That may well be, but MB didn't seem to go out of their way promoting their association with it in the US, and it turned out to be a wise decision.
In reality, Smart is much more aligned now with MB than it was originally. Smart was always a stand alone company and Smart USA was a Penske venture. In 2011, MB took over Smart distribution in America. The 21 Smart stores not affiliated with an MB dealership were closed. MB did so because they needed Smart to meet 2016 CAFE standards and to bring Smart under the Daimler wing worldwide.
Today Smarts can only be bought in an MB store.
Now how is bringing over a bunch of small Opel products that are at best blah and mediocre in Europe going to spell a great growth opportunity for Buick in NA?
The Opels being sold under the Buick brand aren't going to be exactly the same as the ones in Europe. The Mokka and Encore are about 90% the same. The goals are to reduce development costs for both Buick and Opel and to offer a product between Chevrolet and Cadillac which are both European brands now. GM is trying to move Opel upscale and yes it's not working yet in Europe but that's because it's never been considered an upscale brand. But that doesn't preclude offering those upscale Opels in North America as a Buick.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of the buying public doesn't know that Buick and Opel are sharing products and that Opel has only recently gone upscale. It's just like the vast majority of MB buyers have no idea their E class is sold as a plebeian taxi in Europe and the A class is a top seller.
$34,000 sounds like an awful lot of money for that truck. FWIW, the way you spec'ed it out doesn't sound a whole lot different from my truck. Now granted, mine was a leftover 2012 model, and only RWD. They didn't have the 8-speed yet, so mine only has the 6-speed. But it does have the Hemi with cylinder deactivation. I also don't have chrome wheels, just painted steel wheels, although they're a slight upgrade...17x8", versus the standard, which was 17x7"
Mine has carpet, a cloth 40/20/40 seat. And it has a hitch, but I don't know anything about classes. Anyway, out the door with tax, tags, everything, mine was only $20,751. I think the MSRP on the window sticker was around $26,000.
What is the US/Canada exchange rate these days? I didn't think there was much difference. I went to Canada's Wonderland and Toronto last year, and I don't remember prices seeming that radically different.
Well I hope you're right. But I have this nagging feeling it is really more about a bean counter exercise trying to paper over Opel losses in their Wall Street financial releases. Outside of the big northeastern cities, small cars tend not to be all that popular. Don't see a lot of them in a big city like Chicago and even in areas like LA there are not as many on the freeway as people might think. Distances and time in traffic may affect that. If you're driving an hour or more each way, space and comfort comes into play. A 4cyl Camry or Accord is still a pretty economical car with a decent commuting experience. You can only do so much that way when you start dealing with very small and narrow cars on short wheelbases. Meanwhile, if Buick wants to spend some product money, I'm thinking it might be better spent improving gas mileage and reliability on their bread and butter LaCrosse and Enclave. I think they are aging and beginning to lose some of their luster. It may not matter much in today's hyper car market, but that market isn't going to go on long term.
Well, we always pay way more for any vehicle than you guys in the states. It has been that way for years and looks like it will remain so. Even parity exchange rates mean little. Plus we get dinged tax at 13%.
But for comparisons:
That truck here starts at 19995. and you think gee that's not too bad, but that is a stripper. It has the 4.7? V8 (less than the 3.6 V6). Has the 6 speed...or is it even still the 4 speed? I forget. Steel wheels, short box, rubber floor, wind up windows. There is even a big hit going to the 8 sp from the 6 with the V6.
So here the (and I'm going by memory so don't hold me exactly to the #s but I'm not too far off I don't think) the 4x4 upgrade was around 4200. extended 5600. V6 about 2000. The Hemi MDS was about a 3000+ hit. So when you factor in the best engine, best tranny combo (that 8 speed is expensive but worth it I think, especially with the Pentastar V6) etc, and add in 4x4, the price jumps quick. That's sorta my point, to get a nicely equipped truck the thing is going to be well on the plus side of 40 large. And 50k plus for 'really' nicely equipped. Here anyway..
