New cars sales are way down – by millions of vehicles annually – but that hasn’t caused new car prices to go down accordingly. In fact, they have gone up – a lot. The average price paid for a new car last year was almost $50,000 – which is both a record high and about $15,000 more than it was just three years ago.
Two factors are driving this.
The first is “electrification,” which is expensive. And becoming more so.
There are more expensive EVs on the market now than there were three years ago, when Tesla was pretty much the only one making them in significant numbers. Now almost every car company is making them, because they have to make them. Well, it’s true that they could decide not to make them – but that would take courage, in short supply in corporate boardrooms these days. Instead, the impetus is compliance. Go along to get along – and pretend it will all keep going, somehow.
Which it did – for awhile – for as long as interest rates remained low and inflation did, too.
A six year loan on a $50,000 car was feasible when the cost of money – interest – was essentially nothing. It was almost an investment to take out a loan. But the cost of money is now three times-plus what it was just a couple of years ago, which has made what was feasible and not financially irresponsible increasingly impossible.
A monthly payment that was $600 is now $800 – and the money available to make the payments has diminished in buying power by at least 10-15 percent, courtesy of what is often inaccurately called “inflation” – effectively increasing the actual monthly cost of the loan to nearer $1,000.
This will inevitably reduce new car sales even more as there are fewer and fewer people who can manage the payments on a $50,000 car.
But this hasn’t prevented the car companies from “committing” to building even more $50,000-plus electric cars, for the same reason that back in the early 2000s, home builders built as many 3,500 square-foot “estate” homes as they thought the market would bear, which it could – for awhile – because low interest rates made it temporarily feasible for lots of people to take out loans on homes beyond their means.
In both cases there is a built-in lag effect that is a function of the artificiality of the forces driving it. Easy money makes it easy for people to believe they are more prosperous than they actually are – and live as if they were able to afford what they really cannot.
In the case of EVs, there is the addition force of . . . force.
Back in the early 2000s, no one was forced to buy an “estate” home – or take out an irresponsible equity loan on their home.
But EVs are being forced onto the market by mandates all-but-requiring nothing other than EVs be manufactured. The latest slew of these are to be announced today and will probably take the form of new mandates requiring that all new cars average at least 50 miles per gallon (and maybe more) which is a really clever way of outlawing almost everything that isn’t an electric car without actually outlawing everything that isn’t.
This will give even more impetus (that is, force) to the artificial rip-tide of “electrification,” which fewer and fewer of us will be able to afford. The inertia is already baked in. It is now too late for the car industry to back out of its “commitment” to “electrify” itself. The assumption was made that interest rates would remain low and inflation, too – which would serve as a kind of compensatory mechanism for the dramatic uptick in the cost of a new car.
Both of those assumptions have proved faulty.
But, having made the “commitment” to “electrification,” the industry hopes it can recoup what it has “invested” by charging making more per-sale than by selling cars. This is how brands like Porsche stay in business. And it works, for small brands – like Porsche – which can make enough money selling a relative handful of very expensive cars to a small clientele of very affluent people who can afford to indulge in a Porsche, which is much more than merely a car.
And so is any car that costs $50,000 (or more).
A picture forms of the new-term future. It is one in which a new car will become a luxury item, as cars were at the dawn of the car age some 120 years ago. There will be a small handful of Bespoke brands selling a small number of EVs at prices only a few can afford to pay. These prices will go up rather than down, too – because it is not 120 years ago, when the market was free to come up with low-cost alternatives most people could afford.
Today, it isn’t.
The regulatory apparat has assured that only the Bespoke’d will be in a position to make – and to buy cars. This no doubt suits the Bespoke’d, who have long resented that the non-Bespoke’d could afford the same as the Bespoke’d crowd could. It is not as distinctive to own a car when anyone can.
Ergo “electrification.”
Which is ultimately what it’s all about.
. . .
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My dad used to say that criminals aren’t known for being all that bright, and the clowns that are meticulously destroying everything before they get to their ‘build back better’ program can’t plan for every possible outcome. There’s too much happening too fast for them to keep up. We’re all going to become outlaws very soon.
More and more, I’m seeing people driving around in classics in pristine condition. They take them to car shows, but then some are using them as their daily drivers as well. Some of them will never go out of style, and I’m just discovering that there are a few which are aging quite well. The 70’s Datsun B210 fastback was a car I would never be caught dead in, but in the last few years I’m beginning to see that it’s not a bad looking car and it gets pretty good mpg as well. I don’t think am EMP is going to slow it down either.
I think there will be a lot of pushback by people that just want a car and do not want to pay for something like an EV. For example, I will raise hell if I can’t get a Toyota Corolla when the time comes. Currently driving my Chevy Cruze 2014 and love it. These are the truly efficient cars. Come on government, give us a break!
new mandates requiring that all new cars average at least 50 miles per gallon
Used to drive some cars that were fast enough to be fun, AND got that kind f fuel economy. that was bck when fuel was nineteen cents the gallon, too
favourite were the BMC Minis, the real ones. The 850 cc base level cars were not fast, but would hold 75 on the otorways and deliver 55 mpg on regular. The 1275 Cooer S Stage Three I had would also cruise at 75 all day long and return 55 mpg. BUT when you came to the twisties it had gobs of power whenever you wanted them. Mileage would drop somewhat when steering with the right foot. .
The Austn Healey Sprite in 948 or 1070 cc configuration would also return at least 50 mpg and handled well, but owehre near as well as the Minis.
A Mercedes 220 SE, 1965 or so, would hold 85 mph all day and return about 42 mpg. Drop the speed and it would slide up into the high 40’s per galloin. That was a heavy four door very comfortable saloon that still handled remarkaby well. Swing axle rear suspension was not the best for marginal driving.
With some of the electronic controls availble today I’llbet 50 ply=us mpg could be had easily. Add in the silliness of variable valve timing, twin high booost low speed turbos, and a small engine can be made to breathe very efficiently AND produce significant power whilst still returning excellent fuel economy. The older 1.9 litre RAbbit Deisels often returned above 50 mpg. Too bad they did not hold together that well. Weak top ends.
Sovereign Pete interview
Dealing with a crooked government and legal system….
@ 35:30 in video difference between lawful and legal
@ 42:30 say offer declined…don’t refuse
@ 43:40 how to answer phone calls
@44:20 don’t use emails use written letters
@ 46:50 learn how to read
@ 50:00 check out your personal trust account created at your birth
@ 53:30 maritime law
@ 58:00 you have to change your legal status from a corporation to a living man/woman
@ 1:14:00 in the U.S. there is 50 million pieces of legislation on the books
@ 1:29:13 mask mandate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWyEbocQ-zY
Another vehicle that will never see the light in the USA. This one is from India, a big van/suv that seats 10 and has a small diesel engine, five-speed manual and goes for 18k.
https://jalopnik.com/this-diesel-powered-mpv-from-india-is-so-big-it-has-fou-1850324348
There are new pick-up trucks routinely selling for over $100K. Pretty says it all.
