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The New Car Fanatic Thread


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17 hours ago, Atxracer said:

Long time lurker on the old sight but decided to join in here.  Been eyeing this one for awhile and finally pulled the trigger.  One in back is the wife's (no pics).  Not new but new to me. Does have USB's.

IMG_0135.jpg

Black beauties.  I have 997 carerra s that is also black on Black. Love that turbo s. That thing is pure awesome. 

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On 5/1/2018 at 4:07 PM, Chewbacca said:

I encountered a Cherokee Trackhawk on Sunday morning and that thing is just absurdly fast.  He caught me unaware (in comfort mode, not dynamic), but it didn't matter.  I had zero chance of keeping up with him.  Sounded mean, too.

Saw one at the auto show for $93,000

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https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/tesla-stock-drops-as-elon-musk-gives-bizarre-earnings-call.html

Shares in Tesla took a nosedive in after-hours trading today as Elon Musk cut off analysts during a first-quarter earnings call. He dismissed a question about gross margins from Bernstein senior analyst Toni Sacconaghi as "boring." Instead, Musk and other executives answered multiple questions from a Tesla enthusiast and Youtuber named Gali Russell.

The 25-year-old retail investor tweeted at Elon Musk on Monday, seeking to ask him a "crowdsourced" question during Wednesday's conference call. Instead of a single question, Russell was able to ask several.

The stock drop may have become apparent around the time when Musk cut off analysts on the call. However, the company's first-quarter update has also stoked concerns over Tesla's cash burn and how, exactly, it will improve margins while ramping Model 3 production.

On the first-quarter call, CEO Elon Musk also promised a "reorganization" this month. He said:

"I'm feeling quite confident about hitting positive cash flow in Q3. This is not a certainty. It does appear quite likely in my view. We are going to conduct a reorganization, restructuring of the company this month and make sure we are well set up to achieve that goal. In particular the number of third-party companies we're using has gotten out of control. We're going to scrub the barnacles on that front."

In answering questions from Gali Russell, Musk also revealed that Model Y production is not expected to begin for another two years, and that the vehicle won't be produced at Tesla's main, Fremont, Calif. factory. 

Musk said, "We will not be starting production of the Model Y at the end of next year. It's probably closer to 24 months from now, 2020... We could not fit the Model Y production at Fremont. We're jammed to the gills here. One thing I know for sure is it's not here."

 

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DETROIT (AP) -- Tesla's record net loss in the first quarter and fast-burn through millions of dollars is raising questions about the company's ability to pay all its bills.

CEO Elon Musk conceded that criticism is valid but said during a sometimes-testy conference call with analysts Wednesday that it's "quite likely" Tesla will make money and have positive cash flow in the third quarter.

"It's high time we became profitable," said Musk, who also promised restructuring this month to achieve profit goals. "The truth is you're not a real company until you are, frankly. That's our focus right now."

Wednesday's results showed Tesla tearing through $745.3 million in cash in the first quarter, due largely to the slow production ramp-up of the Model 3 mass-market electric sedan. The cash burn could put pressure on the company to borrow more or sell additional shares to raise more cash.

When asked by an analyst on a conference call about all-important reservations for the Model 3, Musk cut him off, calling questions dry and "not cool." He then allowed multiple questions from a person via YouTube.

Tesla began the quarter with $3.96 billion in cash and equivalents, but that fell to $3.22 billion by quarter's end.

The company said in April that it won't need more capital this year as it generates added cash as production and sales of the Model 3 grow.

But Model 3 production still isn't near the level of 5,000 per week that Musk promised last year. That's also the level needed for Tesla to make money.

Problems with building Model 3s at a plant in Fremont, California, got so bad during the quarter that Musk has tweeted he's sleeping at the factory, automation is overrated and more humans are needed to build the cars.

Strong sales of the car are key to generating cash to pay operating expenses, fund capital spending and make upcoming debt payments.

