Good morning!!!!

[ronjhall]

I just read that GM said they don't break even on the new mid engine Corvette until the sticker hits 80K, the 60k ones are pure loss leaders and they lose money on every one. But clearly this is what they call a halo car, and what a winner they have. I wish they would review one without the Z51 handling package, see what the ride was like. Most of us would never approach the limits of handling/adhesion
with the most base model. I don't want a car set up for the track... Half these cars are driven by old guys anyway who aren't going to be starring in any drift movies any time soon. Only option I'd get is the selectable performance exhaust. A 495hp naturally aspirated small block must sound just marvelous with open pipes.

My son who lives in Mooresville , NC. Took a picture of 2 mid engine Vettes setting at a traffic light back in September. The pictures were a hit at the 3 car clubs that he belongs to. I think nothing of it. I get to see at least one every time I do a drive into town. The main road into town is called General Motors Rd. Going east takes you into town. West takes you to entrance of GM proving grounds. Wish someone would give me enough money to get one of them $60k Vettes.

 

[Thomas]

19F clear sky low 30's for high.

Outside chores done time for E muffin. :licking:
Lots of deer tracks front lawn side field :shocked: seems the Does are starting to group up.
Plans for today...Pick up box critter food,do little cooking,take walk about in the woods.

Enjoy the day all.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good morning. No clouds to hold the sun back but it still seems a little reluctant to poke above the horizon. Fields are white over with frost and thermometer shows -2C/28F. My most sophisticated temperature monitoring device reveals that most of the night has been warmer and there is no serious freeze up threat.

View attachment 631185

I put the dedicated "weather bucket" into it's own frame earlier this year, to try and prevent my wife from steeling it for cleaning soil off vegetable roots. I'm sure other precision meteorological instruments don't suffer such indignities :laughing:

We don't tend to get the severe winters that many of you living on larger land masses experience, but it's still really useful to know how penetrating the frosts are, so I know such things as when I to drain off water tanks and troughs that otherwise risk damage from expansion after prolonged heavy frosts. Perhaps some weather stations give that at the press of a button, mathematically integrating a series of temperature samples, for me a humble bucket suffices.

LS, pleased to hear your new computer is bringing pleasure to half the household. In this age I suppose we all have to add "not using too much bandwidth" to that long list needed for a happy marriage.

very precise. Thanks for the chuckle.

Don, what an incredible price for a replacement bumper ! You are lucky it was an insured driver who seems only too willing to put it right.

Every time I see the extra charged for fancy paint on a new vehicle, or exorbitant repair costs, I can't help but be amazed at how easily most of us are being manipulated into "wanting" this, when in reality it is all done primarily to fulfil the manufacturers greed. I am as guilty as most in this respect, my last car cost several hundred pounds more because I choose metallic paint over the one plain color on offer, when it would have been better to give that extra money to, say, help people with Parkinson's disease.

A car's main purpose is simply to get us around safely and reliably. As long as it doesn't rust, why do we really care about every vehicle having immaculate paintwork ? Would the world be a better place if only cars more than 25 years old had pristine paintwork ?

If every car had blemishes, we would soon get used to it and accept it as the norm, in the same way we do with just about every other object in the natural world.

What do you reckon ?

Like you, I can live with some dings and scratches on older vehicles (daily drivers). But a new vehicle, I would get repaired. Mea culpa, I've been eyeballing some of the new makes with those deep wine colored finishes. Mazda has a nice color. But I'm not convinced how long these finishes will last compared to plain colors.

 

[txdon]

Good morning! 39˚F heading to the high 60s, clear skies - nice!
Trail blazers will be re-mulching older trails this morning, fun fun.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

33° and a trace of snow. Hurrah, our first snowfall.

I never paid for the fancy paint job, nor the fancy car. I get the mid level model with the package level that covers the few options I want. I don’t pay for all the fancy electronics. Would get a standard if they still offered one. My forester got some minor hail damage the first month. I didn’t even contact insurance.

Buppies, late night working and early morning?
Hope you are doing ok.

My wife said her parents are putting their house on the market in the spring. He has 5 acres in country and built a nice big shop 15 or 20 yrs ago. They have a townhouse in town, they had been renting out. They will live there if house sells. He just turned 80, and had heart valve surgery a few months ago.

I have Dr visit today, so maybe mission bbq today.

Haven’t read all of GM yet.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My son who lives in Mooresville , NC.

