Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

roadburner

@cdnpinhead said:
Convair also built the B-58 back in the '50s and I was around to appreciate it and add it to my model collection. The first mach2 bomber, maybe the last, come to that. I guess the F-4 might qualify.

B-58.com is a great website for aviation enthusiasts. It contains some fascinating stories.

ronsteve

oldfarmer50 said:

I frequently see touch and go practice at airports I work. Usually C130s and rarely a big tanker version of the L-1011.

My favorite though is when the F-35s take off or land in groups out of Burlington.

Would see a lot of military birds stopping off at ILM. A very occasional Osprey, more than a few Harriers, and also a few F-15s. I was lucky enough to be leaving work one day just a flight of four F-15s was also leaving. And they wanted everybody to know it. Nothing like looking up through the sunroof and seeing the afterburner on as the first one passed overhead.

british_rover

@cdnpinhead said:
Convair also built the B-58 back in the '50s and I was around to appreciate it and add it to my model collection. The first mach2 bomber, maybe the last, come to that. I guess the F-4 might qualify.

The B-1A was mach 2 plus capable although I guess the B-1B technically is not.

The Russian TU-160 Blackjack is also Mach 2 plus.

explorerx4

The B58 was retired due to it's huge accident rate. The design was really pushing the technology envelope of the time.

abacomike

Just filled the tank with Costco gas - PUL - $3.70 a gallon. That's over $1.25 a gallon more than I paid a year ago. The prices per gallon seem to change every other day. Two weeks ago, I paid $3.45 a gallon for PUG. It will probably be well over $4.00 a gallon by April, if not sooner. Then, when the summer blends are reintroduced in late April or early May, it will jump another $.30 a gallon.

My electricity bills are 20% higher than last year at this time - and I am using fewer kwh's this year than I did last year. From what I understand, it is the cost of natural gas that is spearheading the increased cost.

The Federal Reserve is expected to act sooner than expected regarding increasing the interest rates on funds. I would think something has to be done to slow down the increases in pricing of just about everything. Quite frankly, I am doing some planning as to when and where I drive my car. If I am going up to the mall, I make it a point to stop off on the way home to do some incidental food shopping or banking. Obviously, I can afford gasoline for my car, but why waste money on gasoline if it isn't necessary?

stickguy

Shut the world back down and go back into a recession. That will get gas prices back down.

And interest rates aren’t the driving force at this point.

ab348

I read the Wiki page on the B-36 and was amazed at the way the vision of the developers exceeded the technology of the day. Not only was it a massive aircraft, but the engine configuration was a maintenance and reliability nightmare. 6 radial engines, 28 cylinders each, but fed by carburetors. Because they were in a pusher configuration with the props at the rear of the wings, the engines did not benefit from the same cooling airflow they would have received with the front wing prop configuration and tended to run hot. But because the engines were mounted opposite of their usual front to back, the carburetors were near the leading edge of the wing, and did not benefit from the usual warming via engine heat they would have received being mounted towards the rear of a conventional engine setup. Worst of both worlds.

According to Wiki, this meant they suffered from carburetor icing, which narrowed the carb inlets, making them run very rich. This along with the tetraethyl lead-heavy 145 octane avgas fouled the spark plus, leading to fuel in the exhaust, which led to engine fires. They required a total of 336 spark plugs per plane. They liked engine oil as well, with each of the 6 engines having a 100 gallon oil tank.

henryn

abacomike said:

Just filled the tank with Costco gas - PUL - $3.70 a gallon. That's over $1.25 a gallon more than I paid a year ago. The prices per gallon seem to change every other day. Two weeks ago, I paid $3.45 a gallon for PUG. It will probably be well over $4.00 a gallon by April, if not sooner. Then, when the summer blends are reintroduced in late April or early May, it will jump another $.30 a gallon.

My electricity bills are 20% higher than last year at this time - and I am using fewer kwh's this year than I did last year. From what I understand, it is the cost of natural gas that is spearheading the increased cost.

The Federal Reserve is expected to act sooner than expected regarding increasing the interest rates on funds. I would think something has to be done to slow down the increases in pricing of just about everything. Quite frankly, I am doing some planning as to when and where I drive my car. If I am going up to the mall, I make it a point to stop off on the way home to do some incidental food shopping or banking. Obviously, I can afford gasoline for my car, but why waste money on gasoline if it isn't necessary?

The price spread between 87 and 93 octane varies quite a bit in this part of the world. Most of the name brand stations (Exxon, Chevron, Shell) are charging close to a dollar more per gallon. The gas station at HEB usually runs 35 to 40 cents more, which amounts to quite a saving. I don't buy PUG anymore, I used to run it in the F150 ecoboost, as the performance difference was actually noticeable.

I have to disagree with you about driving less though. I drive so little these days (maybe 6 or 7 thousand miles a year) that I don't pay any particular attention to the cost of gasoline. Anytime I do feel like going somewhere, I don't even think about what the gasoline will cost. I do think about the time of day, and how bad the traffic will be. Now that I'm retired, I positively loath getting caught up in rush hour traffic.

ab348

I'm having a difficult time figuring out what the excuse is at the moment for oil and gasoline prices rising to such levels.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

So, why the attention? Was it part of the autobahn that has a speed limit?

That Chiron should have exploded into a ball of fire 100X over by the time they reached 400 KM/HR because speed kills.

In fact, for every 5 MPH faster you go over the US speed limit, you have a 10% greater chance of dying, so they should be dead 100 times over before they even reached 400 KPH.

This is an abomination.

Yes it is an abomination, I have never seen such a misuse of math.

Oh I've seen plenty of it coming directly from the IIHS, NHTSA, WHO, and more. I dare say I did a pretty damn good parody of the technique.

andres3

ab348 said:

I'm having a difficult time figuring out what the excuse is at the moment for oil and gasoline prices rising to such levels.

I read an article that said the following:

1. Inflation
   
2. Summer blend gas starting to be delivered already (In early February?)
   

Can't remember any other excuses to be honest.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

qbrozen said:

So, why the attention? Was it part of the autobahn that has a speed limit?

My understanding that there is a growing concern in Germany that there are more and more people driving at such an excessive speed on the Autobahn and that such an activity is extremely unsafe. There has been some recent talk of introducing a system wide speed limit there for decades now but it likely won't gain enough support to go through.

Fixed it for ya.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

qbrozen said:

laurasdada said:

Here's the kicker, interest was paid during that gap time, which I sent to son as a gross amount.

I don't think I mentioned this here. Want to hear a real zinger? I got a 1099-INT for the interest the Federal Government paid on my parents' delayed tax refund on their estate. Yeah, the GOVERNMENT paid me interest because they took so incredibly long to send a TAX REFUND and now they want me to pay TAX ON THE TAX REFUND INTEREST. WTH?!

It's really no different than you putting the money in a bank and getting interest on it or investing the money in stock. It's income and therefore taxable.

Funny it doesn't seem to work the other way though. It's almost as if the IRS and State Franchise Tax Board need a software program when a correction is made to "reset" the clock back for when the correction should have taken effect and then recalculate every tax paid/owed/refund since then, but that doesn't automatically happen, and was above H&R Block's pay grade. Oh well.

andres3

qbrozen said:

@snakeweasel said:

It's really no different than you putting the money in a bank and getting interest on it or investing the money in stock. It's income and therefore taxable.

It is quite different. I gave money to the gov in taxes. They said, “no, no, no, that’s too much. Here is some back along with a little something for your trouble.” And now say, “now WE gave YOU extra, so you gotta give us a little somethin for our trouble.” It is just dumb.

It's also absurd they can take 7 months or longer to inform you that you (or your tax preparer) has made a mistake, and that you owe them 7 months interest for their extremely unreasonably slow work pace.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

I read the Wiki page on the B-36 and was amazed at the way the vision of the developers exceeded the technology of the day. Not only was it a massive aircraft, but the engine configuration was a maintenance and reliability nightmare. 6 radial engines, 28 cylinders each, but fed by carburetors. Because they were in a pusher configuration with the props at the rear of the wings, the engines did not benefit from the same cooling airflow they would have received with the front wing prop configuration and tended to run hot. But because the engines were mounted opposite of their usual front to back, the carburetors were near the leading edge of the wing, and did not benefit from the usual warming via engine heat they would have received being mounted towards the rear of a conventional engine setup. Worst of both worlds.

According to Wiki, this meant they suffered from carburetor icing, which narrowed the carb inlets, making them run very rich. This along with the tetraethyl lead-heavy 145 octane avgas fouled the spark plus, leading to fuel in the exhaust, which led to engine fires. They required a total of 336 spark plugs per plane. They liked engine oil as well, with each of the 6 engines having a 100 gallon oil tank.

I'm going to have to go stand under the wing of the B-36 as soon as I can. I'll think about
those facts. Interesting. The Air Force Museum has one here in Dayton along with a B-52.
It's been a while since I've been there.

tjc78

@ab348 said:
I'm having a difficult time figuring out what the excuse is at the moment for oil and gasoline prices rising to such levels.

We really can’t discuss the why of that here.

laurasdada

$3.56 PUG at Costco last week; up .10 since my last fill.

roadburner

imidazol97 said:

ab348 said:

I read the Wiki page on the B-36 and was amazed at the way the vision of the developers exceeded the technology of the day. Not only was it a massive aircraft, but the engine configuration was a maintenance and reliability nightmare. 6 radial engines, 28 cylinders each, but fed by carburetors. Because they were in a pusher configuration with the props at the rear of the wings, the engines did not benefit from the same cooling airflow they would have received with the front wing prop configuration and tended to run hot. But because the engines were mounted opposite of their usual front to back, the carburetors were near the leading edge of the wing, and did not benefit from the usual warming via engine heat they would have received being mounted towards the rear of a conventional engine setup. Worst of both worlds.

According to Wiki, this meant they suffered from carburetor icing, which narrowed the carb inlets, making them run very rich. This along with the tetraethyl lead-heavy 145 octane avgas fouled the spark plus, leading to fuel in the exhaust, which led to engine fires. They required a total of 336 spark plugs per plane. They liked engine oil as well, with each of the 6 engines having a 100 gallon oil tank.

I'm going to have to go stand under the wing of the B-36 as soon as I can. I'll think about
those facts. Interesting. The Air Force Museum has one here in Dayton along with a B-52.
It's been a while since I've been there.

The B-36 at Wright-Patterson is the last B-36 that ever flew.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

qbrozen said:

So, why the attention? Was it part of the autobahn that has a speed limit?

My understanding that there is a growing concern in Germany that there are more and more people driving at such an excessive speed on the Autobahn and that such an activity is extremely unsafe. There has been some recent talk of introducing a system wide speed limit there for decades now but it likely won't gain enough support to go through.

Fixed it for ya.

Nope you made it false.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

qbrozen said:

laurasdada said:

Here's the kicker, interest was paid during that gap time, which I sent to son as a gross amount.

I don't think I mentioned this here. Want to hear a real zinger? I got a 1099-INT for the interest the Federal Government paid on my parents' delayed tax refund on their estate. Yeah, the GOVERNMENT paid me interest because they took so incredibly long to send a TAX REFUND and now they want me to pay TAX ON THE TAX REFUND INTEREST. WTH?!

It's really no different than you putting the money in a bank and getting interest on it or investing the money in stock. It's income and therefore taxable.

Funny it doesn't seem to work the other way though. It's almost as if the IRS and State Franchise Tax Board need a software program when a correction is made to "reset" the clock back for when the correction should have taken effect and then recalculate every tax paid/owed/refund since then, but that doesn't automatically happen, and was above H&R Block's pay grade. Oh well.

