balthazar

The very tangible problem is that most HE works a job longer than one day... and usually there's no grid-supplied power. I don't recall us ever having an electricity hookup on all the jobs we worked during those 7 years. So while perhaps a BE Case backhoe can operate for 8 hrs, but then you'd have to load it up and truck it away at the end of every day, so you can charge it overnight 'back at the shop', then truck it back to the job again in the morning. Over & over & over & over again. This requires you to drive a HD truck hauling a trailer & the Case, rather than a regular truck everyday, burning far MORE fuel than just leaving a TD machine on the job site. Whoops.

But ALL battery electric prices are crazy marked-up! Kia wants 82% markup on their BE Kona, at least the Mach 1 markup is only 16% !! ?

Not sure I get what the objection is. Isn't that the same ballpark you yourself are willing to pay for a Rivian? Are BE dealers 'non-idiots' because their 'market adjustment' is baked into the sticker already?? ?

"They said without evidence". ? I worked in heavy equipment for 7 years (Ford/New Holland, Hitachi, Komatsu, Catepillar, Case); the engines are like 5% of the maintenance required- there's dozens of other areas that require attention, but the engines aren't it; HE diesels run forever. Substituting a BE motor for a HE diesel isn't going to save you 10% in maintenance. There's a very tangible reason these claims are pushed so hard; not that they're backed by empirical real-world data, but that it's a distraction to the Uber-high sticker prices these vehicles almost always are.

^ What is it stick-shifting??

It was a simple illustration of volume. OEMs have a long history of saying/promising this and delivering that. Time will tell.

Don't forget; and with NO outside oversight and almost zero accountability.

Y-you guys realize I'm serious, right? L-O-V-E short hood/long deck cars.

Ahhhh! Spring.... and the beautiful sight & smell of Dupli-color Pontiac Blue!

‘70 convert (MAJOR) project temporarily squatting @ Rancho Balthy.

Heart-warming.

'41 Ford coupe, mildly hot rodded, rollin'. '53-56 Ford F-100, orange, very clean, mild custom, rollin'.

I LOVE the radical proportions of this '58 Ford :

Unconstitutional.

A few years ago California passed laws limiting the modifications that can be done to a car's exhaust. The state also has plans to outlaw the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles in the state by 2035. Now Sacramento County has taken an extra step. A new law passed by the county will limit the kinds of repairs car owners can do to their vehicles. These include "minor repairs" which the new code defines as follows: Minor adjustments, service, and repairs to automobiles or other passenger vehicles. Examples include but are not limited to: radiator, transmission, muffler, and brake repair, lubricant shops, diagnosis and tune-up, smog inspection, auto glass repair and installation, automotive seat covers, and re-upholstery, tire sales and service, and car washes. Shall not include body and engine work as defined in “Major Automobile Repair.” (See Section 7.3 of the Zoning Code). [~ Code Enforcement Sacramento] In summation, this law keeps car enthusiasts from completing more complex repairs which are outlined as jobs that would leave the vehicle inoperable for more than 24 hours. However more simple tasks like oil changes, tune-ups, tire changes, and brake changes, are allowed. In addition, you are not allowed to work on another person's vehicle. Also, work done on any vehicle must be completed at the home the vehicle is registered to. Talk about red tape. The new law also limits the use of many specialized tools for some reason too. The thing is many of these "specialized" tools are in fact common sights in garages. Restricted tools include air compressors, impact wrenches, and even tools as simple as torque wrenches. The law further defines these items as “tools not normally found in a residence.” Yikes. Even more troubling is the law's vagueness on restricted parts and tools. For example, regular disc brake changes are fine according to the law while drum brakes, common on older vehicles, are not mentioned in the code. So this means somebody changing the drum brakes on their classic Camaro might find themselves in some hot water if they're not careful. An online explainer on the code says that the law is supposed to decrease the release of pollutants as well as maintain property values as some deem the sight of auto repairs in residential areas an eyesore. “The chemicals involved in major automobile repair can pollute our neighborhoods and endanger the health and wellbeing of our residents,” reads the statement. “Furthermore, this kind of activity increases vehicle traffic and the visual impact can negatively impact property value.” Many are wondering how these laws will be enforced. One member of the Grassroots Motorsports forum claims he has already been fined $430 for violating the code. "I have not been left alone, they levied a $430 fine yesterday. You can request a hearing to review the code enforcement decision, which costs $700 to complain," he wrote. It sounds as if Sacramento County has turned into a giant HOA. Proponents of the law argue that it is meant to prevent, scammy, fly-by-night shops from popping up in residential areas, but so far mainly personal car owners have felt the weight of the new code.

If Big Gov’t actually worked for the people, they’d only accept the median U.S. salary & be on conventional healthcare like the rest of us.

Did a small job for the father of a buddy's girlfriend. Buddy was there, asked if I was working on any new car projects. I told them both I started working on my '64 Grand Prix, and the guy said 'That was my first car; my father bought it new then handed it down to me when it was 10 yrs old. It was turquoise with a turquoise interior." I replied 'My '64 is my first car, too.' Came home this afternoon and saw on a FB group a story/link to a very original '64 GP on eBay, turqoise/turquoise.

A trio of the Commercial Truck Co Model A-10 electrics showed up in Portland OR for sale. Pretty decent shape for being from 1912- must've spent decades in a structure. $5000 for all 3.

^ The study David & I am referring to was posted here last year somewhere, but the service interval wasn't long- it was a Model 3 vs. a Dodge Charger, IIRC, and I think the timespan was only 1 year. Tesla had maintenance costs like 4 times that of the Charger, according to it.

Stands entirely to reason that a groups of operators that are "abusing" a BE vehicle are going to do the same with an IC vehicle.

Both spell check and automatic colorization (online) are colossal wastes of time.

Current Wechsler Intelligence Scale scores an average IQ at 90-109.

Part of the problem for consumers is the factually-challenged hyperbole lacing most of the narrative on BE’s. ‘IC bans in 9 years’, ‘new gas stations banned’, ‘100% BE’s by 2030’, ‘BE sales “soaring!!!!!’ is a disconnect from reality, and I think, isn’t so different than high pressure loan tactics some banks have done.

So... before setting out on their trip, they should've plotted their route and gone online to done as much of a 'real-time' analysis of charger outlets along the way being inoperable and the wait times projected at the time they would be there, then continually altered their route to all other possible ones that allowed operable chargers with reasonable wait times, then recorded/taken said optimum route, with the hope that in the interim; said charger scenarios don't change. You're right; they were incompetent.