I’m guessing it’s based around how long the insulation on the charging cable should hold up, how many cycles the plug will see (the J1772 is supposed to be good for 100k cycles IIRC). But a level 2 only has one moving part internally so it should last longer and just need a new plug and cord every few years, but if…

Yes, as a first gen LEAF owner I don’t have as big an issue with the range, but I also don’t live in CA where options abound.  They might actually have a better time selling these in states other than CA where they don’t have to compete with those cars which are also limited to certain states.

One of the most genius/insidious marketing wins of the last 50 years has been the shift from a high end MB being a reserved quality piece of equipment that would last forever, to a gadget filled toy that will be obsolete next year.

True to some extent, I think Nissan just decided to not limit it to just being a compliance vehicle. I think there were a few other competitors that would sell them outside compliance states, they just didn’t try to, not that there was a huge sales push for the LEAF either.  I can’t remember ever seeing an add for…

the MX-30 EV is only launching in California.

We might have been separated at birth.

Mom had one of those when we were older, not only for when you don’t want to take keys, but also if other people need access.  I didn’t need the keys to go back and drop off something in the car, or grab something out of it.  I just needed the code.  Very handy just not very often.

While I love me some old Mopar engines, and agree these were unkillable, I’d go with the older flat-head six. Chrysler used those in everything from cars to stationary equipment decades! They even made the 30-cylinder tank engine for WWII by combining five of them around a common output.

But that just adds to an already expensively priced car.  If this car were $6500 then someone on the east coast (like me) might decide it’s worth the extra to transport it compared to what you can get here, but outside that, for the cost of this plus transportation used Bolts and Volts are only a little more money. …

For that price it certainly isn’t worth it. I guess in the current used car market this might not be horrible, but wait a few months and you’ll likely save at least $2-3k.

For a moment I was thinking: “What’s the worst first car” would be a much better QOTD, but the rest of your story made me realize why that would be a bad idea.

What the hell is this rant about?

My understanding is that there are emissions regs in some countries waters, I’ve seen videos talking about how some of the engines used in these ships can run on CNG or LP when they are in certain waters, and then switch once they leave, but your initial point still stands. The shipping companies will operate out of…

It’s hard to tell, I agree. I don’t think the banks are being quite as wild with their loans as they were, but I would be curious to see how many people are buying with ARMs, as that was a part of the last bubble. Rates climbed and people couldn’t refinance and then couldn’t pay. Personally I think this bubble will…

The same as they did the last time, giant mortgages with little down payments and going way over the recommended loan to income ratio. Crazy low interest rates help a lot, but we’re stretching even that in some areas.

I’m not smart enough for the clean sheet virtual design number crunching engineering and like getting my hands dirty, so I think test engineering would be my desired niche. Good combination of engineering and mechanics I would think, get to play with the test mules, break parts, design and build test rigs etc.

For the same reason people eat at chain restaurants, or buy Old Navy clothes, or the store brands at the local supermarket, or Harbor Freight tools. If the vehicle is just an appliance and cost is your primary factor they compete well with your Hyundai and Kia as cheap but effective vehicles, especially if you want…

I’ve found that cheap oil filters are worse than cheap oil.

I figured this was where they were going to have to end up. Funny part is not even the earlier recalls were enough to make the cars under recall a good deal in this market.

[deleted] stupid Kinja