They have everything and do everything…except what a pick-up truck was really designed to do.
That there is a market for these things- even among the rich- is sickening. The fact that many who are not rich are buying them (and who will be even less rich in the near future) is also telling.
Inflation, created largely by DJT and Pedo Joe both doing the exact same things (Authorizing the printing of multiple rounds of TRILLIONS of worthless fiat dollars) is also a part of the equation. (DT + JB x 00 = -0.0000)
Just another day in the American Loony Bin.
Talking about new car inflation, just got the details on the new M2 – BMWs most basic performance car. when it launched about 8 or so years ago it was under 40k GBP (i think a basic manual would be like 35k). Now the new one starts at 70k !! Thats literally a doubling in price over 8 years!
But Nasir! Just think of all that fine German plastic!!!
I recently visited our local dealership. They had a brand new M2 delivered the day before that someone had backed out of buying for 69k and were charging a 10,000 markup. 340s go for 60-66k but at least they sell at Msrp and have 4 doors. Then again 2 years ago you could buy one for 10k less. The dealerships in the automall all look bad. No new cars on the lot with a mishmash of used cars sitting unwashed and very few customers. Any new car needs to be ordered online. The car salesman have no energy and offer little help even when you want to buy. They basically tell you to go on the website. They openly say electric cars won”t work where they were trying to sell them in 2020. Now they know no one wants them. Its pretty bad. Don’t know what will happen to these automalls. Lotta real estate going to be emptied out or transformed into used car parks with weeds for landscaping.
Hi RS,
It is or ought to be manifestly obvious that this is about tearing down, not “building” anything back – let alone, better. Cars are just one of the things that they are trying to transform from a near birthright of every American into a luxury item available only to the very affluent.
$60k for a car – electric or not – is more than most people earn in one year. Add the cost of depreciation, insurance, taxes and the five year total puts the loss close to $80k, probably. That’s for something like a BMW 3, a small luxury sedan in the “mid-priced” range.
Yes fore sure I get it. Am spending a lot of time figuring out next moves like everyone else hoping and praying to keep two steps out of range.
Hi RS,
Yup – types the libertarian car guy in between Kleenexes! I try to remain optimistic, necessary in order to get out of the sack and do my thing!
EPA Admin claims no “punishment.”
https://www.foxnews.com/media/epa-administrator-claims-absolutely-no-punishment-those-dont-buy-electric-vehicles
Public health?
From link:
The White House said the regulations would “protect public health” by achieving carbon emission reductions of nearly 10 billion tons by 2055 and would save consumers an average of $12,000 over the lifetime of vehicles.
Between now and then, about 30 years, I can expect to spend 2 or 3 times that amount for new EV batteries. What is the expected lifetime of an EV? Have these idiots even figured it out? Anything designed to protect public health is a monstrous lie. Anyway, by 2055, if the medical terrorists get their way, there will only be a few hundred million humans still alive.
It is always worse than you expect, or even can imagine, take this chart for instance, domestic auto production:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DAUPSA
2009 – production went all the way down to 100,000 units, then
2020 (during the PLANdemic) it went to zero.
Same thing is going on in incandescent bulbs. You have to wonder, are they shutting it all down? Every day/week for the past year I read about some plant on fire, exploding, etc. Today a dairy blew up in Texas. How in the hell does a cow milkery blow up (I used to milk cows myself) not exactly full of explosives.
News headline today:
Thousands of cows killed in fire, explosion at dairy farm in Texas Panhandle, reports say … Initial reports say more than 18,000 cows died
Is Amerika being intentionally sabotaged by the Communist Marxist Biden Administration?
cnet: The End of Incandescent Light Bulbs Is Coming.
“The timeline for all this is playing out fast: Bulb-makers must end production of inefficient incandescent bulbs for the US residential market by January of 2023, while wholesalers and retailers have until July 2023 to finish selling their stocks.”
——————-
https://naturalnews.com/2022-04-22-food-processing-facilities-america-mysteriously-burning-down.html
https://naturalnews.com/2021-11-04-globalists-running-sabotage-teams-to-take-out-fertilizer-plants-crash-transport-trains.html
https://www.infowars.com/results/?query=train%20derailments
There is absolutely no doubt that sabotage is our number 1 product here in Amerika. Whether train derailings, food plant fires, anything that is essential to this nation is slowly being wrecked. Congress is a laughing stock, they scream at those freaks who are currently being interrogated, to no avail. It’s all a big, bad joke on the people. You mean to tell me there are no checks and balances available to our political system? No way to remove freaks like Merrick Garfinkel? No way to get rid of a slimeball like Joe “the Puke” Biden? I call it the Satanic Death Wish party aka Democrats. The majority of Americans have not bought precious metals to safeguard their financial futures, where do hundreds of millions then find the werewithal to survive with no money? Our government is actively trying to destroy America and they are succeeding. Time for armed insurrection?
I have a few large boxes of different wattages. I’ll either use them or sell them on the black market.
A/C, gas stoves and washers and dryers to be outlawed soon I expect. All in the name of saving humanity while they murder us one by one with there mRNA poisons.
“Go along to get along – and pretend it will all keep going, somehow.”
Reminds me of what some were saying during the scamdemic.
“I comply because I want it to end. It’s because you comply that it will never end.”
OK, since you’ve got the picture up. Who was hotter in their prime? Zha Zha or Eva Gabor?
I think Eva.
I’d say they are both transpecies, i.e., pigs who identify as foxes.
JMO.
I think Eva was the prettier sister, but I don’t think either one of them can compare to Hedy Lamarr or Grace Kelly in their younger days.
Very true! Those ladies were absolutely stunning!
For some reason, your guys’ comments remind me of the movie “Shawshank Redemption”, and Red’s comment (Morgan Freeman) commenting on “…the lovely Raquel” poster that hung on Andy’s wall. I always did like that movie….
I don’t think Zsa-zsa or Eva were ‘all that’, but at least they, and a lot of those old stars, like Olivia De Havilland, Myrna Loy, etc. possessed something sorely missing today: They were feminine, and at least acted like ladies.
I would include Rita Hayworth and Gene Tierney in the mix!!!
William,
Funny- Gene Tierney popped into my head when I was penning (keyboarding?) the above…but she always kinda gave off a little tomboyishness compared to the others. (Just in comparison to the others. By today’s standards, she’d be Snow White!).
