When politics and cars clash, it’s usually the car enthusiasts who lose. This was never clearer than in the ’70s, when the 1-2 punch of smog-filled skies and a massive oil embargo combined to create an era of emissions-choked cars. Desiring more power, Americans looked to gray market European imports, only to have politics arrive yet again, leading to the 25-year import ban. Will this trend reverse in the future?
While it’s likely that the UK and EU will slow-roll some of their emissions regulations, they’re not going to go backwards. For all the talk of EV mandates and cancelling the California Waiver, it’s not as if Congress planned to eliminate the fines automakers have to pay for not reaching Corporate Fuel Economy Standards. Oh, wait, that’s what Congress is quietly trying to do.
With the softer standards for gas-powered cars potentially in the offing, will we be in an inverted situation where the American cars are the more enthusiast-focused ones? It’s definitely possible.
This is me trying to put a positive spin on the news for The Morning Dump. I want The Autopian to be a generally good vibes situation, where people come to us to get away from the rest of it. At the same time, I don’t want us to constantly be putting our heads in the sand, partially because I think people ignore politics at their own peril, and that’s doubly true for car enthusiasts. So there’s the somewhat positive spin.
Ok, here’s the part that’s less fun. Panic! Automakers are panicking over magnets. I don’t blame them. As if this trade war wasn’t already a pain in the tuckus for many, it’s also maybe going to cause Detroit Axle to go out of business as the negative outcomes might hit the same rust-belt voters who helped swing the White House.
Also, the price increases are here, it’s just not obvious yet.
Senate Tries To Remove Teeth From CAFE Regulations
I saw a comment on Reddit this weekend that timed well with my own thoughts. Here’s the headline of the post: “With Tightening Euro Emissions Will US Spec Cars Be The Ones to Have?” It’s an interesting thought exercise. For the reasons mentioned above, “grey market” imports became extremely popular in the 1980s as Europeans got the bigger-motor, less-restricted, more powerful versions of a lot of luxury cars.
Eventually, Congress slapped that down with the 25-year import ban, which is sometimes referred to as the “Mercedes Law,” as Mercedes dealers in particular felt harmed by the grey market. Is the inverse going to happen now? For the last few years, it’s been the United States that’s often had the more powerful/better specs of cars.
If you’re a Lexus enthusiast, a Final Edition RC F is probably the one to get, but those haven’t been for sale in Europe for a while. Every time I’m on that side of the pond, I’m impressed by how many Mustangs there are, but the highest-powered Dark Horse isn’t available.
This is likely to only get more pronounced under a Washington controlled by Republicans. For example?
This weekend, the Senate Select Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation released the text for its revised reconciliation budget bill, and this was tucked in there:
20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 32912 of title 49, United
21 States Code, is amended—
22 (1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding
23 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘$5’’ and inserting
24 ‘‘$0.00’’; and
24
KAT25448 FT5 S.L.C.
1 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘$10’’
2 and inserting ‘‘$0.00’’.
That’s tricky! Rather than have a debate over whether or not it’s wise to lower Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, Republicans in the Senate are trying to get around that by making the penalties for violating them $0, effectively ending them. This is like saying it’s illegal to urinate in public and then saying the fine for urinating in public is $0. Guess what? I’m peeing off the L Train platform.
If this passes, it would mean car companies would be way freer to sell whatever engines they want in whatever quantity and not worry about having to pass on a “gas guzzler” tax to enthusiasts. If you’re a fan of big motors, this is good news. Even if you just like smaller cars, this might save vehicles like the Golf R, which are not easily offset by companies that can’t sell EVs and haven’t sold hybrids.
Assuming everyone else keeps their fuel economy/emissions regulations, then the United States could become a playground for more high-horsepower cars.
That’s one perspective. Here’s another one, from Consumer Reports policy analyst Chris Harto:
“These proposed changes effectively gut the popular CAFE program, turning it into nothing more than an accounting requirement with no teeth. Without an enforcement mechanism, many automakers are likely to continue to leave proven, popular, and cost effective technologies sitting and gathering dust on the shelf, rather than deploying them to save consumers money at the pump. Hybrid technology, for example, is popular with consumers and delivers a great return on investment, yet many automakers do not offer consumers a single conventional hybrid option. Without enforceable standards to drive progress, we are concerned that most automakers will slow or freeze progress on delivering more fuel efficient vehicles for consumers despite consumer expectations for continued improvements in vehicle efficiency.“
Not all decisions made for enthusiasts are good for everyone, and part of having a society is balancing all of those requirements out. I love cars with pop-up headlights, but they’re terrible for pedestrian crash survivability, so it’s a net good thing that they don’t exist anymore (and it’s doubtful with new headlight tech that they’d have lasted much longer than they did).
Here’s a fun graphic from the EPA:
You can see the Malaise Era hit, with fuel economy going up at the price of horsepower. Emissions-choked cars from that era often suck and it took a while for automakers to commercialize the kind of technology (higher compression, variable valve timing, turbocharged engines and hybrids) that allowed us to have our cake and eat it, too. Now, cars are way more powerful, way safer, and way more efficient. The transition period was rough, but the results are there.
There’s no guarantee that this will make it into law, and, given that Congress needs more ways to make money to offset the huge deficit likely to be caused by the bill’s passage, I’m not sure of the logic here. Perhaps it’s to help car companies hurt by tariffs.
Either way, I’m not convinced this is going to be a huge deal. The number of people who want hi-po cars is way smaller than the number of people who want efficient and affordable ones. There is definitely a market for certain cars (see the Golf R), but the future is hybrid, and you’re going to have a hard time selling a V8-powered Blazer when someone can get a Highlander that’s just as powerful, more efficient, and cheaper to own.
Also, with the exception of large trucks, most cars are made for global markets, which means it’ll become increasingly inefficient to build one type of engine for the United States and totally different engines for everyone else. We can maybe get away with a slightly higher tune if this passes, but it’s not like V10 BMWs are coming back. I’m not even sure the V6 is going to come back.
