This is probably the year the car market turns it around. I don’t see a huge positive sales swing. We’re not going to hit SAAR 17 million at any point. It’s just that stability finally seemed at hand. There was the pandemic, the chip shortage, the rush to make EVs, then the crash of a new administration and tariffs. The car market has sort of felt like that episode of The Simpsons with Sideshow Bob stepping on a series of rakes spread out in all directions. That’s all over, right? Natalie Portman Face: Right?
The War in Iran, or the limited police action, or whatever, is the next rake. Will it be fine? It’ll probably be fine. I could predict a recession in every Morning Dump, and eventually I’d be right. Mostly, though, the economy has done a pretty good job of pushing forward. Even a middling year would probably be alright for the car market.
A global recession, though, would wreak absolute havoc on an industry that keeps getting knocked down and can only get up so many times. Already, the owners of F1 are taking it in the shorts as they’re having to potentially delay or cancel numerous races due to the, uh, organized kerfuffle in the Middle East.
Stellantis is one of the companies most at risk in this situation, and one longtime company leader has left the company. Toyota is, too, but Toyota is probably in a better position and is trying to strengthen its supply chain by purchasing a chipmaker.
What Happens If The Economy Looks Down?
The fact that I keep invoking cartoons in my argument is probably a reflection of the kind of mature, thoughtful analysis you can expect if you are first time TMD reader. My number one, most used reference is to that moment in a Roadrunner cartoon when the character Wile E. Coyote runs off a cliff. In the strange gravity of the universe, the Coyote doesn’t fall until he looks down. It’s not the gravity that kills you; it’s the acknowledgement of gravity that comes before the fall.
That’s roughly how I feel about the current economic situation relative to the car market. A record number of buyers have negative equity on their cars. Sales are slowing down a little. Affordability is a concern. There’s now $1.59 trillion of automotive debt out there. That’s all scary, though it isn’t exactly new. This happens from time to time, and it’s not usually fatal. It probably won’t be fatal in this case. It’ll probably be fine.
A few bad things can happen, and we’ll get through them. The trick is, all the bad things can’t happen at once. The fact that gas prices have risen the most in the last four days since Hurricane Katrina is bad, but gas prices aren’t close to a peak. The economy is losing jobs, and unemployment is up. That happens sometimes, too.
I think the question to consider is how long this lasts. If this is, erm, strategic intervention is limited, it’s probably fine. No one looks down. The economy is not dragged into the bottom of the canyon. If it lasts longer, though? What happens next is a little harder to predict. Analysts at equity research firm Bernstein have some thoughts, via Automotive News, and they propose three possible outcomes:
There is direct disruption to sales inside Iran. There is disruption to vehicle deliveries throughout the region, affecting wider shipments and sales at international players.
Big regional sellers such as Toyota or Hyundai could feel this pinch. So might producers of exotics and high-end sports cars, such as Ferrari.
Finally, there is disruption from rising pump prices, due to interrupted oil tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz. Higher crude prices could negatively affect automakers such as Stellantis, which are heavily invested in internal combustion powertrains.
[…]
“Against this backdrop, the ongoing conflict highlights the potential magnitude of disruption,” Bernstein wrote. “By far the biggest risk is that a prolonged war continues to drive up oil prices and undermine confidence in the global economy, crashing auto sales well beyond the Gulf.”
Obviously, if you sell cars in Iran or rely on moving your exotics in the Middle East, that process might be disrupted. If you rely on shipping stuff through the Strait of Hormuz, that’ll be pretty annoying, too. The biggest risk in the United States, though, is that the confidence goes away. That we all look down.
If that happens, then all those people with upside-down cars can’t make car payments on cars that will, suddenly, lose value. The current plan of pushing out a lot of cars with gas engines, as Stellantis is planning to do with the return of V8 engines, is a lot harder to pull off if gas prices are high. Carmakers like VW are already short on cash, and any borrowing in order to change directions is going to get tougher.
The car market needs a boring year.
What’s F1 Going To Do?
The expansion of the Formula One calendar has taken place primarily in the United States and the Arabian Peninsula. This year, there’s Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Hell, this weekend’s race in Australia is the Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix.