How about Anne Francis in her prime?! Now that’s hard to beat! (And for some reason, very underrated). Definitely one of my favs!
100% fake yidesses. Not sexy at all.
Hungarian Jews are…….. (Well, if you’ve ever known any)..kinda like the worst of both worlds. I knew an old guy who was born in Transylvania…..nice enough guy when ya got to know him, but TERRIBLE at business/finances…and absolutely no filter- Every time I dealt with him,, while not unpleasant….it just kinda left me with my mouth agape, and wondering “WTH was that?!”.
One chart that says it all, new car sales heading toward zero:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DAUTOSA
@ Yukon Jack:
The link you posted is for domestic manufacture only.
Here is the corresponding link for total U.S. auto sales:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TOTALSA
It makes one wonder how many Americans are steadfastly and stubbornly holding onto their gas guzzling vehicles, rather than trading them in for a newer ICE vehicle? Seeing the handwriting on the wall, and that none are going to be made in the future. ‘Course in retaliation, I see the globalists merely turning off the gasoline and oil supplies, and forcing us into these crappy EV’s one way or the other. They are damned determined to force all of us into modern day Warsaw Ghettos, come hell or high water.
If I remember correctly, which of late is not always the case, I think the Warsaw Ghetto held off the German army for quite some time with a dozen or so handguns.
How very true, John. I remember reading two separate books on the subject. One was on the Warsaw Ghetto uprising (1943?), and another (not in the Jewish Ghettos) on the Poles themselves uprising against both Hitler and Stalin. The books talked about how the people would move from the Jewish side to the Polish side through tunnels and closely built buildings as they fought through the rubble. I just hope that if it comes to that here, that we have a better outcome than the Poles ended up with (thanks to the Teheran Conference, 1943) after the War.
Yup. That was made possible by a bunch of stubborn and wise old Grandpas refusing to first “register” their firearms, then second, turn them in durong the “buyback” campaigns. The Jerries thought they had taken them all up.
But when they came round to marsk themoff to the trains, the stubbon old Opas began shooting at the troops. To which said trops responded “THEY”RE SHOTING BACK!!!!! nad ran for their cowardly lives.
Sadly they did return later with such overshelmong force the Opas were taken anyway.n
Now we hve 20/20 hindsight, we now know that registerig them is a VERY bad idea, turnig them in to the “biyback” boys is even worse. Maybe a few clunkers that don’t worj anyway, just to appease the goons. But then, develop some solid plans hardening the area, setting wathes, etc….. and maybe destroying the trains and tracks during one’s “spare time”.
No, no, no Tionico. Don’t you know anything. The German government liberalized gun laws throughout the 30’s! (sarcasm, obviously)
LOL! Still believe those beanie boy fables? Did you enjoy Inglorious Basterds too?
Shhhh – pretty soon you‘ll be linking articles from Ron Unz and the Unz Review
They’re not even hiding that idea….
https://www.cadillac.com/electric/celestiq
Geez
Wow they literally used the word “bespoke”! Maybe Eric borrowed it from there?
In any case, I hope the Cadillac brand can survive on all 1000 cars/year they’re gonna sell.
If that.
I’m certain they have it all figured out. 👌
EV’s are the ultimate horrible experience cars, over weight, boring, dead, inconvenient, lifeless…no sound or soul…good for virtue signalers that hate cars…
This is the ultimate experience car the ariel atom V8….no doors, windshield or roof and 500 hp V8…..1280 lb…no AI computer driver’s assists..great sound…but…it is not the best track car….
for the best driver’s car/track car though get a Donkervoort with the manual transmission…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jvHqB4ZxbU
The goal of those slime who wish to gut this country is to totally remove ALL cars from the roads. After that, we’ll be living in those long, linear housing developments and will be forced to stay close to home forever. No vacations, no beach going, no cheap airline fares to warm climes in winter, nothing. We are talking leading ascetic lives with no frills whatsoever. Oh, let’s not forget genocides that will murder 90% of our population before we talk about the rest of the negatives we can expect from our rulers. Is Congress going to stop these freaks? No way, Congress is filled with egotistic do-nothings who are all getting their tip money from Schwab and the Federal Reserve that is printing money so they can buy solid assets and get rid of their worthless fiat currency. Our future? No way, no how. If we don’t insurrectionize these freaks, friends, it’s over and done with.
Hi Moghi,
As crazy as it sounds, I think you’re right. We are dealing with evil on a scale heretofore unprecedented. They mean to do us is – or turn us into bipedal cattle. The sooner enough of us wake up to this awful reality and resolve to fight it, the better our chances of defeating it.
“be forced to stay close to home forever.”
As most people did before cars were invented, and eventually made cheaper. Most people never got more than 25 miles from where they were born. I think that’s called regression.
My mother was a depression child. Those that claim to be poor today have no clue what being poor is. She never ever bought on long term credit and told me it is the fastest way to go bust. She didn’t believe “anything” the government spouted and considered banks and government the way they should be…. thieves and terrorists.
Today I read on Armstrong Economics that Jamie Dimon suggested the government seize all private property in the name of the scam Climate Change. This IS their wet dream. He is spouting the actual goal of those dip shit banksters. These are the same weasels as those Jesus ran out of the temple in his day with a bull whip. Today the banksters are worshiped and Jesus is hated and is being thrown out of his house.
‘She … considered banks and government the way they should be … thieves and terrorists.’ — ken
Small example from this morning:
‘In the minute before the BLS’s [8:30 am EDT] release of the CPI data, US Treasury futures soared on relatively heavy volume.
‘The June 2023 10-year Treasury futures contract saw around 5,000 contracts traded over a 60 second period in the lead up to the data release at 8:30 a.m. in New York, with prices jumping to 115-29+ from 115-09+.’ — ZeroHedge
In fact, this has been happening for months now, with both Treasury and stock futures reacting in advance to inflation reports perceived as good or bad for markets.
Insiders skim a rigged system, as also evidenced by astonishingly high investment returns regularly achieved by thick-skulled Congress Clowns who couldn’t add two plus two.
When the US eclownomy heads south, and desperate, hungry people have nothing left to lose, “Joe Biden’s” corrupt peculation regime is in for some heavy sledding.
That is why they are prioritizing disarmament. It ain’t working. People do not believe the lying media or the lying pollsters.
Hi Ugg,
I agree. There is also growing awareness that if we lose our right to defend ourselves we will be defenseless; that police aren’t going to keep you safe from thugs (this includes the cops themselves, of course) and that the only thing that may prevent their physical destruction as well as that of their families is the means to prevent it.
