My daughter surprised me yesterday when she asked if we could have a movie night and watch “Star Wars.” I’m a fan of the film but I’m not a Star Wars person, per se, but we were just visiting family and I’m guessing there was enough Star Wars-themed stuff around that the idea implanted itself in her head. After a little debate, we went ahead and started with Episode IV. That film debuted in 1977, also known as the first year that the F-Series began its streak as the best-selling vehicle in America.
This is the last TMD of the year so let’s have a little fun. I want to talk about gas prices in 2024 because it’s important and I like talking about gas prices. And while we’re on the topic I’m going to assume you’d be interested in hearing about how the ongoing tensions in the Red Sea are influencing energy prices.
Finally, Fisker joined my daughter in pleasantly surprising me this morning, this time with more deliveries than anticipated.
F-Series Keeps Its Sales Crown For 2023
I spent this morning guarding a college kid who’s home for the holidays during my weekly morning pickup Ultimate Frisbee game and, yeah, I’m starting to feel a little older. At least I’m not old enough to remember when the Ford F-Series wasn’t the best-selling vehicle in America (1976).
For whatever reason, Ford wasn’t worried that Chevy would somehow sell five times as many trucks as usual in December, and is crowing about maintaining its position on the top of Sales Mountain for yet another year with over 700,000 trucks moved.
Here’s what Ford’s director of U.S. sales had to say yesterday about it:
It’s a streak that spans four generations (and started when I was only four) and has lasted longer than the entire lifespan of many other popular consumer products, including compact discs and mp3 players, and the entire brick-and-mortar video rental industry. But this accolade is not a walk down memory lane; F-Series continues to grow and in 2023, remained the best-selling vehicle in the nation for the 42nd year in a row.
That is quite the streak. Of course, it’s at this point that I have to do the usual caveats about how this is calculated. First, “F-Series” includes Ford’s SuperDuty line of HD pickups. Second, GM and Stellantis report only quarterly sales and as of Q3 2023 it looks like, combined, the similar Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra were outselling the F-Series by about 60,000 trucks. On its own, the Silverado was about 150,000 trucks behind the F-Series. Third, this includes the F-150 Lightning, but even if you took it out the F-Series would be on top.
All that being said, it’s quite the accomplishment and it looks like Ford will be up a decent amount over its 2022 sales when the numbers land.
Are you ready for a fun quote from a GM spokesperson about it? Here we go, via The Detroit Free Press:
“Our shareholders, dealers and employees would rather have us build the best trucks, sell the hell out of them and lead the market, which is exactly what we have done for the last four years with Chevrolet and GMC,” GM spokesman Jim Cain told the Detroit Free Press. “The F-Series claim is nice to have but at the end of the day, it’s just marketing schmaltz for the Ford brand.”
Mwhahahahaha. Marketing schmaltz. That’s the good stuff.
Ok, let’s give one to Ford Spokesman Mike Levine:
“From the Bee Gees to Taylor Swift and the Apple II to Apple iPhone, If change is the only constant in life then there’s something reassuring that more than half of Americans have grown up only knowing that Ford F-Series is America’s bestselling vehicle,” Mike Levine, director of Ford North America product communications, told the Detroit Free Press.
I’d have said from Marvin Gaye to Boygenius, but that’s just me.
Gas Prices Are Predicted To Be Lower In 2024
A huge increase in gas prices in 2022 helped lift inflation and scare everyone into thinking a recession was coming in 2023. The recession didn’t happen (or hasn’t happened yet, or maybe just started and is super light) and gas prices have dropped as America’s oil production hits record levels.
What does that mean for 2024?
The U.S. national average retail gasoline price could drop by 13 cents next year to $3.38 a gallon, according to price tracker GasBuddy.com’s annual outlook.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is expecting a bigger, 17-cent drop in next year’s average pump price, according to its latest short-term forecast.
Lower gasoline bills free up money for consumers to spend elsewhere and could help the U.S. avoid a recession next year.
It is indeed good news for consumers and lower prices plus more aggressive action from the U.S. Federal Reserve could help the greater economy keep pumping.
Should We Be Worried About The Red Sea?