For reasons both financial and aesthetic, the expansion of racing in the region makes sense. While plenty of new fans are here for the incredible cars, talented drivers, and the drama of racing, for some, it’s just another Instagram backdrop. The whole illusion of wealth created by people posing in grounded private jets, drinking champagne against one of any number of supposedly “safe” urban backgrounds.
The illusion of safety has been pierced, and it would be unwise to have a race there right now. This is having a big impact on the company, as Bloomberg reports:
Liberty Media Corp.’s Formula One has seen $1.9 billion wiped off its market value since the Iran war began, as concerns about races in the Middle East weigh on one of the world’s most popular sports.
The new F1 season begins this weekend in Melbourne, Australia, the first of 24 races in 2026. Uncertainty surrounds two races next month in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with the conflict ramping up across the region. The Qatar and Abu Dhabi grand prix are due to round off the season toward the end of the year.
Shares of Liberty Formula One, the vehicle that owns the competition, have dropped over 7% in New York so far this week.
As always, against the backdrop of real human suffering, share prices aren’t really that important, but it’s yet another reminder that we all share oxygen on a little ball that is negligibly small in the vast ocean of space.
Chrysler CEO Leaves Company To ‘Focus On My Family’
When I took this job, it was partially to focus on my family. The whole filmmaking thing was so much fun, and I’m grateful I had the chance to do it, but my kid is only going to be a kid for so long and being on the road that much sucked. I’m so lucky that The Autopian launched when it did and that I was invited to come along for the ride.
So I try not to be suspicious when people say they leave a job to focus on their family. It happens! That’s what Chrysler and Alfa Romeo North America CEO Christine Feuell told the Detroit Free Press:
Feuell told the Detroit Free Press she is leaving the company with “immense gratitude,” saying she left to spend more time with her family.
“My decision to leave Stellantis was not easy but I needed to step away to focus on my family,” Feuell wrote in a message. “I leave with immense gratitude and complete confidence in the talented team that I had the privilege to build and work alongside.”
There are more important things than work.
Toyota’s Denso Unit Might Buy A Chipmaker
Toyota has been on a bit of a buying spree lately as it spends cash to try to take control of more of its operations. This stuff is not as exciting as winning on Sunday if you’re a Toyota fan. However, there’s no sell-on-Monday if you don’t have the parts to make the cars.
The latest venture from Toyota is an attempt to buy Japanese chipmaker Rohm.
If the deal materializes, the two companies would be a major force in Japan for power semiconductors, which are used in electric vehicles and data centers.
The proposal was apparently made in February or earlier, and Rohm has set up a special committee to discuss whether to accept it. If Rohm rejects the proposal, Denso may proceed with a hostile takeover bid.
Denso commented Friday on its proposal for Rohm, stating, “we are considering various strategic options including the acquisition of Rohm shares.” The company also said no specific decisions have been made at this point but that it will “promptly disclose any material facts that are decided to be disclosed.”
Seems like a smart buy to me.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Peter said this song, “It’s A Miracle” by Culture Club, was stuck in his head, and it’s amusing to me to keep it there. Also, it’s a bop.
The Big Question
Where would be the worst race track currently in existence to have an F1 race right now?
Top graphic images: Jeep; The Autopian
My personal favorite is Law IX…
Cartoon Laws of Physics (without attribution as authorship unknown)
Cartoon Law I
Any body suspended in space will remain in space until made aware of its situation. Daffy Duck steps off a cliff, expecting further pastureland. He loiters in midair, soliloquizing flippantly, until he chances to look down. At this point, the familiar principle of 32 feet per second per second takes over.
Cartoon Law II
Any body in motion will tend to remain in motion until solid matter intervenes suddenly. Whether shot from a cannon or in hot pursuit on foot, cartoon characters are so absolute in their momentum that only a telephone pole or an outsize boulder retards their forward motion absolutely. Sir Isaac Newton called this sudden termination of motion the stooge’s surcease.
Cartoon Law III
Any body passing through solid matter will leave a perforation conforming to its perimeter. Also called the silhouette of passage, this phenomenon is the specialty of victims of directed-pressure explosions and of reckless cowards who are so eager to escape that they exit directly through the wall of a house, leaving a cookie-cutout-perfect hole. The threat of skunks or matrimony often catalyzes this reaction.
