Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
I've been saying all along how bad Trump is going to be for the US. I've said this on the onset of Trump's victory that Trump will isolate the US from the rest of world. He's well on his way. Piss off Mercedez Benz and BMW enough and you'll have over 100000 unmeployed people in the US. Trump is such a moron.

Mr Trump, My German relatives dislike American cars because of their poor quality of construction and bad handling. They genuinely dislike how they drive. That's the reason why you don't see many Chevs in Germany. German dont like how they drive or handle.
Right. Your German relatives are test driving a lot of new Chevys are they? And which Mercedes or BMW competes with a Chevy Cruze? Oh yeah, that would be a VW...

Your German relatives aren't driving very many American cars or Japanese cars because of relatively little investment by the US and Japanese companies in diesel engines, which most Germans prefer due to the way fuel tax laws work. Me, I wouldn't have a diesel if you gave me one, but I understand frugality.

Talking about German car handling, so which ones would you like to talk about? Porsches? No fair, in their price classes everything is good or should be good. Mercedes? They're okay, so long as you stick to the AMG things, or something in a "sport" version, otherwise they don't handle all that well. At least Mercedes stopped beating their cars with ugly sticks a couple of years ago. Non-S-Type Audis are the worst; they drive like old Buicks. And I speak from experience, since the two times I've taken my Audi S3 in for service to get the stupid "inspection" indicator turned off, I got run-of-the-mill A6s as loaner cars, and I hate the A6s. They wallow. The Audi S-Types are nice, like S4s, S5s, and S6s, even Q5s. I like my S3 a lot as a commuter car, and nothing American competes with it, but it handles like crap on curvy roads because it has a really dumb transverse engine architecture that generates understeer even AWD can't get rid of. You know, like an Acura. The latest BMW 3-series and 5-series are better, with proper longitudinal engine architecture and RWD or AWD, but the base 3-series steering feels like crap, and it handles just okay. Not as good as, say, a Mustang GT, but the way a Mustang GT gulps gasoline I doubt too many sell in Germany. And a Mustang isn't exactly my idea of compact or practical, and I doubt your relatives would think so either.

I have the curse of renting cars three or four times a month, and Hertz lets me choose whatever I want, and I've got to say my preferred choice is a Chevy Cruze. It drives surprisingly well, especially compared to Toyota Corollas and any Nissan I've had. The interior is crap compared to an Audi, but Audi doesn't compete in this price class. The VW Passat I drove at Hertz that one time didn't impress me much with steering or handling. The interior was better than the Chevy's though. I also like the new Buicks I've driven, but they're really German designs, and Hertz rarely has them. I grab one when I can though. The Ford Fusions are okay too, but known to be unreliable, and I wouldn't own a hybrid. The Fusions are sort of pretty.

Lest you think I'm some sort of American flag-waver, we own four cars and they're all German. There are other cars that tempt me, like a Tesla S, a couple of Alphas, a Jag F-type, the Cadillac CTS-V, the Mustang Shelby Cobra-R, but so far none of them has won me over. When BMW gets things right, and they haven't as much lately as I'd like, I generally fall for them. Porsches are getting so expensive I keep putting off a new Cayman or 911, however much I love them.

As for Trump, I wish he'd emigrate to the moon or Mars, but the economy sure has been great since he took office, so we're unlikely to get rid of him anytime soon. (If he'd shut up the S&P500 would likely set records every month.) And he has about an 85% approval rating with his voting base, and the Democrats can't find a candidate with charisma or a brain who isn't a socialist, so I think the US and the whole world is stuck with him for perhaps six more years. It is sort of weird that all of the German car manufacturers have US plants in red states, so perhaps a bunch of screaming governors and congressmen will shut Trump up, but I doubt it. Does Trump ever shut up? Even Airbus is building things in Alabama. Whatever. I wonder what the Kushners drive? Chevys? Unlikely. The German plants moving out because Trump has a big mouth? Really unlikely.
 
