balthazar

^ Depends on the mercedes model, and that HAS to be sales-weighed. S-class ATPs are thousands and thousands under base MSRP, and the option list on the s-class is like $30K long. s-class is frequently sold over ten grand under sticker, sometimes much more. I just looked up the 2015 S550 AWDs available within 100 miles of me. There are 209 cars available (!!) of that exact model, with a low price of $104K and a high price of $127K. It was 14 pages of S550s, and the 7th page sticker prices were $112K, so the price transition is pretty linear. Problem is, trucar.com for the same vehicle & area shows an average transaction price of only $96,215 for 31 sales... so on an average median sticker of $115K, your getting $19,000 off the sticker. That's an entire 'nother car off and a country mile away from "$2,800". Gotta be a huge image problem if you're giving away a free second car to move your flagship off the lots. Watch your blood sugar on all that Kool-Aid, smk.

Or is it the new A3, A4, A6 and A7 sedans, plus the new R8?

Again with the 'highest sales = bestest car!' nonsense...

Inferior, but in the same price range basically ($29K / $34K). No doubt there's a degree of cross-shopping.

Saw 2 true beauts today, but too quick for pics. '61 Buick LeSabre coupe, ice blue, great shape, slid across an intersection I was stopped at. Then, like a sighting of a pined-for starlet, again while held up at a light... a car carrier swooshed thru on the highway, only 2 cars aboard. Some meritless pod on the lower front... but perched on the upper rear was a 1960 Chrysler New Yorker 4-dr HARDTOP wagon, pristine in a dusty lavender, all stock and gorgeous. I was unable with central Jersey traffic, to ever catch up with it. Chrysler only built 1295 units for '60; can't be but a few handfuls left in restored condition.

This is quite true of course, but from a long-running observation of the consumer mindset, it seems to me that we've long been in a state where consistency gets valued over 'freshening'. Cadillac's crest USED to be tweaked every few years (on occasion; every year), but hasn't been revised (other than the minor simplification in '00 and a 'hollowed' version for '77) since '63. It's appeared with a Wreath, with a V and with nothing, but the Crest has been consistent. I had no issue with the 2000 'reskin', but it came with a 'reskinned' Wreath, too, and for decades now, that has been a very regal, very well recognized emblem 'package'. It just looks so excellent on the -say- '14 CTS. The prior 'naked' Crest was done circa '70-71 (and on the Car-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named), but they were brief occurrences that I do not believe got positive feedback, because the V quickly returned on deVilles for '72 (and by '83 on ThatOther Car; it got the Shield in a circular border). IMHO the new job looks 'naked', too, but I could live with the current shield much better if it had either a V or a ovaloid Wreath with it.

I'm NOT of the camp that feels it's an improvement (the new badge). I also seldom prefer 'full-width' lower intakes (in general), and here I liked the first ATS treatment better.

Stopped by my brother's today, I don't think I've ever shown his cars- definitely not the 2nd one. '68 Firebird, 406CI, N/A, PowerGlide, I think he has 4.56s in it, 'glass hood & front bumper, no rear seat, currently running 10.0 in the quarter mile : '71 GTO, original 400/4-spd, 3.31 car, A/C, rear shoulder belts, bunch options. His first car, drove a few years, raced a bit, had a full roll cage, then sat for a good 10 yrs outside, now undergoing a slow resto back to an original cruiser. He & I have a wager on which will get done first; the Goat or my '59. I'm farther along than he is right now, but he's actually working on it, I am not currently. When he catches up to me, I'll get back on it. As a refresher, here's my B-59 as it is today : All sheet metal work is done & it's in finish epoxy primer. All suspension work is also done & chassis is refinished. He has none of those areas done or even started.

I can get into the early '70s stuff if its spiffy enough. I did like the '73 Road Runner we pulled out of the weeds the other day, as far as design goes. The bulk of the '70s is a let down to me after so much exposure to '60s stuff, tho.

• Uhh..., the bottom edge of Baby Boomers is 50- most 50 yr olds are not on their last or 2nd last car. In fact, the average buyer age is 51- BBs are the median bulk of auto buyers; NOT 30 yr olds. We've got a few decades to go before your statement comes closer to the truth WRT Boomers. • Aren't hybrids/electrics still around only 4% of the US market? Diesel cars certainly are no where near 15%, so again we're some distance from "20-25%". • What are these new "glaring issues" the ATS has??

All those niche segments DON'T SELL. Luxury 'sports cars', converts, the hybrids, even the diesel (cars) are trickle numbers. They're not "saving" any brand, they're just icing. I LIKE icing, but let's look objectively to what (little) they add to the bottom line.

Pulled from a 13-yr side-yard parking stupor: '73 Plymouth Road Runner, all there, white strobe stripes over navy Blue, rusty. There's still some iron out there. Unfortunately, a 318 car, even with the slotted dual exhaust tips. Did come with a parts car with a 400 tho. For sale, price to be determined.

Interesting; current June sales are over 50% SUVs. So goes the 'sports car' brand.