Nascar country.

My SIL used to live on SW side of lake Norman for many yrs. her ex still lives there. I have been in that area many times.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Don, what an incredible price for a replacement bumper ! You are lucky it was an insured driver who seems only too willing to put it right.

Every time I see the extra charged for fancy paint on a new vehicle, or exorbitant repair costs, I can't help but be amazed at how easily most of us are being manipulated into "wanting" this, when in reality it is all done primarily to fulfil the manufacturers greed. I am as guilty as most in this respect, my last car cost several hundred pounds more because I choose metallic paint over the one plain color on offer, when it would have been better to give that extra money to, say, help people with Parkinson's disease.

A car's main purpose is simply to get us around safely and reliably. As long as it doesn't rust, why do we really care about every vehicle having immaculate paintwork ? Would the world be a better place if only cars more than 25 years old had pristine paintwork ?

If every car had blemishes, we would soon get used to it and accept it as the norm, in the same way we do with just about every other object in the natural world.

What do you reckon ?

I reckon you haven't spent much time in an automotive paint store, Eric. Due I think to environmental regulations, costs of paint and the supporting reducers and catalysts have skyrocketed in the last ten years, and those costs are passed on to the consumer. And finishes, pearl for example, that used to be the exclusive domain of insane hotrodders that would put real pearls in blenders to pulverize, have become commonplace on factory build sheets. Another driver is that people want fancy paint enough to be willing to pay for it. Thanks to capitalism and free enterprise, people get what they're willing to pay for.

And for those of us that don't care for fancy paint on their pickup trucks, there's always white...:laughing:

 

[txdon]

RNG, interesting, I took “incredible” as an incredible low price. All bumpers must be painted also and the price includes that. They will also check the 4 little radars in the rear bumper that detects cross traffic and objects. No warnings went off when we got rear ended. I guess the car has to be in reverse to activate the rear bumper sensors. The headrests did their job and I was far enough from the car in front of me with foot on brake not to damage it.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I got rear ended about 3 yrs ago while stopped at a red light. Pushed us half a car length forward. We were first at the light. They hit right on the tow hitch cover. Just a little crease in it.
We were taking oldest son to airport after thanksgiving. After calling it in, we found we knew the kid that hit us. We exchanged info and I left after calling police back as they never showed, and my son had a plane to catch.

All damage was to his front end, although I wonder if it could effect my transmission.

 

[lostcreekranch]

38 going up to 56 today, sunny day.
Off this morning to get oil changed in rv, then probably work on leaves again.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT AND MAKE SURE THE ROLL OVER PROTECTION BAR IS FIXED IN THE UPRIGHT POSITION.

My BIL is close to my age, has owned an excavation company all this life and last week this advice would have helped.
His bulldozer rolled over and without seatbelts, he is now going in for a shoulder operation to repair the damage from smashing up against something while rolling over, thankfully slowly. Truly lucky he wasn't squashed. Familiarity breeds contempt. My guess is this was a real eye opener for him, plus his only two sons work for him, both out of tech school, and unsafe operation is not what you teach your kids. He never mentioned it to me, I think embarrassed, I heard it from other family members.
first he rolls his bulldozer and then he gets hurt unnecessarily.
if he had worked for a large company, they probably have mandatory seat belt wear, but when you're the boss, it's like riding a motorcycle without a helmet.
Good luck...

still annoyed at myself for putting a dent in my truck. Will go to body shop and get the bad news on that tomorrow.

Don, thanks. I think that is the only model with a beige interior. I also think it's the best looking truck, then I go to build one with a small diesel and it comes up, like its competition, at close to 50 grand. That's what I paid for a loaded full size.

I just read that GM said they don't break even on the new mid engine Corvette until the sticker hits 80K, the 60k ones are pure loss leaders and they lose money on every one. But clearly this is what they call a halo car, and what a winner they have. I wish they would review one without the Z51 handling package, see what the ride was like. Most of us would never approach the limits of handling/adhesion
with the most base model. I don't want a car set up for the track... Half these cars are driven by old guys anyway who aren't going to be starring in any drift movies any time soon. Only option I'd get is the selectable performance exhaust. A 495hp naturally aspirated small block must sound just marvelous with open pipes.

hope you all have a nice day. Roy safe drive home

How about 1200 HP C8 Drew?

C8 Corvette | Hennessey Performance