• @[email protected]
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    1197 months ago

    Maybe roll out some models people can afford? It’s all SUVs that start around $45k, but they built only a few of those base models. The ones actually available are premium trims that go for $65k and might peak around $100k. They were able to sell out for 6 months, and then that market was saturated. Now they stand around asking why nobody buys their cars.

    • @JiveTurkey
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      7 months ago

      Also maybe don’t make me buy a car through a dealership. Why can’t I just order and car and it gets delivered to my house instead of making me pick it up from a dealer that gets to charge whatever they want for being a middle man on top of the cars already being too expensive.

      Side note and probably hot take but I think if manufacturers were serious they would be rushing to phase out most of their combustion vehicles. If people want a new car it’s going to be electric and if they don’t want EV then they can find a nice used car and pay a premium for gas.

      • @[email protected]
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        327 months ago

        Laws have to change for direct sales of cars, mostly at the state level. Dealership owners also happen to be big donors to state elected officials.

          • @[email protected]
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            57 months ago

            And the typical response of “JuSt Be YoUr OwN LoBbYiSt!”

            There are over 300 million pissed off people in this country, you think my dumb ass is somehow going to organize better than literally anyone else?

        • @[email protected]
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          17 months ago

          I’m not so sure about that. Interstate trade is the sole domain of the federal government technically. If you are in Tennessee buying from a manufacturer in Detroit, I would think that federal laws would override state laws. Realistically, I’m not so sure how that works okay out.

          • @[email protected]
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            67 months ago

            It’s been this way for decades without a serious challenge. Tesla has tried and largely failed to fight this (whatever else you might say about Tesla).

            • @[email protected]
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              17 months ago

              I think part of what Tesla failed at was opening direct buy dealerships in states, which becomes Intrastate commerce. They do allow you to direct buy, just not from the “showroom”.

              • @mortalic
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                -47 months ago

                Tesla… failed… at? Have you seen how profitable that company is now?

                • @[email protected]
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                  16 months ago

                  I think context is important here. We were talking about how Tesla failed to open direct to consumer dealerships owned by Tesla because of state laws.

                  • @mortalic
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                    16 months ago

                    I suppose that understates it. They failed to get laws changed in a few red states. Considering how they can’t produce vehicles fast enough, I don’t know how much that even matters.

        • Semi-Hemi-Demigod
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          -17 months ago

          Most states with sales taxes include auto sales, so it’s also that they bring in a ton of government revenue.

      • @LeafOnTheWind
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        77 months ago

        I would like an electric car next, but I live in an apartment where I couldn’t charge it.

        • @[email protected]
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          47 months ago

          Talk to your landlord about adding the infrastructure. It’s trivial for them to add 50 AMP rv-style outlets to one side of the lot, and you can then plug in your own mobile charger.

          • @nutsack
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            77 months ago

            landlords of apartment buildings don’t like doing things like this or any other type of thing

        • @mortalic
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          17 months ago

          Take a look at Aptera. Specifically for this use case.

    • Cyborganism
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      167 months ago

      Oh man I would love an affordable Honda e in North America. I’ve seen them in Europe. What a nice little car.

      • @Aux
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        77 months ago

        Move to Europe! And get free medicine as a bonus.

        • Cyborganism
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          37 months ago

          I live in Canada. I already have free healthcare. Though not as good as in Europe ngl.

    • @[email protected]
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      127 months ago

      Huh? There are a ton of small EVs that are much cheaper than that. The Nissan Leaf, for example.

      • @FrankTheHealer
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        287 months ago

        I think a lot of dealerships in the US won’t have Nissan Leafs since they are too cheap and therefore, the profit margin is thinner.

        If they had space for 500 cars that they want to sell over a few months, and they were all going to be EVs, they’d want all 500 spaces to be Audi e-trons, Mercedes EQS’ and Cadillac Lyrics, because those cars are worth more. Thing is now, people don’t want to pay that much for an electric if they are on the fence about trusting the tech or getting used to charging etc. So there’s a sales slump. Dealers are sitting on a ton of mid to high end and are looking to blame anyone but themselves for the slowdown in sales.

        Just my thoughts on the situation anyway.

        • @isles
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          157 months ago

          So the dealers tried nothing and they’re all out of ideas. Save us, government!

