Most recall repairs are "scheduled" and don't involve a "failure", just like they don't count visits to dealers for oil changes as dings against "reliability".
Probably because they fix the issue before it fucks you in the ass. Aka a quality operating system that works albeit not preventative. Like half of one.
Re EV sales in the UK, there are substantial tax benefits to having an EV as your company car. So if you are just trolling to and from the office they might make a kind of sense. Of course, the Govt now wants to charge you something per mile (3p for now, but only ever going one way) to make up for the HUGE amount of money they won't be getting from taxes on petrol, so there is a great wailing and gnashing of teeth about how this will kill EV sales stone dead. Hey ho...round and round we go!
Somewhat related: Perhaps my most awkward consulting moment was back in the early 00's when I picked up the UK managing director in my MB V-8 E class at O'Hare while his E class back home had a....less powerful engine. I'm sure he wondered how much the American company was paying me.
You really wouldn’t have wanted my 2003. There was always something wrong - not a joke- and the interior both leather and cloth was as durable as cashmere.
My wife loved it so it endured. I was so happy when a good old boy backed his trailer hitch through the grill and radiator I almost wept with joy.
Good question. Yet more bureaucracy. It’s easy at the annual safety check after three years, but before? I don’t know; I don’t buy new and I don’t buy EVs so I kind of skimmed the story.
well the communist gov't in this state doesn't require any safety checks, and EV's obviously don't need emissions testing, so that leave them requiring a tracking device on everyone's cars. Hell NO!
Spoofing GPS is ridiculously easy, cheap, and highly illegal.
How easy? When Pokémon Go came out about 10 years ago, people were spoofing their phone's location to go around and automatically collect Pokémon to make their profiles better and worth more when they sold them. Crazy but true.
Grrrr, yes. And which will also track your real time speed and location, and send you automated speeding etc tickets and toll bills in the mail, cc'd to your insurance company so they can raise your rate in real time (they will also probably want to charge you per mile driven). All for "your benefit".
Plus there is a 100% tax on gasoline and all sorts of in town penalties and purchase for ICE.
Thats why a honda CTR is like 75K there and even more in France. Even with all that the EU has had to walk back its 2035 Ice ban.
Just heard today Stellantis EU brands are going back to producing diesel cars.
in oter news Alpine boss says the new ev a110 will weigh 3500lbs hopefully ie 1000lbs more than the Ice one, but have lots of hp, lets see how far it can travel and what it costs. Needless to say theyre not going to try and sell it here.
That too, I work hard to ensure my old Mercedes Diesel emit NO visible smoke (soot) but I expect to explode in cancer on of these days after a lifetime sucking exhaust fumes .
Thyre still continuing with the Audi version which is engineered by porche.
But yeah USA is 50+% of sales and China won’t buy the German ev so it’s really more like USA 80% I can see the wisdom for porche not even wasting the marketing budget on it
Ignorance sure is bliss. I'm so far removed from the "new" car world that I had never heard of Scout until now. I thought that side of International Harvester went tits up in the 80s anyhow.
If I were fabulously wealthy I'd own an S model Tesla. Outside of that, I wouldn't take an EV for free at gunpoint. In a bit of irony, would my environmental superiors allow the use of lead or copper for the bullet? Perhaps they'd make me commit suicide by forcing me to watch a porno involving the cast of "The View".
I'm glad the Commander still has faith. He may be at the forefront of a little renaissance here in America. Too many things are crashing at once to make the current trajectory sustainable. On a different topic, have you seen where prison inmates in Colorado won a court case regarding forced labor? Seems the wise voters abolished involuntary servitude, even for punishment, in the state constitution. Brave prediction. They will demand (and get) minimum wage and form a union within the next 5-10 years. Let's see California try to top that!
In the 80s International sold or closed every division (and the IH name/logo) except trucks and engines rebranding itself as Navistar. VW bought them out in 2020 which gave VW the Scout nameplate.
IH had a plant in Canton, IL, a small town in the middle of nowhere (no interstate for 30+ miles) about a half hour from here. It made sense in the 1800s when they built it -- as it was right in the heart of farm country, had decent rail connections, and lots and lots of coal to generate power. By the time they closed it, Canton had a 100 year long case of UAW Entitlement Syndrome. The Canton IH workers had their own local (UAW 1357).
In 1997 (15-ish years after it closed), the IH plant there caught fire and burned out of control for weeks, until the entire 31 acre facility had burnt. The site was so heavily contaminated that there was 25 years of litigation before there was finally a cute little $2.1M settlement. The plant is still a brownfield and canker right in the middle of town, 45 years after it closed and 30 years after it burnt.
There are people out there who still think Toyota or some such is going to buy and develop the plant. Such is the delusion of the UAW-class here in Central Illinois. Other unions remain strong, but the UAW was hobbled, then crippled by CAT here about the time the IH plant was burning.
Since we were so close to the plant, there were a lot of IH dealers in the area, and all of them would sell a Scout if somebody was inclined to buy one. Even though this was farm country, almost nobody did, unless it was a "buy a combine, get a Scout for free" proposition. They were horrible little pieces of garbage that began rusting as they sat out next to the tractors on the "lot".
I would say that nobody will ever develop the Canton brownfield into anything ever again, but then again I never thought that VW would think of "Scout" as anything but a pejorative.
Prisoners in Colorado winning a case in re labor reminds one of the occasion, several years ago, in the state of Oregon, when a new and costly (of course) prison facility was prevented from opening because the planners had failed to provide a Native American sweat lodge for penitents. Someone, anyone, please, send help!!
Ah, the old cultural trust plate in particular. My mom had one, but switched to the new plate. I told her she should keep the old faded one because it's harder to read. She of course didn't listen.
uhhh, this could go down a rabbit hole, but i get your point. I've been self employed from ages of 18-36 and corporate from 36-50. So, I'm pretty versed in both.
Freedom arises from feeling unconstrained. I wouldn't say my freedom is absolute -- but I would say that I'm very free on the balance, because I can generally choose where/when I'm going to be constrained. My constraints are mostly self-imposed, and that's enough for me.
Sure, I pay taxes -- but taxes are the price of civilized society. Paying them doesn't make one a slave.
It's a bummer about the F1 drivetrain, because the smaller and seemingly more nimble chassis could potential make for some more skillful and craft-y racing.
I'll never forget my bones tingling from the wail of the 3-liter V-10 back in 2000 at Indy. I believe it was in 2001 that BWM brought a 3-liter V-10 that would spin to 22,000 RPM during qualifying. Forget the cameras, I should have brought a fancy microphone and some audio recording equipment...
I’ve been thinking about Scout from time to time lately too with the winds of change in the EV market these days and I wouldn’t bet against you that they won’t be built.
And on a positive note - I noticed you were credited for a Ford Tempo ad on the insurance company website this week and questioned it. Apparently they muffed up.
Glad to hear the good news on Julius. Since you showed him in a hockey mask a la Jason, did anyone else notice we have 2 Friday the 13th in a row? One in February, one in March.
Also, since you showed Vinfast, I see their much-ballyhooed NC factory is delayed by FOUR years to 2028. I sometimes see a Vinfast on my morning commute so I guess it's an employee or an early adopter
Yeah, I read that Michael Dunne piece in The Free Press the other day, and found myself rolling my eyes throughout the whole thing. The saddest thing, in addition to his complete and total ignorance, was that The Free Press treated this article as illuminating some profound truths about EVs that readers just had to know about. Just shows you how bad The Free Press has become.
The reader comments on the Dunne op-ed (certainly couldn't be called a "news" piece) generally ripped it to shreds. Demonstrates that The Free Press has smarter readers than writers.
"Where’s a center-left non-communist but communist adjacent person thinking-all-the-right-things supposed to go?"
I dunno'. I'll call and ask my daughter who fits that description. I'm guessing, "The Free Press", since they've ALWAYS been pretty concerned with "thinking-all-the-right-things". So has she.
