To be clear- I’m not a Prius hater.
I tried to make a funny. That’s it.
Sure, if I had to get one, I would. I’d peel off the Factory Issued pro-Democrat sticker as soon as I got it (hahahaha,) but I have only ever owned trucks. I love the versatility of trucks, and am constantly working on something that I need the cargo space of a truck for. A Prius wouldn’t suit my current needs, but I don’t hate on those that have one.
“More than once I hauled 10 foot lengths of copper pipe or aluminum trim pieces on the outside of the car with a little duct tape. Worked fine for the 40 or so miles and meant I didn’t have to take the trailer. Only problem though is that duct tape residue is hard to get off.”
Yeah, it’s hard to solder the pipes with the tape residue on them. 
You’d probably never catch me in a Tesla either, unless you’re chasing me with a Bugatti Veyron.
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Bugatti has a faster one now, called the Chiron. 1500HP.
Personally, I’d love a Tesla. But that’s a personal preference thing.
[quote=“eddo, post:121, topic:93234”]
Sure, if I had to get one, I would. I’d peel off the Factory Issued pro-Democrat sticker as soon as I got it (hahahaha,) [/quote]
I hear that when you order one of the large SUV’s the salesman asks you how many children you have and their ages and sexes along with the number and type of pets so the factory can install the appropriate stick people family decals on the rear window.
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I know its a stereotype but I used to run across a guy once in a while on the interstate coming home. Green Prius, both hands on the wheel, looking straight ahead, but nose slightly elevated, and a straw hat on. He was usually driving slower than everyone else but the thing is, when I would try and pass, he would speed up. It was like look at me, how great and green I am and don’t you dare go around me. His turnoff was to a town that’s about 80% on the left. Just an observation is all.
That’s why you need a Tesla. Put it in “ludicrous mode” and blast by him before he even has a chance to react all while looking down your nose at him for not driving a pure electric car.
That’s the one thing I loved about that ZRX1200 motorcycle I used to own, downshift to second, roll open the throttle, and no car on the road could accelerate fast enough to prevent you from passing it, certainly not a Prius anyway.
I’ll pass on the Tesla. My Riviera would be able to pass him no matter what he did. The thing is I keep a steady speed on the interstate with cruise on so when you get in the left lane to pass a slower car and he accelerates, its either race him or go back to the right lane. I like to be out in the open so I will speed up to get around cars and trucks that are all bunched up but otherwise just use cruise at a steady speed.
I’d just like one because I think the way Musk implemented the technology, changing everyone’s perception about what an EV should be, and the work that went into creating a successful family EV with over 200 miles in range (which everyone takes for granted now) is really cool.
Like 'em or hate 'em, you have to admit that Tesla has changed the ground rules for EVs.
I’ll give you that he has changed the EV landscape but he’s also changed the corporate finance landscape. Sales dependent on government assistance and no longer necessary to turn a profit. Just borrow more money. Where did he learn that? The Feds or Madoff. I understand it can take a long time to become profitable but normally the idea is to FOCUS on a single business rather than bouncing all over from one to the next. I still say the designs have now become stale though regardless of the mechanisms. But truth be told I just don’t like the guy and still have reservations about the current grid handling any massive build-up.
Bing, Chrysler changed the corporate finance landscape toward government backing in 1979. And then there’s GM…
Tesla may also change the system by which cars are sold, much to the chagrin of those profiting heavily from the franchise system. Automobile Dealers’ Associations throughout the states are lobbying state legislators to enact protective legislation to bar selling cars directly, with only limited success. How this will all work out on the end is anybody’s guess. IMHO it’s too early to tell.
Too many middlemen,every gets paid by association,while the poor consumer ,gets left trying to pay for an increasingly ,costly ,commodity .
After a recent bout with the medical establishment ,I was stricken with an epiphany -this could be so much better,so much bureaucracy,redtape duplication of services ,having no parity with the providers ,constant referral to chums and "colleagues "(I became dizzy and broke ) back in the day you could pay for the ER with what you carried in your pocket(now it takes a week or more of blood sweat and tears) so I have no desire to pay for an infrastructure of middlemen ,that have to get a slice of my decreasing pie ,every time I try to afford a decent reliable vehicle.
There is going to a fall and the longer we put it off ,the harder the crash will be .
The thing is, every middleman adds something to the equation, if you think about it. No manufacturer wants to sell you a single sheet of plywood or a piece of sheet metal. If you want to buy a railroad car at a time or a full 5000# coil of sheet metal, you can do that but most people don’t or can’t. That’s what wholesalers do-buy the large quantities to break them down and sell to retailers in the quantities you want. You wouldn’t work for a wholesaler for nothing so it’s no surprise they would want to get paid for what they do.
Medical is a whole other complicated area. You might be surprised at the small profit margin of the ER that was made worse by no-pays. Why would a mechanic have to charge $100 an hour for use of their $20,000 piece of equipment and years of training? Why would a hospital have to charge $2000 an hour for the use of their million dollar piece of equipment and $300,000 a year trained staff? Why should anyone get paid $300K a year? Well, how about half a million in school expenses and ten years of no income before they make a dime?
