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Sedans Maserati Quattroporte Luxury Lounge
21518 messages, Last post on Dec 05, 2009 at 10:07 AM
You are in the Maserati Quattroporte Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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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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Replying to: ljflx (Jul 01, 2009 10:57 am) That applies especially in my case. In many profession the car you drive is an essential indicator of success. Right now in my case a car has no relevance with my success since I live and die by my investment returns. At this stage of my life all my new clients are referrals. At an earlier part of my life driving a BMW or any luxury marque was important to me. Not now. So what about driving dynamics? The pure joy and thrill of driving a performance car? In all honesty I forgot what those joys are with the trials and tribulations of the piece of Bavarian crap that I intend to dispose of ASAP!!!
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Replying to: cyclone4 (Jul 02, 2009 3:47 pm) I am sure it is quite an impressive piece of engineering. I wanted one too but unfortuately in Canade the price of a new hybrid RX makes no sense when compared to USA pricing and pricing compare to a non-hybrid RX ($46K non-hybird RX versus $59K hybrid RX). |
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Replying to: dewey (Jul 03, 2009 9:41 am) I'm not sure that's true. Take a Ferrari for example. Properly maintaining a Ferrari means significant expenses every year, even if nothing goes wrong. That doesn't mean a 599GTB is a piece of junk. It comes with the territory. High-end European cars are more likely to have problems and will be more expensive to maintain as they age than Japanese cars. This isn't news. That's different though from getting stuck with a lemon. If my S6 was anything like your 3 series, I would've made Audi buy it back and I'd be driving something else. Probably an XF.
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Replying to: lexusguy (Jul 03, 2009 1:14 pm) TM
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Replying to: dewey (Jul 03, 2009 9:52 am) Ditto. CR-V for me. Regards, OW
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