Counter take: Kia/Hyundai have always made corner cutting garbage. They just always got a pass by enthusiasts because they products looked good on paper.

It’s all add-ons.

What am I missing?

Certainly car culture wouldn’t exist.

No way skipping out on airbags saves that much weight. Cars this powerful need enough body structure to withstand the massive torque these motors are putting out. And, unless this thing is made from gobs of carbon fiber (which, based on the price, it is not), it’s going to need a lot of steel reinforcement everywhere.

In 2023, Toyota’s 3rd fastest car is a 3-cylinder Corolla, beaten only by the Supra 2.0T and 3.0T.

This looks amazing. I’d be surprised if it came close to meeting that weight target though.

but who at Nissan looked at the numbers and said; “yea lets price this thing in corvette territory”

The Z hasn’t been a competitive car since like 2008.

I’d call it the anti-bang-for-the-buck car.

Food for thought: the 2016 370Z NISMO was nearly the same price as a Shelby GT350.

This is probably driven by millennials getting old af and making up a larger portion of the new car buying public. And sporty cars being slightly more popular than before.

For $50k, this is a “lifestyle vehicle” for people who make driving a Jeep their entire identity.

The Gladiator seems to be for the “die hard” Jeep guys. I know two people who own them and both of them own a broken “off-roader” and have wives who drive Jeeps. One guy has a younger son who lives with him who also has two Jeeps, a broken Wrangler and a Patriot - so between them, that household has five freaking…

Around here in Minnesota, dealers still think it’s 2019. Not much in the way of discounts around these parts...

Per Car & Driver, 0-60 in 7.2 seconds. A 2023 Altima needs 7.7. Do you consider every ordinary car to be “slow”?

It only took 3 weeks to get my Rav4 Hybrid, but that was because I wanted a specific trim and color combo. The dealer had two coming in that Friday that were not yet claimed. Wait times for Prius cars are anticipated to be 6 months. There were a few Crowns that could be driven off the lot same day.

I’d be okay with pushing the ICE ban back if countries could at least get behind banning diesel engines immediately. It’s crazy how much worse localized pollution is in European towns vs US ones because of all the diesel cars driving around.

My hot take: driver training is worth fuck all.

I can tell you didn’t read this article.