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East Berkshire, VT Car Consumer Discussions

Re: FWD TL vs Infiniti G35 AWD [scottm123]

by laurasdada on Mon Nov 12 07:51:14 PST 2007

Buy the best car for you! And, if in doubt, buy snow tires! ~95% of the time you will not be driving in the snow... I chose the TL in '05. Possibly the worst FWD I've owned in the snow due to, hopefully, the Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires that came with the car. I survived two Boston winters, but go into this winter with new tires (Toyo Versados, fingers crossed...). I never got stuck nor in an accident. Just more use of the TC, ABS and increased awareness esp. at intersections, around corners and any hilly terrain. My reasons for choosing the TL over the G35x in '05: Much better interior and exterior style Better interior materials & layout FWD over AWD. I don't have a problem with FWD, given my driving style and I prefer not to haul around the added weight and complexity of AWD. Smoother, quieter ride Better mpg I really enjoyed test driving the G and had I chosen it I'm sure I would not have regretted it. I just would have had to alter my priorities a bit. From what I've seen, the new G is a major improvement, I like the subtle style updates and the interior certainly has improved. Drive 'em both a few times, you can't go wrong. Scott: I thought I saw a G scaling Berkshire East!

Re: of car names [michaell]

by irismg on Sun Jun 17 13:55:51 PDT 2007

There was the Chrysler New Yorker, and seems to me that there was an Innsbruck, surely that's east.. Native American groups are sensitive about the use of their names anymore. Besides, I think you need names people can pronounce; "Algonquin" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. On the other hand, neither does the "Toareg" or the "Phaeton". I would suggest names more like: the Hudson, the Berkshire, the Providence, maybe a Buick Nantucket or New Haven, or a Chrysler Sag Harbor.

Ethanol company investment?

by seniorjose on Thu Jun 15 16:27:19 PDT 2006

Is Ethanol Worth the Hype? By Ryan Fuhrmann, CFA June 15, 2006 If you recall the movie Back to the Future, nutty professor Dr. Emmett Brown, a.k.a. "Doc," created a time machine capable of driving back and forth in time. During one of his trips back to the future, Doc invented an automotive fuel source capable of blending and transforming fruits and veggies from a Cuisinart into a petrol equivalent. According to Doc, "The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?" He was probably talking more about the DeLorean sports car body, but the Cuisinart was definitely a classy feature. The future for today :) Maybe some day there'll be a plethora of time machine companies, all of which will gladly offer shares to investors to allow them to participate in jaw-dropping sales growth while also subsidizing company development costs and years of operating losses. Until that time, we'll have to settle for the developing investment craze of ethanol companies, which are capable of turning crops such as corn into an alternative fuel source -- kinda like that Cuisinart from Back to the Future. The current crazePart of the growing ethanol hype is yesterday's share offering of VeraSun (NYSE: VSE) to the public at $23. VeraSun is the second-largest producer of ethanol in the U.S. The company plans to use the stock proceeds to build more ethanol plants and expand market share. Imagine that. The stock opened at $28 and shot to $30 by the close of the market for a 30% gain on the day. Great Scott! No wonder investors want in on the action. And shares of Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) have nearly doubled this year as investors discovered it's the largest producer of ethanol in the United States. Soon-to-be-public companies include Aventis Renewable and Hawkeye Energy. There will be no shortage of ethanol IPOs as long as investors willingly snap up the shares. The issues with ethanolClearly, there are merits to producing ethanol and using it as an alternative to oil-based gasoline. It would most definitely benefit domestic farmers with a huge new market to sell corn into. It would also reduce American dependence on oil from the geopolitically charged Middle East. On the flipside, it's unclear whether ethanol is, or will be, more affordable than gasoline. The issue is further complicated by factors such as subsidies provided to ethanol producers and fluctuating oil prices. If oil were to return to $20 a barrel, for instance, SUVs might even revisit their heyday. There's also a rather critical debate as to whether more energy is actually expended to create ethanol than is spent using it as a fuel source. And what about concerns that ethanol might damage engines and clog up filters? In other words, there are quite a few issues yet to be worked out. Berkshire Hathaway weighs inThere's no better illustration of these issues than a summary of Charlie Munger's and Warren Buffett's thoughts on the subject at the May annual Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKa) meeting in Omaha, courtesy of fellow Fool Rick Casterline's copious note-taking. Question: What is your opinion on the economics of ethanol as a fuel additive and as a potential investment? Should I be looking at that industry? WB: Charlie and I don't know enough to answer that latter part. We've been approached many times, but we're trying to figure out the economics of an ethanol plant. It will depend on many factors, such as government policy and a lot of other variables we're not good at predicting. It's also a very hot area for investors right now, and our general experience is that we don't participate in things that are hot and easy to raise money for. I have a son who is head of the Ethanol Board in Nebraska. When he starts making more money than me, I'll reconsider. There's no question that usage will grow, but generally speaking, agricultural processing firms have not earned high ROICs. Look at Cargill, ADM. It has not been a great business. Ethanol could prove to be an exception, but I'm not sure how you gain a significant competitive advantage with any particular ethanol plant. CM: My attitude is even more hostile than Warren's. I have just enough knowledge of thermodynamics left in me to suspect that it takes more fossil fuel energy than you can get out of ethanol, and that's a very stupid way to solve an energy problem. [Laughter] The Foolish bottom lineIn summary, there will be a substantial amount of money made and lost by companies and investors alike as they wrangle over ethanol and its market potential. Cynicism aside, ethanol has promise. If the economics become compelling, the industry has the potential to greatly benefit oil-dependent domestic and international economies, as well as the environment. But from an investment perspective, until that promise develops, the Foolish investor would be wise to passively watch this one unfold from the sidelines.

