Yesterday was both Fat Tuesday and Chinese New Year, which is to say that today’s Morning Dump is more of an Afternoon Dump. It’s morning somewhere! It’s already late afternoon in Ethiopia, though a new era of electric cars is dawning.
Ethiopia is one of the many countries that has attempted some form of fossil fuel ban, and it’ll have the distinction of being one of the few countries where it might actually work. I don’t think that Ethiopians will be importing Polestars, but the brand has a plan for the future that’s probably less reliant on sales in the United States.
For all the talk of the Canadian market, GM has decided to cool things off a bit by committing to building more gasoline trucks in the country. And back here in the land of the free, it’ll probably be a strong quarter for used cars.
The Logic Behind Ethiopia’s Fossil Fuel Car Import Ban Is Extremely Logical
One of the critiques about electric cars has been that a whole chunk of the globe is likely to be cut out of enjoying them for reasons of cost and infrastructure. Ironically, many of the people who held this view probably pictured places like rural Asia or eastern Africa.
The reality is that the United States might be the one that doesn’t have the infrastructure to keep up with electric cars, whereas EVs are beginning to flourish in places like Nepal and, more recently, Ethiopia.
What’s happening here? First, Ethiopia produces few gas-powered cars domestically, which means its ban on the import of fossil fuel-powered cars is essentially a ban on all new fossil fuel car sales.
While there are good, solid environmental reasons for this, the most obvious benefit to Ethiopia has little to do with the environment, as Bloomberg explains in this great feature on the country’s electric car market:
For years, subsidizing gasoline for consumers has been a major drag on Ethiopia’s budget, costing the state billions of dollars over the past decade. The country defaulted on its sovereign bonds in 2023 after rising interest rates drove up the costs of servicing its debts, and it received a $3.4 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund the following year.
In the two years since the ban on internal combustion engine vehicles, EV adoption has grown from less than 1% to nearly 6% of all of the vehicles on the road in the country — according to the government’s own figures — some way above the global average of 4%.
“The Ethiopia story is fascinating,” said Colin McKerracher, head of clean transport at BloombergNEF. “What you’re seeing in places that don’t make a lot of vehicles of any type, they’re saying: ‘Well, look, if I’m going to import the cars anyway, then I’d rather import less oil. We may as well import the one that cleans up local air quality and is cheaper to buy.’”
Ethiopia, like Nepal, has invested in a giant dam and has so much energy production that it’s selling it to other countries. According to this article, the average Ethiopian probably pays half of what an average American pays for electricity.
Why pay to import gas and cars, right? It’s a move that makes a lot of sense when you actually think about it for a minute.
There’s also a financing story here, as banks are somewhat understandably hesitant to give loans to consumers buying a used car that may or may not survive the term of the loan. It’s much easier to give a loan on a new, modern electric car.
Unsurprisingly, Chinese automakers are key here, with brands like BYD and Chang’an finding success in the market, although Vinfast is also present. In order to speed up adoption, the government has lowered tariffs on imported EVs, and eliminated tariffs for those that can be produced locally. Currently, there’s a company building EV-powered minibuses designed by Nanjing Golden Dragon Bus.
Is it a perfect EV utopia in Ethiopia? No. Outside of the major cities, power access is a lot poorer, so it’s not a solution for everyone. Still, it just goes to show that our notions of how things work don’t always line up with reality.
Polestar Has A Plan!
I think David, Jason, and I will collectively review the Polestar 4 because all of us drove it and we have thoughts! It actually drives well and has mostly competitive stats, so a lot of our feelings will be us kvetching about all the annoying features.
It’s a car I want to like because it’s weird and fairly attractive, albeit in a way that feels tired already. The company did have record sales last year, but those sales are nowhere near where Polestar needs to be in order to be a success, and it has been hit by a bunch of unfortunate changes. Specifically, it has had to contend with a slowing market in Europe, tariffs in the United States, and a rollback of EV requirements everywhere.
