Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Off-topic posts, quotes of the day and anything else you just would like to vent to the world. PG-13 or below PLEASE!
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by Rope-Pusher »

For some reason, it seems that Costco has decided to be the low cost retailer for gasoline, at least in my area. I've been paying under $3.00 per gallon for a couple weeks now,...and there will be a 4% rebate coming back to me at the end of the year. I'm not complaining, just remarking that Costco seems to have changed their pricing strategy.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by potownrob »

Rope-Pusher wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 1:26 pm For some reason, it seems that Costco has decided to be the low cost retailer for gasoline, at least in my area. I've been paying under $3.00 per gallon for a couple weeks now,...and there will be a 4% rebate coming back to me at the end of the year. I'm not complaining, just remarking that Costco seems to have changed their pricing strategy.
sew wish we had Costco around hier. we have sam’s and bj’s not too far away, but they’re not nearly as good as costco from what I understand.
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

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Idn it Sir Samuel Hagar who sings "I can't drive 25"?

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz_nuqSxsHE[/youtube]

IIHS CALLS FOR LOWER SPEED LIMITS - Autoline Daily
This is crazy. The more safety equipment that goes onto cars, the more people are getting killed in traffic accidents. About 43,000 people were killed in the U.S. last year. So the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS, is proposing that states take action. It wants them to lower speed limits. It wants better police enforcement of those limits including more cameras to catch speeders. It wants speed limiters on passenger vehicles like some commercial vehicle fleets have. And then it wants narrower lanes and more speed bumps. What do you think? Are these the kind of measures that will lead to fewer traffic accidents?
https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/to-cre ... h-to-speed
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

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Rope-Pusher wrote: Thu Dec 08, 2022 1:28 pm Idn it Sir Samuel Hagar who sings "I can't drive 25"?

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz_nuqSxsHE[/youtube]

IIHS CALLS FOR LOWER SPEED LIMITS - Autoline Daily
This is crazy. The more safety equipment that goes onto cars, the more people are getting killed in traffic accidents. About 43,000 people were killed in the U.S. last year. So the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS, is proposing that states take action. It wants them to lower speed limits. It wants better police enforcement of those limits including more cameras to catch speeders. It wants speed limiters on passenger vehicles like some commercial vehicle fleets have. And then it wants narrower lanes and more speed bumps. What do you think? Are these the kind of measures that will lead to fewer traffic accidents?
https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/to-cre ... h-to-speed
yeah, at least half of those changes don't sit with me well. :?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_rgBGcXtk0
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by Rope-Pusher »

potownrob wrote: Fri Dec 09, 2022 1:49 am
Rope-Pusher wrote: Thu Dec 08, 2022 1:28 pm Idn it Sir Samuel Hagar who sings "I can't drive 25"?

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz_nuqSxsHE[/youtube]

IIHS CALLS FOR LOWER SPEED LIMITS - Autoline Daily
This is crazy. The more safety equipment that goes onto cars, the more people are getting killed in traffic accidents. About 43,000 people were killed in the U.S. last year. So the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS, is proposing that states take action. It wants them to lower speed limits. It wants better police enforcement of those limits including more cameras to catch speeders. It wants speed limiters on passenger vehicles like some commercial vehicle fleets have. And then it wants narrower lanes and more speed bumps. What do you think? Are these the kind of measures that will lead to fewer traffic accidents?
https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/to-cre ... h-to-speed
yeah, at least half of those changes don't sit with me well. :?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_rgBGcXtk0
I'm thinkin that the number of traffic fatalities as a function of speed is Zero (0) when a vehicle is parked (it's not really traffic when it's parked, right?) and for the most part rises with speed, due to severity of collisions resulting from high differential s of speed between the speeding vehicle and the tree or other vehicle it impacts, and also due to the reduced time available to react to road hazards, errant pedestrians, them fool bicyclists (think they own the road!) the afore-mentioned more slowly moving vehicles, limited vision range due to fog, rain, snow squalls, night time, etc.
I would also venture touche' that there is some blip in low speed deaths due to boredom, drivers falling asleep, being on the receiving end of a high speed-differential collision, etc.

