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  1. GREAT M and M, Catherine!

    I wanted to weigh in real quick on the issue of Nissan Motors (My first new car… Datsun (Nissan) King Cab 4×4 Truck. LOVED it!). In 2002/2003, an asteroid hit Nissan Motor Corp.

    It was called the “CVT Transmission”.

    This “new” (at that time) Continuously Variable Transmission was disastrous for Nissan and for owners. The heart of the design used a flexible belt as the primary power transfer connection within the transmission, and they have been a challenge for Nissan and others.

    Nissan pioneered the design for cars, in 2002, and other Brands followed later.

    If you do a search online for “Nissan CVT failure”, you will find thousands of complaints about the Nissan CVT, with a noticeable number of folks who have had to put a transmission in their Nissan, with under 70,000 miles. Many folks 2 transmissions before 100,000.

    I haven’t looked lately… but certainly Nissan has improved the CVT, and for anyone who prefers Nissan (they are nice vehicles!), a question about the “CVT Problems” will likely help you get a 200k drive train warranty.

    Hopefully things have improved with the CVT bugs, and most “high miles” drivers do a lot of highway driving, which is the easiest miles a vehicle gets.

    So, no reason not to get a Nissan, but it is not a bad idea to ask them about the CVT, and if they will give extended drive train warranty at no cost. They have been giving them out at dealers in the Kansas City area…

    …YMMV (pun intended)

    1. Subaru had a similar transmission in their Justy,, which was in the US from ’88 to the early 90’s. Not sure if similar things were occurring with it as well.

      1. Subaru was recently still using CVTs… and may still be, I’m not sure, and had some issues with them. Not as many issues as Nissan.

        The issue is really the design. They are lighter, and lower cost than a gearbox auto-trans… but when they have problems, they typically need to be completely replaced, which is around $4000, give or take.

        “Repaired” CVTs typically failed again.

        The theory behind them is promising, and makes sense assuming flawless operation. Smoother power delivery… automatic variability and ratio adjustment, depending on the torque needs of the mass in motion, which can lead to MPG ratings in the mid 30’s to low 40 MPG.

        Hopefully, the designs will improve and overall reliability will get better.

        My 2014 Kia Optima has a 6 Speed gear box, and we are seeing 9 and 10 speed gearboxes nowadays.

        I was a car geek when I was younger… 6, 7, 8 speed gearboxes boggle my mind! LOL!

    2. Thanks for the tip. Layman’s question. If I refurbish the 2000 to I have to get a CVT or can I/should I avoid?

      1. I worked in Japanese car sales, and the older Nissans are regarded as high quality, the newer ones, unfortunately not. Change in corporate leadership and business partnerships. Should you be looking for the ultimate in reliability, and low cost of maintenance – Toyota would be the way to go. If you can swing more money into maintenance, Subaru makes very high all-wheel-drive quality vehicles on all of there models, although somewhat maintenance intensive. Honda is not a bad option either. I personally own a couple of Mazda’s of would reccomend them. The ultimate conclusion I have come to, is that if you have found a vehicle you like, and have someone that can maintain it for you that you trust, doesn’t matter what you own.

        1. Those are excellent points. My impression fits with what you say – that Toyota has maintained quality better than Nissan. We have a wonderful local auto shop who does an excellent job. I think the time has come for me to ask him what his favorite to maintain is.

          1. Whoops… didn’t see your reply to s.electric before my windy response. e.elctric is spot on.

            I would echo exactly what they said… Toyota… has lost some of it’s reliability luster, however the Avalon has remained pretty consistent on reliability, and they drive out mind blowingly great. Really. Drive one… you’ll see what I mean.

            Lexus are decent… Infinity is Nissan.

            Same as e.elctric… Subaru’s are good cars… but the maintenance tempo is significant.

            If Subaru… you will bump into the CVT thing again… not sure which models have them.

            I like Mazda’s as well. Pretty solid cars.

            If you don’t mind a sedan, and as much driving as you do, give the Avalon a look. They are pricey, but a Certified Used from a good dealer would be a decent buy. As always, check CarFax on any low mile used car, to make sure there’s no accidents.

            Keep the fluids changed in them, and they go forever, and have great seats in them (first thing I test in a car… LOL)

      2. Catherine… I don’t believe Nissan started using the CVT’s in their vehicles until 2002.

        Might be TMI here… but…

        I am going to assume the Pathfinder uses a traditional torque converter/gearbox design. Probably a 4 speed Automatic… and you should be able to get a good crated Original Equipment rebuilt transmission, should you need to do so.

        There are a number of nation wide re-builders out there. Just do your research for best warranty. Everyone will of course warranty the transmission… but labor is a BIG part of cost. Once again, a good mechanic who has done transmission swaps will likely know or have a reliability preference.

        Also… a GOOD salvage yard will track the VIN# history of a vehicle, and can tell you about the life of a vehicle a transmission came out of. I suppose rebuilt is still a better option with a 20 year old transmission… since seals will start to oxidize and harden, and most soft rubber parts are replaced in a rebuild.