Oh, she still listens to NPR. Probably gives them money in the beg-a-thon.
They were always left of center, but they had a lot of content that was intelligent and (while presenting things from their viewpoint) insightful. It gave me something to think about.
Then came C19, and they became the propaganda arm of Dr. Anthony Fauci's powerplay. I stopped listening in January 2020, and would check in every few months to see if they were running ANY other story. As of January 2021, they were not. I changed the preset buttons in my work truck to a couple of "family friendly" Christian music stations that give me hives (their idea of "spreading the gospel" does not feel like anything I recognize as being a teaching of Christ).
But anything was better than NPR. Anything at all.
I would rather masturbate a horse into a can than listen to a podcast. Both activities are tantamount to jerking off but only one of them fills your head with other men's stupid ideas.
I read marginally revolution when i was a optimistic college student. To still believe that crap at 65 is truly amazing. Look around tyler, youve been wrong for 30+ years! I wonder where all the libertarians were during covid. I suspect half were tyrants but i havent read these morons in a long time
I've been on the cusp of a Free Press subscription for a year. Glad I waited. This smells like a left turn for no other reason than subs. They've been merging carefully into the left lane for awhile. Publishing this idiot on the virtues of EV's kills it for me. The numb nut may not even know what Sputnik was. Free Press - just another whore.
The unfortunate fact is that the left is the source of ALL prestige in America, so every centrist institution will eventually turn in that direction, if only for reasons of ego and validation.
Isn't "prestige in America" something city folk strive for in their otherwise idle time? You know, the city equivalent of masturbating a horse into a can.
As an aside, I feel like Jr. High students must no longer be reading "Animal Farm" as a matter of course, or we wouldn't be in the mess we find ourselves in major cities and blue states in this country.
(*edited, because my addled brain continually conflates George Orwell and Orson Welles)
Re. why Honda is above Acura and Huyndai above Genesis; I suspect the reliability has to do with extra tech. Maybe it doesn't even need to break, but a complex system can seem deficient. I for one don't want to go ten levels deep in a touchscreen to change a setting.
Let's just say British prog/art rock bands don't usually resonate with me.
Not sure if Pink Floyd is solidly in that genre but I once asked my ex, "How come we don't have hardly any Pink Floyd albums?" She replied, "Because they're depressing."
The fun part of these charts is they don’t actually say what that number means? Problems per 100,000 vehicles? In other words, an insignificant difference. Or is it like the mid 80s Corolla vs the Chevy Nova. Same car. Same factory. Yet the Nova always rates dramatically lower in reliability.
C'mon, Jack! Do you really think Norwegians and UKers are being "shot or arrested by government agents" for the crime of owning gas cars? Most of that kind of oppression is happening in our own American streets. Hyperbole feeds engagement, I know, but it leads away from the truth. Bold claims like this deserve strong evidence.
Every tax law and every federal regulation has a gun or handcuffs at the end of it. That is the nature of power. If you fail to pay the extra tax on an ICE vehicle, you will be arrested. That's the plain fact.
The UK apparently arrested thousands of people for social media posts in 2025, too, which is wild to me. 1,709 arrests in London alone. That’s almost one for every Rotherham rape they ignored!
Social media censorship is a different issue. Stick to one subject for a minute, please.
One quick google on "UK EV tax penalties" gave me this: "AI Overview
As of April 1, 2025, most UK electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED/road tax), and failure to pay results in an initial £80 fine from the DVLA (reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days). Continued non-payment can lead to clamping, impounding, court prosecution, and fines up to £2,500."
So what about those plugged-in Norwegians? "In 2026, failing to pay road tax (trafikkforsikringsavgift) or toll fees in Norway results in penalties, including late fees, interest, and potential debt collection. Interest on overdue payments is 12% as of January 1, 2026. Non-compliance can lead to fines of court fee (approx. NOK 282.50) per day, up to a limit."
Thank you for inspiring my curiosity about this topic. But you and I know that most readers won't do even one minute of fact-checking. If they remember anything at all, they'll mash this all together and say that 1,700 people in London have been executed over road fee nonpayment.
Your opinion about road taxes is personal. (Personally, I feel that you shouldn't have to pay for repairing public roads if you never use them and do all your driving on private racetracks.) But as a former journalist, I do care about facts and I'm resistant to sloppy thinking and propaganda. I wish you were the same.
EVs are absolutely forced upon buyers in the EU and in Norway as conventionally powered cars are subject to excessive taxes, road and parking closures etc. The UK wants to phase out normal cars in less than four years (lol).
We will see the "Cuba" effect if politicians don't reverse their pro-EV policies. People will just hang on to their old cars forever.
Pickup trucks, by the way, have become very popular in Norway. Diesel-powered ones.
In Europe, the ruling class doesn't have a strong incentive to correct idiot/evil policies as it is quite confident it can hang on to power forever. They have made great advances in rigging elections and striking opposition politicians off the ballots (Romania, France, Germany etc)
EVs make sense in smaller countries if they have the charging infrastructure. Where I live it's non existent even on a 100 mile stretch between two moderatly sized cities.
The funny thing: If it were gas stations that were 100 miles apart it actually wouldn't be a problem.
With their price point, their environmental baggage and their unfortunate driving characteristics, EVs simply make no sense. Unsurprisingly, when you look at who promoted them early on.
stuff you use gets delivered on public roads, for pete's sake. and i can see your counterargument to this so don't bother. SOME things have their cost distributed amongst the public for simplicity's sake. i agree that there are too many.
Might have something to do with the respective popularity of the political leadership, and it certainly is indicative of the shamelessness and rot in the UK.
The assertion “bold claims like this deserve (/require) strong evidence” is both prima facie true, illogically difficult to assail and also somehow totally retarded. Wjth a totally fundamentally dishonest press (“Siri, what is the most numerous (yet innumerate) and poorly compensated group of Epstein-protectors and Epstein apologists on earth?”) it’s hard to get people to understand that you have to give credence to claims that have, eg 1st party evidence or video but not an NYT article.
"The engines are “derating” on the straights; one source predicts 50-60km/h passes being a constant thing as the hybrid systems gain and lose power"
shaping up to be the worst f1 cars ever built. the season hasnt even started and im already waiting for a rule change to make them less lame
"What was the Scout thing supposed to be, again?"
what were any of the ev lumps supposed to be anyway? whats the difference between this and a luce (other than the luce actually getting built)? body panels and a nicer interior?
"The UK? That’s sharia law. Not really, but you get the point"
rupert lowe might be the only guy willing and able to prevent things sliding further in that direction as farage seems to be okay with grooming gangs now
"Every EV battery plant that does not get built in America is a strategic vulnerability"
is that why stellantis pulled out of the windsor battery plant and sold its 49% stake for a hunnid bucks?
"Building a world-class EV and battery industry requires that America commit to 10 years of uninterrupted, intense effort"
but why bother? also didnt they just find 1.5t of lithium hidden under a volcano in the us somewhere? that always seems to happen
"she considers herself American when she is in America, but Chinese when she is in China"
sounds about on par with what everyone says an american is which appears to include everyone in the world somehow. anyway smash
In my experience, all girls are only bi very early in my relationships, and I don't think my amazing technique is what makes them lose interest in including other women.
Marked safe from buying any thing electric, and marked safe from buying anything with a kill switch mandated into it…
I am not surprised about Rivian, undercapitalized, overly expensive, decent styling, but not sustainable, even in the lexicon of socialist dreams..
I read that the United Kingdom has seen a resurgence of oil burners, electric vehicles don’t seem to be going over very well there, and it seems like they are only popular where governments are willing to subsidize their purchase. Electric vehicles are not ready for prime time, they are less reliable when the weather has its normal extremes. I worked on hybrid diesel electric refrigeration systems, very much like a diesel locomotive, everything on that system except for the engine was electric powered, fan motors, compressors, heating elements, all of that stuff burns out or fails in some nonrepairable fashion, equal to non hybrid systems, and don’t forget that transformers and micro processors, and the temperature extremes that those components see, it’s rather amazing how long they last, but they ultimately do fail.
