My BlackWing has been relieved of its duties...

[G.Newt]

I'm waiting a bit for EVs to get better in terms of charging infrastructure. My small city of 160k just got 10 Tesla Superchargers at our local shopping center. I currently have a '23 Audi A4 as a daily and I frequently travel out of town 2-3 times a month so gas made more sense... for now. Glad to hear you keeping the miles off the Blackwing and the math worked out.

 

[mfbmike]

I think I saw your post on Apex Automotor FB group. LOL. Nice.

 

[NewCaddy]

Sounds like it was a real no-brainer.
But I laughed when I read your: “Way nicer than it needs to be for an appliance that I'm not even going to garage”.
Is that what we call EVs now?

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

Sounds like it was a real no-brainer.
But I laughed when I read your: “Way nicer than it needs to be for an appliance that I'm not even going to garage”.
Is that what we call EVs now?

That's what I call this one lol

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

I think I saw your post on Apex Automotor FB group. LOL. Nice.

That's me!

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

I'm waiting a bit for EVs to get better in terms of charging infrastructure. My small city of 160k just got 10 Tesla Superchargers at our local shopping center. I currently have a '23 Audi A4 as a daily and I frequently travel out of town 2-3 times a month so gas made more sense... for now. Glad to hear you keeping the miles off the Blackwing and the math worked out.

It's work that makes this a game changer. Every day at 2:30pm I've been leaving with a "tank" of free juice and 300 miles of range.

 

[MookdocOE]

If GM made that car you would never hear the end of it? Since some foreign entity did it will be praised as the next best thing since Tesla? These things are total junk folks.....and yes I will have one of these too at some point just like everybody else! KEEP THE BW my friend!

 

[shbox]

Sounds like it was a real no-brainer.
But I laughed when I read your: “Way nicer than it needs to be for an appliance that I'm not even going to garage”.
Is that what we call EVs now?

That's what I call this one lol

Actually, sound appropriate. Use it, plug it in to charge, use it again...very much like a lot of appliances in our lives these days. And when the battery dies, it gets another (if affordable) or it goes in the bin on electronic recycling day.

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

Actually, sound appropriate. Use it, plug it in to charge, use it again...very much like a lot of appliances in our lives these days. And when the battery dies, it gets another (if affordable) or it goes in the bin on electronic recycling day.

It's a glorified cell phone lol.

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

If GM made that car you would never hear the end of it? Since some foreign entity did it will be praised as the next best thing since Tesla? These things are total junk folks.....and yes I will have one of these too at some point just like everybody else! KEEP THE BW my friend!

I wouldn't say it's junk. It's almost tank like in how solid it feels and drives. Good shut lines, good quality. Not a single squeak or rattle which is something I can't say about most new cars I've had.

It's a short lived tech appliance with a short shelf life dressed up as a car. But knowing that and my use case, it's an excellent example of one.

 

[MookdocOE]

I wouldn't say it's junk. It's almost tank like in how solid it feels and drives. Good shut lines, good quality. Not a single squeak or rattle which is something I can't say about most new cars I've had.

It's a short lived tech appliance with a short shelf life dressed up as a car. But knowing that and my use case, it's an excellent example of one.

I understand. If there was a Chevy badge on this vehicle the reviewers and general public would never stop on the negativity. Since there isn't that GM badge you will hear nothing of the sort...this trend has been going on for decades is all I am saying.

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

I understand. If there was a Chevy badge on this vehicle the reviewers and general public would never stop on the negativity. Since there isn't that GM badge you will hear nothing of the sort...this trend has been going on for decades is all I am saying.

Yeah, but I'd say the same thing about Hyundai Kia. Decades of a less than flattering reputation. It looks nice now, or hey they make a quick run car now, "yeah, but it's a Hyundai".

 

[quikag]

I understand. If there was a Chevy badge on this vehicle the reviewers and general public would never stop on the negativity. Since there isn't that GM badge you will hear nothing of the sort...this trend has been going on for decades is all I am saying.

Man, not so sure that's entirely accurate. Sure, there's always a subset of the population that's "screw GM, screw Chevy", but lately they've been getting some love. Heck, I was reading a recent issue of Car and Drive on their 10 Best and the Corvette and both Blackwings were on it. Then, the Blazer EV won SUV of the Year for Motor Trend, I believe.

I don't think GM has a worse rep than Hyundai/Kia. Honestly, I don't think either of them have a bad rep and they shouldn't. Hyundai/Kia generally build quite nice cars, especially the Telluride. They call that car the "Selluride" internally as it's a huge seller for them. Looks nice, great value, overall great car. Same with their EV's. They've generally been well received.

Then, on the GM front, GM is making some great cars. Honestly, I think the Ultium platform isn't that competitive. It's too costly and too heavy. I hope I'm proven wrong, but I walked on my Hummer EV SUV First Edition reservation as I couldn't justify the $115k price for what it was and the fact it will depreciate like a rock (pardon the pun). Same with the Silverado EV RST I had reserved. Walking on that too. It's just not competitive (for me) for $105k for what I need a truck to do.

On the other hand, I currently own my C6 ZR1 I've owned since new, my car #26 Blackwing six-speed, my '23 Silverado LTZ 3.0 diesel (aweome, comfy truck!), and my new '24 Z51 Stingray. So, I own 4 GM cars currently. I've had Porsche, Subaru, Honda, Ford (Raptor), and a bunch of cars over my life. GM vehicles I've owned have always treated me pretty darn good. Fun, enjoyable, and reliable overall. Sure, little issues here and there, but always fixed and never a huge hassle. Maybe, I've just been lucky, but I doubt it.

