Yes, and no CAFE for jets, trucks, ect. The burden of fighting global warming will fall on the working class.

Correct. I agree with Vic about the “shiny new toy”. By the time you realize that it really doesn’t freaking matter WTF your neighbors think, you’re broke with (30) payments left on it.

Yeah my favorite environmental target is Fiji Water, A plastic bottle full of stuff that comes out of the ground almost everywhere shipped halfway around the world in a container ship then hauled a thousand miles in a diesel truck, for what?

The one time I had to reposes a motorcycle was eye opening. I called the sheriff’s department to let them know where I was going and what I was doing (on behalf of the shop), and they basically said, “Cool, call us if you get shot at.”

How ironic, when Bob Lutz said in an interview that GM should have made the Prius but didn’t. (I read this many, many years ago, but he essentially said that they squandered their lead with the EV1 and he wished they had built the Prius before Toyota did.) They had like ... 2 or 3 other chances, and screwed them all…

Video tapes were over $100 also. People rented movies for decades because they couldn’t afford to own them. 

Average wages have not continued to track overall productivity increases since the Reagan administration. All the money has gone to higher and higher income brackets, not middle to lower.

At the same time, you had cars lasting longer without major drivetrain failures (which probably made CPO more viable). It’s common for just about any car to make it past 100k without a transmission or engine failure. When I started driving almost 30 years ago, American cars in particular were thought of as pretty worn…

I had a line in there about “What we’re told is capitalism” but I chickened out

Yes. I am an extremely powerful sorcerer 

I have to admit, the story about the bike being taken completely apart made me LOL.

Just because I’ve driven a rental of these and found it an acceptable car.

To understand the death of cheap cars, you have to understand why they were so popular in the first place.

It’s a fair point, but this is about which cars there are in 2023, not which cars there will be in 2024

I rented a car at an airport that had a parking garage for their rental cars.  Kind of dark in the garage and I’m unfamiliar with the car and already pissed off from a long day of travel.  I adjust the seat, mirrors are already fine so I drive off to give the person in the kiosk my paperwork so I can go to my hotel. I…

There it is.

Patrick George saw this 5 years ago. The trend has only accelerated since then, with Covid-inspired supply chain challenges providing an excuse. This strategy of selling only products with the highest markup is being used across many, many consumer product categories. I think it’s a hidden cause of inflation - things…

I bought a new Mirage when they first came out and it was a great car. I gave it to my sister and she’s still driving it. Cheap new cars are important. There are a lot of advantages to buying new like a longer warranty, they’re easier to get financed. Plus it’s just nice having something new. That experience shouldn’t…

Providing separate engineering, tooling and installation dedicated to offering both electric and crank windows was costlier than just picking one and sticking with it.

Eh, you all tell us that “buying new is for suckers”[1], “sell no” you say [2]... And if we are to buy new, definitely don’t buy that cheap base model [3]. Instead of buying a cheaper new car, you usually recommend an depreciated, older larger, sometimes luxury car instead[4].