‘The Whole Car Industry Is In Full Panic’ Over Magnets
I love the idea of “Full” panic here, compared to just partial panic. As someone who is naturally anxiety-prone, I can relate. A little panic every now and then is why my ancestors didn’t get eaten by lions, but full panic is bad. It’s bad!
According to this Reuters report, there’s panic out there over Chinese exports of magnets:
Frank Eckard, CEO of a German magnet maker, has been fielding a flood of calls in recent weeks. Exasperated automakers and parts suppliers have been desperate to find alternative sources of magnets, which are in short supply due to Chinese export curbs.
Some told Eckard their factories could be idled by mid-July without backup magnet supplies. “The whole car industry is in full panic,” said Eckard, CEO of Magnosphere, based in Troisdorf, Germany. “They are willing to pay any price.”
Car executives have once again been driven into their war rooms, concerned that China’s tight export controls on rare-earth magnets — crucially needed to make cars — could cripple production.
Another upstream panic over parts is exactly what the automotive industry needs as an excuse to yet again raise prices. If there’s any good news here, it’s that China is giving a break to American automakers, even as cars like the Ford Explorer have seen production disruptions.
Detroit Axle Says It Could Go Out Of Business Within Weeks
Michigan-based Detroit Axle is a mostly online parts company that, not shockingly, imports a lot of the cheap parts it sells to enthusiasts from China. Under the “de minimis” exemption, many sub-$800 products aren’t taxed on import, which is how Temu and Shein have continued to operate.
[Ed Note: Cheap suspension parts — tie rod ends, wheel bearings, etc. are key in allowing enthusiasts from all economic classes to enjoy their vehicles. I use almost exclusively Detroit Axle replacement suspension parts, and they’re dirt cheap and good! I’ll miss if they go; so will my wallet. -DT].
The Trump Administration is trying to end this exemption, so Detroit Axle is suing, saying it’ll put its operations out of business, per The Detroit News:
“Detroit Axle’s situation is dire; it will likely be forced to shutter most or all of its business and lay off hundreds of employees if it does not receive relief by the end of June,” attorneys for the company wrote. “And every day that passes without relief brings new irreparable harm to the company in the form of lost business opportunities, customer goodwill, and reputation.”
Detroit Axle says it employs about 230 people in Michigan alone, which is part of a trend of short-term impacts for Rust Belt voters, as pointed out in this Bloomberg story:
In Illinois, Trump’s tariffs prompted a compressor maker to delay a key equipment purchase after an ambitious factory revamp. Rockwell Automation Inc., a Wisconsin-based producer of factory tools, says some manufacturers are putting projects on hold because of uncertainty over costs and future demand. Snap-on Inc. is seeing similar hesitancy among car mechanics.
The warnings underscore the rising worry that turbulence from Trump’s trade wars will smother the progress US manufacturers have already made revving up American factories. Manufacturing payrolls fell by 8,000 last month, the most this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. US and Chinese negotiators will resume trade talks Monday in London, as the world’s two largest economies look to resolve disputes over tariffs and technology.
I hope you’re starting to see how this is all related. Being over-reliant on one source for key components of everything is bad. We should have alternative sources that aren’t just China. One way to do that is the CHIPS Act/IRA approach of providing money and support to industry and research institutions. The other way is to make everything way, way more expensive. Whichever policy you prefer (or maybe you prefer both), it’s tough for planners that we’ve gone full speed in one direction and now are going full speed the other way.
The Stealth Price Increases Are Already Here
While there are some automakers (Ford and Stellantis in particular) looking to pick up market share these days, most are finding ways to make cars more expensive to cope with tariffs without raising a lot of ire with the Trump Administration. How? If you can’t increase the price, just reduce the incentives, as Bloomberg reports:
The average sale price for a new car jumped 2.5% in April, the steepest monthly increase in five years, according to the Kelley Blue Book car buying guide. The average reached $48,699, almost a record. Incentives, which once knocked 10% off the price, fell to 6.7%. Zero-percent financing deals — a key come-on in this age of high interest rates — dropped in April to their lowest rate since 2019, according to researcher Cox Automotive. And at some point, car buyers may balk.
“On the consumer side, they’re seeing several thousand dollars of actual-experience price increase, whereas the factory is saying, ‘No man, we didn’t raise prices at all,’” said Morris Smith III, a Ford dealer in Kansas. “Stealth is a good word for it.”
The best time to buy a car is six months ago; the second-best time to buy a new car is right now.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Aerosmith’s “Crazy” came on the radio this morning, and I was going to switch the channel, but then I remembered that this song is awesome. It’s terrible, too, right? It’s wonderfully terrible, or terribly wonderful, or whatever. I enjoy the hell out of it, and this video includes both Alicia Silverstone and a Fox Body Mustang, so I’m going to go with the former.
The Big Question
If you didn’t (or don’t) live in America, what would you import? What’s America’s greatest grey market export?
Top photo: Bring-A-Trailer/Lexus
I always thought it was spelled ‘tuchus.’ 😮
https://www.askdifference.com/tuckus-vs-tuchus/
Also, Alicia Silverstone (aka Batgirl) toured my house once as part of a group interested in solar systems (to benefit a local non-profit) but I didn’t recognize her until after-the-fact, when a friend pointed it out to me.
This was never clearer than in the ’70s, when the 1-2 punch of smog-filled skies and a massive oil embargo combined to create an era of emissions-choked cars.
As someone who lived in 1970’s smog bowl LA I can say better emissions choked cars than emissions choked people.
This is like saying it’s illegal to urinate in public and then saying the fine for urinating in public is $0. Guess what? I’m peeing off the L Train platform.
Then you have the stench of rancid pee while you wait for the train. THAT’S why you don’t pee off the L train platform.
That and if they can’t fine you for peeing in public they might get you for indecent exposure. If there happens to be a minor present then its Megan’s list for you.
