OT - For Car Lovers: Some Recent Exotic Spottings

dmourati

Considering going back to Concourse d'Elegance next month at Pebble Beach:

https://pebblebeachconcours.net/events/pebble-beach-concours-delegance/

alaskanassasin

Hook_emHornsfan_74 said:

Wonder if Ford or any of the other majors are looking into building their own chip factory so this never happens again.

 I thought the shortage had more  to do with obtaining the raw materials to make the chips. Weird stuff we aren’t really mining in the USA but I could be wrong.

Langner91

The Chip plant in Japan burned. The other plants in the supply chain switched over to making chips for home electronics because everyone was in quarantine and not buying new vehicles in Spring 2020.  It must take them a minute to switch back.

GM and Ford won't have to buy / build their own chip factory.  When you are a supplier to Ford / GM / etc. and you are 100,000+ pieces behind, they already own your chip factory. The line down and rework charges will probably bankrupt the chip factory.

What a mess.

HeavyG

Langner91 said:

The Chip plant in Japan burned. The other plants in the supply chain switched over to making chips for home electronics because everyone was in quarantine and not buying new vehicles in Spring 2020.  It must take them a minute to switch back.

GM and Ford won't have to buy / build their own chip factory.  When you are a supplier to Ford / GM / etc. and you are 100,000+ pieces behind, they already own your chip factory. The line down and rework charges will probably bankrupt the chip factory.

What a mess.

The chip foundries have nothing to worry about. GM/Ford might be lucky if the foundries even keep them as customers since there is plenty of demand from other customers...

"Another problem is poor planning. During the second quarter of 2020 automotive OEMs "shut down, as did most of the world, but as they did that they canceled orders from a lot of the supply chain,'' Morales said. "So a lot of disgruntled suppliers found other markets that were still doing well despite the pandemic.""

nolaegghead

Qualcomm makes the chips for GM, for example.  They have plants in China and Taiwan.  They're a 22B/year company.  GM is a 122B/year company.  I don't think anyone is going out of business here.  Qualcomm is a US company, BTW.

TEXASBGE2018

I was reading an article the other day and it mentioned that 1 company out of Taiwan manufactures 65% of the worlds chips. I think it's called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The article also implied that they only had maybe 2 mfg plants. Most of the other big players like intel outsource most of their mfg to them. If that is the case we dang sure better start thinking about building our own plants. 

nolaegghead

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_integrated_circuit_exports

fishlessman

just thinking how long it would take ford to design an equip a us chip processing plant, first chips delivered and installed maybe 2030, maybe

Langner91

The most scary words in the world, "Hi, I am from Ford Global Commodity Purchasing and Supplier Technical Assistance, I am here to help you optimize your production, where can I sit?"

nolaegghead

fishlessman said:

just thinking how long it would take ford to design an equip a us chip processing plant, first chips delivered and installed maybe 2030, maybe

They would have to buy and license all kinds of the IP that the subcontractor's use for the processors and the technology to make the chips.  There are generic chips that they use from other companies where they just supply the firmware and chip designs they own but the die size on the chip is very proprietary to the chip manufacturers.  All kinds of hurdles.  I'm not sure this would solve a problem where demand for one sector drops to next to nothing and it skyrockets in another.  The semiconductor plants are diversified so they can stay profitable.  Lots of moving parts, and occam's razor is not always feasible to laypeople like me and you (in this industry).

fishlessman

nolaegghead said:

fishlessman said:

just thinking how long it would take ford to design an equip a us chip processing plant, first chips delivered and installed maybe 2030, maybe

They would have to buy and license all kinds of the IP that the subcontractor's use for the processors and the technology to make the chips.  There are generic chips that they use from other companies where they just supply the firmware and chip designs they own but the die size on the chip is very proprietary to the chip manufacturers.  All kinds of hurdles.  I'm not sure this would solve a problem where demand for one sector drops to next to nothing and it skyrockets in another.  The semiconductor plants are diversified so they can stay profitable.  Lots of moving parts, and occam's razor is not always feasible to laypeople like me and you (in this industry).

the chinese did it the easy way, they overpaid and bought it all up when they wanted in. perots sucking sound was real.  building parts for chip making plants was over in about a years time.