That’s tough. The plan going forward? Four “new” cars:
“Following our best sales year ever, we are now launching the largest model offensive in our history, with four premium EVs coming to market within three years. We are targeting the heart of the EV market, where customer demand and profit pools are high. Combined with our continued retail sales network expansion and a growing customer base, we are setting the foundations for profitable growth and operational improvement.
Here are the vehicles:
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Polestar 5 – the four-door Grand Tourer (GT) presented in 2025, with deliveries expected from summer 2026.
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Polestar 4 – a new variant of Polestar’s current best-seller based on same great technology, targeting a wider customer base by offering more versatility. To be launched later this year, with deliveries expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026.
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Polestar 2 – the next generation of the sedan that built Polestar’s brand, a completely new successor with a planned launch early in 2027.
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Polestar 7 – the compact, premium SUV, planned to be launched in 2028.
The Polestar 2 isn’t a thing here anymore because of tariffs, so that’s going to be for everyone else. The Polestar 7 will be built in Slovakia, so that’s a possibility.
What am I most excited about? The Polestar 4 wagon. A fast wagon! I love fast wagons. Also, this one will apparently have a rear window! That’ll be nice.
GM Will Keep Building Trucks In Canada
In response to a White House that’s pretty dead set on getting as many car plants in the United States as possible, carmakers have had to announce plans here at a quick pace. This means they’ve also demurred a bit on what they’re going to do above the border in Canada.
This has righteously pissed off the Canadian government, to say nothing of Canadians (see the comments from Canadians on these posts). GM, at least, is committing to continue truck production in the country.
General Motors will invest $63 million Canadian dollars in an Ontario plant to support production of its next-generation gas trucks, the automaker said Wednesday.
The investment comes despite tariffs on Canadian products shipping to the United States, and what changes will come this year to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
GM ended a third shift of truck production at the Oshawa plant in January. The automaker hasn’t said if it will bring back a third shift with the next-generation trucks.
It’s not great news, but it’s not terrible news, either.
Used Car Prices Aren’t Coming Down Anytime Soon
I expect a rush of cheap used EVs to hit the market soon, which may bring down used car values on average. Until then, we’re still in a period where there aren’t enough good quality used cars, and a bunch of people are going to have tax refund dollars in their pockets to spend.
According to Cox Automotive, demand is also likely to remain strong:
Dealers came into the month stocking up ahead of what many expect to be a strong spring, and the luxury segment continues to lead. We’re also seeing EV values firm up after some post-incentive softness earlier in the year. Wholesale supply has ticked up slightly to 28 days, but with conversion rates running this strong, that inventory is being absorbed. With lower auto loan rates giving more consumers the confidence to act and a potentially prolonged tax refund tailwind, wholesale values should find sustained support through the spring season.”
Again, I think this summer this will shift back towards consumers.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
There’s a channel on Sirius XM that plays alternative music from the 2000s, and it feels like every time I turn it on, it’s playing “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand.
The Big Question
I have a seven-passenger vehicle and Australian friends who want to go grab dinner this weekend. We’ve already done Outback Steakhouse. What’s the most American drive-up chain restaurant to take them to?
Top Photo: BYD
As an Australian, I would suggest any of the culturally relevent chains. Applebees, Chilis, things that get referenced in shows that we have no experience of here. I’ve not been but my wife has twice – favourite place was New Orleans fwiw – and apparently the cheesecake factory (Big Bang Theory) was a good intro
Take them to Denny’s. That’s America.
We have a few Dennys smattered about
“What’s the most American drive-up chain restaurant to take them to?”
What do you mean by drive up? Drive thru? Then the most “American” option has to be McDonalds. Drive in/Carhop? That’d be Mel’s:
https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/mels-drive-in-sf-expansion-outside-california-21039877.php
I just looked it up. I didn’t realize Mel’s was a northern cal thing. That was my first thought.
