This is Autoline Daily reporting on all aspects of the global automotive industry.
UAW MEMBERS TO VOTE ON GM DEAL
Looks like the strike at General Motors is coming to a close, but it’s not over yet. The union will now put the proposed contract up for a vote by the workers. And they’ll stay out on strike until it’s ratified. The union did not want to take the risk of ending the strike, then have workers reject the contract, and have to resume the strike again. So they’re staying out until it’s ratified. GM really sweetened the pot to get a settlement. Strikers will get an $11,000 signing bonus, and 3% pay raises the first two years of the contract, and 4% lump sum payments for the final two years.
GM FACES MARKET SHARE LOSS AFTER STRIKE
Labor strikes don’t just affect union workers and the company they’re striking against. They hurt suppliers and car dealerships and they drive away customers. The Center for Automotive Research points out that General Motors lost market share every time it faced a strike from the UAW. And once that market share is gone, it’s lost forever. GM has never been able to make it back up again. In the 1998 strike, GM lost 2% market share, or about the equivalent of 340,000 sales in today’s market. Strikes are not the only reason why GM has lost market share. But the data shows they are a contributing factor.
TESLA MODEL 3 GETS SMALL RANGE BOOST
Tesla quietly increased the range of the Model 3 Standard Range Plus model. It will now go 250 miles on a charge, which is 10 more than before. Although, Tesla didn’t say how it increased the range. The price of that model went up by $500 as well. The EV maker also changed the standard wheel option for the Model 3 performance to a dark gray 20-inch wheel and increased the vehicle’s price by $1,000.
RENAULT CUTS PROFIT OUTLOOK
We’ve seen a number of automakers adjust their forecasts for the year due to slowing sales and the need to invest in expensive technologies. And Renault is the latest. The automaker said its sales will drop between 3% and 4% this year, that operating margins would be at 5%, instead of a goal of 6% and it would re-asses some of the mid-term goals of its current 5-year plan. The news sent shares of the automaker tumbling more than 13%. As of now, Renault has not announced any job cuts.
FORD SHOWS OFF SEMA MODELS
Ford is showing off some customized SEMA vehicles. The aftermarket is huge and this gives automakers a chance to show off what they’ve got, so it’s no surprise Ford is strutting its stuff. It’s debuting eight lowered or lifted models, including the Escape, Explorer, and Expedition, all with unique paint, wheels, and other options. The Air Design Escape gives a striking black-on-white paint job with 20-inch wheels and fender flares. Blood Type Racing customized its Explorer Limited Hybrid with black chrome wheels, tinted lights, and a snowboard rack. MAD Industries built its Expedition with beefy Nitto tires, 50-inch lightbar, and rooftop tent. Check these out at the SEMA show starting November 5th.
Acura has been around for 30 years but it’s hard to define what the brand stands for. So to learn how Acura is rebuilding itself and where it plans to expand its lineup, be sure to watch Autoline This Week with Jon Ikeda, the Vice President of Acura. You can watch that show now on our website, Autoline.tv or you can find it on our YouTube channel.
SUBARU JAPAN PLANT IDLED DUE TO TYPHOON
Subaru was forced to halt production at its main plant in Japan due to the typhoon that hit the country last weekend. While the plant wasn’t affected, several of the company’s suppliers suffered flood damage, which caused a parts shortage. The facility builds the BRZ, Forester, Crosstrek, WRX and Impreza. The shutdown is expected to last about a week. Subaru is the first automaker in Japan to idle production because of the typhoon but other automakers could follow suit.
CATL BEGINS BATTERY FACTORY IN GERMANY
Chinese battery maker CATL is breaking ground on its first overseas factory in Germany. The facility is scheduled to produce lithium-ion batteries starting in 2022. CATL has partnerships to supply batteries to BMW, Volkswagen, Daimler, Volvo and Bosch, so it makes sense that it would want a factory in the same region as those companies.
But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and have a great weekend.
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Comments (69)
October 18th, 2019 at 12:14 pm
WOW!! $500 for a extra 10 miles of range , what a bargain.
October 18th, 2019 at 12:17 pm
Re the UAW settlement, if I were GM I would insist on some clauses that would encourage the workers to substantially improve their health and fitness, aiming to save billions in health costs down the road.
