Note: Events are taking me on the road before the cock crows, so today the post is something from behind the green door. This post is from a a week ago when I had to rent a car. Something similar is happening this weekend but for entirely different reasons, so the post is appropriate.
We are expecting the white death this weekend and my car is useless in the snow, so I booked a rental for the weekend. God’s country is expecting five to eight inches of snow on Saturday and the tiny roads will not see a plow until late Sunday, so I needed something that could give me a chance to get off the mountain. I booked what the web site said was a front wheel drive Volkswagen or similar.
The key words are always “or similar” with rental cars and “similar” turned out to be a Jeep Gladiator, which is like a Jeep with a pickup bed on it. It did not cost more and they were happy to see me take it, so it worked out for the best. I can now haul some junk from Lagos to the new place. That and the thing is pretty much a tank, so I should have no trouble in the snow.
Standing in the lot waiting for the rental car guy to do his thing, I looked around at the cars and struggled to tell the models. I am not a car guy, but I used to know a Toyota from a Ford without much trouble. Car companies all had their distinctive styles, which was one way they differentiated themselves. Cars are a utility good, but aesthetics are what gets people to sign on the dotted line.
I was reminded of something a crazy guy told me when I was a teenager. He said that by the time I was his age, all cars would look the same. His reasoning was that the drive for efficiency would lead to a singular shape that was the most efficient both in terms of aerodynamics, but also in design cost. All the car maker’s efforts were converging on a singularity of sorts and all cars would look the same.
Crazy guy was mostly right. In the economy and mid-market range, it is hard to tell one model from another. It is not just the exterior. Inside they are all the same too. Options vary, but the options list from Toyota is no different from the options list at the other makers and the pricing is the same. Like the rental car page, we are reaching a point where cars are just small, medium, large and similar.
There are exceptions to this process. The Jeeps are outliers. Ford is selling a Bronco that is supposed to compete with the Jeep, but the best I can tell the Bronco is more like the other SUV’s on the market. The Jeep is a genuine off-road vehicle, even in this age of safety compliance and standardization. Driving this thing around is not quite like a pickup truck and nothing like an SUV.
Of course, there are sports cars. I stopped to grab the mail and there was a Corvette in the parking lot. Like the Jeep, it fills a category unique to itself. It is not in the same league as a Porsche or the high-end BMW’s and Audis. It is not a supercar, but it is not a muscle car either. I see a lot of the new models around so they must be popular with people who are not conformists.
I used to joke that if a man fell asleep in 1965 and awoke in the modern age, he would walk around a parking lot thinking the commies won the Cold War. The aesthetics of this age are dreadful and they are getting worse. That Corvette I saw in the parking lot was like a singular flower blooming against a black and white scene. The dreary cars around it threatening to snuff out the last bit of beauty.
The raises the question of why the car makers are not doing as they did in the past and making weird looking cars. The main reason is the economics of car making have stamped out all signs of adventurism. Every automotive executive knows the story of Saab and its last years making cars. The engineers and managers wanted to make cool cars, but that brought risk and that meant added cost.
General Motors owned Saab at the time and they were not interested in taking risks so they finally shuttered the Saab brand. When you learn about the story of how Saab died you cannot help but think that it was more than just economics. The ugly people at GM could not tolerate the free thinking that was the spirit of the Saab brand. They were the gray background swallowing up the colorful flower.
Of course, there needs to be a market for risk taking. America is no longer a place for young risk takers. It is a place for old fuddy-duddies who live in constant fear of risk because risk could mean the icy hand of death. America has always been a business and now it is a mature business with little tolerance for risk, so even if you wanted to make a funky car for the masses, the market would be small.
At the new place, I noticed that everyone seems to drive a Subaru or a pickup truck with most drives have one of each. The Subaru is great for bad weather driving on hilly country roads and the pickup is good for hauling stuff. I am not ready to be a Subaru man, so maybe I will like this Jeep enough to buy one. Maybe buy a red one so I can be that flower blooming in the grayness for a little while longer.
If you like my work and wish to kick in a few bucks, you can buy me a beer. You can sign up for a SubscribeStar subscription and get some extra content. You can donate via PayPal. My crypto addresses are here for those who prefer that option. You can send gold bars to: Z Media LLC P.O. Box 432 Cockeysville, MD 21030-0432. Thank you for your support!
Promotions: Good Svffer is an online retailer partnering with several prolific content creators on the Dissident Right, both designing and producing a variety of merchandise including shirts, posters, and books. If you are looking for a way to let the world know you are one of us without letting the world know you are one one is us, then you should but a shirt with the Lagos Trading Company logo.
The Pepper Cave produces exotic peppers, pepper seeds and plants, hot sauce and seasonings. Their spice infused salts are a great add to the chili head spice armory, so if you are a griller, take you spice business to one of our guys.
Above Time Coffee Roasters are a small, dissident friendly company that roasts its own coffee and ships all over the country. They actually roast the beans themselves based on their own secret coffee magic. If you like coffee, buy it from these folks as they are great people who deserve your support.
