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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    Tesla was forced to bypass the promised $35K Model 3 in place of the $42-49K Model 3 because of negative cashflow. All their products have a negative margin so far. Model 3 doesn't change anything, and an 'entry-level' priced car is the LAST thing Tesla needs. The company could make a trillion dollar/year, but if they spend 2 trillion, it's doomed.
  2. balthazar
    Do the math. Even 2 billion will only last a little over 5 months, and he's not going to go personally bankrupt intentionally. Model 3 won't be in full production by then, nevermind develop a 6th model. Model Y is shelved for the foreseeable future; NO WAY there's time, money or resources to work on that now. Model 3 seems all but forgotten.
  3. balthazar
    Here's another way to look at the above numbers. The theoretical $250,000,000 that the Founder's Edition Roadster would generate would last just 22 days at the current spending rate. Hardly seems worth it, once you consider whatever the COST to build them might be, and that it could apparently NOT be done inside of 2 year's production time, maybe 4. - - - - - Honestly, I have had strong hopes for Tesla- it's not everyday a new American brand emerges. The original Roadster was a decent first step, the Model S is definitely a success (other than no profit). But the X has had numerous problems and it's launch was bungled. OK- not the end of the world, everyone has missteps. But 14 years in & still no profit. Model 3 is the car to save Tesla, to finally make the entity solvent. Another bungled launch, worse than the X. That's OK, I'm still on board, still pulling. Musk has to know this is his make or break project, he has to be working 22 hrs a day to get this thing, this thing he's taken a half million deposits on; RIGHT. The wait time has already been insane; this is 'do or die' time. But just when you're sure the 'all's clear' bell will sound and thousands of Model 3's are pouring out of Fremont... NOT ONLY does he show a concept EV semi, he shows another concept Roadster! How much time did these projects take away from the Model 3, take away from the 100's of thousands of waiting buyers? I'm beginning to really lose hope the company will last.
  4. balthazar
    Joe 'Fonz' Carloni, a Jersey legend taken too soon ('38-99) :
  5. balthazar
    Almost the first production gas turbine car, the '66 Charger ~
  6. balthazar
    Kia cannot give the K900 away- it's a flop. September US sales : 31. It's a $50K Kia. Yeah.
  7. balthazar
    I know you meant 'Nash & Hudson'.
  8. balthazar
    By that same token, the vast majority of buyers don't care about Camaros & Corvettes, doesn't mean the choice is not welcome for those who do, does it? Give this a listen from just 12:10-12:45 ~
  9. balthazar
    1% of the new car market is 170K buyers. With all the aftermarket exhaust & mufflers available, and the factory tuning options/efforts done by OEMs, I'm confident 'those that care how it sounds' is far greater than 1%. Seems every amateur new car review vid takes a moment to document exhaust note, too.
  10. balthazar
    If/when I load into a pickup, I always place the item on the tailgate, then (the 1% of the time I have to put myself in the bed too) I climb into the bed. No way would I attempt to climb the Ford Man Step carrying a large box; easier the other way. Just brought a grandfather clock to my house Friday, in my pick-up bed. No reason to get into the bed to load/unload.
  11. balthazar
    Another pod- never bothered to notice the differences within the prius line.
  12. balthazar
    oh HELL no! I don't kno how you Canucks do it.
  13. balthazar
    ^ Ugh. V One of my past fleet :
  14. balthazar
    Probably tough to see via my schitty phone camera, but apparently this Odyssey has the very rare 'Duct Tape Emblem Package' :
  15. balthazar
    I know; equally evil in my mind.
  16. balthazar
    1940 Ford plastic : distributor caps (2), coil housing, steering wheel, headlight switch knob, starter button. DONE!
  17. balthazar
    Correction. There was a very limited sharing in the A-Bodies beginning in '61, when the Tempest & F-85 got the Buick 215 V8 as an option, but that only lasted '61-62 @ Pontiac & '61-63 @ Olds. The next instance was '70, after Pontiac dropped it's OHC I6 and went to the Chevy IBC I6 250. But this was only in the Tempest / LeMans/ base Firebird- the GTO, Firebird Esprit, Trans Am, LeMans Sport, GP, Cat, Executive & Bonneville all ran Pontiac-only engines. There was scuttlebutt in the mid '70s when GM, due to production constraints, put Olds' 350s in other brands, and vica-versa. Got sued. It was the genesis for the legalese "some engines built by other Divisions of GM". Next instance would be the Olds'-built Diesel 350s in the other brands starting in '78. These were still singular scenarios. General Motors 'engine homogenization' didn't really begin until GM Powertrain took over all Divisional engine development- this would be 1982. Pontiac Division built it's last V8 in '81; the T/A offered it's 301 4bbl, 301 Turbo, or the Chevy 305. In '82, it was only the 305 "Corporate" V8. Tho some singular Divisional engine physical production continued (Buick still built the 3.8 V6 for many years, for EX), they became 'Corporate' engines. GM engine homogenization began corporate-wide in 1982. Cadillac was the most proprietary for the longest... but that too has fallen by the wayside. Unfortunately.
  18. balthazar
    Godspeed, Malcolm Young.
  19. balthazar
    Saw a short spy video of it taking off and it was quick & silent, but who knows.
  20. balthazar
  21. balthazar
    You're alright with me, Bill; I respect your preference. To each his own. It's NOT that it'd be 'unprofitable or wasteful'; it'd be a tremendous financial hardship to so many, and a grotesque criminal infringement on individual liberty to all. Short of an open dictatorship, it CANNOT be done.
  22. balthazar
    It doesn't stick below the body of the bumper; it's WITHIN the body of the bumper. It's also only about 4" below the top of the bumper, which is in the same spot it's been for 60 years; at the bottom edge of the tailgate. It's simple, it's functional, but I'd not go so far as to call it 'brilliant'. Ford's 'Man Step' is embarassing, IMO. Wonder if some sort of ratcheting tailgate-lowering platform is possible. Crank a lever and the 'gate remains horizontal but extends out & downward half the distance to the ground. That would be 'brilliant'.
  23. balthazar
    1960 Buick Daytona 83-hour endurance test gauge readings, 120 MPH average : water temp : 180 trans temp : 210 axle temp : 240 oil temp : 260
  24. balthazar
    Tesla doesn't have a cash flow (revenue) problem, they have a spending problem. Company needs to strike a balance, yesterday. This is over extension. Sure; it's cool, gee-whizzy, and it keeps the buzz going (or is it merely taking focus off the Model 3's disastrous launch? Roadster looks pretty cool, claimed specs are ridiculous... but it's not affordable. And it's not a move toward balance. Where is the Model Y? Where is the Model 3??
  25. balthazar
    • MoPar swivel seats were only around I believe 2 or 3 years. The funny thing is that they were on those huge full-size cars, where there was plenty of room to bop in-n-out. They might be useful on a -say- accord today. • The Silverado bumper step is only a few inches lower than the bumper top- not much of a noticable difference at all. I strongly dislike the Ford step, but at least it's lower...
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