Cartoon Law IV
The time required for an object to fall twenty stories is greater than or equal to the time it takes for whoever knocked it off the ledge to spiral down twenty flights to attempt to capture it unbroken. Such an object is inevitably priceless, the attempt to capture it inevitably unsuccessful.
Cartoon Law V
All principles of gravity are negated by fear. Psychic forces are sufficient in most bodies for a shock to propel them directly away from the earth’s surface. A spooky noise or an adversary’s signature sound will induce motion upward, usually to the cradle of a chandelier, a treetop, or the crest of a flagpole. The feet of a character who is running or the wheels of a speeding auto need never touch the ground, especially when in flight.
Cartoon Law VI
As speed increases, objects can be in several places at once. This is particularly true of tooth-and-claw fights, in which a character’s head may be glimpsed emerging from the cloud of altercation at several places simultaneously. This effect is common as well among bodies that are spinning or being throttled. A `wacky’ character has the option of self-replication only at manic high speeds and may ricochet off walls to achieve the velocity required.
Cartoon Law VII
Certain bodies can pass through solid walls painted to resemble tunnel entrances; others cannot. This trompe l’oeil inconsistency has baffled generations, but at least it is known that whoever paints an entrance on a wall’s surface to trick an opponent will be unable to pursue him into this theoretical space. The painter is flattened against the wall when he attempts to follow into the painting. This is ultimately a problem of art, not of science.
Cartoon Law VIII
Any violent rearrangement of feline matter is impermanent. Cartoon cats possess even more deaths than the traditional nine lives might comfortably afford. They can be decimated, spliced, splayed, accordion-pleated, spindled, or disassembled, but they cannot be destroyed. After a few moments of blinking self pity, they reinflate, elongate, snap back, or solidify. Corollary: A cat will assume the shape of its container.
Cartoon Law IX
Everything falls faster than an anvil.
Cartoon Law X
For every vengeance there is an equal and opposite revengeance. This is the one law of animated cartoon motion that also applies to the physical world at large. For that reason, we need the relief of watching it happen to a duck instead.
Cartoon Law Amendment A
A sharp object will always propel a character upward. When poked (usually in the buttocks) with a sharp object (usually a pin), a character will defy gravity by shooting straight up, with great velocity.
Cartoon Law Amendment B
The laws of object permanence are nullified for “cool” characters. Characters who are intended to be “cool” can make previously nonexistent objects appear from behind their backs at will. For instance, the Road Runner can materialize signs to express himself without speaking.
Cartoon Law Amendment C
Explosive weapons cannot cause fatal injuries. They merely turn characters temporarily black and smoky.
Cartoon Law Amendment D
Gravity is transmitted by slow-moving waves of large wavelengths. Their operation can be witnessed by observing the behavior of a canine suspended over a large vertical drop. Its feet will begin to fall first, causing its legs to stretch. As the wave reaches its torso, that part will begin to fall, causing the neck to stretch. As the head begins to fall, tension is released and the canine will resume its regular proportions until such time as it strikes the ground.
Cartoon Law Amendment E
Dynamite is spontaneously generated in “C-spaces” (spaces in which cartoon laws hold). The process is analogous to steady-state theories of the universe which postulated that the tensions involved in maintaining a space would cause the creation of hydrogen from nothing. Dynamite quanta are quite large (stick sized) and unstable (lit). Such quanta are attracted to psychic forces generated by feelings of distress in “cool” characters (see Amendment B, which may be a special case of this law), who are able to use said quanta to their advantage. One may imagine C-spaces where all matter and energy result from primal masses of dynamite exploding. A big bang indeed.
Warner Bros University Physics 101.
I suddenly have this song in my head:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwYQsZuh2CM
Spectacular. In our attention deficit world I actually read the whole thing.
While reading this I had a vision of a golden golf cart packed with clowns shooting off a cliff into space. Hope the economics works out.
*chef’s kiss. Magnificent!
I took the time to read this but not my gmail EULA. Go figure.
Montreal would suck right now for a F1 race. Peak pothole season and I doubt the cars would survive a race in salty slush.
Plus, the rowing basin is still frozen over, the mechanics can’t have their boat race.
Minus all of the Doom and Gloom today, I can relate to leaving an automotive job to spend more time with family. I left working at the Blue Oval for this exact reason. I had a manager (Three times divorced) tell me Ford becomes your first family, everyone else is second. I left a year ago next week and Monday I officially convert from a temporary contactor to full time engineer for a different OEM that allows me to spend significantly more time with my kids.
TBQ: Thermal Club Cause if the racing sucked for IndyCar, imagine how bad it will be with the snooze fest F1 has become.
I gave up a potential career in the world of NASCAR because I knew working every weekend wasn’t going to let me spend time with my family the way I would want to. I don’t regret it at all.
I never find it suss when an exec leaves a job to spend time with family. The times I’ve seen this happen personally it was due to a child with a major health issue, the exec’s own health issue, or both. Humans are still humans.
I’m gonna say the course plotted for the Mint 400 is less than ideal for F1.
F1 cars running the Mint 400 would get me to tune in though.
Same
The winning completed distance would be measured in feet.
Maybe, but there are a lot of companies that make power chips: Bosch, Infineon, STmicro, Renesas, etc. Bosch and Infineon are absolute juggernauts for automotive and general power chips.
ROHM has both 200mm SiC and 300mm Si fabs, which is good, but their closest competitor (Renesas) is still 3x larger (by revenue) than them.
The more pressing issue for automakers right now is memory chips, which are only really made by Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix, and all three of those have basically had their entirely capacity swallowed up by AI datacenters.
Memory fabs require fundamentally different infrastructure and equipment layouts from logic/power/MEMS fabs, so it’s not like BOSCH or Infineon can start making memory chips to help out the automotive industry.
A millennial’s list of once in a lifetime economic events:
Did I miss anything? I guess I can add AI crash and global recession 2 to the list soon.
Global trade war should probably be up there too.
Duh, you’re right. Cant edit my comment anymore 🙁
Gen X here. I remember my dumb teenage self thinking Kurt Cobain dying was going to be the biggest event I would see in my life. Oh my sweet summer child.
Black Monday freaked me out because I saw the worry on my otherwise stoic dad’s face.
Crypto and it’s crypto winter could make a mess. What happened in Vietnam was crazy and slightly amusing if you saw it coming. Though crypto bros are ai bros the same so will probably just lumped into ai crash.
There was at least one crypto winter, The Fappening, Coldplaygate, Nipplegate and Pizzagate
My older list in no particular order includes a 73 market crash, 80’s recession, October 97 crash, Black Monday, a couple of oil crisis, presidential and family assassinations, Vietnam, Nixon, Ford, Carter.
The current market ‘feel’ to is is very much like that before the dot bomb and the 2008 meltdown. I’m happy I own everything and owe nothing.
Mad King G and his merry band are going to sink the ship IMO.
TBQ – Monaco. no other track even close.
it’s too damn small, passing is impossible. you finish where you qualify. boring!!
organizers reject any suggestions to change layout, e.g eliminate nuveau chicane so cars can get a run out of the tunnel to tabac ( tho that’s likely too dangerous) e.g. turn left after mirabeau bas onto ave princess grace for a long straight with heavy braking into 180 hairpin and back to tunnel on other side of ave princess grace.
Possible solution – just run Go-Carts. Still the ‘world’s best drivers’ and an arguablly better consumer product.
Only reproduction 1960s f1 cars. Same outline, ground shadow, and gross hp of a vintage car, teams are allowed to innovate otherwise.
The Kazoo cars were the pinnacle, imo. Add in a LeMans start and we’re literally off to the races!
Much I would love to see that, unfortunately those were death traps. Maybe someing like an old IROC race – spec F3 cars?
I am assuming that safety features are covered in ‘innovate otherwise’, though I may be slightly overgenerous and optimistic, considering.
Qualifying is the only fun part; ergo, it should be turned into a time trial tournament-style bracket. Or just anything time trial related.
Run it on a dirt track throughout the world. Model all the tracks after the Fonda Speedway in Fonda New York. Give the teams one season to re-engineer the cars into full on Sprint cars.cut the budgets 75% and fire the top six management layers of Liberty Media
I live 10 miles from Lernerville…
I’ve been hating the sportswashing of the middle east over the past few years, so I’m kind of ok with F1 getting disrupted there.