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S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
As for Trump, I wish he'd emigrate to the moon or Mars, but the economy sure has been great since he took office, so we're unlikely to get rid of him anytime soon. (If he'd shut up the S&P500 would likely set records every month.)
I know predicting economic trends is fraught with uncertainty, but economists I have read do not think the American economy will stay strong for much longer. This is one of the reasons why I was worried for Hillary Clinton were she elected, that we were due for a recession and she would take the blame even though the matter is out of her hands as president. Luckily for me, we live in one of the worst timelines. Anyway, if you look at the frequency of recessions in the US, our current economic pleasantness is starting to get unusually long, officially 9 years since the end of our last recession. If we get to the 2020 elections without running into recession, it will break all economic records for longest duration of time in the USA without a recession. I'm betting that isn't going to happen, and when the recession does hit, Trump will be blamed by nearly everyone, whether rightfully or wrongly.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
What would you like to know mate?

SheepStar
It wasn't a question really. Just wanted to add that to this thread if anyone is interested in (simewhat) quick midsized crossovers. Let's just say that if current rdx would be available last year November, i might have not ended up with another outback. I have no regrets as at time of the lease renewal Outback was the right choice for me
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
I know predicting economic trends is fraught with uncertainty, but economists I have read do not think the American economy will stay strong for much longer. This is one of the reasons why I was worried for Hillary Clinton were she elected, that we were due for a recession and she would take the blame even though the matter is out of her hands as president. Luckily for me, we live in one of the worst timelines. Anyway, if you look at the frequency of recessions in the US, our current economic pleasantness is starting to get unusually long, officially 9 years since the end of our last recession. If we get to the 2020 elections without running into recession, it will break all economic records for longest duration of time in the USA without a recession. I'm betting that isn't going to happen, and when the recession does hit, Trump will be blamed by nearly everyone, whether rightfully or wrongly.
Yeah, I read the same stuff you do, but the last longest expansion had no precedent until it happened. Congress gave US corporations a massive tax break, including a low-cost way to repatriate trillions in profits to disperse to stockholders and invest, new technology changes in robotics, AI, and machine learning are going to increase productivity, and the labor participation rate in the US is still historically low (which makes unemployment look deceptively low). I dunno... I'm not convinced a recession is the least bit imminent. Yet. ;-)
 
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BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Yeah, I read the same stuff you do, but the last longest expansion had no precedent until it happened. Congress gave US corporations a massive tax break, including a low-cost way to repatriate trillions in profits to disperse to stockholders and invest, new technology changes in robotics, AI, and machine learning are going to increase productivity, and the labor participation rate in the US is still historically low (which makes unemployment look deceptively low). I dunno... I'm not convinced a recession is the least bit imminent. Yet. ;-)
Right... Re-Investing... AI...productivity....
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/12/companies-are-putting-tax-savings-in-the-pockets-of-shareholders.html
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
You make investment decisions based on what journalists say? Can't be. ;-) And I included disbursement to shareholders, most of which will get reinvested in some other financial instrument. And yes, AI and ML increase productivity. (I hate the term AI, because it isn't really "I", but whatever, that's what the industry calls it. The terminology makes about as much sense as "serverless computing".) Also, CNBC is an affiliate of NBC, which also owns MSNBC, and has a corporate left-leaning agenda, mostly I think because I suspect that's their target audience.
 
jinjuku

jinjuku

Moderator
Mr Trump, My German relatives dislike American cars because of their poor quality of construction and bad handling. They genuinely dislike how they drive. That's the reason why you don't see many Chevs in Germany. German dont like how they drive or handle.
Having owned Benz and VW I'll never own another European car ever again. Back to the Japanese for me.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
You make investment decisions based on what journalists say? Can't be.
On Thursday $MU stock fell over 8% based two factors: a) Morgan Stanley analyst decided to downgrade it despite stellar company financial performance, and I fully expect Q3 result which would be revealed the end of this month would only reinforce it.
Second, fear of escalation of Drumpf stupid trade wars.
I will guarantee you, that vast majority of people who acted and started liquidating their positions did in fact read in some form of news publication written by .. shock and awe... by a journalist.
Also, CNBC is an affiliate of NBC, which also owns MSNBC, and has a corporate left-leaning agenda, mostly I think because I suspect that's their target audience.
Calling CNBC fake news is very unbecoming of you Irv. Besides stock buybacks are facts. not CNBC opinions.
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
On Thursday $MU stock fell over 8% based two factors: a) Morgan Stanley analyst decided to downgrade it despite stellar company financial performance, and I fully expect Q3 result which would be revealed the end of this month would only reinforce it.
Second, fear of escalation of Drumpf stupid trade wars.
I will guarantee you, that vast majority of people who acted and started liquidating their positions did in fact read in some form of news publication written by .. shock and awe... by a journalist.
Interesting that you mention MU, since I'm heavy-long in it. MU has some complicating financial factors, such as substantial convertible debt, that have made the stock volatile over the long term, but with a five year horizon, well, let's just say MU has been very, very good to me. Anyone who understands a little about computer architecture and the semiconductor industry can easily see that memory is becoming more valuable relative to storage and compute.

