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Sedans Luxury Lounge
21430 messages, Last post on Nov 29, 2009 at 6:29 PM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: dewey (Jan 09, 2009 1:15 pm) My approach isn't all that different from yours. I've always done best with long positions on stocks I got in early on and that I thought were well positioned. You guys may think I'm a market player but I'm cautious and really small time. I'd much prefer to invest in my own business. I use whatever business savy I have in deal making (in the past for my old company, now for my business), my own business (where I'm pursuing two new strategies that have great opportunity/synergy, despite this economy, so hence low cost investments and also this is where I really make my money) and general finance for decisions to support friends and family. Tag, Don't know all that much about diesel but doesn't it by and large follow home heating oil. Home heating oil is dominated by large regional locals in a similar way to cable TV. So price collusion likely plays a big role in keeping diesel over-inflated. Diesel has dropped to 2.59 in NJ and that's about half of what it was at its peak.
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Between the GL and the LS is that the GL has the shift changer on the wheel. It's electronic so push a button and you are in park, tug up and you reverse and tug down and you go to drive. No complaints there now that I've gotten used to it. The LS is of course on the console and very easy also. So no complaints there either. The problem comes in when I drive the LS after I've driven the GL or vice versa. I go to shift on the LS and I'm reaching for my steering wheel where there is indeed the stalk I'm looking for but it's for my wipers. So here I am expecting the car to back up and I'm watching my wipers go back and forth in a stationary car. Then of course I go back to the GL and I'm reaching for the console to shift and there's nothing there. Lastly this brake dust all over the wheels is bad. Didn't you guys always talk about this in the past.
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Replying to: dewey (Jan 09, 2009 2:57 pm) I will most likely be making a choice between the Honda CR-Z Hybrid Coupe and the Toyota Prius Hybrid Coupe. Both of these cars are still expected to make it into production. The Honda CR-Z already exists in concept form (as a coupe), but the Prius has only been shown in an artist's rendition. If a convertible were to ever become a reality, I'd check it out, but it's not that important to me with this next hybrid. I just want the car to look terrific, drive nicely, and deliver stellar gas mileage. So far, there seems to be a good chance that the upcoming CR-Z and Prius Coupes might actually meet my requirements. TM |
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Replying to: ljflx (Jan 09, 2009 5:20 pm) LOL... Brake dust from Mercedes vehicles is awful... and the BMWs are even worse.  I can't go one small trip in my 135i without the front wheels looking like hell. I have intentions of changing to alternative ceramic pads when these wear out... if I still own the car. LOL. There are ceramic pads available for your GL as well. You might want to check them out. Simple solution really.  TM |
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Replying to: ljflx (Jan 09, 2009 4:32 pm) Well... I can't believe it!  So, I Googled this, among other websites that attempt to explain it. But, I'm not convinced... because if the demand is so great for diesel and so low for gasoline (relatively speaking to the productions levels), why don't the refineries make the necessary production adjustments? That would be normal business practices, so I suspect that there is an artificial shortage held in place to keep the price (and profits) high. The additional taxes imposed on diesel fuel just don't add up enough mathematically to account for the massive price differential between gas and diesel. I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that there isn't some level of market manipulation going on here. Here's the site... link title Well, it makes little difference to me anyway. I'm a hybrid guy now. TM |
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diesel vs. gasoline in any barrel of crude oil. The proportion can be jiggered up or down a few percent, but the split has to be designed into the refinery. U.S. refineries favor gasoline, and we all know how many new ones have been built over the past several decades. The major point is that you're going to get some amount of gasoline, whether you want it or not, from a barrel of oil, from which you'll also get the diesel/jet A/fuel oil that's of considerably more value worldwide. Besides which, diesel is used by the railroads, the trucking industry and construction; those demands tend to be much less price-flexible than that for gasoline. Price on diesel (or jet A) goes up, you feed it through to the customers. Price on gasoline goes up, people drive less, demand drops. Huge difference. Those two things, plus the recent (~2 yrs ago) low-sulfur requirement, have driven the cost of diesel above that of gasoline, perhaps to stay. Perhaps not. As to the earlier point regarding fuel oil prices driving diesel, I'm not so sure. Airlines, railroads & truckers can go many hundreds (or thousands) of miles to buy fuel at the most attractive prices. I still remember waiting to get to LaGrange, TX, so I could fill my 150 gal tanks with 44 cent per gallon fuel (this was in '78), as opposed to spending all of 56 cents a gallon elsewhere. Diesel is the worthwhile commodity. Gasoline is a waste product. The world market appears to agree. |
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Apparently the worst hit part of the luxury segment will be entry level luxury cars (BMW 3, Lexus ES, MB C Class). Expect far worse for the year 2009. The biggest hope for BMW during 2009 is pre-owned sales. Does anybody want to buy a pre-owned 07 BMW 335i from me? But when purchasing my BMW 335i please dont ask me for my repair records since I dont have enough binders to keep track of them. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aE7P22QvyOuI&refer=germany
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Replying to: dewey (Jan 09, 2009 6:27 pm) I believe that this has more to do with the economic and demographic changes over the past 15 years than anything else. Car enthusiasts like us will always make certain sacrifices to drive what we want if things are tight but most of the expansion of the premium market has been with people who were badge buyers in my opinion. Look around your neighboorhoods or comunities, how many soccer mom's are driving X3's or RX's because of the badge? Most of these folks are not premium car enthusiasts but they have played a big role in this market expansion. Even younger people right out of college have been able to lease a 3-series for $300/mo due to BMW's residual funding, many years ago the same type of kids coming out of colleges were happy to get a Camaro or an Accord. The sudden shrinking of this previously available market may cause the top players (MB, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Jag) to really work hard on their product and keep purchase transaction prices in line to fight for share of a smaller market. This may be a benefit to guys like us who are always going to buy cars in this class. My theory may not hold 100% but it will be interesting to watch how this economic downturn affects this market, we may really see more competition for our dollar.
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Yes that's true only the drop-top. But knowing Tagman that may matter since he prefers drop tops. Ah, how do I envy all you *&^%&$%$s who enjoy sunshine 365 days a year. 
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Replying to: ljflx (Jan 09, 2009 5:20 pm) I'll research the web site for you (from the BMW forum) with the recommended info for you. It was a while back. Regards, OW
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