Lamenting the decline of the car - Page 157

WarrenC12 · #**3121** Posted **Dec 31, 2022, 3:24 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

It's a prediction based on inventory not building back. I don't buy it. If there's a recession, car prices generally will tank. And we're already seeing some very interesting behaviour from auto lenders that portends a coming glut:

https://twitter.com/GuyDealership/st...HlS8jZLxA&s=19

Yeah it's possible 2021-22 MY cars will be everywhere and cheap over the next 5 years. What happened in 2008-09 was that new sales were way down those years, so in 2010-11 when you're looking for something 2 years old, there was no stock. We might see that with 2023-24 MY cars.

But, if you are shopping at a major OEM with a financing wing, they will approve you for a loan bigger than your vehicle, this has happened in the past and I'm sure will again.

Example: You buy an $80k F150 and come back 2 years later with $70k owing and it's worth $60k. You trade in and refinance something new (must be new) like an Escape or something cheaper at $40k, but you walk out with payments on a $50k loan ($10k from the F150 value decline).

Architype · #**3122** Posted **Dec 31, 2022, 3:25 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

It's a prediction based on inventory not building back. I don't buy it. If there's a recession, car prices generally will tank. And we're already seeing some very interesting behaviour from auto lenders that portends a coming glut:

https://twitter.com/GuyDealership/st...HlS8jZLxA&s=19

There may be a slowdown in production and delivery of new cars, as we have already seen, so that would resonate through the entire market. Geopolitical doomsayers predict difficulties in the production of German cars because of the energy issues which are likely to continue there because of the war and future reluctance to buy energy etc. from Russia. A resulting restructuring of the industry would favor the US, and perhaps Japanese manufacturers, and any cars made in the US / Canada or Mexico. To some extent we may all become more like Cuba.

lio45 · #**3123** Posted **Jan 1, 2023, 12:40 AM**

News that came as a surprise to me today:

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/12...ibu-exclusive/

Like the old guy in Monty Python’s Holy Grail who doesn’t want to go on the cart, it looks like the mainstream American sedan says “I’m not dead yet!”

drew · #**3124** Posted **Jan 1, 2023, 2:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

News that came as a surprise to me today:

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/12...ibu-exclusive/

Like the old guy in Monty Python’s Holy Grail who doesn’t want to go on the cart, it looks like the mainstream American sedan says “I’m not dead yet!”

Rental companies and corporate fleets still need some variation of a loaf of cheap white bread to stock their shelves with.

whatnext · #**3125** Posted **Jan 1, 2023, 2:13 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

News that came as a surprise to me today:

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2022/12...ibu-exclusive/

Like the old guy in Monty Python’s Holy Grail who doesn’t want to go on the cart, it looks like the mainstream American sedan says “I’m not dead yet!”

I expect the chassis will also be shared with a Cadillac model.

homebucket · #**3126** Posted **Jan 1, 2023, 3:26 AM**

They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. A special video for the remaining car enthusiasts out there.

• Video Link

homebucket · #**3127** Posted **Jan 5, 2023, 8:54 PM**

#thirstythursday

Need to go drink some more fuel soon to satisfy this sexy ICE beast. Gotta love those simple, classic analog gauges though. Everything going digital screens nowadays!

homebucket · #**3128** Posted **Jan 17, 2023, 5:19 PM**

• Video Link

urbandreamer · #**3129** Posted **Jan 17, 2023, 5:32 PM**

Although I'm no fan of Doug, it's the only new sedan I'd buy (ok maybe the WRX as well.)

MonkeyRonin · #**3130** Posted **Jan 18, 2023, 5:37 AM**

Seems like this is going to be inevitability, sooner or later. It's hard to make an case against it besides being an added inconvenience; but between this, speed limiters, driver monitoring software, and self-driving vehicles, seems like the days of driving being a truly autonomous experience is at its end. And it all fits in to the broader trend of the sad, slow erosion of privacy & autonomy that we're experiencing across all facets of life. Sign of the times...

Quote:

Should Canada follow U.S. lead and make anti-impaired technology mandatory in all new cars?

By 2026, all new cars made in the U.S. will have to come with technology that tests sobriety of drivers
Peter Zimonjic · CBC News · Posted: Jan 15, 2023 1:00 AM PST | Last Updated: January 15

A legal provision requiring automakers to include anti-impaired driving technology in all new cars starting in 2026 was part of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law in the fall of 2021.

Simmons is one of many victims of drunk driving who are backing that legislation and a campaign by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to push the federal government to pass similar legislation in Canada.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ant...tory-1.6713365

Architype · #**3131** Posted **Jan 18, 2023, 5:48 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Seems like this is going to be inevitability, sooner or later. It's hard to make an case against it besides being an added inconvenience; but between this, speed limiters, driver monitoring software, and self-driving vehicles, seems like the days of driving being a truly autonomous experience is at its end. And it all fits in to the broader trend of the sad, slow erosion of privacy & autonomy that we're experiencing across all facets of life:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/ant...tory-1.6713365

People used to think seatbelts were an intrusion to personal freedom. Pretty soon though, cars will become medical monitoring devices. If they really want to reduce harm, they should stop pushing SUVs on us, because they are better at killing people who are not in SUVs. Meanwhile, we will follow the Land of the Free Fee.

