Yea, the article is funny. It starts out all sunshine and happiness and then 75% of the way in, the terrifying truth is revealed.

I do think it’s unlikely that Lucid will get the rug pulled completely out from underneath it. They have a bit of momentum and what looks like a great product, so even if they have to restructure, there will probably be investor appetite to keep it going. I’d be more concerned about what the parts / service / warranty…

It argues for exactly that. China is not a third world country that is just discovering capitalism. Large business and the state work in lock step, so every time you support Chinese corporations, particularly the largest, you’re consolidating the regime’s power, not disrupting it. If the CEO of BYD was publicly…

Yea, this is probably the right answer. I quickly looked at some old Tesla data and their COGS per vehicle was about $70k in 2013, on annual sales volume of about 22,500 cars, and when the MSRP was $60k - $90k depending on trim. Their across the model line COGS had fallen to about $43k per vehicle by 2021. Obviously…

There is no helping you if you are in such denial. Read this and just say you’re comfortable with this:

The US does not have concentration camps, the UK’s surveillance infrastructure does not stop you leaving your home if you’ve posted something the government doesn’t like on social media, we can vote in real elections, the state won’t torture us or harvest our organs. The Us and Uk are flawed; China is a totalitarian…

Those same people probably happily buy BMWs, funnelling money into the slave-factory-running, Nazi-supporting Quandt family’s pockets. To be clear, I think Musk is a grade A egomaniacal jerk, with very suspect views in many areas, but the nonsense he posts on Twitter about US politics is minor in the scheme of things,…

Yep, it doesn’t disappoint, although I didn’t actually get to sit in one. All the criticism it gets about limited range is really missing the point. It’s a city car, not an interstate road trip long hauler, and it’s just perfect for ripping around central London (easy to park, exempt from the congestion charge, etc.).

You could move to Canada, in which case the restriction is only for cars less than 15 years old. It really opens the door to a lot of choices.

This was also my first thought. I saw one when I was in London recently, and it looks even better in real life than in pictures.

Third Gear: I always think there is something vaguely untrustworthy about people who use initials instead of their full name. It definitely seems correlated with people who are projecting a very cultivated image. “I’m RJ Scaringe, important and very cool CEO of important and cool EV startup. Please think about how…

The issue with the Taycan is that it’s really pretty small inside. We have the Sport Turismo, but even it and the Cross Turismo have pretty limited trunk space. It’s incredibly comfortable, but definitely doesn’t give you the feeling of space and luxury you presumably get with the i7, EQS and Lucid.

I love the Delta, but I’d be very wary of buying one without an absolutely rock solid history. This one just feels a bit sketchy (e.g. listed in NJ, but the dealer is actually in Mississauga, Ontario, “recent repaint,” and the ever reassuring “runs smooth”). I’d rather pay up for a better one.

I just can’t get over how these cars look. If I’m buying a full size luxury sedan, I want something discrete and elegant, not something that looks like an angry, squashed stormtrooper.

I think that’s a pretty good approach. Porsche has always run that playbook pretty effectively with the Cayenne, getting buyers to pay the same price for a more basic Cayenne as they would for a better equipped and more powerful BMW, Audi or Mercedes. A lot of people would probably sacrifice some of the toys and…

I think anyone wanting a sporting small EV SUV will have to wait for the Macan EV built on the new PPE platform. Presumably there will be an Audi variant, but doubtful that anything with a VW badge will be offered on this platform.

It is basically a much uglier Audi Q7 with very nice interior materials.

Same as in the Ioniq 5. The first iteration of wireless CarPlay I had was in a 2019 X5, where it was super flaky. Those issues seem to have been resolved in the wireless CP we have in our other car, and it’s surprising how quickly you get used to it, to the extent that it’s a pain not to have it. Really silly that Kia…

The funny thing about the paint is that it’s similar to either Neptune Blue on the Taycan (for which Porsche charges a $3,150 premium), or a PTS colour like Oslo Blue ($11,430 premium). At least Kia is letting people choose a distinctive colour and their premium is $495.

Might be worth mentioning that one of the nicest features of the base 911 engine is that it has smaller turbos, and therefore feels slightly more responsive / closer to a naturally aspirated car. Combine this with the manual, which isn’t available at all in the regular base 911, and the T really could be the sweet…