The reason you don’t pee off a platform isn’t because it’s illegal, it’s because it’s crude and shows no respect for others. That’s the real reason why it’s not a good thing to do, illegal or not.
Some people just never learned anything about decency growing up.
Those are good reasons too. Add them to the list.
The L Train uses third rails running 600+ volts DC, that should be at the top of that list.
I know this isn’t strictly car related, but I love Bloomberg classifying Rockwell as a “producer of factory tools”, which is like calling Ford a textile manufacturer – Rockwell is one of the world’s largest automation and electrical suppliers and I doubt there is an operating factory in the world that doesn’t have at least some of their equipment in it.
Also, Detroit Axles makes junk. It took a few tries, but I learned my lesson to not buy anything from then again, lest I end up buying the same item twice from a different vendor a short time later.
“Rockwell Automation Inc., a Wisconsin-based producer of factory tools, says some manufacturers are putting projects on hold because of uncertainty”
Oh God! Not Rockwell!
When will we get the new Ultra–Quantum Encabulator?
My logarithmic bearing is making a grinding noise, and its tough to get through the panametric fam with a socket wrench.
I love those videos. As an industrial automation nerd they always crack me up.
Truly some of the best.
I was hanging out with some friends at the 500 and my dad basically looked at us like we were talking like that when we were discussing composites stuff.
I used to show the original video to people (after it arrived on YouTube) whenever they asked what I did for a living. Most people knew it was all gibberish, but I never correct folks who assume everything said was genuine.
So a manufacturer sees this change (assuming it goes through), and starts making product plans. Right when those plans come to fruition we [hopefully] correct this fustercluck. Then what? Emissions changes roll back, and everything changes for carmakers again.
Exactly. Manufacturers like consistency and stability. The Stable Genius and his congressional minions can do whatever they like via legislative trickery, but most people don’t want to go back to the days of 10mpg land yachts (hell, most people around today don’t even remember that age) especially with 21st-century volatility in gas prices. People want hybrids and other efficient solutions, even in large vehicles, and the manufacturers are going to play it safe by continuing to produce those options. Automotive product development doesn’t happen overnight, and no manufacturer is going to design less-efficient powertrains from scratch when it’s cheaper and safer to plan on CAFE requirements coming back sooner rather than later. This might stop things from getting much better in the short term, but it probably won’t make them worse.
That is what happened last time. Trump was elected, rolled back Obama era EPA rules (Took 3 years). Then Biden was elected, flipped CAFE rules back with huge yearly increases (10%, 8%, 8%) to erase the years that Trump held them to 1.5% and get back on the same path as if Trump never happened. (Took 3 years again as that is how long it take to write emission regulations and follow the law so they don’t get reversed by the courts)
Now most automakers stayed the course, only slightly rolled back on fuel economy efforts, and simply banked GHG credits for exceeding the CAFE requirements. It was only Stellantis that fully embraced the roll back and now they are paying hundreds of millions in CAFE fines per year. The other automakers simply had more cushion for the return to Obama era rules.
Part of this is that CAFE only affects 60% of the US market as CARB isn’t rolling back anything and Trump’s rollback caused several more states to join CARB for the consistency.
“, most are finding ways to make cars more expensive to cope with tariffs without raising a lot of ire with the Trump Administration. How? If you can’t increase the price, just reduce the incentives”
They could also remove features and bring back true base models… models that don’t have heated seats, heated steering wheels, more basic HVAC systems and a bunch of other unnecessary stuff.
“If you didn’t (or don’t) live in America, what would you import? What’s America’s greatest grey market export?”
Well I don’t live in the USA and there isn’t anything in the USA that I can’t already get locally.
If I wanted to import something, it would likely be a BEV that I can’t get locally. And the USA is far from the best market for getting affordable and practical BEVs… with the exception of used Tesla Model S/X vehicles. But I wouldn’t want a Tesla anyway due to political reasons.
Vote for a clown, get a circus.
Well yeah, that and bread is what the population anxiously desire.
Sadly correct. Plus, I can’t help myself:
https://www.dangermouse.net/blog/images/trek/BreadAndCircuses.jpg
When are they rolling back the safety regs. That’ll be fun.
It should be noted that modern Euro emissions standards, which is what has been driving European makes to produce garbage like the current AMG C-Class and causing exported US cars to be detuned to lower power figures, have only just started eclipsing those of the US whereas for basically the prior 50 years the opposite was the case. Traditionally the things European governments went after was CO2 (which directly correlated to fuel economy) and what the US went after was NOx (which is not). That’s why diesels flourished in Europe and nobody in the US beyond VW owners and your weird geography teacher who drove a W124 turbodiesel could give a crap about them. It’s also why European makes struggled just as badly to make performance cars they could sell on the US market (and frequently didn’t even bother) in the 1970s and 1980s as the US automakers did; and why when the European makers made a big diesel push in the 2000s they had such a struggle actually making the cars able to be sold in the US (as well as dieselgate when the EU started actually regulating diesel emissions).
CAFE standards in comparison are a US invention that don’t necessarily influence what car companies sell on the US market (ignoring the footprint loophole that was introduced into it in the Obama administration to protect domestic automakers) anyway because Americans don’t generally care much about fuel economy to begin with.
Any automaker who makes major long-term decisions based on what THIS US government is being run by a bunch of idiots. This clown show will be gone in 3.5yrs (if not sooner, the way things are going), and the pendulum will swing back the other way like a metronome.
I’m in the US and there aren’t really any American cars that I would want. I guess if someone gave me one for free, a Jeep Gladiator. But I don’t have enough use for one to buy one, at least in the current not terribly useful form factor. Two door with a useful length bed, maybe. Probably not still, I do think they are really cool.
Again, the chances of any meaningful elections occurring in 3.5 years are infinitesimally small. Everything currently being done and the bills being passed have only one goal, and that is to cement the MAGA dictatorship. There is no reasonable person who thinks otherwise.