The Israeli-Gaza conflict has spilled over into the Red Sea, where the Houthi forces in Yemen have started firing on merchant ships in claimed solidarity with the people of Palestine. Whatever the reason, the disruption creates more headaches for global shipping, which uses the Red Sea to access the Suez Canal and Europe.
So far prices have not gone up across Europe and this whole thing has exposed how important the United States is to global energy security. Again, from Reuters:
European middle distillate markets could still be sensitive to any disruptions, however, because of seasonally low stock levels of both gasoil and jet fuel in northwestern Europe and low refinery run rates after the autumn maintenance period, Kpler analyst Zameer Yusof said.
He added that suppliers in the region will likely be reliant on diesel imports from the U.S. Gulf Coast into next year.
Europe’s diesel market was supplied mainly by Russian cargoes up until an EU embargo on Russian oil products from Feb. 5 this year in light of the war in Ukraine made Europe heavily reliant on the Middle East and Asia to fill its structural shortage of the product.
So, in terms of music, food, and energy you really can’t get away from needing what the Gulf Coast produces.
Fisker Delivered 4,700 Vehicles In Q4
The first Fisker Oceans started to get delivered only in May of this year, following a rocky start to production for the new-ish EV automaker. Unlike most automakers, Fisker uses contract manufacturing via Magna Steyr in Austria to make the Fisker-designed Ocean.
This seems to finally be working out, with Fisker’s deliveries jumping by more than 300% between Q3 and Q4 of this year according to the company:
After homologation delays in both Europe and the US, and as we navigated supplier issues, Fisker ultimately produced 10,142 in 2023. Customer deliveries began in June, with significant deliveries commencing in September and October. The company grew deliveries by over 300% from Q3 to Q4, and total deliveries are approximately 4,700, with the majority being Fisker Ocean One launch edition vehicles priced at $68,999 USD (comparably priced in other markets).
Fisker began deliveries in Canada in December and is now operating in 12 markets worldwide. Right-hand drive vehicles have been delivered in the United Kingdom, and in December the UK saw the delivery of the first Fisker Ocean Sport, the company’s entry-level trim.
Because Fisker does contract manufacturing, it means that overhead costs are way lower, so it’ll be interesting to see where the company’s financials land. Already, Fisker’s stock is way up on the news.
What I’m Listening To As I Write This
Mitski’s latest “The land is Inhospitable and So Are We,” which includes this killer verse:
Did you go and make promises you can’t keep?
Well, when ya break them, they break you right back
Amateur mistake, you can take it from me
The Big Question
Fisker? Fisker…? What do you think about Fisker?
I feel the need to point out that Ford’s reign hasn’t outlasted the entire video rental industry – Movie Madness here in Portland is non-profit film archive that does, in fact, still rent physical videos from its brick-and-mortar storefront.
also http://www.vidiotsfoundation.org
Does it not seem disingenuous to anyone else to lump the ENTIRE F-Series into one “vehicle” for the purposes of claiming the “best selling” title? That’s always bugged me. Not enough to look to see if it holds up for the F-150 (what they WANT you to think is best selling), but enough to see through the marketing sleaze.
I like Fisker and want them to succeed. I also love the concept of contract manufacturing. I like that different business models are being used in this industry versus the same old same old.
magna is old school, have been making the G500 for a long time.also build the 5-series, z4, jag i-pace, etc. not a new concept.
The Fisker Ocean looks neat IRL. Both normal enough and interesting enough.
I guess people fall for the “best selling” gambit hook line and sinker. My experiences has been that best selling is often worse in class (not just talking about cars here).
I remember Skull Candy being both everywhere & pretty damn crappy (to my ears, anyway)
Fisker is interesting because they totally went under my radar until mid October, so for a car to go from me hearing about it for the first time to actually delivering vehicles in only a couple months is a new feeling for me. I wish them all the success because I think more options in this space is only a good thing, and because they have some neat features.
Considering I just saw another massive Safety recall of Ford F series trucks today, it would be interesting to know which of the big three has the record for recalls for the past decade or so.
I’m hopeful for Fisker. The Ocean looks good for a crossover (well-proportioned in person), has some clever features like the “dog windows,” and boasts excellent range and charging speed. If Fisker can keep bringing the design, and Magna can keep bringing cutting edge battery tech, they could be a real contender.
I’m watching the Fisker Pear with great interest.