An ounce of prevention is a TON, not a pound, of cure, in today’s INSANE hospitalization costs USA.
AND they urgently need some serious nutrition and fitness counseling, not to mention morning exercises. Whenever I see a UAW picket line, it is full of morbidly obese younger and older men and women. And I am sure it gets worse, with alcohol and drug and smoking addictions for many of the rank and file.
This is a US-wide problem, but it seems far worse in the UAW than in my own work environment, where there is rarely one out of 100 faculty who is obese (but several more in the secretarial and maintenance staff).
I do my own shopping every Saturday and I am appalled at the nutritional illiteracy of most buyers in front of me. Some are clearly trying to eat healthy, probably on the advise of their MD, but even those pick a few healthy items and others I am sure they think are healthy, when in reality they are not at all.
October 18th, 2019 at 12:21 pm
PS Sean, congrats on a Geely-Volvo-free show for the first in several days! Keep it up! And on Monday, I hope you will show some clips from the Bob LUtz show for those (unlike me) that missed it, especially his response to John’s questions about BEVs and Tesla.
October 18th, 2019 at 12:28 pm
Anyone interested in the C8R, here’s a YouTube from Road Atlanta with some nice sounds and some track time for the 5.5 liter flat plane double overhead cam engine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au9RmIss74A
October 18th, 2019 at 12:30 pm
Tesla model 3 gets a boost in range but what I’m really surprised is that they have not developed a revised model S. 4 years is typically the extent of a design without at least a new grill or fascia. Granted the Tesla’s don’t have grills but a refresh should be coming.
The Ford SEMA models looked to be nothing more than some pin stripping new wheels and accessories. Oh and as you said lowered or raised. Seems like modifications that anyone could make and not really SEMA level.
October 18th, 2019 at 12:47 pm
I don’t really understand manufacturers adjusting their forecasts for next year based on slowing sales. Seems like that should be inventory or basically demand driven. Some models will see declines and some like corvette and model 3 will certainly see an increase.
I guess if its just to serve the purpose of letting everyone (mainly shareholders) know they expect a drop in overall new cars sales fine, but their releases are still modified weekly based on demand.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:04 pm
UAW workers are vastly overpaid. Many of the jobs are no skilled labor, attach part ‘A’ to part ‘B’. The outrageous wages are why vehicles are so expensive.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:11 pm
I watched Acura’s Ikeda on ATW, and I’m still confused about where they are going. Lots of flowery talk about performance, but no specifics. And no talk about quality and reliability,which really bothers this TL owner. Hopefully, the upcoming TLX will allay all my
fears.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:43 pm
8 Some neighbors have an MDX, I think about 2006. It has had electrical, suspension, and HVAC motor problems, and is kind of noisy, but they still seem to like it. I think they plan to get a new vehicle fairly soon, another CUV, but maybe a little smaller. It will be interesting to see what they end up with. Unlike with the kind of cars I buy, there is a lot to choose from in small-mid size crossovers. There are two drivers, and they want memory seats, which might rule out a lot of the mass market models. That’s one think that probably still helps sell “premium” brands.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:43 pm
I would love to have a job where I get paid $11,000 to sign a four year contract that guarantees wage increases each year and provides huge profit sharing checks, (with no provision for loss-sharing checks back to the company when business is not so good).
I have zero sympathy for the UAW workers, other than to feel sorry for them that they are so gullible and actually buy into the rhetoric crap that their leaders spew. In fact, their leaders have done such a good job brainwashing the workforce that they now think they didn’t get a good enough deal. Wow!
October 18th, 2019 at 1:43 pm
5 There will be no major redesign of the Model S. Not all models have 4 year design cycles, those are for low-price high volume ones like Acccords and Camrys. 7 series and S class designs last for 7 years, sometimes more than 10 like the 1979-1991 S class, and the ROlls ROyce Phantom lasted from 2003 model year to 2018.
