Running Bear's January 2025 Coffee Shop


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Good afternoon everyone, just wanted to stop in and show you all what I been working on for the hobby workshop. I build a cabinet that looks kinda like a wood crate and I put my spray booth and compressor in there along with some tools for spraying. Came out pretty good I think it needs another coat of paint but it’ll work.

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Man that thing is sweet! I like the crate-style look. Makes it a bit more fun.
 
@TLOC show us some burger pictures! i love Burgers!
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Motor Bar & Grill, Harley-Davidson Museum, Milwaukee, Wi
 
We are in interesting times with the auto industry for sure. My parents are looking for a car this spring. This will be their last vehicle for them, they had hoped that the Buick Enclave they have would have been but nope. They used to have a Chevy 2500HD with Allison transmission but that is gone along with dad's 42-foot sailboat. So, now we are looking at small SUVs for them as they travel with their Irish setter wherever they go even if it is to the grocery store lol. Dad is looking at hybrid electric cars like the Lexus. He doesn't want all electric due to the range issues. Electric cars are great for city dwellers and non-travelers I suppose. It's my personal opinion, that electric cars are unique in its own right but not sustainable for long term and not being practical for recycle or even environmentally sound in that respect. Again, my opinion. Hydrogen cars, now that is something I can get on board to especially hybrid versions that are out now by Toyota and Hyundia. There are supposedly 7 cars out now that can be bought fueled by Hydrogen. Give it another 2 years it will be more mainstream than the electric cars. Anyways mom n pops is looking at a 2 different Lexus hybrid SUVs we shall see how that goes. Me, I haven't owned a car in 35 years for a daily driver. I am a truck guy always have been and will be. My current truck gets 22 mpg and if I behave on the pedal, I can get 26 mpg. I am looking at the new GMC AT4s this spring for a trade in or I may get a diesel 3.0L Duramax TT, not sure yet. I don't need a lot of hp to tow my boat, just a little bit of torque. Then again, I may go another 2 years on gasoline and just go with the GMC AT4 6.6L. We shall see. I do love sports cars but not practical I rather stick with my truck and boat and do it for as long as I am physically able. When I get older, I may get golf cart lol who knows. Typically, I trade in my truck every 2 to 3 years for a new used one that has 25k miles or less. Then I buy the extended warranty on it when I do. Works out well for me. This is the year I trade in so we shall see what I get this time around. I never lease and I have not bought brand new in about 16 years.
I don't think Hydrogen is the answer. Fuel cells may be great for outer space, but here on earth there are too many problems. The infrastructure will be hard to establish. Where is your local hydrogen station? Hydrogen will require special tanks to store, and there will be No Smoking, for a mile around. Hydrogen is a very volatile gas, think Hindenburg. Hydrogen will also tie us to the oil companies, they already produce hydrogen gas, from oil.

I just bought an EV. I have solar on the roof. I have not paid a dime for fuel. I do 80 mile round trips to my family in town. I have not yet tried to travel long distances yet. The future could be self-charging cars. Living in AZ, I thought why not put a solar panel on top of the car. I drove 6 miles to work and parked 8-10 hours in the hot sun. I was told by an EE that it would not be enough to charge the car. But, that would probably be the future. As I don't have that much future left, I will just have to make do.
I don’t think hydrogen or other clean fuel will be widespread in 2 years. In 20 years start to look for a more critical mass. My opinion only but I think EV are a mid term solution while we look for the long term solution that will last for decades. The next 20 years will be EV heavy. There are a lot of promising technologies out there but they take time to develop and also develop the infrastructure for.

BMW was the latest manufacturer I saw a headline about and new hydrogen tech. Cummins has a new engine that can be bought in several variants including hydrogen.

We took the Q3 Audi back after testing it for just under 100 miles. It’s ok but as Chadbag wrote previously the smaller Audis are just glorified VW’s. The bigger Audi SUV’s are way more vehicle than either of us want. I think the current EV’s are just the beginning phase but there is better to come. I could get behind hydrogen but I doubt in 10 years it will even be where the EV is today.

I checked out in the showroom a couple different sedans and before I could tell Terry I had no interest she came up and said let’s stick to the SUV’s.