 

[VBhak]

I have made it about two years now with my BlackWing as my work commuter. I have subjected it to two winters.

It's been very comfortable and capable.

But man, I drive this thing like a grandma in at 6am, barely ever over 2k RPMs. I still struggle for 22mpgs. Can I afford it, yep.

But I also pay about $2150 to insure it.

Grundy wouldn't allow me to insure it under my collectors policy as I don't have enough dailies.
They also have it depreciating as it's not a collectors policy, so it was down to $58k of coverage.

Some sane people would sell the BlackWing.

I love the BlackWing and I am dumb.

So my solution?




Well work offers free EV charging. I spend about $240 a month on gas commuting. If I got a $0 down lease that was sub $240 a month, the car would essentially be free.

What about insurance?

Well, the BlackWing with collectors agreed value at $68k is $354. EVs were $1500-1800, combined...yep, no additional cost to what I'm already paying. Free car.

I'm also going to put less miles, less wear and tear, less maintenance and no more salt on the BlackWing.

That's a lot of upside isn't it?

I am not an EV early adopter. I am not doing this for politics, to save the world, to make a statement.

This is a free car for my household. Another car my wife can drive. It keeps my BlackWing nicer and better protected.

So I see this Jalopnik article. The cheapest lease in the country is a $42k Hyundai Ioniq 6. $239 a month, $0 down, 12k miles a year. Well shit, that's got me written all over it.

I live in Michigan. Good luck finding the RWD SE this lease offer was based on.

I find one 10 miles away and start a text with a salesman.

Typical, of that car is sold. All I have left is an SEL AWD. That's a whole different ball game. Dual motor, 0-60 in 4.3, tons of features and now a $50k+ MSRP. This where they say some stupid high numbers.

But I am in the best position. I don't NEED this car. 4 cars for me, 5 with my wife's car. We're DINKS.

I link the article again and say $1 more than that offer is of no interest to me.

An hour later he says I got the managers ok, he'll do the deal on same deal on the SEL AWD.

Wait, what?

I was a bit in shock.

I started making things official, but waited for the ball to drop, the gotcha moment. Some hidden fees. Some upsell.


Nothing.

I wasn't transferring a plate, so I paid for it. That was it. I got there the next day(yesterday) and had done everything over email/text so it was here's my debit card and drove off. No up sells. In fact I told him I'd do wheel & tire insurance because of the 20" wheels in Metro Detroit. He knocked $100 off that when I winced a bit.

This thing is fantastic. Way nicer than it needs to be for an appliance that I'm not even going to garage. Charging it ONCE a week for free at work covers 1-2wks commute thanks to a near 300 mile range. I also get 2yrs of free charging at Electrify America locations.

It's a polarizing car looks wise. I'm glad it's not anonymous looking like a Tesla 3, they went for it. Interior is excellent, build quality excellent. I'm glad a sedan exists. When I grabbed his last i6, my two buddies came today where the guy gave him my same deal for an i5 "SUV" for a few bucks more. View attachment 24875View attachment 24879View attachment 24878View attachment 24877View attachment 24876

Dammit... now you've got me thinking!!!

 

[jbawden]

EV's are lease-only in my house. The depreciation is horrible and unpredictable (looking at you Elon) so a lease removes the uncertainty. I have to think an outright purchase of a Hummer EV might possibly be in the top 5 worst automotive financial mistakes one could these days.

 

[CBH]

@Jameson's Viggen - glad this worked out !!

Understand you're no EV enthusiast, but it serves the purpose and saves the real jewel - and its free !!

Its fantastic that the recent glut of EVs handed you this deal !!

I doubt any of us are in the save-the-whales EV camp, but they really do offer a unique driving experience. I love the sound of straight pipes and shifting my own gears, but virtually all cars on the road today with engines are still silent and have only 2 pedals. For all of them, EV's offer a much better driving experience.

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

@Jameson's Viggen - glad this worked out !!

Understand you're no EV enthusiast, but it serves the purpose and saves the real jewel - and its free !!

Its fantastic that the recent glut of EVs handed you this deal !!

I doubt any of us are in the save-the-whales EV camp, but they really do offer a unique driving experience. I love the sound of straight pipes and shifting my own gears, but virtually all cars on the road today with engines are still silent and have only 2 pedals. For all of them, EV's offer a much better driving experience.

Even my wife came around.

WFH was so nice.

Now that I'm back it just feels right. Why should I pay even $1 to commute to work. The car is just so relaxing to use it in this way.

 

[revvhigh]

I'm not familiar with Grundy, but you should check out Hagerty. They don't insist on depreciating. My fully loaded 5wing has been insured at $110k agreed value for 2.5 years.

 

[Jameson's Viggen]

I'm not familiar with Grundy, but you should check out Hagerty. They don't insist on depreciating. My fully loaded 5wing has been insured at $110k agreed value for 2.5 years.

Pass. Hagerty was much more money.

Again, Grundy doesn't depreciate collectors policy's. This only applies to daily drivers which Hagerty doesn't cover.

 

[MiBlkWing]

I’m a little slow, and it’s late here…so apologies for the dumb question, but don’t you have to pay insurance on the EV? How is that free?