We have a bunch of solar panels on our roof, and they have already paid for themselves (in less than 10 years) and we power an EV, 2 hybrid cars, and 2 big HVAC units off them
Not because your solar panels are that amazing, but because you live in San Diego. I left San Diego for Boise. My electric rate is $0.0993 per KWh. I used 54 KWh per day last August. How many decades will it take for non government subsidized solar to pay for itself at my latitude?
Edit: So imagine the payoff calculation in a world where solar panels compete on the free market and aren't subsidized AND where SDGE can make power almost as cheaply as Idaho Power. The calculations don't look good, to me.
And to think we have the intellectual horsepower to get a working fusion reactor off the ground, all in one spot, at the end of WWII, and we didn't keep going.
Went to Los Alamos in Jan, really interesting place.
i often wonder did peopel get more stupid, I mean what happened to all the types who became physicists back then. Working in finance now apparently. Pretty sad.
All the intellectual horsepower that would've built spaceships and moonbases and flying cars and bionics went into law and finance and programming instead of engineering and aerospace because that's where the money and prestige is.
You tell people you invented a new rocket engine that cuts the trip to Mars from a year to a week and it's Zero Fucks Given. You tell people you invented ChatGPT or the Google AI and you've got 30 hangers-on crowding you.
I agree 100% traditional engineering trajectories have 10 years of experience median salary ranges that match many starting salaries for the tech and banker bros. Yet another reason why everything from pencil sharpeners to space ships are seemingly worse to use now than they were 50 years ago.
Someone recently said that Elon Musk is inspiring two generations of engineers to make actual things, rather than software apps. I don't know how true that is, but it would be nice to have a renaissance of American manufacturing.
Elon is a force of nature. imagine if you had made 120 mill, woudl you risk it all and then some by trying to enter the auto industry and rocket industry at the same time, I mean those are the two worst industries to try conquer and no one has succeed at that since ww2, yet along come Elon. Hes a salesman bullshitter who actually delivers maybe late but delivers and he's got balls to leave his chips on the table.
Yeah there is a lot to be said for wanting to just build something, to be part of moving humanity forwards, probably more personally rewarding than being a stockbroker. But modern society placed engineers at the level of paid help, its about time that profession got some deserved prestige back.
Last spring? Data centers in SW Ohio? No, I don’t think so. Data centers don’t get to be the blame for everything.
Actually, what I suspect is PUCO approved the Duke increase because Duke “invested” in very expensive energy production, renewable, and needed a price increase. I’d like someone in the statehouse to audit PUCO and audit Duke and find out what is going on.
I know you like "The Free Press" and all, but I subscribed for 3 or 4 months in late '24 (before spending my money here), and decided that the entire conceit wasn't living up to its billing.
The interesting thing to me is what is happening with the "online autopress" ("The Drive", etc.). Their articles (the ones that come up on every social media or news feed) have become so blatantly "approved narrative" political, that I've taken to leaving one comment ("At what point did you decide you hated cars?") or another ("What's it like to completely sell out?") depending on if the article is "Trump's EPA Is Gutting the Clean Air Act" or "Why China is Totally Awesome and Is Completely Eating America's Lunch!" I've never voted for "The Donald", but I'm starting to see why so many people did. This is full-on nuts.
So, I'm never surprised when "The Free Press" or Dan from the WSJ wax poetic about their ongoing love affair with the PRC -- I figure from what I know, China's got a near bottomless well of money available for anybody in the western press who will parrot the party line. And like Eileen Gu, they possess no scruples or compunction regarding selling the American Ideal for a few bucks.
The throwaway comment about "dirty young white boys of the Midwest are willing to sign up for the endless woodchipper" made me mad, because I was a dirty young white boy of the Midwest, and I became a dirty old white man of the Midwest -- still carrying the torch for duty and honor.
There are times when the full weight of what we are up against falls on me, and I'm not sure whether reading about it and being reminded of it is a good thing or bad. I just know this is the world we live in. I'm grateful this Ash Wednesday to be entering a season of reflection and contemplation regarding how wildly I've been blessed, and how very much it cost. I can only hope that remembering will make me more likely to be thankful -- which I believe is the antivenom against the poison I'm forced to drink every day.
I agree with that, up to a point. "They're better than the crap you are usually forced to eat!" used to be called "damning with faint praise" when we had more subtlety in our culture. That the FP is better than the legacy media cannot be disputed.
If Eileen Gu was born and raised and TRAINED in China and she and somehow the circumstances arose that she got a US citizenship and decided to represent USA while continuing to train in China, I wonder how that would have played out?
And yes, Jack is correct here. Of course it's about the $$$. Should we be surprised by any of this? A bit disappointed, sure. I know there is another girl in figure skating that is 100% chinese blood born in US that is representing the US, so yeah...whatcha gonna do.
I personally detest this type of whoring, but as Jack says, it's American.
I would counter that it is not significant at all for anyone under fifty. If not for the graft of venue building it would have died on the vine by now.
As with the Super Bowl I dont know who it’s significant for besides condom manufacturers Apprently.
But the symbolism of switching countries at will esp such diametrically opposed systems is simply not good.
We should believing in our country and system, doubly so for an immigrant, certainly not representing another flag of convenience in what is a highly visible way. Doubly so as representing China is not the same as playing on say an Italian team
When the IOC was deciding on a venue for the 2024 olympics, only two cities applied: Paris and LA. So to save face during when announcing that Paris got 2024, they immediately granted 2028 to LA. [Probably assuming that if they opened up 2028 to bidding nobody would bid.]
After numerous tales of woe involving olympic debt, nobody wants it anymore. The only reason LA bid was because they were going to do it on the cheap and recycle a lot of existing venues.
I'm predicting that the olympics will die by the end of this decade. OR will just be switching back and forth between LA and one or two other cities that already have the infrastructure.
We don't need to speculate. US skater Alysa Liu is Chinese American, her father fled China after Tiananmen Square. When she wouldn't skate for China she was subject to intimidation by Chinese agents and threats against her remaining family in China.
Not disputing this, but also not necessarily believing it. I guess that's what the FBI and her family claim. Such reliable sources. She seems to be comfortable.
I don't believe either side in this geopolitical game, of which the athlete's lamentable plight is barely a footnote, is concerned with the truth.
The important question is whether we should be whipped into a frenzy over "communist" China which the globalist establishment wants to go to war with because it can't be controlled.
Reliability Chart: The reason why Ford is above Lincoln and so on is simple... Ford buyers have different standards. They will delay more maintenance or extend trips to get trivial things fixed or repaired. This is double plus good think true for infotainment and electronics which most people will suffer through and get a quick update during an oil change. Luxury buyers (which is hilarious because does anyone really see Acura or Lincoln as top tier?) do expect and take care of their stuff differently.
F1: I am getting MORE excited if only because I believe races are going to be decided due to reliability and ability to conquer this new era of rules. Sure, that means someone's gonna start off by mopping the floor. It also means we could see some real surprises though as teams finally see real stress testing late in races. The top teams haven't really changed a ton... but the mid field sure has seemingly re-shuffled. We'll see. None of these teams are showing their hand really with energy use yet. Heck, it might not even be worth it be in any pack for a good amount of these races.
Scout: A good friend applied to get a job with them. He's a very good designer at a Detroit Auto Maker with a terrible Female CEO. Thank GOD he did not get the job. Scout is a real circle jerk mess that VW seem intent on continuing to smear around till people finally either fully forget or just don't care. If they make any at all, there is a near zero percent chance they will sell 20k units. You know who would easily sell 20k units? GM with a real Blazer. Pour one out for those true believers but be thankful for what doesn't come to be.
