[X5MnM3comp]

I have a feeling the costs for exhausts, rims, all bolt on parts, carbon fiber parts and not to mention bmw cars will go up pretty soon. Who else thinks so?

[MaxVO2]

Originally Posted by X5MnM3comp

I have a feeling the costs for exhausts, rims, all bolt on parts, carbon fiber parts and not to mention bmw cars will go up pretty soon. Who else thinks so?

***Raises hand.....

[M2M3M3]

no thinking required. they will.

[zvez]

Trump and elmo, making America great again SMDH

[Brandoch]

Originally Posted by zvez

Trump and elmo, making America great again SMDH

It appears as though more than half of the country wants this.

[zvez]

Originally Posted by Brandoch

It appears as though more than half of the country wants this.

Six months from I suspect that will change drastically when inflation hits. Trump actually only got a plurality of the vote, around 49%. Certainly not the mandate trump and maga are painting.

[pbonsalb]

Or 2 years later when there are midterm elections. I don’t plan any car purchases in the next few years but I do buy a lot of car parts and expect those prices to go up. This is a high end BMW forum. No one here will suffer. But there are a large number of Americans living paycheck to paycheck who will feel the consequences. And the rich, probably many here, will keep getting richer.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Brandoch

It appears as though more than half of the country wants this.

Very slightly more than half of the voters (not the entire population), which include many people with varying levels of intelligence and many more that did not believe that campaign intentions would ever become reality.

[pbonsalb]

The winner won by something like 1.6% of the vote, which works out to about 2.3 million votes out of 152 million?. The winner won both the electoral and popular vote, unlike both of his prior races (he won the electoral vote in 2016, but not the popular vote, and lost both in 2020). Americans wanted the result and in a democracy, that must be respected, whether one personally agrees with the result or not.

[M2M3M3]

Originally Posted by zvez

Six months from I suspect that will change drastically when inflation hits. Trump actually only got a plurality of the vote, around 49%. Certainly not the mandate trump and maga are painting.

Actually far less than that. Maybe 35% of the total voters. The other 65% either voted against him or failed to vote. So the maga crowd are really a minority in the country. There is no majority mandate for the chaos being caused.

[pbonsalb]

Or some of the others failed to vote for the democratic candidate. Be fair, whether you like the result or not. There was much to dislike about both candidates, which may be why there were millions fewer voters in 2024.

[NickyC]

We sure do live in interesting times. Humans are terrible at predicting the future, but I don't think these high tariffs will last very long. There will be initial overreaction/panic, turbulence in the markets, but nobody will really notice anything different in day-to-day life. There will be concessions, all sides will claim victory, and it will end.

My prediction which is sure to be wrong of course.

[X5MnM3comp]

Originally Posted by NickyC

We sure do live in interesting times. Humans are terrible at predicting the future, but I don't think these high tariffs will last very long. There will be initial overreaction/panic, turbulence in the markets, but nobody will really notice anything different in day-to-day life. There will be concessions, all sides will claim victory, and it will end.

My prediction which is sure to be wrong of course.

Only speaking on steel and aluminum. Another 10% tariff isn’t going to stop US retailers to purchase from China consider our domestic raw material is somewhat 75% higher in cost. So what that means is government gains from import taxes while the tariff doesn’t really benefit domestic manufacturers. retailers get affected by lower demand while they are forced to pass the increase cost on products sold. End users as consumers eat shit by paying more while wages stay the same.

[DrVenture]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

The winner won by something like 1.6% of the vote, which works out to about 2.3 million votes out of 152 million?. The winner won both the electoral and popular vote, unlike both of his prior races (he won the electoral vote in 2016, but not the popular vote, and lost both in 2020). Americans wanted the result and in a democracy, that must be respected, whether one personally agrees with the result or not.

I agree with this completely. However in 2020 so many people did not view it that way.

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Or 2 years later when there are midterm elections. I don’t plan any car purchases in the next few years but I do buy a lot of car parts and expect those prices to go up. This is a high end BMW forum. No one here will suffer. But there are a large number of Americans living paycheck to paycheck who will feel the consequences. And the rich, probably many here, will keep getting richer.

Like you, I am not planning any major purchases, as I am good on cars and also spent the last 5 years on home maintenance/renovations. All caught up. And yes, those who are living paycheck to paycheck are going to bear the brunt of such things. There is also an irony that this group usually pays very little in taxes, but tariffs OTOH are not subject to income limitations and will hit much harder.

It also strikes me that reality is already setting in, I don't think I have ever seen moods change so quickly. From what I can tell inflation was the impetus behind the 2024 election. People ignored wage growth, GDP numbers, employment stats, pretty much everything else. And voted to bring back inflation.

Statistically, the average IQ is 100. This implies half the country is 100 or below. My presumption is that the same group that is living paycheck-to-paycheck, didn't understand at all what they were endorsing. And certainly doesn't grasp macroeconomics.

[DrVenture]

Anyone who is focusing solely on the purchase of aspirational vehicles and the expensive hobby of modding cars, may be missing much bigger concerns. I'd expect anything to do with construction or related labor expenses to go through the roof. Even industries/companies/entities not seriously impacted by tariffs or labor shortages will see the opportunity to ride the wave of higher prices. Health care? Pharmaceuticals (prescription drugs) were already a serious problem. Pharma, oil and semiconductors are coming next.

https://thehill.com/homenews/adminis...emiconductors/

[DrVenture]

Originally Posted by NickyC

We sure do live in interesting times. Humans are terrible at predicting the future, but I don't think these high tariffs will last very long. There will be initial overreaction/panic, turbulence in the markets, but nobody will really notice anything different in day-to-day life. There will be concessions, all sides will claim victory, and it will end.

My prediction which is sure to be wrong of course.

This is a positive way to look at it. And no one can say that you are entirely incorrect. Unfortunately, once prices go up and supply chains are remade no telling if anything ever really goes back to normal.

For instance, lumber went way up about 10 years ago for reasons that were thought to be temporary. Prices are still very high. I've been watching GPU prices since long before the semiconductor shortages (5 years back now) and they have definitely not receded. Automobile prices rarely come back down.

Labor is another story, wages, particularly at the low end, have risen a lot as a result of competition for this resource and current policies seem set to exacerbate that - a lot.

And when corporate profits are squeezed, the first thing that happens is white collar workers are sent packing. A lot of older workers then have trouble finding suitable employment, ever again.

I hope that you are correct, though. I admire optimism.

[X5MnM3comp]

You have nailed it on the direct and donmino effects of a closed/isolated economy.