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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    You go into another's house and you respect that space & it's owner. Common decency. A country is no different. I say you did right by the situation, and also to expect more of this sort of thing in the future.
  2. balthazar
    icy green '69-70 Eldorado, parked in driveway, very clean. Circa '75 Merc Marquis, red, worn but solid. These are ever bit as horrid stylistically as I remembered (haven't seen one of these in some time)- despite their awe-striking size. Took my buddy's '70 Catalina on a half mile trip down the road, loved driving it. Moved a 3rd generation Camaro around a lot, black, raggedy, one of those dumb-assed B&M ratchet shifters no one can figure out how to operate smoothly. So frustrating I think I could rip it out with my bare hands and throw it thru the windsheild and be happy about it.
  3. balthazar
    Uhhhhhhhhh................... . . . . ..
  4. balthazar
    ATS already has more interior space than the identically-sized CLA. I believe most of the XTS and XT5 vehicles are sold as AWD. That's not how people buy cars anyway (drive wheels)- most have no idea which end drives. Will MB change their CUVs to FWD because the RX sells way more?
  5. balthazar
    http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-the-origin-story-2014-10
  6. balthazar
    Sure, but I'm pretty sure before Car #1 there were sketches, computer renderings, planning stages, etc. Tesla preliminary handout, fall 2003 (5 years before the Roadster) :
  7. balthazar
    Not yet. Tesla started with talk/ planning/ modeling/ etc- all modern hopeful OEMs do. And you well know the cost of a start-up is tremendous.
  8. balthazar
    Anyone seen much about this entity? "Super luxury line with NG V-16". http://www.godsilmotorcars.com/vision.html https://twitter.com/GodsilMotorcars
  9. balthazar
    Looks like all-black to me also. The beltline kick-up calls attention to the C-Pillar and invokes some of the 'floating' treatments. Nothing new here, either :
  10. balthazar
    Or so 1959. >"What's next?"< Some other recycled cue from the past, if you're lucky. There's not much at all left in the hopper.
  11. balthazar
    Nissan does. Modern design is like the closing scene to Animal House- the band is making noise but it's jammed up in the dead end alley- going nowhere. There are more players than ever, and they're all doing the same stylistic cues.
  12. balthazar
    You keep using that word 'copy', but I do not think it means what you think it means. Copy:
  13. balthazar
    You already watch more TV than I do; there's no show I "love". Netflix I've also found to be relatively barren.
  14. balthazar
    Bentley has a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT farther to go to reach that demographic than Benz did. What Bentley SHOULD do is; shelve plans for another model and DEVELOP A DESIGN LANGUAGE THAT LOOKS EXPENSIVE!
  15. balthazar
    At the prices Bentley charges, and subsequent extremely low volume, Bentley ain't eating nobody's cake. >>"We intend to be the leader in electrification in the luxury segment."<< TOO LATE- you missed that boat!
  16. balthazar
    I laugh when 'device' commercials talk about 'catch your favor shows anytime, anywhere' when there's nothing broadcast worth bothering with. Days go by without me watching. I have taken in the first 2 episodes of AHS- but if it doesn't hold my interest, I'll bail.
  17. balthazar
    We can dispense with this sentiment- I've been reading this as far back as 30 years ago. BBs are also the demographic buying Mercedes. It's not generational, its the demographic. As far as the ATS being a better 3-series.... if BMW improves the 3-series to outperform the ATS, are they then benchmarking/copying Cadillac?
  18. balthazar
    So IYO- building a competitor that mirrors the size class dimensions means Cadillac is "copying" BMW? Is everyone else building a car to that close dimensionally also 'copying', and who presented those dimensions first?
  19. balthazar
    Are the 2 mutually exclusive? Can 'we' live with a CTS that's eminently comfortable AND a CTS-V that is less so but is leading edge in performance?
  20. balthazar
    Mercedes has been teasing mid-engined concepts EVEN LONGER than Chevrolet, tho, but none have made it to production. Here's a whole room full, foreground one was from '65:
  21. balthazar
    I'm wiling to roll up my sleeves w U on this one, Bill. Define for me, if you will, specifically how Cadillac is chasing the Germans. What is it the Germans own that is proprietary?
  22. balthazar
    Wonder if the 4.0TT is slated for the Corvette and the CT6 will still get a bored 4.2TT.
  23. balthazar
    Was looking forward to working on the '63 Sting Ray currently in my shop, but am a bit disturbed by my conversation tonight with the owner. ME : "So should I go ahead and start working on it- was going to start with the brake system." HIM : "I thought we'd put some fluid in and see if the brake pump up." Recap- the car has been sitting since 1969. Owner is notoriously 'thrifty'. If I am not going to be able to charge for my time and make it worth my while, he needs to get his car out of my building.
  24. balthazar
    ^ Correct- you pay the car's price, you get the rebate taken off you federal taxes that fiscal year only. It's 'up to $7500' but if your federal tax is -say- $5000, you only get $5000 off, that 1 year only. I have not heard what the average rebate is amounting to (and I'm waiting to see folk complain these rebates only favor the rich) but from a consumer window shopping perspective; the general assumption is that they're going to see a $7500 savings. This is where I'm watching Tesla closely- I believe a lot of people heard "$35K" and "7.5K off" and are figuring their "affordable" Model 3 is going to be around $28K. Meanwhile, the current car lists between $42K and $49K and the incentives for Tesla will start pro-rating early next year sometime (depending on the speed of 3 production). Now your $28K is leveling off somewhere in the upper 30's, likely.
  25. balthazar
    It's a baseline price including the rebate: $36,620 - 7,500 = 29,120 (plus delivery/etc). I am aware that not everyone qualifies for the 7500, as it comes off your 1st year federal tax OWED and any balance doesn't carry over. On the other hand, there are a few accounting ways around that, plus select states offer a state rebate on top of the fed; in CO one can get up to $5K on top. It's a generalization- just as on the last page where it was posted that the Model 3 is "$40K" when Musk stated it would sticker between $42 and 49K for a while; right now there is no $35K Model 3". And these rebates are running out fast for Tesla- the pro-rating of the rebate starts next year. Chevy is not as far into their 200K EV allowance yet.
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