Of course I agree with your point about journalists magnifying the problem (at least I think that's your point), but that doesn't reflect on journalists, only the uneducated investors that listen to them and act based on poor advice. I've made my share of bad decisions, I think I learned from a few of them, and one is think for yourself or pay the price.

CNBC fake news is very unbecoming of you Irv. Besides stock buybacks are facts. not CNBC opinions.
I did not say anything of the kind. CNBC journalists and various other left-leaning all-corporations-are-bad pundits have been panning the lowering of the repatriation tax every time it's brought up. Keeping trillions tied up in US banks that are not being productively used because of onerous taxes is dumb, IMO. Just because I disagree with an article does not mean I think it's fake, I just don't agree.
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
Having owned Benz and VW I'll never own another European car ever again. Back to the Japanese for me.
Sometimes I think that when I try to use the navigation system in the Audi. It is so lame I've told Audi and the dealer I want my money back for it. Both said I just need training.
 
Alex2507

Alex2507

Audioholic Slumlord
Yeah it's definitely not exciting. 1.5L/100km though.... (188mpg for you freedom units people).

SheepStar
I was going to say thanks for the conversion but then I thought you might be f^%&in' with us. That's on a UK gallon. It's like 157 in US gallons but still, are you serious? I wonder what the electric bill goes up per month charging a car.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Right. Your German relatives are test driving a lot of new Chevys are they? And which Mercedes or BMW competes with a Chevy Cruze? Oh yeah, that would be a VW...

Your German relatives aren't driving very many American cars or Japanese cars because of relatively little investment by the US and Japanese companies in diesel engines, which most Germans prefer due to the way fuel tax laws work. Me, I wouldn't have a diesel if you gave me one, but I understand frugality.

Talking about German car handling, so which ones would you like to talk about? Porsches? No fair, in their price classes everything is good or should be good. Mercedes? They're okay, so long as you stick to the AMG things, or something in a "sport" version, otherwise they don't handle all that well. At least Mercedes stopped beating their cars with ugly sticks a couple of years ago. Non-S-Type Audis are the worst; they drive like old Buicks. And I speak from experience, since the two times I've taken my Audi S3 in for service to get the stupid "inspection" indicator turned off, I got run-of-the-mill A6s as loaner cars, and I hate the A6s. They wallow. The Audi S-Types are nice, like S4s, S5s, and S6s, even Q5s. I like my S3 a lot as a commuter car, and nothing American competes with it, but it handles like crap on curvy roads because it has a really dumb transverse engine architecture that generates understeer even AWD can't get rid of. You know, like an Acura. The latest BMW 3-series and 5-series are better, with proper longitudinal engine architecture and RWD or AWD, but the base 3-series steering feels like crap, and it handles just okay. Not as good as, say, a Mustang GT, but the way a Mustang GT gulps gasoline I doubt too many sell in Germany. And a Mustang isn't exactly my idea of compact or practical, and I doubt your relatives would think so either.

I have the curse of renting cars three or four times a month, and Hertz lets me choose whatever I want, and I've got to say my preferred choice is a Chevy Cruze. It drives surprisingly well, especially compared to Toyota Corollas and any Nissan I've had. The interior is crap compared to an Audi, but Audi doesn't compete in this price class. The VW Passat I drove at Hertz that one time didn't impress me much with steering or handling. The interior was better than the Chevy's though. I also like the new Buicks I've driven, but they're really German designs, and Hertz rarely has them. I grab one when I can though. The Ford Fusions are okay too, but known to be unreliable, and I wouldn't own a hybrid. The Fusions are sort of pretty.