It’s like they think FAFO only applies to other people.
This is a pretty bleak TMD for a Friday.
If the WAR (that’s what it is, dammit) lasts a month, we’ll hit $150/bbl for crude oil. The jobs report that has been ‘massaged’ to look better than reality is still dismal. Other nations are hesitant to sign up for the shenanigans, and the longer that lasts, the more that will join in on giving the US the cold shoulder.
Within our borders, domestic policing is still pretty hairy. We have government branches disregarding each others’ authority. A list of Senators throwing their hands up and walking away that grows weekly. And as we enter Spring, we have an alarmingly low snow pack for the Colorado river basin that will lead to droughts at a time when we are churning through more fresh water than ever before, mostly in service of a tech bubble that is getting mighty thin.
/rant
It’s going to be a wild ride. I’m 35 miles from the border, and I feel like I should maybe shuffle a little closer.
If it’s the northern border, asylum is always available to Autopian members. We’re housing them with Hundal (we haven’t told him yet).
I know the feeling of the northern border with Canada being “right there” just in case. And having multiple kinds of vehicles capable of reaching the land of Tim’s double-doubles and poutine.
You know how art imitates reality? In the Handmaids Tale, Canada is where all the American refugees escaped to after the crazies toppled the US government.
Being alive during the oil embargo, the cold war, double digit inflation and interest rates, black Monday, AIDS, Chernoby, carbs and drum brakes, etc it makes me kinda chuckle at how bad people think they got things today.
I was there for all that. But I got kids now, and we are leaving them nothing.
‘It’s a war’…but not according to the alien lizard inhabiting Speaker Mike Johnson. See, if you don’t call it a war then you can help your pedophile in cheif do an end run around the War Powers Act while at the same time cripple the check and balance between the Legislative and Executive branches of government. Ironic that the smarmy ‘Secretary of War’ Pete Kegsbreath can’t call it a war…
“Special military operation”
I think I am also ready to quit my job to spend more time with my family. Will someone please give me money so I can do that?
Get a job as CEO of a major company, and then run it so poorly they fire you, while handing you the golden parachute on the way out.
See: Carlos Tavares
Maybe I can be the new CEO of Chrysler? If I somehow ruin the Pacifica, they’ll have no choice but to fire me!
Have you SEEN the Pacifica refresh? Stellantis is waaay ahead of you!
I could do worse. I’ll sell the coveted Stow N’ Go technology to a rival company and remove it completely from the Pacifica! Muahahahaha!
Also, how can you need a CEO to manage the operations of one car?!?
The title should be Chrysler Pacifica CEO. Seems like a middle manager could do the job if they know the basics. No wonder that company is in such a mess.
Boy oh boy do I have bad news for them then.
Is there ever a good time to have a global recession?
To all the worlds “wealthy” parasites that moved to the Emirates areas in the Persian Gulf to not pay taxes, flaunt their wondrous lives on line, while convincing themselves they are better than the rest of humanity, ergo The Little People, I say “Welcome to the Party, Pal!”. Insert picture of Bruce Willis from Die Hard here.
Organized kerfuffle? Is that the name of Donald Trump’s (the other DT) hairstyle? If I walk into a Great Clips and say “give me an organized kerfuffle”, will they know what I mean?
I’m so stealing this, thank you!
Honestly, the fact that so many world leaders are so cartoonishly evil and selfish (yes, including basically the entire executive branch in the United States) strikes a deeper metaphorical resonance than something to be handwaved away as immature.
Here’s hoping the cliff breaks off sooner than later and pounds this gaggle of nuclear morons into the earth.
Speaking of bad songs you hate stuck in your head, Red, Red Wii-iii-ine…
You’re welcome everybody 🙂
STOP IT
I think you mean Let It Go. 🙂
Mahna Mahna!
Do doo do do-do!
Baby shark, do do do-doo, baby shark, do do do-doo, baby shark!
BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring ring, BANANA PHONE!
I gotta feeling…. That tonight’s gonna be a good night…
Louie, lou-ah, hey, hey, hey we gotta go!