Are increased vehicle speeds to blame for the increase in traffic deaths, Ida No, but it seams tummy that in these modern times we find ourselves in, I literally run across more pedestrians and drivers who are distracted by communications with people that aren't in their immediate vicinity, a.k.a. "Driving while Cell Phoned".
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

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Today is trashday in my neighborhood The lid blew off my can and sailed over the housetops at 50 MPH. Somebody called it in as a UFO and they scrambled the jets at nearby Selfridge Air National Guard base.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-tOTKLUzW0[/youtube]
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

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It's what's below that counts.

MANHEIM SCANS CARS FOR AUCTION - Autoline Daily
Not too long ago if car dealers and brokers wanted to buy used cars at auctions, they had to go walk the lanes at the auction house. Not anymore. Now online sales dominate that business. They account for 75% of Manheim’s auction volume, which is up from 50% before the pandemic. To ensure that online buyers really get a good sense of what they’re bidding on, Manheim acquired imaging technology from Synthetik Applied Technologies to take high-resolution images of vehicle underbodies. Manheim worked with Synthetik the past four years to develop the technology to make inspections faster and more convenient. The car drives over the device and it takes a high-res image in less than 10 seconds, which can be invaluable to a potential buyer. Before this an inspector would physically have to look under the vehicle to check its condition. In the business they call this representation. Does the description of the car the seller provides really represent the condition the car is in? So this technology really helps with representation and there’s another term you can add to your automotive vocabulary.

Image

https://www.wardsauto.com/dealers/manhe ... nderbodies
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

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FEMA WANTS AM RADIO IN EVs - Autoline Daily
Is this the beginning of the end of AM radio in cars? Tesla was the first to drop AM radio. Last year, Ford followed. No AM radios in the F-150 Lightning. Automakers say that electromagnetic interference from EV motors distort AM radio signals. But automakers can use shielding to protect the AM signal. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, doesn’t like this trend because AM radio is used to broadcast emergency alerts and warnings during natural disasters. Seven ex-heads of FEMA sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and members of Congress urging them to force automakers to put AM radio in EVs. While drivers can use smartphones to stream radio stations, FEMA says the signals keeping them online aren’t as reliable as AM radio during an emergency.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/electric-v ... _lead_pos6
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https://www.circuitbasics.com/what-are-am-radios/
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

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CHRYSLER IS THE GOLDEN GOOSE AT STELLANTIS - Autoline Daily

GM and Ford are bigger than the Chrysler group in Stellantis. But when it comes to profits, Chrysler blows them away.

Last year General Motors sold a million more vehicles in North America than Chrysler. Ford sold almost half a million more. GM brought in $43 billion more in revenue than Chrysler did, and Ford brought in $23 billion more.

But when it comes to the bottom line, Chrysler blows them away. It made $1 billion more than GM and $4.8 billion more than Ford.

On a global basis, the Chrysler group accounts for 31% of all the vehicles that Stellantis sells, but it accounts for 56% of the profits. Stellantis is performing brilliantly well, probably better than anyone thought it would do. But Chrysler is the Golden Goose that makes Stellantis look as good as it does.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by watkins »

This is shocking, considering how terrible the current product line is. The WL Grand Cherokee and the Wagoneer line are horrendous products
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watkins wrote: Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:44 am This is shocking, considering how terrible the current product line is. The WL Grand Cherokee and the Wagoneer line are horrendous products
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meBXuuy9xto[/youtube]

When it's "A Profit Deal", it's not about making vehicles that are easy to be repaired, never need repairs, repair themselves, etc.

There has also been a benefit to not selling small and mid-size cars, because those cost real money to design, tool, develop, assemble, etc., and yet rarely pay back enough of a profit to make them worthwhile. Things have changed with how fuel economy is regulated now. Time was, a given vehicle manufacturer had to average all truck sales together to meet the truck fuel mileage target and average all cars together to to meet their car fuel economy target. Now, each vehicle has it's own fuel economy target, no averaging, so one less big reason to build and sell small and mid-size cars.....which leaves the manufacturer building and selling high-profit vehicles only.