Gu: Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it not common for people to take the money and play for a designated country? What has both terrified and infuriated me this Olympic cycle has one again been the relatively insane world ceremonies and the reporting of 15k condoms being used/vanishing in 3 days in the "Olympic Village". Look, I get that people are going to hook up. Sure, those people are pretty much all decent looking too. But, you're telling me that people can't get together for competition for a few weeks and not have it devolve into some sort of big freak fest?... This is especially true after being accused of weird satanic stuff for the past few cycles. I can tell ya right now, they aint what they used to be so who cares if Gu just decides to get paid.
Bingo. Would have been shooting fish in a barrel. There is still a market for rugged suvs and all they did was shit out a "more stylish" Equinox. Jeep sells every Wrangler. Ford sells every Bronco. The market isn't saturated which is why they had to price them upmarket in many ways. Body of frame vehicles are far from dead. Wish the big 3 would recognize that. Simple motors, simple suspension, big interiors, and body on frame with 4wd options. It isn't hard to plan for. What IS hard to plan for is what Ford is trying to do with that sub 30k dollar EV truck they keep pumping. Guess what, it probably isn't going to be EV only. If it is, it will die the same death as the Lightning and the Lightning was a normalish pickup of decent size and capability for the American market. If it can't make it, nothing can.
The track-and-field teams are having lung-capacity contests by seeing who can blow them up the biggest, and the hurlers are making balloon animals with them. Some of the wrestlers are pissing in them and using them as water balloons. The swimmers are using them as swim caps to save weight. At least one bobsledder has attempted to fit his entire body into one in order to reduce drag at high speed. Unwrapped and unused condoms have been found all over the Village, carefully laid out to resemble the Olympic linked-ring logo.
I think the condom thing is not what it entirely appears, I'm sure most of those are stuffed into luggage to be brought home as souvenirs, as opposed to being stuffed into a smoking hot Dutch speed skater.
It's a world athletic event, not the VANS Skate Tour. I'd think condoms as souvenirs would be both inappropriate and extremely untrustworthy. (I wouldn't trust 'em... that's for sure.)
How is Ford within spitting distance of a solid top 10 rating yet set records for recalls?
They sell a lot of trucks, so ANY recall lights up the board there.
Recall visits aren't typically counted in reliability datasets.
Thanks! Seems odd.
Most recall repairs are "scheduled" and don't involve a "failure", just like they don't count visits to dealers for oil changes as dings against "reliability".
The two things are not remotely comparable, but thanks for the explanation. I did not know that.
They are comparable in that neither resulted in an "unscheduled trip" to the dealer, ie. a failure.
Probably because they fix the issue before it fucks you in the ass. Aka a quality operating system that works albeit not preventative. Like half of one.
Re EV sales in the UK, there are substantial tax benefits to having an EV as your company car. So if you are just trolling to and from the office they might make a kind of sense. Of course, the Govt now wants to charge you something per mile (3p for now, but only ever going one way) to make up for the HUGE amount of money they won't be getting from taxes on petrol, so there is a great wailing and gnashing of teeth about how this will kill EV sales stone dead. Hey ho...round and round we go!
Somewhat related: Perhaps my most awkward consulting moment was back in the early 00's when I picked up the UK managing director in my MB V-8 E class at O'Hare while his E class back home had a....less powerful engine. I'm sure he wondered how much the American company was paying me.
His was probably a diesel as well!
Would love an E500, would absolutely love a E320 CDI or BlueTec.
Perhaps he had a 4-banger? Not really enough to move the weight.
You really wouldn’t have wanted my 2003. There was always something wrong - not a joke- and the interior both leather and cloth was as durable as cashmere.
My wife loved it so it endured. I was so happy when a good old boy backed his trailer hitch through the grill and radiator I almost wept with joy.
so how are they proposing to track how many miles one drives?
Good question. Yet more bureaucracy. It’s easy at the annual safety check after three years, but before? I don’t know; I don’t buy new and I don’t buy EVs so I kind of skimmed the story.
well the communist gov't in this state doesn't require any safety checks, and EV's obviously don't need emissions testing, so that leave them requiring a tracking device on everyone's cars. Hell NO!
Oh yes, better believe theyre on that.
Don't worry, even if you've no tracker on your car, we'll just get your cellphone gps records and bill you
Nah, not reliable enough. Better put cell data and gps in the car. That way, they can't be left behind.
How long before commercial GPS spoofers become a thing?
Spoofing GPS is ridiculously easy, cheap, and highly illegal.
How easy? When Pokémon Go came out about 10 years ago, people were spoofing their phone's location to go around and automatically collect Pokémon to make their profiles better and worth more when they sold them. Crazy but true.
Probably a mandatory box that plugs into the OBDII connector - that YOU have to pay for.
Grrrr, yes. And which will also track your real time speed and location, and send you automated speeding etc tickets and toll bills in the mail, cc'd to your insurance company so they can raise your rate in real time (they will also probably want to charge you per mile driven). All for "your benefit".
If that happens, some enterprising fellow is going to make a bundle selling fakes that can pass police inspection.
Safer to sell an in-line spoofer. Easy to remove just before any inspection...
Plus there is a 100% tax on gasoline and all sorts of in town penalties and purchase for ICE.
Thats why a honda CTR is like 75K there and even more in France. Even with all that the EU has had to walk back its 2035 Ice ban.
Just heard today Stellantis EU brands are going back to producing diesel cars.
in oter news Alpine boss says the new ev a110 will weigh 3500lbs hopefully ie 1000lbs more than the Ice one, but have lots of hp, lets see how far it can travel and what it costs. Needless to say theyre not going to try and sell it here.
Cancer from diesel particulates, and eventual death -- the ultimate ICE tax.
That too, I work hard to ensure my old Mercedes Diesel emit NO visible smoke (soot) but I expect to explode in cancer on of these days after a lifetime sucking exhaust fumes .
-Nate
The EV Boxster looks to be dead. Nothing but good news.
Thyre still continuing with the Audi version which is engineered by porche.
But yeah USA is 50+% of sales and China won’t buy the German ev so it’s really more like USA 80% I can see the wisdom for porche not even wasting the marketing budget on it
Petrol in the UK is something like $8/gal. Mostly taxes. EVs make more sense when fuel is 3-4x the cost.
And the distances are generally shorter.
Ignorance sure is bliss. I'm so far removed from the "new" car world that I had never heard of Scout until now. I thought that side of International Harvester went tits up in the 80s anyhow.
If I were fabulously wealthy I'd own an S model Tesla. Outside of that, I wouldn't take an EV for free at gunpoint. In a bit of irony, would my environmental superiors allow the use of lead or copper for the bullet? Perhaps they'd make me commit suicide by forcing me to watch a porno involving the cast of "The View".
I'm glad the Commander still has faith. He may be at the forefront of a little renaissance here in America. Too many things are crashing at once to make the current trajectory sustainable. On a different topic, have you seen where prison inmates in Colorado won a court case regarding forced labor? Seems the wise voters abolished involuntary servitude, even for punishment, in the state constitution. Brave prediction. They will demand (and get) minimum wage and form a union within the next 5-10 years. Let's see California try to top that!
In the 80s International sold or closed every division (and the IH name/logo) except trucks and engines rebranding itself as Navistar. VW bought them out in 2020 which gave VW the Scout nameplate.
IH had a plant in Canton, IL, a small town in the middle of nowhere (no interstate for 30+ miles) about a half hour from here. It made sense in the 1800s when they built it -- as it was right in the heart of farm country, had decent rail connections, and lots and lots of coal to generate power. By the time they closed it, Canton had a 100 year long case of UAW Entitlement Syndrome. The Canton IH workers had their own local (UAW 1357).
In 1997 (15-ish years after it closed), the IH plant there caught fire and burned out of control for weeks, until the entire 31 acre facility had burnt. The site was so heavily contaminated that there was 25 years of litigation before there was finally a cute little $2.1M settlement. The plant is still a brownfield and canker right in the middle of town, 45 years after it closed and 30 years after it burnt.
