The Market, Energy, And Political Page, Part 2, T+49, Detroit Block Party -- October 1, 2018

Trucks. Link here.

The F-Series is not just the best-selling truck with Silverado and Ram second and third; these are the best-selling vehicles of any kind in the United States. They are crucial to domestic automakers' profits and, along with SUVs, an increasing share of their production as consumers move away from sedans. 

“Detroit may have been through hell and back in the last 10 years, but these are the best three trucks ever built," said Eric Noble, a product development consultant and professor of vehicle technology at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. "Their factories are running flat out, import competitors have faded into the rearview mirror, and transaction prices have never been higher.

“This isn't war, it's a Detroit block party.”

These aren’t your father’s full-size pickups. They’re deluxe. Average transaction prices for pickups are nearing $50,000, and large truck sales accounted for nearly $1 of every $5 spent in the car industry in 2017, said Ivan Drury, senior manager of industry analysis for Edmunds. Some versions can cost more than $100,000.

Sales are hot, with the full-size pickup segment up 2.6 percent in 2018 through August. In 2017, American shoppers bought nearly 2.4 million full-size pickups.

Making America great.

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Note to the Granddaughters

I stopped by the Grapevine, TX, coin show over the weekend. I'm trying to complete my set of Chinese Panda silver dollars. I noted over the weekend I was missing the 2011 and the 2015 Pandas. Interestingly, the vendor I usually deal with had all years except the 2011s and the 2015s. His price was one of the lowest I've seen (BU) -- but not to worry. I found the 2011s on eBay for an even better price. I've never bought on eBay before -- it will be interesting to see what I get. I won't have long to wait; they should arrive by the end of the week.

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Biking

I rate every day that I ride my bike, starting each day with a "10" and then taking off points, in half-point increments, for precipitation/humidity, temperature, and wind. Today, I biked to work at 5:15 a.m., well before sunrise. An incredibly beautiful day, an easy "10." But by the end of the ride I took off one point: a half-point for temperature (just a big warm for 5:30 a.m.) and humidity (a bit humid). So, an overall 9.0. So,  there you have it.

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Reminder

From Atom Land, Jon Butterworth, c. 2017, 2018:

• an alpha particle: helium nucleus (two protons, two neutrons)
• beta particles: electrons
• gamma rays: photons
• English plum pudding does not contain any plums 

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The Dinosaur Page

Another photograph of Sophia at the "dinosaur exhibit" at the Grapevine Botanical gardens over the weekend. See also this post.

First, from wiki:

Then, a graphic from the Grapevine exhibit:

And, finally, Sophia, an omnivore, and a diablocertops, an herbivore: