And I wish you were right, not me. As an enthusiast, it sucks, and really, it seems like it would be so easy to have better choices available. I wasn’t trying to piss in your cornflakes, and if I did, my apologies. I really like small 2 door hatches and cheap convertibles, and nobody seems to think either is a viable…

Well, the more likely scenario is that pickups and large SUVs will somehow go out of vogue, probably because of changes in regulations that treat them equally as passenger cars. That would mean meeting the same safety standards, the same emissions requirements, and that would make them much more expensive to build,…

I don’t understand why I can’t scream outrage into the internet because manufacturers no longer make manual wagons?

I call bullshit. Pure and simple. The manufacturers are only given a base to meet, and you can easily build something to be better than it has to be to meet a very low bar. Basically, build to quality, make it good, and it will probably meet or exceed any standards passed. To say that a manufacturer has no way of…

You, good sir, are correct.

The issue is “legally”. Seems that you can do things to lessen your tax burden, and we even have rules written specifically to help people and corporations pay the least taxes possible.

And Ford brings the Transit Connect over from Turkey with seats installed, only to rip them out once they reach the port in the USA. And don’t forget Subaru gave us the Brat based on the rule, also. CDK kits are only one tool in the arsenal of sidestepping the rules.

Exactly.

Correct, and it is really sad to think about. The union is almost actively screwing themselves, and the optics are not working in their favor.

That may be, or maybe, just maybe, FCA is the only OEM that got caught. Which is more likely? The union dealt with all the majors, and if they solicited a bribe from one, they would have asked the same from all the others. And everyone had the chance to rat on them with the Feds, but nobody did, did they?

“...and I hope that the committee would trust in my integrity...”

Sad to think it, but perhaps FCA wants Unifor to strike. A plant shutdown blamed on the workers, not management, is a lot more palatable to FCA. And I don’t know how stacked up the demand is on their minivan and sedans, but with RAM and Jeep bringing in the majority of profit, and the probable demise of Chrysler and…

If you want to talk about how regulations work, consider this:

No, you don’t stop chemotherapy for late stage cancer because it may have side effects. You treat the immediate to save the patient, or you do nothing and let them die. In this case, which do you care more about? The environment and global warming, or relieving the effects of poverty? That higher gas tax will mean a…

Agreed, and I am not opposed to outsourcing - when it is necessary. But saving $0.02 per unit instead of mining the lithium in Utah rather than Chile, or using steel made with US iron ore in US plants rather than cheaper Chinese steel (probably being dumped on our market) and making all small electronic components in…

I can assume it is analogous to how the US market saved sports cars after WWII. BMW sold a lot in the USA, not Germany, same with Mercedes. And British Leyland and all the other British sports marques knew that their real market was the US, not the UK, and made cars they thought would work well over here. They just…

History, good sir (or ma’am). The Ford factory at the Rouge River. During the heyday, iron ore went in one end, and finished cars rolled out the other.

The issue with sub-Saharan Africa as a source of labor is that China already has made major inroads into that realm, and they are the ones more likely to exploit those workers for their cheap labor. China made it a priority to get into the African continent via their lending and projects, and they are not known for…

Taking Spirit is not really an option, even in the best of times. Their main competition is really more Greyhound than Delta. That low price means you get (maybe) a seat. Everything, from picking where that seat is, to carrying a bag, to probably the mask that drops from the ceiling in case of an emergency (possible…

Chevrolet Avalance had a similar sail. But those sold so poorly that I guess people forget that it existed.