        • @[email protected]
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          157 months ago

          Might also be the very American perception that you’re a bitch if you drive anything smaller than a battle tank.

          So dealers don’t want to stock anything but Ford F150s

      • @[email protected]
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        217 months ago

        Nissan leaf, Chevy bolt (which won’t be sold next year) and…??? Everything else is at least 35k starting.

        • @[email protected]
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          107 months ago

          The Bolt has an odd marketing approach behind it. While it may be true that the Bolt will technically be discontinued, there will be its direct successor (built on the Ultium platform)

          Also, as a practical matter, you can cut $7500 off the price of any new EV in the US because of the tax incentive.

          There is a very real reason why certain classes of cars are EV and not others- you have to be able to charge at home/work to have a good experience. That normally means having a garage, often in a single family house. Apartment dwellers need not apply. Unfortunately, these are also the ones that buy compact cars, meaning there isn’t much of a market. The suburbanites that are eligible to charge at home mostly buy SUVs and more expensive sedans.

          • @Metatronz
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            77 months ago

            As I understand it, the $7.5k isn’t any EV, but EVs that were assembled/built primarily in the US. Many weren’t compliant with that legislation. Not out of spite or anything, but because manufacturing wasn’t quite ready to comply. That led to a number of vehicles sitting ineligible for the 7.5k break. As well as consumer confusion over which ones could be discounted. Overall, a transitional growing pain for a crappy industry that relies on monthly sales.

            • @[email protected]
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              47 months ago

              You are correct, and the exact definition/requirement has changed a few times. But many (most?) EVs for sale in the US are eligible. The vehicles themselves are assembled in the US, the big sticking point was the battery. It’s something that gets buried in the details rather than advertised at the top. I can confirm the Chevy Bolt is advertised at ~$35k, but in the details you can see that it’s eligible for the rebate, effectively bringing it down to ~$27.5k.

              A detail to confirm when shopping, but one that is common.

        • @[email protected]
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          67 months ago

          Renault Zoe is an other. Was 30k like 5-6 years ago

          Cars you won’t see on the US market of course.

          • Semi-Hemi-Demigod
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            77 months ago

            I got ahold of a British car magazine about 20 years ago and was really sad to see all of the awesome small cars and trucks we don’t get because Americans are dumb.

      • @banneryear1868
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        87 months ago

        Nissan Leaf is 41k MSRP in Canada, I’ve never paid over 14k for a vehicle. Willing to go in to 20s for an EV because of the gas savings though.

        I had saved for an EV for my last vehicle purchase but then the pandemic hit and I started working from home, was driving very little, and I instead used that money to improve the efficiency of my home and upgrade the furnace to heat pump, replace some windows, etc. The amount of ghg’s offset just from not using propane to heat my home vastly outweighs the amount I’d offset with an electric vehicle. I think people need to think about what makes sense for them, an EV is a luxury purchase, but if you’re lucky enough to own a home then there may be better uses for that money.

        So instead of a nice 50k EV I bought a Fit off someone for 8k, then I bought a $900 shitbox Fit for parts. Costs $70/mo in insurance and I put about the same in gas per month. I will likely improve my home’s efficiency further if driving habits remain infrequent rather than buy a product like a car.

          • @banneryear1868
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            67 months ago

            Maybe not to you but that amount of money is a lot to me, and how I spend it to strategically offset my own ghg emissions is something within my power. Like I said I spent it on offsetting my propane use instead of a vehicle purchase, not only do I save money every day because of that but it had a much bigger impact on my ghg emissions. If a new EV is 60k and you barely drive, yet every day you’re heating your home with ghg emitting fuel, that difference in price is meaningful insofar as there are tonnes of co2 that aren’t in the atmosphere.

          • @aesthelete
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            7 months ago

            It is meaningful when an equivalent used EV is nowhere near the same price, and often comes with a battery replacement bill attached and very limited range as well.

            ICE vehicles depreciate to some extent in efficiency, but nowhere near the rate of second hand EVs.

            I was looking at leafs in the 8k range years ago (pre-covid when money was worth more) and the one I found had like less than 100 miles of range per charge left in it.

        • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ
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          17 months ago

          Wtf car are you buying for 14k? 14k Canadian no less. Did you last buy a car in 1993? Or are you talking about used cars, which isn’t what this conversation is about.

