Will reality ever phase Cobra owners? (economic crisis)

[will butterwort]

facing retirement, it,s all gone, jan1,09 and i am out of here.Will sign up for soc. sec. next month, teachers pension--whats left, and go see the va, if they can help me.And, yes--the economy will catch up with our hobby.If obama gets in office with pus-a-losi running the house with her iron fist,saving the planet, and you don,t need God, you have the democrats , my fear is that they could start declaring what is allowed to be driven at all.Our old low mileage hobby cars just might be declared non-essential to transportation, park,em.We already saw his comments about suv,s , and heating our homes, airconditioning our homes, eating too much.I fear for our future as a country, heritage, culture, christianity--all on the line next month.Hannity will have a program onthe demo. cand. sunday night at 9pm. We need to watch that.Take a look at drudge headlines this friday am--at voter fraud showing up already--ostensibly from those community organizer experiences we read about.My two cents for the day. Will-alabama

[JBCOBRA]

Times are hard, but for me, driving the Cobra is the best therapy. When I am out cruising it is the best form of escapism from what is going on in the world. No phone, radio, tv or computer. Gas is cheaper than a "shrink"

[redss454]

The media is a bunch of Fear Mongers, they prey on the fears of people.
Yes it will bounce back,and then grow even higher then last year.
I hope.
as for the hobby.
My cobra kit was delivered on Sunday.
My garage extension is being built as I write this.we had to make room for the cobra build and not leave the chevelle out side.
My business phone has slowed the last 3 weeks.
But what the hell we only go around this life once,
I agree with those that go for a quick ride to Blow the dust off the cars and clear your head at the same time.I have never gotten out of the chevelle without a big grin on my face.So it can only get better when the cobra is done. Jim

[Nantucket427]

545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese (Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.)


Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices. 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ, it's because they want them in IRAQ.

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

[RedBarchetta]

Damn that was a good read. I just forwarded that to 20 of my close friends.

[bdeutsch]

Trying to distinguish hype from reality at the moment is interesting particularly given continued volatility of the stock market and related impact on 401k and other instruments created to fund your retirement years.

I think that in general, we can expect to see a number of specialty car manufacturers crash and burn in 2009; combination of lowered demand and difficulty in obtaining credit at reasonable rates. How/if that impacts the Club Cobra community is hard to determine.

In regards to Cobra market and prices, flat at best, likely to continue to fall through next year. At the end of the day, demand for these cars is elastic. It is not clear though where biggest hits will be...meaning the two $$ ends (high-low) of the spectrum. Only thought to add here is that if you do not need to sell now, don't.

Not an economist, so no particular credentials that give me any insight into any of this. All disagreements welcome.

[GTA]

I guess you can say I'm one of the few who's effected by all this.June I lost my job of 24 years. Here in Michigan jobs are hard to come by.I'm still one of the lucky ones. I had the feeling it would start turnning bad, so I payed my house off,built my car over a three period and payed cash for everything I bought. So I owe no one anything, and I have some savings.I will be leaving Michigan soon for a job out of state.If I'm lucky next summer I will be cruiseing the deep south with my cobra.Maybe it will turn out for the good.Roger

[bdeutsch]

First, sorry to hear about your job. We have offices in Michigan; work with most of the auto vertical and understand what you are saying about the economy.

I think at the end of the discussion, whether it is by virtue of house values, retirement accounts or other, there will be few of us who will not be touched in one way or another.

Suspect it is just going to be a question of how bad the damage for each of us as individuals.