        Before you endeavor to do the rebuild, have a GOOD mechanic give the undercarriage a good close look for any corrosion perforation of the frame.

        Whichever of the vehicles had the most highway miles logged (can’t recall if you have more than 1) would probably be the one to restore.

        Restoring and keeping an old vehicle running, can be costly… but if you have a good mechanic and some backup vehicles, will still likely be cheaper than replacement.

        I have a thing for old Ford Taurus sedans, fourth generation 2000 to 2007, with the Vulcan engine. One of the best sedans ever made, IMO, and the handling on them is amazing, even by today’s standards.

        Those 2000 Pathfinders were really sharp vehicles! I still see them around, and folks drive the wheels off of them before getting rid of them.

        I don’t wrench on things much, but know a fair bit about cars/ so if I can assist in any way, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

        1. OK. Truly love this Pathfinder. Not eager to buy a car in a low integrity economy.

      1. NICE! I liked the X Terra. I was wondering if they were out before the CVTs showed up at Nissan. I guess so.

    1. Real media covered it. They were Hero of the Week last week on the Solari Report. Controlled media can not cover it. That would be antithetical to their purpose.

      1. I am surprised.

        The controlled demolition conspiracy theory is, similar to its title, very likely controlled opposition.

        I love your work Catherine AF. You do so much for the online community. But like any resource online, salt must be taken.

        Dr. Judy Wood’s incredibly thorough analysis of the 9/11 event, found in her textbook “Where Did the Towers Go?”, emaciated both the mainstream narrative and the counter-theories of conventional demolition, mini-nukes and thermite (among others).

        http://www.drjudywood.com/towers/

        I am confident you have gone over her work. It is an absolute must for any person investigating the mechanisms behind the towers going away on September 11th, 2001. If you haven’t for some reason analyzed her work, I will be grateful that I can supply another source for your perusing.

        1. I have heard a few talks from Dr. Woods and she is spot on from a directed energy perspective on the towers. To summarize.. she asks ..”How did the towers turn to dust before our eyes ?” That is what we saw.. but it’s not the narrative we were told. She was sacked from her job after publishing her works as well. Well worth a look.

          Mark

  3. Dear Catherine:

    I hope you are enjoying your travels in Europe. I lived and studied in W. Germany in 1985 through 1997. While I visited East Germany ( GDR ) at the time, I was never allowed to speak freely with anyone there in order to get a feel for their true “non party” political leanings. Now, some years later ( after the unification of E/W Germany ) I would like to know your thoughts about the growing popularity of the far right AfD in the eastern states of Brandenburg and Saxony. It appears they might give the CDU a run for their money in the nearing election. I must say I am surprised by the swing which could really shake things up for Germany and the EU at large. It is difficult for me to fathom that this can solely be a reaction to Merkel’s leadership…. Is something else going on? Your thoughts ?

    Thanks

    Mark Weiss

    2. I will do more research. I suspect it is the same backlash against technocracy that got Trump elected, helped build popular support for Brexit, is driving the Yellow Jackets etc as well as the riots in Hong Kong. If you have not read my article about the 2016 US election called The Productivity Backlash, I recommend. People want to be productive – they want to be healthy – they want to be prosperous – if central control is preventing that and destroying the quality of food, health care, etc – they object. It is the same everywhere. It is described with a variety of spins and great effort is made to divide and conquer it with expressions like “left wing” and “right wing” – but 90%+ in my experience is a simple objection to centralizing control in a manner that shrinks the pie and lowers productivity using illegal/lawless methods- not to mention creates large monopolies and massive income inequality. The integration of transnational organized crime with large corporations and sovereign government is a tapeworm – and people are smart. They want to detox the tapeworm.

  4. On November 22nd, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated. His successor, Lyndon Johnson, quickly empaneled The Warren Commission, composed chiefly of political allies, those with favors to repay and possibly some who were materially involved with the event. In a short eight months, the tumescent report reified the mostly ridiculous notion that a lone madman had pulled off The Crime of the Century singlehandedly. Most of the evidence has remained secret to this day, with apparently sanitized bits trickling out over the ensuing years, never enough to conclusively prove anything. Kennedy family friend William Manchester wrote a bestselling book called Death of a President and gratuitously omitted more research, speculation and evidence he had garnered in the course of preparing his work. The circumstantial evidence has overwhelmingly pointed to a plot at the deepest levels of government, and has been well researched, discussed, and officially denounced over and over again. The so-called Greatest Generation fairly stood by and the Deep State orthodoxy was established.

    Over the next two generations and since, there has not been a presidency which was not threatened, shamed and ridiculed into cowardly submission. The public seems universally incapacitated in the simple art of connecting dots and instead is emotionally charged up about the most trivial of political slights as the misappropriation of its shared treasury has proliferated without the most basic of coverage by the also bullied and cowed news media. Today, the public, in at least basic awareness of the crookedness of the official story, stand by while an unprecedented plot against Donald Trump, the sitting president, goes on into its 4th year, largely spearheaded by “the news,” which is a completely falsified hybrid of spin and entertainment, with information the clear casualty.

