Political power only goes as far as the populace allows. If the people of the USA decide that it is in our best interest, they can vote out any politicians that are holding us back. The oil states are not just oil companies, they are people. If we really are a free country, it can be done. If, however, as you suggest,…

Let’s go back to, oh, say 1960. Another large economic power was winning a tech revolution against the USA. There were tons of people saying that we were behind and would never catch up. But then, JFK gave a speech.

That is the most logical thing to do, and yet they persist in trying to convince people they will trot this abomination out sometime ‘soon’.

The issue is that volume and a lot of the bullshit stuff included on these so-called luxury cars is not necessarily linked. Can they build a boatload of cars without all the stuff built in but stopped by paywall? Can they build and sell a car with air, power steering, abs, backup camera (required by law), and an input…

Most franchisees will have 3 phase already.

If the government had a clue, they would invest by incenting the franchisee operators of gas stations to install charge points at existing facilities. Not the oil companies, the franchisees. Make it so that the local Shell station (or Exxon/Mobil/Chevron/Texaco/BP/Sunoco/whoever) gets a tax break for installing a…

The truth is that Cadillac had fallen so far down that coming back with a $300K car is shocking, not ‘getting their groove back”. To go back to a car that was enough of a halo car to be worth the premium requires you to go back to the 1953 Eldorado convertible or 1957 Eldorado Brougham.

I totally understand that SUV/CUV sales are crushing it right now. But the emphasis is on the right now. Go back a bit and the sedans were crushing it. Fashions change, and everything old is new again. Add to that the fact that the new regulations on EVs mean that a lot of vehicles will be more like a sedan than a CUV…

I would also posit that the conquest buyers Mercedes is getting are people going into their lower priced models, like the CLA/GLA. The price on those is fairly reasonable, but once you start stepping up to a bigger class, the price goes up substantially. A GLA starts at $37,500, a GLE at $57,700 and how are they worth…

Former Coca Cola employee, so I know a bit about how it works.

Are you going to fault Toyota for not doing much past the Prius, yet give Tesla a break with their not really moving forward since the Model S came out - in 2012? The other models are just evolutionary, not revolutionary. Yeah, Toyota didn’t lean in on the whole EV thing, but then, neither did their consumers. And…

They also changed what trim levels are available on the cars being produced, so there aren’t many “lease special” low trim “luxury” brands on the lots to be leased. A few years back, you would see tons of BMW, Mercedes, and Audi sedans and SUVs on the used car market with many of the goodies not included. They trim…

I believe that you are more than likely correct. The shitshow will likely end up with armed revolution, and the sad part is that there is no way to break up the current country into anything that would lead to a more conservative core surrounded by more liberal coastline. If anyone in charge realizes that a divided…

It also ensures that the Tyranny of the Minority does not stop things from happening that the majority of the country wants, needs, and desires.

Correct. This is a prime example why we may want to consider changing up how we deal with the whole Senate/Congress representation.

The reality is simple, he is correct on the outcome, even if not for the reasoning he gives. SUVs will become passe. But more due to fashion than function, as function never really mattered in the reasoning for SUVs to become popular to begin with. It was - and still is - a fashion choice. Lifestyle is given as the…

No, no legal definition, much like luxury as a descriptor for a lot of items that are simply costly, not luxurious.

Amen to that, friend.

You aren’t wrong, but then again, you are just framing it incorrectly.

The sad part is that with modern paint technology, along with a similar cost of paint supplies regardless of color (yes, pearlescent and flake and such does add to costs), there is really no reason every vehicle could come in base colors of white, black, gray, red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, or brown. If you…