So was mine. Dad, too. Mom’s Dad had a part time job at a flour mill, and was allowed to bring home broken sacks. They could not repack and sell them. So Mom took those (she was nine years old at the tme) baked bread in the sood and coal kitchen range, put the bare unwrapped loaves directly into her little Radio FLyer red wagon and toted them into town, where she’d sell them for a nickel a loaf. That money helped feed the family. She was the yungest of eight.
DO that today severalpeople would be in jail, businesses seized, fines for violating “health department’ regulations, Mom would have been seized by CPS, Grandma jailed for Child Abuse and enslavement, Employment Security would have been levying fines for child enclavement and abuse, fines for faiing tp pay minimum wages and withholding and Social Security deductions…. so da bummit will now spend five thousand dollarsto keep a kid from baking and selling a dozen loaves of bread on the street to he,p feed her own family.
Ain’t it grand how much “beter” things are these days??!!??
Inflation is indeed theft. If the money supply hadn’t been increased enormouly since the Federal Reserve was created we would have massive deflation due to technological and productivity improvements since 1913 or 1970. Can’t have that! Today’s dollar would be worth a massive amount compared to 1913 instead of the exact opposite. Inflation is money straight into the banker’s pockets creating the insane wealth inequality we have today.
I agree, innovation drives deflation, but for this:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CURRCIR
Inflation is the very purpose of fiat currency. There is no other reason to use it. “Money” can be printed. Wealth cannot be. So simple an Ivy League economist can’t understand it.
Porsche is now an SUV company that makes sports cars….most of their sales are SUV’s…quick ones….
all the Porsches became 928’s…lol…big heavy GT’s..the Cayman now is 3000 lb…….but the 911 has the 911 iconic shape so it sells….a 928 with a 911 body
the best driver’s car ever made weighed 2000 lb……For people who like driver’s cars they say there was one close to perfect car
1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7
The RS is the ultimate 911 and is special because of the way it drives. Sure it is rare and expensive, but it is the driving experience that elevates the 2.7 RS to icon status. The sound, the acceleration, the free-revving engine, the feel through the steering and chassis, the cornering poise, the wieldly dimensions, the look and smell of the thing. It is engaging, fun and it just sucks you in. Sure, 210 bhp and 188 lb/ft of torque doesn’t sound like much today but remember the RS Sport weighs only 900kg (2000 lb.) so that power is more than enough.
It is genuinely fast, in both outright acceleration and point-to-point pace. It hits 0-60mph in 4.9 seconds and tops out at 155 mph. It is small and narrow with deep windows and slim pillars, so there’s road to spare and you can see it all, it feels faster and the speed is more encompassing than in today’s models.
You can do 100 mph in a McLaren 720S and not even blink an eye. Doing 60 mph in the 2.7 RS it feels like 100 mph and you are enthralled by the experience. Too many modern cars of great pace slip up here; the 911 RS 2.7 is more usable and enjoyable than any of them.
It’s such an easy car to drive fast too. The rear engine and the plentiful high-revs torque simply make this a car steerable on the throttle. The sound is unmistakable – a deep bass driven yowl overlapped with fast-paced tapping and the rush of accelerated air. The higher the RPM, the better it sounds.
The Carrera RS earned a reputation as the ultimate driver’s 911. Even today, superlatives like thrust, pointability and adhesion are levelled at the Carrera RS driving experience. It’s raw, unadulterated air-cooled 911 at its most focused. The signature flat-six wail, as it passes through the 4500rpm mark on its way to the redline is one of the more iconic soundtracks and, with such low weight and respectable power, it’s still quick by today’s standards
the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 won world championship races including Targa Florio and the 24 Hours of Daytona where it beat all the prototypes.
The Porsche Carrera RSR had proven its worth in its first race at the Daytona 24 hr. and would dominate GT racing for several years and become one of the most successful GT cars ever. The 2.8-litre engine would quickly be replaced by a more powerful 3.0-litre unit. The RSR would win Daytona again outright in 1975 and 1977 as well as Sebring in 1973, 1976 and 1977.
None of the new cars including the supercars/hypercars can give you the same experience they are all over weight.
The quickest cars in the world usually weigh 2000 lb or less, a modern 3000 lb to 4500 lb supercar/hypercar will never be as fast, you can’t overcome that much extra weight.
To overcome the weight they add huge hp, this makes the car unstable so they control it with, stabilize it with AI, computers, they drive the car you don’t. These aren’t driver’s cars you are just along for the ride….
The new EV’s are worse they are all far over weight and they lack any emotion, you can’t hear, smell or feel these cars.
One auction result: 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS Lightweight 9113600883 – sold for $1,402,500.00
https://www.supercars.net/…/1973-porsche-911-carrera…/
Here is proof a light weight car can still be manufactured and meet the government regulations..
Lotus and Porsche went the wrong direction…4000 lb EV sports cars are a joke…..at least Porsche makes a 3000 lb Cayman……they should have built this….
Donkervoort an evolved modern Super 7 clone:
The Best Seven-Based Track Car?
Audi Powered Donkervoort F22…….. Dutch sports car that can pull 2.15 G’s in corners, no other street legal car can do that, the quickest car sold in europe…..
No driver assists only Traction control, manual transmission, no power steering….fully analog you have to drive the car….the best track car and the ultimate experience car…
750 kg. 1654 lb…..lightness matters….
A super 7 (a 1957 design by Lotus), is the ultimate driving experience, buy or test drive one, it is a completely different experience. The most direct, analog, raw, visceral, unfiltered driving experience, perfect for the hard core driver enthusiasts, this is how a car should be, small, light, agile, fast, no frills, mechanical art made to go fast only
A Donkervoort…. a Super 7 clone, with an Audi 1.8 lt. 20 valve turbo engine in 2003, 2004 had the world record lap time for any street legal car on the Nurburgring, (quite a bit faster then the tesla plaid lap time).
Donkervoort F22
The purest driving experience, best handling, lightest…… the best sports car, supercar….. exclusive only 75 made.
curb weight 1654 lb…………500 HP
That gives it a weight to power ratio of just under 3.4 lb/hp, which is better than that of a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport and on par with that of a McLaren P1.
