Website from a few random manufacturers. You can configure these things in a way you want, and you will get the price. Note that the price is including VAT already.

This looks like every other RV out there that clogs our roads. About average sized. It’s below 3.5 tonnes, so you don’t need a special trucker driving license to drive one.

Maybe a reminder. Like a sticker. I cannot imagine this car having tire pressure sensors.

Had she been driving a car it probably would not have flipped. So, from that perspective and looking at the PIT manoeuvre only, a 20 year old Civic would have been safer than her newish SUV.

My ‘05 Magnum has a 160 MPH speedometer, and enough power to plausibly use it all. The one time I actually had the chance to test its top speed I remember letting out a whoop when the car upshifted into 5th and kept pulling like a champ... until it hit 135 and just stopped. Turns out it has an electronic limiter.…

I have seen literally zero modern Camries in Germany or the Netherlands though. I mean, it’s big, Japanese and a sedan. Roughly zero sales is to be expected when you combine those 3 factors. So it makes sense that they build the hypothetical EU Camries in Japan. Do they actually sell in significant numbers in Ireland?

Visibility, headlight aim and bumper height. All straight forward common sense safety features that are already mandated. They need to be enforced though.

In 2019 they sold roughly 41k Transit Connect vans in the US and some 64k in selected European markets. Add countries like Turkey (where it’s built) and some other markets, and it’s clear why it’s not built in the US.

Ford has 1 plant building Transit Connect vans. In the first (many) years of production, the TC was not available in the US. So, it made no sense to build it in the US. Even now, most of these vans are not meant for North America, but for other continents. So, Ford builds them elsewhere. Makes perfect sense.

Even when you look at the USA’s involvement in WW2, if you asked a Nazi about it, they would say the USA was part of the ‘baddie’ group... because from their perspective, they were the ‘good guys’.

It’s because it’s a VW, the default manufacturer for consumers in Europe without any kind of imagination. Similar to Toyota in the US.

I like how the add says that your wife will drive these wagons with pride.

I would argue that there are many ways to make a fun EV. However, none of them will offer a similar experience as this Talbot. Not better or worse, just very different. If you want to build something modern that offers an experience that is at least somewhat similar, you’ll need an ICE.

Or even more likely: a 520d.

But why? I've driven the 'ring a few times in my own car, and it's a blast. At least for an absolute beginner like myself.

Honest guess: none of it has bled into the general public. I expect none of it has left the niche online echo chambers.

And what’s the ecological benefit of using natural gas? You replace one fossil fuel with the next one. The whole point of an H2 vehicle is to refrain from fossil fuels. Otherwise there is no point.

‘high’ gas prices are relative. Imagine what will happen when US gas prices rise to European gas price levels. Which is not an absurd idea. Suddenly Americans will be more motivated to pay attention to gas prices.

The best selling EV in 2020 in Europe was the Renault Zoe. A subcompact. #3 the VW e-Golf, a compact. #4, the Peugeot e-208 (subcompact). #5, the compact Nissan Leaf. The #2, the Tesla Model 3, is hardly fancy or a boat of a car either.

Prices are trending upwards because consumers are, apparently, willing and able to pay more. The market follows the demand, not the other way around.