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Sedans Luxury Lounge
21405 messages, Last post on Nov 27, 2009 at 12:27 PM
You are in the Sedans Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: tagman (Oct 07, 2009 3:05 pm) My experiences with a Lotus at a California track event at Buttonwillow are very different then my experiences with a Lotus on I696 in Michigan. That said, the spinal compressions only mildly dampened my enthusiasm for the vehicle. It is part go-cart, part 1st generation MR2, and part modern mechanicals.
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Replying to: jimbres (Oct 07, 2009 3:05 pm) Actually I think the couldn't even get those folks to do it. BMW acquired Land Rover to develop and produce the X5, then turned them lose (and onto Ford, and ultimately, Tata). |
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (Oct 07, 2009 7:04 pm) Indeed, there are brutal moments... but as you said, they only midly dampen the enthusiasm. The suspension settings are adjustable... set them firm for the track and softer for the interstate. Unfortunately, most owners just leave them firm and take the punishment rather than crawl under the car and make the 20-second adjustment at each corner. BTW, the Willow Ranch Barbeque restaurant, which is a couple of blocks off the Buttonwillow exit at Highway 5, offers some of the best barbeque and home cooking. Next time you are in that area, check it out. You'll thank me.  now... back to the Dodgers game.  TM |
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Replying to: pp2009pp (Oct 07, 2009 2:00 pm) Actually all of the cars you are describing above are basically the same. SUVs really only come in two categories: crossovers - unibody based, typically but not always derived from sedan platforms, generally unsuited to real off-roading though there are exceptions such as the Toureg and its ilk, and traditional ladder-frame based SUVs that are usually derived from pickup platforms. The X3, Q5, GLK, RDX, EX35, and XC60 all fall into the compact luxury crossover category. The RX350 is also sometimes included in this group, though really it's more of a midsize crossover since it's the same size as the ML and X5. The X3 and RDX are the oldest and worst of this group. The Q5 is IMO the best. The EX is good effort but badly executed. As has already been said, "SAV" is just a marketing term invented by BMW because they didn't want their badge associated with things like Chevy Tahoes. As for the X6, I believe it exists because BMW is stupidly going down the same path that Mercedes did a few years back on a reckless "a BMW for every driveway" model expansion that is creating mutants like the 5 series GT.
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Replying to: tpfitz07 (Jun 15, 2007 6:00 pm) |
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has anyone had a problem with the hydraulic suspension sort -of "locking up' in the really really STIFF position? i have tried different settings, checking the vacuum system next. ANy help or comments appreciated. the car is grey market, 1984, 500 SEL. also recently have had problems starting, on the second time in a day. first time it starts right up, then on the second try i have to pump like crazy. Thanks! |
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Replying to: cyclone4 (Oct 01, 2009 4:05 pm) Charlie, I was never big on a correction down to 9100 or 9200. I always thought small adjustment and then back up we go. My belief was tried to stronger than expected earnings (thanks to all those job cuts unfortunately, plus high incremental margins) and some optimism on future revenue growth. So far the little bit of earnings news we saw is bearing that out. Unless we see some real negative news here or a geo-political issue, I'm going to say that we may have seen the fall back bottom out already. If earnings are more robust we may end up nearer 1200 on the S&P and 10,750+ on the Dow by year end or early Q1 2010. That's my thinking now. Oil - jobless recovery, and it'll stay that way for awhile, so we are still on the decline in demand but the weak dollar and a lot of excess speculation based on demand rising with the Dow, S&P etc is supporting it so far. Whether that cotinues or not is dependent on whether or not investors keep buying in the face of such horrible demand. Any of those factors stop and oil has a long way to fall. Inflation - D'ont see it, never did. Until jobs recover significantly I can't see anything inflationary, which is also why I think oil and commodities have caps and trading ranges tied to the dollar and a lot of hope, and have nothing on fundamentals.
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Replying to: ljflx (Oct 08, 2009 6:50 am) I changed my perspective about a correction and got back in stocks recently, after the recent dip. I think it was enough. I should have posted about it, but now that I've read your post, it gives me reason to talk about the market. I think that the trick moving forward is to be very selective with the stocks. I did manage to get in on Alcoa before their announcement, and picked up a quick and nice boost on that one. Even Apple has brought me some good reward already, and I bought some with the concern that it was already too high, but then I factored in that the entire Chinese market just opened up to the iPhone, and there is a new very cool tablet-type of product coming out early next year, so that makes Apple have even more potential upside, IMO. Then there's Google, which is in the stratosphere now, but Android is going to come on strong, so that makes Google still have even more upside, IMO, and sure enough it is already rewarding. Bank of America is another I own, and Brocade is another, and the interesting thing about Brocade is that it has suddenly run up in value and is on the block for sale, and HP and Oracle are interested. It is a risky stock, but I am well ahead on it, and if it falters I'll still be ahead, but the upside is more likely, IMO. I told everyone here about GE long ago, and I hope that some of you listened, because GE has been doing well, and I believe if anyone is willing to hold GE for the long term, it will continue to do very well. It has lots of upside. I also bought Ford again, because I really believe in the company's future. Intel is another one I like, although I don't expect rapid growth, but I do expect growth over time... new chips are just out, and more are on the way. Also, I expect significant gains from Activision/Blizzard, the gaming software giant. This industry is still growing quickly, and this company is one to put some money into. There are others I own, and I am currently researching an auto-related stock that I find very interesting, and I will share it with everyone next week, after I've done the rest of my homework... but now I'd like to hear some of your recommended picks Len. Lets get specific here, as I have done, and tell us where you are actually putting your own money. Charlie, don't wait too much longer. TM |
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Replying to: jimbres (Oct 07, 2009 3:05 pm) In that case the BMW wagons should also be pure ****. Even, as this speculation goes, the worst engineers are given the task of designing the X's and the wagons, that doesn't explain how these things get past upper management and QA. The X's and the wagons still wander the earth with a BMW logo and have to be maintained under BMW warranties. What does that say about anything in BMW's future? It's all just a c*** shoot. This is my point about the European car industry. If you can't trust it once, why should you ever trust it again? Going with the marriage analogy, if you married one psychotic gal (or guy) are you really going to try again with the sister (or brother) when there are perfectly nice families with nice offspring down the road?
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Replying to: lexusguy (Oct 07, 2009 8:23 pm) The XC60 is a nice looking station wagon although the XC70 is the one that goes off roading. There really aren't many choices in this category. The X3 has the square back and decent interior space that I needed. In this category there are very few choices. Although the Lexus is somewhat larger, it isn't much more expensive than the X3 once you add in the options. IIRC it is Lexus' best selling model.
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