For Tesla it is very easy and far less expensive to update all existing models over the air, software changes that sometimes make big improvements.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:47 pm
8 You are damn right. Acura started off great in the mid-80s but fizzled and nosedived afterward, and there is NOTHING in the horizon that would make me invest in it, if it was a self-standing company. Much less buy its LAME products (all pimped-up Hondas at much higher prices). Pitiful.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:49 pm
9 as we discussed many times, EVERYBODY likes the cars they have bought even if they are complete lemons. They chose them and they don’t want to look stupid if they admit they made a bad choice.
It is far more interesting if you could find an owner, (other than yourself !) who publicly admitted they did not like the car they paid an arm and a leg for.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:52 pm
10. 100% absolutely agree with your points.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:53 pm
13 Yeah, true. Also, these people bought the MDX used at a pretty good price, so that might have lowered their expectations.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:55 pm
@7: labor cost amount to 10-15% of vehicle cost, so any higher-than-average labor cost have a minor impact on vehicle cost.
October 18th, 2019 at 1:59 pm
16 Not GM labor cost!
October 18th, 2019 at 2:01 pm
I agree, its been 7 years of the same design for the Model S, other than the change to delete the ugly black grill. It is getting long in the tooth and they should have something that looks new for their well-heeled buyers to yearn for.
A higher priority though should be to totally redesign the Model X. The current bloated look looks like an inflated Model S sedan. Nothing about it looks like an SUV and it doesn’t have some of the characteristics that an SUV buyer would look for. So, its just another grocery getter with awkward rear doors and strange styling to separate it from the other high-priced crossovers from other automakers.
Based on the X, I am not expecting much when the production Y is revealed, or the pickup truck. Tesla’s strength seems to be in sedans.
October 18th, 2019 at 2:01 pm
16 Some brands probably spend more on advertising, than on labor.
October 18th, 2019 at 2:06 pm
7 Carl, actually the UAW workers pay has some mis-leading numbers floating around. What they actually make and what is applied as labor costs is vastly different. I know back in 08 a union GM employee was actually getting less than non-union Toyota pure hourly rate. 29 something vs $30 but when you add in benefits and the cost of carrying the many retirees that GM has, while Toyota has very few (in the US) the rate jumped from within a dollar to $48 vs $69.
Also all vehicles are competitively priced against each other so union cars compete against non-union built cars and so I would argue that’s not why they are so expensive. The labor is typically @60 hours and the difference from the Toyota number and GM being 21 dollars times 60 hours still only accounts for a difference of $1260.
You can attribute 48 to 50% of the cost to build a car on material and when you figure in the things a new car has compared to older models like multiple airbags, Stainless steel exhaust, power everything that is standard now along with automatic transmissions, Tons more electronics better materials and processes like coatings that prevent rust unlike the old Vega’s. Plus meeting new safety regulations with crumple zones, side impacts and fuel shutoffs. Most paint shops have switched to water based paints over solvent. All these things add cost well beyond just the increase in labor.
In 1975 the average car cost $3800 with a cost of living increase a car today should only be about $17,000. However UAW hourly rate was like $8 and with that same cost of living increase pay should be $35 which is inline with what they make minus the benefits and cost of retirees. So really you can blame the crazy cost of healthcare for the huge wage disparity.
Sorry I know that got very long.
October 18th, 2019 at 2:06 pm
18 there is no resemblance between the VERY ELEGANT X and the excellent S. On the contrary,it is the model Y crossover that looks like a smaller X, and also like a raised Model 3. The Model S is GORGEOUS. MErcedes would WISH it had the resale value of the Model S in its Excellent S class! If it ain’t BROKE, do NOT fix it. Flagship cars are NOT changed every 4 years anyway. TOo stupid and wasteful to do so.
October 18th, 2019 at 2:09 pm
The 10 miles of extra range for the Tesla 3 is probably a software change, using more of the charge cycle at the top and/or bottom. They also lowered the “ordering” fee from $1000 refundable, to $100 non-refundable.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/17/tesla-adds-100-non-refundable-order-fee.html
October 18th, 2019 at 2:23 pm
#7. UAW workers account for 5-8% of the cost of a vehicle. Even if you cut their wages in half, the average car price would only go down by about $1,500. The vast majority of UAW workers do a good job and earn their keep.