Re: Richard [rsorganize]

by c_hunter on Sun Sep 26 19:21:49 PDT 2004

Ah, Berkshire East -- that's one place I never made it to but I knew a lot of locals that raved about it. Someday I am going on a tour of small NE ski areas and that will be on the list! I agree about Mt. Snow -- a zoo on weekends, but it's a great mountain. I used to like skiing the Timberside area there. I went to WNEC, graduated in 91 with a Mech. Eng. degree. Craig

Re: Richard [c_hunter]

by rsorganize on Sun Sep 26 14:43:32 PDT 2004

Craig: Actually, we have season passes at Berkshire East - 25 minutes from our house. A really nice and challenging small ski area that is reasonably priced and with a more diverse clientele (at least economically)than the more expensive resorts in VT. We DO like Mt. Snow - though much more expensive and very crowded on weekends. My son likes Stowe and Okemo, too. I started skiing in my 50's, so I like the less crowded conditions of Berkshire East, though I like Mt. Snow a lot when it is less crowded. My son has raced at Jiminy (much up-scaled recently) and Brodie. Lot's of nice, smaller ske areas in WMass...with plenty of nice runs and smaller crowds. Great for kids...and old farts like me, too. Did you go to Springfield College, AIC or WNEC? Peace

Water, Winter, and Wash

by pblevine on Wed Sep 26 06:16:42 PDT 2001

I've heard good things about the CA Water Blade. 'Will probably try it soon. I've heard of all sorts of other silly but interesting drying 'concepts' such as leaf blowers, driving around quickly, turning the car upside down and shaking, heat lamps, trained pets, MIR scans, a class of second graders armed with towels, water wetting agents, and vacum pumps. A good towels works fine for me. I try to have two new coats of Z2 on the car prior to the beginning of Winter. Even with the dirt, mud, road salts, and brake dust sludge common in the North East, two coats of Z2 lasted me all through the winter of 2000. And the car was still beading water when Spring of 2001 came around. I'll admit to washing and using Z6 after heavy dirt accumulations. Simply wash very gently with Z7 and almost all of the 'winter stuff' slides off easily. But be extra carefull during early Fall. Tree Sap Season. It depends of the type of tree with Pines and Mables leading the pack of 'sappers'. I hate those damn little spots. Don't try to 'dust' or rub them off as that will produce all sorts of swirl marks. Dry sap can be hard. Again, a good Z7 wash has worked for me. In some cases, I've also used clay. It worked but I'm not sure it was worth the effort. Hey Fastdriver, how are you? How were you affected by '911'? Although I've had many 'quick' drying times, when the temperatures were in the 40's up in the Berkshires, I've experienced long drying times. When the termperature is low and the humidity is high, let the car dry overnight. In a garage. And don't stand there watching it dry. Won't work, believe me! :) Go have a beer and call it a night.