That the low wall along the edge of the driveway of our house, a few months after I got my driver’s license, was significantly tougher than the panels of my dad’s prized Saab 9000.

It really is amazing how willing those on the left are to give the Chinese a pass as long as it aligns with some other stick with which to beat free markets and freedom of expression.

There is something extremely tasteless about celebrating the Chinese government exercising its regulatory muscle.

True. I think I’d go with a 4-Runner rather than an ML if I wanted a proper off-roader though. But I don’t think there are many for sale for $2,800 so you have a point.

Yea, this seems like just about one of the least collectible vehicles I can imagine. Pretty underwhelming when new and it hasn’t improved at all with age.

Agree with the comment below that this is one of the best BMWs ever made. The E46 330i really nailed the power / handling / ride balance just perfectly. I had an E46 325i Touring, also manual and RWD. Also a fantastic car, but it was just a bit underpowered. In Canada you can import any car that’s more than 15 years…

I think the issue though is that there really isn’t a market for it. Maserati has been a sales disaster forever and I don’t think they’ve ever made money, no matter who owned them or when. Their product is pretty crap, so that obviously doesn’t help, but most categories seem to default to two or at most three main…

It’s crazy how Ford squandered the PAG opportunity, only to watch VW execute on the same strategy properly.

The current XJ was a pretty unique design at the time of its launch but never managed to hit even 35% of the S-Class’s sales volume. I’d put them in the same category as Maserati and Alfa Romeo - in theory they each have a valuable brand with a storied history that should be salvageable, but in practice they are…

I’m also in Canada, but I mean good value for an EV of that size and range. I personally hate the way the Model Y looks and would never buy one, but I can totally see how many people would prefer it to a smaller four-cylinder Macan (which would likely have $15k of options added to it anyway).

I notice because I’m interested in cars. And just because I notice, how does that automatically mean the drivers of these vehicles are doing it to get my attention? Not to be funny about it, but there are plenty of much more impressive cars at the school - Range Rover, Bentleys, Rolls Royces, Porsche Taycans, among…

I also think a lot of people who buy a Tesla are doing so because it’s still perceived as the only truly viable electric option for a primary vehicle. It is also hard to beat the price point of the 3 or Y. I don’t think many of the parents at my kid’s school who show up in Ys and 3s really are making that kind of…

Is it wishful thinking that this will bring the price of 991 GT3Ts back down to earth?

But this is really the crux of the issue. One of the uniting features of successful tech companies is that they produce products and services where technology allows for the marginal cost to trend down significantly. Tesla does not have this. Tesla has to make a car that has a pretty static unit cost, and while it can…

Or if you just have to have the weirdness of those suicide doors, then go for a used i3. Looking on Autotrader, there are plenty listed for $12k. I even saw a 2019 with the 150-mile range at a main dealer with only 20,000 miles for $23k. Probably can get one for under $20k without too much effort.

We are seeing some pretty fundamental changes in direction though. For example, the rise of big tech, which had a pretty deflationary impact, is being challenged. There will almost certainly be a lot of anti-trust activity and perhaps even the break up of Alphabet, et al. There is a much more coordinated push for…

I think in general BMW has lost its way. That original idea of being the ultimate driving machine worked when sports sedans were aspirational and formed a good chunk of the high end market. But in a world of pseudo-sporty SUVs, where what people really want is just something big and with bragging rights, they are…

One of the problems is that traditionally blue collar political parties have gone all-in on a combination of globalist technocracy and identity politics. This has alienated many in the working class, whether they are people in traditionally working class manufacturing and resource jobs, or the new underclass of “gig…

This is a good summary, which also factors in the emissions footprint of the battery production. The battery does have “baked in” emissions that are about the same as the entirety of the rest of the manufacturing process, but even accounting for this, the overall emissions are significantly lower for EVs.

Yes, I grew up in the UK and at the time automatics were the exception not the rule. I’m not sure if it’s still the case, but you couldn’t even get a normal driving license if you took your test in an automatic, or at least the license they gave you would only allow you to drive automatics. I definitely think it makes…