$40,000 for the VN or a little less for the Type R? Unbelievable. And unlike comparisons with the Golf R, the buyers here are definitely cross shopping these 2 models and probably were expecting to treat the VN as a “more affordable” Type R. Guess not

2006 Z4 3.0 (manual) $9,000 plus $1,000 left to “refresh” it.

The 0% new car loans are subsidized by the manufacturer - you were buying a used car, so the interest rate is not subsidized. Last year we bought a new Toyota Sienna 0.5% interest over 4 years, and a month later Honda was offering 0% interest to get rid of their 2017 models (because 2018 was all new). 

Simple - today’s consumer think only in terms of “affordable monthly payment.” They expect everything to be on a monthly subscription indefinitely. They will always be paying for Netflix, housing, Internet, Phone, food, etc. so why not car payments too? It’s just another payment to budget into your monthly expenses. 

Considering all these new fangled safety sensors are standard on base models from Toyota, it’s a fact of life that insurance rates will go up no matter what car you buy.

Actually, these people are probably gaming the system:

Wait, you’re not saving up to overpay for a Civic Type R??? Clearly not living in the United States where conspicuous consumption is at an all time high, exceeding the 80's and its Voodoo Economics.

I understand consumers stretching to afford a car because they need one, but for them to be convinced to buy a $37,000 car over an equally functional/safe car for $27,000 is another story.

When the average purchase price of a car is $37,000, I’m left scratching my head because perfectly fine family cars like the RAV4, CRV, Accord, Camry and Prius are well equipped for under $30,000. I blame Youtube.

Let’s not go down that rabbit hole about “rational” government spending. Whether it’s the “wall” or some other stupid pet project, the rich will always get subsidies. At least with Tesla, it furthers American EV battery leadership; better than $1 billion spent on a glorified fence or $100 billion to bail out…

2nd Gear Ghosn: If anybody thought that Japan is any more civilized than it was 500 years ago, their treatment of Ghosn should be proof otherwise. Unbelievable.

Otherwise known as the Miata and GTI, both available with a stick.

I’d say mileage is dead last on the list of priorities for buyers in the market for a sports car. Even if you’re debating between the Focus RS and Type R, what pushes your decision is probably not the EPA numbers but the seat comfort or headlamp shape.

Strangely, for the manual shifting VW GTI, real world road tests by Motor Trend saw better MPGs: “the manual-equipped car, which is EPA-rated at 25/33 mpg, blew past its official numbers, yielding a result of 29.3/40.1 mpg...” The automatic however is consistent with the EPA numbers.
This is pretty unusual and I’m…

There’s always the M2 or M240i, with very slick manuals and better in many ways. 

Without doubt, an instant and uniquely American Classic. During this transitional era of Uber and autonomous driving, it warms my heart to see Jeep release a vehicle that’s so “manual” and old school. 

But if it was disclosed, declared and taxed, I don’t see the issue at all. I have yet to read any allegation that the tuition is somehow illegal or inappropriate, just unusual at worst.

That’s not even the allegation. The post was pretty clear “these tuition payments were also known by Gohsn’s employer as part of his compensation.” So it was fully taxable as part of his compensation - there was no attempt to re-characterize the tuition as anything less than fully taxable executive compensation (like…

You don’t get it. His package in the millions include stock options and a bunch of other benefits - it’s part of his negotiation with Nissan when he took the job: “Hey, I’ll be your CEO but also throw in my kids tuition, probably around $1 million at most.” Hello, he could have easily said, “by the way, throw in…

1st Gear/Neutral: unless there’s some allegation of impropriety (undeclared income/compensation), why is this even news? Executives get country club memberships, stocks and other benefits worth $millions, and people are crying over $600K worth of tuition for his kids as part of his executive compensation? I don’t see…