Affordability is the main topic on the mind of Americans right now, which means people are looking to save money anywhere they can. That includes the dealership floor. According to new data released yesterday, the demand for base models over more premium trims is on the rise this year, to the point where automakers are seeing huge swings in demand depending on spec. As a result, you might soon be seeing far more base models on the lot in the coming months while shopping for a new car.
What else is happening this morning? Nissan, which teetered on the edge of insolvency as early as two years ago, looks to be getting things back on track, showing smaller losses than expected as it announces its seventh factory closure. And for the first time in 10 years, registrations of electric vehicles fell in America year over year—but that hasn’t stopped Tesla from retaining its dominance in the EV capital of America, California.
In a bit of less industry-esque news, the Formula 1 movie is confirmed to be getting a sequel. Sadly, something tells me it won’t be called F2. Let’s get into it.
More Buyers Are Starting To Realize Base Is Best
In my experience visiting dealerships, it’s rare you actually see a truly base, no-option version of a car sitting on the lot. Cars you see at the dealer carry various levels of options throughout various trims, pre-determined by the dealer, who orders those cars, or the manufacturer, who allocates those cars to the dealership (or, in many cases, both).
Cars with more options generate higher margins, so it makes sense that the cars available for buyers on the lot are more decked out than the base car you see on that automaker’s website. Both the dealer and the carmaker want to make as much money as possible on every sale. But buyers are speaking with their wallets, with data showing that cheaper, simpler entry-level trims are selling quicker than premium versions, according to data from Cox Automotive and CarEdge, seen by Reuters.
The publication reports that “Americans are ditching premium trims for entry-level cars as affordability takes a hit:”
Steep sticker prices on new cars are pushing Americans to opt out of premium trims for basic models, lifting sales of entry-level variants and prompting some automakers to adjust production.
Pickup trucks and crossovers have cemented their place as top-sellers despite their hefty price tags. But average transaction prices have hovered around $50,000 for nearly a year, according to Cox Automotive, putting many fully loaded models out of reach.
The strain extends beyond the showroom. Widening wealth gap in the U.S. and a sharp rise in costs for housing, insurance and healthcare are squeezing lower-income households, with President Donald Trump’s tariffs adding more pressure.
“If you want to keep a car for a decade, shouldn’t you get the bare minimum of options that you will use? No need to get the most powerful engine if the plan is just to commute to work,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president of research firm at AutoForecast Solutions.
If you’re an automaker or dealer, you can feel one of two ways about this. The negative Nancies will stress about how they’re losing on that precious margin, since fewer buyers are opting for fancy trims and options they don’t actually need. On the flip side, building base model cars isn’t as expensive and often quicker than building pricier versions. So long as you can keep sales volume up, there are still profit opportunities.
How automakers feel about this isn’t as important as how they plan to adapt, of course. And most of the big players in the affordable car space are taking notice:
Automakers say the impact is showing in sales. Ford reported lower overall U.S. sales in January, but said deliveries of the basic trim of its compact Maverick pickup rose 33.5%.
Honda flagged a similar shift to focus on entry-level models in January.
As Reuters points out, demand for cheap cars like the Corolla and Camry was up in January, according to Toyota, while Stellantis told the publication it’s cutting prices across its brands to better appeal to lower-cost buyers.
CBT News, a news site for dealers, says the shift will push automakers to “recalibrate production and inventory strategies” going forward to align “inventory with price-sensitive demand.” That means buyers should start seeing more base model cars at dealerships in the near future, to match what people are actually buying.
If this trend continues, I wouldn’t be surprised to start seeing trims with unpainted bumpers and steel wheels. And I’d be totally down for that.
Nissan Is Actually Doing It, But At What Cost?
The past couple of years have been supremely interesting for Nissan. Back in 2024, an exec reportedly said the company had “12 to 14 months to survive,” leading the car world to question when, not if, the Japanese auto giant would collapse into bankruptcy or be absorbed by a competitor like Honda.
That Honda merger didn’t happen, though, and Nissan forged a different path forward. It acquired a new CEO, Ivan Espinosa, in March 2025, who introduced a restructuring plan for the brand called “Re:Nissan.” The plan involved significant cost-cutting measures, including the closure of seven factories and the reduction of around 20,000 jobs.
