# General car talk **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 30, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611 "2022-08-30T15:18:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/141 "2022-12-01T03:44:45Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I was just speculating that GM might have decided to use the Corvette name because the precednt has been set by Ford successfully. Gotcha, thanks ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/142 "2022-12-01T22:33:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Porsche has had a high-performance SUV for two decades now No, apologies for not being more clear; you read my words but missed my intent. I’m saying that Porsche has not taken the 911 and made it into a stand-alone brand of 911. Sure, there’s been lots of takes on the model over the years, but Porsche’s SUV isn’t a 911 SUV. See what I’m saying? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/143 "2022-12-01T22:49:13Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > Porsche has not taken the 911 and made it into a stand-alone brand of 911. For a chunk of Porsche’s history the 911 was the only model they sold. To most people, the brand identity of Porsche is the 911 in a way that the brand identity of Chevy was never the Corvette. The Vette is an iconic Chevy, but it doesn’t represent the brand. I was thinking how Ram became a brand, which seems to have been pretty well established now. It’s not like this a brand new phenomenon, as various car makers have done this in the past. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/144 "2022-12-01T23:09:17Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > To most people, the brand identity of Porsche is the 91 This argument is a good one but Porsche still didn’t make it a stand-alone brand. Ah well, different marketing people, different strokes. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/145 "2022-12-02T01:11:07Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > See what I’m saying? Yes I do. And I agree with your point as made. I did misunderstand you the first time; that was dull of me. Sorry. But … Corvette occupies an odd spot within Chevy. And has since the 1960s. It’s undeniably a Chevy product; it’s not, and never was, a product of Mama GM nor sold as a product of Mama GM. And yet it’s almost, but not quite a separate brand and always has been. Corvettes were made in separate factories using significantly different tech even way back then. They’ve always been marketed as the Corvette, not the “Chevy Corvette”. Contrast that with the “Chevy Camaro” that has co-existed with the Corvette for most (not all) of Corvette’s life. “Chevy” is the first two syllables of the Camaro’s name. Thats not true of Corvette. Not now and not back then. I’m not happy to see them trying to extend Corvette to a performance SUV body design. What next, a friggin’ Corvette pickup truck? Sheesh! I think the Mustang SUV is an abomination. But I can sure see what the Chevy (GM?) marketing folks are thinking and I bet they’ll succeed. My now-geezery purism be damned. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/146 "2022-12-02T01:27:50Z")
Another model that became a brand is Genisis from Hyundai. It was a model for several years before being turned into a brand in 2015. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/147 "2022-12-02T01:31:39Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Lithium is a huge problem. Biden’s rebate for EVs includes a requirement that the batteries source 50% of their lithium from America. Are you sure? I thought US **or** a country we have a fair-trade treaty with. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/148 "2022-12-02T02:12:39Z")
I don’t know. I’ve seen ‘U.S. sourced’, but maybe that was a preliminary draft. Regardless, the current state isn’t much better. According to the Financial Post, the language is that the batteries or components cannot come from ‘a country of concern’, which includes China, the largest manufacturer of batteries. > **[There's a problem with Joe Biden's EV subsidy: hardly any cars will qualify](https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/electric-vehicles/theres-a-problem-with-joe-bidens-ev-subsidy-hardly-any-cars-will-qualify)** > > Climate law links the subsidy to domestic manufacturing goals that render some vehicles ineligible. Read more > [@](#): > > The [law signed by Biden last week](https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/electric-vehicles/inflation-reduction-act-canada) immediately requires that any EV sold in the U.S. must be assembled in North America to qualify for the credit. The requirements grow stricter in 2024, when eligible EVs must have battery components not made or assembled “by a foreign entity of concern,” which includes China, the dominant battery producer. > > In 2025 those batteries must exclude “critical minerals” extracted, processed or recycled from the same foreign countries. An increasing share would need to be from North America or selected trade partners. According to the article, only 21 of 72 EV models are currently eligible for the subsidy, but it gets worse in 2024 and 2025: > [@](#): > > The impending limits on battery components and minerals will further shorten the list. “If the Treasury department interprets the law, strictly as written, **that would actually in my view disqualify all vehicles** ,” said Jay Turner, a professor of environmental studies at Wellesley College who researches the role of batteries in the clean energy transition. (bolding mine) In any event, EVs are currently supply limited, not demand limited. So these subsidies have the effect of driving up the price of EVs (many of which went up exactly $7,000 after the plan was enacted), and/or increasing waiting lists for the cars. It’s would also be inflationary, if the cars were actually available for sale. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/149 "2022-12-02T11:34:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But … Corvette occupies an odd spot within Chevy. And has since the 1960s. It’s undeniably a Chevy product; it’s not, and never was, a product of Mama GM nor sold as a product of Mama GM. Not quite. See the Cadillac XLR. Be glad that didn’t take off or there would be a GMC Denali version of the Corvette by now. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/150 "2022-12-02T12:19:58Z")