There are people out there who still think Toyota or some such is going to buy and develop the plant. Such is the delusion of the UAW-class here in Central Illinois. Other unions remain strong, but the UAW was hobbled, then crippled by CAT here about the time the IH plant was burning.
Since we were so close to the plant, there were a lot of IH dealers in the area, and all of them would sell a Scout if somebody was inclined to buy one. Even though this was farm country, almost nobody did, unless it was a "buy a combine, get a Scout for free" proposition. They were horrible little pieces of garbage that began rusting as they sat out next to the tractors on the "lot".
I would say that nobody will ever develop the Canton brownfield into anything ever again, but then again I never thought that VW would think of "Scout" as anything but a pejorative.
Prisoners in Colorado winning a case in re labor reminds one of the occasion, several years ago, in the state of Oregon, when a new and costly (of course) prison facility was prevented from opening because the planners had failed to provide a Native American sweat lodge for penitents. Someone, anyone, please, send help!!
Have them work on a road crew all day out in the sun. There's your sweat lodge.
Isn't that tough to pull off in the Pacific Northwest?
Not in eastern OR.
...and even in western Oregon the license plate that's facing south when your car's parked in the carport will get sunburned in a few years.
Ah, the old cultural trust plate in particular. My mom had one, but switched to the new plate. I told her she should keep the old faded one because it's harder to read. She of course didn't listen.
Ironically, the prisoners refusing to be slaves may ultimately inspire the powers that be to turn them into kibble.
I’m not a prisoner but am a slave
point me to a person who isn't...
*Clears his throat, looks at his shoes, finally speaks*
I'm not.
I'm sorry for your situation. May I suggest you start and operate a small business, so that you can be a free man as well?
uhhh, this could go down a rabbit hole, but i get your point. I've been self employed from ages of 18-36 and corporate from 36-50. So, I'm pretty versed in both.
With that being said, I contend we are all slaves
until we are gone.
Fair enough. We won't go down the hole.
Freedom arises from feeling unconstrained. I wouldn't say my freedom is absolute -- but I would say that I'm very free on the balance, because I can generally choose where/when I'm going to be constrained. My constraints are mostly self-imposed, and that's enough for me.
Sure, I pay taxes -- but taxes are the price of civilized society. Paying them doesn't make one a slave.
Fear not Charles ;
It's possible to break the cycle if you work at it and get a few lucky breaks .
-Nate
(who made *very* good use of those bootstraps provided)
BUICK!?!
Is this "initial quality"? Because measuring "initial quality" is like measuring marital happiness among couples at their own wedding reception.
That's where you have the DJ play Steel Panther's "Fat Girl."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x67jtMPfdTw
It's a bummer about the F1 drivetrain, because the smaller and seemingly more nimble chassis could potential make for some more skillful and craft-y racing.
It could all be fixed with a righteous 10 cyl powertrain.
100%
a naturally aspirated hybridless v10 is what would heal the sport
I'd come back to watch/hear v10"s. And when his lordship is gone.
3.5 liter NA. Cylinder count is free.
I like that a lot.
Ah come on, 4.0 flat.
I take it we're talking about one of those 1800cc F1 V-10s here.
Gianni propsed 3.5 NA, cylinder count free. I like that a lot.
It’s the 1989 formula that banned turbos. 3.5 liter normally aspirated 8 to 12 cylinders. No fuel restrictions.
No, we've got to give the teams an eco- fig-leaf (as they fly their traveling circus around the world).
Bio fuel, or synthetic fuel. Some "carbon neutral" nonsense.
Next thing you know they are going to be racing pedal cars.
F that s.
Well, if it's a fig-leaf, why not limit them to ... oh, say 5,000 gallons of fuel per weekend. At least they'd be able to say they are "limited" ...
All they have to do is get rid of the fuel flow rate restrictions so they can max out the revs.
I'll never forget my bones tingling from the wail of the 3-liter V-10 back in 2000 at Indy. I believe it was in 2001 that BWM brought a 3-liter V-10 that would spin to 22,000 RPM during qualifying. Forget the cameras, I should have brought a fancy microphone and some audio recording equipment...
Geez - anything positive at all this week, Jack?
I’ve been thinking about Scout from time to time lately too with the winds of change in the EV market these days and I wouldn’t bet against you that they won’t be built.
And on a positive note - I noticed you were credited for a Ford Tempo ad on the insurance company website this week and questioned it. Apparently they muffed up.
My proudest moment was the Ford Tempo ad... or it WOULD have been, anyway!
ok, there must be good back story to this ad.
Glad to hear the good news on Julius. Since you showed him in a hockey mask a la Jason, did anyone else notice we have 2 Friday the 13th in a row? One in February, one in March.
Also, since you showed Vinfast, I see their much-ballyhooed NC factory is delayed by FOUR years to 2028. I sometimes see a Vinfast on my morning commute so I guess it's an employee or an early adopter
I did not know that, but to be precise about a silly picture, the hockey mask is worn by "Waingro" in this circumstance :)
so is tiger dad chris shiherlis or lt hanah
Ah yes. I didn't realize the Grim Reaper was visiting...
Yeah, I read that Michael Dunne piece in The Free Press the other day, and found myself rolling my eyes throughout the whole thing. The saddest thing, in addition to his complete and total ignorance, was that The Free Press treated this article as illuminating some profound truths about EVs that readers just had to know about. Just shows you how bad The Free Press has become.
Between that and their dipshit parade of AI articles... the pigs have definitely moved into the farmer's house, if you feel me.
The reader comments on the Dunne op-ed (certainly couldn't be called a "news" piece) generally ripped it to shreds. Demonstrates that The Free Press has smarter readers than writers.
First America This Week, now the Free Press! Sacrebleu!
Where’s a center-left non-communist but communist adjacent person thinking-all-the-right-things supposed to go?
"Where’s a center-left non-communist but communist adjacent person thinking-all-the-right-things supposed to go?"
I dunno'. I'll call and ask my daughter who fits that description. I'm guessing, "The Free Press", since they've ALWAYS been pretty concerned with "thinking-all-the-right-things". So has she.
Isn't that what NPR is for?
Funny how they didn’t go out of business when the government pulled their funding.
This means that we have to start charging them for using our broadcast spectrum since they can obviously afford to pay.
Oh, she still listens to NPR. Probably gives them money in the beg-a-thon.
They were always left of center, but they had a lot of content that was intelligent and (while presenting things from their viewpoint) insightful. It gave me something to think about.
Then came C19, and they became the propaganda arm of Dr. Anthony Fauci's powerplay. I stopped listening in January 2020, and would check in every few months to see if they were running ANY other story. As of January 2021, they were not. I changed the preset buttons in my work truck to a couple of "family friendly" Christian music stations that give me hives (their idea of "spreading the gospel" does not feel like anything I recognize as being a teaching of Christ).
But anything was better than NPR. Anything at all.
Feel the AGI; Tyler Cowen believes we’ve already surpassed the event horizon last year.
I stopped paying any attention to the Free Press when they made Cowen a regular contributor.
The boomer libertarian certainly knows what he’s talking about
He should be hooked up to an electroshock machine operated by Gemini.
You should listen to his podcast.
I would rather masturbate a horse into a can than listen to a podcast. Both activities are tantamount to jerking off but only one of them fills your head with other men's stupid ideas.
Thus Spake Jack B.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4Z0C_FEUoA
"I would rather masturbate a horse into a can"
can i interest you in a job at glock
I read marginally revolution when i was a optimistic college student. To still believe that crap at 65 is truly amazing. Look around tyler, youve been wrong for 30+ years! I wonder where all the libertarians were during covid. I suspect half were tyrants but i havent read these morons in a long time
Y'know... it's the "can" part that I paused at.
Is it because it'd overflow and you'd have to mop it up?