I am not sure what you mean by that but I will attest to the fact that adding 2 and 2 together and getting a number below 7 is above H & R Blocks pay grade,

jmonroe1

imidazol97 said:

ab348 said:

I read the Wiki page on the B-36 and was amazed at the way the vision of the developers exceeded the technology of the day. Not only was it a massive aircraft, but the engine configuration was a maintenance and reliability nightmare. 6 radial engines, 28 cylinders each, but fed by carburetors. Because they were in a pusher configuration with the props at the rear of the wings, the engines did not benefit from the same cooling airflow they would have received with the front wing prop configuration and tended to run hot. But because the engines were mounted opposite of their usual front to back, the carburetors were near the leading edge of the wing, and did not benefit from the usual warming via engine heat they would have received being mounted towards the rear of a conventional engine setup. Worst of both worlds.

According to Wiki, this meant they suffered from carburetor icing, which narrowed the carb inlets, making them run very rich. This along with the tetraethyl lead-heavy 145 octane avgas fouled the spark plus, leading to fuel in the exhaust, which led to engine fires. They required a total of 336 spark plugs per plane. They liked engine oil as well, with each of the 6 engines having a 100 gallon oil tank.

I'm going to have to go stand under the wing of the B-36 as soon as I can. I'll think about
those facts. Interesting. The Air Force Museum has one here in Dayton along with a B-52.
It's been a while since I've been there.

A B-52, now that is a big [non-permissible content removed] plane. The first time I flew into a SAC base, we taxied by a slew of B-52s that were lined up wing tip to wing tip. It seemed like it took a minute to taxi by just one of them. I was in an R4Y which isn’t by any means a big plane but it was downright puny compared to a B-52. Hell, when we taxied by in a C-130 after that it was still HUGE. Almost got to go on board one but we had to pull out sooner than we thought and I never got another chance again.

jmonroe

roadburner

@snakeweasel said:
Nope you made it false.

explorerx4

There was a SAC base near where I grew up and I would see B52's several times a day.
You knew they weren't carry 500 pounders.
Between the Base, Smith & Wesson, Pratt & Whitney, Hamilton Standard, Colt, and Electric Boat being fairly close, we all knew we were in the target area.
Incredible that the B52 entered service in 1954 and is still flying today.
Their nickname is BUFF, Big Ugly Fat .... I'll you figure out the rest.
Iconic in Doctor Strangelove movie and Flight of the Old Brown Dog book.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

The B58 was retired due to it's huge accident rate. The design was really pushing the technology envelope of the time.

My all time favorite Mach 3+ bomber that might have been.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
I'm pretty sure the lone survivor XB70 is at WP AFB near Dayton.
You should see if you car get a car transfer to that area.
WP is on my list. It will be easier to get there once I move to Ohio later this year.

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

explorerx4 said:

The B58 was retired due to it's huge accident rate. The design was really pushing the technology envelope of the time.

My all time favorite Mach 3+ bomber that might have been.

@oldfarmer50 Then you will love this.
There were also rumors-now largely discredited-about the secret Blackstar program a reusable two-stage-to-orbit manned spacecraft with a tenuous connection to the B-70...

fintail

Environmentalist/greenie types are much more of a force behind trying (and never succeeding) to restrict the Autobahn than safety dorks. And in Germany, the land of the greenie, if they can't do it, nobody will.

If anything does it in, it will be traffic density or some cataclysmic fuel shortage, not safety whiners (at current traffic volumes) nor greenies.

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

qbrozen said:

So, why the attention? Was it part of the autobahn that has a speed limit?

My understanding that there is a growing concern in Germany that there are more and more people driving at such an excessive speed on the Autobahn and that such an activity is extremely unsafe. There has been some recent talk of introducing a system wide speed limit there for decades now but it likely won't gain enough support to go through.