The company said in a note to investors Wednesday that Model 3 production is on the rise and that it expects profitability in the second half, under generally accepted accounting principles.

"This is primarily based on our ability to reach Model 3 production volume of 5,000 units per week," the company stated.

In its letter, Tesla said Model 3 production hit 2,270 per week at the end of April, the third straight week that it reached over 2,000.

The company said it improved battery module production during the quarter, overcoming a large bottleneck, and it now expects to hit 5,000 Model 3s per week around early July.

The Model 3 starts at $35,000 but can easily top $50,000 with options.

Musk said the restructuring would involve getting rid of third-party contractors that have grown out of control. "We're going to scrub barnacles on that front," he said.

He admitted that Tesla made a mistake by adding too much automation too quickly at the factory.

"We have temporarily dialed back automation and introduced certain semi-automated or manual processes while we work to eventually have full automation take back over," the company said.

Tesla posted a record $709.6 million net loss in the first quarter, which amounts to a loss of $4.19 per share. Excluding one-time expenses such as stock-based compensation, the company lost $3.35 per share. Revenue grew by 26 percent from a year ago to $3.4 billion.

The giant loss in a critical quarter for the 15-year-old company beat Wall Street estimates. Analysts polled by FactSet expected an adjusted loss of $3.54 per share. Revenue exceeded estimates of $3.28 billion.

During the quarter the company burned cash at a rate of $57 million per week.

Shares in Tesla, which is based in Palo Alto, California, fell more than 4 percent in after-hours trading after the earnings report.

Moody's Investor Service downgraded Tesla's debt into junk territory back in March, warning at the time that Tesla didn't have cash to cover $3.7 billion for normal operations, capital expenses and debt that come due early next year. At the end of last year the company had a total of $9.5 billion in long-term debt.

Tesla Inc. has had only two profitable quarters in its nearly eight years as a public company.

The company said it will reduce capital spending for 2018 from $3.4 billion to $3 billion and said it can be cut further based on the cash it generates.

But that could slow future product development. "We wonder what spending is deferred and for how long," CFRA analyst Efraim Levy wrote in a note to investors.

The Model 3 is the most important piece of Tesla's plan to become a mainstream automaker. At one point it had more than 500,000 potential buyers on a waiting list.

Net reservations, including configured orders that had not been delivered, "continued to exceed 450,000" at the end of the first quarter, the company said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EARNS_TESLA?SITE=TXMCA&SECTION=BUSINESS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2018-05-02-21-07-48

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On 5/2/2018 at 9:14 AM, Atxracer said:

Thanks. Really enjoying it so far.  Carerra S is a great car.  You ever get it on track?

 Not since my kiddo was born. Been over 10 years since I took it to a track.  Wife shit that down once the kiddo arrived. Probably wise. 

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17 minutes ago, pepper brooks said:

Got out whataburger Ed by the mcclaren, but I actually think the gts has a better exhaust note.

Nah, two different cars for two different purposes.  Congrats on the new ride.  She's a beaut.

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I’ve put a few miles on the gts. Prior to buying this car it had been a while since I had driven a panamera. I had never driven the mk2 version of the gts. I had driven a 2012 mk1 version (the one with the bubbly window in the back).

I’ve always thought the fit and finish on the panamera was absolutely world class. Just some of the finest craftsmanship and construction in the industry. It’s impeccable. I still firmly believe this. This car is a 2015 model, but only has 11k miles. It appears brand new inside and out. Inside the cockpit is comfortable, functional and well appointed. I like that is has a plethora of buttons on the console. They’re easy to find and laid out in a way that is very intuitive. I have the sport steering wheel that doesn’t have any function controls on it. Reaching to change the radio on the touch screen can be a bit tough as the screen is a good distance from my driving position. There is a back up plan where you can scroll through the function menu in the instrument cluster with levers under the steering wheel. It works well. The sport seats are a great mix of comfort and sportiness. Sound system is fine, but irrelevant at times. More on that momentarily.