Thing is it seems the MDs never get their educations paid off ,but the funny thing is a whole lot of them own airplanes ,horse farms,hunting camps .ad nausem(not too many other people around here can afford all that) I would love somebody to give me $200 just for glancing at an XRay plate and giving my opinion.
I think people should have the option of being able to go directly to the factory and picking up a high dollar item like an automobile( a thousand dollars makes a difference to an average Joe like myself) Dealer prep ,hogwash ,the machine should be ready to go when it is finished .Certain heavy equipment vendors(shall remain nameless) have a markup on their lots of 65-70% and they act like they cant even throw a case of grease in with the purchase (another heavily marked up commodity ) So the market is profit oriented ,consumer ,be darned .There is such a thing as the cost of doing business ,they may not get rich overnight ,but if they are persistent they will make it.
The American medical model could learn a thing or two from the European model ,it seems appalling to me that major surgeries and treatments can be had for a fraction of the cost in places like Cuba for Gods sake and the Doctors seem competent.No IMO ,the American Health Care system needs overhaul.
One thing I have noticed in recent years ,is this ,"The consumer is not right " When that pretty little bad attitude salesclerk laughs at you or sasses you ,the manager will just laugh and tell you to get lost .(seems especially bad in College towns )
That’s the thing with the US of A. Profit is part of why people work, produce things, and sell things. We don’t have the government telling us what to produce or how much to charge. Competition takes care of that part and if there are no sales, that takes care of the bad decisions.
I think you are talking socialized medicine though and guess what, it’s not so great in Europe. True some things are not paid for by the consumer but they have been paid through high taxes and fuel costs-its just not labeled as medicine. My son spent a few weeks in Italy consulting with some top neurologists there and was appalled that their average annual income was around $40,000. Similar to the bus drivers. Wouldn’t expect to retain the best and the brightest with that.
I’ve always had insurance though and that’s the US model to spread costs among consumers. I had surgery a couple years ago and my total out of pocket was $125. I don’t consider that outrageous or a broken system. If you choose to not have insurance (forget that now), sure write the $20,000 check and don’t gripe. Same thing with a car. If you don’t insure it and wreck it, the system is not broken if you have pay out the $30,000 loss. Your own fault. So far though there don’t seem to be a lot of people moving to Cuba or Europe for that matter.
Last I read, there’s a new wave of Cubans coming here.…guess those cool 50’s cars aren’t enough to keep them there.
;-]
If you can afford good insurance,the out of pocket for a MRI last week was $721 dollars ,hardly affordable in my circumstance ,a major provider near here ( a top 100 or top 50 US hospital ) stopped a company from SW virginia putting an imaging service in the home county of this unmentioned Group.They said they didnt want the competition ,the old outdated MRI machines they had were "cashcows " and believe it or not ,they admitted it,in an editoral.
So that behavior is consumer oriented ? And no ,people are not going to flock to third world countries whom the US (in all her benevolence) helped bankrupt,one reason so many Cubans came here was because a lot of their relatives and wealth came to the US after the sanctions,who suffered the most ? Why the poor people basically.Maybe its time for the US to stop being the worlds policeman and actually react to Civil rights violations in a timely manner,I still cant believe how tardy we were in WW2 ,too many are dying for the sake of cheap oil.Any chance I had at any semblance of "parity " went out with the unions and lobbyists (why in the heck are lobbyists even allowed in the Houses ?) So the major concern is not a good living ,but greed and its hitting home around here in a big way with the NIMBYS and Fruitbats"Let them eat cake " .A revolution will probably occur in this country in the not to distant future ,with "Balkanization " a very distinct possibilty ,while the sheeple drive their gas guzzlers . Sleep on people “,the coffee ,shes a burning”
Not to continue the off topic conversation on health care and the worth of the United States in general, but we have a pretty good framework to work with if we can just do some house cleaning.
According to the experts the British NHS is nearing collapse and their 59,000 pound per month turn-around expert is encouraging a shift to private health care as a solution. Hmmm. That’s what we have.
The NHS has been near collapse for decades!
Well lets do the house cleaning and eliminate the the superfluos,our new multi-million dollar bandaid station has a brand new cat scan machine which they are eager to use ,the tech has two helpers you never see and does all the work Himself ,so perhaps an ROF would help trim the costs a bit ? I have actually had a good chat with a woman from England about the respective healthcare systems,Her mom was in end stage treatment (pretty dang expensive ) they never got a bill ,they came to the US ,got insurance ,daughter got sick and needed I think an appidectomy(sorry about the spelling) the bills and copays went on forever ,just saying ,most foreign doctors come to the US for the wealth they can attain and let me tell you something ,I have been under the care of some doozys,so I pay attention now to where I am getting sent to,if the Doctor has a poor bedside manner or arrogance,I find someone else( but on the other hand there are some real jewels in the mix ) I know the US has real good services ,but alas many cannot afford their services,seems like the wealthier you are the better care you recieve “First,do no harm”,