2.15 G cornering the best of any street legal car in the world
https://www.donkervoort.com/en/models/f22
Former college roomie I had years ago was a car nut of a special type. Wanted fast and cheap. Weary of his ’67 karmann Ghia full race suspension and Stage Three Formula Vee box engine, he found a /67 911 E with rusty fenders but solkd pan, only 125K on the clock. Had a body guy rip off the rusted wings. redid with glas to match the 911 Carrera shape, dropped the suspension radically, Konis on 3/4 hard, bigger anti-roll bars. then he took the engine, which he’d dropped before the panelbeaters got the hulk. Never even removed the heads, did yank the inlet manofolds and replace them with the Carrera stacks and triple choke Webers, then bought a set of the four Carrera race stage three cams, new chaines, tnsioners, etc. Put it all back together. Through my comoany at the tme I brought him the first set of Mchelin XVR’s sold in California, adequate to comfortably fill the superwide new flared wings. That car was then up to factory 911 Carrera Race specs. Total cost all in back in 1974 was about $5K. He drove that thing on the track, mounting his stock E steel wheels for the road trip to the rrack, them removing his alloy race wheels and Miches from the strp on boot rack and fitting those That car was very compeitive. Redline was only about 8500, maybe 9K, not the 12,500 the factory cars would wind. (I’ve heard them on the track..open exhaust, hear them for two miles away. One of the sweetest sounds ever)
He took me for a ride in that once.. over a windey mountain pass he knew like his own backyard. Oh my. SO GLAD he had a full race right seat with rce-legal five point harness. NO WAY could I have held on in a stock seat.
And no way coiuod I ever have owned that car and not gone broke with tickets and fines and insurance rate hikes.
I always have liked the Lotus Sevens, and SUper sevens…. tried to buy one one time but just could not quite swing it. That Coventry Climax twincam was one sweet engine. Sigh.. now I putter about in my big Ford E 350 diesel. It corners remarkabley well for a breadbox.. but its a useful tool. No more.
When you think of owning an EV, think of it as a transitional device to effectively remove the ability to drive anywhere at any time as you choose.
You’ll travel 150 miles then need 60 percent more charge to keep going. You aren’t supposed to let the battery go below 20 percent charge, you sacrifice 20 percent of the range, so to speak. If you are supposed to charge only to 80 percent and not fully charge the battery, you need the extra space for the electricity to maintain a charge which won’t harm the battery. A sacrifice of 40 percent of the charge just to use 60 percent of the usable electricity in the battery.
You’re tethered to the grid, an ICE with a transmission to drive four wheels to make it go gives you more freedom to roam. All you need is gas. If that is in scarce supply, good luck then.
Broke the yoke from the transmission to the driveshaft many moons ago, you’re stuck, end of the road. Call a tow truck and tow your disabled vehicle to the repair shop.
The largest Redwood in northern California is known but the location is secret.
Travel to see the coastal Redwoods in California and visit Crescent City. The Sierra Nevada are one kick-ass set of mountains.
California redwoods grow one foot per year, after 90 years, they’re 90 feet tall.
A lot of talented musicians from California, they deserve some credit. Dan Hicks wrote ‘Payday Blues’, so Californians have something to offer.
From a seed about 1/8th inch in size to a tree over 200 feet tall is what you call exponential growth.
If they grow at a constant rate of one foot per year I call that linear growth.
Manufacturers are tired of selling low margin high volume. They look at Apple’s 42% margin on iPhones with envy. Apple’s global market share is a paltry 16%, but much higher in the US, mainly due to business sales and carrier-financing, which slows down turnover and reduces handset volume. Apple’s profit in the US is from iCloud and Music, overseas it’s selling handsets as a status symbol.
Ford and GM aren’t competing with each other. They’re competing with AAPL and GOOG and META. And probably PFE JNJ and BA too. The Wall St boys are telling them they need to “transform” their business models into whatever is the soup du jour in the markets. Unfortunately for them, that’s war matériel or drugs. So they’re thowing anything at the wall and seeing what sticks. Better be careful though, there’s a lot of fans in the room too.
Aim carefully.
There will be no auto industry after 2030 once the “electrification” takes hold. What’s the difference between one electric appliance and another? A bigger touch screen? Vegan leather seats?
It’s crazy to see the old buff books cheerleading this even though this, like it will for the UAW, will be their demise. Who wants to read a comparison test between two soulless golf carts on steroids that no one can afford?
We’re going to be like Cuba with 50-year-old cars riding around. I’m sure an ICE ban will be issued soon by our demonic, one-party junta.
We’ve got a fake president. A fake pope (better known as an antipope). Fake women. Fake burgers. And now, fake cars with fake noises…vrooooom..vroooooom!
“ We’re going to be like Cuba with 50-year-old cars riding around “
Hey I’m doing my part! “Kurt” the ‘91 Silverado turns 32 in July. “Little Red” the ‘03 Escape hit 20 on March 15th. Cheapest rig you’ll ever own is the one you’re driving right now.
Hey Sparkey,
I have something like “Kurt”, only 1 year his senior. Just about to swap out the radiator and put in a new AC compressor. Hopefully I’ll keep it running for another 33 years!
I did the 134a conversion about six years ago and installed a Sanden style compressor kit. Works perfect, all was well until my state WA banned individuals from owning 134a. One more thing I’ve added to my bootleg list.
I’m thinking of breatihing some new life into the old 1968 Volv 144 sedan lying out in the wddes. Simpe fix but requires the engine to be lifted and pan off. Oil pumo drive gear .
but maybe not. If the old 72 MGB GT werenot so rusty I’d whang on the bent right frint wing, yank on that corner of the bonnet so it will close again, and give that one some artificial respiration.
Hi Tionico,
So many regrets over selling various scars I’ve owned that were once just old beaters worth (at the time) a few hundred bucks, maybe. In particular, I wish I had back the ’69 VW Squareback wagon I owned back in the ’90s. What an excellent little rig that one was. Even the heat worked pretty well, too!
They don’t go vroom vroom. They make stupid space ship beep-boop sounds like a bad 1960s sci-fi movie or George Jetson’s space mobile but without the ability to fold into a briefcase. Who this appeals to is a mystery.
Fake President in more ways than one. “Joe Biden” isn’t even Joe Biden. The whole dementia Joe act is just to throw the muppets off. All that is happening is just incompetence. Right, they hired an incompetent actor to play Joe and didn’t notice.
Hi U Turn,
I’ve also wondered about that – whether the “dementia” is just an act to throw people off. Then again, he’s a very good actor if so. I’ve been around people with dementia/Alzheimers and he does a really good job of emulating the mannerisms, jumbled speech and even the vacant stare (at times) of someone actually afflicted. Of course, it’s no so much that he’s old that’s his defect. It’s that he’s evil.
If interest rates reflect the stability of a nation, Amerika may be on the edge of a great financial crisis – interest rates going much higher – like a banana republik.
The Fed has created many trillions of new money, the charts are shocking:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/M1SL
If inflation is driven by new money, then mucho inflation is on the way, which means the Fed QT will continue, and it is, ZH reports.
Gold is making new highs (yet unconfirmed by silver), capital is fleeing dollars and going to precious metals. Real estate has topped, rising rates could crush home values which by any model are highly overinflated.