October 18th, 2019 at 2:28 pm
21 IDK I think freshening it up could revitalize interest in the Model S and prompt making some used ones available. Especially for those people that bought them to be one of the first to own a Tesla. Right now their Model S is 7 years old looks basically identical to a brand new one. With an update those same people will go buy the newer looking one so everyone knows its the New model S. It becomes not just important to be driving a Tesla but a new Tesla.
October 18th, 2019 at 2:56 pm
Thanks Lambo, that was exactly my point on the Model S. Who wants to spend that kind of money on a car that looks like its 5 years old?
I was told ten years ago that steel became the second most expensive item in building new GM vehicles. Health care had surpassed it that year. I believe that included the healthcare expense for all GM workers, white and blue collar. Still, it underscores how expensive that has become. And it isn’t getting better with this new contract!
October 18th, 2019 at 2:57 pm
24 I think the Model S still looks great, but I’m not very familiar with the interior. Of what I do know, maybe the should offer a more elegant, but less “techy” version, without the 18 inch tablet.
October 18th, 2019 at 3:06 pm
Maybe something a little like this.
https://images.app.goo.gl/WYMJMLP4ymHdVTCP8
October 18th, 2019 at 3:48 pm
#1, #5, #11, #18 (Et al.) – Aerodynamics don’t change year-to-year. The next Model S is called “Plaid” with minor external clues. The important changes are three motors and improved battery performance where the rubber meets the road as seen by the rapidly disappearing tail lights.
As for my SR+ Model 3: it is 7 months old; 14,686 miles; $41,000 included $3,000 for Autopilot (now included), and; $3,750 tax credit on 2019 taxes. Ten days ago, it measured 234 of 240 mi range, a 6 miles loss (-2.5%) which is well within my expectations.
With the latest software, 2019.32.12.2 loaded a day ago, I will be taking the 1,000 km (625 mi) challenge which includes charging time.
October 18th, 2019 at 4:53 pm
28 If I held the speed to 65-70, I could make your 1000 km trip in my Camry hybrid without stopping. No, I wouldn’t want to do that.
October 18th, 2019 at 7:19 pm
I saw a follow-up on the Livewire (Harley) about the charging problem. H/D asked owners to not charge at home due to a problem, but after extensive research, found that the problem was with only the one Livewire that was having problems. Restrictions have been lifted. Link if anyone is interested: https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/10/18/20921200/harley-davidson-livewire-charging-restart-production-deliveries
October 18th, 2019 at 8:06 pm
30 I want to take a test ride on a LiveWire when available, to see if it seems worth twice as much as the Zero I rode a few months ago.
October 19th, 2019 at 7:36 am
#29 – We traded-in our 2017 Prius Prime, 640 mi range, for the Tesla Model 3, 240 mi range. At 63 mph, the Prius Prime would easily cover 625 mi (1000 km) but the challenge is whether or not a Tesla Model 3 can meet or exceed the same capability as our former Prius Prime. Are equal to or better off?
My math model says yes, the SR+ Model 3 can match the Prius Prime at 63 mph over the same distance. Other benchmarks indicate the cost per mile is substantially less than the Prius Prime. But testing, the ’1000 km challenge’ answers the question.
The web link video at 26:30 shows Bjørn Nyland’s current table.
October 19th, 2019 at 7:40 am
1000 km is a mere 600 miles. most of my previous cars had ranges of 500-600+ miles, and they sure were not hybrids, and I sure did not go 65-70 on long trips. But still it was a pain to not be able to go from here to any major East Coast city on one tank (Wash DC is 530 miles away, so is baltimore, Phila is 550, NY is 600 and Boston is 700+.
Now I can easily do any of them with the 780 mile range 3 lt Diesel and on top of that I have excellent ride, luxury, safety, and 400 lbft torque that transforms the car into a “Saturn V rocket” (not my words, but those of the automag tests). And if I bought this car for the US, I woulda bought the S 350 Bluetec instead, with more power and torque from same engine, and maybe a little shorter (but still humongous) range.
October 19th, 2019 at 7:47 am
31, I wouldn’t mind giving the Livewire a try, and even though it could work for me as far as range and use go, and also within my budget, I’m frugal enough (some say cheap) that I see no value to be had in owning one. I certainly can’t see it twice better than the Zero.