That plan is working, according to Espinosa. It just recently offloaded the seventh and final factory it planned to get rid of—an assembly plant in South Africa where it previously built the NP200 half-ton pickup—to Chinese automaker Chery. So far, the company has $1 billion of the planned $1.6 billion in fixed costs from its balance sheet, and plans to get that number to $1.3 billion by the end of next month, according to Automotive News:
As for job cuts, Nissan is ahead of schedule on that front as well.
Espinosa declined to give a figure for Nissan’s progress on job cuts, but said the company is “a bit ahead of schedule” in trimming the global workforce by about 20,000 people.
What about the actual numbers? Well, things are still bad for Nissan, but they’re not as bad as originally expected. Which means they’re good … right?
In announcing the quarterly results, Nissan lifted its earnings outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31. The company now expects an operating loss of ¥60 billion ($391.3 million), better than the ¥275 billion ($1.8 billion) in red ink it had forecast in November.
The loss reverses a ¥69.8 billion ($455.2 million) operating profit from the year before.
Nissan issued a net-based income outlook for the first time this fiscal year, forecasting a ¥650 billion ($4.2 billion) net loss.
That compares with a net loss of ¥670.9 billion ($4.4 billion) the year before.
Despite the double-digit percentage gains Nissan is expecting from dealers this year in the U.S., sales forecasts are looking pretty flat in 2026. So it’ll be up to those cost-cutting measures to ensure the brand’s continued existence in the near term.
EV Sales Are Down In America For the First Time In A Decade, But Tesla Still Has Its Home Market Locked
The registrations of pure electric vehicles dropped by 0.4% in the United States last year compared to 2024, falling to 7.8% of the overall new car market, from 8%, according to S&P Mobility data seen by Automotive News. This is the first time in 10 years that the number of EVs sold has fallen compared to the previous year.
The loss of the federal EV tax credit certainly had something to do with the decline, but it wasn’t the only factor, according to S&P analyst Tom Libby. Things like infrastructure and range anxiety remain important pain points for buyers. And we certainly can’t forget about affordability now, can we?
Although congressional repeal of the $7,500 EV tax credit helped trigger a sharp drop in EV sales in the final months of 2025, the slowdown in demand actually began in 2024, Libby said.
“I think there’s a lot of reasons for that. A key one is price,” Libby said. Even with generous government and automaker incentives, high EV sticker prices remained a hurdle for mainstream buyers, who gravitated toward hybrids instead.
“The customers who wanted an EV got an EV. When you get beyond the early adopters, there are barriers like charging infrastructure issues, the range anxiety issue,” Libby said.
Tesla might not be the overwhelming market force it once was, but it’s still the undisputed king of sales in the United States, holding 44.9% of the EV market in 2025 (down 3.1% versus the year prior). In its home state of California, its most popular car, the Model Y crossover, is in an entirely different league when it comes to sales, according to data from the California New Car Dealers Association published by San Francisco local news station KRON 4:
Top Selling New Vehicle Models in CA (2025)
-
Tesla Model Y: 110,120
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Toyota RAV4: 65,604
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Toyota Camry: 62,324
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Tesla Model 3: 53,989
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Honda Civic: 53,085
Even if Tesla never updates the Model Y again, it would likely be years before it loses the sales crown in the Golden State.
The F1 Movie Is Officially Getting A Sequel
I enjoyed the Formula 1 movie, even though it wasn’t totally realistic. It was fun to see real faces from the F1 scene appear alongside Brad Pitt on the big screen. As interesting as a movie surrounding the Formula 2 scene might be, I don’t think F1’s sequel will be that clever. But it’s definitely happening, according to the original film’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer. From the BBC:
Speaking to the BBC at the annual Academy Awards luncheon in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Bruckheimer said: “We’re working on a sequel.”
The producer declined to give a timeline for the project or confirm casting details, including whether Pitt would reprise his role. But Bruckheimer added that he would “of course” be involved in casting decisions.
I don’t see Pitt not returning in some way, though perhaps he’ll play a team principal or something similar. I can see a Sonny Hayes + Guenther Steiner team-up working nicely.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow, which means love is in the air. So I’m listening to “Nobody’s Love” by Maroon 5, from their 2021 album Jordi.
The Big Question
Is the ultra-base, stripped-out model about to make a triumphant return?
Top graphic image: Nissan
I’m seeing more and more of the Hyundai Venues on the road now that the discontinued and beloved Kia Souls are almost all gone from the dealer lots here in the DFW complex. Hell, even on TPIR Venues are the cheap box car prize now! Still don’t get why they killed the Soul. It looked so much more expensive and had better sales numbers that that cheap looking Venue had. KIA lost a long term customer with me customer over that stupid decision. I’m on my 3rd Soul, and it had better last forever! (IT does get baby loving care now that I’m retired) My previous Souls gave me over 200k trouble free service, BTW.