Is it because it'd be a gusher and too hard to aim?
Is it because it's a soup can and so you'd basically be edging the horse and stopping before completion?
So many questions to understand this Baruth mind, I tell you!
I have taken to having AI write my ACF posts. That way I can say that I neither slandered nor libeled anyone.
It's not slander if it's true.
As long as you comment, the algo is happy!
The more-equal pigs, right?
Precisely.
I've been on the cusp of a Free Press subscription for a year. Glad I waited. This smells like a left turn for no other reason than subs. They've been merging carefully into the left lane for awhile. Publishing this idiot on the virtues of EV's kills it for me. The numb nut may not even know what Sputnik was. Free Press - just another whore.
The unfortunate fact is that the left is the source of ALL prestige in America, so every centrist institution will eventually turn in that direction, if only for reasons of ego and validation.
Isn't "prestige in America" something city folk strive for in their otherwise idle time? You know, the city equivalent of masturbating a horse into a can.
I actually snorted in laughter, Joe. Well played.
That's harsh.
Also, sadly true.
Excellent George Orwell reference, sir.
As an aside, I feel like Jr. High students must no longer be reading "Animal Farm" as a matter of course, or we wouldn't be in the mess we find ourselves in major cities and blue states in this country.
(*edited, because my addled brain continually conflates George Orwell and Orson Welles)
And how stupid most readers are, certainly when it comes to autos, and probably weapons. .
Re. why Honda is above Acura and Huyndai above Genesis; I suspect the reliability has to do with extra tech. Maybe it doesn't even need to break, but a complex system can seem deficient. I for one don't want to go ten levels deep in a touchscreen to change a setting.
Because Genesis sucks
But not the band
Could they play rock and roll?
Is that the criteria? They did Anglican hymns dressed up as rock. Which is not a bad thing.
Let's just say British prog/art rock bands don't usually resonate with me.
Not sure if Pink Floyd is solidly in that genre but I once asked my ex, "How come we don't have hardly any Pink Floyd albums?" She replied, "Because they're depressing."
Pink Floyd is my pick me up
Does Supertramp count as art rock?
Genesis vehicles are bad enough. It's the dealers that take it over the line.
We would have maybe kept my wife’s if the dealer didn’t suck so much.
The fun part of these charts is they don’t actually say what that number means? Problems per 100,000 vehicles? In other words, an insignificant difference. Or is it like the mid 80s Corolla vs the Chevy Nova. Same car. Same factory. Yet the Nova always rates dramatically lower in reliability.
Sounds like how the Holden Monaro had a higher-quality interior than the GTO derived from it.
C'mon, Jack! Do you really think Norwegians and UKers are being "shot or arrested by government agents" for the crime of owning gas cars? Most of that kind of oppression is happening in our own American streets. Hyperbole feeds engagement, I know, but it leads away from the truth. Bold claims like this deserve strong evidence.
Every tax law and every federal regulation has a gun or handcuffs at the end of it. That is the nature of power. If you fail to pay the extra tax on an ICE vehicle, you will be arrested. That's the plain fact.
The UK apparently arrested thousands of people for social media posts in 2025, too, which is wild to me. 1,709 arrests in London alone. That’s almost one for every Rotherham rape they ignored!
Social media censorship is a different issue. Stick to one subject for a minute, please.
One quick google on "UK EV tax penalties" gave me this: "AI Overview
As of April 1, 2025, most UK electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED/road tax), and failure to pay results in an initial £80 fine from the DVLA (reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days). Continued non-payment can lead to clamping, impounding, court prosecution, and fines up to £2,500."
So what about those plugged-in Norwegians? "In 2026, failing to pay road tax (trafikkforsikringsavgift) or toll fees in Norway results in penalties, including late fees, interest, and potential debt collection. Interest on overdue payments is 12% as of January 1, 2026. Non-compliance can lead to fines of court fee (approx. NOK 282.50) per day, up to a limit."
Thank you for inspiring my curiosity about this topic. But you and I know that most readers won't do even one minute of fact-checking. If they remember anything at all, they'll mash this all together and say that 1,700 people in London have been executed over road fee nonpayment.
Your opinion about road taxes is personal. (Personally, I feel that you shouldn't have to pay for repairing public roads if you never use them and do all your driving on private racetracks.) But as a former journalist, I do care about facts and I'm resistant to sloppy thinking and propaganda. I wish you were the same.
EVs are absolutely forced upon buyers in the EU and in Norway as conventionally powered cars are subject to excessive taxes, road and parking closures etc. The UK wants to phase out normal cars in less than four years (lol).
We will see the "Cuba" effect if politicians don't reverse their pro-EV policies. People will just hang on to their old cars forever.
Pickup trucks, by the way, have become very popular in Norway. Diesel-powered ones.
In Europe, the ruling class doesn't have a strong incentive to correct idiot/evil policies as it is quite confident it can hang on to power forever. They have made great advances in rigging elections and striking opposition politicians off the ballots (Romania, France, Germany etc)
EVs make sense in smaller countries if they have the charging infrastructure. Where I live it's non existent even on a 100 mile stretch between two moderatly sized cities.
The funny thing: If it were gas stations that were 100 miles apart it actually wouldn't be a problem.
With their price point, their environmental baggage and their unfortunate driving characteristics, EVs simply make no sense. Unsurprisingly, when you look at who promoted them early on.
stuff you use gets delivered on public roads, for pete's sake. and i can see your counterargument to this so don't bother. SOME things have their cost distributed amongst the public for simplicity's sake. i agree that there are too many.
I kind of get where you are coming from here, but I don't think that most of us are coming here for the *journalism.* (No offense, Jack.)
Hey man, I fact check on AI in seconds.
Then use my remaining 1 minute of time to comment.
Grok is this true?
So do you support the fire department even though you have never had a fire?
Firefighters are always crying about money but they all drive lifted F250s
All volunteers near me so the day job pays for their rides, BUT they do have a fan boat that they donuts with when the river freezes over.
Nothing has made me want to join the fire department more.
Thus my point
‘If they remember anything at all, they’ll mash this all together and say that 1,700 people in London have been executed over road fee nonpayment’.
They’re right, you really can’t hate journalists enough.
EV discussions get emotional and biased very fast. Hence, I love them as it brings out the human side.
or the lizard one
haha, true.
Took me a while to even see the lizard angle on them as I was mostly focused on the insta-infinite torque delivery. But I do get the point...
Do you wear a monocle?
Too bad the Brits don’t have the freedoms Russian posters do.
Might have something to do with the respective popularity of the political leadership, and it certainly is indicative of the shamelessness and rot in the UK.
After my 4th WSJ comment ban, I couldn't agree more.
Paid "St. Petersburg disunity specialist?" post away, comrade!
"Dirty young white boy of the Midwest, willing to sign up for the endless woodchipper?" Down in front!
12,000+ arrests for social media posts nationally
yeah theres been a huge crackdown on people ramming cops with their cars
clearly fascist
“Most of that kind of oppression is happening in our own American streets.”
And…
“Hyperbole feeds engagement, I know, but it leads away from the truth. Bold claims like this deserve strong evidence.”
journalism challenge
difficulty: impossible
There's a reason why I call myself a writer, like my last name, and not a journalist, even though I've done news.
A journalist is a person who writes in their journal, the majority being 13-year old girls and those of that same mental age.
The assertion “bold claims like this deserve (/require) strong evidence” is both prima facie true, illogically difficult to assail and also somehow totally retarded. Wjth a totally fundamentally dishonest press (“Siri, what is the most numerous (yet innumerate) and poorly compensated group of Epstein-protectors and Epstein apologists on earth?”) it’s hard to get people to understand that you have to give credence to claims that have, eg 1st party evidence or video but not an NYT article.
Tough world for strong claims.
