Politics

Tanks said:

It is not a markup. The $7K extra is part of the MSRP for any new order from the factory regardless of the color. I don't worry about repos as I pay cash unless there is a 0% interest loan.

Markups are listed separately, not part of the MSRP. For example, I did pay a $5K markup for my GX 550 OT+. It was the least of any dealers around as some were asking $10K+. And yes, it was a choice as there were no alternatives. As it is I waited 4+ months for one with the specs I wanted.

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Either way it sounds like another reason to charge people more, just like when all the food packages shrank in content and also went up in price.

For the higher end consumer autos like you are buying, the dealers know their customers and as you said you are a cash buyer; so you have more leverage but I doubt their gonna come down on the price because they know someone that makes 100k a year will come in and finance it with as little money down as possible and stretch out the term as far as possible to get the payment down as low as possible; so more profit in selling to someone that finances vs. you as the cash buyer.

The repossession comment was to show how many people are underwater and the car dealerships in my opinion did themselves a great long term disservice by engaging in predatory selling to people who were the bread and butter of their business.

A buddy of mine is head of 4 dealerships in the DFW area and he's certainly not loving life at the moment, on the other hand he was making money hand over fist during the pandemic.

spike.t said:

Donald buggered this up .....saw this was potentially going to happen.....

Canada election is Carney’s to lose in contest turned on its head by Trump

The Conservative Pierre Poilievre was poised to be the next PM until a lurch in US relations tilted polls to the Liberals

www.theguardian.com

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Feckless US Foreign policy drove Canadians to unite behind the party in power. I can’t believe that folks actually think what he is doing with our most faithful allies is anything but insane.

deewayne2003 said:

You are correct, the Tundra will cost more but will also last longer as well and with fewer maintenance issues. As someone that is much closer to the 70K mark than the 700K; I honestly believe that many of the financial pitfalls can be avoided by shedding the consumerism mindset of needing a new car every couple of years.

People equal to and vastly above my income bracket often ask me how I afford to hunt and travel as I do, the answer is simple - I buy used, pay off early and follow the factory recommended service schedule and keep driving for extended periods.

This flies in the face of the average 100K earner who wears a Rolex and drives a new King Ranch Ford every 2 years; these are the same people who can't fathom dropping $15k on a hunt but have an $8k year deer lease that's 5 hours drive from home and that requires them to feed corn and protein year round.

When it comes to cars, keeping up with the Jones' holds many Americans back from building wealth.

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Your comments are correct but you are missing the point. Tariffs will drive costs up across the board. This will pass along to the consumer who will be forced to reduce overall consumption to stay at the same expenditure level. This will reduce corporate profits and slow the economy. If this is allowed to continue it will drive us into recession or possibly depression. These trade deals Trump continues to go on about need to happen quickly. Unfortunately for him and us, these are not simple deals and involve much more than tariff structure. I hope he knows what he is doing but I fear that he is getting some very poor advice. I think it is interesting that Musk is against the approach.

Datchew said:

Silly reasoning is using hasty generalization fallacies.

A ton of evidence?
Everyone who has studied?

Irony is answering a question (not asked to you) in a literal fashion about treaties in order to be cute and avoid the point inside a discussion about supporting Ukraine where the US has no treaty or obligation to defend.

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Your grasp of history is tenuous at best. Russia and the US agreed to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty in return for them giving up their nuclear weapons. Your invasion of Crimea in 2014 was a clear violation of your word, and our hand wringing response is to our eternal shame.

WAB said:

Your grasp of history is tenuous at best. Russia and the US agreed to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty in return for them giving up their nuclear weapons. Your invasion of Crimea in 2014 was a clear violation of your word, and our hand wringing response is to our eternal shame.

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The real shame is on the administrators in power with their “what have you done for me lately” attitudes trying to bill Ukraine for the pleasure of territorial concessions.

Artificial intelligence, and nuclear weapons have something in common.

They are two things that the world will eventually regret the invention of.

spike.t said:

Looking from the outside when it first started, the backlash was pretty obvious to me as to how it was going to pan out....same as other things over there....you can get a better perspective sometimes looking from a distance and seeing how the different reports are going.....

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Spike, I'm not dense. I'm not a loyalist. I'm not blinded by anyone's pretty words. I view media from every major outlet and then some. All of this stuff was being reported here and being called out as a potential mistake on Trump's part as it pertains to Canada and elsewhere. Should he have played all of this differently? Yes. Have there been major backtracks, stupid statements, ass covering and head scratching decisions made since all this started? Of course. Any of us without rose colored glasses can see it and plenty of talking heads here were warning of it and the backlash in Canada.

That does not mean that as a Canadian or anyone else, you should slice your own throat just because you believe Trump is trying to slice your leg.

If there is no real movement and real concessions from Moscow soon. Trump needs to completely walk away from Russia.

With Europes help, arm Ukraine fully. And let Ukraine finish the job. Longer range missile platforms ETC.

WAB said:

Your grasp of history is tenuous at best. Russia and the US agreed to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty in return for them giving up their nuclear weapons. Your invasion of Crimea in 2014 was a clear violation of your word, and our hand wringing response is to our eternal shame.

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I think my grasp is just fine. You're leaving out the promises of not expanding NATO which seems a key piece of starting the whole path to the invasion moving. We've covered this ground before.