US 10 treasury yields are forming a huge megaphone pattern – this implies new highs, higher than the 1980’s. Technically, yields will go back to 1980 highs and test them in a rapid fashion.
This new trend, like the 1970’s of rising rates, could continue, and wreck havoc for car sales. Basically a car is like buying a home – but it depreciates.
My prediction for 2 years now the crisis will hit the front page when 30 year mortgages go through the 8% level. Depreciating home values will certainly cause the yuppies to pull back, not sure they can afford that new Tesla.
Actually, car sales hit an all time low in 1974, before the big run up in rates, to 8.8 million. By 76, they were over 10 and stayed between 10-12 million thereafter. They rose to 14 million by the mid 1990s and hit 17 million by 2005 or so.
If things stay otherwise normal, no hyperinflation, we will still see a reduction in sales due to electric cars and the so-called chip shortage.
But they won’t stay “otherwise normal”, because the dollar is on the verge of losing its reserve currency status. Even if it retains it for a while, much of the world is no longer interested in having their dollar assets frozen or confiscated, and are looking elsewhere to store their wealth. We are running off an economic cliff, and the US Psychopaths In Charge appear to be just fine with it. After all, they are insane. The pitiful part is, there are a whole lot of lemmings following them, pretending this will work.
I suspect that before many years have passed, the most valuable asset in the nation will be the young to middle age, fit, able and willing to work, as in labor. Lord knows they’re getting quite scarce.
The US is now reaping the spoils obtained thanks to our imperialistic ways, our penchant to crush the outside world with the advantages inherent from our greedy owning of the world’s currency. Once that outward sign of our total disdain for everybody outside this country blossoms, we’ll see how we do with our nouveau penury, how we like being second class citizens, how we are to survive. The deep state is all behind this, it took them decades but they persevered. We will surreptitiously pretend we had no Ukrainian laboratories making organisms and poisons to kill us off. Bringing in illegals that will be glad to work as field slaves is how we are going to progress. This is the sworn duty of Commissioner Mayorcas, a moron who gets up in front of Congress and insists the “border is under control”. And our Congressional interrogators do NOTHING about this, they just go on to the next vapid questions for schlubs like Mayorcas, no penalties, no jail terms. And we tolerate the inertness of our Congress, a group of people basically concerned most about their abilities to do insider trading that is considered totally legal for these , our “representatives sworn to look after us”. This is the travesty we live under. Our enemies are manifold, they are like ants in an anthill. Our dogs won’t hunt, it’s just that clear.
The ironic thing is, all the stupid illegals (and far more than the 60 million now, thanks to Biden’s dog whistle to them) are going to wish they stayed the hell home when SHTF. At least where they came from, everyone around them knew what poverty and misery was, and had a sense of survival. In Amerika, everyone is going to freak out when they cannot eat 3 meals a day, have their smokes, and their pharmakeia drugs…and right now!!! And if an illegal migrated far enough north, they just might freeze to death. I call it a classic case of them thinking the grass was greener on the other side (in the U.S.), only to find (soon enough) that the water bill was high as hell…or that the grass dried up.
To be fair, those numbers should be compared to population figures. In 1974 we were at about 215 million, versus over 330 today. I didn’t dig into the age breakdown between the two eras but clearly, vehicle sales have not kept pace with population growth.
This always reminds me of George Bush’ saying about how “they hate us for our freedoms”. Just that the “they” in that sentence has usually been misunderstood. The “they” in that sentence refers to the globalists and the WEF crowd.
“They” are indeed are “the terrorists” and they are not with “us” (common people).
They have been hugely successful in destroying “our freedoms” and have continued nearly unopposed. In the course of that action, the destruction of the USA is clearly one of their goals.
They’re not trying to “build back better”, they’re trying to destroy it. And us people, that they hate, along with it.
While it’s likely that their plans cannot work. It’s also likely that, in the course of trying, everything is going to be broken.
While the “go along to get along” situation explains some of the corporate attitude/insanity, another factor to consider is this generation’s corporatists and bureaucrats all attended the same universities and been indoctrinated by the same professors. Also throw in the fact basic economics has been ignored by the same. The result being suit & tied idiots living in fantasy land tainted with arrogance and greed.
I find it curious that Disney has suddenly moved up the release date of “The Marvels”, co-starring Brie Larson.
I’m sure we will see more of Larson’s Nissan ads pushing their EVs as female empowerment very soon.
Ron Paul was right.
Haha, Mike, that’s a given on great many topics. 🙂
‘Mandates all-but-requiring nothing other than EVs … are to be announced today.’ — eric
All is not well in the imperial capital, comrades:
‘As auto executives and the United Auto Workers learned the details of the proposed regulations, some grew uneasy about publicly supporting it, according to the people familiar with their thinking. The setting was moved from Detroit to EPA headquarters in Washington.
‘Mr. Regan acknowledged that some auto executives and leaders of the United Auto Workers had expressed anxiety over the proposals — adding that they could be amended to assuage those fears.
“We’re very mindful that this is a proposal, and we want to give as much flexibility possible,” he said. The agency will accept public comments on the proposed rules before they are finalized next year. The rules would take effect starting with model year 2027.’ — NY Slimes
https://archive.ph/f4JFZ#selection-685.17-689.261
Michael S Regan: a typical slimeball politico, dodging and weaving through his own regulatory thicket, leaving himself plenty of personal deniability if things go pear-shaped.
The UAW may be a dinosaur, but it ain’t stupid: Regan’s diabolical plan to force two-thirds of 2032 light vehicle sales to be EeeVees will destroy UAW jobs by the tens of thousands.
Contact your Congress Clown: shitcan the EPA’s marauding economic vandal.
The world would be a lot better of a place if the NHTSA and EPA were permanently erased from earth. That’s what I tell my congress critter.
Along with 90% of the rest of the alphabet bureaucracy, or more.
Well said Jim,
It still boggles the mind that the EPA is allowed to set mileage standards that have the force of law. Clowngress should have curb stomped that when it first started, along with all the other alphabet agencies that make “rules” with the force of law. Problem being all the Clowngress critters just want to do the corporations bidding so they can end up as millionaires once their terms are up.
They could just save everyone some trouble and confusion, combine most of the alphabet agencies into the “Corporate Protection Agency” (CPA) and be honest about it.
I mean, ultimately, that’s what they do anyway. I’m not sure who they think they’re fooling anymore.
They are fooling those who WANT to be fooled. They are indeed the CPA.
Congress is too lazy to write laws. They just pass ideas. Boad outlines that can then be interpreted by regulatory agencies to fit their extreme self serving agendas..
Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, recently suggested that the government seize private property to “Combat climate change”. And last year, Joe Biden’s Climate Czar, John Kerry, all but advocated seizing MORE money from Americans for the same stated purpose. What next, will some climate change zealot in the Biden regime or elsewhere suggest confiscation of gas powered vehicles and gas stoves as well? Or perhaps even universal face diaper wearing to “Stop the spread of CO2” or carbon taxes as humans exhale the dreaded carbon dioxide. Or even banning meat consumption & implementing mandatory consumption of bugs. Or, after a chatbot talked a man who was worried about climate change into killing himself, will someone get some crazy idea from that, like, say, a lottery to determine which “little guy” is to DIE to “Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave the planet”?
Which of his properties will Mr. Dimon be donating – his 33 acre Bedford estate or his $10 million NYC Manhattan apartment to make the world a better place? Oh, let’s be real, what the hell are we going to do with an apartment.
Let’s see – 1750 solar panels per acre x 33 acres = 57,750 panels. A typical home would need roughly 20 solar panels for electricity = 2887 homes. Thank you, Jamie! This would be a wonderful contribution to society.
Hi RG,
My suspicion is that Dimon won’t be donating any of HIS property to “Combat climate change”. He wants the government to seize any private property the “non elitists” own. It’s like Bill Gates and other billionaire elitist psychopaths refusing to give up THEIR private jets but demanding that ordinary people give up their cars or stop eating meat. Or even John Kerry. I doubt he’ll spend any of his OWN money to “Combat climate change”, but he’ll happily have the government seize even MORE money from Americans for it, even after the Biden Thing already sent BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars to Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeev!
Hi John,
I always wondered how these people sleep at night. How does one continuously try to get blood from a turnip? Keep taking from the people who have nothing. Only a complete and utter narcissist and someone so out of touch with humanity could believe what these idiots are doing is “good for mankind.” I don’t look at someone like John Kerry and think “man that guy is brilliant.” I see a clueless, vapid, solipsistic individual. On the road to riches he seems to have lost all concept of reality.
When I look at John Kerry, I see someone who has effectively used botox and hairdye to prolong his political career. I also see someone who is a sociopathic marxist scum who could give a shit less whether anyone lives or dies. I see a roving enemy of people who wants to rule and sneer over them. I see someone worthy of a plane crash
Hi RG,
John Kerry is a world class gold digger (male version). He got super wealthy by marrying Theresa Heinz, thus getting half of her fortune from Heinz food products. That’s a lot of ketchup.
If there ever was an Artful Dodger in the present life, it is John Kerry. Another sycophant who is ready to bleed you white.
It is only a matter of time that John Kerry will be in a glue factory.
“I always wondered how these people sleep at night.”
Because they are literal psychopaths. They are concerned with nothing but their own welfare and ego. They do not possess any of the ordinary human virtues, sympathy, charity, shame, remorse, guilt, etc. They only understand them as a means to manipulate those who do have them.
I couldn’t have said this better, JK. This point can’t be stressed enough.
how do they sleep at night? Simple better living through chemistry
A girl from my class at GTE corporate training 30 years ago now works for Jamie Dimon in a C-suite job of some sort. Hippy dippy. Save the world type. She joined a startup in Tampa building an e-payment system which eventually ended up as part of the software JP Morgan Chase now uses to administer the Food Stamp/EBT Payment program.
She probably still spouts the idealism even as her work effectively enslaves millions in perpetual poverty due to dependence.
Unfortunately, Raider Girl, I think these people sleep very well at night. And if they don’t, it is because they think they are losing, or are not oppressing us plebs fast enough. They suffer no guilt or shame for anything they do. And if they do something that goes wrong, it is always our fault for their f-ups.
Heres the thing tho. The elites like to force us to give up our belongings freedom and wealth guilting us be claiming that our sinful human nature requires laws to make us do the right thing. When pressed as to their wealth they claim they give to charity. But the only fair thing is for them to be forced at gun point to give up EVERYTHING. And if they keep this up im guessing that is what might just end up happening to some of them.
Hi RS,
They lie….I handle people’s tax returns for a living. Their charity contributions are squat unless it comes to the donation of goods – everything then thinks their stuff is worth more it is.
The most generous are conservatives and the majority of their donations go to the church. Honestly, I have no idea how most charities are staying in business unless they are funded by grants or Uncle Sam.
**” I have no idea how most charities are staying in business unless they are funded by grants or Uncle Sam.”**
Like Catholic Charities- They got $10.6 BILLION in tax-funded subsidies over a 10 year period…… And they are just one of many.
The Salivation[sic] Armty and Goodwill are recipients of a clever scheme: Those on the dole; “victims of abuse”[Read: Women who thought it fun to cohabitate with thugs/drunks etc. until the fun stopped]; Women who can’t keep their legs closed and have 5 different children by 6 different guys; etc. are given vouchers by local welfare offices with which to purchase stuff from the aforementioned “charities” (Which stuff the charities got for free)…
How’s that for a nice business model? Get your merchandise for free, and then get paid for it via tax funds brought in by the ‘people’ you’re ‘helping’. Instead of paying taxes..you receive them…and all the while getting Escalades[accolades] as if YOU were the best thing since Albert Schvatze (Schweitzer)- Oh, and you get free labor, in the form of volunteers, and ‘trainees’ who are drug addicts or the handicapped who are being ‘rehabilitated’ and being paid for by Uncle……
Is it any wonder legitimate businesses can’t compete or make a legit buck?
Hey, RG!
Regarding fields of solar panels: Unnecessary!
Truly. A house shouldn’t require 20 panels. That’s ridiculous. We’re doing alright with 3, for about 1,000 watts input, maximum. To run a window AC and cool the RV in which we’re living right now, I plan to upgrade the system to 2,000 watts. This will allow all-day AC use, as well as powering the ‘fridge and anything else we need (at least in this climate).
Seriously. Yes, the RV is a “tiny house”, but it’s about the least efficient structure in which you could live. A half-assed efficient house shouldn’t take anywhere near 20 solar panels to provide electricity. Heating is another manner, and generally shouldn’t be done with electricity, though we do so in the morning at times. Regardless, if the house is built well, heating still shouldn’t be a problem.
Being off-the-grid, even for the short time we’ve been, we’re happy and not missing the bills. Our solar electric system will pay for itself several times over during its life. As far as the grid goes: Good riddance!
Unfortunately, solar panels have a life span, and it ain’t that great.
We all know the point of all of this is to reduce, if not outright deprive, the serfs of mobility.
I actually read a few articles the other day and noticed more and more banks are no longer providing auto loans. They are pulling out of dealerships dependent on the dealerships portfolio for financing. Are the customers buying the auto making the payments? What are their credit scores? Etc.