The people who are gleefully sending the masked Gestapo and the U.S. military against U.S. cities are passing laws that allow them to invalidate elections and ignore the courts. Given they have clearly said they won’t listen to the courts anyway, I’m not sure it matters. The fascists in charge of the country have made it clear that any violence in their name is great since those who commit it will be pardoned without question.
The United States is currently, without any doubt, a fascist dictatorship. Doing nothing and hoping for it to change is ridiculous.
I have more faith in our system than you do, evidently.
As I am on the record as saying – the cheeseburgers, a bullet, or an election, Trump will be gone, and he has no successor.
Your faith in the system has been shown to be misplaced over and over and over again. In fact, there is zero evidence on your side. Time to start acting in a way that aligns with reality. If Trump were to go away tomorrow, Vance is the successor, and there is no reason to think he would act any differently. Dictators don’t just hand over power no matter how they initially gained it.
I’ve been wrong over and over again? I think not.
Trump is 78 years old and going senile. Vance has a level of charisma that only a couch could love, and will in no way be the Pied Piper of the Stupid as Trump has been. Get an f’ing grip.
And what should I do in your world? Take up arms against the government like it’s 1776? If that is your plan, good luck, you are going to need it.
Dictators don’t need much charisma. They don’t need to worry about elections. The point wasn’t that Vance is Trump; it is the fact that once the power is consolidated, it isn’t redistributed.
Yes, you have been wrong every step along the way. No part of the system on which you pin your hopes has shown any indication of being effective when tested over the last five-plus years. If it had been Trump would have been put up against a wall long ago.
The first step to doing something is acknowledging reality. Your approach, the “They aren’t coming after me, so I will let other people deal with it” attitude, is a significant reason we are where we are. Treating any Trump supporter as though they simply have a “different opinion” that is valid in a civil society is another.
Whatever dude. Don’t you have a protest to go to?
What would you care? You are obviously incapable of making any effort whatsoever. By the time they come for you, there won’t be anyone left to care. The difference is that you will deserve what you get.
I actually do something useful – donate money to the appropriate causes, and I vote. What do YOU do exactly other than tilt at windmills on the Internet?
Money, yup, 35% of my income last year and likely more this year. Despite your derision, I absolutely go to protests at every opportunity once a week with a local group and also as part of a group that gets contacted when the Trump Gestapo shows up. Armed only with cameras and no masks. I also volunteered over 500 hours last year for various groups, from get-out-the-vote efforts to supporting the communities currently most impacted by the fascists in office, such as immigrants and LGBTQAI youth who are being attacked at alarming rates.
I also work to make every fascist uncomfortable wherever I encounter them, from a family get-together to work. Social acceptance of their ideology has led us to where we are. I am happy to talk with them, but I’m not going to sanitize their ideas by calling it anything other than what it is or pretending it will take care of itself.
Voting is no longer a meaningful activity since there will be no more elections. If you have any interest in doing something, you’d better find a new outlet. Waiting for it to figure itself out isn’t an option for anyone who cares even a little bit.
Good for you.
Ford Maverick hybrid AWD just to make them all jealous.
I’m in the UK and I just bought my second ever car imported from the US. My new car is another BMW E86 Z4 coupe, but this time an M.
I’m struggling to think of another US made car I’d like.
I ought to like Mustangs. In fact I do, and had a lovely US road trip in one back in 2012, but the idea of buying that big a car over here is not appealing.
Corvettes are cool, but LHD except for the C8, and I’d rather have an Emira instead of a C8. Even then I’d rather have a smaller, lighter Lotus.
Most of your US market only stuff is too big or too thirsty to be popular in Europe. I mean, I’m the sort of idiot who buys a BMW M car, but anything that can’t do 25mpg (21mpg US gallons) is just wasting fuel.
I like small, light cars, even the Z4 is a bit big and heavy for my liking.
To be fair, the current Mustang isn’t that big; which is part of why it’s done so much better in Europe than its predecessors. But I still think the ratio of interior space to exterior footprint is a little illogical.
As always, European and Asian cars tend to scale up to the US a lot more easily than the reverse. And that’s fine, I just wish Trump would acknowledge that because we have many hundreds of thousands of workers all over the world whose livelihoods hang in the balance, all based on the notion that Europe needs to buy more of our cars. Why would they? It’s like telling me I don’t buy enough diapers for myself, but I have full bladder and bowel control.
A Mustang won’t fit in my parking space. The Z4 only just fits.
If you also made small, economical cars we could buy those, buy in to a brand and work our way up to your halo cars. It’s not that we don’t like US stuff (you should see the queues at McDonalds) it’s just your cars are designed and built for a huge country with cheap fuel.
an E86 being too big is impressive, it’s basically the smallest car with airbags and door panels that I can actually fit into. I guess the hood is fairly long for the i6 in it, but that’s about all that’s “big”.
You should try a Suzuki Swift Sport. I’m 5’9” and I’ve got 6” of head room. It’s also a couple of feet shorter than the BMW despite having twice as many seats. Loads of airbags too.
Not on sale in the US, obviously, because who wants small, light, engaging cars that costs nothing to run?
I’ve got a GT86 which is about the same size as the Z4, but has way more room inside because Chris Bangle spent far too long looking at e-types before sketching the Z4. The I6 has loads of room under that massive bonnet.
It feels like few Americans understand that when our towns and cities were built, they were designed for horse and carriage traffic. There just isn’t space to (safely) drive a mahoosive American built car. The attitude of the current administration makes it even less likely that Europeans would consider buying an American car, even if it was European sized.
The main road to London through the closest town to me is so narrow that oncoming traffic has to stop to let you through. I drive on roads every day that are too narrow for two-way traffic. When I cycle to work I have to stop and climb in to a hedge to let cars pass in either direction.
I’ve been to the US a lot, and the size of the roads takes a lot of getting used to. I can understand how something be who’s never left the US, or has only been to major cities in Europe, might not get how small things can be over here.