Havamal Soap Works is the maker of natural, handmade soap and bath products. If you are looking to reduce the volume of man-made chemicals in your life, all-natural personal products are a good start.
Minter & Richter Designs makes high-quality, hand-made by one guy in Boston, titanium wedding rings for men and women and they are now offering readers a fifteen percent discount on purchases if you use this link. If you are headed to Boston, they are also offering my readers 20% off their 5-star rated Airbnb. Just email them directly to book at sales@minterandrichterdesigns.com.
The only place to see “colorful” vehicles these days is at a truckstop.
The truck owners are the last remaining guys who give their rides some flair.
2
No kidding. East Asia sees all manners of color schemes and custom configurations (and i do mean all). In America it’s like everyone adopted “little old lady’s buick”. It’s gotten so drab.
5
Beg to differ, and I’m not a Vette freak, but it is an animal, just like a Porsche or high end AMG MB or high end BMW. The newer Vette body style is more like a European exotic, unfortunately, as far as I am concerned.
3
The next step after that is for the companies and the bankers to talk and come to the conclusion that since they are doing pretty much the same thing in pretty much the same way, why not merge and save money? So they do it, cut employees, release less cars, raise the prices, and collect the rents for as long as they are able to.
It’s just one more stage in the life of the company and the empire, as the two are so intertwined.
2
I think that’s the key thing. When alot of these companies started out, they had their own ethos and their own ways of doing things. The nature of ‘big business’ being what it is, is it any surprise that when all the smaller companies get gobbled up by huge conglomerates, that things start looking the same?
In the end, late stage corporatism seems to have the same affect on beauty as late stage communism.
9
Remember… Marx argued that it was late-stage capitalism that made communism inevitable.
4
But did he predict that you’d hardly be able to tell the difference?
10
1
Xman,
I’ll have to defer to you on that one, as I’ve never read anything about or by Marx!
But I must say, if Marx had a problem with late-stage capitalism, then I must say I’m with him on that. Shame about his Godless, Even-more-Evil solution!
2
A new Jeep is one thing. I would not want to own one of the current ones as they get on in years.
Find a Toyota for reliability and all the hauling, 4×4, etc.
Our betters in Africa and the ME use them for a reason…
8
Had a Toyo truck then a Subie hatchback for decades. Well over 200K, ran like tops.
Both taken out by semis. No, not the SAME semi.
I liked cars better when metal instead of plastic surrounded me.
6
And less digital. A modern vehicle is a computer on wheels
2
Scary. Where do you live and drive?
In Africa a decade and a half ago, the two cars used for off roading were land Rover and land cruiser, a Toyota line. Both were built for genuine work and not as suburban toys. The difference was that land Rover was more conservative in its upgrades so or was often easier to get parts for an older model.
Conspicuously absent were American and German 4x4s. They are probably more built for weekend dad in the West and not the dust, heat and absent maintenance of Africa
2
Z,
Aside from the Jeep putting in a good show on the road, how do you find it ‘tech-wise’? Is it chock full of confusing buttons and gadgets that spy on you?!
Seriously, I’ve become befuddled by modern cars, and I’m not even 40 yet.
4
>Is it chock full of confusing buttons and gadgets that spy on you?
Agree. I’ll stick with my ’97 Mazda B4000 pickup.
2
Indeed, Clayton.
I mean, power-steering and sound chassis design are great things; but there are so many utterly useless features that seem to make their way into a car nowadays.
A couple of years back, a friend bought a brand new Mercedes A-Class. I always thought these were small, hatchback type cars, but when I got inside, boy was it spacious. For me, it was quite luxurious. Said friend then proceeded to show me the ‘feature’ that light up the car with different colours to the beat of the playing music.
Huh?!
Agreed, I don’t care for all of the wizardry with little utility and might not be supported in decades to come. We buy older used cars rather than the new overpriced stuff and try to keep them on the road as long as possible.
Another example of the trend to see every device as another smart phone is the laundry machine. They are loaded with buttons and options despite the fact that the only three variables that can be controlled are agitation strength and duration and water temperature. Sales staff state that you should expect about 6 years of service. The washing machine that serviced the family of 5 I grew up in was purchased in the 60s and lasted until my parents sold their house 30 years later with only a belt changes. And they say this country is getting better…
8
Agreed, I don’t care for all of the wizardry with little utility and might not be supported in decades to come. We buy older used cars rather than the new overpriced stuff and try to keep them on the road as long as possible.
Another example of the trend to see every device as another smart phone is the laundry machine. They are loaded with buttons and options despite the fact that the only three variables that can be controlled are agitation strength and duration and water temperature. Sales staff state that you should expect about 6 years of service. The washing machine that serviced the family of 5 I grew up in was purchased in the 60s and lasted until my parents sold their house 30 years later with only a belt changes. And they say this country is getting better…ha!
It is very basic, compared to most cars. It has satellite radio, but otherwise the controls are primitive. For me, that is fine as I have little use for the extra stuff. If I can get past the weird looks, I will buy a Gladiator. The bed will be useful for projects and I can use it as a 4WD in bad weather and maybe do some off-roading.
3
You will be a Country Boy in no time Z…
3
Go manual trans
1
The Corvette has been a world class super car since the C4 ‘84 – ‘96 which dominated Porsche and Ferrari so much in factory stock SCCA eliminated the class. The C8, with the engine in the back, put it over the top, and cannot be denied as a world class super car in terms of horsepower and handling.
However it’s a hideous thing to look at, and I have no use for the rear engine deal. It’s no longer a “Corvette,” as far as I’m concerned. It should have been a new platform and called the Duntov on honor of Zora Duntov, father of the Corvette, and leave the Vette platform alone.
As for GM you left out them deep sixing Pontiac, which was always the “adventurous,” youth oriented brand, since the introduction of the ‘64 GTO which launched the muscle car era, and before that Oldsmobile which was GM’s “experimental” division, the Turbo Hydromatic transmission, The Tri power J2 Olds in the 50’s that dominated NASCAR, the Toronado, first American front wheel drive car, the 350 CID diesel in the 70’s, the Quad 4, dual overhead cammer which was an absolute beast, and the Olds Aurora engine platform which was at the time cutting edge, world class engine tech. There is no current model new vehicle by any brand I would buy. They are all cheap, gizmo laden, over tech’d, massively over priced aesthetically unappealing junk!
Nothing personal Z but if you drive a Subaru with… pride, you are not a “man.”
4
NASCAR, where all the cars look the same, has been leading the charge to boring sameness for years.
My dad used to mist up over having to trade in his midnight green ‘64 Mustang. Not a muscle car or anything, but a beautiful car to look at.
3
IndyCar says hello, and asks how do you enjoy our series running all the same chassis that date back to 2012?
2
All I can say as a person who seems to have acquired a number of Corvette Hot Wheels cars for his son is that the C6R looks pretty meaty. But the ’64 Stingray looks much nicer.
0
Here where I live in Western Colorado is definitely Subaru country. I looked around the parking lot yesterday and five of the seven cars were Subies, including mine.
High-end Toyotas— Highlanders and Land Rovers— are great off the road vehicles, but exceedingly expensive compared to my Subaru.
I’m probably showing my age, but the 66 ‘Vette is beautiful to my eyes.
7
And the ‘65 Jaguar XKE convertible
4
A car that Enzo Ferrari called “The most beautiful car ever created.”
My daughter lives in Tempe and owns our old 2011 Outback now. She said she was walking out of the gym and there were four Subies parked next to hers and they all had tons of window stickers…
…and Colorado plates.
If states had “official cars” like they do trees and birds, the Subaru Outback would be Colorado’s.
6
“The ‘66 Vette is beauty to my eyes.” Abso-effing-lutely! I do not like the new configuration because it reminds me too much of something Lotus would build. Having a father who just finished restoring his ‘63 split-window coupe (it’s a fuelie and all the numbers match, for those of you who know this stuff and are curious) when my daughter started school this past fall, he dropped her off at the front door and helped her out of the car, mainly so she didn’t burn her leg on the sidepipes.
The looks this kid got floored her! And she told me that all of the adults at the school were dying to know every detail about the car. I could just picture it, here you have a line of cars and suv’s all drab colors and suddenly here comes a red classic from the golden age of American auto manufacturing with an engine note that shatters the morning quiet!
I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to Vettes and I think the C2 platform of the Corvette – 1963 to 1967 – is by far the most beautiful, but you’re right Z, cars today are dreadfully boring!
I’m a bit younger than you and I remember the parking lot of my HS when I was a senior (only seniors were permitted cars at school back in the day) from my buddy Erics burnt orange, AMC Gremlin (that he threw a 340 high-output in) to Andy Warners metallic blue ‘66 Olds Toronado, to my friend Wally’s battleship gray Ford LTD, I could go on, the point being that nothing looked the same and each vehicle had it’s own personality as well.
I had to replace my car this past spring and nothing really made me say “I really like that.” I like the Toyota FJ, but you have to find a used one and those command a hefty price. That and they are true gas guzzlers. My chiropractor has one and he told me that “Yes, it’s a lot of fun, but you can watch the needle on the gas gauge drop as you drive.” Not in this day and age. As for the Jeeps, two former co-workers have them – Gladiator and Wrangler respectively – and both of them have had nothing but problems with them.
Good lick with the new vehicle Z , as well as the new place.
1
Land Cruiser, not Rover.
Seems once CAFE standards were implemented the downhill slide began vis-a-vis auto designs. Few muscle cars & godawful creations like the AMC Pacer. Since roughly about 1974, auto designs have become increasingly uglier by the year, much like architecture. Don’t believe me? Go look @ the ugly monstrosity that is the FBI bldg in DC. Built in the mid-‘70’s if memory serves. To me it always looked Soviet-esque.
4
They had to make it so that the ADL felt comfortable going there to give the FBI anti-hate training. Or is it that the agents came there to receive the training. Hard to know.
1
I read somewhere thatself made millionaires drive Ford F150’s more than any other type of vehicle. I’ve had my super crew since 2013. 165K. Just had some work done on it that’ll get me past 200K. Ditched the stock wheels, tires, and running boards. It tows, it hauls ski gear and front end loader buckets of mulch and rock, enormous back seat, 18 mph, quieter ride than my wife’s MDX.