October 19th, 2019 at 8:54 am
32 I haven’t watched the entire video, but it is interesting. In what I’ve seen, he’s mentioned the affect of temperature because of higher air density at lower temperature, but I didn’t hear him mention cabin heat or A/C. I’m assuming he doesn’t use either, but I’ll watch more later and find out. It appears that in Norway, you can use any EV for highway trips, but in many, or most places in the US, you’d have a hard time finding chargers for anything but a Tesla.
October 19th, 2019 at 9:08 am
33 Some of my earlier cars had a range of under 300 miles, like a 1966 Dodge Coronet with a 15-16 gallon tank, that got only about 15 mpg on the highway.
Your Benz diesels have the same size fuel tank as the much thirstier versions, so you get very good range.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=23930&id=23269&id=38936&id=38880
My Camry hybrid has a smaller, 13 gallon tank, than non-hybrid versions of the same car, which have 16. I’ve wondered if they have to do that for some packaging reason, or if they do it for some other reason. The battery, itself, is under the back seat in the hybrid, so shouldn’t keep them from using the 16 gallon tank.
October 19th, 2019 at 9:17 am
34 I’d consider a Zero for use in Indiana, if I didn’t already have two, rather dis-similar bikes to keep me entertained. Like you, I’m a little “cheap” with some things, but throw away too much money on new cars, some of which I don’t keep nearly as long as I should. With bikes, I usually buy them used, and often keep them a long time.
October 19th, 2019 at 9:57 am
36 My 1009 Accord coupe was rated 31 hwy and had a 17 gallon tank, so a theoretical 600+ HWY range, but I never got that much, and once I barely ran out of fuel and had to stop the car, shaked it a bit and I was able to continue the few miles home. Later the EPA lowered that HWY MPG twice, I believe, since 1990. The 740iL was a theoretical 24 HWY and I got 23 or so at much higher speeds than the EPA’s, and also had about 500-550 miles range.
October 19th, 2019 at 10:00 am
38 oops 31*17 gives me only 527, no wonder. I think I got the over 600 by multiplying the best I got on long trips (35-36) by the tank size, 37*17 does give 629, but that 37 was at modest (average) speeds due to long construction segments, single lane 45-55 mph, and 1-2 psi overinflated tires.
October 19th, 2019 at 10:05 am
36 smaller gas tanks on hybrids because less fuel is needed to 500 mile range, also space to put battery, and lower cost of smaller tank.
39 in the above, to get 37 MPG, I would leave the car in 5th (top) gear on the highway as I cruised from even low 40s to high 80s. It did not mind.
October 19th, 2019 at 10:20 am
https://www.iea.org/publications/reports/globalevoutlook2019/
I was looking for 2019 EV sales data for Europe and forecasts, and came across this global EV report by the Intl Energy Agency, based on 2018 data.
“Electric mobility continues to grow rapidly. In 2018, the global electric car fleet exceeded 5.1 million, up 2 million from the previous year..
China remained the world’s largest electric car market, followed by Europe and the United States. Norway was the global leader in terms of electric car market share (46%).
The global stock of electric two-wheelers was 260 million by the end of 2018 and there were 460 000 electric buses.
In freight transport, electric vehicles (EVs) were mostly deployed as light-commercial vehicles (LCVs), which reached 250 000 units in 2018, while medium electric truck sales were in the range of 1 000-2 000 in 2018.
The global EV stock in 2018 was served by 5.2 million light-duty vehicle (LDV) chargers, (540 000 of which are publicly accessible), complemented by 157 000 fast chargers for buses.
EVs on the road in 2018 consumed about 58 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity (largely attributable to two/wheelers in China) and emitted 41 million tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-eq), while saving 36 Mt CO2-eq compared to an equivalent internal combustion engine (ICE) fleet.”
October 19th, 2019 at 10:20 am
39 I suspect your diesels will easily beat the EPA ratings, if driven “moderately.” At least my VW 1.9 TDI did.
October 19th, 2019 at 10:21 am
41 Unbelievable!! 260 million Electric 2-wheelers???? The number seems humongous. I wonder how many are in China and any in India.
