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Sedans Luxury Lounge
21520 messages, Last post on Dec 08, 2009 at 10:26 AM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Will wonders never cease? Per a new auto motor und sport report, Toyota has entered into talks with Daimler – the parent company of Mercedes-Benz – about a potential partnership. The tie-up would reportedly see Toyota producing its own versions of Mercedes’ A- and B-Class vehicles on its MC platform and could even include the co-development of the automakers’ flagship models – the Lexus LS and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. ToyBenz Interesting...high quality M-B's? Regards, OW
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Replying to: circlew (Jul 01, 2009 10:09 am) With prices up almost 100% at the peak from the low... a 10%, 12%, 15%, or even a 20% decline is just a normal retreat. Nothing like the "bottom falling out" or "going off a cliff". We've already discussed this. It is going to take a major crash in prices to get my attention. I think it is entirely possible that we are already entering into a whole new world economy anyway. Unfortuntately, the old rules might not work like we think they should. BTW, I saw another white new generation Prius today, on the Pacific Coast Highway, right here in Malibu. (Saw a Rolls Royce as well... ha... there is some serious money here in this town.) Anyway, the Prius looks much better than the previous generation it replaces. (The Prius owner probably has more money than the Rolls owner... LOL.) TM
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Replying to: ljflx (Jul 01, 2009 10:57 am) Sign of the times. I think many of us have higher or different priorities now. I certainly do. Shifted priorities can take a fair share of the wind out of the sail when it comes to lusting for a machine that will cost a lot of green to acquire, operate, and maintain. Len, hope you are having a great summer! TM
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Replying to: tagman (Jul 01, 2009 8:11 pm) I did not like the previous 2 generations of the Prius but the new one is much better to look at. Needs a bit better design flow AFAIC, however. Somehow, this lends to the near future of Government Motors....  and this a stark contrast and begs of the Bernie Madoff era.   Regards, OW |
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Replying to: ljflx (Jul 01, 2009 10:57 am) I've actually found that I'm much more interested in cars now than I have been in years. As I mentioned earlier, there was a time were I just wanted a comfortable, reliable car, and I didn't really care about mid-cycle updates or the next big thing. My LS400 really wasn't that different from my last W140 Benz other than it actually worked properly. There were no advanced communication and control systems that separated the brands, and even the styling of the full size luxury cars at the time was basically the same. The Lexus had much better ergonomics than the Germans, and it was probably the first to start the audiophile sound system ball rolling with the Nakamichi setup. That was enough. Now though, were on the cusp of a major shift in how cars are designed, as big as the change from the '60s to the '70s. This time though it will be a positive change. Instead of pathetic, dying muscle cars with emissions choked 7 litre V8s producing less than 200hp, we're going to see radically lightened cars made of aluminum and composite materials, with powerful engines using all of the variable timing, direct injection, and sequential turbo charging tricks. The normally aspirated V8s, V10,s and V12s will give way to turbo and supercharged (or both as in some VWs) 4 and 6 cylinder engines, hopefully with HCCI technology sooner rather than later. Eventually the ICE will disappear completely, but before that happens, there's going to be some great cars.