Bob

[Bobcat]

I can`t say I say this coming .... but I felt something was going to happen , just not this drastic .... and I`m afraid this is just the beginning . I just heard on the news that the Italian Prime Minister suggested that all world financial markets be closed until a World plan can be implemented as this can`t be handled on a Country by Country basis .... really unsettling . If anyone has the time , read Ayn Rand`s Atlas Shrugged .... 1100 pages .
Having said this , my Cobra was paid for when I got it ... as is my Galaxie , and I still drive it on weekends ( when I can get 93 octane gas ) as it relaxes me ... and I`m continuing my Cobra build . I own my house and other vehicles and have zero debt .... other than what I spend on a day by day basis . It really pi$$e$ me off that I did everything "right" , put two children through College , saved for retirement ( retired now ) and now have to bale out those who didn`t .
Yes , this is starting to affect me , but only marginally at this time . I can only hope that those of you who are working will be able to continue and not get hurt too badly .

[rbray]

well said BobCat.

My wife and I have always saved. We bought less house than we could afford so we could pay off the mortgage early. No look at what we get to do with our savings ... pay for the irresponsible people that make less money that we do and live in nicer houses!!!!!!
I'm a republican, but for the life of me I can't understand why McCain wants bail out home owners that are in over their heads. The republican party used to stand for less government and individual responsibility.
We will get through this when we find another leader like Ronald Reagan. Pulling ones self up by the boot straps is not a kind or gentle thing, but it is what built this country.

Sorry for the rant

[kayakjack]

My wife and I have no debt. Own our house, cars, everything free and clear. I still have my job. We have always lived below our means. I like that.

I am approaching retirement. My 401ks have taken a good hit, but they are still OK.

I'm angry at all of the parties whose actions caused this problem. My money will now go to bail them out. The people on wall street. The politicians. The people who bought things on credit they can not afford. The banks and Fannie and Freddie.

That said, two years into Superformance ownership - one of the best decisions I ever made. I bought used at a good price so I don't think I would take a hit even if I sold now - which I will not!!

I don't get to drive it much, but it is the best therapy when I do. No radio, no airconditioner, no windows, no power steering. Just Cobra.

I think show offs with their bling consumption is going be looked down upon. I didn't buy the Cobra to show off. I bought it for me.

I hope times get better soon.

Jack

[Jamo]

With apologies to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (for those of you are old enough and inhaled)...

A Cobra will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no Cobra.

[Clayboy]

Jack, I agree with you, the wife and I are in the same position. We own our house and have no debt and live below our income. I was going to retire at the end of last year, but decided that I still liked my job too much to quit. Now that the economy has taken such a massive hit I'm even happier with my decision. Retirement is now several years away and I hope that my 403b recovers with time. I guess we'll see. But I'll still drive the cobra every chance I get...as someone posted earlier, the up side is that gas is getting cheaper. Ya just gotta' keep smilin'. I hope everyone can ride out the storm.
Bob

[yamazee]

This is a great topic with respect to what is going on today. Its an amazing thing how we all react to the media like sheep and follow along exactly how the media and everyone above us want us to. I own a small mortgage firm in central florida, and yes while lending and qualifying for a loan has changed, what you are hearing and seeing in the media is not all true. To this day, we are still funding loans for people with less than perfect credit, and little to no money down. In fact we have done quite well at in the past 12 months as opposed to our competition. Money is still available in most circumstances, what is not available is lending where there is zero means of ability to repay the loan. While I agree the landscape of the economy is challenging much of it is not going to effect everyone in the same manner. Also regardless of the state of the ecomomy, there will always be opportunities that will surface and allow the people who stay focused and positive to make money. I have found it best to ignore many of the reports on how bad it is, focus on the things that we can see as postives and carry on our day to day business of making money and paying for the things we really want to achieve. There are plenty of good things happening right now that are not getting any attention at all. The major shift now is that homes have become affordable again, we are seeing the first time homebuyers come back into play, with the help of Gov insured financing we are able to get the great interest rates with fixed terms in many cases with no money down. Many of these people are no where near perfect credit, its actually the opposite. Guess what, they are still getting thier loans. Guess what, the fact the media tells you every day that you cant get a loan without lots of money down and great credit is total BS. The problem we have today is that none of our political leaders have any clue of what's really happening. The other problem is that we have all been duped, none of the bailout funds are really being used domesticly, in fact most of who we are bailing out are overseas investors, countries, and foreign entities. If I had it my way, all 435 people running congress would be fired ASAP and replace with new officials. The economy will take some time to recover, so will housing, soooo what!! While its doing all that, stay sharp, sieze the new opportunities and keep plugging away. If I gave into what everyone is saying about the economy and all the doom and gloom going around I would be a broke schitzophrenic maniac. Screw what everyone else is talking about, its still ok at my house and always will be as long as I have something to say and do about it.