I'm curious on you saying "your invasion" and "your word." Are you associating me with the Russians?
That's quite a bizarre accusation if that's what you're getting at.

Tubby’s Canteen said:

The real shame is on the administrators in power with their “what have you done for me lately” attitudes trying to bill Ukraine for the pleasure of territorial concessions.

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I agree this is a shame. But do you view it as a new and novel approach that's not consistent with American foreign policy for several decades?

CJW said:

Spike, I'm not dense. I'm not a loyalist. I'm not blinded by anyone's pretty words. I view media from every major outlet and then some. All of this stuff was being reported here and being called out as a potential mistake on Trump's part as it pertains to Canada and elsewhere. Should he have played all of this differently? Yes. Have there been major backtracks, stupid statements, ass covering and head scratching decisions made since all this started? Of course. Any of us without rose colored glasses can see it and plenty of talking heads here were warning of it and the backlash in Canada.

That does not mean that as a Canadian or anyone else, you should slice your own throat just because you believe Trump is trying to slice your leg.

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Never said you were......but start fkn around with peoples nationalism/ patriotism...etc it won't go well.... as an American you should know that more than most....as said I have observed in the previous election a certain big issue that to me was going to be a big problem for the republicans...people I talk to on here from USA when I raised it said no not a big issue as it's governed by individual states....well I was kinda proved bit correct in my outlook on the situation......just saying distance and no involvement can make things look different to when you live in the place....

Datchew said:

I think my grasp is just fine. You're leaving out the promises of not expanding NATO which seems a key piece of starting the whole path to the invasion moving. We've covered this ground before.

I'm curious on you saying "your invasion" and "your word." Are you associating me with the Russians?
That's quite a bizarre accusation if that's what you're getting at.

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For the umpteenth time there was no agreement for nato not to expand.......
And yeah you do sound like a Russian..just saying....

Datchew said:

I agree this is a shame. But do you view it as a new and novel approach that's not consistent with American foreign policy for several decades?

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No I view it as a new and novel approach of double billing, Ukraine paid upfront by handing over their nuclear deterrent and the current administration is attempting to squeeze another payment from them.

Tubby’s Canteen said:

No I view it as a new and novel approach of double billing, Ukraine paid upfront by handing over their nuclear deterrent and the current administration is attempting to squeeze another payment from them.

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I can get behind that viewpoint. Appreciate you clarifying.

spike.t said:

For the umpteenth time there was no agreement for nato not to expand.......
And yeah you do sound like a Russian..just saying....

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I'm a Kansas boy, 5 years navy spec war veteran, secret and sometimes top secret clearance, mechanical engineer by career post-military, and live in San Antonio, Texas.

While I do speak functional Spanish (often enhanced when tequila is involved... purely from the speaker's perspective) I'm quite sure I am not Russian. Feel free to drop in anytime you're in Texas and I'll host and you can be the judge.

On that promise about Nato expansion - I recommend you go search for this phrase "declassified NATO Baker not one inch Eastward."

Peruse multiple links. You never know how many the Russkies have put up as a front to spread lies and disinformation.

Datchew said:

I'm a Kansas boy, 5 years navy spec war veteran, secret and sometimes top secret clearance, mechanical engineer by career post-military, and live in San Antonio, Texas.

While I do speak functional Spanish (often enhanced when tequila is involved... purely from the speaker's perspective) I'm quite sure I am not Russian. Feel free to drop in anytime you're in Texas and I'll host and you can be the judge.

On that promise about Nato expansion - I recommend you go search for this phrase "declassified NATO Baker not one inch Eastward."

Peruse multiple links. You never know how many the Russkies have put up as a front to spread lies and disinformation.

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On the Russian bit I was ...but on expansion........

spike.t said:

On the Russian bit I was ...but on expansion........

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You didn't find anything like this?

Link to declassified docs

Datchew said:

I think my grasp is just fine. You're leaving out the promises of not expanding NATO which seems a key piece of starting the whole path to the invasion moving. We've covered this ground before.

I'm curious on you saying "your invasion" and "your word." Are you associating me with the Russians?
That's quite a bizarre accusation if that's what you're getting at.

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The Budapest memorandum was where Russia guaranteed in writing to respect the borders of Ukraine.

Tell me, what document or agreement was it again where who exactly promised not to expand NATO?

There isn't one and the alleged verbal promise probably did not happen:

“I was in those meetings, and Gorbachev has [also] said there was no promise not to enlarge NATO,” Zoellick recalls. Soviet Foreign Minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, later president of Georgia, concurred, he says. Nor does the treaty on Germany’s unification include a limit on NATO enlargement. Those facts have undermined one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s justifications for invading Ukraine — that the United States had agreed that former Warsaw Pact nations would never become part of the North Atlantic security alliance."

Now, if there was a verbal promise made in 1990 it was only that NATO would not expand to the former GDR (which ship of course had long sailed by the time Putin went into Ukraine).

Further Yeltsin explicitly approved of the expansion of NATO into Poland, long after any such verbal promise may have been made. That resulted in the now near dead NATO-Russia Founding Act which also does not prohibit NATO expansion.

The Russian talk of the "broken promise" is as much of a pretext for the invasion of Ukraine as many other spurious Putin claims.

Datchew said:

You didn't find anything like this?

Link to declassified docs

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It's 22.59 on a Friday night in lusaka....beer time.... no time to Peruse such ....... .....but will go with the above post