Robert Hall

25 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 

Malibu and Fusion...are they even sold much/at all 

This is something to consider, most folks are in a worse financial situation than they were 4, n6, 8 years ago.  

Malibu is in it's last year, Fusion is gone...it's crazy, but Ford only has one car left--the Mustang.  

I guess being in tech I have a warped (jaded?) view of things..my total compensation has almost doubled in the last 3 years and my old house almost doubled in value over 6 years.. inflation partially I'm sure.   I can afford a new $60-75k car, but it's hard to justify considering I work out of my house and have no commute.  

As far as midsize family sedans, I do like the Malibu and Fusion quite a bit.  Drive many as rentals over the years.  I could live with a loaded one as a daily if I had a commute.  
 

It seems short sighted that GM and Ford have given up on mainstream sedans, as others have done also.  Basically given the market to Toyota, Honda and Hyundai and Kia.  But I don’t see the obsession with CUVs going away…

1 hour ago, oldshurst442 said:

This is one of many reasons as to why new  25 000 dollar cars dont exist.   Especially if said 25 000 dollar vehicle has no frills.  A used car of a couple of years with extras might be more enticing.  not might be more enticing, for many people it IS more enticing...   And I get that 100%.

Nothing wrong with that.  There shoudnt be any judgement by ANYBODY!

Nothing wrong with that either.  While a cheapskate could be judged for being a cheapskate, ultimately its the cheapskate that is the smartest one of all.  A penny saved is a penny earned and no reason to just part with your hard earned money on nonsense.  But lets be honest, NOBODY needs power windows.  Its nice to have them, but in icy cold Montreal and plenty of times the power windows dont power window in the winter, I sometimes bitch and wish for crank windows...  So there is that considering the cheapskated-ness of stripper cars.  

I dont aspire to be cheap.  But I certainly wished I was more of a miser than the make it rain type of guy i kinda was back in the day.  

 

 

I can’t imagine going back to manual windows after decades with power windows.  And with any vehicle of sufficient size, can’t reach the passenger side and can’t reach the back windows.  Crank windows are best left to the past.  

I get the appeal of a $25k car, I’d pay cash and not finance something that cheap.  But I don’t like decontented or stripper models, I’m old enough I want all the goodies in something of decent size and not a subcompact 4cyl despair-mobile. (I drove an ‘84 Ford Escort diesel with manual windows and AM radio part of the time in college 30+ years ago, not going back to that level of minimalism).  

I like CPOs, get something 3 years old w/ low mikes at a reduced price.  A $60k car for $40k or a $50k suv for $30k.  I plan to do that again on my next vehicle. 

Haven't been in a Costco in about 20 years...I have a Costco about 5 min from me, will have to check it out sometime..though I so rarely go in stores anymore, usually I do all my shopping from my phone and packages appear at my door. 

As far as my car, need to take the Jeep to my favorite local full detail car wash...grubby inside and outside from the last few months of moving.   

On 9/5/2023 at 12:15 PM, David said:

Cougars, Thunderbirds and Mustangs all have great history, excited to see where it goes in the EV generation.

Nowhere..other than Mustang, those are dead...afraid the 'EV Generation' is just going to be more soulless CUV appliances...generic vehicles for generic consumers.

With a new front end this could be a good range topper for Lexus above the LX..

9 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

 

Can we buy ANY car, midsized, without ANY creature comforts so the price COULD be $25 000?  If enough of us in Canada and in the US  actually BOUGHT cars that way,  they'd still exist in THIS market... 

Yeah, I can't imagine there are many consumers today in the US or CA that would actually WANT a car without all the mod cons.    A stripped down basic vehicle w/ a despair gray interior says one of two things about it's owner--that's it's all they can afford, or they are a cheapskate.  Not a good image and not what people aspire to.   

In today's market, $25k is a decent used car, not much of anything decent under $30k for new and your average midsize CUV is $40k and up... 

Saw this Crosley Hotshot that belonged to Frank Lloyd Wright at the Hagen Museum in Erie, PA today.   So tiny it makes a Miata look Corvette sized. 

The front looks like a mix of Lincoln and Genesis styling cues.. 

And this photo got me thinking that the headlights would look great retrofit to a GMT-400 or GMT-800...

10 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Still a BOF car.  A unibody car would have collapsed under all that weight.

Would have been more amusing if it had been a Tesla... 

I did grow up in a Ford family, so I've long liked some of their animal-named models..