We bequeathed our 2011 Subie to my daughter so she wouldn’t have to buy a car after college. The worst thing that ever happened to it was a failed radiator cap and the car overheated on the highway. In 12+ years that’s pretty good. It’s noisy and the ride isn’t plush, but it’s a beast in CO snow, and safe for my girl.
I’ve never been a Jeep guy. They have one specific purpose, which is fun, but day to day driving? No thanks. If I had one, I’d tow it to the mountains with my truck and use it instead of the truck for off roading.
4
“America is no longer a place for young risk takers. It is a place for old fuddy-duddies who live in constant fear of risk because risk could mean the icy hand of death.”
I don’t think it’s fear of death per se (although I do see a lot of old people still wearing COVID masks) so much as fear of economic loss. People take plenty of risks if they think that they potential payoff is high.
If, on the other hand, you have a mature economy and a brand that perpetually rakes in billions, you are incentivized to minimize risk and just keep milking it, unless you want to end up like Bud Light by taking a stupid risk and upsetting the apple cart.
Demographics play a large role in this as well. The Boomers inherited more wealth and power than any other generation, and as they age they have become far more risk-averse than in their youth. Also the feminization of society and the feminization of business that has taken place within the last 40-50 years has tended to minimize risk.
It is no longer Lee Iacocca and John DeLorean who run the auto industry… it is Mary Barra.
6
Mary Barra is the front person. Who really dictates to GM is The (Managerial) Regime. You will do this with your fleet by this date, and, by the way, we bailed you out and if you want future bailouts and you want to remain CEO, here is your product roadmap and strategy.
1
Saab was interesting because it was (is?) also an aircraft manufacturer and they used to advertise their aircraft design and manufacturing expertise as spilling over into their design and manufacture of cars.
I’m not particularly knowledgeable about these things but I believe there are 18-20 players in the global car market (Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Daimler Benz, BMW, Volkswagen etc.). My guess is that the Japanese and Korean manufacturers have produced reliable, relatively inexpensive, yet drab cars and most everyone else has been forced to follow suit to remain in the game of mass production. That everyone is making the same kind of cars probably indicates that they are converging to some kind of “optimal” for current economic and tech conditions (but just not aesthetically).
2
My guess is that the Japanese and Korean manufacturers have produced reliable, relatively inexpensive, yet drab cars and most everyone else has been forced to follow suit to remain in the game of mass production.
Not gonna ask you how old you are, Arshad, but I’m old enough to remember well the first wave of Japanese imports in the ’70s. led by
DatsunNissan & Toyota (my recollection is that Honda was a little later; maybe not).That was the pitch, exactly – cheaper and not so well-appointed, but very reliable. A good “first” car or one that most people could afford to purchase new.
3
They also took advantage of far greater fuel efficiency which was a major issue in the 70s with its stagflation, embargos and gas lines.
Detroit’s fuel economy solutions were no match for Datsun, Toyota and Honda. I don’t know if it was retooling assembly lines but they capitalized very well on that macro economic environment.
It seems today they are equally as savvy. The Toyota family understands the large scale engineering and cost challenges with mass EV adoption. They have stated that a full EV conversion with destroy the auto industry. Mary Barra at GM once stated that as well. But, to stay CEO, to keep GM a ward of the government and to comply with the The (Managerial) Regime, she has forgotten that position and is full speed ahead with EVs.
Toyota has its hybrid line and that is its EV approach so long as the state mandates in California do not force them against their will to comply. If they can forestall compliance or bribe their way to having a hybrid a full EV, then they may just finish crushing the US auto industry as we move forward in The Great Reset.
Btw, I noticed two things yesterday. NH gubb Sununu is cheerleading Nimarata in a skirt and pom poms. It is embarassing. He let slip and said something to the effect that a Nimrata win in NH could be the Republican’s “Great Reset.” Quite remarkable.
The other I noticed was that Blinken had a Twitter post where he displayed the US State Department seal. Above the Eagle holding the branch and arrows in its talons, above its head to be clear, was a Star of David.
It is official now. I don’t have a link, but have a look if you have the stomach for it.
2
“I don’t know if it was retooling assembly lines”
The Big Three tried. They had to. But if I recall a comment made by Henry Ford, Jr. in the late ’70s, it was costing $500m in retooling costs for each 1 mpg improvement across the fleet. Not cheap in those days.
When the price of oil went down (e.g., in the mid ’90s), the US automakers aggressively started selling SUVs, which became the cash cow for them (rather than sedans)
1
They also took advantage of far greater fuel efficiency which was a major issue in the 70s with its stagflation, embargos and gas lines.
Yes, of course, duh…shoulda put that in my original reply.
I guess I really am getting old; can’t remember obvious stuff.
1
I remember that when the ’76 Honda Accord came out it was going for up to $2,000 over MSRP — at a time when $2,000 meant something. They’re reliable. Not terribly exciting cars, I readily concede.