I had several RWD fairly base model compact pickups from the late ’80s until the mid 2000’s. They were tough little trucks that were cheap to drive, cheap to fix and easily affordable. Too bad they don’t exist anymore. My favorite was the Ranger but I also had a Nissan Hardbody that was pretty good.
I’d rather buy a well equipped used car than a base anything.
I’d rather buy a used base model car than have to worry about fixing all the features.
I thought F1 was a pretty good movie. Apparently drama on the movie screen works, even though its very off-putting for the real F1
(Sadly) drama in F1 IFL appears to be the norm within and between teams for at least the past 40 years and Im sure even longer
Wait, F1 wasn’t a sequel to Days of Thunder?
I remember at model year changeover time my grandfather would shop for base model cars that the dealers would display with a big price sign but no radio, heater or carpeting,
A lot of them could get aftermarket heaters eventually, but the Corvair was miserably cold.
I look forward to cars with less crap to break.
I suppose getting rid of everything in the center stack is too much to hope for.
Americans settling for base vehicles because they feel they can no longer afford well-optioned alternatives does not mean “base is best”.
It means people are compromising on features they would want, which isn’t a good thing.
I know this community desperately wants everyone to like/want poverty spec cars, but the reality is the average consumer likes features.
I think your perspective is wrong. 2 years ago it was nothing but people complaining that all they could buy was high end and the dealerships wouldn’t sell base models even if asked. Sure.. everyone wants high end. Everyone wants luxury. I wish my house was bigger and nicer. I wish I could buy nicer clothes. I wish I could vacation in Europe. But the reality is most have limited budgets and have to make compromises. Being able to buy base models gives people options. For those that can afford the nicer… awesome, enjoy. But lots of people can’t and are excited to get the opportunity of a cheaper model back.
So true
Ahh yes, Reuters.A straight down the middle, non biased publication.
Could be worse.
Reuters absolutely is a legit objective news operation.
Reuters is a highly respected news organization. What particular objection would you like to make about the firm? Please be specific.
It isn’t hard to understand the more expensive cars get the more basic cheaper the car is in demand. As cars new price goes insane the more basic the buyer wants. However the sales manager wants to make his bonus so he ordered higher specs. That screwed up concept is why we only have 3 colors for cars, no manual transmissions, etc
You forgot to mention no vehicles in other colors other than greyscale.
3 “colors”
Black
White
Gray
Of course if it is an econo box or a peacock car* then you get some actual colors!
*usually an expensive “look at me” car
No, I don’t believe they are, because a truly ultra-base model is never going to fly in this day and age. Ultra base means no a/c, no radio, no tilt wheel, no cruise control, a manual transmission, crank windows, manual seat, one outside mirror, no auto headlights, etc. Nobody’s really going to do that, in part because the price consumers would be willing to pay for such a stripped down car would make for an ultra thin margin, and because such a thing would require too many engineering changes and different assembly steps, automakers literally aren’t capable of building true base models anymore
We will get more base models, but the modern version of what a base model is, which is going to be more like what would have passed for “well equipped” a few decades ago. People will claim is basic because the stereo only has 6 speakers instead of 18
Dude that is not what basic is anymore. Now basic is 600hp, leather interior, power window and door, but smaller screen
Between feature creep and trim level grade inflation, the biggest difference between a 1986 LX (top of the line) and a 2026 LX (base model) is cheaper upholstery.
Yeah, we at least used to have plush velour seats, thick pile carpets, and upholstered and carpeted door cards
Back in the day those manual-everything base models made sense to some people,
because a new chevy biscayne was “guaranteed” to be reliable, whereas that 5y/o Buick on the secondhand lot would have needed regular tune ups, might have had any number of mechanical defects (easily fixable for an enthusiast but inconvenient for a normie), and had a 5 year headstart into the sills rusting out.
But cars these days remain normie-reliable for a much longer time, so if you want a “nice” car on a budget, that secondhand nicer car is a lot more feasible to keep for 10+ years now, and thus the base models all have to compete with those second hand cars on price.
Add to that the weird world of manufacturing efficiency when it’s highly automated, where it’s cheaper for tesla to keep the same glass roof panel but cover it up with a headliner in the base models.