My worst earworm ever that lasted for weeks was “The Lovecats” by The Cure, except it had a nasty little twist. In my poor feverish head it was “The LOLcats” and included the line “so wonderfully, wonderfully, wonderfully, wonderfully witty”.
With oil hitting $90 a barrel and no end in sight, there’s a good chance that anyone who’s still in the new-car market will be highly concerned with fuel economy, so bad news for anyone relying on high-margin large gas-guzzling trucks to carry their profits.
My Mirage blew a tire on a pothole last week, but I’m grateful this week for my tiny gas bill.
But if this continues, then good news for smaller, lighter, affordable, nimble cars
If only there was some time in living memory that could have taught a lesson like this. What are those poor people with those big engines going to do?!
These days it feels like suggesting that history has repeating patterns that, while not precisely predictable, can be learned from and prepared against, is something between treason and heresy.
That said, if this site had a comments search feature (mods: NEVER implement a comments search feature, please) I would be unable to resist going back to every ‘nuh-uh!’ reply to ‘gas prices will be high again’ and posting ‘I told you so!’
A previous post about my wanting a new Bronco has been dampened by recent events. Maybe a cheap used Bolt for my daily commute…
Pfft. Have you met the average American? And even with the price well up, gas is still FAR too cheap here for anyone to actually, really care.
That thing about people not wanting electric cars might have been premature.
The worst track for F1? Sure, we could talk about things like missiles and war-torn nations, but I have something better:
You see, the worst track for F1 would be an oval. Even worse would be a short oval. Let’s make it dirt too. Even better, make it follow the natural terrain with a jump mid course.
A few times a year American Flat Track Motorcycle Racing hosts a race at the Peoria Motorcycle Club’s racecourse outside town, used for the Peoria TT. Corners with no banking, Illinois clay surface, leap over a hill, narrower in places than Monaco, and it runs next to a grove over that jump. It’s sketchy enough on a big 750cc flat tracker. F1 would completely forget how bad the 2022 cars rode after that.
Just run the Vegas GP out to Primm and back along Las Vegas Boulevard which technically parallels I-15 all the way to the CA line even if it’s a bumpy dirt path part of the way.
Drivers have to 1) Finish and 2) Match the pace set by a newly-licensed 16-year-old in a Subaru Crosstrek.
This would be entertaining in its own way, for sure.
“You see, the worst track for F1 would be an oval. Even worse would be a short oval. Let’s make it dirt too. Even better, make it follow the natural terrain with a jump mid course.”
Are you kidding? I would watch the hell out of that.
We would, I don’t know about the worldwide audience, though. Either Pirelli would have to come up with F1 Scorpions or they’d all have to run Hoosier sprint car tires for one race. And even then, the best place to pass is also theoretically the hardest since the backstretch is Monaco narrow, has the jump, and, after looking at it, a right hand curve going into the tighter turn 3/4. In the braking zone. So technically it’s not even a perfect oval.
Now, if World Rallycross were to show up…
“What Happens If The Economy Looks Down?”
Or better yet… what happens when the economy looks down and fuel prices shoot up?
Well I’ll tell you… all the people who over-extended themselves by buying loaded full size pickup trucks will get fucked by the Dildo of Consequences.
And the Dildo of Consequences rarely arrives lubed…
And regarding Christine Feuell… well she didn’t last that long, eh? Looked at her linkedin…
Chrysler and Alfa Romeo NA Brand CEODec 2024 – Present · 1 yr 4 mosChrysler and Ram Brand CEOMay 2024 – Dec 2024 · 8 mosChrysler Brand CEOSep 2021 – May 2024 · 2 yrs 9 mosSo she was in charge of Chrysler for the last 5 years. And from where I sit, she didn’t do shit for Chrysler.
“Brand CEO”… *rolls eyes*…
Seriously, what does the CEO for “Chrysler Brand” do all day? You sell 1 model. I guess her tenure may have included the 300 for a bit. So 2 models. 5 years after she arrived there they have zero new products in the pipeline.
Diddle their thumbs and wait for a payout…
Yell about recalls.
If they were yelling about recalls, should the situation for recalls have improved?
“Seriously, what does the CEO for “Chrysler Brand” do all day?”
