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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    169" vs. 184". OK.
  2. balthazar
    Like I said :
  3. balthazar
    my local toyoyo dealer has numerous '18 Plastic Fantastic RAV4's in inventory at $37K. My buddy, actively shopping for an SUV, wouldn't even climb inside one once he opened the door, they're so awful. Another $9K for a much better vehicle sounds right if the RAV4 is 'not over-priced'.
  4. balthazar
    'Better looking' is highly subjective (higher than usual in this case). i-Pace is what Ralphie's father (admittedly; an Oldsmobile man) would call 'a clinker'. Model X is far sleeker than the Ipace (which might be more visually logical as a nissan). Model X -obviously as an SUV- doesn't sell in great numbers even relative to the Model S. But besides that, this trend is cutting the knees out from under Musk's 'philosophy' of providing EV motive to the masses. The masses aren't spending $85K in huge numbers... but with it being so hard to make a profit in general on EVs (some have claimed 'impossible'), nevermind that jaguar sells hardly any vehicles whatsoever (in the U.S.), spinning it off as another strato-spherically priced EV 'luxury' pod is the only possibly business case at this point. No matter what Jaguar does, it can't get a toe in the luxury volume game door. And the I Pace isn't going to do it, either (unless it's $30K).
  5. balthazar
    Yes; makes sense if it's motorized it cannot be removed. I don't think that's a big thing outside of farmers / base model trucks.
  6. balthazar
    I left out the G, since it's flat sales-wise and basically a weird dinosaur of a SUV that appeals to 3 space aliens, a dozen would-be commandos and 186 Hollyweird-Os. GLS is -according to some- the best in it's class but sales are crashing like the Hindenberg (ook- see what I did there?) The mainstream, volume SUVs number 4. Perhaps mercedes should double that and have 8 SUVs (or 10). The converts are dead and the CLA is a flop- convert that space over to CUVs / SUVs. I'll give MB one thing, I was sure the s-class was going to drop below 1000 units in Feb- must've had some real good secret hush-hush deals going on to push the needle back over to positive.
  7. balthazar
    • Buyers as a whole are getting OLDER, not younger. Not sure how sub"groups" of buyers get singled out & age median-ed. • The only shading I foresee is the whole 'my father's/mother's brand' stigma, which often drives younger generations in another direction. That would not bode as well for the mainstream high-volume brands. • EVERYTHING is overpriced, but for some strange reason, the MSRPs of GM models gets disproportional attention as what buyers actually pay. Very few models of any brand get sticker price/ most everything is discounted in one way or another. • GM is doing VERY well profit-wise: $9.4B in 2016.
  8. balthazar
    I'm seeing predictions of $75-95K. In other words; WAY too much.
  9. balthazar
    How are the #2 selling Chevrolet & the #2 selling GMC "bizarre" & FUBAR'd"?
  10. balthazar
    VERY stubby.
  11. balthazar
    • Steps in the bumper aren't really useful at all, since they aren't any lower than the hitch step. But a step halfway between the bumper top & the ground is. • Ocn- are you referring to the 'Standard Bed'? • The 'load stop' feature is OK, but anyone can use the raised tailgate as a load stop just as easily. • BIG QUESTION : does this tailgate feature any sort of locking mechanism to the truck? Not a locking latch, but a way to insure someone doesn't take the gate off your truck? These have got to cost every bit of $2000 to replace.
  12. balthazar
    I didn't realize the armada was still being built- haven't noticed one out on the road in a long time. Seems like this kicks & the rogue are going to cannibalize off each other to some degree if they're so similar.
  13. balthazar
    If I have to make an appointment, drive to the dealer, wait, wait while it's changed, drive home, I might as well walk outside and do it myself & save a bunch of time. I bought a case of 12 oil filters when my son worked at an auto parts place, they are normally 9-10 ea but I think I got them for between $3-4. The oil is pricey tho- about $29/gal, or $7.25/qrt... so oil changes for me (10 qrts) costs me about $76. Town collects used oil for free. I save time over going to dealer (which I've never done for my truck) - esp since I don't have to jack my truck up to change the oil.
  14. balthazar
    "I didn't have time to change (not me; I can barely pour a cup of coffee) the summer tires on my RS6, so I didn't have it airlifted to a frozen mountain lake in another country. I was too busy staring at my watch."
  15. balthazar
    How can a brand show double-digit losses on 3 out of 4 of their SUVs in 2018?
  16. balthazar
    Oh God, I'd really really like one of these! • I said a long while ago here I'd like to see the tailgate utilized instead of just being a drop door; I use mine as a work surface all the time. GMC put a lot of engineering into this gate, very interesting & versatile. What I'd like to see & proposed in the past is some sort of hold-down/clamping system, such as a lateral V-groove and some sort of 'T' lockdowns one can slide into grooves- so you could clamp & cut material off the gate. • 'Work surface' is fine for a laptop (that's not work ) but too high for anything else. • I would also like to see some sort of shielded arms that replace the tailgate cables- truly freeing up that surface. If they can make the gate power-drop in a controlled manner, it could be readily possible to have something in the bed walls that isn't open to the bed, yet lowers & HOLDS the tailgate open/ supports the same weight. All in all tho, I'm pretty in awe of the MultiPro gate.
  17. balthazar
    I've seen pics of the I-Pace and MAN is it an awkward, stubby, ungraceful lump. I've read that some folk love it, but some folk love anything ever built as a motor vehicle, I guess. Jaguar used to instill a (very fitting) feline gracefulness in their cars, I guess that's out the window.
  18. balthazar
    It amazes me with the horrific debacle the 'coma went thru, that it still finds so many buyers.
  19. balthazar
    Is this kicks on the same platform as the rogue- they look identical in size/tier.
  20. balthazar
    • Google shopping shows 5 qrts of Mobil 1 for $25 at 50 locations. It's $5 qrt, but the dealer doubles the price for MB owners so they feel 'more special'. • Yes- would like to keep it under $10K. Just saying that there is no mandate to stay at 2013MY other than price. And I realize that $10K really doesn't buy all that great of a vehicle. I tried 2 people I know who were talking about selling their (known service history) cars and both said they weren't ready right now. Going to physically shop around this weekend.
  21. balthazar
  22. balthazar
    Was the Juke discontinued? (My eyes are hoping someone says 'yes').
  23. balthazar
    My buddy is planning on picking up a CX-5. Said the -3 is abysmally tiny, apparently the market agrees because 2xxx/mnth sales is pretty poor.
  24. balthazar
    Even accounting for the miles you drive between changes, you still pay 4X what I do @ 6000 miles in the Jeep. I change my own oil in the Duramax (10 quarts). - - - - - • Not every brand implodes out of warranty like the Germans do, tho. • Where are you getting the '2013' year mandate from?
  25. balthazar
    Yes- owner custom. Interesting cross-pollination.
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