THE ONLY SPAM THREAD v.25

[JohnRogers]

18 hours ago, That One Guy said:

JR you buy a Corvette yet, or make up a reason not to?

It will be sometime before Pumpkin Spice season ends.

[That One Guy]

Activities cost too much nowadays, it reeks of late stage capitalism

[That One Guy]

It took until 2020, but the corporations that own most of the country finally noticed that there are tons and tons of items you can crank up the price on, that people will keep buying, often out of necessity. There's no free market competition when the competitor, if one exists, just does the same thing. Very few companies are trying to increase their market share among the poors with lean per-item margins. They'd all rather just abandon that market and fight for the more profitable upmarket customers.

 

Shit's f***ed.

[That One Guy]

Remember, suggesting severe austerity measures is not a real solution. It's a total cop-out to a real discussion looking for real solutions.

[That One Guy]

"InFLaTiOn iS kILLiNg Me, iM StRugGLiNg To cOvEr ThE bAsIcs"

 

[That One Guy]

How did our grandparents possibly survive without basic $60,000 SUVs every five years and continual crippling gasoline costs? How can you possibly raise a family in a midsize sedan? Is it lost knowledge?

[grep]

2 hours ago, That One Guy said:

It took until 2020, but the corporations that own most of the country finally noticed that there are tons and tons of items you can crank up the price on, that people will keep buying, often out of necessity. There's no free market competition when the competitor, if one exists, just does the same thing. Very few companies are trying to increase their market share among the poors with lean per-item margins. They'd all rather just abandon that market and fight for the more profitable upmarket customers.

 

Shit's f***ed.

I read something last year that said the margin on the typical product is on average 75% of the cost of said product.  Up from 7-15% in the 80's and 90's.

So yeah, milk us to pay the shareholders.  f**k that.


And don't even get me started on 'subscriptions'.   Like... BMW wanting a monthly fee to enable features in their vehicles... in perpetuity. Just one example.

Edited September 12, 2023 by grep

[JohnRogers]

supply chain issues no problem no more 

 

cost of raw materials go down 

[That One Guy]

1 minute ago, JohnRogers said:

supply chain issues no problem no more 

 

cost of raw materials go down 

Ok, but as we know, it is not exclusively cost of raw materials that led to prices skyrocketing. Companies expected margins on items has risen dramatically, as grep mentioned.

[That One Guy]

Shareholders ruin a lot of things. They demand companies gouge and maximize profit at the expense of all other concerns.

 

One of my #1 indicators of a dys-f***in-functional economic system is the occurrence of stock buybacks. If the company has so much money that it's buying itself back, sounds like it's time for windfall profit taxes. On the other hand, a company that owns itself doesn't have to listen to jackass shareholders. I often point out how much I love non-greedy private companies like In-N-Out. Conundrum.

[JohnRogers]

Granholm took a road trip.

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/10/1187224861/electric-vehicles-evs-cars-chargers-charging-energy-secretary-jennifer-granholm

[grep]

Ahsoka.  Must see. 

Must. See.  

[invisible airwave]

To hell with Slate.com.  Martin Short is funny.  Not all good comedy has to be "edgy."

[That One Guy]

7 hours ago, JohnRogers said:

Granholm took a road trip.

https://www.npr.org/2023/09/10/1187224861/electric-vehicles-evs-cars-chargers-charging-energy-secretary-jennifer-granholm

Pretty decent article. Road-tripping, that thing very few buyers do with any regularity yet tons of people cite as a purchasing concern with EVs, is getting easier with EVs every six months. In particular, if you're with a brand that has a deal to use Tesla Superchargers starting next year, your charging woes, if you have any, will be gone once your brand goes online with them. 

