The Maybach grille looks like a copy of the Lincoln “baleen whale” design. But Maybach styling has always been derivative, the Maybach 57 looked like a super sized Toyota Avalon with a Hyundai XG350 grille.

only making 45 of them? That sounds about 50 too many. 

That wood trim looks sad, non-committal and is poorly integrated into the design.

Even cheaper: contact paper.

The inset picture of the original just makes the modern one look THAT much worse. 

It has the sex appeal of a Chevy Uplander.

First time I saw a Grand Wagoneer in the wild was at the Costco gas station. The dude gave it a Camry dent trying to get close to the pump so he could reach the hose to the fuel filler on the other side of the thing. It was beautiful. 

There is just something that isn’t attractive about these, with our without “wood”. They just look like they are “lumbering” everywhere they go.

That’s a lot of money for a skid mark.

Yes, I would gladly give up the leather upholstery and infotainment gear if they would go back to IRS and make the cars sporty again. I got a 2022 Mazda3 hatch last year as a loaner, and I was glad to give it back and drive my 2013 when it was over, my old car felt so much more nimble and sportier.

I am very familiar with modern vehicle paints across most manufacturers.

Agreed. Reminds me of the Stryker Red used on the last gen Viper.  

I’m not aware of any modern water-based paint that does not chip easily. Modern water based paints done in two stages (paint and clearcoat) dry to a thin layer and are incredibly hard, so they flake easily. There are no alternatives that meet environmental regulation and can be applied to a panel in a minute.  

All the way back to the 90's, I would go with Mazda being a “Premium” car maker.  Even in the 90's there designs were clean and punched above their price class.  The mid to late 90s MX-6 still looks good today, the RX-7 of the 90s clean & timeless design, and then the 929 and Millenia which, if I remember right, were…

Even the modern stuff? That’s disappointing because their new red is one of the most startlingly awesome colors on the market, from any manufacturer.

Well, “technically” I’m a mechanic that works mostly on Tesla powered cars at a 3rd party (not Tesla authorized) EV repair shop. That said though, I agree with you in that *most* Teslas are not “junk”. Heck, my own daily driver is a 2015 Model S that’s approaching half a million miles on the clock, and still drives…

They rarely have issues, and when they do they get blown out of proportion because: Its a Tesla. Also, no, your mechanic works on Hondas and Chevys. Teslas go to an authorized Tesla shop, which is most likely not where you go.

Really, they never need fixing? Amazing.

“Tesla is No Longer Junk”.

A Moody rating of Baa3 is still high risk. But then, Moody rated mortgaged backed securities back in 2007 as AAA.  Take what you want out of it.