1000% agree. The transition from the Audi 4000 to the B5 chassis, or the 993 to the 996, or E36 to E46 all right at the end of the 90s marks the turning point when cars got safer, MUCH more reliable and  modern enough to not be easily obsoleted -- my car was built in 2000 and, with a small, easy DIY modification,…

Absolutely this for me. For years I assumed a Tesla was an inevitable purchase for me just because of the Superchargers. Even as quality began to dip, and Elon slowly got worse, I figured I could hold my nose through that to get the only vehicle that had a good charging experience. While I *did* break past that before…

Anti-woke mind virus

I had an ‘84 Jetta GLI through most of college and grad school and beyond. Stock it turned 4000rpm at 75. A tad loud on the highway. I swapped that box for a “4+E” double-overdrive box from a Rabbit diesel. Much, much better, and with the torquey 1.8L still way more than fast enough. Dropped more than 1000rpm off.

You are way off in your dieselgate insinuation by about 2 decades. The efficiency of diesel (mileage & cost) helps make up for your soot spewing accusations as well. Not saying it’s a good price but your criticisms aren't really pertinent. 

Nice $1500 car.  None of the issues scare, me but at $4500 it doesn’t interest me.

Economically, population decline is terrible. Most economies now believe that sustained and constant growth must occur.

Those unintended consequences get you every time. 

I’m liking that profile

Oregonian who owned a TDI - you can pump your own diesel, even before this law.

When I lived in Hillsboro, and Canby I had an ML350 Bluetec, and ALWAYS pumped my own diesel.  I was told that there’s an exception in the law for diesel that allowed you to pump your own.  I would pull up to the pump, and get out, and an attendant would start towards me, I’d say “diesel”, and he’d say “OK, yeah, you…

Software costs money, though.  Individual copies of it, once it’s developed, are very cheap, but developing software, particularly something as complex as their self driving software, is expensive and difficult.

The Consumer Reports article linked in this Jalopnik post says Autopilot.

I’m not going to stan for Elon, everything you say might be true, but there’s no doubt that Tesla’s manufacturing costs are significantly lower than legacy carriers, they have no pensions to support, they use about 1 human to every 3 at the more traditional manufacturers, significantly driving down labor costs. I did…

Then it would not have been up to the usual sensational standards of this site. 

Yeah, I don’t understand California’s brand of ‘capitalist liberalism’ where they impose a whole bunch of regulations but then make it the problem of individual people and small businesses to meet them without any financial assistance. For years I’ve thought having to pass CA smog was a great way to punish poor people…

This ban has been tough on individual owner-operators. My father-in-law had a hard time finding something at a reasonable price, and was only just able to find one a couple of months before the ban went into effect. 

It’s not a wage gap. They are content creators who get paid based on what content is most popular. Getting paid more for content that is more popular isn’t a wage gap, that’s fair pay. A wage gap can only exist if the product of the labour is of equal value, which isn’t the case in this instance. 

I’m totally with you on CART 2.65L turbo V8s! I sat in the grandstands on the start/finish line for Gil’s record run at Fontana in 2000.

I’m surprised the 4 rotor from the 787B didn’t make the cut; even on sound alone.