Everything posted by balthazar
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Tesla Model X Photo Leak Shows Off Rear Falcon Wing Door
Is the door itself articulated? Can't tell from the pic for sure. GMC had the best solution for this in '55, articulation that folded in on itself for minimal protrusion:
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Tesla Model X Photo Leak Shows Off Rear Falcon Wing Door
It doesn't look to me (in the pic) it sticks out any further than a commonly-hinged door. I just wonder if such a temporary status (the door when it's open) is going to bring any buyers in by itself. I leave my truck doors open for long periods of time in some instances (up to 2 hours) if I'm working out of it/accessing stuff repeatedly. Overhead shade/cover might be useful in a work truck in that capacity, but in a passenger SUV, that's not the case.
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The Best Concept Cars were built by????
I'll stick to the styling, rather than address any practical use potential. In looking @ Google images of the Rageous, it's coming back to me; I really liked nothing about it. IMO: poor surface transition/flow, disliked the 3-spoke rims, the black chin, whatever was going on on the lower doors, the front fender humps, the wonky belt line, the spoiler… it's a unilateral thumbs down for me. So broken up. Put in ext to the Banshee and it's night & day. I don't know if you are asking about the Aztek concept or production, but the concept is another DOA job in my book. That hood cutline makes it look like another vehicle got smashed down on top of another. The production car is absolutely killed by the black lower section, among many more details. Vibe is a disposable appliance. Just because some folks are yearning for a CUV doesn't mean they've endeared themselves one iota more to me. Boring stylistically.
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Mercedez Benz News Debut: 2016 Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
As if folk weren't confused enough before RE all the MB models, via the name change-up and the reguritated styling, who will actually have much of an idea where this slots in the lineup?? It just looks so 'here's another microscopically-different version of the same thing', then they spin the big MSRP wheel and see if it lists for closer to $30K or $130K.
- The Best Concept Cars were built by????
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The Best Concept Cars were built by????
Traditionally, the concepts @ GM came out of the Advanced Studio. I have no reason to think that by the '90s that had changed, but IDK for sure. I know, I know; I'm nitpicking. On a corporate level, IMO GM definitely had the best concepts over time. In the '50s when GM was cranking out multiple functional concepts/yr, Ford was primarily building 3/8th scale models. But I admire a bunch from numerous Companies, all have had their bad & their good. For instance, I find the '55 Biscayne pretty ugly. Of the Pontiacs above, the Salsa & the Stinger are OK, the rest are nice in each of their own ways. I think I would take the Sunfire first, given the choice.
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Jaguar News: Jaguar Unveils Refreshed 2016 Jaguar XJ
What are the "automatic high beams" supposed to do? Question regarding WHATEVER jaguar may do- will anyone notice/care?
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Cadillac CTS Sales are Down 41% in 2015
Did I not see Maybach 2.0 interior pics with CLOTH upholstery??
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Revisiting the Corvette Brand: Autonomy From Chevy Dealership
A LOT more BMWs have had "Chevy" small blocks installed in them than you would think. Way more than the other way around, BTW.
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Revisiting the Corvette Brand: Autonomy From Chevy Dealership
This is only potentially an issue if the 2 were in a majority of ways similar, and got cross-shopped. They are not and do not.
- May 2015: BMW Group U.S.
- May 2015: BMW Group U.S.
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Random Thoughts Thread
^ Ummm, that's the point; in the lightest of rains people are limping along in 50 MPH zones @ 30-35 MPH. :/
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Random Thoughts Thread
Most are aware there have been significant advancements in autos over the last 25 yrs (let's limit it to that time span). Tires (maybe the most significant), brakes, anti-lock tech, stability control, traction control, AWD, etc etc. So tell me then, why, when it becomes necessary to put the wipers on the slowest delay setting because tiny droplets of water are coming from the sky… are the vast majority (95%) of drivers STILL slowing down to a maximum of 35 MPH??? It's ONE of TWO possibilities. Either drivers are THAT much worse now than 25 yrs ago (question is; is it BECAUSE of all the tech), or is all the tech really totally irrelevant to drivers??
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Cadillac CTS Sales are Down 41% in 2015
The 'platform' moniker is anachronistic when talking about the 1950s. The equivalent to 'platforms' in the '50-60s would be the car's chassis (or frame). GM did not share chassis's in the 1950s. And in the '60s, it began with the intermediates; the full-size cars still ran proprietary chassis's. It was the '70s when it blossomed to any measurable degree, tho the full-size cars still had mostly proprietary chassis's. This can get confusing to the casual researcher when some cars, such as the "E-Body" (Eldorado, Toronado, Riviera) still had different chassis's in the '60s. That's what you have with Body-On-Frame construction. However, body SHELL sharing at GM between Divisions (to a limited degree) goes back the early 1930s.