I think you’re correct that Nissan/Datsun goes back further in the US than Toyota. I think it was in the ’60s that German cars like Mercedes and Volkswagen started making serious inroads into the US car market and they were followed soon by Japanese automakers. The US manufacturers have essentially been playing the game of catch-up, especially after the oil price hikes of the ’70s. I think a couple of years back David Halberstam’s book, “The Reckoning” was being mentioned on this blog; the book compares the management practices at Nissan and Ford.
1
How is the Jeep’s gas mileage? Been thinking of getting a relatively cheap 4 wheel drive vehicle, although new Jeeps are expensive. Anybody got any tips?
2
Better than I would have guess, but not great. I got between 25 and 50 to a gallon. I am a lead foot, bit that was mostly highway driving.
1
I’ll be on the market for a mid-sized truck later this year. The Jeep is priced way above competitors. While it may be more off-road capable, I usually drive on roads.
Bought one of the last Saabs for my wife before GM murdered the brand. Absolutely loved that car – manual transmission, laggy (fun) turbo, best car seats ever made, great in the snow, and it was bright blue. The car was totalled in a highway pile-up and couldn’t be replaced with the like. Too bad.
1
While a friend was overseas for a year, I drove his Subaru Outback now and again to keep it running. Very nice car. Now, of course, Subarus are the go-to cars for lesbians; no idea how that happened.
5
Subaru was the first car manufacturer to advertise to the homos https://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=234d1d1b-3d31-425f-9ee1-6232b9c1df20
Their other demographic seems to be old boomers.
7
Subarus have a very nasty problem they had back in 1978 and they still have it. People will find that when that 3 piece block starts leaking antifreeze, it will cost $6000+ to fix it. I laugh every time I see one with the sign of death when you see the droplets of antifreeze wherever it’s parked.
5
The “boxer” (flat) engine layout they use is conducive to oil leaks around the cylinder head gaskets. Leak enough and the engine dies. Also lots of coolant leakage back into the cylinders. Don’t know if Subie ever really fixed the issue, but they were notorious for head gasket leaks and failures in the past.
2
Apparently the brakes across the board model years 2011 – 2012 were shit as well. A good friend and my next door neighbor (Outbacks and Imprezzas and one Forester.) all of them had brake issues.
1
My neighbor has one, and the oil “leak” issue still is a problem. Strictly speaking, it’s just leaking past the rings, but if you leave it parked too long, when you start it and blow all that oil into the exhaust, it can give you really funky oxygen sensor issues. Don’t know that it’s necessarily a problem. IMO, if you don’t check your oil frequently enough to catch that, you aren’t much of a car owner, and deserve whatever car problems are going to hit you someday.
2
“…it will cost $6000+ to fix it.”
Or spend $15 for a gallon of 50/50 every once in a while.
2
God love you! From back when we all were broke and drove beaters:
“Damn! This hunk a junk burns a ton of oil.”
“So, use thicker oil.”
Straight 50 Weight For The Win 🚗💨
2
My wife’s cousin bought a couple of Subarus for himself and his wife. I jokingly asked M’Lady “So, should I ask your cousin if any women in flannel driving Outbacks have honked and waved at him and blown him a kiss?”
Her reply? “Oh God, DO NOT ask him that!”
5
Because like lesbians they are fugly.
4
Car companies are now banks that peddle cars on the side. I’ve bought a couple of cars without financing. You would think the salesman would be excited that I’m willing to bring a bank check for $30k, but they are disappointed.
Just help out son buy his first car. He had to finance it to get all the incentive discounts.
8
Car companies are now banks that peddle cars on the side.
Now?!?!. May I introduce you to the late Thomas Murphy, former President of GM:
“General Motors is not in the business of making cars. It is in the business of making money.”
He was president of GM from 1974 – 80.
You would think the salesman would be excited that I’m willing to bring a bank check for $30k, but they are disappointed.
The finance guy is the one man you want to keep happy in the car dealership. Paying out of pocket makes him, the dealer, and the corporation no money, and makes them unhappy. 😔
3
Their profit is in the in-house financing. It’s a mistake to tell them up front that you’re paying cash. You won’t get as good of a deal. Negotiate without bringing that up. They’ll assume you’re financing it. Then once you’ve agreed on a price, you pay cash.
5
Financialization is the death of engineering in manufacturing. It yalso short term thinking. On short it is decadent
2
I don’t know what this means, but I’ve noticed is Indians seem to drive similar cars such as Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Corolla, usually grayish or beige. Nothing that stands out from the crowd.
5
Nothing that stands out from the crowd
—
That’s usually advisable in oppressive societies. At this point in time I’d much rather slip in and out of places and be unnoticed and quickly forgotten.
9
The last time GM has an original idea was back when they allowed the Saturn division to have a go on their own. I actually had one when I was working in Silicon Valley and it wasn’t half bad.
Then Saturn made the mistake of being successful and offering really good customer relations. No pressure on the sales, and they were exactly the same price no matter where you bought one.
I remember they had a minor recall on a battery cable, and asked everyone to come in on a specific weekend. They turned it into had a massive family event, complete with jump castles, a band and free BBQ. It was a simple fix, but they really took care of their customers.