> [@What's the most interesting car you saw today?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-car-you-saw-today/688889/4582): > > The ones on the chopping block are a little surprising. When it is all said and done, aren’t all these decisions simply based on a company’s sales in comparison to other companies’ sales of similar models, or are there other considerations? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/151 "2022-12-02T12:48:06Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Not quite. See the Cadillac XLR. Wow. Thank you. I remember the XLR, but I did not know it was a more-or-less rebadged under-engined Corvette. I never particularly studied them, but if you’d asked me about them, I’d have guessed they were rebadged Camaros, or simply the smaller Cadillac sedan with a swoopy body & stiffer suspension. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2022, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/152 "2022-12-03T06:35:38Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Be glad that didn’t take off or there would be a GMC Denali version of the Corvette by now Does the [Escalade-V](https://media.cadillac.com/media/us/en/cadillac/vehicles/escalade-v/2023.html) count? I don’t know if that’s Corvette engine, like previous -V cars, but it is all of the go-fast parts stuck on the T1XX platform, or whatever they call their full size trucks now. On second reading, do you mean a Denali version, just a straight up Corvette that’s called the GMC Frigate Denali, and has a hideous grill and leather, but is otherwise the same as a well optioned Chevrolet Corvette? ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2022, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/153 "2022-12-03T06:43:45Z")
Well, the Chevy TrailBlazer SS did have a Corvette engine: > **[Chevrolet TrailBlazer (SUV) | SS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Trailblazer_(SUV)#SS)** > > An SS model was introduced for the 2006 model year. This was the first time a production SUV wore the Super Sport badge. The TrailBlazer SS came standard with a 6.0L LS2 V8 engine which produced 395 bhp and 400lb-ft (540 nm) of torque, the same standard engine as the 2005–2007 C6 Corvette, except with different exhaust (more restrictive) and a taller intake manifold to better use the torque characteristics of the engine in the much heavier body. The suspension was stiffened and lowered from th ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/154 "2022-12-03T15:14:05Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > Corvette that’s called the GMC Frigate Denali Yeah, that one. But with some stupid optional $5,000 workbench that folds out of the back and some power outlets so you can saw some plywood when you need to. Plus, the Frigate (I like that name) could tow 10,000 pounds of horses around. In the rain. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/155 "2022-12-05T06:05:23Z")
Every time I see this Taco Bell commercial I ask myself, “What kind of car is that?” To me it looks like something Japanese from the 1970s, but I can’t quite ID it. Does anyone know what it is? Pausing the video on YouTube, I’m thinking maybe it’s a mid-70s Corolla, but I’m not positive. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YZdTO0dDiqY/maxresdefault.jpg "Friends Car - Nacho Fries (Commercial) | Taco Bell") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZdTO0dDiqY) ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/156 "2022-12-05T11:23:12Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Lithium is a huge problem. Biden’s rebate for EVs includes a requirement that the batteries source 50% of their lithium from America. Number of vehicles that currently qualify: 0. America produces only 1% of global lithium. China is the big producer. not quite: **8 Top Lithium-producing Countries (Updated 2022)** - Australia. Mine production: 55,000 MT. … - Chile. Mine production: 26,000 MT. … - China. Mine production: 14,000 MT. … - Argentina. Mine production: 6,200 MT. … - Brazil. Mine production: 1,500 MT. … - Zimbabwe. Mine production: 1,200 MT. … - Portugal. Mine production: 900 MT. … - United States. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/157 "2022-12-06T23:30:20Z")
[1976-79 Corolla Liftback](https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1977-toyota-corolla-3/) that’s been anonymized a bit. Specifically, it’s missing the odd louvered panels at the back of the hood as well as the center crease. [The front view as the commercial opens](https://www.ispot.tv/ad/2gnN/taco-bell-nacho-fries-cant-wait-forever) may just be a render. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/158 "2022-12-07T00:42:42Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > [1976-79 Corolla Liftback](https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1977-toyota-corolla-3/) that’s been anonymized a bit. Specifically, it’s missing the odd louvered panels at the back of the hood as well as the center crease. That’s probably what threw me off. I kept thinking it looks kind of like a Corolla, but something seemed “off” about it, which made me wonder if it was something that just looked sort of similar to one. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/159 "2022-12-07T05:54:15Z")
Battery in the truck was dead. It was 5 years and 3 months old, so just out of its warranty, of course. If it couldn’t handle sitting for 3 weeks with nights in the teens, then definitely time for a new one. (Tesla 12v battery _also_ just died 3 months out of its warranty.) I half thought about charging it to see if it would come back, but figured it was only $100 to replace it, and I don’t want it to get one start on the charge and then leave my wife stranded. Put in the new battery, and the interior map lights come on… Oh well, best case I’d charge it, spend time getting it tested, discover it’s fine and maybe get a couple of years out of it. More likely, letting it sit at 10v for three weeks in frigid temperatures has shortened any remaining life, and it would be dead when we need the truck at 4am to get to the airport. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611/160 "2022-12-07T09:55:31Z")
About 10 years ago we had a couple of inches of snow (a rarity in southwest England), and looking out of our flat we noticed our car covered, except a small bit of the roof near the centre of the windscreen. Turned out this was due to the heat from the map light being left on, as the battery was dead next time we came to start the car. Live and learn! We have done the same thing once more since, but a kind neighbour walking their dog late at night sent me a message about it just before I got into bed, which saved a lot of hassle in the morning. Our car is about 10 years old and has mechanical switches for the interior lights - I guess newer/higher-end models will cut these electronically after a certain time (like our car does with the radio if it’s left on for some time without the engine on). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-car-talk/970611.md?page=9)