Car Chat

[CaminoRacer]

Just going off what the article was talking about.

[GoCougs]

I think there will be huge deals on cars for a time.

Short term, dealers borrow to hold inventory, so they need to get stuff moving.

Medium term, most new cars are optional purchases, and automakers need to keep the assembly lines and supply chain moving otherwise the whole business falls apart.

[Laconian]

The domestics are probably regretting putting all their chips on high-spec trucks.

I've heard that mortgage lenders have made big moves to reduce their lending risk, even going so far as to require up to 20% down on a house(!) If auto lenders decide to do similar things to cover their butts, then it's RIP Super Duty Platinum duallies on 90month loans.

[MX793]

The domestics are probably regretting putting all their chips on high-spec trucks.

I've heard that mortgage lenders have made big moves to reduce their lending risk, even going so far as to require up to 20% down on a house(!) If auto lenders decide to do similar things to cover their butts, then it's RIP Super Duty Platinum duallies on 90month loans.

I thought mortgages generally required either 20% down or PMI?  If PMI is no longer an option, housing values are going to take a nosedive as the pool of prospective buyers is going to be drastically reduced at current prices in many areas.

[Laconian]

I don't know how PMI is affected. I think they used to allow for less money down. And apparently they are requiring extremely fresh paystubs combined with a promise that your job should be safe.

[MX793]

I don't know how PMI is affected. I think they used to allow for less money down. And apparently they are requiring extremely fresh paystubs combined with a promise that your job should be safe.

Obviously it previously depended on the lender, the borrower, and the type of loan.  Government-backed loans like FHA typically required pretty small down payments.  I think it was <5% unless you had poor credit then it was 10%.  VA and USDA loans could be 0% down.  I believe PMI was required with those.  My understanding is that most private lenders either wanted 20% or PMI.  Maybe some had programs that allowed less down and no PMI?

[Laconian]

I'm talking to my parents tonight, I'll get the scuttlebutt from them.

[FoMoJo]

Ford's Farley reshapes leadership team, focusing on commercial vehicles, big data

I'm glad Farley made it to the top at Ford.  That, as Toyota's top North American marketing person, he was able to take even a manufacturer like Toyota to the top of the sales charts must mean that he is almost a genius.  Hopefully, he can pull Ford out of the doldrums.

[GoCougs]

Ford's Farley reshapes leadership team, focusing on commercial vehicles, big data

I'm glad Farley made it to the top at Ford.  That, as Toyota's top North American marketing person, he was able to take even a manufacturer like Toyota to the top of the sales charts must mean that he is almost a genius.  Hopefully, he can pull Ford out of the doldrums.

Toyota took the crown from GM during the 2008 collapse, and has held it ever since, save for maybe a year here or there, losing out to VW. Farley had his hands in the titanic success of Lexus, but he left for Ford in 2007, and Ford has been distant from the top.

GM (and Ford and Chrysler) were woefully ill prepared to compete when shit got real - mediocre product, union hegemony and large subprime credit customer base (TRUCKS). Toyota had better product, no unions (at least in the US) and a more diverse customer base.

This time it's going to be even worse. Ford and Chrysler winnowed things down to mostly trucks and SUVs and both have little presence in either EVs or autonomous driving. GM's a bit better across these three respects, but still plagued as noted.

[GoCougs]

Also, Farley is not a car guy or an engineer, which Ford needs at the top IMO.

[cawimmer430]

I keep saying this - this guy has a great YouTube channel!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbIGVG1x9_0

[veeman]

the 3rd gen Scirocco was a great looking car.  Too bad U.S. never got it.  It wouldn't have sold well here because it's a 2 door hatchback and expensive but great looking.

[MX793]

the 3rd gen Scirocco was a great looking car.  Too bad U.S. never got it.  It wouldn't have sold well here because it's a 2 door hatchback and expensive but great looking.

We should have gotten the Scirocco instead of the 2-door GTI.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Rendering of a modernized Jeep Wagonbeer



Discuss.

[Soup DeVille]

Did- did it get stung by a bee?

[giant_mtb]

Whoever did that rendering...shudder.

[CaminoRacer]

MY EYES

[FoMoJo]

It gives me a feeling of great depression.   

[FoMoJo]

Ford Could Use Social-Distance Buzzing Wristbands To Reopen Plants

Could work.

[cawimmer430]

the 3rd gen Scirocco was a great looking car.  Too bad U.S. never got it.  It wouldn't have sold well here because it's a 2 door hatchback and expensive but great looking.

According to the video VW blamed the unworkable exchange rate between the Euro and the Dollar for not bringing the Scirocco over. It would have cost too much. It would have been a Corado 2.0 story: too expensive and low sales.

I agree that the 3rd generation Scirocco was a sharp-looking car. I also like the 1st generation. The 2nd generation just looks awkward.

[cawimmer430]

Rendering of a modernized Jeep Wagonbeer



Discuss.

You can't improve on the original. That's iconic and perfect.

[cawimmer430]

Here's your V12 Mercedes with a manual transmission. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrC-9Um_mLI

[veeman]

[/quote]

Rendering of a modernized Jeep Wagonbeer



Discuss.

Looks OK.  The original had slab sides where you could put a big expanse of fake wood veneer.  The modern rendering doesn't have nearly enough of the fake wood veneer.  It's OK that it's shorter in height but it only covers the front door and half the rear door.  It should go over the wheel wells and rear quarter panel.  It won't be slab sided but with good alignment and covering half the fuel filler door, it might look pretty good.

[Raza]

White one with a custom license plate, NOT OJ ?

ONDARUN
CHASEME
RLKLRSR3
LOOSJUS
7STAB
HUDUNIT

[MX793]

Wonder why there was never a market for aftermarket faux wood sides.  You see the occasional modern Buick, Caddy, or even Hyundai running around with a felt, faux landau roof that was fitted aftermarket, you'd think that some octogenarian would want the wood sides look.

[Soup DeVille]

Wonder why there was never a market for aftermarket faux wood sides.  You see the occasional modern Buick, Caddy, or even Hyundai running around with a felt, faux landau roof that was fitted aftermarket, you'd think that some octogenarian would want the wood sides look.

There is a small one.

But its hard to get even reproduction simulated wood done right. Original appliqués were printed off of linocut dies; very few of which still exist and making new ones is cost prohibitive. NOS kits are a crap shoot. Unless they were stored in a cool basement or something, they all crack and flake apart when being applied. New vinyl wraps look good from a distance, but are computer printed and up close you can see the dots and other artifacts in them. 

[giant_mtb]

Vinyl wraps are for lazy people that don't know how to care for paint.

[Soup DeVille]

Vinyl wraps are for lazy people that don't know how to care for paint.

No real other way to restore my wood grain though.

[giant_mtb]

No real other way to restore my wood grain though.

Decals are different from an entire body wrap.

[MX793]

Vinyl wraps are for lazy people that don't know how to care for paint.

Wraps are a viable option for people on a limited budget who want to change the color of their car.  Unlike a "cheap" paint job, it's fully reversible, so no impact to the resale value of the vehicle.