Ten years ago, virtually zero per cent of vehicle buyers were thinking about getting an EV. There was a survey of 20,000 vehicle owners by EY a few months ago that showed nearly 50% of those in the US were planning to get an EV within 24 months.

I doubt they like their margins, given that they are still at -68% gross margin (compared to Tesla who were at +20% gross margin by the time they got to 50,000 units / year). And they lost $1.3 billion in the last quarter. Put simply, they are still selling vehicles for massively less than the direct input costs, let…

First gear: I’ve also started seeing way more Rivians (including the odd R1S) up in Canada recently. A slightly smaller vehicle with similar styling elements would be pretty appealing, but the R1S is just too big and ungainly. Somehow it manages to look much bigger than the R1T.

I wouldn’t say that the McMurtry is set up specifically for drag racing, and it’s recorded a sub-8-second quarter mile. That is really the impressive thing about these ultra high performance EVs - they can beat most road cars in a drag race, even if those road cars have been obsessively modified for 1/4 mile times.…

In that case, just get an older 911. For me the 997.2 is the peak anyway. Small, with a much more analogue feel than the 991 / 992, helped of course by the amazing hydraulic steering, but still modern and reliable enough to drive daily. Even the base 997.2 is an amazing car, and probably depreciation proof at this…

is it so much to ask for them to make a 911 thats focused on fun and not about lap times that a reasonably wealthy individual can afford?

Yes, Porsche lets you delete the Porsche lettering on the side, and the number, all at no cost!

In the scheme of things, it’s not that limited. For example, North America only got just over 500 991.2 GT3 Touring models, so let’s say about 1,200 globally if the ratio is similar to other Porsches. The 991.2 Speedster was limited to 1948, and it turned out not to be as crazy popular as Porsche thought, at least in…

Serious question related to First Gear: Does Stellantis have a single vehicle across its 14 brands that is a true leader in its category? Of course they skew to sub-prime credit because their vehicles are, across the board, less desirable than the competition. People are picking Stellantis vehicles because they are…

The crazy part about the MX-30 is they managed to make it weigh more than the original base Model 3, which has nearly 2.5x the EPA range. The Jalopnik story about the MX-30 being the EV for American Reality has aged even more poorly than I expected.

The manual has never been available on the 992 base model. At launch it was only available on the Carrera S and 4S models. The only way to get the base engine with manual is on the Carrera T.

I’m right there with you on what I look for in a daily driver - quiet, comfortable, unassuming and practical. The best part about driving an EV really is the silence and smoothness, much more than the instant torque and acceleration.

Nothing against an ES300, since it is comfortable, pretty quick and likely to be very reliable, but do Lexus really think they are kidding anyone when they say you’ll turn heads driving one of these? The only heads that will turn will be those of pedestrians who think you might be their Uber Comfort ride.

That puts them even more firmly in the total pieces of sh*t category. Stealing from someone trying to make a living by hustling as a delivery driver, and who almost certainly is living paycheck (sorry,“fees paid to a happy and spiritually empowered small business owner who definitely isn’t our employee”) to paycheck,…

Yea, I just drove from Toronto to Cleveland and back, and was able to charge relatively easily at the Electrify America chargers on the I-90 (although notably out of three charging sessions, only one of them charged at anything like the advertised speed - I was able to get nearly 230 kW on one of the 350 kW chargers).…

I’m not talking about “small vehicles,” but rather “smaller vehicles.” The examples in the article include the Volvo EX-90, but clearly Volvo XC60s sell pretty well (more than the XC90 in most years). One of the most popular ICE segments is clearly compact and mid-size SUVs, where the buyers were obviously not put off…

The logic that EVs aren’t selling because they aren’t big enough is bizarre. If this was the case, then wouldn’t all smaller vehicles also be slow sellers? There are two reasons EVs aren’t selling better: they’re still much more expensive than equivalent ICE vehicles; and potential buyers are worried about where they…

Yes, I came here to say this. The Audi Quattro is the definitive answer to this question. However, I would pick the original road-going version rather than the group B rally car, since the road car was what really made regular drivers aware of AWD cars. One day I’d love to own a later 20v version (‘89-’91 I think) of…

These had 250 hp when new, not 168.

Yea, these had 250 hp. I really wanted one a few years ago when they were much newer, but even then I heard stories about poor reliability.