MAYBE if they Fired MORE Workers and RAISE Prices of their Cars all those Unemployed People can Purchase their Vehicles? Have they tried THAT yet?
Fuck Cars
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Stellantis will remember this.
He has been thinking about replacing his 2020 Ford F-150 pickup truck
Just... wtf.... Your car is only 6 years old and it's just so old that you really think to need to replace it? And your story is so relatable it lands in an article? How much difference can you even see between that 2020 and a 2026 model really?
I suspect it's media lying again, in order to normalize replacing vehicles more often.
He needs more surveillance in his truck.
If they are a frequent driver, they could be putting 20k-25k a year on their truck. Like yeah I wouldn't want a Ford with 120k miles on it either.
I mean, it's a Ford tho.
Surprisingly, a majority of Fords made in the 90's are still on the road today!
...It's simply not worth the expense to haul them away. XD
Jk
How much difference can you even see between that 2020 and a 2026 model really?
I wonder if it was manufactured in that weird sweet (bitter?) spot where "supply chain issues" made everyone use cheaper parts and forego many chip-based components entirely.
So they’re responding by making more affordable, efficient vehicles, right? Adopting new technology, right? Right?
Seriously, all they have to do is make an EV or hybrid under $20k and not try to push subscription BS.
No. Buy a ferd f150000 to stomp your neighbors and make liberals cry! Go on TOUGH mountain trails with 18 row seating and 13000 lbs of Karen fuelled road rage!
*note can only carry 1 person 99% of the time. Cannot touch a non asphalt road or warranty void. Must kill at least 3 cyclists/children monthly due to 0 visibility.
“We build cars that are too expensive for most people to buy and we need that profit! What could we do?”
Life in general has been unaffordable for awhile now.
Corporations pay stagnant wages, raise prices, funnel money out of the economy to shareholders who hoard wealth, and then get worried when there's no one left who can buy their products?
Tell me again why we think C-Suite folks are smart?
Right, because they'll get bailed out again and stay rich. That's why.
It's a god damn disgrace.
I'm sure someone will come around and tell me how complicated economics is and why we should trust business and industry leaders who went to school for this sort of thing, like basic pattern recognition and common sense couldn't have predicted that people who can barely afford groceries would stop buying cars...
Fuck.
The auto industry is worried
I mean, they have the power to reduce the price. 🤷♂️
But then the line won't go up as much and the CEO won't get his bonus :(
Literally the same day this article was published, Hyundai decided to cancel their electric sedan in favor of an SUV-only lineup.
Any cars out there under 30k that are completely manual and don't have a screen, that I can repair myself? No? Well, I'll never buy a new car then, fuck you automakers.
We had millions of those types of cars 20 years ago, now they're nonexistent.
I'll even get an electric if its completely analog. But they refuse to do that even though it takes very very little effort. An electric car is (mostly) a voltage regulator a motor and a battery. Its not hard people.
don't have a screen
Its not legal to make that car anymore in Canada/USA and likely other places. They are mandated to have a backup camera all over the place.
There used to be a car like that, could get a manual and you could fix it yourself - on the rare occasion it needs work.
It was the 2014-2024 Mitsubishi Mirage, and the entire US made fun of it. That's what happens when someone makes a cheap, dependable, simple car in the US, people act like it's the worst vehicle ever made because you can see exposed screw heads when you open the door.
It's all those blasted safety features! In my day we died every weekend, and we turned out fine!
There is a paradox with safety features that is really interesting: the safer you make roads, the more aggressive people drive. Better breaks led to people tailgating more aggressively. Better crumble zones has led to bigger and heavier cars. It's almost like there is a threshold of risk that people naturally gravitate to and that maybe the best way to improve traffic safety is through education
A professor at my university wrote a book called Navigating Environmental Attitudes, and he titled a chapter, "Educating the Public... and Other Disasters". TL; DR: It doesn't work.
That's why I advocate for a big, metal spike on the steering wheel, pointed at the driver's chest. (Okay, or designing the roads so that they feel unsafe, so drivers naturally slow down and pay attention.)
I remember reading a study about speeding in neighborhoods. It's not unusual to have people driving 50+ in a 25 MPH neighborhood.
Speed bumps actually caused people to drive faster between the bumps.
What worked was more curves and narrow roads. Essentially making it more dangerous.
So you're not wrong.
Not just that it's unaffordable but I'm not paying 60k for a car with a porcelain transmission that needs monthly software updates that might just brick the thing.
"Porcelain transmission" sent me.
Don't forget the oil pumps driven by rubber belts that need half the engine disassembled to replace it.
This! When I was 16 I bought a P.O.S. Buick for 600 bucks. I did all the normal maintenance myself in my driveway. Oil, pads, filters, belts.... Seems like you need a special tool for each part on new cars if you can even get to the part to replace without taking half the engine out.
Even the fuckin battery was bolted down with a long bracket that needed a special 18 inch socket extension to unfasten. Wtf
The auto industry is concerned about a problem of their own making? Shocking.
Nobody asked for a 100k pickup truck. Who wants to throw boards and chains in that?
It's OK, we'll just rent vehicles per journey, and in order to make things more efficient, put extra seats in and run bigger cars between popular destinations. Maybe even use rails for really popular places.
Maybe they'll think of a name for this in the future.
They all sit on each others' boards. There is no real competition.
This isn't just a car problem. The problem is they won't pay us enough, they know it, we know it. They'll do anything to keep from paying us more than the absolute minimum they must. Inflation is just another word for greed. They're going to keep pushing until the entire thing collapses, and then they're going to go hide in their bunkers.
They're going to keep pushing until the entire thing collapses, and then they're going to go hide in their bunkers.
Which is SO weird. Because even if your bunker is luxurious as heck, why the heck would you prefer that over a functioning world to run amok in?
Especially if, worst case, all that wealth turns into nothing because it doesn't readily convert to bottlecaps or something lol.
Americans cars just suck and always sucked but now they suck at 60k usd instead of 30k usd.
maybe stop making everything an apartment on wheels with ipads everywhere. 🤷
The monopoly game is almost over
Two problems, US income distribution is pathetic and shareholder power.
they are too stupid to realize that sucking money out of poor people is like crude oil. It will run out.
No lie, if I could afford a car right now, I’d want a cheap electric. Beyond that, I’d LOVE to EV convert my dad’s old truck.
Maybe don't produce only giant tanks that cost 60+k assholes.
Consumers can't afford product or services. Labour value stealing business owners confused.
Then maybe the auto industry should stop donating to Republicans.
The numbers don't lie. Republicans are bad for our economy. Bad economy means people don't buy the 1st or 2nd most expensive thing they'll ever buy (since many will never be homeowners).
Of course the auto industry would be worried that they're seeing the effects of a problem they caused.... /sarcasm
My 2014 Hyundai Sonata is about ready to bite the big one. I will not be getting another car for a while. The nearest bus stop to my apartment is just under a mile away, and my knees are shite. I'm looking at getting a motorized scooter to jet me up the sidewalkless stretch of road I live on to the bus stop, then commute in to work. I work for the city, so I have a free bus pass.
It's gonna suck for a while, but I don't have any better options.
Weird. Something in the US is becoming unaffordable. That’s wild.
I’ve been driving the same car for over 20 years and it was old before I bought it. If I ever replace it, it will be for something that doesn’t cost money to operate. I’m hoping Aptera pulls a win and changes the game for everyone.