This string got me thinking. Now I am Business friendly and government limits as anyone who has been on here can attest. But I think a great idea would be if anyone patents anything and after say 10 years has not done anything with it, it like a medical patent should expire and anyone or everyone should be able to proceed with that discovery with no or limited payment to whoever is blocking that technology from the market.
I might come from the opposite end of the political spectrum, but we can agree on that. A lot of corporations sit on patents just so nobody else can use them, and it stifles innovation.
And given medical patents expire it should be possible to expire any unused viable patents. SCREW THE PROLETERIAT! That is a correct usage isn’t it? Never been ontbis side.
You’re welcome to stay a while. We won’t try to take away your access to healthcare or your grandkids’ ability to have meals at school even if their parents got bankrupted by a minor accident that still cost 6 figures in medical bills.
Yeah, sitting on patents is good for business but terrible for humanity.
Yeah but you might have an awesome idea but it might take you years to raise the capital. I get that 10 years is a long time but maybe annual patent renewal fees would be a better solution.
I just bought an F-150, I was born in 1976… coincidence that my existence influenced the market? I think not.
I think some points need made here. You can call any vehicle anything you want but that don’t make them donuts. The Ford F series is just labeling like the new SUV Mustang isn’t a real mustang but Ford would claim it is. Chevrolet has the real win. And as a Business Major increasing deliveries by 300% when Q3 is like 1200 isn’t impressive because it is only 3600 vehicles. A pittance like if I only put 10 out intentionally then 100 is it 1000% increase? No its 90 vehicles. I reserve the percentage increases to vehicles with decent numbers in both quarters.
But you do you.
Never seen a new Fisker in real life, so I really have no opinion of them. Seen a couple of Lucids, and I like those.
Schmaltz is what we used to call Schlitz Malt Liquor.
My mom was talking about buying a Fisker the other day. Not sure which one, but if you’ll hold on, Alaska.
Every time I see that artist’s name being used, I immediately think of the Boruto character.
Granted, it’s missing a ‘u’, but still. Screws with me every time!
Mitski is awesome. I’m bummed her upcoming Toronto shows seemed to have sold out before they were even announced. Effin’ scalpers…
I recently traveled to Florida to see the ocean. Instead of the Atlantic, I saw my first Fisker.
People aren’t caring about gas prices. I’m trying to find an open state campground for summer 2024. All the popular spots in NY are booked solid. Especially the electric sites, which very typically means a larger, thirstier vehicle and camper. That’s good for rural NY since it means more tourism dollars get spread out from the cities across the state. Gas, restaurants and other local haunts all get their chance at a cut.
“People aren’t caring about gas prices”
I am.
Yeah, my gas guzzling angry crossover and I are too
You only have to look at what’s on the roads to realize gas is way too cheap.
One part of the reason for what’s on the roads is the state of those roads. Fixing the roads I think enables people to be happier with smaller cars.
“Oh yeah you can be happier with a smaller car. It’ll make your purse look bigger.” – Ram’s VP of advertising.
Yes when potholes are bigger than small cars I prefer big and sturdy and paid for.
I like to drive around the potholes that cars with a wider track cannot avoid
You are forgetting how much better mileage vehicles get nowadays. According to Titlemax.com the average gas price was 62 cents a gallon ($2.99 a gallon in today’s money) and trucks got 12 mpg on average. Now vehicles are bigger, but they get better mileage.
And yet we still burn more gas:
https://www.statista.com/chart/1408/us-gasoline-consumption-tripled-since-1950/
Yeah but you have millions of more drivers. How about gas per vehicle? According to studies vehicle efficiency has reduced the money given towards road repairs from the gas tax despite more vehicles on the road. They want to increase the per gallon tax despite promising buying a more fuel efficient vehicle would benefit the consumer. Just like the EV promises of using an EV instead of ICE would benefit the driver by being cheaper and the environment. But oops government needs more money, and knew their promises were lies. Even perpetrated by the media.
This is in reply to Cheap Bastard
Bring out Hydrogen cars and trucks then and sell them for $20K.
That’ll change the market.
You can buy a 1st gen Mirai NOW for $10k.