I get this definitely isn’t the best looking car from the “b” pillar back. The rear of the car, while much improved in the 2014 makeover, is still pretty damn wonky. That said it is very functional. Rear passengers have ample head room, even tall ones, and there is a ton of trunk space. Still...it could look better. I do love the front of the car. I think it’s very stylish, aggressive and definitely is very “porsche”.

I am pretty sure all my neighbors hate me because of this car, they probably all hated me before it but that’s another matter. I leave for the gym and work very early. It sounds like a freaking bomb going off when I fire the thing up. It wakes up everyone in my house too. That exhaust note from that non turbo V8 makes the sound from the radio fully irrelevant. I could listen to the exhaust note all day. The engine is straight brute force and has ample power to make this giant of a car seem lightweight. That’s another thing, the car is freaking huge, measuring in at 16 feet in length. Somehow they’ve made it feel/drive much smaller. It doesn’t feel like a 911 obviously, but the drive is absolutely fantastic. When in confront mode it’s relatively quite, smooth and luxurious. Hit the sport or sport plus buttons and the it turns into an
animal on steroids. The car seems to know what you want to do before you even do it. It’s a true joy to drive.

Lastly, the thing does draw more attention that I imagined it would. Some of it is people looking at it wondering why anyone would buy such an “ugly” car. I get that. More is people wanting to check out the car that sounds like a Ferrari. So far after 3 days of having it i would say it’s the perfect combination for a long time 911 driver who’s gotten older, wants something that is a ton of fun to drive when I want to drive like i would drive a 911, but needs something way more tame and comfortable 99% of the time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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1 hour ago, Atxracer said:

I got a 14 Cayenne GTS for the same sound reason.  Definitely sounds incredible and what sold me on the car.   Total dumbass move they subsequently changed it to a turbo 6 cylinder.  

 

That why I bought this one too. There have been conflicting reports about the new panamera and whether they will build a gts or not. One thing is certain, if they build one it will not be a V8. That was really the deciding factor. That and I didn’t want to wait.  The fact that someone else took the depreciation hit certainly didn’t hurt my feelings either. 

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You had any issues with it yet? A friend just dumped his X5 (model right below the M) after he got spooked by a big repair bill out of the blue on one of the turbos. Was covered by warranty, but only a year left on that. I think it had 50K or fewer miles. Depreciation was ridiculous on that thing.

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16 minutes ago, Okie State said:

You had any issues with it yet? A friend just dumped his X5 (model right below the M) after he got spooked by a big repair bill out of the blue on one of the turbos. Was covered by warranty, but only a year left on that. I think it had 50K or fewer miles. Depreciation was ridiculous on that thing.

No, it's been fairly solid. I had the 4.8 X5 before this, which was still a naturally aspirated V8. Put 200k on it with minimal issues. Only big thing was valve seals, which all the 4.8s had to have done eventually. Did that here in my shop though. I think the only other things that outright failed were the lift gate motors at around 160k and the blower motor, around 100k.

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43 minutes ago, pepper brooks said:

I had an x5m for a short period of time.  Thing was badass when it worked which was very infrequently.  

E70 or F85?

The E70's were pretty notorious. So far, so good on the F85

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Took off my 19" wheelset with Pirelli p Zero RSC (run-flat) for 18" with Michelin Pilot Super Sport (non RF)

 

Can't really tell the difference in comfort or handling and steering feel, but it seems much less droning on the freeway, and measures about 2.5dB quieter according to my phone

 

So far so good

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Buddy of mine bought this from my Dad.  So, was "forced" to do a cannonball run yesterday to Kerrville and back to pick it up for him. Wife (still no pics) in the Audi and me in the car above.  Luckily ran into a yukon doing 90-95 so had plenty of time to make gaps and have some fun. Really similar in speed but, annoyingly,  the Audi gets me by a little.  Think I could make it up in the turns though.:)  

a%3E

Edited by Atxracer
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