Car Dealerships: The Good & The Bad

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I like it!

Is the price reasonable, as a more-or-less daily driver?

I'm looking to see those 1930s cars drop in value, as people who have memories of them, go the way of all flesh. The big collector money today seems to be in 1960s-70s musclecars and personal-luxury cars.

A lot of lesser 1940s models go begging. Over at TheTruthAboutCars, there's a guy who photos rare and odd cars in California and Colorado junkyards; and a lot of early postwar cars have just been dumped there. Totally restorable but no interest.

So...yeah. It would be fun as an around-town buggy. That was basically what they were intended for in the first place.
 
Casey Jones said:
I like it!

Is the price reasonable, as a more-or-less daily driver?

I'm looking to see those 1930s cars drop in value, as people who have memories of them, go the way of all flesh. The big collector money today seems to be in 1960s-70s musclecars and personal-luxury cars.

A lot of lesser 1940s models go begging. Over at TheTruthAboutCars, there's a guy who photos rare and odd cars in California and Colorado junkyards; and a lot of early postwar cars have just been dumped there. Totally restorable but no interest.

So...yeah. It would be fun as an around-town buggy. That was basically what they were intended for in the first place.
Click to expand...

The guy wants $10k for it. Pretty much the market value for that vehicle in that condition. It would get me into the antique market without really risking much.
 
You figure that a car that you know will reliably start and run, starts now at $5k. That's the price for less-loved old Toyotas, or Ford Crown Vics, or other durable or utilitarian cars, now.

So...yeah. If you can justify the added cost, as well as (of course) the inconvenience in running ancient equipment...it can do double-duty for you.

If I had a garage I'd do it. I almost pulled the trigger on a JDM kei-truck, some years back, before prices exploded...but like your A there (or is it a B?) that little three-cylinder cabover pickup would have been speed limited.
 
Casey Jones said:
You figure that a car that you know will reliably start and run, starts now at $5k. That's the price for less-loved old Toyotas, or Ford Crown Vics, or other durable or utilitarian cars, now.

So...yeah. If you can justify the added cost, as well as (of course) the inconvenience in running ancient equipment...it can do double-duty for you.

If I had a garage I'd do it. I almost pulled the trigger on a JDM kei-truck, some years back, before prices exploded...but like your A there (or is it a B?) that little three-cylinder cabover pickup would have been speed limited.
Click to expand...

It's a 1931 Model A Fordor. Production of Model A cars ended in March of 1932. These can be extremely reliable vehicles with maintenance. Just don't drive them through deep puddles (the spark plug wires aren't insulated). ;)
 
Figured it was an A.

The B was the upgraded model...1932, or 1933. Same year as the V8 model, but the B kept the Model-A four.

It was discontinued a few years later - even with all the development problems, everyone wanted the V8. A lesson that modern Detroit, especially Stellantis (Dodge/Jeep/Ram) seems to need to relearn.
 

IT'S BEGUN! The Car Market CRASH of 2025​

The Car Market crash of 2025 starts now… here’s proof. The writing is in the wall and something has got to give… and soon! What do you think? Do you think we’re heading toward a legitimate car market crash in 2025? Let me know your thoughts.