It'd be interesting to compare your mpg to his 4x4 8 sp extended. What are you getting, interpreting dieselone's figures?
BTW, that truck i spec'd only had the 17x7 rims. I am not a big wheel fan.
Just got back from buying tires for my daughter's car. While at the tire store, some dude pulls up in a late model Porsche Cayenne "S", and promptly asks for, then purchases the cheapest set of tires available to fit his vehicle. I heard him tell the salesclerk that the previous set of tires didn't have a long tread life, and he didn't want to "waste" money on tires.
What is the US/Canada exchange rate these days? I didn't think there was much difference.
$1US = $1.04CDN .. so, very close to par.
But, the taxes do kill you.
Just checked the Chevy websites in the US and Canada. Base price Cruze in Canada is $14,995, while in the US it's $17,995. Not certain that the spec levels are exactly the same - in Canada there is an LS 1SA and an LS 1SB, while in the US it's just the LS.
I see that often here, with a low entry price. When the first Mexican built Jetta was offered it had some really low price point (for a Jetta, one might think) but the thing was decontented all over the place. Same as that Cruze, no one (well, very very few) would actually buy that car equipped so skimpily. And stuff that people really want, like infotainment systems etc are usually only avail pkg'd strategically with other pricey pkgs.
What was it I priced just the other day...a new Accord I think, and they wanted over 300 bucks for lousy block heater!
That Class IV hitch on the Ram was something like 700. or something..ridiculous..
When comparing a base GLK here vs yours in the US I found out the US is far better equipped.
I am surprised tho that your base Cruze is 18k. Are you sure? That almost sounds like it might be a base price for the 1.4 turbo which is far from base.
The other pain point is that there's no equivalent free invoice and TMV info available for Canadian cars that I know of, except there was one site that will sell you invoice info last I checked.
Exactly! AAMOF, I was going to ask YOU if you knew of any similar resources for us here, that you guys can have in great nubers. It is frustrating reading any Prices Paid" forum here. We really get...you-know-what..
I guess if one were to rationalize to save their sanity, I suppose every dollar extra we pay here compared to the US goes to health care eventually. (well...and of course there are those govt pension pkgs) And even that is getting more and more user-fee based and yet none of our other expenses (like cars, electronics and anything else that has a sales tax put on it) are any more affordable because of it.
Pickup trucks are most profitable type of vehicles for the Big 3. Huge demand and sales. Some amount of sales from people who don't really need the function of the pickup, only the IMAGE. Why/how did pickups ever become Cool?
How many people reading Edmunds here know friends, neighbors, relatives who are office workers or similar, drive pickups and only rarely use the function of the pickup bed. Sure, there are farmers, ranchers, people in the trades who REALLY need the pickup bed. But, how many people buy pickups and could really get their occasional hauling needs be better accomplished by a suv, crossover or mini-van.
Somehow, the pickup has been glorified by tv advertisements in recent years. In years past, pickups as transportation, NOT utility and functionality for jobs, were considered stupid and to be shunned.
I haven't looked so can't be sure, but I would suspect our base Cruze doesn't have A/c and the US version does for starters. We do tend to have real base cars with next to no options, and apparently they tend to be called Quebec specials because that is where the majority or them are sold ( that is something i just learned recently). I think GgM has actually been one of the few manufacturers that seems to have brought its prices more in line with the US prices with the parity of the respective dollars, or at least it seems that way from the advertisements anyway, some of the worst offenders from what I understand are Subaru, Mercedes etc, and at least some of that may be due to different duties paid in our two counties, but yes some of it is that they didn't lower their prices when the currencies more or less reached parity, they left them at the same level as when the can dollar was worth 60 cents US, after all it gives them more profit.
how many people buy pickups and could really get their occasional hauling needs be better accomplished by a suv, crossover or mini-van.