There's also the thing about having low inventories, due in a large part to component shortages, that reduces the investment cost of carrying high inventories. High inventories also force manufacturers to incentivize vehicle sales, which further reduces profits.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by IMBoring25 »

That's more true than it should be because of the short-term mentality encouraged in business schools and boardrooms.

I firmly believe too many of the wrong pennies are being pinched and the companies themselves would be money ahead spending more in development and manufacturing to save on the back end in warranty work and recalls, not even counting the fact that the customer would see more value in a more reliable vehicle with a lower TCO.

One would have hoped that some of the executives poached from aerospace would have picked up some of the "design for maintenance" concept, but they seem to have instead been some of the most aggressive cutters of up-front cost.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

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IMBoring25 wrote: Sun Apr 02, 2023 10:02 am That's more true than it should be because of the short-term mentality encouraged in business schools and boardrooms.

I firmly believe too many of the wrong pennies are being pinched and the companies themselves would be money ahead spending more in development and manufacturing to save on the back end in warranty work and recalls, not even counting the fact that the customer would see more value in a more reliable vehicle with a lower TCO.

One would have hoped that some of the executives poached from aerospace would have picked up some of the "design for maintenance" concept, but they seem to have instead been some of the most aggressive cutters of up-front cost.
Bob Lutz had the approach that the profits would surely follow if you built the vehicle that people would want, rather than build a vehicle that had few redeeming qualities and lure people to it through price reductions and ad campaigns.
The "Cherminz" made it a condition that Bob Lutz leave the company before the "Murder of Equals".
He bided his exile from the auto industry as long as he had to and then went to GM. It wasn't easy getting GM to come to his way of thinking, but eventually, he was able to change things there in a positive way.
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SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER, THESE ARE THE VOYAGES OF THE AUTO INDUSTRY. THEIR 5-YEAR MISSION, TO BOLDY BUILD BATTERY PLANTS WHERE NO PLANTS HAVE BEEN BUILT BEFORE.
Image
Cap'n, the Boeings have got us in a tractor beam and we can't break away!

U.S. RUNNING OUT OF SPACE FOR PLANTS - Autoline Daily
Since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law, the auto industry has committed more than $120 billion in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing investments in the U.S. And while that’s great for creating new jobs and hitting environmental goals, there’s one big problem with all these new plants, there’s not enough large pieces of land to build them on. There is a lot of open space in the U.S., but there are not many places to put factories on what are called “megasites.” These are locations with at least 1,000 acres of land, have access to transport, renewable energy and a skilled workforce. Reuters spoke to one site selection executive who says there are fewer than two dozen megasites still available across the country. And it can take years to create new ones because of environmental regulations or local opposition. So companies will have to settle for smaller sites or hurry up and secure what’s available now.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/loca ... 023-04-13/
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Can You Drive like SAE J3300?

For individuals seeking formal SAE J3300 driving skills certification, testing occurs on a closed test track with pass or fail determinations made by SAE approved examiners. There are multiple driving tests for each of the various foundational driving levels, ranging from basic to extremely advanced. There are also endorsements for specialty applications, such as trailer towing and winter driving. Certifications are made through Probitas Authentication, the personnel credentialing body for SAE J3300.

Earning certification requires that a driver meet specific driving criteria, such as demonstrating the ability to maneuver the test vehicle without striking objects in the operating environment, demonstrating an appropriate level of vehicle control, and demonstrating the ability of consistently repeating the driving tasks.

“The certification process isn’t just about driving skills. There are also behavior/attitude components, such as not being distracted while driving and following instructions,” Logan said.

Current certifications cover a progressive slate of Driving Levels (DL 1-4) as well as endorsements for specialty applications. “We’re currently working on a fallback safety driver certification for vehicles equipped with automated driving systems, so that will be another standard within the family of J3300 standards,” Logan explained.

Additional driving skills endorsements might materialize in the future. “Although we don’t have anything on the books right now, we might consider adding an endorsement for manual transmission driving. We also might look at adding an endorsement for ambulance, police and other first-responder driving,” Logan noted.



https://www.mobilityengineeringtech.com ... 6949023J7Z
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