Fixed it for ya.

imidazol97

Long story alert:

My wife is all nervous about her surgery for a replacement shoulder on Monday.
The various folks involved have been difficult to communicate with in a timely manner.
The separate small orthopedic -specific hospital, where our surgeons do their Medicare
patients' surgery because MC doesn't pay at doctor-owned surgery centers like theirs
where they're all set up, has been atrocious for a place that's boringly empty
in the lab and imaging end of the building. The hospital used to be a general
hospital built to be a satellite of a hospital group in Cincy area.

This has frustrated my wife to no end. She's hyperorganized as an elementary
teacher has to be to manager a classroom of 25-30 little people. A nurse scheduled
the presurgery blood test without telling us she would also want a urine sample.
My wife can't handle doing urine samples at the offices. The nurse also didn't tell
us the covid test (?) has to be done with 5 days of the surgery date.

So we had to make a second trip on Thursday to get the covid test done. We have
a plethora of covid testing sites around here, but they're not connected to the
electronic system of the TriHealth group in Cincy, and results would have to be
faxed. The hospital mentioned here already had our family doctor send the physical and EKG
to the WRONG fax number resulting in the preadmission person on Monday not
having that required piece of preparation.

My wife also has difficult speech due to damage to the vocal chords during
the parathyroid/thyroid cancer removal. She has to work to talk as she
exhales. So she's worried about if they have to intubate her during the surgery,
they might do more damage if the anesthesiologist isn't alert to the surgical
history and patient problem. I told her she has to emphasize her problem
to the anestheiologist, just in case.

My wife chases me around the house with a broom when I tell her this is
her Valentines Day present. She acts almost like she did when I gave her
a new roof for our anniversay.

imidazol97

Link to Air Force Magazine 8 page article about the Air Force
Museum and things in it.

If they have the new building for the Presidential planes finished
I'd start with that. If it's still on base and you have to request a
bus time or car pass to go onto the base to visit, it's worth it.
Those were set up at the front desk in the entry hall, long, long
ago.


https://www.airforcemag.com/PDF/MagazineArchive/Documents/2003/September 2003/0903museum.pdf

driver100

ab348 said:

I'm having a difficult time figuring out what the excuse is at the moment for oil and gasoline prices rising to such levels.

I think it is excuse number 47. They have a list, they just tell us the number of the excuse now.

driver100

@imidazol97
I am hoping for the best for your wife imid....she has been through so much.
A new roof for an anniversary gift! That is worse than an electrical appliance.

driver100

I watched a good Judge Judy the other day;
Plaintif (P) wants $3500. His car was parked on a college parking lot, he claims the defendant backed into his car, dented the rear end of his car, and drove off.
Defendant (D) says it wasn't him.
P has proof that a security guard saw the car hit the other car and drive off. The security guard called the police and took down a description of the car and the license number.
Judge Judy asks the defendant if the license plate in the police report was his.
He said it used to be, but he has a new license now. His old license was stolen.
Judge Judy asks him what kind of car he drives?
D says he has a gold colored Hyundai Accent.
Judge Judy reads in the police report that the car that hit the trunk of the other car was a gold Hyundai Accent.
Judge Judy asks the defendant, what are the chances someone would steal your license plate, and put it on his car which just happens to be exactly the same one he just stole the plates from?
Defendant found guilty and had to pay $3500.
I love it when she exposes the liars!

kyfdx

@imidazol97
Good luck with those presents!

carnaught

@imidazol97, sorry to hear that your wife is going through a “keystone kops “ situation with the surgical facility. Once these hiccups are taken care of, I’m sure the surgery will go well. We’re pulling for her as well as you as her advocate. She’s having the “reverse shoulder” arthroplasty, I think you had said? Ortho specific surgical facilities do have their act together with the surgical part of things.

imidazol97

@carnaught

It is the reverse shoulder replacement. Hopefully
she'll not be in such discomfort as after the two
knee replacements with having to stretch the muscles
to prevent them from tightening.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

