I continue to be of the opinion that while partial automation solutions can be beneficial, Tesla has got it completely bass-ackwards.

My parents were far too practical for “cool”. That just isn’t in their DNA, but Dad always had an appreciation for good looking cars, and would point them out when we were out on the highway. Whether that was a Jaguar XKE, or some other less exotic (but still rare here) vehicle.

Taken in front of a Tesla salesroom ... that’s some first rate trolling going on there... 

Yes, it’s anecdotal - but that’s always the case with brand loyalty. It’s built on perceptions.

“We have one that’s really local, that my family has been going to for Subaru’s, Mazda’s, and previously Lincoln’s and Mercury’s”

1) That is not Mazda’s only problem by any means.

There were emerging failures from front to back.  Some you would consider normal wear and tear items, others definitely were not.  The net result was the cost of repair exceeded the value of the vehicle.  I wasn’t “in love with it” enough to want to sink that kind of money into and keep it another 5 years. 

Hah!

No - there’s only the one Mazda dealership near enough to me for access without going well out of my way.  It did not leave me with the impression that Mazda was doing a very good job of setting standards for their dealers. 

Two things threw a wrench into my Mazda experience:

Really nice specimen of an otherwise thoroughly forgettable car.

I’ll give the visual pun marginally higher marks for being at least marginally clever.

Wow - I love the concept, but by the looks of the building, it’s probably cheaper to have it declared uninhabitable and torn down at this stage.

I’m not opposed to kit cars - in fact I quite like some of them.  This one ... not so much.  It’s kind of a bad idea wrapped in an even worse implementation. This thing won’t even _sound_ right. 

*CP*

I have no doubt that it _can_ be done. The larger point is that most people around here don’t have any confidence that they can drive out to the mountains, do a day’s skiing or snowshoeing, and come back without problems.

Neutral: What Would Get Me To Buy An EV?

Even if you stuck with coal generation (and reality says that isn’t happening for a bunch of reasons), you can do a lot more to reduce emissions at a generating station than you can in the exhaust system of a car. 

Do you have a link to the article reporting those findings?  

True enough - although I’ve seen enough riding like idiots even wearing reasonable gear (granted, the number of riding days here that are warm enough that “t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops” sound like an idea is pretty small)