General Motors gets undue critical pressure RE sales volume. Sure, if you're making a profit per vehicle, you make more profit, but GM (or any other maker for that matter) will never again see 50% marketshare, and crushing volume is not going to be the best indicator of 'success'. IOW, while volume projections for a particular model are all well & good, not meeting that goal does not mean the model was better off not being built. It just gets tiresome to so frequently read GM = huge volume... except these 'failures'. Was not the GTO production-volume / import restricted, and actually sold right up to that quantity? - - - - - I haven't seen an SS up close yet, have to see if my local dealer has one.

10-4. The s-class sells at an ATP BELOW the MSRP for a no-option car, and you KNOW they are never sold with no options. The option list last I looked totals around $30K, so even taking the 50% dollar figure of the option list, the discount/incentive/dealer price cut is monstrous. I'D like to see proof MB is selling it @ 100% of capacity. Not passing the smell test, just like the "$1500 headlight" didn't.

Right, so the same reason GM invests in multiple truck lines, to make a profit.

So why don't all those traditionally-car-only companies stick with cars only??

When trucks are 50% or more of all vehicle sales, it is certainly not a scenario where a Co is "milking" anything, nor is it a market fluke. You're never going to see truck sales drop back down to 10-15% marketshare, and when exclusive niche carmakers like bentley & porsche are going to/ building trucks, you can take that to the bank. Maintaining leadership in trucks is a very progressive business move.There have been numerous Co's that have survived & thrived building trucks for the better part of a century, you're just going to have to come to grips with that fact. BTW, mercedes has dozens of trucks they 'milk profits on' too, to the point they'll (completely unneccesarily) park a row of sprinters RIGHT NEXT to s-classes on what's supposed to be some sort of 'luxury buying experience' at the dealer. Must be a chunk of the reason dealers have to put $15K on the hood of the s-class to move them; when its door handle to door handle with a refrigerator white tin can, its tough to get sticker price.

'63 Avanti (round headlight bezels), gold, great shape, cruisin'.

Hopefully, they will show; they're all hosted the same. - - - - - One of the first things done is the chop the rear of the frame. The frame was doubled at the factory, but there were these single-thickness extensions about 14" sticking out the back. Something about them, and the diagonal flat stock steel welded there, that looked cobbled together. Besides, shortening it made it easier to walk around in the shop. I cut 14" off and moved the tow hooks forward. The little bracket [to the left of the jack stand in the above pic] was to hang an apparatus to carry the spare tire. I don't have that apparatus, so not going with a spare. Legally, mud flaps are not are required in NJ for truck registered at a GVW of under 6001 lbs. I will be registering the COE at 5000 (it weighs about 3950 without driver). However, I probably could fabricate something to hang off those little brackets for that purpose if desired. - - - - - Truck had no sign of tail lights at all- perhaps they were mounted in whatever body it used to have. Again, under the guise of making things functional, I took some on-hand galvanized flat stock, cut & drilled it, and mounted it to the outside of the rails. They are repro Ford lamps, but I scored some used bezels that are scratched up/aged to match the rest better :

To be clear here on the objective at hand, this is NOT a restoration in the usual sense RE vintage iron. This is, I guess, a "repair", for my approach is to make it reliable & road-worthy, and drive it as is otherwise. I am already waist deep in a rest-mod project, and I don't want to wade that far out with this one (which will only delay the other). In the interest of not making this project go years-long, I have also self-dictated that I will not obsess on this truck, but to place expedition above perfection. - - - - - - Ford was still putting wooden (plywood) flooring in these trucks (I am fairly certain it was the advent of the F-Series for '48 that likely included a switch to steel floors). The COE has pretty small floor area because the interior has a van-esque 'doghouse'; rendering this vehicle a true, literal 2-seater. The floor boards consist of 4 parts; 2 'floorboards' and 2 'toe boards' (that angle upward). The driver's toe board is actually seamed and is in 2 pieces to fit around the pedals and steering column. When I got the truck, there actually were carpenter ants in one of the original boards (guess that shouldn't really be a surprise). The floor boards were in such poor condition there was no question I would have to replace them all. I sourced oak-veneered plywood and make heavy paper templates. With typical practicality, Ford made them mirror images, so I only had to template once, then flip them. Took quite a bit of fitting & sanding to get them in there snugly, then there were old bolts to extract (not all worked out), holes to tap, holes to drill in the new boards, and refinishing. I didn't want them to stand out as 'NEW!!', so I cast an eye toward aging them, or at least making them 'disappear' as best I could :

'56 Plymouth 4-dr sedan, black/ white over black, decent shape, parked & for sale. about 5 blocks away on a side street: '55 Plymouth 2-dr hardtop, black/ red over black, missing Belvie side trim (perhaps recent repaint) but otherwise decent, parked & for sale. '80-style Trans Am, black w/ gold, dusty in rear of driveway.

YIKES.

The very nature of a delivery van is short local trips, where MPG will hover @ city numbers rather than even composite numbers. Even a 2-3 MPG bump in highway #s won't show in real world usage, and you'd be lucky to get a 9-spd trans into 7th, let alone 9th.

@ the house behind my customer's house, I spotted chrome thru the trees. At fist I thought it the front fender of a '57-58 Merc, then I realized it was the rear quarter of a '58 Cadillac coupe. Circled the block, but couldn't get a closer look.