True - but that’s the case with any other segment too. For $25K you can buy a brand new Corolla (or whatever) or a BMW that’s a couple of years old. There are always customers who would opt for a brand new car with full warranty if they can find something that fits their needs and budget. 

Those cars are achingly beautiful - especially for that price, it’s ridiculous. My wife and I have a dream of relocating to England over the next few years...this conversation only makes me want to do so that much more :) Silly jobs, visas, and all that in the way.

Yeah I think just the variety you have over there in itself creates more competition and incentive for brands to hold on to their customers.

But you see, US manufacturers have realized that, well, if you don’t sell any cheap cars then people are forced to buy more expensive cars. When there’s such low/no profit margin on either something this small or something slightly larger they see zero incentive to play in this market segment. Also thanks to the…

This is what I expected to be the one and only response to this post, but had to scroll so far down to find it! 

The concept here is that multiple people had opportunities to stop this problem from happening. The installer, QA, the store, and the customer.

Fanbois gonna fan, boi! 

Flat bottom steering wheel! Analog gauges! Race mode drive selector with checkered flag!

Yes it very gently nudges a bit, which isn’t sufficient to anything beyond in the most subtle of curves. Even compared to the system we have in our 2016 Outback it’s pretty poor. Also you never know which lanes it has actually detected and is theoretically keeping you within. On our Outback the left and right lane…

Assuming that’s the same “lane keep” assist I have on my 2020 Bolt I agree that it’s genuinely horrible. The indicator is green, then it turns red when it detects you’re straying but never ever does enough to actually correct it...or just does a tiny bit and gives up, or does nothing at all.

E90 (sedan code) M3 truly is one of the best all rounder options out there right now. And a screaming V8 with an 8,000 RPM redline too. Not claiming it’ll be cheap to maintain, but damn what a car. Someday! Hope prices dip a little lower or don’t start shooting back up too soon!

I get your point, and agree with you mostly - so thank you for a more detailed post than your original comment. I grew up in a very poor country, and to this day often find myself making comparisons between the people who I know back home lead a much simpler and less polluting life than we do, just given how much less…

You’re right, as an individual they or I won’t make a huge impact. But if more people took that little step it would mean something. Which is better than nothing. There are many fronts we can all tackle this on, I’m not sure what alternatives you’re suggesting. 

Great topic and something I’ve been grappling with myself as well. Currently all I’ve gotten to is paying for for all my electricity through our city’s green energy program - so theoretically all the power we’re consuming comes from renewable sources.

Isn’t that acknowledging that the feds need to make a good faith effort towards this too? What are you currently seeing on the federal front on that? Also while this thread is about CA clearly this isn’t a problem unique to CA - again suggesting the feds need to take a leadership position on this.

Amen. One can be a huge proponent of EVs and green technology AND accept these constraints and work towards fixing them. We often find people on either side of the spectrum...heads in the sand, crude oil through IV in my veins please forever, or like this article why don’t we just jump all aboard right now, what could…

OK...so if you needed a sedan at around this price point what exactly would that be?

It’s a shitty clickbait headline, but it is technically correct.

Oh! I saw that on Oppo when you first posted it, didn’t make the connection. Great project! 

“My concerns are manifold,” local resident Frank Gersdorf said while lining up to get into the town hall for the start of the hearing on Wednesday