100%. I remember when I got my 1999 Golf, and it was a step above other small cars in terms of interior ambience and perceived quality (actual quality / reliability, maybe not so much). It was hampered by a crappy automatic and VW’s ancient 115 hp 2.0, but it still drove with a level of refinement beyond what was…

In the days when BMW actually did make sharp and engaging sports sedans in the lower reaches of the 3-series and 5-series range, the majority of buyers were still just buying them because they were a BMW, not because they actually cared about the dynamic qualities, or could even tell the difference.

At least the sedan is really a hatchback, so it’s already decently practical. On the Taycan, the size of the trunk opening compounds the already limited trunk space to make it very impractical.

Given that some Tesla buyers paid $15k for imaginary FSD, paying just over half that and actually getting something doesn’t seem like such a bad deal.

When I bought my Tesla, the sales associate very clearly stated that only government regulation was preventing Tesla from having full autonomy. Even then, it was necessary to believe in a conspiracy against Elon to believe in FSD. This was when Tesla had only just released AP2 with the side cameras on the Model S door…

Global population is on its way to peaking, after which it will decline. It’s projected to peak at 9 - 10 billion. No one here seems to have any interest in data.

I agree that one of the biggest issues is regulatory capture, whether that’s pharma companies, the banking and finance sector, or massively wealthy individuals influencing public policy to their benefit. However, there just aren’t easy solutions to healthcare and other mega-scale social challenges. The US system is…

Every system that has ever professed to have overthrown the regime to create equality among the people has resulted in authoritarianism, but perhaps that is what these kids actually want. They have a delusion that it would be more comforting to remove what feels like a dog-eat-dog dynamic in modern capitalism, not…

That would require actual research and effort. Some people would call it journalism.

Both false in terms of overall trend. There are of course going to be small fluctuations from year to year, but the trend is clearly a reduction in poverty and an increase in life expectancy globally. This trend is unequivocally because of the advances created by primarily capitalist systems.

Don’t forget, some were more equal than others.

If you could just point us all to the other economic system that brought billions of people out of poverty and increased average life expectancy from 30 years to 70 over just 120 years, that would be great.

True for Tesla, but that’s not what people are doing with Lucid. Lucid’s cars cost more in terms of the direct inputs than the actual selling price (i.e. negative gross margins). Tesla pretty much always had positive gross margins.

It’s important to look at gross margins. Tesla had positive gross margins from day one on the Model S. Lucid has negative gross margins (every car they sell is sold for a lower price than the cost of the inputs used to make it). It’s a train wreck.

Nothing. You asked this on the last thread about Tesla, and it was clearly answered. Tesla had positive gross margins from the launch of the Model S onwards. Lucid has negative gross margin (i.e. the input costs for each car are greater than the selling price).

Porsche also considers $660 to be a fair price for painting the bases of the exterior mirrors.

With 400-kW chargers, you’ll be able to fill up as fast as your car will allow

Yep. The information is a bit dated, but back in 2018 the average household income of a Quattroporte buyer was $790k. The only person I know who has owned one lives in a 20,000 sq ft mansion and also has a Ferrari, 911 Turbo, Lamborghini Urus and a Mercedes GLS. Depreciation is probably in the bottom 1% of things he…

+1. If ever there was a bad vehicle with zero redeeming qualities, this is it.

Agreed. It wouldn’t be my choice, but anything to end the endless sea of greys. There’s a 992 S/T press car helping to make the case for pink also.