No he was also a friend. If you disagree with his advice make an argument not a slur.

A Honda dealer once told me many years ago “never buy a depreciating asset and never lease or rent an appreciating one.

Hondas used to have the image not of performance but of relatively cheap and reliable with sector-leading performance.

California is a basket case. Save for the coastal areas where the elite live it has been in a depression for some time.

Agreed. It will likely be a slow decline.

I’m just a little older than Gen X - born in ‘62 - GX starts in ‘65. Looking at the movies and tv shows GXErs grew up with almost all are populated with malaise cars. Certainly like people my age they saw used pre malaise cars on the street and like me many worked on and/or owned them. So yes, some lust for that era…

Agreed.

I think the underlying current that is dragging down the collectable market is demographics.

The alinskiite progressive hasn’t had a drivers license since her husband was governor. She wants cars banned except those that come with drivers and bulletproof glass.

I include things like clutches and throw out bearings in a manual transmission. And those certainly do wear out and are not insignificant in cost to replace.

Rail can’t bring goods the final few miles to the customer.

possibly. Depends what the lifetime of the overall vehicle is compared to the life expectancy of the transmission.

Sure throw all of that in if you like. Is the cost per passenger mile and lb of freight hauled lower than mass transit? I think it is far lower.

so it seems to promise the benefits of a manual from an efficiency standpoint; the wide range of gears that a cvt provides -not infinite, but eleven should be ample; and the smoothness and ‘natural’ smooth progression of a traditional automatic.

If fuel taxes actually went towards fixing and building roads they wouldn't be money losers.

All three muscle cars are in need of a significant change in looks to keep in fashion. They have to do that without pissing off the nostalgia buyers that make up so much of the current customer base.

There is more proof that man has landed on the moon than that North America will ever see the guilia.

When things go to hell in the meth lab and you need new clothes pronto...

A lot of buses on suburban routes and during off-peak hours run almost empty of riders. Uber might be a far more efficient option for those few riders.

Stihl et al have tap and go - perhaps you haven't tried the right manufacturer/model of trimmer.