Yikes. I just picked up a 600A jumpstarter with 12v outlet, usb port, and air compressor for $15. Yeah, it might not be the greatest device, but the only negative reviews were based on it not being able to jumpstart a vehicle several times without recharging. Not a real concern to me.

Yikes. I just picked up a 600A jumpstarter with 12v outlet, usb port, and air compressor for $15. Yeah, it might not…

I’m aware of the convergence of prices - however, they normally don’t converge that quickly. That normally happens when the cars approach the $3-4k value range.

Holy depreciation, batman... When I purchased a relative’s 2006 Fusion, its fair market value was almost this high (quite a few less miles, but still). If you can get a BMW into the same price range as a similar age Ford, that BMW is taking an absolute beating on resale.

No, because those are the curves for cars. The truck curves are lower. In addition, these mpg ratings are NOT what you see on the sticker. They’re based on old test methods that have been modified twice in ways that reduce the sticker mpg, though the mpg that counts for CAFE is still calculated the old way.

To…

Those $1000 deposits cannot be counted as profits. That will give them cash, but with an equal offsetting liability. Net, no profit.

I gave up on figuring out immediate reactions on Wall Street years ago - in the mid 90s, Ford had a string of some ridiculous number of quarters where they beat the consensus estimates for earnings each quarter. Yet every time, the share price would drop. One time, I actually heard an “analyst” say “well, they beat…

I think we can call that a swing and a big freakin’ miss -

-$0.87 per share using non-GAAP.

$320 million loss using GAAP.

$229 million less in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter.

Dates for positive cash flow and profitability pushed back.

The point is pretty simple - the old Michigan truck plant was a fixed system designed to produce only one product - the Navigator and the Expedition. You couldn’t “flip a switch” and have Explorers come off the same line. You had to go in and completely replace all major tooling with new systems designed for that new…

Not necessarily - GM is already producing batteries at a cost per kWh below what Tesla says they’ll get to with the Gigafactory.

That wasn’t a standard retooling. That was completely gutting a factory that did not have flexible lines - they stripped absolutely everything out of the factory and rebuilt it with flexible lines. They can build virtually anything on small platforms with minimal additional cost at this point.

I think they’re going to be sorely disappointed. The expectations are all set around non-GAAP numbers and are counting on a pretty massive swing in profits while their margins have been declining.

Right - and that is a big difference between reality and a closed shop. The reason for fair share dues is that by federal law, the union has to represent you fully whether you are a member or not. So nonmembers getting fired or disciplined in violation of the contract? The union has to represent them just as much and…

The point of flexible factories is that retooling isn’t that expensive. Realistically, if we hit a recession, small car sales will get hit just as bad as CUVs and SUVs. What will be different is if fuel prices change - and then the trick is you don’t have to spend a fortune to ramp up production of small vehicles,…

Yeah, but don’t expect that to hit the news. They announced a $900 million investment in the plant near me. The local news didn’t catch on to that story at all. I had to send the tip to their reporter before they caught on days later.

You do realize these plants are flexible, right?

Since you obviously missed it, they negotiated with Ford that they will replace the production in the US with other vehicles. So no jobs lost (after a LOT of job gains recently in the US - FAR more than we’re talking about in Mexico here)

Sure, everything is going down. But not by 50%. Tesla desperately needs good results in their earnings announcement tomorrow to stop the slide.

1st: except that the move doesn’t necessarily save the company any money.

Say you have two vehicles that take 20 man hours of work for assembly. Excluding labor, you make $5000 per vehicle in profit on vehicle A and $500 on vehicle B. Labor costs you $50 per hour in the US or $10 in Mexico. If you build vehicle B in…

What is true is that the number of man hours needed to assemble a vehicle have plummeted.

In the late 70s and early 80s, an average vehicle took close to 120 man hours of labor for assembly (close to 200 for stamping, engine, transmission, and final assembly). Today, those numbers are more like 20 for assembly and 30…

Such a lovely rant against unions, especially since closed shops have been illegal for decades.