balthazar

Ick.

OK, so we agree. Of course; consumers don't buy different choices of weather from the Weather Corporation, for varying amounts of high finance.

90 weight would be tough to run thru a filter. Surprised to see that 30K service interval.

That's looking at the short term tho. Price spiking is as best 15 months old. Prior to, of course the unilateral inflationary cost increases were there. Vehicle inventory shortages are COVID-driven, of course affecting the used market (tho there demand was well down, also for a while). I'd have to say the used market is 'fluid' currently and will continue to be for some time. >>Furthermore, no one gave a date as to when the cost of BEVs would dip below ICEs, so calling that misinformation is substantially premature.<< I disagree. Stating it NOW with no evidence to support it, is premature. As I said; that arguably could be called 'misinformation'. >>The big, experienced manufacturers like GM and MB have been awoken like a sleeping dragon and the new BEV platforms coming from them are going to be serious entries, not just an electric motor thrown in one of their gasser models with a bunch of laptop batteries in the trunk. As of about 3 years ago, they all started taking BEVs seriously. There will be economies of scale...<< I look forward to seeing these 'Major OEM' BE products (esp in the truck segment), but I have to agree with the skepticism of ccap41; there's nothing in place I've seen that will have manufacturers pass those EoS savings onto consumers. In fact, the very fact that countries / cities are ticking onboard with banning IC sales at random near-future dates takes enormous pressure off BE OEMs to lower prices; Gov'ts are 'beating down' their major competition for them. Yes, as stated; major OEMs are also going to produce mainstream BEs... but why would they NOT equal the going MSRP rates, esp when the current profit margins are so razor thin / non-existent?

^ Not sure it's that specific; on the Silverado/Sierra, the active safety features package is optional, and costs $890. I do think electronics in general are responsible for most of the recent price escalations. I can easily see calling claims of 'BE's are going to cost the same or less than ICs' as "misinformation".

I feel you are omitting the competition factor here. Plywood, I suppose, only competes with OSB, tho I imagine the same companies manufacture both. Its pricing is directly tied to supply & demand, having no 'MSRP'. If I want to buy plywood in my tri-county area, it's pretty much the same price everywhere. If I want to buy a vehicle in my area (even excluding the used market) the price range is enormous. BE's have to compete with IC directly for the consumer, and vehicles are built by a multitude of companies. Price is the primary factor for consumers. Look at it this way- if the Model 3 came out at $25K, where do you think it's sales (sans production limitations) would be?

Firstly, my commentary on Tesla's pricing increase is to counterpoint a narrative seen repeatedly here; that BE's prices are going to "come way down" and even "be below equivalent IC vehicles". Other than the Bolt, it's not happening. OEMs can charge whatever they like, and nothing is cheap anymore, just don't try and convince me that any future economies of scale / "much" simpler powertrains is going to make BE's any cheaper than they are now. Because to date; there's no evidence of that. Maybe it happens down the road... but we've been along this road for years now. BTW, the $35K Model 3 did happen; it was an 'off-menu' availability... for 6 months before Musk yanked it. And that's fine if it works for whatever business case Musk has in mind.... but he DID repeatedly push that price tag 'carrot' in the face of his $90-110K other models. I never heard GM selling the $38K Bolt by saying it would be $25K or the like in the future.

Trailblazer starts at $19K, Trax @ $21K. 2021 Spark is still here @ $13K, Malibu at $22K. BTW, what exactly was I arguing?

Happiness is... a brand new (fine) wire wheel disc and grinding stone on your bench grinder.

'Electric' plywood isn't trying to compete with 'gas' plywood for price parity. The analogy doesn't apply here. Plywood (and lumber) cost spiking started in the summer of '20 on the East Coast. I know because I priced a deck in May, and had to adjust the price when I actually bought material/built it in Sept. It's primarily COVID-affected. Looked today, and 15/32 sheathing ply is $57 here @ the HD. It was $48 about a month ago, so still going up some, but the bulk of the increase came before the winter.

Proposed future legislation has zero effect on the life span of said vehicle.

• cleaned both valve covers to 90% outside, 100% inside. Need to fire my sandblaster cab back up to take care of the last bit. • cleaned up 3 intake brackets (2 wire looms, a PCV hose bracket) and shot them with self-etch primer. • shampooed the carpet- came out really good. • got hardware for the intake ready for paint (have to keep them in correct order- a few different length bolts).

In case you lost count; we're in the 4th month.

I love uncovering tiny signs of Year 1. I know at one time everything was brand new, but sometimes you still forget.

Hard to reply specifically as there are now like 23 different ferraris pictured in this thread.

They did it; the Starfire, then the Toronado.

Next status codes to achieve: 4000 : vehicle available to ship 4150 : vehicle invoiced 4200 : order shipped 4300 : intermediate delivery 4800 : vehicle at rail road destination awaiting truck transport 5000 : vehicle delivered to dealer

Target build week got bumped from 3/29 to 4/12, but as of this morning its status code is 3800 : 'Order produced, VIN available'. That should mean it actually exists, in the steel. Supposed delivery date is 5/4, but those are (currently) 'largely meaningless'.

One is great looking, the other is mostly 'meh'. Is 'meh' considered "good looking"?

No; pretty sure it’s design-sourced.

The ‘50s Corvettes posted above are 100 times more cohesive than the ferrari 250 also shown here. i’ll have to do an analysis tonight to illustrate how I look at them. Lots of ‘starts & stops’ and misalignments in the linework on the 250.

^ Ahead of their time; ‘54, ‘56 & ‘58.

^ Do the 8 better options "stand out" or are they also "lost in the shuffle"?