Last summer I re-sodded part of my lawn. The squares of St Augustine grass are pretty heavy, you can't really fill up your truck bed without breaking the springs on a half ton pickup. On my second trip to pickup more grass, I was waiting in line to have the grass loaded, and the guy in front of me was in an SUV. I really don't remember the make / model, but it was foreign, fairly new, and rather expensive looking.
The guy was having grass sod loaded into the back of his SUV, and I remember wondering why in the h*ll he was trashing out his expensive vehicle in that way. The place I was buying from does offer delivery (which isn't that expensive), and Craigslist is full of guys with pickups offering to pickup and deliver anything your heart desires.
I sure as h*ll wouldn't want to buy that SUV on the used market.
In years past, pickups as transportation, NOT utility and functionality for jobs, were considered stupid and to be shunned.
What part of the world are you from, New York City? You must me a "Da*ned Yankee" to be talking that way!
On 2nd thought, I should probably explain that last remark. There is a very old joke here in the south about people growing up thinking that "Da*ned Yankee" was one word, not two.
I think my record is 9 "standard" hay bales in (and on top of) my minivan. I put a tarp down but had some loose hay floating around for a few months. We're always hauling compost or building materials or furniture in ours. Works good and it keeps the rain off your stuff, and the liftover height is a whole lot better than a pickup.
I figure what's the point of owning something if you're afraid to use it? Maybe I'd care more if I didn't drive them forever but even then I'd probably have a pristine car and wind up smacking a deer.
Not just glorified by TV Ads, but the difference between trucks of the 80's, and today is so wide - even if they weren't "glorified", as you say, they are so well appointed and luxurious, people have abandoned luxury cars for them. My Lexus was expensive - but no more expensive than an F-350 King Ranch Power Stroke with a grille guard and stacks. Yet, I get class envy fingers in the Lexus, while people don't equate trucks as potentially costing just as much. If Gas expense doesn't discourage this truck mania, I don't know what will.
I was curious if you were feedin' or beddin' something. Straw is nastier because it pulls out easily from the packed slabs. And sticks in places.
I used my Buick pickup truck to bring a bale home from a local garden center. They didn't have plastic bag to put it; just used a sheet of plastic. I had to take everything out of trunk including the pad eventually to get rid of the straw pieces.
We specifically got the straw since the lack of nutrition in it would deter some critters from eating it, although we had rabbits nesting in a pile we used to contain some compost. It does get everywhere.
You couldn't pay me enough to transport straw or hay in my car. The reason is that it is a horrendous rodent attractant. If you live in town where neighbours have cats it is less of an issue, but if not and if you don't drive for weeks on end, and especially come fall at latitudes around the 45th, look out..they can literally destroy your car. I found this out the hard way with my last car, which was literally written off by insurance. They had totally infested the dang thing and as I was dismantling the interior I found lots of hay behind the seats etc. Personally I think the damn thing was infested the day I bought it from a dealer as I recall seeing insulation bits by my feet after I drove home 2 hours from the day I bought it. Previous owner had a farm and occasionally pulled a Steve with it..
Long story short, they had taken it over. Chewed wires, plugged the HVAC, and I even flushed out unibody maggots and dead baby mice from the rocker panel unibody area after I had pulled all the plastic drain plugs. I suspect that they had nested too close to an exhaust heat maybe? And roasted them, hence the maggots etc. It was mind blowing and I felt sick until a friend said that it was likely an insurance deal. Thank goodness I had comprehensive or I would have been totally scre...
The reason they got such a head start that year was I literally rode the bike all summer and hadn't even started the car for about 2 mo. Right this very minute, I have an electronic rodent device screeching inside the car. It puts out a whopping 150 db (a guess). I also have traps set up on top of the valve cover, and two inside. I also now have a routine of baiting OJ cartons in my wood piles and all around the house. Unloading the car of groceries this time of year (anytime after 4pm) has to be done with foot-kick-the-door closed on each trip. As the temp drops, their brazenness is not to be believed.
