Near-1000 pound bikes are understandably intimidating for new riders.

Cold setting has a proper name: plastic deformation You are stressing the material past its yield point so that when it relaxes it takes a permanent deformation. this will work much better on a steel frame than an aluminum one.

I’m 100% with you. The irony here is that many of these same dealers and states who are getting screwed by needing a “wet signature” and struggling to sell cars in this environment are the exact organizations/states who fought Tesla’s dealer/distribution model tooth and nail. To them I say: Adapt or die. Fighting…

Of course 7 year loans are here to stay.

I don’t wish bad things for a single worker or anyone dependent on them, but it’s hard to watch all these companies that work only for the next quarter’s profit, and don’t care one whit for the long term impacts of their behavior, panic at not making money for 2 weeks, and to not experience a little bit of…

I would be interested to know what GM executives actually believe about their cars.  From all the marketing of course they seem to think they’re incredible - both reliable and a great value.  But I wonder if the brass actually believe that, or they’re just saying what they think they need to say to sell cars.  It…

I understand your shrinkage perspective. But the markets they are pulling out of would likely take such a large investment short term to see positive growth and profit that if a downturn happens that growth never ends up happening at all and is billions down the drain. Where as it could be a relatively negligible…

Kohl’s FTW.  I’m seriously cheap.  I’m a lawyer, and almost all of my ties come from Goodwill.

Kohl’s FTW.  I’m seriously cheap.  I’m a lawyer, and almost all of my ties come from Goodwill.

I’m wearing some jeans with a little stretch right now. $30 at Kohl’s, if I remember correctly. No, they do not keep me dry. Yes, they are comfortable and way more comfortable than all-cotton denim when I’m riding my bike.

I’m wearing some jeans with a little stretch right now. $30 at Kohl’s, if I remember correctly. No, they do not keep…

> not constantly modulate it back and forth

“overbuilt and underpowered.”

Its more than just corporate profit mongering. The way they evaluate quality, for example, there is alot of short term thinking, quick cheap fixes for issues instead of expensive redesigns.

Considering most Toyota products are consider “old” now, especially their large SUVs, you’d think people would stop buying them. The 4Runner, Land Cruiser and Tundra/Sequoia are all at least 10 years old. The 4Runner is still having great sales.

The “high road”/”low road”-approach has been discussed for decades. GM knows how to break a brand with its crap (witness Lopez at Opel and a steady decline until selloff due to craptacular quality). It is all a conscious choice, just as ditching cars in favour of monstrous vehicles is - it’s the ‘70s on repeat. The…

Time I have kept my current lineup:

They build reliable cars by using time-tested tech and by not pushing that tech to the outer limit of performance.

Honestly, the age of the platform is frequently a selling feature for the kind of people who buy Japanese midsize trucks-IE, both my dad and my father-in-law, who bought a Tacoma and a Frontier respectively and mentioned the fact that ‘They’ve been around for a while, so you know all the kinks have been worked out’ as…

Even a decent 4Runner is hard to find for under 10 grand, at least around here (PNW).

Throttle House precognitively answered your question yesterday. It doesn't matter what you don't want. It's what you need.

I frakking hate it that all the good software is subscription based now. I’m still using development software from three years ago because the new version costs $80 a year. For a Git frontend. I refuse to pay it.