I watched a good Judge Judy the other day;
Plaintif (P) wants $3500. His car was parked on a college parking lot, he claims the defendant backed into his car, dented the rear end of his car, and drove off.
Defendant (D) says it wasn't him.
P has proof that a security guard saw the car hit the other car and drive off. The security guard called the police and took down a description of the car and the license number.
Judge Judy asks the defendant if the license plate in the police report was his.
He said it used to be, but he has a new license now. His old license was stolen.
Judge Judy asks him what kind of car he drives?
D says he has a gold colored Hyundai Accent.
Judge Judy reads in the police report that the car that hit the trunk of the other car was a gold Hyundai Accent.
Judge Judy asks the defendant, what are the chances someone would steal your license plate, and put it on his car which just happens to be exactly the same one he just stole the plates from?
Defendant found guilty and had to pay $3500.
I love it when she exposes the liars!

Often when someone steals a license plate to hide their identity if they are doing something wrong (like robbing a bank) they will steal it from a car that is the same model and color. That way if a police officer is behind them and runs the plate it will come back matching the car it's on.

ab348

@imidazol97 Best wishes to Mrs. imid. That hospital sounds much like the local health care system. It amazes me that they still rely on fax technology for so much. Same thing here.

Your story of the roof reminded me of a long lost memory from when I was a kid. One day my mother pulled the vacuum cleaner out of the closet and started yelling. I went to see what the problem was and she pointed to a note that had been taped to it. The exact words are lost to time but it was very similar to this:

"Dear Kay, I miss you very much. I'm lonely because you never bring me out of the closet anymore.
(signed) Mr. Vacuum"

My dad paid for that for a very long time.

explorerx4

What Snakeweasel said.

graphicguy

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

I'm having a difficult time figuring out what the excuse is at the moment for oil and gasoline prices rising to such levels.

I think it is excuse number 47. They have a list, they just tell us the number of the excuse now.

Refineries keep recycling that same list for the past 50 years.

There is no good reason for gas prices to rise. If anything, with the dismal outlook for demand in light of the accelerating EV industry, it should be going down.

snakeweasel

graphicguy said:

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

I'm having a difficult time figuring out what the excuse is at the moment for oil and gasoline prices rising to such levels.

I think it is excuse number 47. They have a list, they just tell us the number of the excuse now.

Refineries keep recycling that same list for the past 50 years.

There is no good reason for gas prices to rise. If anything, with the dismal outlook for demand in light of the accelerating EV industry, it should be going down.

Remember that there are other uses for oil than making gogo juice for our cars. The demand for oil may increase even if the demand for gas decreases. Also what has been happening with supply?

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

Long story alert:

My wife is all nervous about her surgery for a replacement shoulder on Monday.
The various folks involved have been difficult to communicate with in a timely manner.
The separate small orthopedic -specific hospital, where our surgeons do their Medicare
patients' surgery because MC doesn't pay at doctor-owned surgery centers like theirs
where they're all set up, has been atrocious for a place that's boringly empty
in the lab and imaging end of the building. The hospital used to be a general
hospital built to be a satellite of a hospital group in Cincy area.

This has frustrated my wife to no end. She's hyperorganized as an elementary
teacher has to be to manager a classroom of 25-30 little people. A nurse scheduled
the presurgery blood test without telling us she would also want a urine sample.
My wife can't handle doing urine samples at the offices. The nurse also didn't tell
us the covid test (?) has to be done with 5 days of the surgery date.

So we had to make a second trip on Thursday to get the covid test done. We have
a plethora of covid testing sites around here, but they're not connected to the
electronic system of the TriHealth group in Cincy, and results would have to be
faxed. The hospital mentioned here already had our family doctor send the physical and EKG
to the WRONG fax number resulting in the preadmission person on Monday not
having that required piece of preparation.

My wife also has difficult speech due to damage to the vocal chords during
the parathyroid/thyroid cancer removal. She has to work to talk as she
exhales. So she's worried about if they have to intubate her during the surgery,
they might do more damage if the anesthesiologist isn't alert to the surgical
history and patient problem. I told her she has to emphasize her problem
to the anestheiologist, just in case.