It started in NorCal but has spread. There’s at least one in LA on Sunset.
I feel like Sonic is the most American in that you drive there, eat in your car, etc. But if that’s a loaner, you probably want Chili’s before eating in the car.
Take them to Peter Luger’s. Uniquely American, always excellent, and they can see how expensive nice things have gotten in this land of ours.
I guess a smart investment is shoe stores in Ethiopia, because they are going to be doing a lot of walking.
Why? Do they have to escape from hordes of invading Trumper’s?
Good luck getting EVs charged there unless you live next door to that dam. And likely not even then in a few years once it all starts to wear out. Long-term infrastructure maintenance seems to not be an African strong suit in general. And then there is the whole keeping an EV running thing – fewer moving parts does NOT mean field repairable in the bush somewhere.
But more power to them (pardon the pun) if they can make this work. I have nothing against EVs where they make sense, but they certainly do not universally make sense at this point.
Well, sounds like electricity is easier to source there than gasoline or will be in the near future.
Easy to make, for a while. Distributing it? All I need to get gasoline or diesel from point A to point B is a jerry can. Electrons are a tad fussier than that, especially in the quantities necessary to charge an EV in a span of time shorter than the heat death of the universe.
Crapplebee’s of course.
Why do you want to subject them to American chain restaurants? I thought they were your friends?
You are in the NYC area. That means that you are uniquely positioned bring them to
Subway Rat on a Stick for a between meal snack?
Electric car infrastructure can be solar panels, batteries, and a charger. Some chargers have batteries integrated. It can fill gaps, may not be perfect but the wires can be ran later depending on demand. Even if its lower power available the dispensers with batteries integrated can easily fill that gap.
Any diner in NYC or Jersey.
For the most American, I suggest taking them to The Keg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Keg
Canada is part of North America… So it counts
Heh heh heh
Oh and I’ve suggested to some of the powers that be that all CARB states should become provinces of Canada
To become what?
Canfornadia?
Colorada?
Cannecdicut?
Canadelaware?
Camaineda?
Camarylanda?
Camassachusetts?
New Cansey?
New Mexicanada?
New Canork?
Canoregon?
Pennsylnada?
Carhodana Island?
Cavermont?
Virginiada?
Washingtonada?
If there’s free heath care, good public transit, cheap renewable electricity and decent maple doughnuts I’m listening. Throw in some poutine and I’ll even sing the anthem.
Nah… they’ll all keep their regular names. The only thing that will change is references to being a ‘state’ or ‘commonwealth’… which will be changed to ‘Province’
And if any Maga/red states want to join later, we’ll keep them under our thumbs by limiting them to ‘Territory’ status.
I had a boss from Edmonton. The way he described his city and Alberta overall sounded like they would have been only too happy to Make Canada Great Again.
Latest surveys indicate the vast majority of Albertans want to stay in Canada. You just have this small vocal minority that like to pretend they speak for the majority there.
And unfortunately Alberta has an idiot of a premiere who often makes this type of BS worse.
He didn’t describe a desire for cessation or putting up a wall (although the subject of Québécois rarely came up) but more of the gun loving, giant gas swilling pickup driving, beer can crushing on head, stupid games for stupid prizes, Darwin taunting lifestyle.
She.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danielle_Smith
And here is an example of the kind of idiot she is:
“Amid US President Donald Trump‘s discussions of potential tariffs on Canada and remarks about the possibility of annexing Canada, Smith was the only premier who refused to sign a joint statement by Canadian premiers to coordinate a response in case Trump acted on his threats”
“On May 26, 2025, Smith announced her intention to ban books containing “sexual content” from school libraries in Alberta.[110] A list of books to be banned was provided for by anti-LGBTQ groups Parents for Choice in Education (a parental rights group) and Action4Canada.[111] The book ban was to be implemented for October 1 but was put on pause on September 2 after backlash arose when the Edmonton’s public school board complied a list of 200 titles that would need to be removed.”