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ctd/d/pleasant-hill-2017-toyota-mirai-71k/7702369614.html
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/berkeley-2016-toyota-mirai-miles/7702356682.html
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/d/oakland-2018-toyota-mirai-hydrogen/7696762452.html
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/d/san-jose-2017-toyota-mirai-fuel-cell/7698857685.html
Nobody wants them.
I don’t blame them. It’s wayyyyyy too soon infrastructure wise for hydro. Give it 50 years and then we’ll talk.
50 years? We’ll be driving fusion powered flying cars by then.
I thought those were just two years away. 🙂
Football years maybe.
Nah you may be driving a Ford Fusion I’ll be driving whatever they have in the underworld.
You ever wonder if after Angel’s get wings flying is like walking and they actually get around driving clouds or UFOs?
No. In my experience once things are dead they’re dead. No wings, no horns, no halos, no pitchforks, no clouds, no flames.
Just dead.
As far as I know death is exactly like how things were from the big bang right up to the moment a person’s first synapses fired up. If that person didn’t know any better then they won’t in death either.
Where did the “soul” go? Same place a story goes when the book its written on is burned or a data file goes when the drive it’s on is wiped.
Which is weird, ’cause there are plenty of Gundam fans in the US.
“Yeah but you have millions of more drivers”
And each of those people is driving more than their predecessors. My point was higher efficency isn’t making up for the more miles driven.
“They want to increase the per gallon tax despite promising buying a more fuel efficient vehicle would benefit the consumer.”
It can but yeah, its not a given. Doubling the gas tax doesn’t double the total price of the gas. You’re still going to benefit financially from driving a more fuel efficient vehicle but only if the fuel savings break even on all other cost increases before you bet rid of the car. Higher insurance, car payments, depreciation, registration and sales tax can easily wipe out any fuel cost savings if you only drive a couple thousand miles a year.
The more you drive the more you save. Which IMO is fucked up.
“Just like the EV promises of using an EV instead of ICE would benefit the driver by being cheaper and the environment.”
Again its a case of YMMV. Where I live electricity is expensive so the typical price parity with gasoline is 42 mpg so in my case I’m likely better off with a Prius than a Bolt. Unless I could charge for free at work, then the maths might work in the Bolts favor. Of course that’s an oversimplification, there are lots of other detail devils to factor in too.
I think we agree
Name checks out.
Damn straight!
With notable exceptions, lol!
Seeing all the shiny trucks driving around me, people clearly don’t care about city fuel economy in the teens and highway economy in the low twenties. To be fair that was basically every larger family car from the 1980’s to early 2000’s.
True my 2001 Isuzu Vehicross gets 15 mpg average. I don’t care because a new car would have to get 1,000 mpg or more to save enough to cover an $800 a month payment plus added insurance for the note holder. Do the math at $800 a month @ $3.35 a gallon you can buy 238 gallons of gas. My monthly gas bill is less than $300. So paying more for car than saving with efficiency.
A car with an $800/mo note and other higher costs is going to be nicer than your 23 yo Isuzu so that’s not a very fair comparison. Get an accurate market value on your Isuzu and figure out what that will buy you that gets great mileage on regular gas and fits most of your needs. At 15 mpg you shouldn’t have too tough a time.
But I still love driving my Isuzu more than any new car I see for sale.
And that is pure Autopian (especially since you’ve done the math)
are you being sarcastic?
Not sure in regards to this question but no I love my Vehicross and nothing available today would make me go into any debt. Now if someone offered me a free new car of my choice for the VX I would probably agree.
> nicer than your 23 yo Isuzu
I dunno, the Vehicross is pretty badass.
So is a Geo Tracker.
Funny note had an Amigo before the Vehicross. Great little underpowered Jeep Substitute
You are probably correct but my economic decisions might fit your username more than yours. Also if you don’t drive a newer car you don’t know what you are missing. I went the other way recently bought a 1978 Fiat Spider so the VX seems to ride like a dream. ????
“Also if you don’t drive a newer car you don’t know what you are missing.”
Depends on your sense of smell. Less stink is one of the features I appreciate with newer cars.
Congrats on the Spyder.
Thanks. But I never ate or smoked in the VX. Have had very few passengers. It is amazing how few people want a ride from you if you tell them what you think of them. LOL.BUT except for leather cracks in the drivers seat it is just a detail job away from looking new inside. Exterior needs some minor work. But it is so hard to explain the joy I get from driving it Daily even after 20 years. Sure at 60 it is getting hard to get in but next change is dialing the body down 2 inches and lowered driver seat.