Botch

TEXASBGE2018 said:

I was reading an article the other day and it mentioned that 1 company out of Taiwan manufactures 65% of the worlds chips. I think it's called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The article also implied that they only had maybe 2 mfg plants. Most of the other big players like intel outsource most of their mfg to them. If that is the case we dang sure better start thinking about building our own plants. 

A further worry, what happens when Communist China finalizes absorption of Taiwan into its sphere?  I know the DoD was struggling to find different 5G manufacturing sources, but I've been out of that loop for a few years now.  

nolaegghead

Botch said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

I was reading an article the other day and it mentioned that 1 company out of Taiwan manufactures 65% of the worlds chips. I think it's called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The article also implied that they only had maybe 2 mfg plants. Most of the other big players like intel outsource most of their mfg to them. If that is the case we dang sure better start thinking about building our own plants. 

A further worry, what happens when Communist China finalizes absorption of Taiwan into its sphere?  I know the DoD was struggling to find different 5G manufacturing sources, but I've been out of that loop for a few years now.  

That's the beginning of when you and I start slaving in a harbor fleight tool factory assembly line and mining coal and they start opening up their services sector to compete on the world stage.

Eoin

nolaegghead said:

Botch said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

I was reading an article the other day and it mentioned that 1 company out of Taiwan manufactures 65% of the worlds chips. I think it's called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The article also implied that they only had maybe 2 mfg plants. Most of the other big players like intel outsource most of their mfg to them. If that is the case we dang sure better start thinking about building our own plants. 

A further worry, what happens when Communist China finalizes absorption of Taiwan into its sphere?  I know the DoD was struggling to find different 5G manufacturing sources, but I've been out of that loop for a few years now.  

That's the beginning of when you and I start slaving in a harbor fleight tool factory assembly line and mining coal and they start opening up their services sector to compete on the world stage.

Fortunately, the advancement of their economy will result in higher wages and better conditions / benefits so their compeitive advantage will decrease.

BigreenGreg

So much for the original intent of the post

HeavyG

BigreenGreg said:

So much for the original intent of the post

Just idle chit chat till the next exciting pix comes along...

WeberWho

BigreenGreg said:

So much for the original intent of the post

Maybe not entirely on topic but I'd say it's still 98% automotive related.

Try pulling up a post here on the forum and click on page 11. A very good chance it has derailed many pages prior. I'm honestly happy to see page 11 and still be automotive related. I've learned a thing or two along the way. 

nolaegghead

GrateEggspectations

Not a bad view while I cut the grass. Better than staring at my wife’s VW!

lousubcap

And you don't live in a gated community?? I like the colour but not the boxy looking front end.  

GrateEggspectations

lousubcap said:

And you don't live in a gated community?? I like the colour but not the boxy looking front end.  

Nope. We’re out in the wild!

GrateEggspectations

Earlier Continental GT looking the other way….

Gulfcoastguy

I saw an Audi Etron yesterday at the fast charger station. He had California plates. 

nolaegghead

Botch

Someone in this thread asked me if the new Bronco I'd seen on the road was an x or a y.  I don't follow Broncos/Jeeps/etc at all, but Jakub & Uri popped up on my EweTube today and I was a bit intrigued:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoXg6DZmJmA
 
They didn't mention it, but I think this was the first "infotainment/ touchscreen" I've seen that looks integrated, not tacked on later (besides some of the upper Mercedes).  The removable door features were pretty clever.  FWIW...

sheetmetalpete

To the original thread subject, no exotics here.  But here's a pic of some goodies in my shop: '75 Dodge Power Wagon w/Holmes 440 wrecker, a lowered solid axle '71 Dodge Sweptline pickup and tucked behind the Ram truck is a '70 Dodge Challenger, 440 Six Pack.

nolaegghead

sheetmetalpete said:

To the original thread subject, no exotics here.  But here's a pic of some goodies in my shop: '75 Dodge Power Wagon w/Holmes 440 wrecker, a lowered solid axle '71 Dodge Sweptline pickup and tucked behind the Ram truck is a '70 Dodge Challenger, 440 Six Pack.

Nice.  I have that same Atlas lift.

GrateEggspectations

nolaegghead

Sometimes you just have to pea 

dbCooper

GrateEggspectations said:

Is it just me or does that look like the offspring of a BWM Isetta?