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Cadillac CTS Sales are Down 41% in 2015
Lincoln has had a choppy history WRT public reception & sales success. '46-51 and '58-60 had some solid backlash, but in between they redeemed themselves. The Continental Division of '55-57 made huge positive press, as did the Engel-directed '61s, but there were still missteps; Lincoln never got the transparent roofs that Merc & Ford did in '54-55, and the '61 body shell hung around too long in an era where body shells commonly lasted but 2 years. The Marks in the '70s were a bright spot, but the standard lines got incredibly blocky & ponderous. In the '80s, when Lincoln was making hay on Cadillac's putting the core Devilles on too-small FWD chassis's, they again could not make it last. The Navigator is another example- it made a big splash but once the Escalade appeared & got settled in, the Navigator fell farther & father behind. Not sure any other American brand has had such a ride thru time. But there is one strong advantage. Lincoln isn't so much 'damaged' today as it is overlooked and, to a degree; forgotten. It's far easier to overcome a lack of a reputation than a poor one. Oh sure, internet car boards have plenty of bile to spill over Lincoln (in the occasional threads about such), but by & large the general consumer just hear much in the way of attention-getters from Lincoln. I'm not sure the Continental concept is the best move forward; I still think the MKR was Lincoln's pinnacle; it's post-war Zephyr if you will. Time will tell if Ford is moving the levers for another Lincoln upswing or not.
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Cadillac CTS Sales are Down 41% in 2015
This is exactly why the mercedes g-wagon isn't a luxury vehicle.
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JUNE 2015 CAR SPOTTERS THREAD HERE!!!
('57) :
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Cadillac CTS Sales are Down 41% in 2015
Lincoln certainly isn't beyond 'saving' - look at how far mercedes came from the horrible state they were in the 70s & 80s and were building basically junk.
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Trivia Tuesday June 2 2015
Answers: A : Durant B : Olds C : Buick D : Chevrolet E : Murphy F : Leland - - - - - Going to take Trivia Tuesday on a break for a bit, sit him down in the sand under an umbrella by the salt water & watch him built a sand castle replica of the General Motors Building. Will be back with more in the near future!
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Ford truck or Buick coupe? + strength
That'd be a tough one for me. A 1970 is a bit new for me, even tho it comes with the 455. And… yellow. The truck I would be much stronger for if it was a base, factory job. My buddy had a '62 F-100 he sold a bunch of years back, it was pretty original and for some reason it just begged to be driven for hundreds of miles.
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line drawings 1950s cars
This one is actually VERY helpful (tho my initial request still stands) ::
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line drawings 1950s cars
I googled around a good 15 minutes, can't find what I am looking for. In vintage Road & Track road tests they used to feature scale 'see-thru' line drawings on the car's spec page. These showed the outline of the car, the power train & the driver seat/steering column. Here's a tiny example : My library of original mags is primarily Car Life & Motor Trend, so I don't know when this practice of providing these scale drawing started. ANYWAYS…… I am looking for that same sort of scaled line drawing for ANY 1950s car, say '50-57 (as the '58/59/60s start getting 'lower/longer' than I'm looking for). Anyone stumble across such a thing, please let me know.
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Random Thoughts Thread
I don't get people who undeniably get out of bed in the morning with the Prime Directive of talking & talking & talking & talking. There's really not that much to discuss, folks.
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BMW News: Debut: 2016 BMW 7-Series
I think that's logical. IIRC, it first showed up in one of the many SUVs over at MBUSA (GL? GLK?) Prior to, the m-class was as round & amorphous as a bullfrog, but the GL(?) came out with a bunch of sharp edges that MBs never had before. The issue is that now they have multiple 'schools' of design going; 'A&S' lines (SUVs), the 'Pontiac' line (CLA, S-Coupe), 'old school' line (s-class), 'modern sleek' (CLS) and 'the box the refrigerator came in' (sprinter/ metris). Depends on the day & the person you ask if that's either diversified, or schizophrenic. Jag has zero momentum- they have nice lines & the specs are competitive, but no one buys Jags. "Everything should be available at launch!!" comes into play here. MB had a diesel AND a hybrid in the S-class, but they dropped them with the redesign. Probably put the money into the SCoupe instead.
- 63 replies
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- 2016
- BMW
- 7-Series
- BMW 7-Series
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