Happy Labor Day.  Enjoying the holiday, going to do a bit of grilling this afternoon and be lazy and sit in the hot tub again tonight.   I'm on PTO this week, going to go to a couple beaches and take some sightseeing trips up the North Coast this week, as well as unpacking more around the house..

Went out to Oberlin, Ohio to tour a neat Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house, parked in the driveway was this neat Citroen 2CV Dolly...80s vintage I think.

10 hours ago, David said:

I find some of the autos on the most stolen crazy and yet they are there due to the thefts. Glad none of my autos are on the list.

Kias are the most common stolen cars here..there has been a phenomenon this summer the local press has labeled 'Kia Kids' where mindless hooligans steal Kias and wreak havoc around the Cleveland area..

1 minute ago, ccap41 said:

 

I've never heard of poor engineering from Tesla. They have poor fit and finish but I've never heard of them having poorly engineered vehicles. 

Phrasing was wrong..was thinking of the poor quality..poor fit and finish... though some of the engineering is certainly questionable, like the 'self driving' feature that is crash prone, etc....they are too complex for their own good.. 

Given how Tesla is known for poorly engineering their cars, I would think they would just do a cut down, stripped out variation of the Model 3 and sell it cheap.. put normal door handles, analog gauges, get rid of the nonsense..

That is a cool watch..

32 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

Those are cool themed watches for sure!!!   And while Tag's hue of blue for the Formula One is a classy choice lending itself in being a very nice watch, this is where my philosophy of staying classy goes haywire. 

(Not too take anything away from your watch choice @Robert Hall, but showing you guys how my twisted mind works sometimes)

  Ive mentioned several times that I dont like gaudy watches or saying things like a gentleman stays humble and doesnt reveal his watch etc...

But like my colour choices in muscle cars and exotics and  actually,exotic hyper cars not being my thing...

I somteimes veer away from that "righteous" path and say shyte like:

Sure, that Formula One Tag with a blue face is classy  but in my funky world BECAUSE its a Formula One themed watch, I think Id like a more flashy Formula One Tag:

 

 

The face has got the same blue hue, but with more pizzaz.  Extra complications and a gulf livery stripe to it.  

 

I like that Gulf Livery watch...a very LeMans endurance racing theme instead of F1..

7 hours ago, David said:

 

Unless you really need to replace an auto, I hate to say it but I would tell anyone asking me to hold off as with Solid State batteries expecting to become standard in EVs by 2025, I expect a major tech advancement in EVs that make todays EVs while they are good, about to go old like a Horse and Buggy.

The EV technology is changing so fast, it seems prudent to lease as what is new today will be obsolete or dated soon...

As far as my next vehicle, it will either a replacement for my '14 Jeep or a luxury sedan to supplement it.   I don't really need a new vehicle anytime soon, though...Jeep only has 76k and is running fine. 

Always liked Tag Heuers, back when I wore watches looked at them closely...the problem with many higher end watches is tend to be large and not look good on my skinny wrists... (I've been told I have a Mr Potato Head physique..).    Back in the 00s had a coworker who I think had a watch addiction..he was buying new watches constantly, from a variety of brands..I think he had about 200 watches in 2005..  

I've always liked silver watches with blue backgrounds, like this Tag Formula 1 (plus being an F1 fan makes this appealing).   I have a Skagen that is nice and thin and the same color scheme. 

I like this new Timex Pam Am tribute...love the classic Pan Am logo and the plane motif... 

I'm EV-curious, not ready to buy one though.   Not sure what or when my next vehicle purchase happens..   a couple different possibilities... 

16 minutes ago, David said:

I have to say that I am liking the Performance versions of both Hyundai and Kia SUVs.

After seeing a bunch in parking lots and in traffic, I really like the design of both of those.  Really like the Ionic 5 for its shape and quirky lighting details.   

2 minutes ago, oldshurst442 said:

I never thought about it.  2035 would BE just about the time Id be considering retirement as well.   

 

I've been thinking about it a lot lately, as I look at my investments and timelines.. and part of why I bought my big one story house this year..I don't want to deal with stairs as I get older.    And if I can avoid it, I don't want to go back to having a commute and a cubicle...working out of my house the last 6 years is just so much better for me in terms of schedule and flexibility.. 

1 minute ago, oldshurst442 said:

 

EVs are almost an obvious choice now...   In the next 5 years, EVs will almost be a no brainer.  By 2035, they will most probably BE the ONLY wise choice to make...  

 

It will be interesting to see what the automotive landscape looks like in 2035..I'll be ready to retire then.

EVs only have 7% market share in the US now, going to be a long time until they are the obvious choice.