Post by 4aapl on Dec 1, 2023 13:54:42 GMT -8
I'm not in the market for one, partly due to just not liking the look of them, but it's good to see the CyberTruck finally coming out. I'm sure by the time deliveries pass 10k we'll have at least one in town, especially since Musk's cousin from SolarCity is here, and they don't have a truck. We helped them move a big workshop table recently.
While it is a unique looking vehicle, and priced pretty high, the price isn't that much more than a F-150 Lightning.
But in spending a little time looking at the feasibility of importing a new Land Cruiser 70 to the US, a video pointed out the fallacy he would face in doing such, that it would be seen as having something that mere normal people couldn't have, even if it wasn't a huge amount of money. While its uniqueness would also have problems with repairs and parts, possibly all the way down to an oil filter. In this day and age he would be able to get everything, but it would have to come from overseas and so it would be expensive and slow.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rlLSaICSVU
A land cruiser is said to blend in, and we've seen several of them, or more often their even more expensive Lexus counterparts, in the parking lot at our community ski resort. They don't stand out as being over $100k for the Lexus. And I'm sure a new 70 would blend well enough, while having a pre-importation cost of only around $35k, practically prius territory. Still, his points do stick out, that there are downsides even if the expenses aren't outrageous.
If not going for the LA area shock and awe, then a specialty vehicle probably isn't a good fit. OTOH, flipping that idea reminds one that there are some people that will buy something just to be unique or different. A friend in town had one of those Fiskar cars from 10-12 years ago. Another had an old tiny Lotus roadster. There's a metallic green wrangler, and a metallic green Tesla. There's all sorts of ways to be unique, and not all of them are outrageously expensive.
I imagine the CyberTruck will do ok, and that either the looks will catch on or they will change them once they make it through all of the backlog. And while I don't like all that Musk has done, sadly I see at least some similarities with stories about Steve, back before he was away from Apple and basically had time to grow up and expand while starting or running Next and Pixar. But I do like hearing some of the things, running with what works but being willing to find problems in big ways. SpaceX does this in very visible ways, including having rockets blow up but still pushing forward and fixing the flaws, some of which just couldn't be conceived beforehand (years ago one of the rockets blew up because carbon fiber had never been pushed to those forces). And while at times it seems like Musk is one to deflect problems that often he creates, it's interesting to me to at least occasionally see some humility, like with this broken window sticker:
www.cnn.com/2023/12/01/business/broken-window-stickers-tesla-cybertruck-sell-out/index.html
I hope he can change his ways.
In the mean time, looks like I'll pass on a LC 70, unless I take a long vacation outside of North America and need a vehicle for the Australian Outback. One of our local billionaires drives a Ridgeline, though that might not be a valid comparison since he also owns a company called Ridgeline. It is fun to see the amazingly wide product line available in Japan at toyota.jp , but with practicality in mind I'll just stick with a vehicle available for purchase new in the US, and with good reliability and a sizable number of units sold
OTOH, I know a few of you have more unique vehicles, or aspirations of getting one. While I might be deciding I'd be happier with the reliability of a Miata than the cute little Alfa convertible we saw this summer, not everyone is that boring or practical.
(OTOH, if going the other direction, that Alfa was nice (4c spider, carbuzz.com/cars/alfa-romeo/4c-spider ), any current or past small Lotus, a NSX, or even an S2000. Though sometimes an original Hummer or any of the Rezvani's are tempting too, like an FJ Cruiser on steroids. www.rezvanimotors.com/rezvani-models Looks like I saw it on "The terminal list"...opposite an old school land cruiser. carbuzz.com/news/rezvani-tank-stars-in-amazons-new-show-the-terminal-list It's like there is a pattern here or something, but a friend did have a pretty utilitarian ~1984 land cruiser, with a corvette engine in it. So like the Alfa (drove one my parents had, amazing looks) and 300GT (kid dream car, and had one for a bit, quick but problems), I have good memories of them, even if there were downsides too)
While it is a unique looking vehicle, and priced pretty high, the price isn't that much more than a F-150 Lightning.
But in spending a little time looking at the feasibility of importing a new Land Cruiser 70 to the US, a video pointed out the fallacy he would face in doing such, that it would be seen as having something that mere normal people couldn't have, even if it wasn't a huge amount of money. While its uniqueness would also have problems with repairs and parts, possibly all the way down to an oil filter. In this day and age he would be able to get everything, but it would have to come from overseas and so it would be expensive and slow.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rlLSaICSVU
A land cruiser is said to blend in, and we've seen several of them, or more often their even more expensive Lexus counterparts, in the parking lot at our community ski resort. They don't stand out as being over $100k for the Lexus. And I'm sure a new 70 would blend well enough, while having a pre-importation cost of only around $35k, practically prius territory. Still, his points do stick out, that there are downsides even if the expenses aren't outrageous.
If not going for the LA area shock and awe, then a specialty vehicle probably isn't a good fit. OTOH, flipping that idea reminds one that there are some people that will buy something just to be unique or different. A friend in town had one of those Fiskar cars from 10-12 years ago. Another had an old tiny Lotus roadster. There's a metallic green wrangler, and a metallic green Tesla. There's all sorts of ways to be unique, and not all of them are outrageously expensive.
I imagine the CyberTruck will do ok, and that either the looks will catch on or they will change them once they make it through all of the backlog. And while I don't like all that Musk has done, sadly I see at least some similarities with stories about Steve, back before he was away from Apple and basically had time to grow up and expand while starting or running Next and Pixar. But I do like hearing some of the things, running with what works but being willing to find problems in big ways. SpaceX does this in very visible ways, including having rockets blow up but still pushing forward and fixing the flaws, some of which just couldn't be conceived beforehand (years ago one of the rockets blew up because carbon fiber had never been pushed to those forces). And while at times it seems like Musk is one to deflect problems that often he creates, it's interesting to me to at least occasionally see some humility, like with this broken window sticker:
www.cnn.com/2023/12/01/business/broken-window-stickers-tesla-cybertruck-sell-out/index.html
I hope he can change his ways.
In the mean time, looks like I'll pass on a LC 70, unless I take a long vacation outside of North America and need a vehicle for the Australian Outback. One of our local billionaires drives a Ridgeline, though that might not be a valid comparison since he also owns a company called Ridgeline. It is fun to see the amazingly wide product line available in Japan at toyota.jp , but with practicality in mind I'll just stick with a vehicle available for purchase new in the US, and with good reliability and a sizable number of units sold
OTOH, I know a few of you have more unique vehicles, or aspirations of getting one. While I might be deciding I'd be happier with the reliability of a Miata than the cute little Alfa convertible we saw this summer, not everyone is that boring or practical.
(OTOH, if going the other direction, that Alfa was nice (4c spider, carbuzz.com/cars/alfa-romeo/4c-spider ), any current or past small Lotus, a NSX, or even an S2000. Though sometimes an original Hummer or any of the Rezvani's are tempting too, like an FJ Cruiser on steroids. www.rezvanimotors.com/rezvani-models Looks like I saw it on "The terminal list"...opposite an old school land cruiser. carbuzz.com/news/rezvani-tank-stars-in-amazons-new-show-the-terminal-list It's like there is a pattern here or something, but a friend did have a pretty utilitarian ~1984 land cruiser, with a corvette engine in it. So like the Alfa (drove one my parents had, amazing looks) and 300GT (kid dream car, and had one for a bit, quick but problems), I have good memories of them, even if there were downsides too)