My guess? Based on how a whole lot of nothing happened for Chrysler over the last few years, I’d say it’s something like this:
https://giphy.com/gifs/daffy-duck-masturbation-QjTAjja6qYQhi
“… get fucked by the Dildo of Consequences.
And the Dildo of Consequences rarely arrives lubed…”
Thank you, I’m so stealing that! Bladder emptied, thankfully I am already on the pot. My face hurts. I. Can’t. Breathe. LOL.
I didn’t come up with that. I heard it elsewhere. And you can even get the T-Shirt
https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/56891590-the-dildo-of-consequences-rarely-arrives-lubed
And the bumper sticker
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/4326424126/the-dildo-of-consequences-rarely-arrives
Oh and there is a mug too!
https://www.redbubble.com/i/mug/The-Dildo-Of-Consequences-Rarely-Arrives-Lubed-by-GiftTees/130964084.W3OIY
If the car industry can’t afford a recession then the garbage pile behind the Resolute Desk should probably stop doing everything it can to make one happen.
Worst current race track for F1:
Bristol Motor Speedway
F1 culture vs. “It’s Bristol baby”.
Honestly, I would kind of love this.
Or Martinsville. We’ll sell you the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge! No cans or bottles thru the gate!
“Where would be the worst race track currently in existence to have an F1 race right now?”
I would think that would have to be the Zarandieh International Autodrome just outside of Tehran, nah?
Wait. You made movies? So what ever happened to the Zombie Bunnies trilogy?
I think he was co-director for Motor trend
“Pikes Peak On The Edge” about the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb.
Gonna have to watch that now. Thanks!
Your welcome, it’s great!
There’s much “I told you so” being unsaid by China and the push for EVs.
If the US automakers wanted, they could have been ahead of China by 20+ years. But they wanted to force the current SUV/CUV/truck zeitgeist on us instead to maximize short-term profit, but when it backfires, they’re going to demand taxpayer-funded bailouts. All of this comes at our expense and the expense of the environment.
Today’s $11,400 BYD Seagull from China has range/performance specs which the US automakers could have had with aerodynamic sedans and NiMH batteries in the 1990s at under $20k MSRP in mass production.
As an EV lover, I’m keeping my mouth shut while the whole Iran thing plays out. This could be a blip like many other fuel price spikes, or it could be a new normal. It’s way too early to predict if EV sales become hot again like 2022.
There is a chance that Trump could be the best EV and solar salesperson ever much like Obama was for firearms.
No wonder Chinese netizens nicknamed Trump “Trump the Nation Builder.”
I shouldn’t need to repeat that said nation is not the United States.
MAGA already prepping for “Make America a Shithole Again” by installing Panels.
They can’t say that out loud, it will offend the MAGAs even though that is the de facto direction the US is taking. Look at Texas, they learned their lesson. They spent the last 2.5 years very quietly building out their renewables and battery storage, to the point they may surpass California in installed utility battery storage. The MAGAs don’t know Texas embraced ‘the other sides thing’.
Well, Texans have learned from winters (and probably summers) how unreliable their power grid is. Batteries and solar are an individual’s option.
Where would be the worst race track currently in existence to have an F1 race right now?
MotorCity Motorpark Racing Circuit
The title made me think you were talking about Detroit
Waterford Hills.
No one can except billionaires. All of this is by design and working exactly as intended.
They’ve been quite happy in buying up Mcneil, Warner Brothers, Oil Stocks, et al.
Why you can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps is on you
Because the upward force exerted on the bootstraps is counteracted by the downward force on your hand. All forces are internal to the free body and therefore there will be no resultant motion.
Of course it’s as intended. If you have a modicum of care about your future and your children’s, take a few long minutes to read Project 2025. It’s going down exactly as they planned.
I haven’t verified this, but I’m told by sources I trust that “War with Iran” is literally called out as a goal of Project 2025.
Anyone saying “who could have predicted this?” clearly wasn’t paying attention.
War with Iran is not literally called out in Project 2025. A bunch of other things are but not Iran.
Project 2025 is here:
https://archive.org/details/project-2025-mandate-for-leadership-heritage-foundation/Project%202025%3B%20Mandate%20For%20Leadership%20-%20Heritage%20Foundation/
General. Strike. Now.