Best Of

Yup, Cincinnati.
I'm posting for @oldfarmer50





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Yikes! Never had one get that far under my bumper but I did have a guy who ran his minivan in up to the windshield.

Although Tesla still arguably makes the best affordable EVs for sale in the US, for many people the brand is to be avoided because of the CEO. Just two years ago Tesla had plans to build one vast new factory after another around the world. But now it appears that plans for Tesla factories for Mexico, India, and other places have been postponed indefinitely. With Tesla sales down in the US, Europe, and China it seems like Tesla's goal to sell c. 10 million EVs annually worldwide by 2030 is unreachable. In 2023 Tesla sold 1.8 million worldwide, and the number was just slightly lower for 2024. With declining sales in key markets and the rise of low-cost Chinese EVs, my guess is that Tesla sales in 2025 will be around 1.5 million or so.

The Cybertruck is now a flop that's being compared with the Edsel by Forbes. Three years ago I think Ford was worried the Cybertruck would take a big bite out of their F-150's 600k+ annual sales, but that worry is over...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2025/04/03/elons-edsel-tesla-cybertruck-is-the-auto-industrys-biggest-flop-in-decades/

“It’s right up there with Edsel,” said Eric Noble, president of consultancy CARLAB and a professor at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California (Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen, who styled Cybertruck for Musk, is a graduate of its famed transportation design program). “It’s a huge swing and a huge miss.”

Judged solely on sales, Musk’s Cybertruck is actually doing a lot worse than Edsel, a name that’s become synonymous with a disastrous product misfire. Ford hoped to sell 200,000 Edsels a year when it hit the market in 1958, but managed just 63,000. Sales plunged in 1959 and the brand was dumped in 1960. Musk predicted that Cybertruck might see 250,000 annual sales. Tesla sold just under 40,000 in 2024, its first full year.

I'd rather have an Edsel, more stylish and optimistic. I see a nice Edsel, I might smile. The closest a CT gets is a smirk. Probably better hauling things and on unpaved roads too

Musk especially damaged the brand in Europe, where some people know a thing or two about his type. I'd have no problem with people walking away from the brand because of his antics and his causes. HE's not a long-dead person who was connected to a brand, he's an active participant in our burgeoning idiotic kakistocracy. He was kaput with me after the "pedoguy" idiocy, more recent deplorability just seals it. Tesla isn't going to die or anything, but it is going to be weaker than before when new competition comes online.

Tesla has the 10th largest market cap of all companies in the world; 4X greater than that of Toyota and generally over 20x greater than the other major vehicle manufacturers. Although he has recently lost a couple of billion dollars he is still by far the richest man in the world with $416B according to Forbes.

It seems he is doing something right although he probably should not have ventured so blindly head first into politics. He should have realized it might alienate a substantial number of his potential customers, but he acted like he didn't care which is his perogative. At least he is not a phony like many/most business and political people.

It's a meme stock. No fundamentals support that market cap.

Yes, it is his prerogative to show his true colors, and I am somehow glad he did. He's still plenty phony though, at least in terms of other lies.

Although Tesla still arguably makes the best affordable EVs for sale in the US, for many people the brand is to be avoided because of the CEO. Just two years ago Tesla had plans to build one vast new factory after another around the world. But now it appears that plans for Tesla factories for Mexico, India, and other places have been postponed indefinitely. With Tesla sales down in the US, Europe, and China it seems like Tesla's goal to sell c. 10 million EVs annually worldwide by 2030 is unreachable. In 2023 Tesla sold 1.8 million worldwide, and the number was just slightly lower for 2024. With declining sales in key markets and the rise of low-cost Chinese EVs, my guess is that Tesla sales in 2025 will be around 1.5 million or so.

The Cybertruck is now a flop that's being compared with the Edsel by Forbes. Three years ago I think Ford was worried the Cybertruck would take a big bite out of their F-150's 600k+ annual sales, but that worry is over...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2025/04/03/elons-edsel-tesla-cybertruck-is-the-auto-industrys-biggest-flop-in-decades/

“It’s right up there with Edsel,” said Eric Noble, president of consultancy CARLAB and a professor at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California (Tesla design chief Franz von Holzhausen, who styled Cybertruck for Musk, is a graduate of its famed transportation design program). “It’s a huge swing and a huge miss.”

Judged solely on sales, Musk’s Cybertruck is actually doing a lot worse than Edsel, a name that’s become synonymous with a disastrous product misfire. Ford hoped to sell 200,000 Edsels a year when it hit the market in 1958, but managed just 63,000. Sales plunged in 1959 and the brand was dumped in 1960. Musk predicted that Cybertruck might see 250,000 annual sales. Tesla sold just under 40,000 in 2024, its first full year.

I'd rather have an Edsel, more stylish and optimistic. I see a nice Edsel, I might smile. The closest a CT gets is a smirk. Probably better hauling things and on unpaved roads too

Musk especially damaged the brand in Europe, where some people know a thing or two about his type. I'd have no problem with people walking away from the brand because of his antics and his causes. HE's not a long-dead person who was connected to a brand, he's an active participant in our burgeoning idiotic kakistocracy. He was kaput with me after the "pedoguy" idiocy, more recent deplorability just seals it. Tesla isn't going to die or anything, but it is going to be weaker than before when new competition comes online.

Tesla has the 10th largest market cap of all companies in the world; 4X greater than that of Toyota and generally over 20x greater than the other major vehicle manufacturers. Although he has recently lost a couple of billion dollars he is still by far the richest man in the world with $416B according to Forbes.

It seems he is doing something right although he probably should not have ventured so blindly head first into politics. He should have realized it might alienate a substantial number of his potential customers, but he acted like he didn't care which is his perogative. At least he is not a phony like many/most business and political people.

similarly clean 93-97 Concorde

Must be fun keeping that on the road even if the mechanicals are ok the electronics are a nightmare! Great looking car though.

Do those have transmission quirks or just need strict by the book servicing?

The first LH cars are really getting rare now, used to be on every corner. The one I saw had leather, I recall when the cars were new a friend's dad had a Concorde as a company car, it was cloth.

Back when I had my Intrepid, I remember hearing that one culprit of early transmission failure was that, apparently, the owners manuals specified the wrong fluid. Something along the lines of Type 7176 when it should have been Type 9196, or something like that? But then, a mechanic told me that the only side effect of type 7176 was that it might shift a bit more harshly.

I also remember the owner's manual called for 100,000 mile service intervals for the transmission for "normal use", or 50,000 for what they called "severe duty." So translated, that was 100K if you babied it, 50K if you drove it normally. I had mine done every 30,000 miles, just to be safe. The first year I was also delivering pizzas, so I figured that would've been a bit "extra severe" duty!

similarly clean 93-97 Concorde

Must be fun keeping that on the road even if the mechanicals are ok the electronics are a nightmare! Great looking car though.

Do those have transmission quirks or just need strict by the book servicing?

The first LH cars are really getting rare now, used to be on every corner. The one I saw had leather, I recall when the cars were new a friend's dad had a Concorde as a company car, it was cloth.

What Mopar didn't have transmission quirks in 90s? In all seriousness I think Andre nailed it, those who serviced it were fine if you went 100K before a fluid change bad things would happen.

I actually didn't realize the 3.5 was that much worse than the 3.3, but it would make sense. It was a newer design where the 3.3 had been around awhile and IIRC was the better engine to get in the Vans and previous generation New Yorker/DieNasty etc.