“In July 2025, a report was published about the 2024 Jasper wildfire, stating the Alberta government hindered firefighting efforts with constant requests for information and by seeking to exercise decision-making authority, despite not being jurisdictionally responsible.”
I was referring to my Canadian boss of 20 years ago, not the current premiere.
Ah… I see. Misunderstood.
And about the doughnuts… not only will you have maple, but you’ll have the option of CREAM or CUSTARD filled maple doughnuts.
And the poutine… there’s the regular poutine, but there is also Pulled Pork Poutine
https://www.woodysburgers.ca/menus?menu=poutines-fries-and-sides
Hmm. That and the Poutine brisket might be a quite a hit below America’s Mason Dixon belt.
In no particular order, I’m assuming NYC-adjacent:
Cracker Barrel
Chick-Fil-A
Five Guys
Sonic
Mission BBQ
If you’re somehow going further south, I’m recommending (somehow for the second time on this car site) Cook Out. Closest is MD though I think.
Cracker Barrel is so uniquely American. This is the answer.
It’s stupid. There is are no other words for it. Rural areas have no electrical infrastructure at all to support an EV. You are effectively telling people in these areas you can not buy a new or recently imported used car.
Do they have a gasoline infrastructure? Can they not build a rural electrical Infrastructure? We did in the 1930s. Now we have micro-grid capabilities. People can still by ICE used cars.
Gasoline doesn’t need infrastructure. They just need a truck and a storage tank. They can only buy used gasoline cars that are already in the country. I believe it may be technically possible to import a used gasoline car, but with 100% tarriff, so nobody, especially poor rural people will be doing it. The rest of Africa drives cheap used imported gas and diesel used cars.
local solar and wind need even less infrastructure.
Gasoline needs a ton of infrastructure. We forget about it because it’s so seamless to us.
A local microgrid with a solar panel and a battery is far less infrastructure than supporting the entire gasoline supply chain.
Again this is Africa. They need a tanker truck and an above ground storage tank. In some parts of Africa, they literally sell gasoline by the jug on the side of the road.
No Ethiopia expert here.
But its a country with one of the highest solar output potentials anywhere in the world.
No reason I can fathom not to skip
theadditional rural oil buildout and instead focus on solar power.How about the fact that is one of the poorest countries in the world that doesn’t have the money or technical know how and capabilities to build a grid capable of even lighting homes, no less charging an EV.
SO you want them even more poor from buying and shipping gas forever across another country from the coast? China will provide the money and knowhow to them, and The solar and wind would work on even a small scale. That is so much better than selling their country to petro-terrorist criminal states.
Pretty sure they have electricians.
The Chinese are doing this
All that soft power helping in many ways. Too bad we abandoned it all.
Yes, the USA has abandoned Africa to the Chinese.
So incredibly stupid.
You’re not very caught up with current events when it comes to energy infrastructure in developing countries, are you? Solar and battery are the defacto energy sources of developing African regions right now.
Not for transportation. Africans, especially rural Africans, mainly drive well used gas and diesel cars and trucks they import cheaply from first world countries when they are considered used up there.
So should they build out an electrical infrastructure or a petroliun infrastructure in addition to an electrical infrastructure?
And solar and battery eliminate the need for a grid.
I agree. I don’t have any issue with the idea of people there moving to solar systems and electric cars, but if the advantages are there, and the development capital is there to make it happen, they shouldn’t need to legislate to force it to happen. I’m guessing the capital will be the issue
Texas Roadhouse. Crunchy floors, cheap meat, whipped butter, that’s America baby
Texas Roadhouse
Where are you located for TBQ? I say this because I know Culver’s aren’t everywhere…
In a similar vein, Freddy’s is a solid choice. Think partway between Culver’s and Hardee’s, and based in Kansas.
it will interesting to see if the Ethiopian thing has geopolitical ramifications as well. They’re basically opening the door for a Chinese (nationalistic) monopoly. There may be benefits to be had
There was an article that I barely skimmed the other day that amounted to: China is investing tons of money in Africa (and developing countries in general) with an almost “modern day colonialism” possibility going on. Maybe these countries become dependent on China, maybe they just look at China favorably (versus Western perceptions). Or maybe China just makes a bunch of money in the long run from these countries while we’re just trying to shake down Venezuela for oil.
