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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    Sounds like Tom Petty is checking out after being found in his home post 'full cardiac arrest'. Reports at this time are varied, but some are saying he has no brain activity and has been taken off life support. For a guy who was told he'd never make it in the industry because of his voice, he sure told them 'Fuck you'.
  2. balthazar
    In talking about uber-luxury trucks -- don't assume all the same features high end luxury sedans are sought after in a high end truck. These are not the same buyers and these wouldn't be cross-shopped merely because both (potentially) had massaging seats. Different demographic that values different features.
  3. balthazar
    Going to go look at the Regal tomm evening. Will report back.
  4. balthazar
    I got out of the office gig in 2000, but I had my own private offices (with doors) there.
  5. balthazar
    '72 Coupe deVille, a musty green with a dark tan vinyl top. Clean, parked at a nursery, I think they own it. A circa '53 Packard 2-dr, yellow w/ dark roof, parked in a front yard, looked like a solid unrestored car.
  6. balthazar
    No; a true crime case from about 60 years ago.
  7. balthazar
    Haven't delved too deeply into that aspect yet, but conventionally. There's more than enough related (and utter crap) books out there that have been.
  8. balthazar
    Book I'm writing is up to 81,600 words. I'm kind of amazed at that. Still going well, but no longer sure I can finish it in 2017.
  9. balthazar
    my local dealer has 1 used Cruze ('13) under $12K (and they have 64 used vehicles avail).
  10. balthazar
    OK, have some more info. • AWD is also not mandatory- my son is in hilly country but only 110 miles north of me in central NJ- and we really don't get much in the way of snow here. He got less than we did last winter and we basically got 1 storm. • Want to try and stick w/ a $12K ceiling. Said that last time and paid $15K for the Liberty, we can spend more with no issue but want to try and keep it closer to $12K. • DD - thanks for the primer on Jeeps, Glad it wasn't only me who found their catalog somewhat confusing. Before the Liberty, I never really paid Jeep any attention. • I'm not against a Regal, tho haven't checked one out in person. An acquaintance had a Verano, I thought that car was pretty nice but haven't seen that person in a few years now.
  11. balthazar
    Amazon first announced drone delivery over 4 years ago, still nothing. People drones / jet-pacs have been talked about for decades, yet we still can't get a package of Ho-Hos dropped on a random doorstep. Personal drone Uber isn't going to happen in any of our lifetimes. Porsches hold their value well yes, but note that the '15 Caymans I looked at on Autotrader pretty much all had ridiculously low miles; Porsche owners don't seem to want to drive their cars. That's gotta help.
  12. balthazar
    I'm not so sure. With the proliferation of upmarket & luxury model lines; people seem more willing to pay than ever. Look at the lowly, farmer-spec pickup- for it's entire history a low tech, no frills tool, now Ford is going to offer a $100K pick up (and it'll sell). Go dealership hopping and look for a rubber-mat, RWD, base model F-150 - good luck. If poor resale & high prices were a wide scale factor, all these lux brands would dwindle back to what they were 25 or 50 years ago; purely niche-level rarities, instead of mainstream lines. This is besides the fact that, to date, true self-driving cars are MORE expensive than their counterparts, not cheaper. Same thing with EVs (for now).
  13. balthazar
    Jeeps certainly don't "tank" in value and they're FCA products. Challengers also look pretty solid in value. But everything drops alarmingly in value, generally speaking, in the first few years. Some high-end luxury sedans end up losing their buyers $60K in 3 years on depreciation alone. Buying anything, automotively, brand new is a losing race. Buy what you need/like, or whatever split there pleases you, and that's about the best one can do.
  14. balthazar
    Hondas tend to be decent, but your example is still only anecdotal. My buddy's family has a Honda CR-V, I think it's a '16- they all hate driving it. Visibility & servicing are nightmarish. They have a circa '02 Ford-Mazda Tribute, which they are reluctantly parting with come next inspection because of an exhaust manifold leak not worth the cost of the repair. Looking at a CX-5 for a replacement there- not Honda. Anecdotal.
  15. balthazar
    • It is not mandatory it's CPO. But unless I know the person, I'd prefer to buy from a dealer than privately. • Land Rover has improved in recent years but is still deplorable for the price tags. In 2010 LR was dead last w 255/100 issues. Jeep for 2017 is much better than LR then; its @ 209 (tho still 2nd to last). Jeeps get used harder than LRs- wonder if that has something to do with the ranking. • Subuaru's engine issues are a concern that I'll have to take into account.
  16. balthazar
    toyota reliability is a fallacy-the brand has been recalled so frequently in the last decade they installed revolving service department doors on their dealers. Too many other choices to risk getting burned. VIa autotrader & my zip, the cheapest Sienna from '14-15 is $18K, and the cheapest T&C is $20K.
  17. balthazar
    Screwed together location is immaterial to me; Subaru is Japanese. That said, my sister is leasing an Outback- I've been in it a few times. Other than being rather plasticy, she loves it. I wasn't impressed, but very little knew is to me. My B-I-L has an older one, I know he passed 300K with it a few months ago. But the brand is problematic- oil useage/burning issues to the point of a class action suit.
  18. balthazar
    Liberty is small but sits high n chunky, I assumed it was BOF. It has that appearance (without sliding under it). Turns out apparently I hate car shopping.... unless it's something vintage of course.
  19. balthazar
    No truck or full-size car. A CUV or small sedan is probably the target. Vehicles were casually tossed out were Cruze or Malibu-size in a car, Liberty or next size up for SUV. Smaller is also possible. He's not going to have a lot of gear, but he is 6'1". I know he really loves the Liberty- perhaps a CUV/SUV is the most versitile/best direction to pursue. I would not go with a Chrysler product, even tho I would go with a Jeep. No issue with FoMoCo. What's the basic differences between a Compass & the BOF Liberty? And the Renegade?
  20. balthazar
    Bought the '11 Jeep Liberty i think it'll be 2 years in Feb. It just turned 75K, has had zero issues. Its not fancy but everyone here enjoys driving it. Right now my older son is using it, he lives about 50 mins north of me & comes down to work w/ me during most weeks. My younger son is about 2 hrs north of me, in school in NYState. He lives on campus, but will be interning nxt semester & will need wheels. We have not shopped yet & need to get on the ball. Have not set a budget, thinking recent CPO, small, efficient, AWD would likely be good where he is (the Hudson Valley is very hilly country). I prefer to buy from a U.S. brand only. I welcome suggestions...
  21. balthazar
    Please don't.
  22. balthazar
    I'm curious- is this sort of web policing commonplace? Is it a matter of it being reported, or is it more automatic?
  23. balthazar
    Exactly- so what's to stop another intending OEM to follow the same path Tesla did? James Dyson is supposedly worth $8B (Musk: $20B), and the Dyson Co pulls down $2.5B in revenue (Tesla: $7B). But that's Tesla now- what were it's number in Year 1?
  24. balthazar
    Yeah- I'm hungry; talk food.
  25. balthazar
    Tesla didn't start with a scratch built product, and I'm sure it didn't cost anything close to $1B.
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