A street near my parents has gone from being two lanes with cars parked on both sides, to one and a half with SUVs replacing the cars.
This is also happening at the grocery store. My wife commented the other day before her weekly shopping trip that it wasn’t long ago that there were over 700 online coupons available to choose from. This weekend there were less than 300.
I expect more shrinkflation to happen too. Pretty soon they’re going to redefine “dozen” as 10 so they don’t have to keep raising prices on eggs.
That will dovetail nicely with the shrinkflation on bacon. The standard used to be a pound, then it dropped to 12oz and now I’m seeing 8oz packages.
While we’re bitching about shrinkflation, what about a ‘pint’ of ice cream? It’s tiny!
As long as they print “pint” ironically it’s all good.
If my bartender pours me an ironic pint of of beer there’s gonna be trouble.
I wouldn’t hold out much hope- The only American performance cars left are Mustang, Corvette, and the odd Cadillac. Mustang sales aren’t even a quarter of Flat Rock plant’s capacity and it’s circling the drain, ‘Vette’s getting discounted. and the Caddy’s rear drive platform’s days are numbered. I love the Golf R and would settle for a GTI, but VW already showed us they aren’t going to keep a manual around just for export markets and the whole IC powered MQB lineup is threatened.
No more CAFE penalties?
(/Matt McAlear and Tim Kuniskis laugh fiendishly in Mopar)
As a Canadian, probably the Chevy SS. It’s the only car in recent memory we didn’t get, that I actually wanted.
If the CAFE changes come to pass, that’s gonna be a REALLY bad day for Tesla. They use carbon credits as a major source of income.
Oh no! Anyway, ….
Oh I agree, it’d be hilarious to watch the aftermath.
Video also has Liv Tyler, hot!
Needs moar animal crackers and Aerosmith
Agreed! 😀
Dollar Store Stephanie Seymour?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_fvXrgAm1A
Rather doubtful that any CAFE downgrades would help the US-exports in a meaningful way. It’ll likely just reinforce stereotypes of wastefulness. It might even, long term, just let the US-brands languish inside their walled garden.
It would likely have been better to harmonize world standards. But, perhaps, the lack of regulations (and, worse, ever-changing regulations) have left that as an uphill battle.
Politics ahead, so skip if you want.
The rural Rust Belt projected what they wanted onto our current president. Turns out that wantonly slapping tariffs onto everything imported is a terrible way to bring jobs back. “But at least we don’t have a smart Black woman as president! We sure owned those coastal elites!”
Lol. “Coastal elites” is a made-up term that is only used (ironically, as a self-descriptor) by coastal elites in media and politics. No one else ever uses that term in day to day conversation.
side note: Kamala isn’t actually particularly smart, or particularly black for that matter.
Do many business and academics in a handful of cities live in a provincial echo chamber that condescends to 90% of the country? Yes.
Do those other 90% either illogically admire or unfairly vilify those 10%? Also yes.
What is this weird “us vs them” system we’ve created? I’ve back off from all tribalism, including sports teams, because I feel like this mentality is outdated as best; dangerous at worst.
I saw that “own anyone not us” mentality a decade ago when living in a small town. Amazingly, being able to wrench helped break down that resistance. Cars being a unifying force once again!
Good to know I’m not the only one who has become increasingly uncomfortable with all forms of fanaticism, even the relatively harmless ones in sports.
Relatively harmless? Compared to what? Kristallnacht?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_hooliganism
Fair. I’m in the US and the worst that usually happens here is some property damage. Also worth noting that at least some of the examples cited there are based on real world political stuff, not just sports.
Usually…
While most sporting events in the United States are safe to attend, there have been some troubling trends in fan violence, particularly at NFL games. In a September 2023 survey of 3,200 football fans by Sportsbook Review, 39.2% of NFL fans have witnessed a crime at or around an NFL stadium (Bisson, 2023). The most common crimes witnessed include physical violence, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct (Bisson, 2023). Additionally, 7.2% of NFL fans have been a victim of crime in or around a NFL stadium with verbal harassment, physical violence, and sexual harassment being the most common experiences these fans have encountered (Bisson, 2023). The total NFL attendance in 2022 was approximately 18.8 million fans, and if this survey would be representative of all fans’ experiences, it would mean over 1.3 million fans were victims of a crime at an NFL game in 2022. The online survey, however, depends on a small sample size and self-reporting, so proper scientific surveying needs to be performed. What is clear though, is that violence at NFL games is not rare.
The survey then asks gender-specific questions with 44.7% of women reporting that they do not feel comfortable alone at their team’s stadium and 51.4% of men who do not feel comfortable leaving a female partner or family member alone at or around their team’s stadium (Bisson, 2023). Parents, overwhelmingly at 77.2%, do not feel comfortable letting their minor children visit their team’s stadium alone without a parent present (Bisson, 2023).
https://www.trine.edu/academics/centers/center-for-sports-studies/blog/2023/american_fan_violence.aspx
The Oakland Raiders games I’ve been to were reasonably sane but only because of a HEAVY police presence.
It was clear to me had the cops not been there things would have turned real bad real fast.
Yet another reason the cost of pro sports tickets is too damn high. I’m a huge hockey fan, and I haven’t been to an Avalanche game in at least 5 years because a $400 night (once you factor in food, beer, and getting there) in the nosebleeds just isn’t worth it to me.
Shit, you obviously never went to a Lions game at The Silverdome back in its heyday, lol. It was a royal rumble even when WrestleMania wasn’t there…
Fans acting all whackadoo isn’t new. Google the infamous $1 beer night in baseball, the Malice at The Palace (more recently), or basically any Yankee game in the bleachers.
Fights and dumb shit happen almost every time you put strangers from different demos in the same building, having almost unfettered access to alcohol, and when it’s a sporting event you are putting tens of thousands of them together. Some level of chaos is bound to happen, and it’s been that way for a loooong time.
