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.
 

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.
 

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.
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-Stay Untamed…

20
 

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.
 

Tesla sues customers, reporters to silence negative press​

Tesla’s aggressive legal strategy in China has resulted in a nearly flawless track record in court, silencing critics, customers, and media outlets that challenge the company’s reputation. The electric car giant’s legal victories highlight its deep political connections and the limited recourse for those who speak out against it.

Tesla’s . . . uh, unusual approach​

Most automakers handle customer complaints and negative press through public relations efforts or internal dispute resolution. Tesla, however, has taken a different approach in China: suing dissatisfied customers for defamation.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...S&cvid=4846b742d1f24ebe926f464e20960a6e&ei=31
 

Has The Car Market Ruined Itself?​

Mar 27, 2025 #tariffs #money #business

So most companies have not been having a great year so far, but none are feeling the pain quite as much as car manufacturers. Of course Tesla has been getting most of the attention as its stock price has plummeted by more than 50% since its peak late last year.
Sales across the world have plummeted as the brand has become an unintentional political statement… a political statement that doesn’t really “vibe” with the type of people that buy electric cars.
BUT the truth is most other car companies are happy to let Tesla soak up the headlines, because under the proverbial hood they have a lot of problems of their own.
Major brand bankruptcies are now basically inevitable, “will they-won’t they” trade wars are crippling supply chains, new manufacturers from China are undercutting global markets and worst of all… people just simply can’t afford to buy cars right now.
And in response to this simple financial reality, auto makers have responded… by making their cars more expensive than ever before…

16:16
 
Something I came across by accident. The article contains a link to another article I thought interesting. Noting special, just something to read about the automotive industry.

Why Do States Protect Car Dealers?​

The New York Times recently described a forthcoming election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the role of Elon Musk as the leading contributor to one of the candidates. His interest stems from the role of the court in adjudicating the fate of a Wisconsin law that mandates that cars be sold through franchised dealers. Tesla’s business model uses direct sales rather than dealers.

More:

 

Ford Motor Company will offer employee pricing to all US shoppers: 'Handshake deal with every American'​

U.S. shoppers will be able to save on Ford vehicles this spring through a new initiative called From America, For America.

American consumers will have access to Ford's employee pricing from April 3 through June 2.

This means customers will pay the same amount as Ford's workers, which is below the dealer invoice price, a spokesperson for the automobile manufacturer told Fox News Digital in an email.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...S&cvid=bf2e8fcabbda423db96fda3b4c45cf51&ei=22
 
What Ford Motor Company delivers, Ford dealerships take away...tough to make a deal with them.
 
Dec 2023

Tesla blamed drivers for failures of parts it long knew were defective​

Wheels falling off cars at speed. Suspensions collapsing on brand-new vehicles. Axles breaking under acceleration. Tens of thousands of customers told Tesla about a host of part failures on low-mileage cars. The automaker sought to blame drivers for vehicle ‘abuse,’ but Tesla documents show it had tracked the chronic ‘flaws’ and ‘failures’ for years.
By HYUNJOO JIN, KEVIN KROLICKI, MARIE MANNES and STEVE STECKLOW

Filed Dec. 20, 2023, 11 a.m. GMT

 
Spinning the facts, is something all companies do. Especially a maker of high-cost durable goods - no one wants to be the one to buy just before a company fails. Studebaker, Isuzu, Daewoo, AMC (excluding Jeeps, which were supported by Chrysler)...they all were orphaned, with zero support. No factory parts; no data. Hence, little resale value. Most of these, in their last years, weren't very popular - so NAPA and other aftermarket makers have little interest.

So Tesla now wants to hide the facts. Let's face it, and this has little to do with Musk...Tesla, from creation to its current troubles, was entirely the result of fads, of emotion, of LACK of logic. It began to recreate the GM EV test program involving select consumers, that GM opted not to continue. This wasn't a con-shpirashy; this was a commonplace thing. Chrysler tested gas turbines the same way, in 1964. Customers used them; many of them loved them; but Chrysler decided not to go further. It collected the test cars and scrapped them.

So. Tesla began on conspiracy theories, and the belief that battery cars REALLY!...COULD!...WORK!!! And they had plenty of dumb-money billionaire capital. They set up, in clumsy, emotive fashion, finally bringing out a model...looked slick, but poorly assembled, mostly by hand. Robotic plant plans failed as Teslas were assembled in outdoor storage areas.

So, they got it right, and finally, the Leftist Deep State bit Elon too deeply. A move to Texas, before or after the Trans freaks got their claws into his son; and then, Elon started chumming up with Trump. Probably because Elon thought Trump would win (good insight!) and wanted connections, probably, the idea was, to continue subsidies for Tesla purchases.

