Too bad we didn’t goad them into blowing their wad trying to counter star wars. They didn’t increase their spending at all in response. Their spending ramp-up had already occurred prior to sdi.

Slow?!?!?!

NOT IN REVERSE!

5th: I can’t help but think this is related to 2nd.

Why would Marchionne not agree to any level of job security guarantees or product/plant alignment (ie, we promise that some model(s) will be made in plants x,y, and z, requiring a minimum of x workers during the course of this contract)? These clauses are generally…

Wrong. You’re falling for a widely reported, but false, belief.

Ford developed their own hybrid system, which they found was likely infringing on Toyota’s patents - meanwhile Toyota had the same problem with direct injection - they were infringing on Ford’s patents. The press got the story wrong from the start, saying…

* Also available for free via many local libraries. Mine puts them up online at no cost to anyone with a valid card.

I love them for the electric impact wrench, even though I’ve never once used it on my car. I paid $30 purely to use it for changing the anode rod on my water heater. Danged thing was stuck in there good and I risked damaging pipes using hand tools... and plumbers wanted an obscene $380 to change the rod. $30 for the…

Wow, are you misinterpreting wage data. Median household income hasn’t increased in real terms. But that’s entirely separate from wages.

Why? Median household income includes retirees. As baby boomers retire and switch to lower fixed retirement incomes, median household income decreases, even when wages do not. As…

Government interference?

No - look at the categories that saw above average increases. They’re all heavily dependent upon manual labor. When labor costs are a fraction of the cost of the item or good, costs decreased relative to the average.

This is entirely to be expected. If wages increase and most of your cost is in…

More expensive? Not really.

The base Volt really lies between the Prius two and Prius three for equipment, and after tax credits and discounts, it actually comes in between the two as well - pretty darned close to the Prius two.

Where I live, 30 seconds of rain can soak you straight through to your underwear and then some. We don’t leave our car doors open for any length of time.

How wet?

You can open and close a normal car door quickly. This thing? Not so much.

Ok. But I can close the door to my car in a second. What does this take, 15-20?

So the base model is now going to run around $130k? So once again Tesla is going to fail miserably in hitting their promised price point?

And people believe the model 3 is going to be anywhere near $35k?

(I’m just giving you a hard time :) )

Not likely. Their current battery price would have to be several times what their target after the gigafactory is built in order for the cost drop to be enough to turn them profitable, and that is without even considering the fact that once the gigafactory is operational, their depreciation costs will be much higher…

Careful... you’ll be labeled a hater for pointing out the truth.

I hope Tesla succeeds, but we shouldn’t be putting lipstick on the overweight pig that is their financial results.

That’s it? I got 39 on a rental recently - peaking at 46 on the highway over an hour long drive.

That calculation was actually one that the government did - Ford used it as the basis for their decision, but it was essentially a government regulation pointing out whether the fix should be done or not.

3rd gear:

It seems to me like cheating on CO2 emissions would be pretty hard to get away with.

I mean, here’s the basic combustion equation:

2C8H18 + 25O2 -> 18H2O + 16CO2

That’s it. If you’re achieving optimal combustion, that’s the amount of CO2 you’re putting out. If you’re suboptimal, you’ll put out less but your fuel…

Kansas City or Cuautitlan, Mexico - none were built in Canada.

After the 1998 facelift, all were built in Kansas City....