I’ve never been into any form of sportsball so no Lions games for me. The few events I have been to was more out of curiosity and as a guest. From what I saw I would much rather have my tax dollars and my city’s land zoning supported something more beneficial. Something like a sewage plant or a landfill.
I mean, if you can’t appreciate the greatest of humanity on the planet, in regard to physical ability, create some of the most phenomenal feats of dexterity, then I don’t know what to tell you.
Watching the 0.0009% of humans achieve what is impossible for the rest of us IS INDEED interesting.
But, if you choose to ignore the science of it all and would rather prefer just smelling your neighbor’s Aunt’s step-grandchild’s diaper for roughly six months…knock yourself out with that.
Good grief, I wonder how some of you ever manage to have fun in life at all.
I can appreciate the greatest of humanity on the planet, in regard to physical ability, create some of the most phenomenal feats of dexterity.
I can also watch it on TV. I’ve seen enough live (most times with an even worse view of the athlete) that I can understand what I’m seeing. No need to spend that much money and time (getting to and from the venue) to appreciate the game.
I certainly agree that most of the time, the viewing is superior on TV than in person, however, there is something massive to be said about being a part of a collective that is witnessing something firsthand and live, both together and as total strangers.
There is merit in both. 🙂
Unless those total strangers are massive a-holes, sure.
Yeah, but there are assholes every public place you go. Literally, it’s unavoidable.
So that leaves two choices:
#1 Deal/ignore it and make your own fun in a given situation, or…
#2 Hide for your whole life.
You do you, but I’m not hiding from shit because of assholes. Stepping in it is one of the greatest joys in life!
“Football is not a matter of life and death. It’s much, much more important than that.”
–Bill Shankly, former Liverpool manager
I don’t think we in the U.S. have any comprehension of the U.K. football culture – it really can be a way of life and community, especially at the non-premier levels.
What is this weird “us vs them” system we’ve created? I’ve back off from all tribalism, including sports teams, because I feel like this mentality is outdated as best; dangerous at worst.
If you backed off all tribalism you were into it. So why were you into it?
It’s foisted upon us as the norm. Sport teams, your college, your neighborhood, city, or potentially more insidiously, your race or religion or whatever. That’s human nature since the beginning, but it’s also a piece of human nature I think we could largely do without (like anxiety. I’m not being attacked by a tiger, I’m doing my taxes.)
Pride is one thing, but pride at the expense or superiority of others is really a slippery slope. And today we’re increasingly living in a place where tribalism is ultra-segmented so everyone can feel superior for everything they do (or everything they are). It’s the dangerous side of empowerment.
Everyone knows the proper way to break a boiled egg is on the little side. Those big Endians are WRONG and must DIE!
Side note, you’re an idiot.
Thanks!
I’ll make sure to bring that up the next time I’m in a midwestern dive bar. I’m sure they’ll love it!
I mean, you do you. Doesn’t make it less true.
On one hand I agree with you, but on the other hand the 2024 election was rigged and they stole the election so I don’t think our country deserves this.
For more info on the election rigging:
reddit.com/r/somethingiswrong2024
Not to mention the self-own on the 401k, existing job (for many former government, manufacturing, non-profit and other employees), Grandma & Grandpas’s medical insurance, grocery bills, etc…
Yeah, owning the Libs! Priceless (as in the cost of the fallout from all of this is incalculable).
Trump’s gap between what he promises (populism) and the way it actually shakes out (economics) are pretty far apart. I have to think this is intentional and he’s in a full “scorched earth” mode now. The only challenge in his presidency is how to spin it so he can try to gaslight voters into thinking this is somehow all part of his master plan, even though I don’t think he’s a strategic thinker at all…especially not as a guaranteed 1-termer this go-around.
Trump becoming aware of TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) makes me worry he’ll go full send.
Yeah, this is WAY better than 25K for first time homebuyers and a government that isn’t a complete fkn embarrassment.
Sadly, all those Jabronis in LA all but guarantee more Trumpism.
Dems are unrivalled in picking the wrong fights.
Induction motors do not have magnets in them so there is an alternative. The US had completely different models and engines for most of the life of the US auto industry. The idea of the world car started recently in the US.
The US used to be a technological leader in all areas. That’s when America was great. When corporate tax rates were 50% and the top earners paid 80% and stock buy backs were illegal. That’s what spurs these companies to invest, research, and pay their people because the other option is to give it to the government.
I have terrible news for you regarding pretty much every DC motor in the rest of the car.
It can be done, but the price is gonna go up. Significantly.
Also, manufacturers all over the world have already invested their assorted billions of R&D dollars into making hybrids and EVs as efficient and practical as possible using permanent magnet motors, not induction motors. For them to throw that investment away, and start over with a different tech would put to waste all that money, time, and effort that’s already been invested over the past few decades.
“I just don’t get the attraction of all these magnets.” – typical American high school student.
Corporations do not pay taxes, their customers do. And no-one paid 80% income tax. That was the marginal rate for incomes over $216,000 ($658,213 in today’s new money). Under that income level it was much more reasonable. In fact, with deductions (a lot of which have been eliminated), the effective tax rate for high earners was closer to 40%.
Parts of CAFE like the Footprint rule should be killed off.
I’m all for more fuel efficient vehicles, I drive a BEV and am unlikely to buy another ICE vehicle again, unless it is to convert it to a BEV.
Not only that but it penalized small cars while rewarding trucks, SUVS, and crossovers.
In the past yes. Current CAFE rules require light trucks to increase fuel economy by 4% a year but passenger cars only 2% from 2027 – 2031 Heavy Duty Pickups (F250 F350) are required to increase by 10% per year from 2030-2032 and 8% from 2033 – 2035. This is meant to steadily reverse incentives to sell larger vehicles and crossovers vs cars.
BTW the footprint rule applies to both passenger cars and light trucks. Which makes sense to me. A Corolla should get better fuel economy than a Camry just as an Escape should do better than and Expedition.
