The point being all these things only existed on the fringes before legislation made them commonplace and routine. Same with the existing breathalyzer. It’s a crappy product right now, bought by people who don’t use them, and used on people who don’t want them. But once every car maker has to buy them, they will…

tiny, spartan

Which better options would those be? This is the undisputed champion. This is the GOAT when it comes to being the ICE car with the best gas mileage.

Only for people who didn’t know any better. I drove my brother’s Chevy Sprint (1 generation older than this one) for a while, and it was a great car. It was the Mini Cooper of its time.

I refuse to accept this as the new reality.

LOW BALLERS WILL ACCIDENTALLY FALL OUT OF WINDOWS

If only we had listened to the naysayers back in 1923.

The problem is that the easy oil is all gone. That’s why we had to switch to fracking- a much more expensive way to get that ‘tight oil’ out. When that runs out then we switch to tar sands- yet more expensive and takes a ton of water and lays waste to the whole site. So with each progression, the process gets more…

Battery tech will evolve. We may not need lithium as a key material in the future.

China has the right idea. We need to discourage 6000+ lb EV monster trucks and encourage small short range EV’s and e-bikes. Even setting aside the lithium issue, that 6000lb car will just require more steel than the traditional 4000lb car.

The truth of the matter is- BMW and Mercedes are wonderful cars, but you really do not want to buy a stripped down entry level BMW or Mercedes. These are the real overpriced garbage. A loaded 5 series or E-series is plenty nice. An entry level 1/2 series or A/C series will just annoy you at every stage. It’s built…

But I like shopping at Target.

Yeah. They went from bland to plain offensive within one generation. Bring back the bland please!

If you are buying a car to impress the neighbors, then you go ahead and buy that Audi. If you are buying a comfortable car for yourself then you should definitely consider a Mazda.

It’s probably a fine SUV, and I am glad Mazda is finally building a PHEV, but

No idea what you are talking about.

The Spark EVs seem to have pretty significant battery deterioration though, despite its active liquid cooling.

And then Covid hit and we barely drove it

But the big problem is that each car has a unique battery. You would have problem finding a battery for your 2011 Leaf in 2033, even if batteries are dirt cheap by then.

Keep in mind that the manufacturers won’t replace your battery until it’s lost 30% of its capacity. Most of the time that would happen outside of the warranty period.