"The engines are “derating” on the straights; one source predicts 50-60km/h passes being a constant thing as the hybrid systems gain and lose power"
shaping up to be the worst f1 cars ever built. the season hasnt even started and im already waiting for a rule change to make them less lame
"What was the Scout thing supposed to be, again?"
what were any of the ev lumps supposed to be anyway? whats the difference between this and a luce (other than the luce actually getting built)? body panels and a nicer interior?
"The UK? That’s sharia law. Not really, but you get the point"
rupert lowe might be the only guy willing and able to prevent things sliding further in that direction as farage seems to be okay with grooming gangs now
"Every EV battery plant that does not get built in America is a strategic vulnerability"
is that why stellantis pulled out of the windsor battery plant and sold its 49% stake for a hunnid bucks?
"Building a world-class EV and battery industry requires that America commit to 10 years of uninterrupted, intense effort"
but why bother? also didnt they just find 1.5t of lithium hidden under a volcano in the us somewhere? that always seems to happen
"she considers herself American when she is in America, but Chinese when she is in China"
sounds about on par with what everyone says an american is which appears to include everyone in the world somehow. anyway smash
Funny, but I never consider myself to be a Chicagoan when I’m back in Chicago.
Eileen must be bi-something or other.
Toora, loora, toora, loo-rye-aye.
15k condoms means someone likely did cum on eileen
Only if they use them wrong? I mean if you are going to pull out anyway...
bro idk
some of the most attractive and physically capable people are clapping cheeks nonstop over there
Im sure even in the Olympic village 10 dudes are getting laid and all of the chicks are
What happens when a guaranteed condom has a hole in it? The guarantee runs out.
Thanks for that bad memory.
You are welcome. :-)
https://youtu.be/HwVnX4ZgliY?si=-oBHj9k_YD8XyGKu
Now you crossed the line!
Thank God YouTube starts in mute mode.
When I was in Dublin in the late 90’s, I walked into a music store. They had a whole section of this band’s CD’s.
all girls are bi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK1vLDPVs90
Duh!
In my experience, all girls are only bi very early in my relationships, and I don't think my amazing technique is what makes them lose interest in including other women.
So many going with bitch these days
Marked safe from buying any thing electric, and marked safe from buying anything with a kill switch mandated into it…
I am not surprised about Rivian, undercapitalized, overly expensive, decent styling, but not sustainable, even in the lexicon of socialist dreams..
I read that the United Kingdom has seen a resurgence of oil burners, electric vehicles don’t seem to be going over very well there, and it seems like they are only popular where governments are willing to subsidize their purchase. Electric vehicles are not ready for prime time, they are less reliable when the weather has its normal extremes. I worked on hybrid diesel electric refrigeration systems, very much like a diesel locomotive, everything on that system except for the engine was electric powered, fan motors, compressors, heating elements, all of that stuff burns out or fails in some nonrepairable fashion, equal to non hybrid systems, and don’t forget that transformers and micro processors, and the temperature extremes that those components see, it’s rather amazing how long they last, but they ultimately do fail.
Americans are reminded never to buy an EV every month when they pay their electric bill.
^ Comment of the week ^
Opie Taylor: “To catch a varmint, you have to think like a varmint.”
Thank you.
We have a bunch of solar panels on our roof, and they have already paid for themselves (in less than 10 years) and we power an EV, 2 hybrid cars, and 2 big HVAC units off them
Not because your solar panels are that amazing, but because you live in San Diego. I left San Diego for Boise. My electric rate is $0.0993 per KWh. I used 54 KWh per day last August. How many decades will it take for non government subsidized solar to pay for itself at my latitude?
Edit: So imagine the payoff calculation in a world where solar panels compete on the free market and aren't subsidized AND where SDGE can make power almost as cheaply as Idaho Power. The calculations don't look good, to me.
your electricity comes from cheap hydro power
ours comes from something stupid expensive; I think our rate is ~ $0.5/kwh
Don’t forget my contribution as a taxpayer! (joke)
your contribution was greatly appreciated! lol
I will stop in if I’m ever nearby for some air conditioning!
It’s no joke.
And to think we have the intellectual horsepower to get a working fusion reactor off the ground, all in one spot, at the end of WWII, and we didn't keep going.
Went to Los Alamos in Jan, really interesting place.
i often wonder did peopel get more stupid, I mean what happened to all the types who became physicists back then. Working in finance now apparently. Pretty sad.
People didn't get stupider.
All the intellectual horsepower that would've built spaceships and moonbases and flying cars and bionics went into law and finance and programming instead of engineering and aerospace because that's where the money and prestige is.
You tell people you invented a new rocket engine that cuts the trip to Mars from a year to a week and it's Zero Fucks Given. You tell people you invented ChatGPT or the Google AI and you've got 30 hangers-on crowding you.
and if you tell people you've increased "shareholder value" by 20% you will have thousands of MBA followers!
Also, the safety culture in the Western World doesn't really allow huge gains to happen.
Problem is that some of the greatest technologies would be tougher to profit from. Capitalism does have its downsides...
I agree 100% traditional engineering trajectories have 10 years of experience median salary ranges that match many starting salaries for the tech and banker bros. Yet another reason why everything from pencil sharpeners to space ships are seemingly worse to use now than they were 50 years ago.
Someone recently said that Elon Musk is inspiring two generations of engineers to make actual things, rather than software apps. I don't know how true that is, but it would be nice to have a renaissance of American manufacturing.
Elon is a force of nature. imagine if you had made 120 mill, woudl you risk it all and then some by trying to enter the auto industry and rocket industry at the same time, I mean those are the two worst industries to try conquer and no one has succeed at that since ww2, yet along come Elon. Hes a salesman bullshitter who actually delivers maybe late but delivers and he's got balls to leave his chips on the table.
Yeah there is a lot to be said for wanting to just build something, to be part of moving humanity forwards, probably more personally rewarding than being a stockbroker. But modern society placed engineers at the level of paid help, its about time that profession got some deserved prestige back.
Never more than the last 6 months. Duke electric rates in SW Ohio are up 30-40% since last spring.
You can thank AI datacenters.
Last spring? Data centers in SW Ohio? No, I don’t think so. Data centers don’t get to be the blame for everything.
Actually, what I suspect is PUCO approved the Duke increase because Duke “invested” in very expensive energy production, renewable, and needed a price increase. I’d like someone in the statehouse to audit PUCO and audit Duke and find out what is going on.
Oh but you are getting higher quality electricity.
Regular, unleaded electricity is fine for me, thanks.
use the right octane electricity or your connection will have high ping
I know you like "The Free Press" and all, but I subscribed for 3 or 4 months in late '24 (before spending my money here), and decided that the entire conceit wasn't living up to its billing.
The interesting thing to me is what is happening with the "online autopress" ("The Drive", etc.). Their articles (the ones that come up on every social media or news feed) have become so blatantly "approved narrative" political, that I've taken to leaving one comment ("At what point did you decide you hated cars?") or another ("What's it like to completely sell out?") depending on if the article is "Trump's EPA Is Gutting the Clean Air Act" or "Why China is Totally Awesome and Is Completely Eating America's Lunch!" I've never voted for "The Donald", but I'm starting to see why so many people did. This is full-on nuts.
So, I'm never surprised when "The Free Press" or Dan from the WSJ wax poetic about their ongoing love affair with the PRC -- I figure from what I know, China's got a near bottomless well of money available for anybody in the western press who will parrot the party line. And like Eileen Gu, they possess no scruples or compunction regarding selling the American Ideal for a few bucks.
The throwaway comment about "dirty young white boys of the Midwest are willing to sign up for the endless woodchipper" made me mad, because I was a dirty young white boy of the Midwest, and I became a dirty old white man of the Midwest -- still carrying the torch for duty and honor.
There are times when the full weight of what we are up against falls on me, and I'm not sure whether reading about it and being reminded of it is a good thing or bad. I just know this is the world we live in. I'm grateful this Ash Wednesday to be entering a season of reflection and contemplation regarding how wildly I've been blessed, and how very much it cost. I can only hope that remembering will make me more likely to be thankful -- which I believe is the antivenom against the poison I'm forced to drink every day.