CAFE should be killed off completely, because it’s stupid to mandate supply, and it doesn’t really work. It just makes automakers go after loopholes – like trucks and SUVs as commuter-mobiles. Tax the every-loving-shit out of usage, either by miles or by fuel, be that hydrocarbons or electrons. THAT is how you change people’s behavior. Your EV may not be directly using hydrocarbons, but it is still contributing to the world’s problems in PLENTY of other ways, from micro-particle pollution from the tires to the nastiness that is mining the stuff that goes into it, to whatever pollution is generated charging it to contributing to congestion when you drive it.
If anything, forcing more efficient vehicles without penalizing use just incentivizes using them MORE. The incentive should be to drive as little as possible. Having lived in Europe, expensive gas (and parking) makes you think twice before using the car, and the revenue generated allows for other options.
This. Properly incentivize higher density/more efficient transportation. Lets get more buses, BRT, mass transit in places like Detroit. Make these services more reliable, high frequency in the places where infrastructure already exists.
Utilization of Energy throughput (Kw used or gallons of gas) + Weight should be what’s taxed for highway/road infrastructure, and mass transit should be funded on commercial, residential and industrial property taxes of addresses within 15min walk of stations.
Have you ridden in DDot bus in Detroit? I have. No thank you.
I like public transit more than most. Not having to drive can be wonderful.
BUT
I also like not being stuck sitting next to smelly, crazy, rude, grabby and/or sick.
That will never work here. The mindset and viewpoint are miles apart between Europeans and Americans.
Of course, because Europeans are universally smarter than Americans in myriad ways.
This might be true, but us Americans usually refuse to believe it. 😉
Of course. We incentivize stupidity in this country.
And we celebrate the result too.
The bottom half of the class sure seems to.
Not from what I’ve seen reading BBC news, DW news, and France 24.
You guys are just better at hiding it.
Not to mention the chasm between Americans and Americans.
Yep
I agree that we need smaller more efficient methods of getting around, but completely disagree with the “tax the shit” out of everything you don’t like. We DO NOT need more taxation of any kind!
Of course we do. Taxation is how we as a society afford to have nice things.
If you don’t like paying taxes, I hear they are very low in Somalia.
Pretty sure the local warlords will have their own tax systems.
Yah, but you can pay in Khat, which you can grow yourself! 😀
I can pay in Cat. Is that close enough?
You’ll have to ask the warlords, but I’d be surprised if they agreed CB. 😉
BTW, given how much I enjoy Matt’s music notes at the end of his daily Morning Dump, let me heartily recommend the only (and best) Somalian musician I know: K’naan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%27naan
I’ve listened to his album “Troubador https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubadour_(K%27naan_album) dozens (or maybe hundreds) of times and it never gets old. 🙂
I’m pretty sure he did a cover (interpolation) of Dylan’s “God on Our Side” I thought was excellent.
Found it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPfzN6B3nj8
Not if you have enough guns of your own – it’s “negotiable”. Try that here.
You can have all the ALL the guns but you’ve only got two arms to weild them with. Maybe less depending how things went with the warlord.
You still have a FAR better chance of setting up your own little kingdom there than here, if you don’t want to live in a civilized (more or less) society.
You also have a FAR better chance of many other things happening, none of them good.
But it’s the ultimate freedom, no? No rules, no taxes, do whatever the f’ you want!
Not saying *I* have any interest in living such a life, but if you feel chaffed by living in a civilized society and having to pay a pittance in taxes to support that, there you go.
Eh, if you were going to tax based on efficiency I think you’d have to do it based on the fuel consumed, the weight, and the length of the vehicles.
For fuel consumed I’d exempt home charging because there’s really no good non-intrusive way of calculating and taxing that, and if you’re only charging from home the distance you can travel and how often you can travel while staying in range of your home charger is fairly small. For Gas and Diesel I’d get rid of the government subsidies.
For weight you do it based off of the factory curb weight if unmodified, and if modified you have the person have it weighed at a certified scale every year, then tax based upon that.
For length when it comes to street parking at least the longer your vehicle is the more space it takes up, the more space it takes up owned by the more it should be charged for said space. If you have off street parking at your home you get a discounted rate (for occasional use), but if you have to street park then you pay the full rate.
However like most taxes they disproportionately will negatively effect the poorest people. Also use is relative to the available alternatives. Where I’m at currently there is a free bus service, however it’s with diesel powered busses. Said busses do a lot more wear and tear on the roads by following a route from sunrise to sunset 365 days a year, than me driving a few miles to my destination, parking, and driving back.
If I had a wheelchair ramp and a wide enough wheelchair accessible doorway I’d own a new production Electric Peel P50 and drive that everywhere instead of my Leaf, Sadly due to the front door layout of my rental even with ramps they’d be too steep to go up, and to put a wheelchair ramp and wheelchair accessible front door in it would require pouring at minimum a new concrete pad, replacing part of the street curb with a ramp, and a new doorway and door. If it were my house I would have done it, but it isn’t.
I would conservatively say that at least 20% of my current car is comprised of Detroit Axel parts, and almost everything I’ve bought for my son’s Ford is Detroit Axle as well. Everything I’ve purchased from them isn’t always the cheapest thing I’ve found, but it’s as close as it could be and still quality enough that I know it isn’t going to fall apart at speed. I will certainly miss them if they go
20% is no small number! Well done, keeping your CJ (I’m assuming, based on your username) on the road! 🙂
Actually it’s a VW, hence the need for so many replacement parts. CJ is actually my name-well the abbreviation of my names. If I were getting a Jeep, pretty sure I’d get a mid 80s Cherokee. The older I get the better those look.
AH! 😀 As a former/multiple VW owner myself, I concur, and modify my previous kudos to say that it’s admirable that you’ve managed to keep the percentage of parts replaced to only 20%! 😮
Yah, I like plain-jane XJs a lot more now than I used to. 🙂
Bear in mind, that 20% is Detroit Axle only, there’s also some FCP euro and some TRQ and a few truly questionable Amazon purchases.