They’ve been at it for a while. I’m not sure if many benefits have materialized. There is the notion that it helps prop up the mega development corporations that are running out of steam in the home country. I was more implying about Ethiopia’s forever quest about deep water access. We’ll see
I recall from Top Gear that China had worked on infrastructure and roads and such. Maybe it was the Grand Tour. Either way, certainly not new. Maybe this is the payoff – make the Chinese brand cars, phones, TVs, etc, the norm there rather than the “cheep alternative” as it is in the US.
You can read up about this by looking up the new road and belt initiative. Scary
The roads and railway, meant to transport agricultural goods to port, China is looking down the road to future food shortages. They want to make sure they have enough to feed their own people. They’re doing the same thing in South America across the Amazon river basin
The Chinese are investing in local business and infrastructure. They’re building roads, dams, railways, and everything else. That’s going to lift a lot of people out of poverty in those developing areas.
Dude, that’s all of Africa now. Africa is where China gets its raw materials. Africa is where China outsources to.
China and India is where Africa gets its technical expertise. Chinese state-owned companies build the infrastructure.
yes, I am very aware of the situation in Africa. My point is that this is pretty specific and a bigger move than most nations have made. It also comes at a very interesting time for Ethiopia and their push for recognition/denial of various situations
It is what the USA did from the 50’s to the 90’s. Today we have forgotten that a little money spent today comes back many times over in the future.
I’m surprised you didn’t think of a truck stop. Get them a big bucket of soda and a chili cheese dog. Then make them use the washroom before you let them back in the car.
Buc-ee’s!
YES!!!!
Everyone can take a shower!!!
If you literally want drive-up service, Sonic is a solid option, and a fun throwback. I mean, they call themselves America’s drive-in.
The Ethiopia thing raises a lot of questions and I’d much rather see a full article about that than yet another “used car cheaper than new car” article (yes, I’m still salty about those, especially the way they’re titled).
For example: you mention the electrical grid is not good in rural areas. Is it any worse than the gas infrastructure? Do people in those rural areas even own cars, or is it a rare thing? As part of this ban, are they going to put the money that they used to spend on gas toward improving the electrical infra? I feel like I need a lot more information to determine whether this makes more or less sense than the (mostly rolled-back) gas bans in other places.
I’m mad Chili’s hasn’t been mentioned yet.
I also think that Ethopia is smart to ban ICE vehicles, but for reasons not mentioned in this article.
Electricity is much easier to get into rural areas. Ethopia is a great spot for solar farms, which in tandem with battery banks, is the cheapest way to produce electricity. Solar farms need to be installed once and will run for about two decades before needing replacement. Getting oil to rural areas is a continuous process because oil can be used to produce energy only once before it’s gone forever. This leaves rural areas most exposed to trade issues with oil, pricing fluctuations, shortages, etc.
yep
TBQ – A&W. Root beer floats and burgers you can eat in your car!
You need to experience A&W in Canada.
Night and day difference (it’s separately owned)
Better or worse?
Cleaner, better, and available poutine.
Agreed, Canadian A&Ws are nice! Just haven’t been to an American one for comparison
I hope that means that they have poutine
A very important point about Africa and Asia not covered. When the US, Europe and other locations entered the post industrial modern age, we wired ourselves up, both power and telecommunications, from end to end. This isn’t happening in Africa and Asia. The cost of wiring those locations is tremendous and not financially sound. They’re going straight to local microgrids of solar and battery backup, a logical step for EV implementation. On the communications end, they went straight to wireless, for phone and internet. They bypassed that which took us a hundred or so years to complete.
