The Automobile Thread

Dr. “Floss ‘em,” couldn’t figure out the turn lane.
And, everybody loves a “mtn dud,”!!!

 

I found the flip flop Easter egg yesterday. And the gorilla on the gorilla glass windshield.

 

@herzalot thought you might like these pics!

 

Awesome ski car!

 

The transmission of my truck is laying in the driveway. Pulling it wasn't fun, but it came out alright. The engine is still in. Apparently the trans isn't supposed to be able to come out without pulling the engine. Learned on my own that it definitely won't go in the way it came out.

I'm confident I can get it back in without pulling the engine, but to do it I have to pull out some of the parts I already put back. My hope is that one or more engineers on the first-gen Tacoma design team have committed seppuku or been beheaded by now for such dishonorable transgressions.

 

Oh man I feel for you. I’ve had several instances over the years where it was just easier to pull the motor & tranny together. Luckily I’ve always had some beer drinking Redneck friends to assist and every once in a while they come up with a genius idea. These days I don’t wrench in anything though.

 

Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Best of luck.

 

Oops. New car day?

 

I drove my friend's Acura RDX from the airport in SLO Town to where it will be kept until he returns. Nice ride! Definitely some steps up from my CRV.

 

Ha, most people wouldn't entertain that thought

 

Ha, I actually worked with a young woman who bought a new car rather than go thru the hassle of getting new tires.
She had an Audi S4 or something with like 30k on it.
This was sooo crazy to me because I buy a vehicle and drive it into the ground.
She came from money as her job was not one to afford an Audi, not her purses or jewelry.

 

Rim looks good, so you got that going for you!

 

Score at the pick a part yesterday: Fancy lux wooden shift knob (rare!), working cup holder (rare!), rear privacy shades (crazy-rare!), and a spare tire kit (rare!). I'll probably re-sell the spare kit as all my cars have one, but the other stuff is pretty cool. Trying to figure out how to pull some sport seats and re-sell them, but it's too damn hot to go out there now!

 

Yeah, rim seems good and alignment seems fine. Tires didn’t have a ton of life left anyway, so it’s not a tragedy.

 

My cup holder like in your pic broke a couple years ago. Bought a new one ( tried and failed to repair the broken one) and the spatula like tool to remove the panel. Maybe $50 and 20 min. Super easy. Just waiting for it to happen again. LOL.
I've thought about adding a spare to get away from the run flats, but with 255/30-19s on the rear not sure the rim would survive without them when flat. But no where in the truck made for it anyway.

 

I was barely able to get the old cup holder working by bending the spring to clip in, but I know it'll die again any day. Basically the plastic where the tab fixes to is broken. This was a nice $4 find that will get used sooner rather than later!

I HATE runflats, so have non RF on all the cars and built up spare kits for them. Unfortunately nowhere to put the spare, but I channeled my dust bowl forefathers and found a way:

 

I'm not a runflat fan either. The tire choice is less than optimal.

Had a 2005 Lexus is300. It came with a full size spare with matching rim, no temp crap there. Best spare I've ever had, I put it on and good and good to go no fuss no muss. That car was awesome, sometimes wish I'd just kept it forever.

 

Necessity is the father of invention. Unless that's sexist; then it would be some other progenitor of invention.

 

As a random bit of info, IIRC, BMW was getting low Edmunds ratings because they didn't have cup holders. The pop out holders was their less than optimal solution.
On the plus side, the interior is really clean looking, and the car is practically made for track anyway....

I often think about selling my Beemer as it doesn't get driven a lot. But then I look at and drive it.....damn it's fun... So my garage queen stays for now.

 

Nice whip! I was tempted by a really clean E92 a month or so ago, but resisted its charms!

Yeah, you can tell they were afterthoughts to appease the NA market. Here's a fun deep dive:
https://www.theautopian.com/lets-ta...-complex-cup-holder-from-an-e90-bmw-3-series/

 

The tax bill that just passed the Senate today reinstates the $7500 tax credit for Chevy & Tesla in January, though you can’t claim the credit if you have a household income <$300k or if the car is too expensive. With Chevy already dropping the price of the Bolt to $25,000, you can’t afford to not get one as a second or third car. If you currently commute in a full size truck, the gas savings will cover the lease, your truck will last twice as long, and you’ll wear out $99 tires instead of $300 tires.

Note: don’t make me regret posting this by offering opinions on the relative merits of the legislation or the legislators. I’m coming here with relevant facts pertinent to automobiles.

 

I'd only state that if they want it to be effective the credit should to go the manufacturer and reduce the sticker price of the vehicle. Much more likely to achieve the intended end result. A Bolt for $17,500... they'd fly off the shelves. Er, showrooms.

A tax credit? Meh.

 

Intriguing... wife's car is very problematic at the moment.

 

The only practical difference is you’d save ~$600 in sales tax based on the lower transaction price. But the state’s $750 rebate covers that for you. If you pay less than $7500 per year you can’t get refunded but…if you lease, the manufacturer takes the full credit and calls it the down payment. The law also includes a $4000 credit for used EVs, which will prop up the residuals. So expect some ridiculous lease deals.

 

Even more intriguing!

 

it doesn’t look like this takes effect until January, but that means Bolt sales will crater between then and now…GM could decide to just stockpile units for January delivery I guess.

 

A (theoretical) down payment of $5K on a 17,500 loan vs a $25K loan...not hard to figure out which is likely to be more used. I'm not arguing with you, just stating that the tax credit to the BUYER is the least effective way to approach it. If the cost of the vehicle to the BUYER is lower, then it is much more likely the buyer will go for it. After all, the buyer has to pay the loan based on the purchase price.

All the tax implications are irrelvant to the average taxpayer. And yes, my wife and I make too much and wouldn't benefit anyway. I'd probably go with a hybrid on my next purchase, though. Assuming I don't ditch the 2nd vehicle altogether and get an e-bike for errands.

 

I thought the price drop on the Bolt was for remaining inventory, or model year, or some sort of catch so they can bounce the price back up. But I could be remembering wrong.

Hypothetically I should have bought an EV, but, I am okay with my two gas (er, fuel?) guzzlers.

 

The average taxpayer doesn’t have a household income over $300k. And it turns out that the new law will allow the dealer to take the $7500 off the top at the time of sale. I suspect you’d need to file a 1040 the next April to confirm that you don’t make too much.

the easiest thing for most buyers to do is lease, and let the bank claim the deduction and deal with the IRS.