Are you going to purchase at 25% price hike

[smoothshooter]

Living in a small town in a rural area of PA that has a thriving Amish community, I see folks traveling on horse & buggy every day, and I think to myself, "Hmm, I could do that".....

Larry

You would be greatly disappointed.

 

[LVSteve]

Won't affect me, I don't buy new anymore.
Heard today Ford is dropping the prices big-time on F-150's and other models.

About time. Most 1500 pickups have been over-specced and overpriced by $20k-$30k for a while.

 

[SWFan27]

This is very informative.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8fPFf229Y4"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8fPFf229Y4[/ame]

 

[Beemerguy53]

Until I went a-contracting abroad, I had no clue about the depth of American penetration of foreign markets...

I recently returned from 16 days in Europe, where Germans refer to McDonald's as "the American Embassy". The Golden Arches are everywhere, in every big city and many small towns, along with KFC, Starbucks, and Burger King.

English is the universal language, spoken fluently by young people and just about everyone who deals with the public. Only in small towns and rural areas will you find some people who do not speak our language well.

American television shows are on many channels, and are very popular. (It's hysterical to watch Seinfeld or CSI dubbed in German!)

American cars -- especially muscle cars like Mustang GTs -- are everywhere, even with fuel being as expensive as it is. (Diesel fuel for our rented Skoda Octavia wagon was the equivalent of $8 per gallon.)

People who have never set foot in North America know all about American society, government, and pop culture. They can name many of our elected officials, entertainers, and athletes.

We are the 800 lb. gorilla on the world stage, and since the end of World War II we've transformed Europe...I'm having a hard time understanding how we're getting the short end of the stick in our relations with our allies.

 

[taz666]

You would be greatly disappointed.

Yup ... no WiFi.

 

[biku324]

I recently returned from 16 days in Europe, where Germans refer to McDonald's as "the American Embassy". The Golden Arches are everywhere, in every big city and many small towns, along with KFC, Starbucks, and Burger King.

English is the universal language, spoken fluently by young people and just about everyone who deals with the public. Only in small towns and rural areas will you find some people who do not speak our language well.

American television shows are on many channels, and are very popular. (It's hysterical to watch Seinfeld or CSI dubbed in German!)

American cars -- especially muscle cars like Mustang GTs -- are everywhere, even with fuel being as expensive as it is. (Diesel fuel for our rented Skoda Octavia wagon was the equivalent of $8 per gallon.)

People who have never set foot in North America know all about American society, government, and pop culture. They can name many of our elected officials, entertainers, and athletes.

We are the 800 lb. gorilla on the world stage, and since the end of World War II we've transformed Europe...I'm having a hard time understanding how we're getting the short end of the stick in our relations with our allies.

I rode the train from Yerevan, Armenia to Tbilisi, Georgia last August. The Armenian family in my compartment used the opportunity to practice English. We finally started showing pics on our phones - the big hits on my phone were Bonnie & Clyde's death car (from the border casino on I-15 at the CA/NV border - they knew all about the murderous couple), any DC monuments, and the ABQ and Tohajilee areas of NM (they all saw Breaking Bad).

In Tbilisi, the Embassy was across the street from Caterpillar, Wendy's, and McDonalds, with the Ford Fusion as one of the most common Bolt (like Uber) vehicles. Domino's, KFC, Dunking Donuts, Burger King, etc., were common as were US-based major hotel chains.

 

[Onomea]

Beemer and Biku's memories remind me of my first trip to Japan in 1975. Part of my itinerary included a visit to Nara, Japan's ancient capital.

Wending my way through narrow allies and old wooden buildings, I could practically hear that old gong — bonnnggg, this is the Far East! Exotic! — when I rounded a corner and there, smack dab in the middle of this ancient city who should I come across but Colonel Sanders! Standing tall! KFC, baby! Packed full of Japanese customers gettin' their Kentucky fried.

