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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    If you say so. I don't trust anything coming out of the Far East- lots of shaky stuff there. - - - - - Here's an '81 F-150 half ton ad. 300 CI I6, touting a thoroughly unbelievable 21/29 MPG. I had the same truck in a '94 (300 I6 but w/ FI, 4-spd auto, 2WD, 3.08 gears). Still have the window sticker- it was rated at 15/20. I charted every tank of gas from 6 miles to 146,xxx, and it only averaged 15. 23 years later the 'same' truck ('17 Sierra 1/2-ton EC/standard bed, but with 5.3L AFM V8 & 6-spd auto) is rated at 18 vs. my '94's 15. Again: this is the most unchanged vehicle segment...
  2. balthazar
    I didn't say it was bad, but that it was inconsequential. My buddy has a brand new Sierra ext cab/standard bed 4x4, 5.3 AFM V8. Says he's getting great MPG, 24 on the highway (rated @ 18/24). But there's a clear delineation between half ton & 3/4T & above buyers. This article addresses 3/4T & 1T trucks- a segment that perhaps has the highest per capita product awareness in the industry. People who buy these either absolutely need them, or know going in what to expect. Also keep in mind this class of vehicle changes the least out of all segments of vehicles because of function dictates, which brings stability in awareness. Self-appointed 'advocacy' entities such as CR here market their cause as protective, IE: in this case a theoretical 2500HD GMC buyer will end up regretting their purchase because a F-250 Super Duty is rated to get 1 MPG better on the highway. While no one will refuse better MPG on the face of it, the Big 3 are so close that it's not going to drive any sales shifts.
  3. balthazar
    The Bolt and Model S are not remotely in the same price range. That said- they are widely compared by both the press & consumers because the main purchase factor for both is being a high range EV. Different buyers have different criteria.
  4. balthazar
    The point the benevolent do-gooders @ CR apparently have no idea of is, full-size truck buyers, ESPECIALLY at the HD range, aren't cross-shopping much at all, and of the mere 3 brands available- are very comparable in a criteria that HD truck buyers just do not care about.
  5. balthazar
    Common sense tells you cars start at all different prices. Point is not the base price, but from the standpoint of the business side; why a company would not build a base MSRP entry level model until sometime later, esp when that is how the brand got the bulk of it's pre-orders (when a car wasn't shown until much later after orders were opened up). Even if an OEM 'front-loads' higher priced models to take advantage of the 'Gotta Have Nows', the point is still if the the company is taking advantage of consumer activity or is dependent on it for survival. We all know Cadillac is profitable whereas Tesla never has been.
  6. balthazar
    Tesla's profit point is difficult to pinpoint, yes. But obviously it's well above the current scenario of losing three-quarters of a billion /yr. Adding a much lower priced model with a margin so thin they company decided to bar selling at the advertised base price for the short term is NOT a good sign. Further, continued development on other vehicles (Model Y, semi, small truck) will just continue to suck capital. Where did you get this 'information'?
  7. balthazar
    The question is, is the slicing off of the bottom S models indicative of a steady march upward on the Model 3 price? We already know there's no profit at the $35K level... maybe not at $40K. If the 3 is meant to save the company, will it have to primarily be $45-55K or more?
  8. balthazar
    A company's reputation is built not on press releases and twitter feeds, but product. Despite some folk not believing the car or the country it comes from is "real", both do exist. Germany & Croatia share the same longitude.
  9. balthazar
    Pffft- 'well-funded? 13 years of no profits is poorly funded- that's negative income. Yes, selling cars now, but in the beginning; no. Financially Tesla is a house of cards- that may change, hopefully that will change very soon... but even the selling of the Model 3 in a 'mostly loaded' state of $24-49K does not bode well for making a profit at the 'bait' price of $35K. They need to curtail capital spending, their debt must be astronomical.
  10. balthazar
    People have said that (and some still do) about Tesla. Rimac was founded in 2009- 8 years ago now. Rimac : "Almost all of the materials are produced in-house; no critical components are off-the-shelf." That's a world apart from most start-ups AND established OEMs.
  11. balthazar
    Rimac is one of the few 'supercars' that has any sort of cohesive, sophisticated design, IMO. The "LaFerrari" is ridiculous; fans/company will likely say it's all functional/wind tunnel tuned but the video proves- it doesn't matter. Hope the Rimac gets more exposure- it seems largely unknown. However, it has set an EV hypercar performance bar that Mercedes has to contend with.
  12. balthazar
    So it's only going to equal a 'car built in a shed'??
  13. balthazar
    3/8 scale plaster model above, concept Tucker Torpedo circa 1947. Beneath is full-scale repro build, in progress, will be fully functional. Ida Auomotive, Morganville NJ
  14. balthazar
    That's correct.
  15. balthazar
    I'm definitely not anti-EV, but c'mon; this thing looks horrendous. However; I've got to give it to them; they figured out how to hide the door hinges, something the equally horrendous-looking benz-wagon has been unable to upgrade.
  16. balthazar
    Every 'performance arm' doesn't HAVE to be branded with yet another letter of the alphabet, does it? Just so wretchedly conformist... and in an era of increasingly homogenized vehicles, one of the last chances to stand apart.
  17. balthazar
    ^ This must be an older one then. Unconventional to a degree in that the horizontal split isn't at the beltline, but halfway into the body. Saw a pic of a BMW (X5 I think) done the same way. Another option... tho the dual-action gate is still the most versatile.
  18. balthazar
    WTF is an 'N'? Is this really what the industry has come to- MB has 'A', BMW has 'M', Cadillac has 'V', Jag has 'R' and hyindai has 'N'? And ocnblu is bemoaning homogenization? Already armpit deep in it, Bill.
  19. balthazar
    ^ since Day 1 : "Why buy a copy when you can buy the original"??
  20. balthazar
    RWD sedans are also dying out, both in volume and in deference to AWD.
  21. balthazar
    The '11 Liberty @ my house has it, but being frameless it 'feels' too prone to breakage to leave it up. Does Volvo still have that 2/3rds/ 1/3rd flip down 'gate'? Guy I know has what he calls his 'truck' (lol) but I don't know offhand what model or how old it is.
  22. balthazar
    Having had a 2-way tailgate GM in the family growing up ('77 Pontiac Safari), they really were the best of both worlds, and so simple it's puzzling why almost no one offers that now. I also like the older tailgate split split where the top half opens up and the bottom drops- much easier to drive with the rear open if you need to, vs. a one-piece lift door.
  23. balthazar
    Got it- '09-10 6-Series. Wow, that's a valuable beater worth more than the BMW behind it.
  24. balthazar
    Not my pic, prolly some years old, but I'm a bit amazed. Anyone know the year/model of the car peeking in from the far right? I know I know it, but it's not coming to me quick. The reason I post this is; the car to the right dates this pic as relatively recent, and the finned machine is obviously a daily-ish driver. It's certainly unrestored. The significance? It's a top-line '58 DeSoto Adventurer, one of only 350 built. 2-dr hardtop or convert (only 82 of those built), packing a 345 HP 361 dual quad Hemi... and there it sits on a public street. A '58 has sold as high as $264K at auction, a '57 has cleared $340K.
  25. balthazar
    Bugatti Chiron: 1480 HP, 0-97KPH: 2.4, 0-200 : 6.5, top speed 261 (limited). Rimac Concept One, 1224 HP, 0-100KPH: 2.4, 0-200 : 6.0, top speed 221 (limited).
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