I guess taking care of customers went against everything GM stood for, so they took Saturn over and that was the end of it.
Fun fact – the Saturn Sky 2-seat roadster was remarketed here as the Opel GT.
8
I personally think the auto industry is dead, but they don’t know it yet. Awhile back I wanted to buy a new Toyota Tacoma. I told them I was willing to buy a top line one, and had cash for it. My stipulations were it had be a king cab, have a 6 foot bed, and be either blue, red, or green. All they had available were in white, grey, or silver. Period. No choice. I said “F@ck you very much” and walked out.
Motorcycles are almost as bad. No chrome, flat paint finishes, and the rims and motors are painted with black stove paint. I’m looking to buy another bike by March, and I have a chance to buy a beautiful 60+ year old machine that actually looks and sounds like a real motorcycle and I can fix it myself. I’m leaning towards it as it’s from a time when America was still beautiful.
There is no imagination anymore and at least the commie motorcycles sold years ago did look like real motorcycles. Most things we make today are ugly and there’s not much else to say.
8
My stipulations were it had be a king cab, have a 6 foot bed, and be either blue, red, or green. All they had available were in white, grey, or silver. Period. No choice.
Part of the problem is fetishization of data. “Live by the take rate, die by the take rate.” (Take Rate The percentage of new vehicles or passenger cars equipped with a specific feature in a given year.)
Your dealer wants you to take from his stock. He uses big data to analyze what are the most common color combinations, trim levels, and indeed, vehicles that sell in his dealership and his sales region and orders accordingly.
“So what?” you says, “I’ll custom order it!”
Yeah, you’ll be waiting. Another of my wife’s relatives bought a Lincoln Corsair SUV. Wanted it in Red Carpet (No foolin’, that’s the color name at the Lincoln website). None to be found in the Chicagoland area. He had the dealer order it from Ford.
He got it nine months after ordering it and putting his down payment on the finance department desk.
Now part of that is Supply Chain issues. But back in the Go-Go 90s I had a co-worker who ordered an F-150 from Ford and it took two months to get the truck. Custom orders get slotted in after all the spoken for Dealer and Fleet orders.
Don’t hate the playa, hate the game.
2
“fuddy-duddies”, Z?
Now there is an epithet I have not heard in a long time. I wonder if anyone under 40 even knows of the term, let alone uses it.
I could be wrong, and perhaps it is making a comeback. A reboot of ancient, déclassé idioms could become amusingly au courant. Imagine the fun. We’d all be hip again, not square. We’d dispense with all that jive as we make the scene and sound totally rad. It’d be tubular. Can you dig it?
11
Moe, your post is mint.
4
Until today, the preppie dork jive turkey Richard Spencer was the last honkie known to have used that term, if you can grok that it fullness, daddy-o.
[sent from my banana yeller Pacer while listening to Get the Knack on repeat]
2
Moe : here there and everywhere it’s hip to be square (according to Huey Lewis & the News)
4
Saabs were fun to drive. They had great handling and smooth turbos, but maintenance was an absolute nightmare. Everyone who owned one had a “Saab story”. But they weren’t boring, like Volvos.
5
I own a 2018 Tacoma. Never owned a Jeep, but I can’t imagine they’re much better in the snow. I’ve driven in 8-10” of unplowed snow on dirt roads through the hills, no problem. Plus, it’s an honest-to-God truck, if not a full-size. FWIW.
8
The heater is a blast furnace, too. Like 80s VW hot. Underrated luxury.
Wouldn’t have a Jeep if you gave it to me. FIAT junk. In every way Toyota Tacoma/Tundra are far superior. Also the Toyota Highlander. Is superior to the Official Car of the White Prog LGBQWERTY Community. aka Subaru. Toyotas are expensive but they will run forever. You can pay Toyota now or pay through the nose later with most other brands.
A smart buy is a two year old low mileage V6 Tacoma 4×4. You can buy a lot of gasoline with the savings by buying used, well maintained, stone reliable Toyotas.
13
Dad adopted a rural lifestyle his last twenty years or so. One of his sage advices to me was (approximately): Never buy a truck from a redneck. The redneck would sooner lose his home, his family, his rifle, his hunting dogs, his other possessions, before he’d let his truck go.
The corvette is absolutely 100% a supercar. The c7 with a factory supercharger is known for being almost undriveable because it has so much power and lots were wrecked by inexperienced drivers.
The Bronco will eat a Jeeps lunch off road. Way more purpose built and well thought out. Jeep has always been known as unreliable junk. Unfortunately all new cars have so much tech they are all untrustworthy. 4runner is still solid until they put a smaller turbo charged engine in it.
5
The new Bronco looks great, but its safety rating was abysmal. Watch a few of the crash tests for the Bronco. It’s an epic fail.
Anecdotal, of course, but i have two Jeeps each at 300k miles …. No problems with either, though both are pending engine rebuilds now, and other work. But both were unfailingly reliable. They have quirks, of course. And recent model diesel drives and handles even better; superb out of the box offroad ability (Rubicon). Main problem is company now owned by Stellantis — Left-wing soy boy outfit …. obsessed with tech and eco-bs.