It’s the primitive emissions systems in the Fiat to which I refer. Pre 1990s cars, especially those with carburetors not in good tune usually put off a strong aroma. Which is unfortunate. It’s hard to appreciate even something like a mint condition Alfa Montreal when the smell is so strong it makes you gag. Yes, that did happen to me.
My 2974 Jensen had the leaky side mounted Strombergs so yea very familiar. I was away and my neighbors called they had drained much of the fuel tank in my garage. Fortunately neighbors had a key and I had a big bag of some absorbent material
Oof!
My Triumph’s SU’s used to drip gas onto the exhaust manifold. It was kind of surprising that thing never caught fire.
I live in CA so I might be paying more for a gallon of gas than they are.
You’re paying almost $2 more per gallon than me here in western NY. The wholesale clubs are under $3 for RUG at the moment. Although out in rural NY $3.60 is common.
I hear ya everything I buy is either 50% more expensive or 25% more expensive and 75% of the size. How do they measure for inflation? It’s so bad every business, even the cheap ones are paying more money per hour.
I love the dunces here who are ignoring your comments.
All the popular spots, everywhere, are booked solid. I mean everywhere, at least anywhere with a 6 hour tow of me. This includes almost the entire east coast, and pretty close to Chicago. Campsites open for registration whenever they do (6 months out, a year, etc.) and they all immediately sell out. I snagged one last year, and when I got there, I was blown away by the size of all the rigs.
All the cool offroad spots are turning into parking lots and are actually being closed or greatly limited. Where I live here, even dispersed camping is almost always full. In fact, we’re going out spotting this morning for a group camp and we have to get creative to find places where people won’t be.
Most of the comments below your original post simply don’t understand, and don’t want to.
You get it. Take your like!
Our tow pig gets 20 mpg towing our Aliner. It also has a 13 gallon capacity before the range guesser hits zero. It really has another 2.5 gallons but that’s something we don’t use unless it’s absolutely necessary. So we’re filling up every few hours anyhow. Changing to EV charging would change about nothing for us except where we get vehicle energy.
You gotta book the good campsites as soon as they become available to book (9 months out?)
My complaint with NYS is that the price difference for in-staters and out-of-staters is negligible. Out-of-staters should be paying a lot more.
How is the cracking roof recall coming?
retro reaction: Burn!
Isn’t Ford the one with the Bronco cracking paint job? Or did I miss something here? If not point Chevrolet in both cases.
I know the Bronco hard tops are cracking but it wouldn’t surprise me if ford is having paint cracking issues.
My point is more that I’ve never heard of a steel roof cracking on brand new automobiles, let alone Trucks, yet GM has a recall out for several thousand of their trucks with that. Yet here they are talking about how much better their trucks are.
Ford has tons of issues.
My bad hadn’t heard about Chevrolet having steel tops cracking. I blame Autopian for my ignorance. IMHO I would rather have paint cracking then steel cracking. How does that happen?
Apparently a manufacturing issue. I don’t know how you have a steel roof crack, especially on a truck with so few miles it can be sold as a new truck by dealerships.
Their fix is to stop drill the crack and weld it closed.
Unless you flip it I don’t see how. I need documentation
https://jalopnik.com/chevy-silverado-gmc-sierra-pickup-truck-stop-sale-roof-1851110020
I love the SB line on how to check the repair weld quality: “Ensure the weld is secure by using a strong light to see if any light can be seen through the weld.” Yeah, that will last 100,000 miles. Have they ever heard of MPI, UT, etc? The weld shown as a repair in the SB is crap.
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2023/MC-10245350-0001.pdf
Ford has more issues than National Geographic! (´･_･`)
Never underestimate Ford’s ability to screw themselves over when they are years ahead of everyone else.
Noone can hurt Ford as bad as it hurts itself regularly.
“Noone can hurt Ford as bad as it hurts itself regularly”
– GM enters the chat.
I’ve actually seen multiple Oceans, but as you all know I live in DC which is a hotbed for limousine liberals…so pretty much every new vehicle that’s perceived as environmentally friendly pops up almost right away here. This goes back as far as I can remember too…I remember seeing things like the Honda Insight and original Fisker Karma within days of their launches when I was younger.