 

Superchargers are for road trips only. I know dozens of people who say they haven't taken an out of state road trip in 5+ years. The real biggest EV benefit, as we know, is charging at home. Waking up to a sweet, sweet 100% charge every single morning. No random gas station stops ever week or two. In my area with $0.092/kWh home electricity, a typical midsize crossover EV can go 300 miles on about $10 of electricity. No gas car can touch that, and certainly no gas midsize crossover. When you combine that with superior performance (i.e. acceleration), minimal maintenance requirements and a fraction of the mechanical complexity of ICE... it's easy to see why so many buyers love their EVs, and why so many automakers are embracing them with open arms. Things are going to get REALLY interesting once the "legacy" automakers scale their EV production as big as Tesla now has. An F-150 Lightning XLT costs like $4k more than an identically equipped gasoline F-150 XLT 4x4 at this point. So the Lightning is already far cheaper for the lifecycle cost, considering how many tens of thousands of dollars in gasoline a gas F-150 will ask for over its life. EV price wars are heating up, and with brands like Ford having tripled the Lightning's production capacity this summer.... things are gonna start getting good for buyers.

 

If any scared yokel wants to bark about EVs being hippy golf carts, I have one ask: drive one. Drive a single current generation EV, and then let me know what your impression was.

 

The F-150 Lightning had me in stiches, being in a dead silent luxury crew cab full size pickup truck that can win a stoplight drag race against nearly any gasoline vehicle. It's already solid on current tech, the next generation is going to start putting nails in the coffin of ICE economics for passenger vehicles.

 

Commercial trucks will take much longer. That's not what we're talking about here.

Edited September 13, 2023 by That One Guy

[BastillePark]

On 9/11/2023 at 12:47 PM, That One Guy said:

Fiat 500e, especially if a convertible gets offered, is a possible replacement

Quite a downgrade in the reliability department.

[BastillePark]

14 hours ago, grep said:

X wing versus Viper. Which was the better design?

Formerly known as Twitter wing?

[That One Guy]

1 minute ago, BastillePark said:

Quite a downgrade in the reliability department.

Not as much as it might seem. EVs have much higher reliability potential than gas. They’re just way simpler vehicles. My Miata might hock a transmission any year; known issue. Meanwhile I haven’t heard of any real problems with the 2020+ 500e. And the 2012-2019 500e proved to be quite reliable. 
 

Exciting times we’re living in. 

[BastillePark]

27 minutes ago, That One Guy said:

Pretty decent article. Road-tripping, that thing very few buyers do with any regularity yet tons of people cite as a purchasing concern with EVs, is getting easier with EVs every six months. In particular, if you're with a brand that has a deal to use Tesla Superchargers starting next year, your charging woes, if you have any, will be gone once your brand goes online with them. 

 

Superchargers are for road trips only. I know dozens of people who say they haven't taken an out of state road trip in 5+ years. The real biggest EV benefit, as we know, is charging at home. Waking up to a sweet, sweet 100% charge every single morning. No random gas station stops ever week or two. In my area with $0.092/kWh home electricity, a typical midsize crossover EV can go 300 miles on about $10 of electricity. No gas car can touch that, and certainly no gas midsize crossover. When you combine that with superior performance (i.e. acceleration), minimal maintenance requirements and a fraction of the mechanical complexity of ICE... it's easy to see why so many buyers love their EVs, and why so many automakers are embracing them with open arms. Things are going to get REALLY interesting once the "legacy" automakers scale their EV production as big as Tesla now has. An F-150 Lightning XLT costs like $4k more than an identically equipped gasoline F-150 XLT 4x4 at this point. So the Lightning is already far cheaper for the lifecycle cost, considering how many tens of thousands of dollars in gasoline a gas F-150 will ask for over its life. EV price wars are heating up, and with brands like Ford having tripled the Lightning's production capacity this summer.... things are gonna start getting good for buyers.

 

If any scared yokel wants to bark about EVs being hippy golf carts, I have one ask: drive one. Drive a single current generation EV, and then let me know what your impression was.

 

The F-150 Lightning had me in stiches, being in a dead silent luxury crew cab full size pickup truck that can win a stoplight drag race against nearly any gasoline vehicle. It's already solid on current tech, the next generation is going to start putting nails in the coffin of ICE economics for passenger vehicles.

 

Commercial trucks will take much longer. That's not what we're talking about here.

Now that they've found a huge lithium deposit on the Oregon-Nevada border, maybe the US can build more batteries.  Lithium for everyone!