The previous car to that was the Matrix and they tried to nest in the HVAC but I got on top of it right away and was lucky in that in that particular car the air intake is in ONE central location which i was able to silicone off with screening. To this day, any car I consider, I wonder how central the HVAC air intake is, so that it is more easily addressed.
This might sound pretty out there, but trust me, you don't know the horror till you live it. They are the dirtiest, stinkiest, disease carrying varmints on the face of the earth..
I bet the critters furnished their own straw and just used the car for a nice nest. My sister's insurance paid a couple of grand to fix her rodent chewed wiring over in Virginia on her Forester a few years ago. She was panicky until I told her to call her insurance agent. She, ahem, does haul a bit of compost herself now and then. :-)
We're a degree north of you, so we're safe, lol.
The old family VW Bus moved a goat for a friend one time. Worst issue I ever had was spilling some grits under the back seat of the Tercel and they fermented nicely when spring came.
Makes you want to buy one of those Kias that those cute hamsters advertise eh?
You're a degree north of me? How can that be? Gotta find a map now..
There's a billboard near hear that says you're now half way to the north pole..
I used to have grits with breakfast when I truck all down through the eastern seaboard. You can't find grits up here. Anywhere. All these years and I am still not sure what they are, haha, but I assume carbs of some sort.
Well, I don't know exactly where you are, so I just used "S. Bruce Peninsula" and came up with ~45. Mine's around 46.8. So I hedged with just one degree difference. No poutine around here, just ground up corn, so we're even. :-)
In auto news, there really isn't much. All the reporters must be in Frankfurt at the auto show.
Among my peers, at least, I think pickups started becoming cool in the 1970's, in part because of those trucker movies like "Convoy", "White Line Fever", "Smokey and the Bandit", "BJ and the Bear" etc.
Even though it's a far cry between a half-ton pickup and a big rig, as kids we still thought a pickup was a lot cooler than a car.
Then, in the late 70's with downsizing and such, big blocks started to get phased out in cars, but they held on for awhile longer in trucks, and that added to their mystique with many buyers. When the mid 80's rolled around and GM shrunk most of its big cars down to mere midsizers, and gas got cheap and plentiful again, I think that's when trucks really took off. And, whenever country music started to go mainstream, that was an influence.
With me, I think it's in my blood, as well. Grandmom and Granddad always had a car and a truck. But then, Granddad actually WAS a farmer! Or, worked on a government farm, at least. But, he was always hauling or towing something, and they also used it for camping. His first "truck" was actually a 1939 Plymouth that he cut body off aft of the B-pillar, and built a truck bed, sort of Beverly Hillbillies style.
I know I have referred to my beloved old 4 cyl E model Pathfinder as a truck at times when I have referenced it. Believe it or not the original Nissan Shop Manual (a nice one with good pics and and a good 2" thick and larger than common printer sheet size) called it a "van".
There are non truck-like SUVs (think Volvo, BMW) then there are some others which do have truck-like similarities. Some are either a blessing or a curse, but here are a few: blessings listed first..
- more ground clearance - tall sit-up-and-beg-leg-drop-to-the-floor type seating position (due to my bad spine, this is a reason...but far from the only one, I am considering going back to truck if I can find one economical enough) - view-down-the-road visibility due to the higher seating position - extra cargo ability - often the AWD/4x4 association - high step in ingress/egress - higher CoG - high load floors
I recall that when the cars started getting much more expensive and complicated because of government regulations, the pickup trucks stayed pretty much the same. They weren't required to have 10 mph bumpers, etc.. They were exempt from some EPA requirements. So many people started buying trucks rather than cars.
But I recall the advertisements change in the 90s, or so. I recall that Truck ads started showing successful your women using _their_ pickup truck to go out on the town to restaurants, night clubs, or such. It was about that same time that a coworker of mine bought a fully loaded, leather seats, power everything diesel manual shift Silverado. It was like the front seat of a premium vehicle. So trucks were no longer work cages with dirt on the floor and tool belts hanging over the seat backs. They were alternatives for cars.
