1996 Dodge 2500 passenger seat adjuster broke. Used bailing wire to repair. The dealer wanted $1000 for the entire seat base mechanism. When I sold the truck showed the new owner the repair and pointed out the dealer cost for the repair not including labor. He laughed. Bailing wire stayed. 

4runner. It's very reliable. Takes me to the beach and the mountains. Still worth what I paid 5yrs later. 

There was a person that did warn against Russian energy reliance. He was wrong about other things. This one he was accurate. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/09/25/trump-accused-germany-becoming-totally-dependent-russian-energy-un-germans-just-smirked/

Have not seen one EV manufacturer recommend the fire blanket. Typically they recommend large amounts of water. If the Fire Blanket works it would help the problem of EV fires in the middle of nowhere. 

I ask rental companies if they have minivan upgrades available. Plenty of room for luggage. Plenty of power ports throughout. Usually have mid row captains chairs. Latest crash protection. 

EV adoption also increases the need for fire hydrants along all residential, highway and freeway roads.  Have not read one article discussing the increased water needs for EV's. EV fires average 25, 000 gallons of water. ICE is around 800 gallons to extinguish a fire. EV fire on a freeway presents significant…

Neither brand is known for reliability or fit and finish. Offer them in brand exclusive colors.  All bright green Dodge Hornets come with spare plastic splitter guards. 

1st Gear Any word on the age, condition and inflation of the tires? Did the truck meet safety requirements for when it was built?  2002 F150 will not perform the same as 2022 F150.  Tire born dates exist because of past tragedy.  I swap tires out regardless of mileage after 6yrs. 

Some municipalities no longer pursue over due fines. It's possible the driver is homeless. What was the trigger for this stop? Minor infraction the city should be held largely liable. Felony stop might lower the city culpability. 

If the tipping point for EV adoption is years or decades away it seems shortsided for manufacturers to abandon new ICE engine R&D. Would be cheaper, easier and greater impact for OEM’s to adopt 100% hybrid tech while also working toward EV adoption. Current EV tech does not pencil out with low winter Temps or high…

Edsel was a fantastic bomb. Honorable mention to 2014 - 2020 Explorer with rear hvac that tried to poison the compartment with Carbon monoxide. 6.0l Diesel that broke under stock power levels. Ford Focus with dry transmission that has no fix for bad engineering. 

Electric vehicles require about 10x the water to fight a fire versus ICE. 

Average ICE car uses around 500gallons of water to extinguish. Average electric car fire uses around 25,000gallons of water to extinguish with possible reflash. How much water does an electric bus require for a fire? The batteries must be massive. Would be interesting to hear the electric bus manufacturer…

1st Gear - Incentives should be income and cost limited. Most of the expired rebates went to people that didn’t need it. Should also have a sunset on any new extensions.  Ford has a 100k wait list on the new Lightning. Not sure why they need incentives on a backlog. The MachE is selling at $10k above Msrp in my area.…

That will be debated until no one cares. 

3% of the 8% inflation rate is a big deal.

I don’t recall where I read the original article. My news feed is randomly generated by Google, FB and other places. I read a variety from varying points of view. Found this from the New Yorker from early April 2022. It’s Larry Summers, former advisor to Obama. Printing money for very short term gains is not new. GW…

President Obama economic advisor stated two or three months ago Biden economic recovery plan was responsible for at least 3% of our current inflation. In Joe Manchin hadn't killed the additional spending who knows how bad the current inflation would be. 

4th Gear - Ford is going to contact reservation holder in July and August. Its time for people to start choosing configurations. Ford expects the reservation only people to drop off. By October Ford expects to have a better accounting of probable Lightning Sales. 

Locally the Mach E is advertised at $10k above Msrp. Even Msrp for the Mach E seems over priced.