MonkeyRonin · #**3132** Posted **Jan 18, 2023, 8:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Architype

People used to think seatbelts were an intrusion to personal freedom. Pretty soon though, cars will become medical monitoring devices. If they really want to reduce harm, they should stop pushing SUVs on us, because they are better at killing people who are not in SUVs. Meanwhile, we will follow the Land of the Free Fee.

Laws mandating that you wear a seatbelt and will get fined if you're caught by police without it are one thing. This is more akin to the car playing the role of the cop and not letting you drive unless your seatbelt is on.

Actually, wouldn't be surprised if that becomes a thing in new cars too.

homebucket · #**3133** Posted **Jan 18, 2023, 3:04 PM**

Interesting video about what's going on with the car market. He equates it to appliances like stoves, where it's hard to find the basics anymore, where it just has simple knobs. Now there are 6-12 months waits to buy a new stove since all of them are overcomplicated with features like touchscreens with menu structure, ambient lighting, wifi, resulting in more areas where the supply chain can get interrupted. But the thing is, like cars these days, it comes standard with a lot of these extraneous features that no one actually wants.

• Video Link

whatnext · #**3134** Posted **Jan 18, 2023, 7:09 PM**

I keep meaning to ask this: all through the pandemic I was always having ads pop up on social media etc for Alfa Romeo, yet they are very thin on the ground here. Surprising even in a city with lots of foreign marques. I see maybe one a month. Are they common anywhere in Canada?

urbandreamer · #**3135** Posted **Jan 18, 2023, 10:16 PM**

In Italian neighborhoods in Toronto/Vaughan, I've seen more Alfas than anywhere else. I like them but unfortunately they're Stellantis garbage - unreliable with dated interiors.

I'm really starting to wish I could afford a Ford Maverick: looks like an ideal platform for a small camper.

As for cheap used cars, when the last off-lease manual transmission Mitsubishi Mirages hit lots c.2026, I'll have lots of options.

Truenorth00 · #**3136** Posted **Jan 18, 2023, 11:26 PM**

Quote:

Incredible generational shift:
In 1997, 43% of 16 year olds had their driver’s license. By 2020, it was just 25%.

Even by age 24, 1 in 5 today don’t have a driver’s license

https://twitter.com/byHeatherLong/st...a9UgP3XNM95vbA

Coldrsx · #**3137** Posted **Feb 4, 2023, 5:28 PM**

Love this article; It's truly absurd where size/scale/functions have gone with cars. Nothing makes me laugh more than when I see a full-size SUV or pickup trying to park and then looking ridiculous sticking out of a stall by 2-3'.

https://urbanaffairs.ca/edmonton-ish...somebody-else/

MonkeyRonin · #**3138** Posted **Feb 4, 2023, 11:04 PM**

Speaking of big, dumb SUVS - this is the biggest & dumbest one yet:

Quote:

Pepper spray for the school run? The weaponised SUV set to terrify America’s streets

The extreme features of the Rezvani Vengeance – including electrified door handles and blinding strobe lights – are wholly in tune with lethal trends in the US market

In southern California, parking lot warfare just got real. Not content with their supersized pickup trucks and child-killing SUVs, America’s road warriors can now go full military apocalypse, with the arrival of the Rezvani Vengeance.

While its competitors offer heated seats and optional roof-racks, this souped-up SUV boasts bulletproof glass, blinding strobe lights, electrified doorhandles, and wing mirrors that can shoot pepper spray – handy for putting those pesky cyclists in their place.

“Vengeance is yours,” trumpets the website, which details how the car can release a dense smoke screen to confuse people following you, as well as detect electromagnetic pulses from nuclear weapons. Always handy for the supermarket run.

Picking up the kids from school? You can announce your arrival through the car’s booming intercom system. Or why not just drive straight through the gates? The vehicle’s hefty steel ram bumpers and military-grade tyres would make mincemeat of any parking barrier – and dispatch the headteacher while they’re at it.

One thing oddly missing from the Vengeance (priced from $285,000, rising to $499,000 with all the extras) is a rear windscreen, because of course that would be unsafe. Instead, drivers are treated to a live video rear-view mirror and a front camera overlaid with “augmented reality”. Perhaps it shows an imaginary zombie army for you to mow down on your way to the mall.

https://www.theguardian.com/artandde...navi-vengeange

Surprisingly, not satire. Can't believe this thing is actually street legal!

urbandreamer · #**3139** Posted **Feb 5, 2023, 2:37 AM**

^Pretty cool. I'd rather drive one around LA than a Cybertruck.

OldDartmouthMark · #**3140** Posted **Feb 5, 2023, 3:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Speaking of big, dumb SUVS - this is the biggest & dumbest one yet:

https://www.theguardian.com/artandde...navi-vengeange

Surprisingly, not satire. Can't believe this thing is actually street legal!

I agree that it's really dumb, but with its price tag:

Quote:

priced from $285,000, rising to $499,000 with all the extras

It will only be in range for rich, paranoid people (or maybe people who have legitimate fears for their safety in public). There won't be a lot of them on the roads.

I'm actually surprised that some of the equipment would be approved by the NHTSA, like the strobe lights, pepper spray and smoke screen, for example. These can provide clear hazards/safety issues for other drivers. I didn't see any weight or fuel economy data, but I suppose once you've taken the dive into crazyville and actually buy one of these, those stats are not important.

On the other hand, electrified door handles could be a great source of amusement... just what you need to keep those pesky kids in line...