Lest you think I'm some sort of American flag-waver, we own four cars and they're all German. There are other cars that tempt me, like a Tesla S, a couple of Alphas, a Jag F-type, the Cadillac CTS-V, the Mustang Shelby Cobra-R, but so far none of them has won me over. When BMW gets things right, and they haven't as much lately as I'd like, I generally fall for them. Porsches are getting so expensive I keep putting off a new Cayman or 911, however much I love them.

As for Trump, I wish he'd emigrate to the moon or Mars, but the economy sure has been great since he took office, so we're unlikely to get rid of him anytime soon. (If he'd shut up the S&P500 would likely set records every month.) And he has about an 85% approval rating with his voting base, and the Democrats can't find a candidate with charisma or a brain who isn't a socialist, so I think the US and the whole world is stuck with him for perhaps six more years. It is sort of weird that all of the German car manufacturers have US plants in red states, so perhaps a bunch of screaming governors and congressmen will shut Trump up, but I doubt it. Does Trump ever shut up? Even Airbus is building things in Alabama. Whatever. I wonder what the Kushners drive? Chevys? Unlikely. The German plants moving out because Trump has a big mouth? Really unlikThey rented many American car on their many business trips to the US and Canada and they have a genuine dislike for their handling characteristics. None of them own a diesel BTW. Its their personal preference, something you can try and rationalize but will end up failing.
Right. Your German relatives are test driving a lot of new Chevys are they? And which Mercedes or BMW competes with a Chevy Cruze? Oh yeah, that would be a VW...

Your German relatives aren't driving very many American cars or Japanese cars because of relatively little investment by the US and Japanese companies in diesel engines, which most Germans prefer due to the way fuel tax laws work. Me, I wouldn't have a diesel if you gave me one, but I understand frugality.

Talking about German car handling, so which ones would you like to talk about? Porsches? No fair, in their price classes everything is good or should be good. Mercedes? They're okay, so long as you stick to the AMG things, or something in a "sport" version, otherwise they don't handle all that well. At least Mercedes stopped beating their cars with ugly sticks a couple of years ago. Non-S-Type Audis are the worst; they drive like old Buicks. And I speak from experience, since the two times I've taken my Audi S3 in for service to get the stupid "inspection" indicator turned off, I got run-of-the-mill A6s as loaner cars, and I hate the A6s. They wallow. The Audi S-Types are nice, like S4s, S5s, and S6s, even Q5s. I like my S3 a lot as a commuter car, and nothing American competes with it, but it handles like crap on curvy roads because it has a really dumb transverse engine architecture that generates understeer even AWD can't get rid of. You know, like an Acura. The latest BMW 3-series and 5-series are better, with proper longitudinal engine architecture and RWD or AWD, but the base 3-series steering feels like crap, and it handles just okay. Not as good as, say, a Mustang GT, but the way a Mustang GT gulps gasoline I doubt too many sell in Germany. And a Mustang isn't exactly my idea of compact or practical, and I doubt your relatives would think so either.

I have the curse of renting cars three or four times a month, and Hertz lets me choose whatever I want, and I've got to say my preferred choice is a Chevy Cruze. It drives surprisingly well, especially compared to Toyota Corollas and any Nissan I've had. The interior is crap compared to an Audi, but Audi doesn't compete in this price class. The VW Passat I drove at Hertz that one time didn't impress me much with steering or handling. The interior was better than the Chevy's though. I also like the new Buicks I've driven, but they're really German designs, and Hertz rarely has them. I grab one when I can though. The Ford Fusions are okay too, but known to be unreliable, and I wouldn't own a hybrid. The Fusions are sort of pretty.

