Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Advanced Micro Devices - Moderated (AMD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TGPTNDR who wrote (182580)	1/7/2006 6:42:32 PM
From: aleph0	Respond to of 275872

OT: on cars.. Porsche and Mercedes are definitely worth the money IMO ! Ferdinand Porsche designed the first Merc motors as well as Hitlers Tank motors BTW. My first "love" was my 911 Targa - parted with it for a 911 SC. I then got a little older and matured to 3 Mercs which passed through my hands after a total of ca. 1 million Km. and the only defect was 1 water pump ( 300,000 Km. ). Nearly every farmer in Germany drives a Merc BTW ! You often see old Merc Taxis for sale with 1 mio. Km. on the clock - going for good money. With a Merc Diesel motor, you normally reckon to have to change the motor every 600,000 Km. and the gearbox normally lasts for ca. 900,000 ! The funny thing was that I bought my 911 SC as a 1 year old for 39,000 DM in 1982. Today you can buy the same 1982 911 SC second hand for ca. 10-20,000 Euros ( sometimes more than I paid ) !! faircar.autoscout24.de Another common saying in Germany about buying a second-hand Merc Diesel is : "they're at their best after 200,000 Km., when they've just been 'run-in' " !! Anyone in te US looking for a cheap Merc from Germany should look here : faircar.de . Here's a selection ( ca. 300 ) from the same website for those with Diesel motors starting at 200,000 Km. faircar.autoscout24.de Prices ca. 5,000 Euros upwards - for up to 8-year old models ! There are various factors as to why you can get a Merc in Germany for effectively peanuts : - petrol has become so expensive - Road taxes are high for Diesel motors - Bad German economy forcing people to part with their luxuries Merc Diesels are bought from private people mainly by Turkish businessmen for export to Africa, Turkey, Middle East etc. ..and they get them cheap for the above reasons. In the foreign countries, they bring ca. 3 times the German price ! ( I know a quite a few Turkish businessmen that do this - and know what they get abroad ) Rumour has it that the body-work of the newest Mercs are not as rust-proof as the older models - which surprised me I must say ! ( So I am told by many Taxi drivers as well as a Polish friend who runs a garage/workshop - a so called "KFZ-Meister" ) FWIW

To: TGPTNDR who wrote (182580)	1/7/2006 7:39:01 PM
From: rupert1	Respond to of 275872

tgp My last American was a new 1990 Lincoln Continental - that was the year they changed from the boxy to streamlined style. It was in Canada in the winter. It used to get giddy in snow - skating to inaudible music. One night it took me on a trip into a steep 15 feet roadside ditch. I said goodbye to the world on the way down. But it landed right side up with four feet of fresh snow packing me in on all sides. I couldn't open the door. I called the mounties on my mobile and the silly cow who answered told me that the reception was bad so could I please try again from the road! Anyway they came with a truck and hauled me out. Driving that thing reminded me of the old Dakota 8 I used to hop around in South America. I had to perch myself on the cargo, sometimes among live sheep and goats. When we moved from the clouds over rainforest to the hot dry air over the grass fires of the savannah the turbulence was just like a Lincoln in the snow! But I digress. You raised a good point about probable new weakness in the dollar. Maybe that's a factor Keith and Rink and Armin and some of the others must consider when timing a possible exit from AMD or from any US stock? There are lots of good stocks listed in London and Frankfurt and Paris and some of the other bourses. The Mexican peso is more or less tied to the USD now, but the forthcoming Presidential elections could return Mexico to the "socialist" government it had for 72 years before Vincente Fox came to power a few years ago. Sudden devaluations of the peso against the dollar used to be common. If it happens again products manufactured here - and there are a lot of assembly plants turning out computers, electronic gadgets and components - would be less costly in foreign markets. Tourism and real estate would also benefit. Currency trading around the time of devaluation, although very risky, has incredible leverage. The golden rule is to bet on it when a government official denies that devaluation is in the offing. But for Mexico's sake I hope there won't be a return to an uncertain exchange rate.