Anyway, it looks great in person, which is saying something because I’m not sure if there’s a more anonymous class of cars than mid sized crossovers. It definitely stands out, which isn’t surprising considering what else Henrik Fisker has designed (if you don’t love the BMW Z8 then we can’t be friends). I’m sure it’s a little too ambitious for a lot of the folks in this commentariat but I really like it.
And I hope at least some of these EV startups succeed because a lot of them are creating genuinely compelling products that are pushing the technology forward. Obviously there are several that are blatant scams (Lordstown, Faraday, etc.) but companies like Lucid and Rivian are at least giving us compelling and competitive options…and based on what I know and have seen it appears Fisker is as well.
I personally don’t think I could make the leap on being an early adapter for a company that might not even exist anymore in a few years, but if you can more power to you…and I find stuff like the Ocean, Air, etc. to be way more compelling than most of the stuff that traditional manufacturers and Tesla are making.
I’ve driven a BMW Z8. I guess we can’t be friends.
We are definitely still friends/I was being facetious. I’m aware that it’s a hero car I probably shouldn’t meet, although I do appreciate a GT so maybe I’d enjoy it.
Actually it is fine but I wanted it to be a sports GT and it is more personal luxury. Engine is great with lots of torque, heavy but precise steering, nice interior. It drives like a Mercedes SL convertible of the same vintage. I expected more BMWness.
And yes, I would be pleased to be your internet friend.
Man hearing this after hearing the S2000 has numb steering yesterday has been a lot to process 🙁
I have driven an S2000 on the racetrack. The seats feel tall and overstuffed and I agree, the steering doesn’t communicate as well as I would like. It also seems slow until VTEC, BRO! I prefer my Miata.
I’m a card carrying Miata fan so you don’t need to convince me, although I’ve only driven an NA.
Still friends because if Janis was writing and singing this would be one of her cars she prayed for.
I posted this earlier in another thread but its worth considering the impact (and the delicious irony) a nuclear powered oil tanker could have.
https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/chinese-shipyard-reveals-design-for-worlds-first-nuclear-tanker-powered-by-molten-salt-reactor/
This ship is a container ship, not a tanker as the headline states but nuclear tankers are on the table too:
https://gcaptain.com/groundbreaking-abs-study-explores-potential-of-commercial-nuclear-propulsion/
One of the advantages of a nuclear powered ship is that it is capable of a much faster sustained speeds than oil powered ships thanks to no appreciable fuel use penalty or emissions. I think higher speeds would enable these massive ships to avoid the Suez canal altogether without adding too much travel time while carrying a lot of oil.
Addendum: Looks like I’m not alone:
“With faster cargo ships traveling at or over 30 knots rather than about 20, the detour around Africa rather than via the Suez Canal could be massively shortened, providing significant more flexibility. If this offering also comes at no fuel cost penalty, you suddenly got the attention of every shipping company in the world, and this is where the KUN-24AP’s unveiling suddenly makes a lot of sense.”
https://hackaday.com/2023/12/26/chinas-nuclear-powered-containership-a-fluke-or-the-future-of-shipping/
This is an awesome idea if they can make it work.
One inherent advantage of restricting nuclear materials to warships is that they are obviously difficult targets for rogue actors, militias, terrorists, etc to get a hold of.
Maybe the increased speed is enough to protect them, but I’d still be worried putting that stuff out there undefended.
I’d be more concerned terrorists could use such a ship as a giant battering ram, taking out bridges or shipping ports than as a source of nuclear material.
Another (highly unlikely) doomsday scenario would be as a state sponsored nuclear minelayer, using the power plant as a convenient excuse for any increased counts although I think that could be done by any ship with proper shielding.
Yes I posted this in a different thread. Does it bother you w think alike? Lol
I dunno, should it?
now kiss
That’s a completely different website and it’ll cost ya.
The US had a nuclear-powered cargo ship, the NS Savannah, back in the late 50s, but it was a pressurized water design reactor. It was built as a demonstrator of US technology but cost too much to operate and was laid up in 1971. I was able to go on it when I was about 10 as my grandfather ran a ship cargo logistics company and they were shipping something on it. It’s a neat story and was a good-looking ship.