I know I have written this before but my dad was a car salesman and eventually had his own dealership. While my brother inherited the family car genes I didn’t. I hate shopping and testing cars, I dislike the process of buying one. But they are a necessary evil in my mind but I don’t how I will come to a decision in the next few days. I prefer European over American vehicles. I prefer American over the Asian vehicles.

But coming home from dinner out tonight Terry did ask if I wanted a pick up truck. Oh boy… I need to think on that!
 
We are in interesting times with the auto industry for sure. My parents are looking for a car this spring. This will be their last vehicle for them, they had hoped that the Buick Enclave they have would have been but nope. They used to have a Chevy 2500HD with Allison transmission but that is gone along with dad's 42-foot sailboat. So, now we are looking at small SUVs for them as they travel with their Irish setter wherever they go even if it is to the grocery store lol. Dad is looking at hybrid electric cars like the Lexus. He doesn't want all electric due to the range issues. Electric cars are great for city dwellers and non-travelers I suppose. It's my personal opinion, that electric cars are unique in its own right but not sustainable for long term and not being practical for recycle or even environmentally sound in that respect. Again, my opinion. Hydrogen cars, now that is something I can get on board to especially hybrid versions that are out now by Toyota and Hyundia. There are supposedly 7 cars out now that can be bought fueled by Hydrogen. Give it another 2 years it will be more mainstream than the electric cars. Anyways mom n pops is looking at a 2 different Lexus hybrid SUVs we shall see how that goes. Me, I haven't owned a car in 35 years for a daily driver. I am a truck guy always have been and will be. My current truck gets 22 mpg and if I behave on the pedal, I can get 26 mpg. I am looking at the new GMC AT4s this spring for a trade in or I may get a diesel 3.0L Duramax TT, not sure yet. I don't need a lot of hp to tow my boat, just a little bit of torque. Then again, I may go another 2 years on gasoline and just go with the GMC AT4 6.6L. We shall see. I do love sports cars but not practical I rather stick with my truck and boat and do it for as long as I am physically able. When I get older, I may get golf cart lol who knows. Typically, I trade in my truck every 2 to 3 years for a new used one that has 25k miles or less. Then I buy the extended warranty on it when I do. Works out well for me. This is the year I trade in so we shall see what I get this time around. I never lease and I have not bought brand new in about 16 years.

Interesting is an oddly nice way of terming it. Frankly to use the famous quote" It was the best of times, it was the worst of times". The last 40+ years in the car biz have taught me many things. The biggest is that it has all gone to hell in a handbasket, and I tried to get my kids into any field but the car biz!!
I've been involved in other fuels too. In the late 80s I was involved with converting a Maryland State Police Caprice over to LNG for a study by the State studying the feasibility of alternative fuels State vehicles. It ran fine, but range was limited. One benefit, the inside of the engine remained spotless, the oil never got dirty!
Electric cars are just a stop-gap to appease the environmentalists. The rape of the earth for the minerals is obscene to make the batteries, and recharging those batteries is largely fossil fuel driven, so where's the carbon savings? Not to mention the fire hazard from thermal failures. Crazy!
I don't think Hydrogen is the answer. Fuel cells may be great for outer space, but here on earth there are too many problems. The infrastructure will be hard to establish. Where is your local hydrogen station? Hydrogen will require special tanks to store, and there will be No Smoking, for a mile around. Hydrogen is a very volatile gas, think Hindenburg. Hydrogen will also tie us to the oil companies, they already produce hydrogen gas, from oil.

I just bought an EV. I have solar on the roof. I have not paid a dime for fuel. I do 80 mile round trips to my family in town. I have not yet tried to travel long distances yet. The future could be self-charging cars. Living in AZ, I thought why not put a solar panel on top of the car. I drove 6 miles to work and parked 8-10 hours in the hot sun. I was told by an EE that it would not be enough to charge the car. But, that would probably be the future. As I don't have that much future left, I will just have to make do.