I had a client contact me the other day to get a current copy of his YTD business financial statements to make an auto purchase! I don’t remember ever having to provide anything other than an application to finance a car. The last car I financed was in 2007 so things may have changed but now they are asking for payroll stubs, W2s, balance sheets, etc. It is like buying a house. Then again most cars are now the cost of a home, so I guess it makes sense.
‘now they are asking for payroll stubs, W2s, balance sheets, etc. It is like buying a house.’ — Raider Girl
The SLOOS (Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey) shows that banksters are tightening credit, as they always do when the late business cycle is giving way to early phase recession.
No more “Everyone qualifies!” breathless radio ads. No more “99 dollars and a dream gets you into new wheels” — a popular meme during the Internet Bubble.
Yesterday, Eric Basmajian posted a fully quantitative set of 1-2-3 recession signals. Currently we’re in Signal #2:
‘Today the Leading Index is below -1%, and the Coincident Indexes are below 2%, so we have a Signal #2. Historically speaking, a recession became a certainty on this signal.
‘Sitting here today, we received our Signal #2 five months ago, in December of 2022, and the average lead time before a recession starts is six months.’
https://epbresearch.com/three-sequential-signals-of-recession/
Not only will auto makers’ bread-and-butter IC-engined vehicle sales take a dive — but also, they are on the hook for billions of capital spending on EeeVee assembly and Battery Baloney plants. For this, the market will punish them dearly.
* reaches for his cat o’ nine tails *
Want confirmation of Eric Basmajian’s recession call? How about from the Federal Reserve itself? From the minutes of the last FOMC meeting, released this afternoon:
“The staff’s projection at the time of the March meeting included a mild recession starting later this year, with a recovery over the subsequent two years.”
They know it’s coming. And they’re LIHOP (Letting It Happen On Purpose).
You have been notified.
Money isn’t free anymore. Dealers have terminals (screen-scraping web apps) directly connected to the bank’s “cloud” mainframe on their desk. Punch in the social security number, down payment and vehicle price, get a quote in seconds. Those days are done, at least until Chairman Powell is replaced by Greenspan 2.0.
>They are pulling out of dealerships dependent on the dealerships portfolio for financing.
hi, RG,
Well, that is very interesting.
If the dealers are, in fact, originating loans (rather than, say, GMAC or Ford Credit), it follows, as night follows day, they will package as many as they can and resell to a secondary market, analogous to the market in home mortgages.
I am aware of one privately held company which buys “sub-prime” auto loans (people with less than stellar credit histories) secured by *used* vehicles.
The question becomes:
Are we likely to see federally regulated securitization of pools of auto loans (Auto Loan Backed Securities), analogous to Mortgage Backed Securities? I think not, because it would be an admission by the FedGov that either a) they have failed, or b) they are out to screw the ordinary citizen (both of which most people here already believe to be true).
So, I surmise the business will remain private and unregulated, and may prove to be a very lucrative business for those who chose to play. You can certainly repossess a motor vehicle much faster and quicker than real property, and without any government meddling.
The mind boggles at how many times per year you might be able to sell, and finance, the exact *same* car. Same VIN, not same model. A dealer finance manager once told me they made more on the financing than they made on the vehicle, and that was thirty years ago.
Automotive repossession might become a booming career field. A new, and more innocuous sounding, name will have to be found, though, before a “how to” course can take its place in “career technical education” programs in American high schools.
some years back a friend of mine was doing a side hustle working as the ReePoe guy for a localc “iron lot” (used car sales). Dealer always kept a copy of the key until the loan was all paid up. My friend would get a list of cars with details, and address of “owner” which may/may not have been where the car actually was.
One rather “creative” chap nad moved from the home he pcccupied when he bought the car, but kept getting his mail etc at his earlier domicile. Harder to “trace” that way. My friend had located the car in a dirt parking lot out behind a three story rooming house. Numbr plate matched, make odel ear colour etc. He went back wotard dusk figuring he’d hop in and drive it away. As he stood next the car, key in hand, starting to reach down to the driver’s door lock, he head a window being raised on the third floor, over to his left. As he started to turn his head he heard a distnctive clank of steel as if it were sliding and working a mechanism… a mechanism he recognised as being that of a Remington WIngmaster . (he owned one himself and knew that sound well). He looked up, into the large muzzle of the scattergun. “Uh, OK, I’ll be going now, enjoy your evening” turned and walked away. ‘ Next morning brought all his keys back to the dealer and said “I’m done”.
He accurately calculated that the chance of brining in a little bit of exra cash for his family coud easily be completely undone by the collision of some heavy lead pellets colliding with his cranium. Calculated the risk-reward equation was upside down.
These days, though, a phone call to the right place can get the car not onl geo-located but disabled in a few seconds. Strane world we have these days.
At least Toyota and Mazda haven’t gone all-in on EVs! That’s something; that means when the EV push crashes and burns, that we’ll have some alternatives to return to.
Hi Mark,
Toyota ousted Mr. Toyoda so they could bring in a new younger EV guy. I don’t see a lot of hope, but I noticed the big SUVs haven’t made any announcements on EVing them. How long do they it would take to charge a Suburban? Three weeks? How about a Ford Super Duty F450? They are going after the cars knowing the technology is not equipped to handle the larger vehicles.
>the technology is not equipped to handle the larger vehicles.
I don’t see anyone touting an “all electric” freight locomotive (yet).
Q1: How many “battery cars” (electric tender cars) would be required, per locomotive?
Q2: How much reduction in payload would that entail, per train?
A1: Too many.
A2: Too much.
Oh, right.
“Joe Biden” is going to singlehandedly “electrify” every rail line in the USA, so all railroad locomotives will draw power from overhead wires using pantograph connections, just as the PA RR has done for many decades, between Phila & NYC.
Next topic: the “all electric” container ship.
Q1: How many “battery barges” per container ship?
A1: ROFLMAO.
Mazda has recently ousted it’s boss, too, and replaced him with an EV guy.
Are you kidding me? It seems to me that the former CEOs of Toyota and Mazda were being prudent by: 1) building what sells; and 2) building good alternatives to EVs, like hyprids and PHEVs. Look, I like EVs and am a fan of them, but they’re not ready for prime time just yet. Diversity is the way to go both in investing and in one’s product or service offerings.
What were these auto executives told behind closed doors? “Don’t worry, we at the government got your back on bailouts, customer financing, tax credits for electric vehicles.” The auto industry is all in, every man jack of them all. When there is group think and no one is objecting, the fix is in.
Except it matters not what kind of fix is in, if the dollar goes belly up, which it appears to be doing. Default is likely to become the new American economy. Doesn’t matter how many dollars you have if you can’t afford lunch.