 

[GypsmJim]

Price of horse ?? Price of buggy ?? price of horse barn ?? Price of horse food ?? Price of land to build horse barn ?? Misc horse and buggy equipment needed ?? Are you sure you are ready to do that ??

My wife has 2 horses. I have an older car with a big V8 engine that sucks gas pretty hard. If we are talking economics my Pontiac is cheaper to operate, and if it rains I won't get wet.

 

[Oldengineer]

Seems to me that we are increasing tax on one hand (tariffs) and lowering taxes on the other (extending 2017 tax cut), while increasing the debt ceiling to borrow more money.

 

[dockmurgw]

I am, and will remain, optimistic. A few of the latest news reports: Chevy moving some light truck production from Mexico to Indiana. Taurus looking to shift some production from Brazil and maximize production in their US plant. Vietnam has indicated a desire for 0% reciprocal tariffs. There are a lot of bona fide experts here that know exactly how this will shake out, but my intellectual ladder doesn't have as many steps so I will wait and see how this unfolds.

 

[glenwolde]

Won't affect me, I don't buy new anymore.
Heard today Ford is dropping the prices big-time on F-150's and other models.

I wouldn't say "big time" but it's a good deal. They are offering employee pricing which is below the invoice price. Not that invoice represents the actual dealer cost, but still.

It likely will affect you even if you only buy used. As new car prices have risen, so have used car prices. In 2024 the average age of cars on the road was at a record at 12.6 years. I think that will be going up.

 

[Denverd0n]

I'll stand on my statement that a tarrif is a tax without representation...

Without representation!?! Trump promised to do this during his campaign, and won by a significant majority. This is absolutely and totally WITH representation!

 

[biku324]

Seems to me that we are increasing tax on one hand (tariffs) and lowering taxes on the other (extending 2017 tax cut), while increasing the debt ceiling to borrow more money.

Precisely.

 

[collectordude]

I'm going to purchase some more stocks

 

[glenwolde]

I'm going to purchase some more stocks

I'm not. I'm probably going to close out my short position at the close though. Think I'll sit in cash for a bit.

 

[Jon651]

Other countries tax their citizens, so the U.S. retaliates by taxing us. Brilliant strategy.

I picked up a 2024 Silverado 1500 custom crew cab 4x4. 2.7L standard bed for 38k

I don't mean to hi-jack the thread, but a 4-cyclinder motor in a full-size pickup truck is just plain wrong!

 

[James K]

Tariff wars are the main reason we had the Depression. History does repeat if you don't study it. It took WW2 to pull us out.

"The Great Depression was significantly impacted by the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which raised tariffs on thousands of imported goods in an attempt to protect American industries. However, this led to retaliatory tariffs from other countries, worsening the economic downturn and contributing to a dramatic decline in international trade."

 

[SWFan27]

*** gas is $5.15 here

And much of that is the California state tax. And our "summer blend" gas will be even more expensive. But gas prices should drop quickly now that the price of a barrel of oil has dropped so low.

 

[ladder13]

Well, here's a surprise - a hard-right legal group tied to Leonard Leo and the Koch brothers is suing to stop the tariffs because, according to them, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) doesn't authorize tariffs. From the New Civil Liberty Alliance's press release - "However, this statute authorizes specific emergency actions like imposing sanctions or freezing assets to protect the United States from foreign threats. It does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. In its nearly 50-year history, no other president — including President Trump in his first term — has ever tried to use the IEEPA to impose tariffs."

NCLA Sues to Stop Trump Admin. from Imposing Emergency Tariffs That Congress Never Authorized

Curious how you call them hard right when their website says non partisan?

 

[Ματθιας]

Tariff wars are the main reason we had the Depression. History does repeat if you don't study it. It took WW2 to pull us out.

"The Great Depression was significantly impacted by the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which raised tariffs on thousands of imported goods in an attempt to protect American industries. However, this led to retaliatory tariffs from other countries, worsening the economic downturn and contributing to a dramatic decline in international trade."

There's no comparison between what happened in the 1930's and now. Everything has changed. Everything. It's continuing to change at a faster and faster rate.