Way too much tekkie bull-s#it.
Older Guy writing this ….
1
I picked up a 2019 4Runner a couple of months ago. 4.0 V6. No stupid turbo. Built in Japan. I expect to drive to the grave. (Mine, not its.)
Years ago I read someone’s comment on an auto forum:
I have a 4Runner and a Wrangler. I use the 4Runner to drive to the store to buy Jeep parts.
1
The amount of cars and the land ceded to roads/parking lots is a BLIGHT; destroyed the beauty and walkability of cities. The noise, traffic, pollution and insanity of every person paying through the nose forinsurance/repairs on their own motor vehicle is nuts.
But it’s another result of big business and diversity.
8
1
Nobody said it was perfect, YUGE draw backs to car culture. But the car does offer real freedom, in the end thats the big reason people like cars, or love them depending on what you drive
5
No idea what diversity has to do with this. But yeah, big business in the worst way.
Historical fact: many many US towns had tramlines. Even quite small towns. The line at least ran down main street and horses pulled the tram. It was cheap and super convenient. You just hopped on. For an old lady it would stop.
Then the big car companies came along and bought all the local street railways and … shut them down.
1
0
“No idea what diversity has to do with this.”
If you have to share public transport with noggers, many people would prefer to drive a car. Case in point: a female acquaintance of mine war riding the Twin Cities light rail when a nogger pulled out his willy and started urinating, and then claimed that since the martyrdom of St. George of Floyd (peace be upon him) he could do whatever the hell he wanted.
The relatively recently built light rail system in the Twin Cities is now the most dangerous light rail system in the USA (maybe in the world?). I’m all for mass transit but the hazards of using it in the USA gives me pause. A lot of people would rather drive as a consequence.
2
“was”, not “war.” mea culpa.
“and then claimed that since the martyrdom of St. George of Floyd (peace be upon him) he could do whatever the hell he wanted.”
Well, he’s not wrong!
Love autos but they wrecked town and country. Sprawling corporate cookie cutter burbs, oh boy!
2
People need lots of cars and roads to get away from the diversity. In their heart of hearts, no one really wants to be around diversity, not even the diverse themselves.
And this is why it would be a good idea to have a nationalized automaker. Much of the automobile market is strictly utilitarian in nature, especially corporate cars, rental cars, and basic transportation for people at the lower end of the wage scale. A national automaker that manufactured cheap, efficient, reliable cars made from modular parts that can be mass produced and swapped out with a minimum of mechanical knowledge would take a huge amount of stress out of the market. And far from limiting people’s choice, it would actually free up the for-profit automakers to be more creative with their designs, marketing explicitly to the people who are willing to pay for superior performance.
I believe this way of thinking is inevitable and necessary to help deal with the economic problems of living in a post-globalized, post-growth world with an inverted population pyramid. We cannot simply allow vast numbers of post-industrial workers to become destitute and we cannot afford to put them on welfare. The only humane way forward is to offer them a share in the economy that is commensurate with what their labor can produce, without them losing their dignity. A dirigiste, public-private hybrid economy is the answer to that, and it should be applied to many areas other than automakers such as home appliances, housing, travel, and consumer goods. Nationalize about half the industry and let the nationalized half put a floor under the utilitarian lower end of the market, then let private industry operate in a lightly regulated environment that fosters competition through rigorous antitrust enforcement. Private capital, having lost the low end and the debt slaves, would have to be leaner and meaner to earn a profit, but that’s not a bad thing.
The problem standing in the way of all this is the fact that if it were attempted by the current government, they would get it catastrophically wrong. The national automaker would be a bludgeon forcing EVs on poor people instead of building reliable ICEs for them, because they do not care about the people. Politics has become strictly an affair of the haves flaunting their status in the face of the have-nots. On the other hand, the idea of simply dismantling the government would do nothing to help the people either. They would lose what little social support they have and be plunged into poverty and misery.
The debate is not between small government and big government. The debate is between having a big government of Davos freaks who hate people and a big government of Caesars who care about them. The first task is to shift the public debate explicitly into those terms, whereupon the answer becomes obvious.
3
9
And this is why it would be a good idea to have a nationalized automaker.
The ghost of British Leyland raises its rusted out hand and waves hello.
It’s nationalized brother Rover Group can’t even raise its hand.
12
Excuse me, Sir – can I interest you in a Lada?
Top quality, from a Russian state-owned manufacturer.
8
It’s a Lada Car, I tell ya! 🙄
3
“Put it in H!”
– Crazy Vaclav
2
I was thinking Trabant…
4
C’mon, you guys are slipping! What of the Yugo, “reflecting the cutting edge of Serbo-Croatian technology.” (H/T Dragnet from 1987)
The infamous Trabbie…a car whose body was made of substance akin to Bakelite, and powered by a two-stroke lawnmower engine that someone once described as sounding like a “coffee can full of nuts and bolts thrown into a washing machine.” Early models were so lousy, they didn’t even come with a fuel gauge. Drivers had to insert a dipstick into the tank to guess how much fuel remained.