[That One Guy]

1 hour ago, BastillePark said:

Now that they've found a huge lithium deposit on the Oregon-Nevada border, maybe the US can build more batteries.  Lithium for everyone!

Works for me. I'll take a car with some rare earth minerals in it, ran on 50-100% renewable power for 200,000 miles, rather than a gasoline car that burned 20,000 gallons of saudi produced and internationally transported oil over its life.

 

Remember: we're pretty much at the end of the ICE lifecycle for advancement. We long ago found all the easy returns, and we've been chasing crazy diminishing returns for 10+ years. Meanwhile, electric already kicks gas's ass, and it's in its infancy, with so much potential left to be extracted.

 

Battery chemistries are getting better every year. And solid state batteries are on the horizon. Those are going to be amazing. The electrical grid powering these cars is also getting cleaner every year. My state went from 75% down to 53% coal power in seven years time; solar went from 0% to 9% in the same time. Shit is moving fast. If you buy an electric car today on a "semi clean" power grid, that grid will be markedly cleaner a third way through its lifecycle.

https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=UT

 

The future is bright, it just isn't quite here yet. But it's close.

[That One Guy]

The Tesla Model S Plaid starts at $90,000, seats 4 adults comfortably, has 1,020 horsepower, does 0-60mph in 2.0 seconds, does a quarter mile in 9.2 seconds @ 155mph, limited to 200mph, and has an 8 year / 150k mile battery and drive unit warranty. And of course the cost per mile in electricity to drive this rocketship is dirt cheap.

 

That's crazy for the price point. Is there a two seat supercar on sale that is as fast as this family sedan for $500,000?

Edited September 13, 2023 by That One Guy

[JohnRogers]

7 hours ago, That One Guy said:

Works for me. I'll take a car with some rare earth minerals in it, ran on 50-100% renewable power for 200,000 miles, rather than a gasoline car that burned 20,000 gallons of saudi produced and internationally transported oil over its life.

 

Remember: we're pretty much at the end of the ICE lifecycle for advancement. We long ago found all the easy returns, and we've been chasing crazy diminishing returns for 10+ years. Meanwhile, electric already kicks gas's ass, and it's in its infancy, with so much potential left to be extracted.

 

Battery chemistries are getting better every year. And solid state batteries are on the horizon. Those are going to be amazing. The electrical grid powering these cars is also getting cleaner every year. My state went from 75% down to 53% coal power in seven years time; solar went from 0% to 9% in the same time. Shit is moving fast. If you buy an electric car today on a "semi clean" power grid, that grid will be markedly cleaner a third way through its lifecycle.

https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=UT

 

The future is bright, it just isn't quite here yet. But it's close.

We can agree on that.

[BastillePark]

feel the love

[That One Guy]

 

[grep]

17 hours ago, That One Guy said:

The Tesla Model S Plaid starts at $90,000, seats 4 adults comfortably, has 1,020 horsepower, does 0-60mph in 2.0 seconds, does a quarter mile in 9.2 seconds @ 155mph, limited to 200mph, and has an 8 year / 150k mile battery and drive unit warranty. And of course the cost per mile in electricity to drive this rocketship is dirt cheap.

 

That's crazy for the price point. Is there a two seat supercar on sale that is as fast as this family sedan for $500,000?

 

90 grand for a ride with batteries that are only guaranteed for 8 years doesn't sound all that appealing, TBH.  That's not a long time at all.  Get that down to 50K and I'm interested. Maybe.  Because charging availability on the road, and charging times still aren't there yet.  LIke, If I'm going to drive 600 miles on a vacation trip, that's what, 2 charges minimum?  How long does each take, and how vulnerable am I sitting in some place for like an hour with few options for alternatives. 

I drive A LOT, and getting stuck somewhere is my biggest fear. 

The tech and prices have to get better before the average person will buy into this promising stuff.

I'm going to try to squeeze as much life out of my current 3 year old ride as I can.... and in 5 years look to get a hybrid. 

Edited September 14, 2023 by grep

[jamie]

On 9/7/2023 at 8:25 PM, That One Guy said:

Dollar General, the next phase of destroying america

i owe my life to their dry shampoo