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balthazar

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Everything posted by balthazar

  1. balthazar
    Actually; they do : Bolt was #1 in July EV sales in the U.S. Aaaaaand, the Volt is less than 200 units behind the Model S for 2017 YTD.
  2. balthazar
    I've seen a number of CT6s rolling around out & about, and they regained an aspirational big Cadillac sedan swagger that has been missing for decades, IMO. Based on the styling, I'd own one, and there's not much in the modern car world I can say that about.
  3. balthazar
    Ahh yes- the 2 old timers got them all correct- good work.
  4. balthazar
  5. balthazar
    For the record, I think autonomous vehicles will, in a very limited scale, finally be OK'd legally & perform decently WRT safety. But the hype surrounding it is WAY out of proportion to the extent and most especially; the TIMELINE of logical implementation. The 24-hr news cycle/ forums/ internet/ blogosphere loves to talk 'futurism' but there are very real factors most of this skygazing overlooks, including like examples such as those linked above.
  6. balthazar
    Weather extremes are a legitimate engineering obstacle- one that has to nailed down before AD vehicles should be released to the general public. - - - - - Another area, perhaps even 'simpler' than AD tractors is autonomous trains. https://www.wired.com/2013/04/why-arent-trains-autonomous/ There are, again, very real physics involved in full-scale implementation on the current iron rail network. Other systems, such as mag lev, might address the prime obstacle in the above link.
  7. balthazar
    At some point during the muscle car uprising in the '80-90s, it came to light that Pontiac failed to take a factory photo of the '71 GTO Judge convertible. Apparently they snuck out before whomever's job that was noticed, because only a mere 17 were built in '71. The porsche panamera S E H is in ever more rarified air- they've only sold 1 in the past 3 months (9 YTD).
  8. balthazar
    Not that this is a marketable skill in the least, but I could ID all these (in person) by touch. In fact, I would LOVE to be put to the test, if anyone wants to set up a video.
  9. balthazar
    Apparently, and who knew (other than perhaps our own life-long tractor aficionado; ocnblu) that the number 1 leader in autonomous vehicles was John Deere: www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/06/22/google-didnt-lead-the-self-driving-vehicle-revolution-john-deere-did/?utm_term=.57806ec2aaac https://qz.com/1042343/after-trying-to-build-self-driving-tractors-for-more-than-20-years-john-deere-has-learned-a-hard-truth-about-autonomy/ There are obvious & numerous differences with an 'AD' tractor and an 'AD' auto [Autonomous Driving]. Briefly; tractors aren't transportation, they are tools. They also work almost exclusively on private land with near no obstacles/other vehicles. Still, the tech still requires an operator to be present. A truly self-driving tractor would revolutionize the industry, allowing that individual to do other tasks instead of sitting there, basically captive. Not there yet, and even after 20 years of working on the tech. Perhaps soon.
  10. balthazar
    It's ALL been tried before; I'm convinced there is no new automotive tech concept that hasn't either been tried or researched, not in the last 25 years. That said, I'm going to toss up a few other industry autonomous experiments up later today, as food for thought.
  11. balthazar
    I don't believe it's as much of "want a base car" as it will prove to be "can't afford a $50K 'affordable' car".
  12. balthazar
    LC looks snappy in the 3/4 angle, but it makes some cardinal mistakes in profile. - - - - - I'd like to get one of these, in this shape. New hi-po tires, go all thru the running gear, rebuild the 392 with more like 500 HP, go street racing for cash:
  13. balthazar
    Car & Driver, 2015 BMW 335i x-drive, 300-ft skidpad: 0.86 g, 0-60: 4.6 sec, 1/4 mile: 13.3 @ 105, 70-0 braking: 186'. Car & Driver, 2003 Lingenfelter Escalade, 300-ft skidpad, 0.83 g, 0-60: 4.0 sec, 1/4 mile: 12.7 @ 106, 70-0 braking: 182'.
  14. balthazar
    So is a 3:13.2 and a 3:17.4 - you're splitting hairs here. A Bentley SUV will never see a road course outside of (pointless) magazine testing. So what makes you think a packaged Tahoe could not somehow equal that number? GC SRT is a big, tall, heavy (5100 lbs) SUV and it's hanging right off the 335i's bumper. I for one would sure like to see the Tahoe RST lap time. Maybe the 335i can drive a circular track, you know; constant left turns, and widen the lap time gap with the SUVs.
  15. balthazar
    Do you REALLY believe a 1:44.7 lap time "isn't keeping up with" a 1:44.5???
  16. balthazar
    Not that this is in any way instrumented... but I've had pesky BMWs and other 'sport sedans' on my rear bumper, and I have a bit of lead in my foot. But when sweeping turns come up, I get thru them easily; good grip, low-end 520 TRQ, 3.73 gears and 3/4-ton suspension. The truck never leans or plows, it just powers thru. The pests always fall back on the turns, speed up again on the straights, then fall off on the next turn. And my truck is about 6600 lbs.
  17. balthazar
    what about a modded Yukon? Suspension upgrades are plentiful and relatively easy. You can buy a turn-key circa 1000 HP Tahoe from a few tuners, not sure what they offer suspension0wise but wouldn't be surprised if it was an upgrade there. I've seen a few videos of the Ram SRT-10 running a road course- it was very well planted and consistent, and it sure looked like it was moving at a sport sedan pace. No time or speed (and WTH is that music?) :
  18. balthazar
    I thought I read that 3-series gave it's handling/driving crown up to the ATS?
  19. balthazar
    smart ED sales in the last 4 months? 7 cars. for the year to date? 57. "A few" indeed.
  20. balthazar
    InsideEVs tabulates both pure EVs and hybrids, as both are 'plug-ins'. But even against the Volt, MB plug-in sales are non-existent.
  21. balthazar
    No doubt Subaru loves having the Crosstek called a 'CUV" but those 2 above are -for all practical purposes- the same physical vehicle.
  22. balthazar
    C&D 2013 ~ BMW 335i lateral G : .89 Motor Trend 2008 ~ Lingenfelter Tahoe lateral G : .95 There is nothing physically that would disallow a Tahoe from outhandling a 3-series. The only difference is a higher CoG, but hardware can still overcome that.
  23. balthazar
    Bolt is ALREADY taking ALL 4 of MB's plug-ins on, right now. July '17~ Bolt : 1,971 Volt : 1,518 total ~ 3,833 ALL 4 MB plug-ins : 344 So if 4 MB plug-ins average 86 sales each/mnth, 10 would be 860/mnth. I hope MB can take on all of the Bolt with their 10 vehicles.
  24. balthazar
    "No one buys" mercedes plug-ins - Bolt is moving SIX TIMES all MB EVs combined monthly. That's likely to continue no matter how Daimler repackages it. Meanwhile MB is just conceding more & more ground to General Motors by refusing to get serious about the segment and fix the uncompetitive models they already have out.
  25. balthazar
    IMO, there's just no interest in the 'supercar' arena, not like there used to be. When the SL was a gold-chain slug with plastic cladding, a Lambo or ferrari were truely fresh air & special. Now we have a Mustang & Camaro running with Porsches/ferraris, and 50 times the number of historical concept & production supercars... and there's really nothing new under that sun anymore. Cab forward, huge overhang, low with lots of scoops, done. I've made this observation before- one of the very last stylistic borders to be crossed was putting the windshield & the hood in the same plane. Lamborghini did that in production for 1974. There's no more ceilings to shatter. I've seen the spyshots of the GM mid-engine mule and I'm 100% positive I'll find the production front-engined Corvette much more appealing than the RPO ME Corvette.
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