No mention of older Caprices? I looked at taxis -all Caprices. Mercury Marquis, state trooper cars, both ran 24/7, so I had Caprices,easier to work on.
1
I love Wranglers, have had a few of them. My last and favorite one was a Unlimited. It was a beast and could plow through anything. Lost it when I was following a semi on black ice at 20 mph and another semi came around a blind corner out of control at speed (65) and rammed head on into the one I was following. Obliterated the fronts of both semis, huge fireball, and shoved the one I was following into me at around 30 mph (did the math). Both me and the dog walked away from it, though my jeep was totaled. The lesson: the jeep might go anywhere, but beware the black swan other drivers.
I’d get another one, but they’re too damned expensive and the insurance is brutal. Now I drive a rusted out Yooper Cherokee. Also good in the snow, but alas not a Wrangler.
3
Subarus are scissor wagons. It’s all about the scissoring.
5
… in Vermont!
2
We’ll get a Coexist sticker and a ribbed strap-on, oh yeah
A native dream catcher hangs from the rearview, oh yeah
With new pistons, plugs and shocks, we don’t need none of them cocks,
You know that we ain’t bragging, she’s a real scissor wagon –
Greased lightning!
4
Harvard needs a poet laureate. I would apply.
That old guy was right. Sort of.
An even bigger factor in the sameness of cars has been … regulations.
There are a lot of them. For fuel efficiency. For safety. Even for how high the front is (or something likfe that) so that if you hit a pedestrian he will bounce in a better way (or something like that).
There is a wonderful YT cars channel called Savage Geese. They did a nice segment a few years ago analysing all the contributing factors leading to The Great Blandness.
3
Many of the regulations are ostensibly for safety or emissions, and I don’t deny these have some value. But, some skeptics have noted, the regulations tended to favor big bodies, which is something that American makers excel at.
A Tata Nano is basically a golf cart with a small gas engine. I suspect one could be designed to meet U.S. pollution standards. But safety? Never. U.S. consumers are denied a chance to buy a cheap auto that probably costs a tenth of what even a cheap U.S. model does. But the most important, and usually unstated result is that grossly overpaid UAW workers and bloated corporations are protected against foreign competition.
And that much vaunted “safety”? Well, please explain why motorcycles are allowed to be sold in America.
“But the most important, and usually unstated result is that grossly overpaid UAW workers and bloated corporations are protected against foreign competition.”
NOT NEARLY ENOUGH. So-called “free trade” is evil and stupid. The only way free trade can work is with other first world countries. What you want to do is make the average American auto worker have the wages and safety protection of the average Indian.
It used to be that we could compete with low paid Indian workers because we were so much more productive. But with modern regulations and finance, the low paid Indian worker can be outfitted with the same high productivity machinery that an American can be outfitted with.
Americans should NOT have a choice to buy the cheap made in Asia junk. More importantly, “American” (in name only) companies should not be able to have a product made in Asia and then imported tariff free to the US.
Finally, American cars are not so expensive because of how much money the blue color workers make. UAW workers were the highest paid in the world when America was the most productive and a cheap car manufacturer in the world.
What bothers me is the new drive to activate features by subscription. There’s nothing worse than buying a not-cheap car and finding out that you need to pay to use a feature. The whole world has become rent seeking. I’m sure we’ll eventually need subscriptions to keep our refrigerators cold.
And then there’s some $2000 sensor that goes out just after warrantee.
6
Well, new cars are not all bad. There are a lot of things I hate about them. But the one thing good about them is they last a long time, longer than ever before.
The average age of a car on the road is approaching 13 years old. Since the paint and rust protection are better than they used to be, your 03 Toyota doesn’t look like a 21 year old jalopy. Since the general shape of cars has not really changed since the early 90s, it doesn’t look that dated. I first started driving in the late 1980s. Insurance priced me out of financing anything, so I was driving older cars. They absolutely stuck out like a sore thumb as being old.
Of course, part of the reason for the aging fleet is economic. Cars are just stupidly expensive today. The financing terms of cars has ballooned to like 72 months. In the 50s and 60s it was 2 years. Then, in the 70s it was 3 years. It just gets longer and longer. People are willing to keep the cars on the road longer because the cost of replacement is just so damned high.
I agree. My standard joke about making everything a service is that you will be hitting the brakes on your car and a voice will say, “Your brake service has been cancelled because of something mean that you posted on the internet.”
For people like me with a small government inclination, I’d like to point out that this is one area where big government can make life better. Pass a law that companies can’t turn something that a customer can buy once discretely into a service that requires periodic payments.
(I know that our current big government hates us. I’m imagining one that doesn’t.)
It’s possible that there would be other negative consequences of big government that aren’t worth it.
1
I miss my Volvo 122’s. So easy to work on. The bodies went before the engines and the trannies. There’s an old word with a new meaning! The Saabs were wild. We had to take the driver’s side door off to get at the rear sparkplugs to do a tune up. You need a Subaru for winter driving in Northern New England even if they’re trendy among the woke crowd.
The days of motoring as we know it may be coming to an end with the phasing out of fossil fuels. Too much freedom for the… what do you call it.. the dirt people.