I worked in Mali from 2007 to 2012. The spread of cell phones beyond the major cities in that time was amazing. Every trip to site you’d get more towns where you’d get signal. The phones most people had were very basic but they could do basic banking on them, they had FM radios and MP3 playback and flashlights.
Also, it was odd to drive through a town and see “Electrified since 2010” on a big sign.
My coworker would visit his wife’s family in Costa Rica for a few weeks a year. His observations were interesting. They were a solidly middle class family living in a city. This was around 2015, but he said they’ve all had the latest iphones for a while. They’d bring some stuff from the US (Levi’s, candy, the stuff that anyone with family outside the US is familiar with the requests for) but that was dwindling as online ordering became easier. But they cooked with a single propane burner stove, had no real furniture (mostly plastic patio furniture), and a tiny TV that no one watched. It’s just a different expectation of daily life – but mobile phones and internet (in a place where few people had personal computers prior) was a game changer.
On a drive through Nicaragua a few years ago, which is much poorer than Costa Rica, I saw a ten year old girl talking away on a smartphone as she stood outside a primitive house/compound. I really think modern cell-phone technology/networks have allowed many countries to skip through the landline phase. A long time ago I remember a friend saying that she had better cell phone coverage in Africa than she got near Boulder, Colorado.
In places like Africa the phones then bring micro-credit by showing the users pay their bills regularly, which then leads to them being able to buy a solar panel or simple stove on credit, and then it goes from there. This mobile phone technology is fueling a revolution in these areas.
I recall a similar feeling in Turkey in 1999. Seemed like plenty of folks had skipped over the landline step, which requires plenty of infrastructure, to cell phones, which require infrastructure, but not to near the same extent.
Seems like solar & wind micro grids could do the same for electricity availability, sure sounds like it’s already being done in some technologically underdeveloped places. Also already popular with the off-the-grid folks in the USA.
Given the popularity of small scooters/mopeds being used in ways not common in the USA elsewhere in the world, I bet small electric scooters would be popular and maybe even affordable.
One of the most curious developments out of sub-saharan Africa from skipping the “put wires everywhere” phase was the GSM desk phone.
https://www.hubtech.co.ke/gsm-landline-phone/
Ethiopia: Great new business category for the smugglers!
That Ethiopia story is really cool. It’s much easier to generate electricity than to obtain fuel, so the path to energy independence is much faster. And if you don’t have a domestic auto industry to prop up, why not just go with the cheapest bidder?
The YouTuber Technology Connections, who usually makes videos about 80s consumer electronics, recently made a video about solar power and electric cars. I found it rather convincing. His main argument is that it is wild that we spend all this money to find, drill, extract, refine, and transport fuel just to burn it once. Solar panels, on the other hand, are now cheap to produce and last upwards of 25 years. After purchase, a solar panel will produce nearly free power for decades. Whereas fuel is one and done.
He then did a case study on his Nissan Cube with 180,000 miles. And how, for a little more than 1 year’s worth of fuel for the Cube, he could’ve bought solar panels and gone the same mileage in his Ioniq5. The Cube has been costing that same amount year after year, whereas after that first year, the Ioniq5 would be running off basically free electricity.
Yeah his comment about literally burning the fruits of our labor has stuck deep in my brain. MY garage is unpowered and I’ve been planning to trench a line to it from the house, and have now realized that solar and a battery is probably the better route, and it’ll provide backup power for the house should I need it. Given the cost of paying an electrician to upgrade my panel and properly wire everything I might even come out ahead!
I just need to occasionally run lights out there and have a working electric garage door opener.
I came to the same conclusion with my shed. It was way cheaper and easier to install solar than trench and upgrade my electrical panel.
It was absolutely the best video Alec has ever released, which is saying something. He’s an absolute treasure!