One thing that makes a truck not a truck in my eyes is when they load them to the gills with "luxury" features. I saw a $65,000 Ford truck at the dealers the other day. That is insane.
Kinda like doing yard work in a 3 piece suit. It may look nice, but it does not help get the job done and sure wastes a lot of money.
Americans have a short term memory. I notice with the improvement of the economy that I see more new large SUV's and large trucks on the road. So, when the next oil increase/gas price jump happens to over $4.50 a gallon, these people are going to whine and cry about gas prices. THINK AMERICA, gas is going to do nothing but rise. India is the next major oil consumer that is going to come online this next decade. China is just starting to demand with its economy being number 2. In the next decade what do you think is going to happen to prices?? THINK...
I thought large SUVs have not been selling particularly well. The main growth is in the small crossover segment. Also compact cars have been a big part of this recovery. Last month Honda sold more Civics than Accords.
If one can write a check, or make payments, on a $65K Ford pickup, great. Good for Ford. Good for the economy. Good for Ford employees. Ford Dealers. Whether the Ford is used for "real" work - farm, ranch, construction, etc - or for a macho image does not matter in the end. We still are free, so far, in the U.S. to buy and drive whatever we want.
In what year will one of the Big 3, GM, Ford, Chrysler, have a pickup on a dealership floor, loaded up with every conceivable option have an MSRP of $100K or over?
And we're free to laugh at vehicles we see as posers when they are out on public roads. Freedom, a two way street. Free to drive what we want, free to be judged by it. If someone is secure in their decision, it won't matter what bystanders think. If someone is insecure, then...
This survey must of cost all of $1000 to complete. They surveyed only 4200 consumers to cover every make and model. I would guess that Consumer reports receives that many responses on the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry alone.
I would say the survery is very close to being worthless.
Oh yeah, Tesla actually had to back pedal on that one. It seems that in their "cost to own a Tesla" calculations, there was LOTS of pixie dust, such as understating the MPG of the "typical" luxury gasoline car, and, as the article stated, including incentives, tax breaks, etc as part of "cost to own"--but what was even brassier, Tesla included things like the amount of time you save by not going to a gas station (since you charge at home), and then asking you how much your time is worth per hour--and this per hour calculation goes into "cost to own" as well.
Lotsa pixie dust.
I objected to one thing in the calculator that wasn't mentioned--that the cost of a KwH was .11 cents. Not in my town.
-The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is an economic indicator that measures the satisfaction of consumers across the U.S. economy. It is produced by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a private company based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The ACSI interviews about 80,000 Americans annually and asks about their satisfaction with the goods and services they have consumed. Potential respondents are screened prior to interviewing to guarantee inclusion of customers of a wide range of business-to-consumer products and services, including durable goods, services, non-durable goods, local government services, federal government services, and so forth. Results from data collection and analyses are released to the public throughout each calendar year. ACSI data has been used by academic researchers, corporations, government agencies, market analysts and investors, industry trade associations, and consumers.-
That cost to own scheme had me rolling on the floor. Deceptive at best, and really just outrageous, as is probably typical for the accounting of many of the customers as well.
It valued fueling time at $100/hr. Seriously. It's hard to tell who is worse, the old school dealer lobby, or the creative accounting (lies) of the upstart who is still dependent on the top few receiving tax breaks for their toys.
It valued fueling time at $100/hr. Seriously. It's hard to tell who is worse, the old school dealer lobby, or the creative accounting (lies) of the upstart who is still dependent on the top few receiving tax breaks for their toys.
Well, for those who can afford a Tesla, $100/hr (that's $200K/year salary) might be a reasonable approximation of the average owner's salary.
Of course society is segmented. Most rich people in the US actually earned it rather than got it from daddy. I figure there are the top 1% who skim off a bunch of value, then there are the top 10% (or the next 9%) - somewhat less treacherous, they might not be multi-millionaires, but they can still afford high end cars and go on expensive trips. Most of the people can't do that, either.