Hydrogen shoes long term progress, but the average cost to put up a Hydrogen "filling station" is in excess of 2 million dollars. At an average of $80.00 fill up for a Toyota Murai for 400 miles of range, how many fill ups does it take to recoup the investment?? Main stream use is at least 10 years out, if ever. Now some hot rodders, working with engineers at Bosch have developed some 500 HP street cars that have zero emissions. This kind of thinking we need more of. 48 Chevy truck on hydrogen
The kind of thinking we are dealing with now is noone is building a vehicle with the goal of 250,000+ miles. They all want us to buy cute little "throw away" cars made cheaply overseas so we can go 100K and trade them in or scrap them and buy another new cute little shitbox. It's insanity.
The ones they do build heavier (trucks) they put diesel engines in but they are so saddled with emission control stuff and DEF fluid needs that they are bound to chioke and fail if you drive them like a typical suburbanite or city dweller. These engines are only "happy" if you work them HARD, like daily towing or high speed long runs, otherwise the DPF filters clog up and choke the beasts. If you are only gonna pull that boat or camper a few times in the summer, stick with a gas motor. They don't mind the easy life most of the year.

3 years, 16 days from now me and my 24 year old Chevy truck are going to ride off into the sunset. I can't wait!!
 
We've got enough firefighters in the coffee shop I'm curious if they have other experiences about wildfires, or some of the claims Sal makes
To be honest, I have not taken time to watch Sal's video...He is very knowledgeable though. We are inundated with all sorts of theories and tales concerning the wild fires, their cause and the response. I am not familiar with SoCal fire fighting, beyond watching "Emergency" back in the 1970s. One thing I do know is that the Santa Ana winds are nasty, and an annual occurrence. Not something new...same with the Pacific weather patterns. Obviously wind driven fires are not new, but something has changed resulting in these fires getting away from firefighters and becoming catastrophic. We are also using building materials, in some cases petroleum based materials. that are less fire resistant. Landscaping materials can also be volatile, and quickly extend to property. Mulch fires are becoming more common, as are compost fires. Then there are vehicle fires, not all electric either.
Sometime our efforts to use lighter and cheaper and "Greener" materials are counter productive.

Water is the primary weapon against fires. In most cases it is the most effective resource, as it cools the fire and the steam generated robs the fire of oxygen...Without water, you are looking at not only losing the fire building, but also the exposures.

We have stopped Grass fires (aka Brush fires), with brooms and shovels as well as water, but water is the best way to contain it.

Keep in mind I haven't been an active FF since 1978, although I have maintained my interest and kept up with technology.
 
I don't think Hydrogen is the answer. Fuel cells may be great for outer space, but here on earth there are too many problems. The infrastructure will be hard to establish. Where is your local hydrogen station? Hydrogen will require special tanks to store, and there will be No Smoking, for a mile around. Hydrogen is a very volatile gas, think Hindenburg. Hydrogen will also tie us to the oil companies, they already produce hydrogen gas, from oil.

I just bought an EV. I have solar on the roof. I have not paid a dime for fuel. I do 80 mile round trips to my family in town. I have not yet tried to travel long distances yet. The future could be self-charging cars. Living in AZ, I thought why not put a solar panel on top of the car. I drove 6 miles to work and parked 8-10 hours in the hot sun. I was told by an EE that it would not be enough to charge the car. But, that would probably be the future. As I don't have that much future left, I will just have to make do.
All the same basic arguments could have been said about EVs 25-30 years ago. When the EV1 came out from GM in the mid 90s there was no national charging grid, the range was terrible; the things were a huge compromise. Even today the infrastructure is greatly lacking and is being built out and will take another 10-20 years to really be what it needs to be.

Hydrogen, or whatever other clean fuel is ultimately the answer, is in these same early stages. I don't know if it will be hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen combustion, or some other clean fuel source*, or some lther technology which will become the new long term energy source for transportation. I do not think it will be EV past about 20-25 years. There are certain segments where EV will probably last longer -- where it fits much better long term. Like local delivery vans. Just my prognostications.