In having extra parts like a separate manual window regulator, or 2 door sedan body stampings, or a mechanical clutch linkage, or 4 wheel drum brakes, even an idler pulley to replace the A/C condenser, these all require so much more tooling and complicate the manufacturing logistics so much that any cost benefit from the parts being cheaper gets negated.
Sadly, power windows are cheaper, and automakers seem to have forgotten how to make cars that you can drive over 40mph with the windows open.
I would love more fleet spec cars.
I remember the last time I rented a u-haul truck being pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. The trucks at the dealership were slathered with crap nd not nice at all.
Actually, the manufacturers have elected to increase the fuel efficiency of their vehicles by reducing the significant drag associated with driving with windows open. It’s not a case of “forgot,” it’s a conscious choice driven by government regulation and consumer preference.
Yeah, I know, but it would be nice if there were some cars to choose from from that aren’t death traps from the 60s that were drivable at freeway speeds with the windows open.
Same for the stupid screen in the dashboard. At least in my Prius I can just turn it off. Actually, I can turn the entire dashboard including the speedometer off if the headlights are on. That’s nice.
The issue with base models is they’re often lacking that ONE specific feature you feel is worth paying for, but it’s bundled only with the upper trims. Ideally someone would make a base model a ‘la carte and and let every option be, well, optional.
SLATE may be on to something as most everything is an option, though I think they’ve lost their value proposition for the core vehicle compared to other low-cost EV options.
The Ford Maverick base model(2025 model year) was very tempting, but if you wanted power mirrors, key fob, or cruise control, you’d have to go up a level in trim. We wound up with a Lariat trim since it was the only trim (in 2025) that offered the power rear sliding window. We don’t mind all the other goodies that come with the Lariat, but it was our ridiculous desire for that sliding window in the back that sealed it for us.
A la carte makes production more complex, economies of scale suffer, and all trim levels become more expensive as a result.
Slate will be available with no radio. That’s got it on my shopping list. Not so much because I am anti radio, but because I want to get one that I choose.
Speaking of base-model stuff: I just sold my son’s previous daily driver. It’s a 1998 Plymouth neon. We fixed it up about 3 years ago for him to take off to college – it’s a 5-speed with a bunch of ACR and R/T parts, plus working A/C and cruise control. The fun part is that the buyer is over 50 and he intends to make it his DAILY DRIVER. He is currently driving a ‘99 neon but it has a ton of miles on it and it’s getting rusty, as he’s in Minnesota. My car is rust-free as it’s a Southern California car. The shipper is supposed to be picking it up today. I’m sure that this dude could afford a new car, but he’s going BASE MODEL instead!
Sounds like a great car. I liked driving neons, they just felt like they were a little too light to take long term driving without loosening up. I’m glad to be shown wrong, a car like a that would be great, and I’m 70.
“If you want to keep a car for a decade, shouldn’t you get the bare minimum of options that you will use? No need to get the most powerful engine if the plan is just to commute to work,”
He speaks my language.
Nah, if I’m going to be in the same car every day for 10 years, I want it to be as nice as possible. Give me every extra that increases comfort and convenience.
You do you.
Stuff I don’t need breaking and needing repair is not convenient.
Power seats is right near the top of the list of pointless crap that you only notice when it stops working.
And how is carpeting that is permanently attached to the floor a premium feature? It just means something else to take care of that gets gross unless you put another layer of carpet over it.
Ive never understood why power seats was supposed to be a ‘luxury’ feature.
Unless you share a car with your partner you are likely to set it up how you want it 1x and leave it there.
Also while I dont recall ever having an issue with a power seat it does add (some) weight and complexity
And (burying the lead here) it has always been an annoyance how SLOW they are to adjust.
A well designed manually adjustable seat (for me) is much preferred.
Now Im off to yell at some clouds 😉
Username checks out
Obligatory:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S9RVS8cjNN0
your music picks are sub optimal. So many gems in post punk. A suggestion.
“Kingdom of Rain’ by The The.
Social Distortion’s cover of Ring of Fire.