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In reality, Smart is much more aligned now with MB than it was originally. Smart was always a stand alone company and Smart USA was a Penske venture. In 2011, MB took over Smart distribution in America. The 21 Smart stores not affiliated with an MB dealership were closed. MB did so because they needed Smart to meet 2016 CAFE standards and to bring Smart under the Daimler wing worldwide.
Today Smarts can only be bought in an MB store.
Now how is bringing over a bunch of small Opel products that are at best blah and mediocre in Europe going to spell a great growth opportunity for Buick in NA?
The Opels being sold under the Buick brand aren't going to be exactly the same as the ones in Europe. The Mokka and Encore are about 90% the same. The goals are to reduce development costs for both Buick and Opel and to offer a product between Chevrolet and Cadillac which are both European brands now. GM is trying to move Opel upscale and yes it's not working yet in Europe but that's because it's never been considered an upscale brand. But that doesn't preclude offering those upscale Opels in North America as a Buick.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of the buying public doesn't know that Buick and Opel are sharing products and that Opel has only recently gone upscale. It's just like the vast majority of MB buyers have no idea their E class is sold as a plebeian taxi in Europe and the A class is a top seller.
Mine has carpet, a cloth 40/20/40 seat. And it has a hitch, but I don't know anything about classes. Anyway, out the door with tax, tags, everything, mine was only $20,751. I think the MSRP on the window sticker was around $26,000.
What is the US/Canada exchange rate these days? I didn't think there was much difference. I went to Canada's Wonderland and Toronto last year, and I don't remember prices seeming that radically different.
But for comparisons:
That truck here starts at 19995. and you think gee that's not too bad, but that is a stripper. It has the 4.7? V8 (less than the 3.6 V6). Has the 6 speed...or is it even still the 4 speed? I forget. Steel wheels, short box, rubber floor, wind up windows. There is even a big hit going to the 8 sp from the 6 with the V6.
So here the (and I'm going by memory so don't hold me exactly to the #s but I'm not too far off I don't think) the 4x4 upgrade was around 4200. extended 5600. V6 about 2000. The Hemi MDS was about a 3000+ hit. So when you factor in the best engine, best tranny combo (that 8 speed is expensive but worth it I think, especially with the Pentastar V6) etc, and add in 4x4, the price jumps quick. That's sorta my point, to get a nicely equipped truck the thing is going to be well on the plus side of 40 large. And 50k plus for 'really' nicely equipped. Here anyway..
It'd be interesting to compare your mpg to his 4x4 8 sp extended. What are you getting, interpreting dieselone's figures?
BTW, that truck i spec'd only had the 17x7 rims. I am not a big wheel fan.
I found the entire episode quite humorous...
$1US = $1.04CDN .. so, very close to par.
But, the taxes do kill you.
Just checked the Chevy websites in the US and Canada. Base price Cruze in Canada is $14,995, while in the US it's $17,995. Not certain that the spec levels are exactly the same - in Canada there is an LS 1SA and an LS 1SB, while in the US it's just the LS.
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What was it I priced just the other day...a new Accord I think, and they wanted over 300 bucks for lousy block heater!
That Class IV hitch on the Ram was something like 700. or something..ridiculous..
When comparing a base GLK here vs yours in the US I found out the US is far better equipped.
I am surprised tho that your base Cruze is 18k. Are you sure? That almost sounds like it might be a base price for the 1.4 turbo which is far from base.
I guess if one were to rationalize to save their sanity, I suppose every dollar extra we pay here compared to the US goes to health care eventually. (well...and of course there are those govt pension pkgs) And even that is getting more and more user-fee based and yet none of our other expenses (like cars, electronics and anything else that has a sales tax put on it) are any more affordable because of it.
All those things lead to better faster braking and safety after all.
Particularly if I had a Porsche, even if it is a big beast like the Cayenne.
That guy should just buy a RAV 4 and call it a day.
Classy, thank you.