As these things happen, he got pulled an entirely-different way. Elon knows how to run a big business. Trump only knows small organizations; his developments would CONTRACT with construction companies. For the Trump people, there were only four or five entities in a project. For a manufacturer, there are thousands of people, with hundreds of interests - labor; contract suppliers; distribution channels, end purchasers.

So Elon put his talents to work. We see it. The Deep State, CONTROLLING all these emotive subsentient slobs...the DS saw its lifeblood, tax-graft, threatened, and lashed out.

Tesla, the emotion-choice car company of Leftist tools, was suddenly the victim of their childlike rage.

Now, it's probably going to fail. Because, in the end, it was never about cars or a car company. Now Tesla no longer makes them feel warm and fuzzy, so it will die.

I hope this battery hysteria dies with it.
 

Factory Workers' Untold Stories: International Harvester | DOCUMENTARY CLIP | PBS FW​

Apr 14, 2025 FORT WAYNE

Former Employees that worked at the Fort Wayne International Harvester Plant recount their experiences and hard labour times. Through these stories, each former worker recount the good times, the troubling times, and the connection that is shared between everyone that has worked at International Harvester.

This clip comes from our Documentary - Truck Town: A History of International Harvester in Fort Wayne
To watch the FULL DOCUMENTARY, visit:https://www.pbsfortwayne.org/trucktown/

8:18
 
^^^^^

The same story could be/was told of Studebaker; of White Motor. Anyone remember White? They rivaled IH's truck division in size. They still exist, as the American truck division of Volvo - Volvo bought them out of bankruptcy in the mid-1980s.

All this shakeout, to consolidate truck (and car) manufacture, going on in the 1970s. What ELSE was going on in the 1970s? Stagflation, from money-printing, from the MIC's Endless Wars. In the end it sent a lot of work overseas, and limited choices - for consumers and for prospective employers. There's now TWO truck manufacturers left - VAG, formerly Volkswagen, which owns Navistar/International; and Daimler, which owns Freightliner. I believe they own PACCAR (Kenworth/Peterbilt) too.

And only ONE diesel-engine choice - Cummins, the gutless-wonder of the diesel world. Not as responsive as a Screaming Jimmy, and not as torquey as a Cat...it's the only one left, except for some fringe sales from Daimler or Detroit-Diesel (no longer with GMC).

Point I'm making is, history is setting up a rhyme, again. We're having another shakeout in the car industry - Chrysler is just a brand; Stellantis, created in some swish Euro-playboys' minds as a way to sell Alfa Romeos and Peugeots, is leaving former Chrysler brands to die. $75k Jeep Wranglers, with the reliability of Chinese toys? Nope...this is where they fold.

Billy Ford's Woketard company is gonna collapse, too. The Woke moron actually thought it would be a good idea to phase out conventional (but affordable) cars in favor of $90k "trucks." That have more recalls than registration renewals.

This may really be the fruition of James Howard Kunstler's prediction: The end of the Happy-Motoring culture, as cars become variously, unaffordable and regulated into uselessness. There are gonna be a lot moar former autoworkers. I have no idea what they'll find to do once the industry disappears.
 
Fortune

Lawsuit claims Tesla deliberately inflated odometer readings in its cars​

  • Tesla is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit in California. The plaintiff alleges the company inflates the readings on the distance-measuring odometers in its vehicles to reduce warranty periods and steer people to purchase extended warranties.
Tesla is facing a proposed class-action suit from owners who allege the auto manufacturer has illegally manipulated odometer readings to reduce warranty periods and save the company from having to pay for repairs to the vehicles.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...S&cvid=6e084b43a3014f4a8f48344ec695d3cb&ei=26
 
Just like the Trump Infinity-Impeachment, now Tesla is fair game for never-ending Lawfare.

Musk only owns about 13 percent of the company, now. He sold off a big chunk before he ever started DOGE-ing. He must have smelled a change in the wind, even as he, himself, lost faith with the Liberal Worldview.

So, Elon's not gonna be hurt. The Leftist oligarchs and thousands of lemmings who bought in, are gonna be hurt.

I despise Tesla - the whole Narrative about SAVING!-THE!-PLANET!! and how battery cars are The-Answer. IMHO, GM aborted their EV experiment wisely and appropriately. They hoped, probably, for good PR press by salting the test mules in with the celebriatti. Show them that We Care.

The celebrity-controlled EV test mules sat in garages except for photo ops. GM learned little, except that celebrities lead two lives. On camera and in the press, and privately...when they drink too much and drive dirty gas cars, to various assignations.

So the True Believers tried to pick up where GM left off - and to this day, Tesla has been controlled by people who will not give up on an idea, no matter how impractical or uneconomical it is. Musk is/was one.

So I'll not weep for Tesla, but just as its creation was based on fiction, now its destruction has nothing to do with the value, or lack, of their products.

Idiocracy.
 

Man Bought His Own Stolen Car Without Knowing​

Apr 26, 2025
This happened in England.

9:57
 
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