Its a damn shame the US didn’t continue that program.
Savannah was never intended to be a commercially viable vessel, it was a real world proof of concept prototype that was always going to need subsidies to cover operating costs. For one thing, it was a combination passenger/cargo liner in an era when jet airliners were killing ocean liners, and was a conventional freighter when the container era was clearly on the horizon.
A modern mega-container ship that can actually carry enough cargo to offset the construction and operations costs of a nuclear reactor might be a different case, but Savannah was more like a sleek, luxurious, big yacht that had room for freight
But unlike Naval ships the nuclear reactor can serious screw up everything and has no protection
Water and the hull alone are a lot of protection. As I have pointed out even submarines that broke open on the way to the bottom nor openly dumped nuclear waste (including spent reactor rods, cores, liquid wastes, etc just chucked off the side of a ship into a shallow sea) ever caused any proven environmental issues. The Soviets did all the worst case safety proof of concept you could ask for and nothing bad happened. This ship has a fourth gen thorium reactor design so it has a lot more passive safety features than many older naval vessels.
I was thinking terrorists and a dirty bomb.
Nah. Easier to just buy a fuck ton of old smoke detectors and radiolite clocks.
If Young Sheldon has taught us anything you have to be under ten to get the smoke detectors but blowing up a Panamanian flagged nuclear commercial tanker or ramming it would be easy. Just pay to transport an EV with the battery messed up. I watch a lot of NCIS.
“blowing up a Panamanian flagged nuclear commercial tanker or ramming it would be easy.”
No easier than a normal tanker. A normal tanker ramming into say the Golden Gate and then bursting open, spilling its contents into SF Bay as the tide was coming in would be plenty bad on its own.
True but I was following the nuclear cargo boat story
“I watch a lot of NCIS”
Clearly. You might want to balance that out with some Great Courses.
Currently unemployed lots of time for TV streaming.
HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYBODY
Check your local public library. You might be able to get GC there for free.
Some of Fisker’s scissors are fantastic
I see what you did there
I actually saw a Fisker Ocean on the road yesterday and had to look up what it was after getting home.
It’s certainly striking in person, although I would not say it’s attractive.
I saw one in La Jolla, CA this week too. I agree with your assessment.
Perfect description. I saw one on the highway and my firs that was “What is that?!…Oh.”
It caught my eye, but the longer it lingered, the more I thought the proportions were weird.
I saw my first Cybertruck on the road over the weekend.
My immediate impression was yeech!, followed by blech!, then why? Just…why?, eventually fading to a dull dread knowing there will be more such eyesores to come.
Its about how I reacted the first time I saw a 1st gen Mirai.
Surprised to find Mitski mentioned on here! Been a big fan for a while now.
I enjoy the GM statement’s tacit admission tht either their trucks aren’t the best or they aren’t selling “the hell” out of them. After all, if both those things were true, they’d sell more of them.
Or maybe calling them the best just included a big asterisk that “best is inclusive of mechanical components only, not visual design”?
The thing is, GM is selling the hell out of them. Per the article, GM had a 60,000 truck edge over Ford as of Q3. The problem has always been that a portion of them are branded as GMC’s, which really helps Ford win the title each year.
I know there have been years when Ford beat a combined GM, but if there had been such a thing as Mercury trucks, or if all GM trucks were branded only as Chevrolets, Ford might not have the winning streak it does.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_M-Series
IMO, GM and Ram can’t say they have the best trucks for as long as they continue to make the bodies out of steel.
Maybe for those living in Texas or Florida that’s fine, but in places with actual winter it’s a silly and unnecessary choice. I’ll never buy a truck that rusts again.
“I’ll never buy a truck that rusts again.”
So spring for the Trucoat ya cheapskate!
That sounds like a good article idea. How does an aluminum F-150 fare in the rust belt? When does the frame start going? What should buyers look for? Any 2015’s in the junk yard to inspect? etc.
An in-depth article would be neat, but anecdotally I have all the evidence I need, seeing exposed aluminum lasting decades in tough conditions, and never having seen a speck of rust on a 2015+ Ford.
I did undercoat the steel frame on my truck.
The autopian was asking for one off article ideas a few months ago. I would definitely read a story about a 2015 truck that does not rust.
wait until you see how the Maverick fares