You are a good person for using your turn signals. I think you have an interesting theory, but I don’t think BMW drivers are not using their turn signals as a defense mechanism. I’ve found it worse in densely populated areas, and areas with regular traffic. 

I’m going to rise to the defense of José Rodríguez Jr. on this topic. Even if he is an automotive blogger by profession, I don’t think any of us should expect him to be an expert on everything all of the time. 

Consider kindness first. 

Listen, joke all you want, but maybe you don’t know Elon like I do.

He’s a new dad, again. Diapers and daycare are ridiculously expensive. Just lay off. 

Maybe you’re flush with cash and these costs aren’t a concern to you, but many people are having to tap into their reserves to fight off inflation. 

Just wanted to drop this here. After taxes Elon Musk made more in one day, in one single stock transaction than I made all of last year before taxes. Not sure anyone cared to know, but I thought this seemed like a relevant comment.

Good points. I had a line in my reply about $10k possibly being fair and reasonable, but I don’t know where the market values these cars. I also think that by making that statement, that I’d sound elitist. I think there’s a place for any gearhead who wants more than daily transportation, if they have the room for…

I’m not an expert on dealer franchise laws, but they were built to protect the independence and security of smaller, sometimes family-owned dealerships? 

It wasn’t just the later GTs, but also the LX that was pretty decent relative to what else was on the market. When I say later, I consider the 90-93 to be the best of the fox body generation, only when fitted with the 5.0, and a T5.

Even then, they weren’t well-built, but most of the early issues that Ford cared to…

I recently came across a family photo where our Granada was shown in the background. I now jokingly refer to that vehicle as the punishment car that was used to drive me to school when I did something wrong. It was the one car we had that could be parked without fear of a break-in, or theft. Never were many miles put…

Owen, I’m actually quite disappointed in you for selecting this particular year and model of the fox body mustang to be the example that brings down the entire 79-93 generation of this vehicle.

The current environment, in my mind, isn’t sustainable. I understand that many of the most acute supply chain issues are more or less back to normal, with some exceptions.

I don’t think that automakers can maintain the lower volume, higher margin strategy forever. Neither can dealers.

While both the manufacturers and…

I understand this feeling. I used to think exactly the same way. For me, dealerships were purely a transactional relationship. To me, the relationship was always disingenuously forced by a salesperson who read that tip in a book, but clearly had no idea what good relationships are.  The current market shifted my…

To each their own, but I’d run from a Fiat. I get the nostalgia. I had one for a very short period of time. The day of acquisition was happy, despite knowing I stepped into a pile of doo doo. The day I passed it along was even happier. Of all of the vehicles I’ve owned, the Fiat was the only one I do not regret…

Other industries that had similar constraints on their supply chain have already seen a return to relative normalcy, only to now face a softening of demand.  While certain people will be relatively insulated from the worst direct financial effects of a recession, the mere talk of uncertainty changes spending habits.…

Or, this may also drive the next level of M&A that no one is talking about. Yes, there could be a near monopoly of sellers due to a common parent, or it could also make it easy to segment brands into separate groups, and then allow them to be acquired by the manufacturer, negating the value of the dealer franchise…

Subprime loans will likely come to a head and probably not in a pretty way, but I also worry about prime loans that were written on markups that won’t hold up when the tides turn.

Perception is reality. If dealers are inconsistently applying inconsistent markups, asserting their power over the consumer, sentiment will continue to suffer for brands as consumers feel disadvantaged. |To a certain extent this has been the flaw in the dealer model, where the incentive for dealers is to never offer…

Is there an opportunity to just move to MSRP pricing, but move MSRP fluidly as products are built, and/or intended to be sold? This may be impossible with the dealer franchise model, which is why we’re even commenting on this article, isn’t it?

ADMs are dangerous and risky. If the market turns, some people are going to…

I’m surprised by your timelines for a return to normalcy. You could be right, but I can’t imagine that customer needs and expectations can support this level of deficient production for that long. This isn’t even accounting for the Wall St. POV, which is a a brutal beast when the fundamentals aren’t moving in the…

I love your handle. Please don’t misinterpret my compliment as that I love your handles, as in love handles, which I have no idea whether you have or not.

But, amen to you for loving a brand that many people have long forgotten. I remember the days when you could buy a new Mitsubishi in the US.RIP Mitsubishi, you’re…