I’ve ordered base cars before because they are just so hard to find and sometimes there base is the only one with the feature I want. Fatigue is used a lot of just about everything and every social construct. People are definitely fatigued about the price of cars and cost of living. Maybe now is where the scion model would work almost no factory options color and transmission. Of course now it would just be color if that. Slate has taken that a step further but the whole ev thing is certainly a turn off for many people. A stripped down base corrola or Camry could do well. There definitely could be generational dynamics happening too. Gen z doesn’t want fancy they are blue collar some are technophobic after being addicted to technology. They don’t want screens they want buttons. They are learning to drive manuals more then the generation before them. The boomers are all over the place. Much like the greatest generation was 20 years ago when their boomer children got cough up in the great recession and had to return home with them if there was or ask for help or just loose everything. Granted it’s wasn’t all but it happened it could happen again those people that experienced it are worried it will happen again. The newer used car market is still a bit proud for most people because prices were so high for the new. I suspect the US fleet age is going up because of it. Plus early to mid 2000s cars just seem to last and be a sweet spot. I’m not sure there will ever be a model t moment again because the car has become a status symbol having one is taken from granted. Going into “developing or emerging” markets the car is a luxury even a two wheeler might be a luxury so make and model and age aren’t a huge deal. Some kind of stripped down ecobox that’s not terribly hateful that we have seen pop up over and over again in decades in the past might be well received especially if it has a known name plate. Make the civic, corolla cheap again. Hyundai and Kia might need to rethink the premium aspersions to service their core business. Ford might have a winner they the Maverick then let the experiment go wrong by letting the people they kept away from it change it and bloat it.
This is likely bad news, although I know it will be cheered here. My read is that even the affluent people who can afford to buy new cars are starting to tighten their belts. That tells you something about how bad the economy (or the perception of the economy, which can end up being the same thing) is getting.
Buckle up folks, we’re in for a bumpy ride.
That’s honestly a bit shocking. I would have thought a lot of future EV purchases got pulled forward into 2025 as a result of the tax credits going away. I would have expected 2026 to be the year we saw them drop.
Which is a shame, because I feel like the infrastructure is finally getting to a place where an EV is a sensible choice, even if you road trip long distances. I guess I can hope that means there will be some good deals when the time comes to replace my Prius.
Affluent people are freaking out about the economy. Gold is about double what it was at the election, which is another way of saying that everything else lost half it’s value.
Car buying is a buy something that I can keep until things stabilize proposition.
I notice that people seem to think that the electrical infrastructure for charging is not as resilient as buying gas. If you need to, it’s a lot easier to charge from a solar cell than make your own gasoline. Gasoline distribution has a lot more points of failure.
Plenty of folks don’t seem to care about that point but I imagine they wouldn’t really be buying new too often anyway.
“Bro, which is more resilient, a fleet of points that require up to multiple truck deliveries a day and electricity to operate or a car that takes electricity, that you can generate yourself by many different means?”
We ordered our 2024 Chevrolet Trax as a base LS model in order to get analog gauges instead of a huge screen behind the steering wheel and also to get an actual key to start it instead of a push-button. The wife and I were both in agreement on this.
But… we ordered the LS convenience package in order to get heated seats and mirrors, remote start, and silver-painted aluminum wheels. We also ordered the Driver Confidence package to get the A.D.A.S features like Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert.
We also ordered the $125 engine block heater and active grille shutters to keep the intercooler from icing up if we have to take it out when it’s -20ºF.
About $1,400 in options, but we got it the way we wanted it, even though it is just a base LS model. It ended up costing us $22,905.00 total MSRP (destination charge included) plus sales tax and registration.
It would be nice if somebody would make a base-model small regular-cab pickup that could be considered inexpensive like they used to back in the ’80s and ’90s. That’s what I would be looking for next once my 2010 Canyon rusts out.
I think you got a great deal at 23k.
That was the MSRP. The stealership offered no discounts, but they didn’t tack on any upcharges, either.
If I were to buy a 2026 version with the same options at the same place today, it would be $25K
So, I’m guessing the sequel to F1 will be F2? If this becomes like the Fast and Furious and breeds 50 sequels, the later versions will be Formula VWs racing in a parking lot.
Now crap. I found the Carol Brunette channel on Amazon and I have an image in my mind of Tim Conway playing the World’s Oldest Man trying to get into a go-kart with Harvey Corman failing to hold his crap together as Tim gets tangled up in the Cord to start the engine.
Honestly if that movie could be made, I would watch it.
No no no. It will go the way of video games F1 2028.
F Part Deux
Once upon a time in Woking?
“F1 More”
I deliberately did not buy the top trim when I bought my Lexus used a few years ago. The Ultra luxury(top trim) had the panoramic sunroof, have heard horror stories about those with leaks, jamming, etc but they were VW/Audi products. Really wish it didnt have a sunroof at all, I never use it.