[trularin]

GTA, where were you at?

I was Delphi for years and then...well everyone can read the papers.

Doing it in Farmington now.

Did you retire or are you out looking???

[Thieleng]

Well, I just read a newspaper article yesterday that stated Nevada was the lowest in the 50 states as far as economic conditions. I sold my business 3 years ago with the intentions of slowing down and being more selective as to what client's I wish to maintain and work for in the future. I sold a business that had two offices and combined revenues above $10M, 77 employees etc. on an installment plan that has 2 years left, and that is down to approximately 10% of it's original value. I had to draw out my retirement funds about 6 weeks ago in order to continue, client's that I have had for over 20 years and have worked with through several boom and bust cycles are now filing BK and cannot afford to pay their bills. My plans for slowing down have now been exceeded by the need to start over and to raise the Phoenix once more out of the ashes. I cannot do much with the economy other than endeavor to persevere and hope to survive long enough for the turn around, when and if that occurs. I have all my equity and liquidity invested in my home, which is on the market, the value of which has declined by 31% over the past 6 months. I will be 56 in a month and still have one daughter in school that will graduate next spring. Meanwhile I watch the news and see the potential evolution of the United States into a socialist state re: Socialized Health Care, Feds majority owners of Banking, interference into money markets etc., for some reason the Cobra is not as much fun as it use to be and probably will be sitting in the garage for a while.

[MaSnaka]

Privatized profits with socialized risks. I'm not sure what the best course of action is but I hope those smarter than me do. Things are going to be different for some time to come. I hope my kids don't have a depression story to tell their kids. What is happening is just unheard of. Best of luck to us all.

John

[madmaxx]

Anyone looking for work, there is always some in the golden triangle, houston, beaumont, lake charles. Massive refinery project by Motiva in Lake Charles/Beaumont area. It is like my plant manager said a while back, there are less than 1% of the people walking through our plant gates making less than $100K a year, including 25 year olds. The landscape is ugly, the weather is hot humid and usually raining, there is only summer and very hot summer as far as seasons. realestate is very cheap, no state income tax but high property taxes about 5%. Liberal rules as far as killing thiefs, drug dealers, molesters and the rest of vile society, if you do not want to do it your neighbor will, still a big problem with drinking and driving, but since everything is flat the roads are not challenging.

[rbray]

Hey MadMaxx,

where do I apply?

[GTA]

Hey Trularin, I heard about Delphi. Sorry to hear your in the sinking boat. I can't retire now.Thats why I'm tring to get a job out of state.I am very ticked off about this whole thing. I also lived under my means.I bought a smaller home when they were pushing me to buy a larger home.I think a lot of people went out and bought large homes they were told they could afford.My daughter worked for one of the largest loan companys out there. They kept tring to get her to sign off on bad loan and she refused. She ended up quiting before she would do it.One of the loans was a lady from Detroit wanted a equity loan of $20,000 .The lady had the house apraised at $54,000. My daughter went out to the house to see for her self. My daughter appraised the house at about $8,000.My daughter has a license to appraise homes in Michigan. Her boss signed off on that loan becouse Crystal would'nt.Guess who got the big bonus that year.Intill they get a handle on this kind of stuff, nothing will change.In 10 to 15 years we'll be back in the same boat. Bailing out the fat cats and crooks.