October 19th, 2019 at 10:40 am
41 Wow, 260 million electric two wheelers. It looks electric scooters have replaced all of those 2-stroke mopeds I saw in Shanghai 20 years ago.
October 19th, 2019 at 10:51 am
43,44 I suspect most of them are in Asia, and are low speed, 20-25 mph, and look like small Vespas. A lot of them may have lead acid batteries. They wouldn’t need much range for typical use, if they can be charged once a day, either at home, or a commuting destination.
October 19th, 2019 at 10:56 am
Here’s a little about electric two wheelers sold in India.
https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/top-electric-scooters-launching-in-2019-that-you-should-save-money-to-buy-359602.html
October 19th, 2019 at 4:37 pm
For Tesla lovers, or haters.
https://electrek.co/2019/10/19/tesla-model-y-red-prototype-spotted-gigafactory-1/
October 19th, 2019 at 6:18 pm
46 I checked – Currently it’s 71 rupees to the $$ so these are about $500 US, similar to prices in CHina back in 2006, when the US $ was worth much more than in 2019. Quite affordable to the Indian middle and lower middle class.
October 19th, 2019 at 8:39 pm
A lot of Indian cities must have really slow traffic, as a number of the scooters have a top speed of only 25 km/h, 15-16 mph.
October 20th, 2019 at 9:32 am
49 things may have improved somewhat since the 1980s, but a colleague of mine who visited India then, came back and told me about a recently built modern highway, where traffic moved at 5 MPG, cars, bikes, pedestrians and skinny cows all on the two-lane divided highway, and on the side he saw a billboard touting the recently constructed road as having a…”benefit/cost ratio of 2.9″!!!! (as if it was used as intended, assuming their calcs were anywhere near the truth)
October 20th, 2019 at 9:33 am
5 MPH.
I can’t imagine how much worse pollution in China’s biggest cities would be if they did NOT have those 260 million EV scooters (or a large portion thereof).
October 20th, 2019 at 10:42 am
51 It was pretty bad 25 years ago in Shanghai, when there were a few million 2 stroke mopeds and scooters.
October 20th, 2019 at 6:50 pm
In 5 years China replaced 90% of its commuter buses, from diesel to EV. About 400,000.
I wonder why Harley does not offer a shared ownership scheme for their Livewire. It might be of more interest to cash strapped millenials who love tesla and buy-use E-Scotters.
Accura does not exist in Europe and yet VW shows that a premium brand (Audi) is a nice money maker. Note the Infiniti brand is also dead in Europe as well. Only Lexus has worked as a premium Asian Brand and its the oldest. Japanese car nuts may pimp cars to make them sporty but Japan car inc never really understood performance cars bar the odd serious supercar challenger (NSX/GT86/LFA/GTR). Where is their M5/AMG/BMW Motorsport/Audi RS efforts. Another S-Class competitor is not what the world needs. Tesla did it with electricity
October 20th, 2019 at 7:12 pm
53 Acura was the first of the Japanese “premium” brands, at least in the US, but Lexus did it right, for the time, with the LS as its first product. That good start still serves them well, even though the vehicle market has changed completely.
October 21st, 2019 at 6:57 am
53 54 Acura was sure the first by almost 5 years, and its first offerings were very successful, especially the Legend 5 sp coupe with the 6, a friend had a green and tan one in CA and did 300,000 miles with it.
Lexus did much better by undercutting prices of its rivals initially by almost 50%, AND cunningly naming itself with a misspelled version of “Luxus”, and they were so well made, the misspelled word meant “Luxury” later.
Our Janitor, an African American single mom, has named her daughter “Lexus”. No kidding. Ironic, because Mercedes WAS named after the daughter of a Spanish ambassador or whatever.
October 21st, 2019 at 8:35 am
55 A friend bought a Legend sedan in 1988 or so. It surprised me that he would buy a car like that, a gussied up front drive Honda, given a couple other cars he had, a Ferrari Testarossa and a “beater” Ferrari that he bought with damage, to fix up and drive when he wouldn’t want to drive the new Testarossa.
He has sold both Ferraris, and the last I knew, had a Prius and a Chrysler van, and probably another mass market car or two.