"The Drive" is another "Workers and Peasants Glorious Revolutionary Automobile Site of Internets" in the mold of Jalopnik.
lol, you have potential for a career as a communist party PR person
I appreciate the FP because they’re free to be stupid sometimes, whereas most of the legacy rags are compelled to be so all the time.
I agree with that, up to a point. "They're better than the crap you are usually forced to eat!" used to be called "damning with faint praise" when we had more subtlety in our culture. That the FP is better than the legacy media cannot be disputed.
That's a low bar to clear.
If Eileen Gu was born and raised and TRAINED in China and she and somehow the circumstances arose that she got a US citizenship and decided to represent USA while continuing to train in China, I wonder how that would have played out?
And yes, Jack is correct here. Of course it's about the $$$. Should we be surprised by any of this? A bit disappointed, sure. I know there is another girl in figure skating that is 100% chinese blood born in US that is representing the US, so yeah...whatcha gonna do.
I personally detest this type of whoring, but as Jack says, it's American.
and in the greater scheme of things the olympics are insignificant.
But the imagery and message is not insignificant.
I would counter that it is not significant at all for anyone under fifty. If not for the graft of venue building it would have died on the vine by now.
As with the Super Bowl I dont know who it’s significant for besides condom manufacturers Apprently.
But the symbolism of switching countries at will esp such diametrically opposed systems is simply not good.
We should believing in our country and system, doubly so for an immigrant, certainly not representing another flag of convenience in what is a highly visible way. Doubly so as representing China is not the same as playing on say an Italian team
It has died.
When the IOC was deciding on a venue for the 2024 olympics, only two cities applied: Paris and LA. So to save face during when announcing that Paris got 2024, they immediately granted 2028 to LA. [Probably assuming that if they opened up 2028 to bidding nobody would bid.]
After numerous tales of woe involving olympic debt, nobody wants it anymore. The only reason LA bid was because they were going to do it on the cheap and recycle a lot of existing venues.
I'm predicting that the olympics will die by the end of this decade. OR will just be switching back and forth between LA and one or two other cities that already have the infrastructure.
We don't need to speculate. US skater Alysa Liu is Chinese American, her father fled China after Tiananmen Square. When she wouldn't skate for China she was subject to intimidation by Chinese agents and threats against her remaining family in China.
Thanks for clearing that up
Not disputing this, but also not necessarily believing it. I guess that's what the FBI and her family claim. Such reliable sources. She seems to be comfortable.
I'm deeply suspicious of the Feds but I just can't see the FBI being less credible than the CCP. You can call me naive if you want.
I don't believe either side in this geopolitical game, of which the athlete's lamentable plight is barely a footnote, is concerned with the truth.
The important question is whether we should be whipped into a frenzy over "communist" China which the globalist establishment wants to go to war with because it can't be controlled.
Out of order....
Reliability Chart: The reason why Ford is above Lincoln and so on is simple... Ford buyers have different standards. They will delay more maintenance or extend trips to get trivial things fixed or repaired. This is double plus good think true for infotainment and electronics which most people will suffer through and get a quick update during an oil change. Luxury buyers (which is hilarious because does anyone really see Acura or Lincoln as top tier?) do expect and take care of their stuff differently.
F1: I am getting MORE excited if only because I believe races are going to be decided due to reliability and ability to conquer this new era of rules. Sure, that means someone's gonna start off by mopping the floor. It also means we could see some real surprises though as teams finally see real stress testing late in races. The top teams haven't really changed a ton... but the mid field sure has seemingly re-shuffled. We'll see. None of these teams are showing their hand really with energy use yet. Heck, it might not even be worth it be in any pack for a good amount of these races.
Scout: A good friend applied to get a job with them. He's a very good designer at a Detroit Auto Maker with a terrible Female CEO. Thank GOD he did not get the job. Scout is a real circle jerk mess that VW seem intent on continuing to smear around till people finally either fully forget or just don't care. If they make any at all, there is a near zero percent chance they will sell 20k units. You know who would easily sell 20k units? GM with a real Blazer. Pour one out for those true believers but be thankful for what doesn't come to be.
Gu: Correct me if I'm wrong, but is it not common for people to take the money and play for a designated country? What has both terrified and infuriated me this Olympic cycle has one again been the relatively insane world ceremonies and the reporting of 15k condoms being used/vanishing in 3 days in the "Olympic Village". Look, I get that people are going to hook up. Sure, those people are pretty much all decent looking too. But, you're telling me that people can't get together for competition for a few weeks and not have it devolve into some sort of big freak fest?... This is especially true after being accused of weird satanic stuff for the past few cycles. I can tell ya right now, they aint what they used to be so who cares if Gu just decides to get paid.
I would have bought a REAL Blazer if it had comparable capabilities as a Jeep GC. But, nope, its not remotely close.
Bingo. Would have been shooting fish in a barrel. There is still a market for rugged suvs and all they did was shit out a "more stylish" Equinox. Jeep sells every Wrangler. Ford sells every Bronco. The market isn't saturated which is why they had to price them upmarket in many ways. Body of frame vehicles are far from dead. Wish the big 3 would recognize that. Simple motors, simple suspension, big interiors, and body on frame with 4wd options. It isn't hard to plan for. What IS hard to plan for is what Ford is trying to do with that sub 30k dollar EV truck they keep pumping. Guess what, it probably isn't going to be EV only. If it is, it will die the same death as the Lightning and the Lightning was a normalish pickup of decent size and capability for the American market. If it can't make it, nothing can.
not sure about "more stylish" rather "more expensive Equinox"
putting the Blazer and Trailblazer names on lame CUVs is just sacriledge
That's what GM insists. They believe it to be their Murano.
My sister is on her third Blazer. The first two were leases. Since the Blazer is going EV only, she decided to BUY a Blazer RS.
Her tastes have always been suspect.
i'm sure they are just fine for mall runs and taking the kids to grandma's.
but they are not good for real off road use.
I try to take emotion out of those things, because using the Blazer name was stupid.
As a piece of transportation, it’s the least ugly blob GM offers. That’s not a compliment.
The car’s only saving grace is the RS has the corporate V6 with 300 hp.
For offroad use they will sell you the HUMMER EV!
They can give me one of those for free, and I’ll still park it by the curb and not drive it.
I have to imagine there's a team at Chevy currently Bronco-izing the Colorado, but - re: GM - I've been wrong before (and by before, I mean, always).
I doubt it. Certainly not going to hold my breath waiting for that.
They killed off the truck based Trailblazer in 2008.
I would really like to see a YT video of their product planning reviews. Though on second thought it would probably be very bad for my blood pressure.
"... and the reporting of 15k condoms being used/vanishing in 3 days in the "Olympic Village".
Turns out that athletes are grabbing handfuls to take home as souvenirs...
The track-and-field teams are having lung-capacity contests by seeing who can blow them up the biggest, and the hurlers are making balloon animals with them. Some of the wrestlers are pissing in them and using them as water balloons. The swimmers are using them as swim caps to save weight. At least one bobsledder has attempted to fit his entire body into one in order to reduce drag at high speed. Unwrapped and unused condoms have been found all over the Village, carefully laid out to resemble the Olympic linked-ring logo.
If this isn't true, it ought to be.
Right. Nobody uses condoms
HAHA
I think the condom thing is not what it entirely appears, I'm sure most of those are stuffed into luggage to be brought home as souvenirs, as opposed to being stuffed into a smoking hot Dutch speed skater.
It's a world athletic event, not the VANS Skate Tour. I'd think condoms as souvenirs would be both inappropriate and extremely untrustworthy. (I wouldn't trust 'em... that's for sure.)
Better to have and not need than need and not have…even if it is a promotional item first and a functional product second. (What isn't these days?)
the vans "get off in her walls" tour