Details discussed in this video:
  • Nissan is dying… emergency mode 9K people are losing jobs
  • 25K Ram pickups sitting over 220 days
  • So many new 2024 and 23 models still sitting in lots
  • Vicious cycle consumer doesn’t buy, dealer inventory goes through the roof, dealers turn away allocations, manufacturers cut production, they then layoff people… impact on already struggling economy.
  • Insurance premiums have over doubled in most states in the last 2-3 years.
  • Combine that with crazy interest rates, spikes in MSRPs,
  • According to Edmonds: $760 is the average new vehicle monthly payment.
  • 1/6 people will agree to a car loan over 1K per month.
  • 1/5 auto loans declined in the last quarter
  • Repossessions are going through the roof… up 23% compared to last year… people just aren’t paying for their vehicles.
  • Today’s average interest rates are 7.2% on new 11.4% in used vehicles.
  • Between the cost of vehicles now, awful interest rates, insurance rates, and people having a bad taste in their mouths from greedy pandemic days. People aren’t buying.
  • Wholesale values have come down 18% in the last 4 months… we are now seeing this impact the retail market. Prices are coming down fast.
  • Not all cars are selling at auction now. This is good for the consumer… dealers NEED to move their inventory due to flooring costs.
  • Cost of living is playing a vital role: Mortgage payments, rent payments, mortgage insurance, cost of groceries, etc…
  • Trade ins and used cars are bringing terrible figures right now.
  • Used vehicle prices are having to fall.
  • Tundras are sitting nationwide for 200-250 days… up to 300. Which is why Toyota dealers are getting desperate …$12K off. Not enough.
  • Average Negative equity is $7200 per vehicle in the US.
  • 1 out 5 consumers with negative equity owe $10K more on their auto loan than what the vehicle is currently worth.
  • Auto loan debt is at a record high right now.
  • Outside of Tesla, EV sales have totally crapped the bed. Even Tesla prices have fallen a ton.
  • Desirable vehicles are coming with huge discounts… personally I’ve struggled so much to avoid buying a Raptor 37… $7500 off MSRP now. TRD pro Tacomas are commonly priced at 4K off. Trailhunters 4K off… Raptor Rs are teetering closer to MSRP by the day. Ram TRXs Final Editions 12-15K off MSRP. Bronco Raptors 15-20K off MSRP. Jeep wrangler 392 final edition 8-12K off MSRP.
  • So many high trimmed vehicles because they bring in the largest profit margin…
  • People always low specced affordable vehicles. Reliable, simple, affordable.
  • No more markups. Dealers can’t justify markups because lenders won’t approve inflated loans. Easier to do when “money was cheap” 1-2% interest rates.
  • Buyer is in control. You have numerous dealerships to choose from… pickup the phone and make several phone calls. You’ll save thousands.
If you found any value in this video, please consider Liking and Subscribing… your support means a lot. Thank you!

-Stay Untamed…

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How Subaru Became The #1 Car Brand in 2024​

Dec 17, 2024

Consumer Reports recently announced that Subaru has been named the #1 mainstream car brand of 2024. This is determined by ranking car brands in 4 key areas: road test, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, and safety rating. You can see the full report here: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/...


8:56
 
I don't know how we get out of this one.

Every postwar downturn, the manufacturers responded. The early-mid 1950s, led to Nash creating the compact Rambler (later, Rambler American). That led to Studebaker creating stripper cars (Scotsman) and Ford and GM bringing out new "compact' models.

The 1978 Carterflation brought an explosion of Japanese cars - and the Japanese were on their game, with higher quality and lower prices. THAT led to Chrysler's rebirth and Ford and GM abandoning old ways and leadership (Hank the Deuce eased into retirement, along with Roger Smith). Low-content, stripper cars were the order of the day - we look back now, and blanch, but they were what buyers needed. The K-Car and the Cavalier kept the lights on.

2009 brought lower-content cars - and bankruptcies and bailouts. I guess that's another way to deal with rising debt costs...but it can't be repeated, not easily.

Now, we have Obamaregs. Cars have to meet impossible fuel-economy standards - and makers are meeting them with multiple turbochargers and ten-speed automatic computer-controlled transmissions. They are BARELY meeting them, and the COST, for all this electronic equipment, auto-shut-offs, turbocharger equipment...has sent prices WAY beyond what the average person can justify.

AND...durability has gone into the can. The Indiana State Police had been a loyal Dodge customer for 20 years...the latest police-pursuit model, the Durango, is so trouble-prone that the agency has taken them out of service, including new, just-delivered models. They break and cannot be reliably repaired - this technology to meet fantasy fuel-economy standards, is so fragile.

This is it. We need a new interpretation of the Beetle, or the Scotsman, or Yugo. Hopefully, not made in Yugoslavia. We need it; but there is no WAY, short of revoking these fantasy standards, that we can get affordable, reliable new cars.