Lest you think I'm some sort of American flag-waver, we own four cars and they're all German. There are other cars that tempt me, like a Tesla S, a couple of Alphas, a Jag F-type, the Cadillac CTS-V, the Mustang Shelby Cobra-R, but so far none of them has won me over. When BMW gets things right, and they haven't as much lately as I'd like, I generally fall for them. Porsches are getting so expensive I keep putting off a new Cayman or 911, however much I love them.

As for Trump, I wish he'd emigrate to the moon or Mars, but the economy sure has been great since he took office, so we're unlikely to get rid of him anytime soon. (If he'd shut up the S&P500 would likely set records every month.) And he has about an 85% approval rating with his voting base, and the Democrats can't find a candidate with charisma or a brain who isn't a socialist, so I think the US and the whole world is stuck with him for perhaps six more years. It is sort of weird that all of the German car manufacturers have US plants in red states, so perhaps a bunch of screaming governors and congressmen will shut Trump up, but I doubt it. Does Trump ever shut up? Even Airbus is building things in Alabama. Whatever. I wonder what the Kushners drive? Chevys? Unlikely. The German plants moving out because Trump has a big mouth? Really unlikely.
My relatives rented many a car here in the US and Canada on their business trips from all 3of them and their take away was that the cars handled dismissally and were prone to rattles and vibration. None of them own a diesel btw.
I would not be so quick to give credit to Trump for the strengthening economy. The strengthening is due to do the world as a whole doing better plus the things your former president put in motion. The US has not started feeling the affects of his tenure.
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
My relatives rented many a car here in the US and Canada on their business trips from all 3of them and their take away was that the cars handled dismissally and were prone to rattles and vibration. None of them own a diesel btw.
These were GM or Ford cars? Not the more common Nissans and Toyotas? There isn't a mainline GM or Ford sedan you can buy I'm aware of that "handles dismally". Or are their primary vehicles M3s and C63S AMGs? If not, this smells like bullshit nationalism at work, if they really were new domestic rentals.

Glad to hear they have better taste than to own a diesel.

I would not be so quick to give credit to Trump for the strengthening economy. The strengthening is due to do the world as a whole doing better plus the things your former president put in motion. The US has not started feeling the affects of his tenure.
Why does everyone have such poor reading comprehension today? I most certainly did not give Trump credit for the state of the US economy. Reread my post. I want the guy to go to the moon or Mars and stay there. I never give credit for the state of the economy to any US President, but the US public generally does give the President credit or blame. I think Presidents have very little to do with it other than signing or vetoing laws. Congress and a multitude of domestic and international economic factors and technology transitions drive the US economy. I think the economy is doing so well in spite of Mr. Trump.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
These were GM or Ford cars? Not the more common Nissans and Toyotas? There isn't a mainline GM or Ford sedan you can buy I'm aware of that "handles dismally". Or are their primary vehicles M3s and C63S AMGs? If not, this smells like bullshit nationalism at work, if they really were new domestic rentals.

Glad to hear they have better taste than to own a diesel
Its ironic that you claim BS nationalism but you use it to defend American cars against a subjective opinion that they hold that goes against your own.
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
Its ironic that you claim BS nationalism but you use it to defend American cars against a subjective opinion that they hold that goes against your own.
I'm not defending American cars, especially since I don't own any, which also tells you a lot about my opinion of the American auto manufacturers. Whether it's power cables affecting soundstage or some vague "dismal handling" opinion passed on second-hand with no qualification, I just smell bias. We could have the same discussion about Korean cars and I would also ask, have you driven one lately?
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
I'm not defending American cars, especially since I don't own any, which also tells you a lot about my opinion of the American auto manufacturers. Whether it's power cables affecting soundstage or some vague "dismal handling" opinion passed on second-hand with no qualification, I just smell bias. We could have the same discussion about Korean cars and I would also ask, have you driven one lately?
Again you hold your opinion as fact but I only see subjective bias on your part because all of your opinions stemmed from your experience. Last year, I rented a Dodge Charger with a 3.8L V6. It was a ponderous, slow to respond to steering input, no steering feel whatsoever, steerin constantly needed correction and for such a big engine, slow. It cornered like a beached whale and the turning radius of a dump truck. My Santa Fe turbo wirh AWD, was far more communicative in the steering and turned circles around the Charger.
 
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