Both dealers told me they already had an allocation of the model I wanted scheduled for delivery, but nothing matched the spec I wanted. So by ordering I am guessing they figured I am not cutting into the cars they are already getting and will sell quickly and they get an extra easy sale since I knew exactly what I…

I am a midwesterner and have a car on order. It could be we are patient because we don’t want to get fleeced paying huge market adjustments so we will wait. My new car is set to arrive hopefully by the end of February (ordered in December) and our signed contract price is below MSRP. I actually got 2 different…

I also work in the industry and am a direct salaried guy and am due a bonus. The problem lies in that for me unless the bonus is far and away greater than last year or 2020, my gross spending ability really isn’t improving. While my contract spells out a yearly pay increase and a bonus, the inflation is making it a…

Youtube is good right until you own an oddball car, which is basically my entire fleet. I have factory service manuals for most of my cars and they have proven far more useful than the internet. Having all the torque specs for every single bolt on the car and an entire section dedicated to rebuilding the engine and…

My welder would be right up there on the list. Fixing things that you would have otherwise had to figure out how to make brackets and use bolts for and instead you just give it a zap is so convenient. Also I have made so many custom tools that make my life much easier when working with the welder. If you get serious…

The base 4xe compares with an optioned regular limited model (have to add larger touchscreen and sunroof to meet 4xe standard equipment), with the 4xe having the advantage of getting a 2 speed transfer case which is not even optional on a v6 limited. The price difference between them is $9400. Since Stellantis is…

Except the base model 3 is actually $44,990+destination. The total becomes $46,490 to my state. That 41 number is them using their funny math of gasoline savings. If you click the tab for actual purchase price instead of the default potential savings* then you get the real msrp.

Yes! This incident immediately brought to mind that story, but I couldn’t find the article.  You have made my day.

When it comes to cars IMO a few things that stand out and mean luxury to me is materials and placement and NVH/road comfort. Power and technology are important too, but how the car feels where I spend my time is higher on the list.

I am intrigued what the reasoning is that the other shops won’t touch the car. The Prius is old enough that workshop procedures and wiring diagrams should be easy to get for any competent auto shop. The high voltage system can easily be depowered for safe working (like less than 5 minutes). Are they just so incompetent…

My same thought. I bet both of the power supplies in the article picture have the info tags with output and voltage on the side that was “conveniently” placed face down. Give it a couple months on the mass market and someone will have the information out.

I have seen 2 in the wild and will see a 3rd soon. The first 2 were the blue color that they use for a lot of the advertising. The 3rd I will see is the one my future brother in law just got middle of last week. I have only seen pictures but should see it in person this weekend. I believe he got the no cost silver…

Straight from the tentative contract highlights:

Not mentioned in the article is that they also get COLA (cost of living adjustment), which is just as big of a deal as the raises. The way that works is their pay is automatically adjusted every 3 months based on current inflation rates. So even in the years when you are not getting a fixed raise(10%, 5%, 5%), their…

If it was actually paint or powdercoat they might stand a chance against a forklift, but GM uses this wax coating on their frames that rubs off if you look at it funny.  It is especially soft when new. I feel bad for dealership mechanics that have to deal with that crap rubbing off on them all day.

Holy F#@*! Just when you thought BMW had jumped the shark with its’ front end, Lexus said “Hold my beer!”

Look at that, an M715 in drag!

I doubt it will be that big of a jump, but we will see. On the wrangler, part of the cost is that when you option the 4xe you are forced to a Sahara and have to add a bunch of options that already come standard on the GC like the larger radio, automatic transmission, etc. Just adding the auto trans and the 8.4in radio…

There are a few articles out there on the new relationship between McIntosh and Jeep and how it came to be. I have sat in a new Wagoneer with the McIntosh system and it is one of the better factory stereos that I have heard. The most recent other cars I could compare it to would be the Burmester in a Taycan Turbo S…

Yep, physics is a bitch. The electric cars can tout their super lower center of gravity all day long and how it will roll and pitch less, but all the extra battery mass still has to be dealt with by 4 little rubber contact patches.