October 21st, 2019 at 9:31 am
Actually, the Acura Legend was kind of a last hurrah for Rover, before BMW bought it, re-invented Mini, and shut down the rest of it. The Rover version was called Sterling in the US. I think it used Honda powertrain, like the Acura version.
October 21st, 2019 at 9:40 am
57 Richard Truett, who is supposed to be the gearhead over at Autonews, (he also appeared here in a recent AAH) told me he bought an old Sterling as a collectible. Go figure.
October 21st, 2019 at 9:41 am
28&32 Bob actually most models do a design change about every 4 years and many do a mid-model refresh in two years. While some do subtle changes every year. Its those subtle changes in grills or headlights that allow people to know the exact year of a vehicle, just like when AD does their barn finds the exact year usually can be figured out.
As for your model 3 its sounds like you enjoy it a lot. That’s great, but seriously there is no savings there. Not to mention driving any trip at 63MPH to achieve range sounds like a trip from hell to me. Probably as annoying as those people who try and get on the highway at 40mph to avoid pressing to far on the gas pedal. BTW on your Tesla do you still call it a gas pedal?
October 21st, 2019 at 10:17 am
59 on the topic of availability of inexpensive healthy foods, last Sat, assuming my local ALDI store (a German bargain chain) is still being renovated, I drove to their Belville MI store I had visited 2 weeks ago (a 9 mile pleasant highway drive) and was stunned to see that the unbelievably low prices they had back then (fat free milk, fresh, $1.32/gallon!! and eggs $0.58 dozen, large) was exactly the same this time. Other healthy foods were apples at $1.29 for three Lbs (other stores have some apples for more than $2 and $3 for one measly pound), baby cut carrots at $0.79/lb, healthy cereal (wheat squares, no damned sugar, no damned salt) only $1.39/18 oz box, bananas $.44/lb, etc etc.
October 21st, 2019 at 10:42 am
58 That Sterling should be pretty rare. They didn’t sell many of them.
59 Since having a Camry, I’ve paid a little more attention to them, and I’m not sure they change anything with exterior styling during a generation. At least I don’t notice it. On the hand, the current Camaro has had two front end “refreshes,” the second one mainly because the first one was a mistake, and made the car look worse. I think the 2020 front end looks pretty good.
60 Isn’t ALDI in Germany more like Walmart in the US, with a wide variety of products, rather than mainly food, paper products, etc. as in the US ALDI stores?
October 21st, 2019 at 10:44 am
60 Larry I think you have too many browsers open or you been taking Ambien. No one was on the topic of availability of healthy foods.
October 21st, 2019 at 10:52 am
61 Yea I’m not sure the imports make the changes as often or even why the domestics do. Unless, like you mentioned they need to clean up a messed up design. I think they like to make each year look different just enough to know its a different year.
That certainly seemed to more popular years ago and the refreshes seem to be getting farther apart and less drastic. Now its like they release new wheels or a paint color.
Anyway I think the S is still a good looking car but also think its due for an update.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:02 am
I grew up in the ’50s and ’60s, and at the time, especially 1955 to about 1968 or so, it was very easy to tell most American cars by model year.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:02 am
62 100% wrong, and it was YOU that raised the topic, and nobody else, and you can be assured that, unlike most here, I am in perfect health and as a principle I do not take ANY unnecessary pills.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:05 am
61 they are much smaller than Walmarts, and much more pleasant to shop, they charge for the bags (as do their LIDL german counterparts in the old country). ALDI is unbeatable in fresh fruits and veggies.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:06 am
63 I think a few wheel and paint color changes were about the only visual changes for base C7 Corvettes. If it’s dark green, it’s a 2014.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:07 am
61 If the Sterling is a four door, as I believe, it would not make a very good collectible, coupes and cabrios fetch far higher prices. But it is not a “got to have it” vehicle for most people too.
October 21st, 2019 at 11:31 am
65 I re-read what I posted in 59 which you referred to in 60 and NOPE no topic of food. So I’m not sure what pills your not taking but probably should be but we all know you’re the type of person that would talk about anything just to hear yourself talk. Same goes for your postings.