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Replying to: tagman (Jul 01, 2009 8:28 pm) Awful weather here in June - worst I've ever seen but it's a lot worse in New England. Here in central NJ we've finally broken into summer with 8 straight 80+ degree days but from NYC northeast they are still having a lot of gloom and doom June like weather. Here, just 35 miles SSW of NYC we've had 8 straight days of pool weather and with a little help from the pool heater my water is holding steady around 85-86 degrees. To my weather expertise it looks like we get hot after the first week of July in this area thru lower conneticut at least. My mother broke her hip a few weeks ago but is now recovering. She should be back on her feet in early august. Business remains strong with a lot of opportunity. You and I are on different pages on oil. Proper fundamental price is 20+ bucks cheaper than it is and I still see it falling back to the 40's. Pure speculation and fear of unwarranted inflation has driven prices but w/o fundamental support that can't hold. How do you make a currency out of a commodity that is not in high demand and there's tons of production capacity on the side. Hedge funds and Goldman Sachs have tried, using everything from 20:1 leverage to nicaragua to again using China stockpiling as false demand but I don't see it happening. We are at an 18 year high in oil inventories, a 22 year high in distillates and gas inventory is now growing robustly. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. Of bigger concern to me is that fears of inflation that don't exist, along with hedge fund investing (and their pied piper followers) will crimp/slow a more robust recovery by keeping commodities out of sync witth fundamentals until such bubbles burst rapidly. All Obama has to do is take these huge leverage ratios out of commodity investing and we'll get more in-sync markets. It makes no sense to have leverage ratios as high as 20:1 in small markets when you have 2:1 ratios in large markets like stocks. The higher the leverage ratio the greater the manipulation. Plus the biggest fear is fear itself. Hope all is well for you. Where's Charlie? |
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What a coincidence! Len asks where I am on the last post as I try to catch up reading the various posts lately. Before I go any further, I am also happy to see that Dewey is alive and well with a spanking new Prius. I'm sure you won't regret it, Dewey. We just got back to Seattle from a few days at Lake Quinault on the southern edge of the Olympic National Forest in the Olympic Peninsula. I had no Internet access there and it was great being in the wilderness for a bit. We have had a family reunion here in Seattle area the past 7 days. My son and his wife live here and our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter met us here from Detroit. It has been wonderful. We are heading back home to IA on Sunday and guess what is waiting for us in our garage. Yes, you guessed it. It is the 2010 RX450h. It arrived at the Dealer in Des Moines two days prior to our flight to Seattle. The dealer got it prepped in record time and we brought it home on Thursday evening (we left for Seattle very early Friday morning, June 26). I drove it and played around with it for a bit, but there was so many new bells and whistles on it that I just began to scratch the surface. The salesman will spend a couple hours with us this Monday and show us everything about the car. I loved what I have seen in the very brief time that I had to play around with it. It is quieter, more comfortable, more powerful, and just plain more luxurious than its predecessor (RX400h). Best of all, it is much more fuel efficient. I got a bit more than 30mpg test driving it about 35 miles around town and some Interstate. But, for about a half hour, prior to the test it was idling in the driveway for a half hour while I was trying to activate XM radio on it. I am quite confident that this new generation RX will get mileage up into the high 30s if one is careful and drives it in the Eco Mode. The new navigation system is awesome on this car. We ordered the car with all the options except for the rear seat entertainment system. Among other options, it has the radar cruise, side view monitor, auto high beam, heads up display (great feature), window breakage warning system, remote starter, etc., etc., etc. I will try and post some photos of it after we get back home. This car will be a lot of fun taking it on long trips. BTW, ours was the very first one to arrive in IA. The dealer did not even have a demo prior to our trip to Seattle and they still may not have one now. I know that some of you do not think very highly of the new RX, but as Len says, it makes no difference to me. This is what my wife and I wanted. Len, I am thinking that this is the start of a big down move in the crude oil market. |
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Replying to: tagman (Jun 29, 2009 7:49 pm) I guess that's what you can call my current car choice which by the way I dont have yet but I will have soon all because of cognitive reasons. The reason is taxes. It's a bit technical but I am deprieved of gaining a hybrid tax incentive because the net trade in value between my BMW335i and the new Prius is very low. Anyways I had proposed to a Toyota dealership that they re-arrange their paperwork in order for me to gain the benefit of hybrid tax incentives .They agreed so now I am soon going there to buy/order my Prius. So my enthusiasm is strictly based on taxes .I guess if there was such a thing as Mr. Spock he would approve
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Replying to: lexusguy (Jul 01, 2009 12:31 am) But I beg to differ with those who buy German cars under a lease program because they are afraid of after-warranty expenses. In my view if a car does not have the durability or quality to last beyond a few years without major headaches then that car is a piece of junk. After the horrific resale value hit I will take with my BMW I have decided to buy a car that will not terrify any future buyers without warrranties . Longetivity and value is my priority for cars. Who knows maybe there will be a Lexus in my future? |
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (Jun 30, 2009 4:13 pm) Trust me being a non-enthusiast has not been easy for me. My enthusiasm was killed (RIP) by 2 years and 8 months of " living hell on 4 run flat tires.
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