My suspicion is, the Obamatons knew this and wanted exactly this to happen. To eliminate personal mobility. What they didn't figure on, was that motor manufacturers - one of the biggest employers of people their favorite skin-color - would not just not sell cars, but would fail and perhaps close for good.

Leaving one more industry in the hands of the CCP, and not employing Americans.
 
Welcome to Brain Fog America.

Demonstrated examples of Public Displays of Stupidity, are on a sheep steep rise, now.
 

Complaint: DMV car dealerships misled, overcharged clients for years​

One prospective buyer flew from Pennsylvania to check out a Camaro in Woodbridge, Virginia, advertised online for about $42,500, but left the dealership having paid over $5,000 more than the listed price, according to a civil complaint by the Federal Trade Commission and Maryland Attorney General.

Another drove 70 miles to another Virginia location only to be charged a mandatory $1,750 fee for items including an air filter and floor mats, the complaint states. A third called to confirm the advertised price of a car before driving more than three hours with his wife to see it, only to be told at the dealership he would be required to buy a nearly $3,000 protection package.

They are among the 88 percent of customers who authorities determined paid above online advertising prices in a random sample conducted of Lindsay Automotive Group’s transactions between April 2020 and March 2023, which the complaint states is in violation of federal and state consumer protection acts.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/new...S&cvid=78d2af7296fe47fea955e029d058b7d7&ei=13
 
Move this if it's in the wrong spot...

Self Driving BYD Yangwang U9 Jumping Over Potholes and Nail Strips​

BYD recently unveiled an impressive demonstration of the Yangwang U9, a groundbreaking supercar that pushed the boundaries of innovation. In a captivating video, the vehicle is seen driving without a driver, skillfully jumping over a series of obstacles including water-filled potholes and road spikes. This performance showcases the vehicle’s advanced suspension system and highlights BYD’s leadership in cutting-edge electric vehicle technology.

Yangwang is BYD’s premium electric vehicle brand, with the U9 being its second model following the rugged U8 sport utility vehicle. The U8 gained attention for its ability to float on water, but the U9’s appeal lies in its Disus X suspension and hydraulic system. This technology enables the car to perform astonishing feats such as jumping and even dancing, redefining what is possible for supercars.

In the video, the U9 is seen navigating a test track at 120 kilometers per hour. The first challenge it encounters is a large pothole, two and a half meters long and filled with water. As the vehicle approaches, its suspension propels it into the air, effortlessly clearing a distance of over six meters. The next obstacle—a stretch of road spikes measuring three and a half centimeters high—is handled just as gracefully, with the car leaping over it using the same advanced suspension system.

This electric supercar was officially launched in February 2024 in China with a price tag of 1.68 million yuan, approximately two hundred thirty thousand United States dollars. Deliveries began in August, six months after its debut. Built on BYD’s e4 platform, the U9 is powered by four electric motors that collectively generate an impressive one thousand two hundred eighty-seven horsepower and one thousand six hundred eighty Newton meters of peak torque. This enables it to accelerate from zero to one hundred kilometers per hour in just two point three six seconds and complete a four-hundred-meter drag race in nine point seven eight seconds.

Interestingly, unlike most supercars that use lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide batteries, the U9 is equipped with a more affordable lithium iron phosphate battery pack. With a capacity of eighty kilowatt-hours, the car offers a range of four hundred sixty-five kilometers under CLTC conditions. Its eight hundred-volt architecture allows rapid charging from thirty percent to eighty percent in just ten minutes, while dual charging ports enhance convenience.
3
 
If you, the driver-owner, do not control it...who or what, does?

You are trusting that equipment with a lot. Everything from technological competence, that is, that it will work properly, and not decapitate you going under a semi, or take you around in circles for hours...to that the persons on the other end of these algos do not want to kidnap you, track you, log your habits, rob your dwelling since they know you're not home...keep records and make them available to future enemies 20 years in the future, when you don't even REMEMBER why you were going out to that part of town...

Just...NO.
 
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