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Drew Dowdell

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Everything posted by Drew Dowdell

  1. Drew Dowdell
    He does have a point. The entire industry shouldn't suffer just because of one bad company.
  2. Drew Dowdell
    In a single picture for your sharing convenience....
  3. Drew Dowdell
    I think you just did....
  4. Drew Dowdell
    If Royal Enfield really has the money they claim to have... I think Ducati is in better hands with a parent company that has billions in cash rather than billions in fines.
  5. Drew Dowdell
    Volkswagen, still under steep financial pressure from their diesel emissions scandal, is apparently looking to put some of its many assets on the auction block. Up first looks to be famed Italian motorcycle builder Ducati. In July of 2012, Volkswagen originally acquired Ducati for $909 million through a complicated transaction involving subsidiary Audi which in turn owns Lamborghini which is the current holder of Ducati. The purchase was the brainchild of then VW Chairman Ferdinand Piëch, a long time motorcycle enthusiast. Analysts at the time felt that it was more a trophy purchase for Chariman Piëch than one that made financial sense for VW. Sources have reported that VW has enlisted Evercore, an investment bank, to investigate the possible sale options for Ducati. Estimates currently peg Ducati with a value of around $1.63 billion (1.5b €). Speculation is that Indian automaker Eicher, maker of motorcycle brand Royal Enfield is interested and exploring possibly acquiring the brand. While not as well known in the US, Royal Enfield sells more motorcycles globally than famed maker Harley Davidson. Eicher, which also partners with Polaris and Volvo Trucks for production in India is aggressively looking to grow its global portfolio. Eicher Motors recent growth means it has over $540 million* in cash reserves to put towards that global expansion goal. Ducati sold 55,451 units in 2016. Other possible buyers of Ducati could include Harley Davidson, Polaris, and Suzuki. Source: Times of India Pictures courtesy of Ducati and Royal Enfield *In an earlier version of this article we converted Indian Rupee to US Dollars incorrectly. -DD View full article
  6. Drew Dowdell
    More information about "Is Ducati Up For Sale?"
    Volkswagen, still under steep financial pressure from their diesel emissions scandal, is apparently looking to put some of its many assets on the auction block. Up first looks to be famed Italian motorcycle builder Ducati. In July of 2012, Volkswagen originally acquired Ducati for $909 million through a complicated transaction involving subsidiary Audi which in turn owns Lamborghini which is the current holder of Ducati. The purchase was the brainchild of then VW Chairman Ferdinand Piëch, a long time motorcycle enthusiast. Analysts at the time felt that it was more a trophy purchase for Chariman Piëch than one that made financial sense for VW. Sources have reported that VW has enlisted Evercore, an investment bank, to investigate the possible sale options for Ducati. Estimates currently peg Ducati with a value of around $1.63 billion (1.5b €). Speculation is that Indian automaker Eicher, maker of motorcycle brand Royal Enfield is interested and exploring possibly acquiring the brand. While not as well known in the US, Royal Enfield sells more motorcycles globally than famed maker Harley Davidson. Eicher, which also partners with Polaris and Volvo Trucks for production in India is aggressively looking to grow its global portfolio. Eicher Motors recent growth means it has over $540 million* in cash reserves to put towards that global expansion goal. Ducati sold 55,451 units in 2016. Other possible buyers of Ducati could include Harley Davidson, Polaris, and Suzuki. Source: Times of India Pictures courtesy of Ducati and Royal Enfield *In an earlier version of this article we converted Indian Rupee to US Dollars incorrectly. -DD
  7. Drew Dowdell
    I echo the surprise that you got a pre-refresh Escape... usually that would have been out of the rental fleet by now. AFAIK, the interior changes are so minimal, you'd have to look at them side by side to really tell much of a difference.
  8. Drew Dowdell
    Wrong alien...
  9. Drew Dowdell
    very different cars, particularly in interior room. going by the chart above, the Cadenza is already irrelevant though. It's a shame because the Cadenza is a credible alternative to the Avalon and better looking than Azera
  10. Drew Dowdell
    Excellent analogy!
  11. Drew Dowdell
    I think they're planning on expanding along with the stinger.
  12. Drew Dowdell
    Chicken and egg. The Chinese had virtually no charging network last time I looked. Interest will grow when filling stations do.
  13. Drew Dowdell
    Now you're just making stuff up to knock the Americans. I like the XTS a lot, you know that, but I'm still willing to concede that the Continental has a better interior.
  14. Drew Dowdell
    No one buying comfort cruisers cases about the 0-60 as long as it is sufficient.... anything under 6.0 is more than enough. The C-Class is just too small for it's price to be a comfort cruiser. Someone looking for a Continental size car wouldn't give the C-Class a second glance.
  15. Drew Dowdell
    As for the strict legal structure, I couldn't tell you. However, Tesla purchased them and is including SolarCity in its quarterly and annual reports now. It is reporting on assets of solar equipment purchased for future leasing and it is reporting revenues from electrical generation. Those are in the totals in the Q1 Report I posted earlier today. I assume they're fully financially merged at this point.