How many people reading Edmunds here know friends, neighbors, relatives who are office workers or similar, drive pickups and only rarely use the function of the pickup bed. Sure, there are farmers, ranchers, people in the trades who REALLY need the pickup bed. But, how many people buy pickups and could really get their occasional hauling needs be better accomplished by a suv, crossover or mini-van.
Somehow, the pickup has been glorified by tv advertisements in recent years. In years past, pickups as transportation, NOT utility and functionality for jobs, were considered stupid and to be shunned.
Last summer I re-sodded part of my lawn. The squares of St Augustine grass are pretty heavy, you can't really fill up your truck bed without breaking the springs on a half ton pickup. On my second trip to pickup more grass, I was waiting in line to have the grass loaded, and the guy in front of me was in an SUV. I really don't remember the make / model, but it was foreign, fairly new, and rather expensive looking.
The guy was having grass sod loaded into the back of his SUV, and I remember wondering why in the h*ll he was trashing out his expensive vehicle in that way. The place I was buying from does offer delivery (which isn't that expensive), and Craigslist is full of guys with pickups offering to pickup and deliver anything your heart desires.
I sure as h*ll wouldn't want to buy that SUV on the used market.
In years past, pickups as transportation, NOT utility and functionality for jobs, were considered stupid and to be shunned.
What part of the world are you from, New York City? You must me a "Da*ned Yankee" to be talking that way!
On 2nd thought, I should probably explain that last remark. There is a very old joke here in the south about people growing up thinking that "Da*ned Yankee" was one word, not two.
I figure what's the point of owning something if you're afraid to use it? Maybe I'd care more if I didn't drive them forever but even then I'd probably have a pristine car and wind up smacking a deer.
Hay or straw?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I spent 10 days in a straw bale house last month; you'd think I'd learn the difference by now.
I was curious if you were feedin' or beddin' something. Straw is nastier because it pulls out easily from the packed slabs. And sticks in places.
I used my Buick pickup truck to bring a bale home from a local garden center. They didn't have plastic bag to put it; just used a sheet of plastic. I had to take everything out of trunk including the pad eventually to get rid of the straw pieces.
Love those big trunks on my US GM Buicks.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Long story short, they had taken it over. Chewed wires, plugged the HVAC, and I even flushed out unibody maggots and dead baby mice from the rocker panel unibody area after I had pulled all the plastic drain plugs. I suspect that they had nested too close to an exhaust heat maybe? And roasted them, hence the maggots etc. It was mind blowing and I felt sick until a friend said that it was likely an insurance deal. Thank goodness I had comprehensive or I would have been totally scre...
The reason they got such a head start that year was I literally rode the bike all summer and hadn't even started the car for about 2 mo. Right this very minute, I have an electronic rodent device screeching inside the car. It puts out a whopping 150 db (a guess). I also have traps set up on top of the valve cover, and two inside. I also now have a routine of baiting OJ cartons in my wood piles and all around the house. Unloading the car of groceries this time of year (anytime after 4pm) has to be done with foot-kick-the-door closed on each trip. As the temp drops, their brazenness is not to be believed.
The previous car to that was the Matrix and they tried to nest in the HVAC but I got on top of it right away and was lucky in that in that particular car the air intake is in ONE central location which i was able to silicone off with screening. To this day, any car I consider, I wonder how central the HVAC air intake is, so that it is more easily addressed.
This might sound pretty out there, but trust me, you don't know the horror till you live it. They are the dirtiest, stinkiest, disease carrying varmints on the face of the earth..
We're a degree north of you, so we're safe, lol.
The old family VW Bus moved a goat for a friend one time. Worst issue I ever had was spilling some grits under the back seat of the Tercel and they fermented nicely when spring came.
Makes you want to buy one of those Kias that those cute hamsters advertise eh?
There's a billboard near hear that says you're now half way to the north pole..
I used to have grits with breakfast when I truck all down through the eastern seaboard. You can't find grits up here. Anywhere. All these years and I am still not sure what they are, haha, but I assume carbs of some sort.
