. balthazar
    That looks pretty horrible, yeah. Model S needs a clean sheet redesign- sales peaked this year in March @ 3375, but last month they were only 1200.
  19. balthazar
    In the 56 quarters since 2004, Amazon has turned a profit in 49 quarters. In the 21 quarters ending in Q2 2014, Tesla has turned a profit in 1 quarter. Who do you think has a better shot at long term solvency? Model 3 is far from being in the top 10 of car sales (no trucks, SUVs/CUVs). Thru June of 2018, YTD it's at 20K sold. Above it in volume are the 5-series, Legacy, passatt, e-class/cls twins, taurus, maxima, 3-series, golf, 300, fiesta, camaro, impala, c-class, jetta, mazda 3, charger, mustang, versa, prius, optima, impreza, sonata, forte, crosstrek, malibu, cruze, fusion, outback, elantra, sentra, altima, accord, corolla, civic, camry. It's 36th thru June. Malibu is #10 with 76K sold. Even with the 14K Model 3's sold in July, they only gained roughly 2K units on the Malibu (34K vs. 88K). More Musk number juggling.
  20. balthazar
    LOL : Tesla lost three-quarters of BILLION in Q2 2018- unlikely they can turn a profit that soon. They made no money on the S and X, now they're merely building MORE copies of an even MORE upsidedown margin vehicle.
  21. balthazar
  22. balthazar
    It was named after the first large U.S. turboprop airliner, the Lockheed Electra. I just feel its blatantly SIMPLISTIC and OBVIOUS, which makes me cringe until my shoulders drive into my ears. NOT TO MENTION - we'll have to read dozens of quik-notes / armchair mini history lessons and knee-slapping cornball jokes about how the new Buck EV 'Ain't yer grandpop's Electra' and 'it's no longer 41 feet long- yuck yuck!' I can see it coming like an F5 tornado on the high Kansas plains and it's all so utterly EXHAUSTING. Spend a little time/effort, and come up with something else- I know it's hard, I know most of the good ones are taken, but shit- we got 'Volt' & 'Bolt' in only the last few years! If the car was akin to the Electra of yore, I'd be much better with it. But it won't be close and the slop-journalism of today will fall in the same groundhog hole of hyperbole they always do. Pretty sure that's all correct info- skimmed it and saw nothing radically amiss.
  23. balthazar
    Fine, then call it what it is. An Enclave ( ) whatever. Just leave 'Electra' to RIP.
  24. balthazar
    Only if said full-size Buick luxury sedan offered optional unicorn fur upholstery. We both know such a car has zero chance of appearing.
  25. balthazar
    Not the first- maybe the 4th-ish... but at least one of those I recall was for the same suggestion. Just as the whole achingly kindergarden-esque dumbing down of auto names... this is yet another slam-dunk, whoo-hoo; lookie what I came up with, lowest common denominator, easy way out pillaging of other people's work with no regard for historical context. Call it the 'oHm' instead. Your welcome.
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