* nuclear power provides the energy that can be used to create a bunch of different sorts of "clean fuels" that do not add a carbon burden or pollution. This includes hydrogen as well as others being investigated. These are at early stages now but some are further along than others. Hydrogen has a lot of big names behind it and new versions of the tech are coming quite regularly, Whether direct combustion or as a fuel cell with electric drive. Electric drive has a lot of advantages in terms of efficiency and torque and simplicity. Combine it with a small battery and a fuel cell to recharge the battery or a direct combustion engine to act as a generator to charge the battery may be some sort of solution that works. You're starting to see some of that now -- RAM has a truck with a generator battery for "range extension" and Scout has announce the same. BMW i3 had a version. This allows smaller batteries (say 125-200 mile range) to be used which covers most normal driving but still be able to have really long range capability for when you need a road trip. This means less battery based environmental impact and allows your minerals / lithium to go much further -- the same minerals / lithium used to make a heavy 350 mile range battery for one car can be used to make 2 or more batteries for a so-called extended range EV that has a smaller battery and a range extender generator on board (like the RAM/Scout/BMW, etc EREV mentioned above) . Saves weight so your vehicle is more efficient. And you still get 95-99% of the advantage of an EV since most people are not driving more than 150 miles a day as a regular ting. The ocasional road trip.

But I think new tech that is being developed will turn out to be much better for the next 100 years of transport just like the internal combustion has brought us the last 120 years... And if we get our heads out of our back sides and build a nuclear power infrastructure, we'll have the power to produce these clean fuels under development. (They are energy intensive to profuce).
 
We took the Q3 Audi back after testing it for just under 100 miles. It’s ok but as Chadbag wrote previously the smaller Audis are just glorified VW’s. The bigger Audi SUV’s are way more vehicle than either of us want. I think the current EV’s are just the beginning phase but there is better to come. I could get behind hydrogen but I doubt in 10 years it will even be where the EV is today.

I checked out in the showroom a couple different sedans and before I could tell Terry I had no interest she came up and said let’s stick to the SUV’s.
SNIP
But coming home from dinner out tonight Terry did ask if I wanted a pick up truck. Oh boy… I need to think on that!

The nice thing is we're all different. I much prefer a sedan or station wagon or hatchback. I have no use, myself, personally, for an SUV. Others prefer an SUV. That's the nice thing, we still have the options for all of these, though sedans and wagons are limited now to mostly the imports.

BTW, being glorified VWs doesn't mean I think they are bad. I love my Audi A3 hatchback (e-tron sportback PHEV). But it really is like driving one of my VWs but with EV capability and fancy leather inside. Older VWs were just as nice as my Audi. Newer VWs -- especially the American made models have been cheapened a lot -- our 2019 Jetta is nice inside [we have SEL Premium trim] but doesn't have the feel of my older VWs. Cheaper seats, dash, etc. But I wouldn't buy the Audi now as you pay a huge premium over the VW for not a lot of value besides the slightly better visual design. To me (personal opinion) the Audi is much nicer design than Mercedes or BMW -- more understated and cleaner. But you lose value on them quickly and they probably don't drive any better.

I've had VW almost exclusively in cars since 1988. All new except one. nnew 89 Golf in 1988. Used 88 Jetta in 93. (My Golf I took to Germany when I moved there and it was totaled in an autobahn pileup -- my last year I was there I drove a way old used Mazda GLC I bought for 750$ -- the 88 Jetta was when I returned to the US). 89 Jetta GT. 2006 Passat. Twin 2013 Jetta Sportwagen TDI. (Wife drove the automatic I drove the manual -- bought the same night). Buyout for dieselgate and we bough the Audi and a Volvo V60. Volvo was totaled in 2019 by an idiot not paying attention and we replaced with the 2019 Jetta. So, except for the short lived used Mazda in Germany, because it was cheap, and the Volvo, and two Dodge RAM trucks in parallel with the VWs its been all VW / VW Group (Audi)).

If you want an SUV you may want to check out the smaller Porsche SUV. Whatever they are called. Despite having the same underpinnings as the Audis I've heard they're much better, nicer, etc driving and handling. Of course they cost $$$. The Volvos are well regarded based on comments from friends or co-workers who have them.