In auto news, there really isn't much. All the reporters must be in Frankfurt at the auto show.
Even though it's a far cry between a half-ton pickup and a big rig, as kids we still thought a pickup was a lot cooler than a car.
Then, in the late 70's with downsizing and such, big blocks started to get phased out in cars, but they held on for awhile longer in trucks, and that added to their mystique with many buyers. When the mid 80's rolled around and GM shrunk most of its big cars down to mere midsizers, and gas got cheap and plentiful again, I think that's when trucks really took off. And, whenever country music started to go mainstream, that was an influence.
With me, I think it's in my blood, as well. Grandmom and Granddad always had a car and a truck. But then, Granddad actually WAS a farmer! Or, worked on a government farm, at least. But, he was always hauling or towing something, and they also used it for camping. His first "truck" was actually a 1939 Plymouth that he cut body off aft of the B-pillar, and built a truck bed, sort of Beverly Hillbillies style.
And what about all of the people here on the forums who refer to their $50,000, imported, car chassis SUV as a "truck"?
Yes, I admit it, that one bothers me. If it doesn't have, at the very least, an open bed in the back, how can it possibly be a "truck"?
There are non truck-like SUVs (think Volvo, BMW) then there are some others which do have truck-like similarities. Some are either a blessing or a curse, but here are a few: blessings listed first..
- more ground clearance
- tall sit-up-and-beg-leg-drop-to-the-floor type seating position (due to my bad spine, this is a reason...but far from the only one, I am considering going back to truck if I can find one economical enough)
- view-down-the-road visibility due to the higher seating position
- extra cargo ability
- often the AWD/4x4 association
- high step in ingress/egress
- higher CoG
- high load floors
All truck-like..
But I recall the advertisements change in the 90s, or so. I recall that Truck ads started showing successful your women using _their_ pickup truck to go out on the town to restaurants, night clubs, or such. It was about that same time that a coworker of mine bought a fully loaded, leather seats, power everything diesel manual shift Silverado. It was like the front seat of a premium vehicle. So trucks were no longer work cages with dirt on the floor and tool belts hanging over the seat backs. They were alternatives for cars.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Kinda like doing yard work in a 3 piece suit. It may look nice, but it does not help get the job done and sure wastes a lot of money.
:confuse:
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
This survey must of cost all of $1000 to complete. They surveyed only 4200 consumers to cover every make and model. I would guess that Consumer reports receives that many responses on the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry alone.
I would say the survery is very close to being worthless.
California new car dealers claim Tesla violates advertising laws
The comments are pretty amusing, too.
One thing about Elon, his pockets are as deep as NADA and the rest.
Lotsa pixie dust.
I objected to one thing in the calculator that wasn't mentioned--that the cost of a KwH was .11 cents. Not in my town.
-The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is an economic indicator that measures the satisfaction of consumers across the U.S. economy. It is produced by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a private company based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The ACSI interviews about 80,000 Americans annually and asks about their satisfaction with the goods and services they have consumed. Potential respondents are screened prior to interviewing to guarantee inclusion of customers of a wide range of business-to-consumer products and services, including durable goods, services, non-durable goods, local government services, federal government services, and so forth. Results from data collection and analyses are released to the public throughout each calendar year. ACSI data has been used by academic researchers, corporations, government agencies, market analysts and investors, industry trade associations, and consumers.-
It valued fueling time at $100/hr. Seriously. It's hard to tell who is worse, the old school dealer lobby, or the creative accounting (lies) of the upstart who is still dependent on the top few receiving tax breaks for their toys.
Well, for those who can afford a Tesla, $100/hr (that's $200K/year salary) might be a reasonable approximation of the average owner's salary.
Of course society is segmented. Most rich people in the US actually earned it rather than got it from daddy. I figure there are the top 1% who skim off a bunch of value, then there are the top 10% (or the next 9%) - somewhat less treacherous, they might not be multi-millionaires, but they can still afford high end cars and go on expensive trips. Most of the people can't do that, either.