But it’s a wagon, and I love the utility of it, so that’s really the appeal of the Cherokee, it would just be a little easier to get in and out of as I get older
Yes, getting in/out as I approach 60 is more of a concern these days. 😉 I just bought my first 240 wagon, and I already kind of love it pretty much stock as it is, but I’ve been slightly tempted with the lift kits I’ve seen for them from Bad Decision (Motorworks? in the Netherlands) just to make ingress/egress a bit more comfortable.
At 67 and 6’5” I use the lowness of my accord as a forced isometric leg and core muscle group exercise. I sit and stand using only core and legs, no using arms to hoist myself out of the car. It works rather well.
Well, to do a 2″-3″ lift on a Volvo 240 properly seems to cost in excess of $2K, so I don’t think I’ll be going that route anytime soon. Thus, I guess my thigh muscles will benefit from the modest stock ride height on the 240. 🙂
Oof that’s rather pricey. I wonder what that large a lift would do to your handling.
Go with the Iso’s, they really do work. I try to do as much ‘workout’ as I can with house, yard and general movement. I despise going to the gym BC,,, the posers and gym rats that frequent most gyms.
Outside of America? I think maybe Air Conditioners for homes are something we still do an ok job at, and a lot of Euro Countries that have for the longest time had a pretty temperate climate to deal with are getting the hot summers now. Probably a good import until China or Turkey starts making them for them.
It would be dicey though. the little mobile units are even now becoming more affordable and simple to exhaust out a window. Almost cheaper than a good US Capacitor to replace.
We rented an AB&B in France for a minute. It promised AC. It was one of those roll around units w/ an 8” tube for the exhaust. The only “window” was an opening skylight. The hot air pouring in through the skylight reaches stasis with the cool air from the unit at about 85°. Non bien.
In Venice, we rented a small apartment that had a split unit in the living room. The roof mounted ac in my travel trailer has moor cooling power than that little cooler had. And the under counter refrigerator couldn’t make an ice cube in 3 days.
Comfy Seats in Big Trucks and good AC seems to be US staples for now.
That’s why this is really a nothing burger.
The kind of things that will be affected by this are special editions, top trims, expensive sports cars, etc. Exactly the things that a) have a small overall climate footprint and b) are desired by enthusiasts.
This is a win-win. Hybrids and EVs won’t be going away for those who want them, and automakers aren’t suddenly going to abandon efficiency as a goal. This just means the weirdos like me who want to buy something powerful that isn’t an EV will continue to have the opportunity to do so.
The income from trading credits on things like EVs is gonna kill a major income stream for emerging tech that hasn’t hit cost parity yet. V8s help fund emerging tech under the current model.
I would say that’s OK.
Hybrid tech is mature enough by now to be deployed in pretty much every mainstream vehicle apart from heavy trucks, and would make a bigger difference than selling a few more EVs, which as you say, are not quite ready to graduate from the “emerging” designation yet.
If automakers didn’t feel the artificial pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines for EV sales, the need for such a major income stream for R&D wouldn’t be there. A slower and more gradual path would work just as well.
Given the climate timeline, slowing down isn’t ideal.
Hybrids are great, but the true ultimate hybrid has yet to reach maturity. Which is the EREV.
I firmly believe it will be the final form of vehicle for the masses, becoming the main mover.
The climate benefit of selling faster than the natural rate is small, and it comes at significant cost because money gets spent on every sale that would have still happened without the incentives. This also means that as EVs get better as technology advances, the money spent per unit of emission reduction increases over time because more people would have bought without the incentive as the product gets better. There are more effective ways to spend money for emission reductions that do not pit those that can afford to purchase a new car against those who do not.
Historically, companies finally do the right thing once
all other options are exhaustedlegislated to do so.This applies to all industries, but especially to any fossil fuel based industry.
The “right thing” is an imaginary concept. There is no way to reach consensus over what the “right thing” even is because different people are allowed to have different priorities.
I would like to think “keeping the planet inhabitable by humans” is a universal priority for anyone that isn’t a villain.
Selling a few more EVs over market demand is not going to keep the planet habitable. People that live in areas with high gas prices who drive a lot are still going to buy them, so the marginal cost of an additional sale needed for actual emission reductions is very high.
Yes, they will. The proof it right there in the graph. In the 80’s CAFE steadily went up and fleet fuel economy went up. Late 80’s to 2005 it was held steady and fleet fuel economy dropped. (CAFE fines were not adjusted for inflation so the cost of missing CAFE requirements steadily decreased) 2005 and on CAFE steadily increased and fleet fuel economy steadily increase – exactly as what was required, no more / no less.
Unless you think a barrel of oil is going to return to $10 like it was in those times, I’m going to pretty strongly disagree.
The regulations can be what they are, but the price of gas is really what moves the needle buying-wise.
Oil prices dropped almost 50% ($39 to $22 in the 80’s) and fuel economy still massively increased (16 mpg to 21 mpg) – (Which is what was required by CAFE)
90’s Oil prices were basically flat at $20 a barrell +/-. Fuel economy dropped from about 21 mpg to 20 mpg. (Surprise surprise – right where it was required to be by CAFE rules)
‘peeing off the L platform’. Mind the third rail.
Like he would be the first. 🙂
You’d have to have an amazing, um, stream, to hit the third rail from most platforms as most are on the opposite side. IIRC, some run next to the platform, though. 625V is the jolt no one needs in the morning.
Well, young guys, as yet untroubled by swollen prostates, might have a chance. 😉
MythBusters did a segment on this. It’s almost physically impossible to get electrocuted that way. One’s wee-wee stream isn’t a “solid”. It’s always airy/bubbly at a distance of over a foot or so, especially after a bunch of coffee or, say, 14 PBRs.
So, unless you are getting way too cozy with the tracks, you are good.
I’d like to pee off the port side of the Resolute onto the twilights gleaming pate.