davebo posted:

I guess I wouldn't bother removing it, but imagine how much better that would look if it just matched the rest of the car.

DropShadow posted:

I know exactly how it would look because a buddy in California just had his scuba blue allroad flares painted to match. I'm not a fan.

KakerMix posted:

You spend a bunch of effort to bring the thing back down when the manufacturer spent a bunch of effort putting it up to begin with and it's just a silly circle of wasted time imho when it could have served well enough the whole time not trying to make an Audi wagon something it is not.

Deteriorata posted:

But driving on the bump stops is cool. You don't really need those fillings anyway.

DropShadow posted:

Olivil posted:

Isn't that a wagon to begin with tho?

KakerMix posted:

You spend a bunch of effort to bring the thing back down when the manufacturer spent a bunch of effort putting it up to begin with and it's just a silly circle of wasted time imho when it could have served well enough the whole time not trying to make an Audi wagon something it is not.

savesthedayrocks posted:

Hot take man. What other cars should people not bother modifying?

savesthedayrocks posted:

Hot take man. What other cars should people not bother modifying?

Wheeee posted:

Pretty much all of them, most modding is loving stupid and ruins the car.

Laserface posted:

You realise you are posting in AI and not 'forum for loser dads who hate fun' right?

Dislike button posted:

tbf the air suspension on that Audi was probably going bad anyway so it's really like preventative maintenance

Autoblog posted:

General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV posted declines in US new vehicle sales for June on Monday, while major Japanese automakers reported stronger figures. Once again, demand for pickup trucks and crossovers offset a decline in sedan sales.

Automakers' shares rose as overall industry sales still came in above Wall Street expectations.

The US auto industry is bracing for a downturn after hitting a record 17.55 million new vehicles sold in 2016. Analysts had predicted that overall, US vehicle sales would fall in June for the fourth consecutive month.

As the market has shown signs of cooling, automakers have hiked discounts and loosened lending terms.

Car shopping website Edmunds said on Monday the average length of a car loan reached an all-time high of 69.3 months in June.

"It's financially risky, leaving borrowers exposed to being upside down on their vehicles for a large chunk of their loans," said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds' executive director of industry analysis.

GM said its sales fell about 5 percent versus June 2016, but that the industry would see stronger sales in the second half of 2017 versus the first half.
"Under the current economic conditions, we anticipate US retail vehicle sales will remain strong for the foreseeable future."

GM shares were up 2.4 percent in morning trading, while Ford rose 3.3 percent and FCA shares jumped 6 percent.

"US total sales are moderating due to an industry-wide pullback in daily rental sales, but key US economic fundamentals clearly remain positive," said GM chief economist Mustafa Mohatarem. "Under the current economic conditions, we anticipate US retail vehicle sales will remain strong for the foreseeable future."

Ford said its sales for June were hit by lower fleet sales to rental agencies, businesses, and government entities, which fell 13.9 percent, while sales to consumers were flat. But it sold a record 406,464 SUVs in the first half of the year, with Explorer sales increasing 23 percent in June. And sales of the F-150 had their strongest June since 2001.

On a media call, Ford executives said an initial read of automakers' sales figures indicated a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of around 17 million new vehicles for the month, which would be better than 16.6 million units analysts had predicted.

FCA said June sales decreased 7 percent versus the same month a year earlier.

Toyota said sales rose 2.1 percent versus June 2016 and said it saw strong gains in the RAV4, a light SUV, sales of which increased 24.7 percent. Sales of another SUV, the 4Runner, rose 16.6 percent.

But sales at Toyota's Lexus luxury car brand fell 5.4 percent on the year.

Nissan said its US sales increased 2 percent. But while truck, SUV and crossover sales jumped 19.5 percent, sedan sales dropped 12.1 percent. In the past few years, Americans have increasingly shunned smaller passenger cars in favor of larger vehicles. Sales of its Infiniti luxury brand were up 11 percent.

Honda said sales for June were up 0.8 percent.

Dislike button posted:

awww yeah gimme those incentives and 72 month loans

skipdogg posted:

They're already here. KIA is currently promoting 0 payments for 5 months plus 66 months 0% financing. Haven't checked other manufacturers, but there's going to be deals to be had before they finally decide to cut production.

edit: Holy poo poo, Ford is offering 84 month loans now with 3.9 to 4.9% APR. It's like they don't realize whats coming, or they don't care.

skipdogg posted:

They're already here. KIA is currently promoting 0 payments for 5 months plus 66 months 0% financing. Haven't checked other manufacturers, but there's going to be deals to be had before they finally decide to cut production.

edit: Holy poo poo, Ford is offering 84 month loans now with 3.9 to 4.9% APR. It's like they don't realize whats coming, or they don't care.

skipdogg posted:

They're already here. KIA is currently promoting 0 payments for 5 months plus 66 months 0% financing. Haven't checked other manufacturers, but there's going to be deals to be had before they finally decide to cut production.

edit: Holy poo poo, Ford is offering 84 month loans now with 3.9 to 4.9% APR. It's like they don't realize whats coming, or they don't care.

Ultimate Mango posted:

What's the over under on which manufacturers survive?

I figure BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, GM make it. Ford is on the bubble. VAG, FCM, Honda, Korean brands all circling the drain.

kimcicle posted:

KIA / Hyundai will survive if only due to how integral they are to the Korean economy and will get a government bailout.

Wistful of Dollars posted:

I wonder how much their sister companies would support the car businesses. Korean conglomerates are so confusing.

Ultimate Mango posted:

What's the over under on which manufacturers survive?

I figure BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, GM make it. Ford is on the bubble. VAG, FCM, Honda, Korean brands all circling the drain.

Ultimate Mango posted:

What's the over under on which manufacturers survive?

I figure BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, GM make it. Ford is on the bubble. VAG, FCM, Honda, Korean brands all circling the drain.

Ultimate Mango posted:

What's the over under on which manufacturers survive?

I figure BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, GM make it. Ford is on the bubble. VAG, FCM, Honda, Korean brands all circling the drain.

Q_res posted:

How is GM "make it" and Ford is "on the bubble"? They've consistently been the healthiest US automaker since the other two got bailouts.

Q_res posted:

How is GM "make it" and Ford is "on the bubble"? They've consistently been the healthiest US automaker since the other two got bailouts.

kimcicle posted:

I think now they are technically separate entities, but yeah, nobody would blink if another one of their sister companies (more than likely Hyundai Development Company due to how much cash reserves they have) stepped in to keep them afloat.

Cratering of the US market wouldn't be too bad for Kia / Hyundai since the bulk of their sales are in China / Korea based on volume.

skipdogg posted:

I don't think anyone will go out of business (Mitsu could exit the market possibly) , but there's a big shitstorm coming that's going to affect auto manufacturers in a bad way. They're making way too many cars, and they don't look like they're going to slow down.

OXBALLS DOT COM posted:

Their shareholders seem pretty stupid though

quote:

The bank my wife works at is super exposed to the auto market and they just dumped 22 thousand delinquent auto loans to get away from them. Looking at their Mar 2017 filing, they have 60M in auto loans 60-180 days delinquent.

Finance arms might be able to absorb losses at current delinquiency rates, but any little hiccup in the economy and this whole pile of cards is going to come crashing down.

PCOS Bill posted:

I don't really want a Wrangler but I am lusting so hard over this color combination.

fknlo posted:

Ford was able to secure a bunch of money right before the crash. It's the only reason they didn't need a bailout too. They would have been just as hosed as everyone else.