  16. Drew Dowdell
    Tesla has more irons in the fire than just automotive now though. They have SolarCity as well which seems to be turning a profit. Currently, it is only a small percentage of Tesla's revenues, but it doubled those revenues in a single quarter.
  17. Drew Dowdell
    You'll want to send your Thank You note to Mark Reuss. He's the one who's kept this car alive for as long as it's been going on. He had major input in the Zeta program way back when he was working in Australia.
  18. Drew Dowdell
    There are 3 more gears in the box over the old 2.0T diesel. It'll do fine.
  19. Drew Dowdell
    A base A6 is rather spartan inside. I'd put the Continental slightly higher than the CTS right now... primarily because of the CTS's center stack and the capacitive touch controls. For comfort concerned drivers, that better interior goes to the Continental over the CTS hands down. You keep looking at the Continental as a $50k luxury car.... it's not. It bases at $44k. That's mid-range C-Class over at Benz, and even if you bump it up to $53k looking at E-Class you're in a taxi-cab that you can't even plug your iPhone into with spending an extra $45 for a cable. $53k gets an AWD Turbo V6 Continental with leather compared to a RWD Turbo-4 E-Class with plastic seats. If you have $53k in your pocket to spend... and not a penny more... the Continental gives you more performance and more luxury. Period.
  20. Drew Dowdell
    You're talking about a time of extraordinary financial turmoil not seen in 80 years that saw many of the largest financial institutions in the country ruined. GM was making money and being profitable right up until the Bear Stearns collapse. Don't try to paint it like it was an ongoing thing to keep GM running. GM took the loans yes, but they paid them back and came out of it a profitable company. Tesla has yet to be a profitable company. They'll get there someday, but that looks to still be a year to 3 years away.
  21. Drew Dowdell
    1.5T - around 184 lb-ft (about the same as the 1.5T in the Malibu gets) 2.0T - around 260 lb-ft (about the same as the 2.0T in the Malibu gets) 1.6 Diesel - The old 2.0 was not a GM motor. and 250 lb-ft will be more than enough to move this new lighter Terrain along smartly, especially with a 9-speed automatic. You have to basically ignore horsepower numbers in diesels. They're low because diesels turn at half the RPM that gasoline motors do and still produce the same torque. Horsepower is a measurement of torque at a specific RPM... since the RPM is lower, the horsepower numbers are lower. In passenger cars, horsepower is nearly meaningless..... in diesel passenger cars, it is entirely meaningless.
  22. Drew Dowdell
    I don't see Musk's ego allowing him to give up control of Tesla or SpaceX or SolarCity (which is now part of Tesla anyway). He's not going to sell... and he's got the cash to push forward with more investment if he wants to. Plus, for now... he's the darling of the stock market and can issue more stock if he wants to.
  23. Drew Dowdell
    They are making money building cars..... as long as you don't count the money they're spending trying to build more cars.
  24. Drew Dowdell
    In their recent shareholder update for 2017, Tesla reported strong Q1 revenues of $2.7 billion dollars, more than doubling performance of the same quarter last year and an improvement of $411m over the final quarter of 2016. However, losses also grew from $282m last year to $330m in 2017, or a per-share loss of $2.04. Tesla reports that most of the loss comes from capital expenditures for the Model-3 development, Gigafactory development, and acquisition related activity surrounding SolarCity. Subtracting SolarCity revenues, Automotive related revenue is reported at $2.289 billion, up 123% year over year. Vehicle margins excluding ZEV credits are at 27.8%. Energy generation revenue is up significantly over Q4 2016 to $214m. Currently, Tesla is sticking with an outlook of 61% to 71% growth in annual vehicle deliveries, however Tesla indicated they will revise this guidance in Q3 after Model-3 production begins in July. Photo courtesy of Tesla Motors Tesla Q1 2017 Shareholder Update (*PDF Warning*) View full article
  25. Drew Dowdell
    More information about "Tesla Revenue Grows but So Do Losses"
    In their recent shareholder update for 2017, Tesla reported strong Q1 revenues of $2.7 billion dollars, more than doubling performance of the same quarter last year and an improvement of $411m over the final quarter of 2016. However, losses also grew from $282m last year to $330m in 2017, or a per-share loss of $2.04. Tesla reports that most of the loss comes from capital expenditures for the Model-3 development, Gigafactory development, and acquisition related activity surrounding SolarCity. Subtracting SolarCity revenues, Automotive related revenue is reported at $2.289 billion, up 123% year over year. Vehicle margins excluding ZEV credits are at 27.8%. Energy generation revenue is up significantly over Q4 2016 to $214m. Currently, Tesla is sticking with an outlook of 61% to 71% growth in annual vehicle deliveries, however Tesla indicated they will revise this guidance in Q3 after Model-3 production begins in July. Photo courtesy of Tesla Motors Tesla Q1 2017 Shareholder Update (*PDF Warning*)
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