The other thing is the top trim forced you into 18″wheels vs 17″ for the lower trims. This is a FWD v6, nose heavy interstate cruiser. You wont miss the added grip but will notice the stiffer ride, more tire noise and an extra $100 a tire that dont last as long. Only thing I do miss that was a stand alone option on all trims is the Mark Levision sound system. But the base radio is pretty damn good, a lot better than the Camry
Nothing wrong with base trim in a modern car.Years ago a base trim was a 5 speed,steel 13” wheels,AM radio,and maybe rear defrost.Today base trim are quite loaded and comfortable.I would definitely buy a base car but please give me the option of being able to add heated/ventilated seats without having to spend $1,800 on a moonroof and leather interior package that I really don’t want.
Years ago,the base might have been a 4spd manual and the next level up was a 5 spd. I bought a used ‘17 F150. Paid way too much for a Lariat trim with FX4 and had a chrome trim grill & bumper, fancy paint (still white, though), a flippin’ panoramic moon roof and a base radio. But I wanted the Max Tow option this truck had.
i would gladly trade/prefer trading the big glass roof for LED headlights instead of the poverty spec lights this truck came with. The glass roof is hotter in the summer, colder in the winter and noisier all year round to make up for it.
If I am buying a new car, I usually buy it with the base options as newer cars usually have what I want.
If I am buying a used car, then I often will look for one that has the extra options I want.
Our Prologue is essentially the base trim, mainly for the cloth seats, but our outlander has some options and it might be standard but that includes the power lift gate.
I didn’t know how much I needed that in my life to the point I’m almost offended by the prologue’s manual hatch. Like you have heated seats but expect ME to open the hatch? And then pull it down with enough heft to be training for the price is right?? The nerve!
But I do have a reservation down on the Slate as a possible replacement for when the Prologue gets off lease in 2 years, I can manage the manual tailgate easier.
The Slate truck will be the barometer for this. The Slate is going to be THE definition of a stripped out, no frills, all utility vehicle. Sure it’ll be a low-ish range EV trucklet with an SUV topper option, but it comes with no touch screen, no AC, no stereo and no PAINT. What it offers though is an incredibly customizable fun little utilitarian vehicle that is ideal for commutes and in-county work, all for well under 30k. I think a lot of automakers are watching to see how this goes.
The low range, the lack of stereo, and the crank windows might be too much base model to get sales, and that may be used to justify the position that base models don’t sell, even though it takes it to the extreme. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
It does have AC, though. Not quite that basic.
I have a deposit down on a Slate (and the Telo) though I’m far from certain that I’ll actually buy either one. While consumers are waiting for these interesting (and in the case of the Slate, cheapish theoretically) vehicles to make it to market, other companies are gradually making incrementally cheaper EVs. The base version of the Rivian R2, though not announced just yet, may start around $45K which ain’t bad at all for what you’re (likely) going to get. The new, third-gen Leaf MSRPs in base S trim for a hair under $30K, and Nissan being Nissan, it might be possible to get these under MSRP before too long.
I too think Slate is a barometer. I’ll go further and predict it’s going to be a smash hit, at which time it will be Pants Down City for some legacy automakers.
It is as close as you can get to a Citroën Méhari
I like it.
I’m not liking how this new ad system thinks the entire bottom fifth of my phone screen is its own to play videos in.
Please don’t turn into one of these sites that tries to strong-arm users into becoming paid members by making the basic experience less pleasant. Some of us would like to become members, but it just isn’t in the budget yet.
This.
Member level is not in my budget either.
The new ad layouts suck bigly though.
Use an ad-blocker. I’ve never seen an ad on here.
An ad blocker would deprive the site of advertising dollars.
So you don’t want a solution to your problem. Got it.
I don’t feel so entitled to content consumption that I am willing to subvert the means of the creators to support running the site just to make it easier for me to use. But you do you.
My wife bought a base Camry a few months ago. Her idea of luxury is CarPlay, a backup camera, and overboosted power steering, so she didn’t see the need to pay more for a higher trim. With cloth seats, she doesn’t miss having heated seats.
One bonus of the base model is that it has smaller wheels, which gives it a smoother ride, better gas mileage, and cheaper tire replacement costs.
My only problem with the base-model Camry is that the smaller screen is offensive, especially the zoomed-in way it displays CarPlay.
It does everything else perfectly.