          • @banneryear1868
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            7 months ago

            Obviously used, only way I’d ever justify buying a new car is if it was an EV under 30k. The “conversation is about” whatever anyone thinks is relevant to the topic so deal with it.

          • cheesepotatoes
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            7 months ago

            Obviously used. I bought a 2 year old Honda civic in 2019 for 18k Canadian. Like OP, I’d be willing to go into the high 20’s, hell I’d even do low 30’s for a sensible EV.

            I am not interested in a 60k SUV or a 100k pickup EV. Who the fuck is the target market for those EV Ford pickup trucks?

      • @[email protected]
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        57 months ago

        I’m holding out for a proper hot hatch. Something like a VW Golf or Mazda3. Leaf is a bit too small.

        • @skyspydude1
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          47 months ago

          The i3s is a fun as hell hot hatch. I absolutely adore mine, and can’t imagine ever selling it. It’s much larger on the inside than you’d think, and I move a ton of shit with it regularly.

          • Semi-Hemi-Demigod
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            17 months ago

            The i3 is about the closest I can imagine, but the tires look like bicycle wheels so I don’t imagine it does hot hatch things very well. But I’m willing to be convinced.

            • @skyspydude1
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              57 months ago

              The best way I can describe the tires is that they have far, far more grip than they have any right to given their size. For street use, the EP500s are more than sufficient and I’ve never felt like I was wanting for grip. For AutoX, they do okay, but definitely severely hamper the performance of the car. It’s RWD, so you’re not over stressing those narrow fronts too much when you really push it, but it still likes to understeer more than I’d like, but I think that’s also a symptom of being unable to turn DSC all the way off, because it feels a lot more balanced when I put it in the “everything, including ABS off” mode.

              I’ve got plenty of experience with hot hatches; my first car was an APR stage 2 tuned Mk5 GTI, and I regularly drive my friends’ FoST and FoRS. It definitely doesn’t feel quite as sporty as those, but I find it far more fun as an around town daily. We’ve also had an F-Type R, ZL1, and M3, and while they’re phenomenal experiences and super fun to drive, any time you’re even pushing them a little on public roads, there’s just that incessant nag in the back of my mind both knowing the car can give so much more, but also that doing so is insanely risky. I feel like I get to push my i3 a lot more on public roads without being downright reckless, and it just makes it way more fun to drive because of that.

              With all that said, the TL;DR is that they’re way more fun than they have any right to be, and ignore preconceptions or hangups on the performance numbers you might have,

              • Semi-Hemi-Demigod
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                37 months ago

                Ooo, I didn’t know it was RWD. That does sound pretty fun, especially with the instant torque of electric

                • @skyspydude1
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                  27 months ago

                  No one ever does! Myself included, until I was actually driving back from a Model 3 test drive when they first came out, and happened to see one parked out front of the BMW dealer. I had completely forgot they even existed, decided to look it up, found to my surprise it was RWD, and drove back over to test drive one. I bought a 2017 REx a month later and loved it so much I bought my '21 S since I knew they weren’t going to make them anymore. The normal i3 is good, but the S is absolutely the way to go.

                  • Semi-Hemi-Demigod
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                    17 months ago

                    And they’re in my price range, and they have suicide doors.

                    You may have just sold me my next car

        • @[email protected]
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          17 months ago

          I was hoping Volvo would make something like this, but I don’t know what they are doing now and realized they costs way too much …

          • @Aux
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            17 months ago

            Volvo acquired Polestar and they have some good EVs, but nothing small or cheap yet. Small, cheap and funky - that’s what Fiat is doing right now.

            • @[email protected]
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              27 months ago

              I might consider fiat now that I don’t have to worry about how small the engine bay is.

            • @TheIllustrativeMan
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              17 months ago

              With the new 500 estimated to start around $35k in the US, Fiat lost “cheap”. Super uncompetitive at that price though, we’ll see what happens.

              Can get a nearly new Polestar 2 for that. The $650/mo insurance bill killed that idea for me though.

        • @mortalic
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          17 months ago

          Didn’t Hyundai announce the Ioniq5 N edition? It’s more like a 600hp thing though, not a 200hp golf kinda thing. More race car than hot hatch.