My wife chases me around the house with a broom when I tell her this is
her Valentines Day present. She acts almost like she did when I gave her
a new roof for our anniversay.

Sorry for your trouble. Where was the wrong fax number located? Did they have her private medical info sent to a hardware store or what? That seems pretty sloppy.

kyfdx

I can't believe that the medical industry still operates by fax. But, it's true.

stickguy

kyfdx said:

I can't believe that the medical industry still operates by fax. But, it's true.

They aren’t supposed to but many providers seem to still. Much more is all electronically shared now though.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

I'm having a difficult time figuring out what the excuse is at the moment for oil and gasoline prices rising to such levels.

I think it is excuse number 47. They have a list, they just tell us the number of the excuse now.

Refineries keep recycling that same list for the past 50 years.

There is no good reason for gas prices to rise. If anything, with the dismal outlook for demand in light of the accelerating EV industry, it should be going down.

International jitters have been doing that for decades. 1991, 2001, 2003, 2008 etc. not shortages but fear of shortages.

stickguy

graphicguy said:

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

I'm having a difficult time figuring out what the excuse is at the moment for oil and gasoline prices rising to such levels.

I think it is excuse number 47. They have a list, they just tell us the number of the excuse now.

Refineries keep recycling that same list for the past 50 years.

There is no good reason for gas prices to rise. If anything, with the dismal outlook for demand in light of the accelerating EV industry, it should be going down.

There are other factors. All that infrastructure is still there, and expensive. Selling less could easily mean charging more for what’s left. And of course the supply decreases, which usually means it’s pricier.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

I watched a good Judge Judy the other day;
Plaintif (P) wants $3500. His car was parked on a college parking lot, he claims the defendant backed into his car, dented the rear end of his car, and drove off.
Defendant (D) says it wasn't him.
P has proof that a security guard saw the car hit the other car and drive off. The security guard called the police and took down a description of the car and the license number.
Judge Judy asks the defendant if the license plate in the police report was his.
He said it used to be, but he has a new license now. His old license was stolen.
Judge Judy asks him what kind of car he drives?
D says he has a gold colored Hyundai Accent.
Judge Judy reads in the police report that the car that hit the trunk of the other car was a gold Hyundai Accent.
Judge Judy asks the defendant, what are the chances someone would steal your license plate, and put it on his car which just happens to be exactly the same one he just stole the plates from?
Defendant found guilty and had to pay $3500.
I love it when she exposes the liars!

Often when someone steals a license plate to hide their identity if they are doing something wrong (like robbing a bank) they will steal it from a car that is the same model and color. That way if a police officer is behind them and runs the plate it will come back matching the car it's on.

Good point. You're not suggesting that was what happened....the guy got caught lying and sheepishly knew he was caught.

driver100

explorerx4 said:

What Snakeweasel said.

Besides, who would steal the plates and use a Hyundai Accent to rob a bank.....Judge Judy knows that would be B$.

imidazol97

Judge Judy would call that a Honda Accent. She in the old
shows when I used to watch seemed to confuse "Hyundai"
and "Honda."

ab348

snakeweasel said:

Often when someone steals a license plate to hide their identity if they are doing something wrong (like robbing a bank) they will steal it from a car that is the same model and color. That way if a police officer is behind them and runs the plate it will come back matching the car it's on.

True but highly unlikely in this case.

"I know! I'll go look for a Hyundai Accent exactly like mine and steal its plates. Then I'll put them on my car so I can rear-end this total stranger in a parking lot and nobody will know it was me. It's the perfect crime!"

I suppose other scenarios with more credibility are possible but on the surface it seems unlikely.

[Deleted User]

My favorite JJ episode was where a young lady's purse was stolen supposedly by two young men. She was explaining what all was in the purse when one of the defendants gives himself up:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=HdJWAEjdV74