# Any current companies you see circling the bowl? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351 "2013-11-07T19:04:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/101 "2013-11-13T04:04:51Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Yeah, I am not seeing why Boeing got nominated at all. They are huge and almost irreplaceable taking into account all their assets and industry expertise. It is basically them and Airbus that forms the global manufacturing market for airliners at a cost ranging up to hundreds of millions of dollars for a single order. Boeing has had a few setbacks with the Dreamliner battery failures but that is solvable. > > Boeing is a literally a semi-monopoly in an industry that will not see significant other competition for at least several decades because the start-up costs and lead time from conception to deliveries is so long (15 - 20 years at an absolute minimum even if several billionaires wanted to dump everything they had into a new venture). That isn’t happening. To be honest, I have a hard time seeing the US Government allowing Boeing to fail. Those words will likely come back to haunt me in the time I have left on this planet, but right now if Boeing said “we need $40 billion or we’re shutting down next week”, in 6 days Boeing would have a $60 billion credit facility at the Fed. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/102 "2013-11-13T04:06:49Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > But going backwards at a million miles an hour. They will continue to lose market share and have even admitted that they are looking at becoming a software company, nt as much margin as their old hardware stuff. Rim are dying. Patent harvesting, that’s about what’s left them. That is, if they haven’t sold or mortgaged off their patent portfolio already. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/103 "2013-11-13T04:21:42Z")
I see where Jaguar has come out with an outrageously attractive and powerful [F-Type](http://www.jaguarusa.com/all-models/f-type/f-type-models/index.html) 2-seater with a supercharged engine, after many years of boring 4-door models. Studebaker Avanti (the last gasp of a dying company) anyone ? ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/104 "2013-11-13T17:22:10Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > Prediction: Boeing gone. Replacement: Tesla I don’t see either one going away soon, but given recent events I’d lay odds on Tesla collapsing before Boeing ever does. There have been 3 fires in Teslas in the last six weeks. Given their limited sales numbers, this is not insignificant. Still, Elon Musk said today that there “Absolutely won’t be a recall.” Of course, it’s really not his decision to make (It’s the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin. who orders recalls) but it’s never a good omen when the CEO sticks his head in the sand on potention problems. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/105 "2013-11-13T17:25:28Z")
The idea that Boeing will be replaced by Tesla is… original, to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/106 "2013-11-13T17:30:59Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The idea that Boeing will be replaced by Tesla is… original, to say the least. Why? What could go wrong with an electric airliner? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/107 "2013-11-13T17:36:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I see where Jaguar has come out with an outrageously attractive and powerful [F-Type](http://www.jaguarusa.com/all-models/f-type/f-type-models/index.html) 2-seater with a supercharged engine, after many years of boring 4-door models. Studebaker Avanti (the last gasp of a dying company) anyone ? It could be. Automakers occasionally attempt to reinvent fading brands, but it hardly ever works. I’m thinking that the Chinese & Indian companies that bought dying auto brands a couple of years ago (Jaguar, Volvo, Saab) are going to start regretting it soon, if they aren’t already. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/108 "2013-11-13T17:48:55Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Why? What could go wrong with an electric airliner? 😃 What happens if you’re on an 2000 mile long flight and they accidentally plugged in the 1000 mile cord? You’ll be halfway over the ocean and your plane will unplug. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/109 "2013-11-13T17:50:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > What happens if you’re on an 2000 mile long flight and they accidentally plugged in the 1000 mile cord? You’ll be halfway over the ocean and your plane will unplug. Or you fly to Europe, only to forget the adaptor? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/110 "2013-11-13T19:19:27Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Or you fly to Europe, only to forget the adaptor? 😃 If you plug it straight into the 240, will it go twice as fast? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/111 "2013-11-13T21:51:23Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > I don’t know about Mitsubishi but I thought I had read in the Wall Street Journal fairly recently that Volvo sales are on the up in the United States. I’ll have to admit a bit of perhaps unfair anti-Volvo feelings, in the past I would have considered buying one of their cars but once they were bought by a Chinese automaker I became concerned about their quality. No idea if there has been a hit to quality after the takeover or not, though, which is why I said it was an unfair feeling I had. Geely buying Volvo was one of the best things that could have happened for them. Geely has been dumping lots of money into the Volvo brand. I don’t know what to predict for their future in the US, but watch Volvo really take off in China over the next 5 years. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/112 "2013-11-13T22:07:37Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Yeah, not to be cruel, but every K-Mart I know of has always looked like it was about two days away from closing forever. I remember that from when I was a kid, 30 years ago. K-Mart was always depressing to me, in a different way than, say, Wal-Mart is depressing. I used to joke that being there too long would turn you into a K-Martian, which I thought was pretty clever because I was 8. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/113 "2013-11-13T22:09:48Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Radio Shack, although I’ll admit I’m parroting something I heard on NPR this evening. The obligatory Onion link: [http://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/](http://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/) ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/114 "2013-11-13T22:13:05Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Why? What could go wrong with an electric airliner? 😃 Nothing that can’t go wrong with an aviation fueled airliner, so they have that going for them! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/115 "2013-11-14T01:34:58Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > If you plug it straight into the 240, will it go twice as fast? 😃 Super sonic? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/116 "2013-11-16T18:53:02Z")
Radio Shack recently [reported](http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/10/22/5326634/radioshack-reports-financial-results.html) 3rd quarter results and it’s not pretty. Much increased loses, much lower revenue. They’ve had an interim CEO for several months. OTOH, still have some reserves and people willing to finance them for a while. So it could last a bit more. I was checking their stock prices. Surprisingly steady for the past [year](http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=RSH+Interactive#symbol=rsh;range=1y;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;). But a big loss from 2010 to 2012. The real surprise was the spike in 1999. Then it hit me: The tech bubble. RS stock was part of the tech bubble! I have no idea why anyone at the time thought RS was going to be part of the Internet Economy or anything. It would have been a great stock to bet against at the time. Maybe they should try to bring back the Incredible Universe stores? ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/117 "2013-11-17T12:02:20Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Radio Shack recently [reported](http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/10/22/5326634/radioshack-reports-financial-results.html) 3rd quarter results and it’s not pretty. Much increased loses, much lower revenue. They’ve had an interim CEO for several months. > > OTOH, still have some reserves and people willing to finance them for a while. So it could last a bit more. The Australian equivalent of Radio Shack (Tandy) closed down about five years ago, largely because pretty much everyone sells AV cables, batteries and USB sticks/SD cards. I mean, even the Post Office sells that stuff at competitive prices. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/118 "2013-11-17T16:29:27Z")
“Tandy” was the company that owned Radio Shack as well. In Europe and Australia, they started a chain of Radio Shack-like stores under the “Tandy” moniker, but in the US they were always “Radio Shack” (which they had bought in 1963.) Tandy, of course, is responsible for the (in)famous TRS-80 (“Trash-80”), which was announced in 1977. Interestingly enough, Tandy started business as a leather maker. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/119 "2013-11-17T19:10:48Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > That they’ve been rolled out in DC’s en masse. You are disagreeing with something I never said. I said they are “installing” them, as in they have started the process and will continue it. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351/120 "2013-11-17T20:41:08Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > You are disagreeing with something I never said. I said they are “installing” them, as in they have started the process and will continue it. I was disagreeing with your implication. That they were being installed en masse. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-current-companies-you-see-circling-the-bowl/673351.md?page=7)