Ah, OK, I must have missed that. That makes a lot more sense. Thanks!

Sort of, yes. It’s drawing as language, trying to communicate an idea in a standard and quick way. When trying to reproduce something that’s 3D into 2D (though I find this can also apply to 3D scaling something), it can often look more realistic to distort certain things where trying to reproduce them accurately can…

I’m not so sure it’s cheap since the sheetmetal is supposed to be load bearing, it has to be very thick and also, being stainless steel, stamping dies will be expensive and prone to wear.

That’s how they’re taught to render for drama and flair. Making those elements sized for real life would ruin their proportions. (Not a defense, it’s a criticism.)

Hey, that ball didn’t go through! I guess to be fair, “bulletproof” glass looks the same way after stopping bullet(s), whatever bulletproof even means in this case, as I don’t recall a specific rating.

He’s a known name, but I wouldn’t call him a legend, either. William Towns, the guy who designed the Aston Martin Lagonda, is also a known name. He’s just found a newish way to self-promote and I’ll gladly watch him over, say, Chip Foose.

This checks out—it looks like my first designs from elementary school (Supersonic Wedge, IIRC, though it was a sports car instead of a truck).

There are plenty of VW people excusing every recall, every report of multiple known major issues that nearly every other car maker figured out how to avoid decades earlier, and testifying that theirs is reliable because it matches the maintenance record and mileage of a 1974 Thunderbird. When reminded of what year…

Besides the obviously ancient technology of the vehicles, the roads then are not what they are today. Roads were largely rutted, dirt or cobblestone and filled with the chaos of pedestrians, bicyclists, horses and carts, etc. and there were no traffic lights, signs, lines on the road. Even my 1912 racing bicycle has a…

Wow, that’s a steal!

Without looking up numbers, they don’t seem to be selling as well as I don’t see as many on the road. I like it because it looks more like the Focus we’re not getting, but I hate CUVs, so I am not the demographic to appeal to.

There’s no easy way to asses range. I’m not even sure they could list an unassisted rating since there are varying laws in regards to having throttle-only riding. Laws are also why so many mass produced bikes are sold as 250W with 20 mph top speeds (when assist has to cut out). The US allows up to 750W, but most…

As long as the tires are decent sized, which it looks like they are. Ballooner bikes did that with that weight, but no power assist for a few decades. Of course, the frames probably flexed enough that they worked like suspension.

For batteries, check out batteryhookup.com, which sells surplus and used (and tested) battery packs. If you don’t mind building a pack, you can do so MUCH cheaper than buying (I bought lifepo pouch packs with individual BMSs for mine. With a 14S 8P system, I’ll have 52V and 35 aH that cost around $200 including…

Subaru lost my loyalty, but that’s it.

Focus ST recalls? A purge valve ($50 and 15 minutes to replace, which was easier to just do myself and it cured a rough idle) and the hatch button could release the hatch if someone hit the button while driving (tested it, didn’t do it, not worth going to the dealer if it did). The RS had improperly supplied head…

Yup. I’ve got over 160k on mine, I don’t baby or maintain things unless they’re worn out or broken and it’s been Corolla reliable averaging around 30 mpg. They’ve gone up in value recently, though. Also: Focus SE manual, though they feel more like “just a car” and the shitty stability system can’t be shut off. Mine…

I’m waiting for that to happen around me. All but the lowest powered pedal-assist only ones are outlawed on bike paths, so I don’t know if that’s keeping them off or it’s just yet to happen. On the paved paths, the problem is the roadie dickheads trying to set some Strava record and not caring if they have to run down…

That’s pretty low end stuff that even I’ve handled and I am way too under insured and aware of my mortality (wuss) to do the stuff some guys I know do, like jumping off 20' boulders and tearing through tracks barely wider than the bars at serious speeds.

A friend is married to a guy who about every year buys an unpowered mountain bike that cost more than that higher end Ducati. For the record, from someone who loves bikes, I think those prices are ridiculous for either one, but that’s why I don’t buy them (I prefer building, but he was a ranked mountain bike racer, so…