On the truck side, I am excited by the Scout truck supposedly coming in 2027. I have the EREV version on "pre-reservation" -- we'll see what is finally released and at what price point but the announced price point is nice and the EReV version looks to be a great vehicle, It is an EV with a shorter range battery (175 miles supposedly) and a small engine that acts as a generator so that it will recharge your battery as you drive so that ou can get a 500+ mile range out of it and can extend that further with just a quick fill up. But most of us don't need that range except on occasional road trips so you get the advantage of almost all your daily driving with cheap EV power and still have the performance etc but have the long range. My Audi is 8.333 years old now and by then will be 11 and I will be looking for a new vehicle, most likely. So we'll see what actually happens and if they screw up teh Scout or not. They have an SUV and a truck version planned in both pure EV and EREV versions. Hopefully they don't screw it up with forced one pedal driving, subscription based features that should be normal features, and cloud based features that are important and normal features (no need for an Ocean debacle).

For me it's European, Asian, and then American. Scout is an American company but is owned by Volkswagen parent company. But it's US based and inspired by the IH Scout legacy so is probably more American than not. I'd never buy a GM, personally, and none of the other American makes has anything interesting or appealing to me. Especially now that they've more or less abandoned sedands and hatchbacks and wagons except for their sports car/muscle car lines. I really don't have much interest in Asian either but would buy a Mazda before any American car. My dad was a Honda man since the late 80s and I have his Fit he drove until he stopped driving (he has since passed on). My kids use it and its fine for that.

soapbox off
 
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@TLOC that burger looks awesome! thnx for sharing. Get a Ford F150 :D

morning all.
coffee pls (i already had 5 today hahaha)
ZRH airport is up and running. 30mins ago we had a little snowfall but it stopped again.

today i came across a WALTHERS add... i hate them, they are now selling Mystery Boxes -.-
I love Mystery Boxes!!!
Maaaybe i have to order one haha.

Wish you all a great day.

cheers
jay
 
@TLOC that burger looks awesome! thnx for sharing. Get a Ford F150 :D

morning all.
coffee pls (i already had 5 today hahaha)
ZRH airport is up and running. 30mins ago we had a little snowfall but it stopped again.

today i came across a WALTHERS add... i hate them, they are now selling Mystery Boxes -.-
I love Mystery Boxes!!!
Maaaybe i have to order one haha.

Wish you all a great day.

cheers
jay
I'm the opposite. No thank you, to the mystery boxes... The way my luck runs, I'd get a bunch of modern intermodal stuff, and I model the 1950s-60s

But, I understand that a lot of people love the surprise at what they find inside. 🥳

PS: be nice to your bank account. Order only what you can afford. Don't make the cat start catching his own food so you have extra money to get another box. 😜
 
I know nothing about EV cars and trucks. But let me ask you all a question. Instead of putting solar on the roof of your vehicle (which is a good idea) why not install a alternator or generator in the car (just as they do now and did years ago) to recharge the battery. I know if you don't have a alternator or a generator (older cars) install properly or if there is something wrong with them you will not be going very far before your battery run down.

Anyway, just wondering why they don't put some sort of charging device in the EVs now so when you're driving down the road, you're charging your batteries. I think I know why, cause you can't profit on something that you can't control.
 
I know nothing about EV cars and trucks. But let me ask you all a question. Instead of putting solar on the roof of your vehicle (which is a good idea) why not install a alternator or generator in the car (just as they do now and did years ago) to recharge the battery. I know if you don't have a alternator or a generator (older cars) install properly or if there is something wrong with them you will not be going very far before your battery run down.

Anyway, just wondering why they don't put some sort of charging device in the EVs now so when you're driving down the road, you're charging your batteries. I think I know why, cause you can't profit on something that you can't control.
The EVs use the electric drive motors as generators when decelerating to recharge the battery. It’s sort of like dynamic brakes on a locomotive, but instead of a resistor grid, the power goes back to the battery.
 
The EVs use the electric drive motors as generators when decelerating to recharge the battery. It’s sort of like dynamic brakes on a locomotive, but instead of a resistor grid, the power goes back to the battery.

Oh so they do basically recharge themselves but not really enough to replace what was used? Correct? I would think otherwise you wouldn't need to plug it in when you get home. It'll charge how ever much you use it. I guess it may come to that (don't know) but it would be neat if the distance you drove actually recharged your vehicle by that much. (hope that made since). For now, I'll take my gas guzzling 2500 chevy.
 
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