Yes, but again, people are claiming that folks will cross-shop the Z4 with something like a Corvette, while almost no one is cross-shopping a SLC43 with a Corvette. At most, they’re cross-shopping the SLC with another Mercedes 43 AMG.

I agree.

This Z4 is priced in a nebulous area where it’s more expensive than sportier options (Mustang, Camaro, Challenger), while being less sporty than price-comparable options (Corvette, Boxster, Cayman, and arguably something like the RC-F), while also being close in price to both the M3 and the M4 (which are $2k…

I agree with you that the Z4s main cross-shop would be Porsche. My contention was with others who said, simply because of price similarities, people would cross-shop this and a Corvette, which I don’t think is likely.

Put it this way, the people who want a Z4 are gonna get a Z4 and have a Corvette as their weekend car;…

I think it’s a bit different in the luxury segment, since you’ll have buyers wonder, “Why is the car now cheaper than it was before”, and they’ll assume that something important or critical has been removed, which makes it less than the competitors out there.

Take a look at Mercedes and the CLA. People assumed that to…

The LC500 is one of the most beautiful vehicles on the road, full stop.

The SC430 was never in such a category, even if it was (and still is) a good car for what it does.

Poorly-aged beef?

Ja Rule used to pal around with the guy (Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff) who had 50 Cent shot.

This is more than just what’s on the wax.

A person who is buying a two-seater, luxury hard-top coupe is not cross-shopping with a Corvette simply because they’re priced the same.

Hell, aside from the fact that we, as Gearheads, know that the underlying structure is shared with the new Supra, most people will hear Z4, think about the past Z4s, and base their…

I said sometime last year that it wouldn’t surprise me if Toyota went this route with the pricing, but that it would call into question the existence of something like the RC-F, which has more raw power, 2 more seats, arguably more luxury, and for the same entry price.

I get you.

The general tastest have definitely shifted. I think for Mercedes, since they had periods where their wasn’t a top-of-the line convertible like they have now with the S-Class cab, the SL evolved to fit the dual-roles. Let’s not forget, for the longest time, the SL was by far the sportiest car Mercedes…

Yeah, it’s been like that since they started getting competition from the revived 6-series back in 2004, and later the Maserati GranTurismo in 2007 (not to mention the general increase in Mercedes’ prices due to offering more stuff as standard). Also, the depreciation curve is so steep on SLs and their competitors…

I’ve heard and read enough from people who think that either Black Panther is the best comic book film ever, or one of the best black films ever, that I give a side-eye whenever someone gives unabashed and fulsome praise yet either can’t back it up with anything substantive, or claims that Black Panther did something…

Again, that’s not unique to Black Panther. Iron Man and Iron Man 2 dealt with political themes. Most of the Captain American movies dealt with political themes. If you’re saying “political themes” to mean something that might be relevant to us black people, then sure, but you have to say specifical that, because you…

The 370z came out in 2009, not 2005. The GT-R wasn’t released until 2007, and the G35 and 350z were still going strong, and were in their better forms post-2005. The Frontier was still a strong offering, as was the Maxima and the Altima.

I’ll agree that post-2010/2011 or so is where we saw declines when it came to the…

Enron wasn’t an issue of compliance.

Enron’s issue was that they went to a model that was inherently unstable and ripe for abuse (mark-to-market), and then convinced an established, outside auditor that everything was on the up-and-up (Arthur Andersen). In terms of the structures they had in place, they were actually…

I agree completely.

My father had a 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab, and I later got (in 2010) an Infiniti G35 coupe.

Nissan/Infiniti’s run from 1999-2007 (when the GT-R was originally released), was a very strong one. Where they went off the rails, in my opinion, was the underpowered and overpriced 370z (the G37 coupe,…

Outside of a used SL, no one is getting into one nowadays for less than 90k. Hell, the base model in $89k.

Both the SL and the 6-series (now 8-series) have priced themselves out of the market that the new Z4 has entered, at least if we’re talking about brand-new vehicles. If they ever made one, I could imagine a Z4M…

I see a lot of C7s (and Vettes in general), down here in Tampa, but outside of the price similarities, I don’t think there will be a great deal of cross-shopping amongst C7 buyers and Z4 buyers.

That being said, I can see a Z4 owner having their Vette as a weekend, fun car, but I think it’ll be few and far between that…

The name is a bit of a misnomer (in German it stands for Sport Light), but the SL series, save for perhaps the 300sl (Gullwing and Convertible) have also been GT cars, in the same vein as Aston Martins.

For the most part, the progression of the SL series makes sense given that it’s been the only consistently-produced…

I do think it’s light, but I wouldn’t say it’s out of the ordinary.

Even here in the states, possession of child pornography without an accompanying criminal act against a minor doesn’t tend to result in serious jail time, especially if the person is a first offender.

Just looking at te statutes here in Florida,…

I’m assuming it’s a nighttime house arrest to allow for the person to hold a daytime job, since regardless of their crimes, the fact they aren’t in jail means that they do have to provide for themselves. Also, I think that because many of these crimes (once they go past possession of child pornography) take place at…