And if SuperCruise delivers what it is supposed to do, I’ll have no problem paying for it. It needs to be maintained, so I get why it isn’t “free”.

If they’re going old school, I’d take a double DIN head unit so I can swap it out with one with Carplay/Android.

Well I was interested in the new GM EVs.

I didn’t have issues with the inspection, just ran into a couple shops that were trying to take advantage of people. Can happen anywhere.

My station wagon has a flat six. 

I don’t know.  Just because I don’t see the car as something worthy of “garage queen” status, doesn’t mean someone else doesn’t.  How many pedestrian vehicles come on this blog with ultra-low miles and the collective comments are “Why?”. 

I just wasted a whole morning getting a safety inspection done (my usual place was unexpectedly closed) and I’ve had nonsense in the past from shady shops (NY), but overall I still support it for the same reason you said.  There needs to be some standard of road worthiness.  Maybe the German TUV is overkill, but…

Its cheap enough to be interesting.  NP. 

I sold cars, they make plenty of money off the OEM extended warranties. Especially since most people don’t know you can negotiate the price.

Can definitely see that. I’ve seen dealers advertise “selling cars at MSRP” and then you look at their website and every car has $5k in bullshit paint and tire warranties on them, plus every accessory in the catalog.

Tom - When someone comes to you looking for an often marked up vehicle at MSRP, how does that work for your business?

The price after rebate, compared to say a new Prius with a shitty dealer holding it hostage for markup, makes it a pretty compelling alternative. Certainly allows them to undercut competition from Hyundai/Kia.

I’m with you, the value of Toyota and Honda quality matters to me. I’ve never heard that Mazda is “bad”, except issues with rust and paint, but not on par with Toyota or Honda.

I’m also in that spot where we could go either way. We’d look at luxury brands, but compare them with cheaper models because we would ultimately prefer to spend less, and the value needs to be there.

Right, this is the point. I’m not sure it is a winning strategy, but it does seem like they are trying to occupy this specific niche. And while a nice Mazda SUV might be the “help” in the highest end neighborhood (maybe for the snobbiest people), most people don’t live there, even if their aspirations are more…

18/24 21 combined. So 20 probably isnt a bad real world estimate.

Or since it stands for Subaru Tecnica International, just keep using it even with an electric motor?

I’m surprised that is actually satisfactory. I always take those “concierge” service offers with a grain of salt. You’re still relying on the local dealer.

“Try dumping a front loader full of gravel into your Honda...that is why I got the F-350"

What is to get excited about here? The styling is lame, the interior is...also lame (give me some proper 70's velour couch seats!). We know the performance is nothing to talk about unless it is 1976 again and the idea of getting 17/23 mpg out of your Cadillac is revolutionary.