    In recent years the “profession” of financial adviser has been essentially regulated out of business in the name of “protection” for investors. This can be likened to the protection that gangsters would offer to legitimate business in exchange for tribute. Governments in power have done the same thing throughout history, the kind that isn’t told in textbooks. The so-called “free” markets are dominated by the largest players who use computers to act on insider-only information (generally from the government or its proxies) and utterly thwart any meaningful price consensus by willing buyers and sellers. So, investors can keep their hard-earned surpluses in a market whose price-fixing mechanism is completely hidden from them and hope that they come away without devastation resulting from “market declines” that are designed to allow insiders to purchase identical shares at vast discounts. Meanwhile, the government has amassed $21 Trillion in deficits and has undocumented adjustments (expenditures that are publicly unexplained) totaling a conservatively estimated $23 Trillion.

    This was all before FASAB 56 came along. To me, that regulation is simply a formalization of what has gone on since at least WWII. And it is not a law, but a regulation, one, it would seem, within the purview of the executive branch. The current head of this branch has proven wily in handling his apparently committed foes, who do not let him rest for the briefest moment. It seems unlikely that President Trump has been hoodwinked into FASAB 56, instead he probably has conceded it for the time being, aware that he can also invalidate, overturn or simply release the information concealed by it. I believe it is the intention of the anti-Trump cabal to deliver the executive branch to a more compliant head of state, so the exercise of the power to overturn heinous regulations is safely put into less independent hands. Precisely because FASAB 56 exists is the reason why Trump remains the only viable option to save a staggering nation. It is imponderable what would happen if he was to be successfully removed from office. Moses had his flaws and was kept from the Promised Land, yet he is unrivaled in the pantheon of Old Testament heroes. He got the job done.

    1. Actually, it is lower than a regulation. It is a policy proposed by an accounting advisory board adopted by OMB and GAO. True, there appears no one on the horizon that is better than Trump. But if Trump simply does what Israel and its backers insist, not clear how that will work. Decentralizing actions bottom up can work. Why do you think so much push to bring in the guns? Because they are working. Watch what happens if they guns are brought it. Please don’t wait for Trump to save us.

      1. There’s a lot there. I think the power relationship is opposite of what you state. Israel is positioned defensively with regard to the US, if you ask me. The Jonathan Pollard case illustrated that we’re frenemies, much as we are with Russia. Israel has co-opted congressional retainers to accept dual citizenship as a bulwark against potential US actions which will be counter to its interest. That adds up to defense. If you’re Trump, you weren’t born yesterday and I would say you understand the Israeli game, son-in-law notwithstanding.

        As for the guns–the shootings this weekend, with 30 dead, how could it be plainer that the intention is to make assault guns a wedge issue for an essentially moribund Democrat presidential effort? The Epstein arrest and what will become still more lurid revelations is another brilliantly planned strategy to upstage, whenever necessary, the unpopular anti-gun efforts, with a very real intention to financially lay waste to perpetrators. These two actions this weekend suggest that we are down to the 3rd or 4th string in false flag planning. What operations could be more ham-handed than what occurred?

        As for waiting for Trump to save us, rest assured I am not. But it would be a fool on the right who would make common cause with the left to undermine him in what he is doing, which is at least buying time. The worst outcome next year would be a Democratic victory of someone from this abysmal gaggle of weaklings now standing for nomination, Spartacus included. Let’s not let our president fall by friendly fire, I say.

      2. Amen to that…

        No matter how noble or effective pragmatic efforts to reverse disastrous policy (Trade, border security etc…), it would be wise for citizens to understand something about leadership in America, by people of great means.

        There will NEVER be a time, when the “powers that be” will disarm Private Security contractors. The reason that is so should be obvious.

        This will remain true if the hammer came down, and all guns were banned except “common hunting rifles and shotguns”.

        People of means (to be clear, I am NOT knocking the wealthy, or the President) do not have the same frame of reference for self protection as the rest of America. They will never be without substantive well armed security options.

        Many of them would never dream of being out exposed in public without some kind of layered security. In NYC, for even mid level players on Wall Street and in banking and finance, diamond district, etc… there are one helluva lot of carry permits in those areas of NYC. There always will be.

        1. Yup. Notice the Presidents always want ARMED guards guarding their children.

  5. Not financial related but thought you would be interested in this.

    Aspetar: The ultra modern, elite sports hospital that imports body parts
    https://www.bbc.com/sport/49109097

    note:
    To hone their skills, surgeons do not use replica body parts but “specimens”, as one of the leading surgeons proudly explains, pointing to the freezer.

    In a highly bureaucratic process that involves the joint work of six government ministries, real human body parts (mostly shoulders, knees, ankles and torsos) are imported to Aspetar, with most of the supply coming from the United States.

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