July 18, 20231 yr 3 hours ago, Ethan said: the people who don't see through this tend to have pretty bad credit, and will struggle to get large loans anyway. Many people pretty much max out what lenders will let them get. There are many households earning more than $100k that are living paycheck-to-paycheck due to their inability to restrain frivolous spending.
August 1, 20231 yr I will see this in person later this week "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 1, 20231 yr Damn. SANDAG Leader Says Peace Out The man who challenged San Diegans’ relationship with the automobile is hitting the road. Hasan Ikhrata, leader of San Diego’s most powerful transportation agency, will resign from the San Diego Association of Governments or SANDAG, Axios San Diego reported. He took the position in September of 2018. His last day is Dec. 29. For years the pugnacious leader fought to curb driving while also raising money for transportation projects by instituting a fee on drivers for every new mile. This was unpopular with conservative leaders of car-dependent North County. Progressive leaders of the region’s coastal and urban cities hated it too. SANDAG’s board of directors, stacked with politicians from all the major cities, twice voted to remove the fee from plans. However, Ikhrata insisted it, or something like it, would have to be part of any realistic plan to comply with commitments to combat climate change the state and region had already made. Otherwise, plans were "fake." https://voiceofsandiego.org/2021/12/08/the-last-waltz-of-sandags-mileage-fee/?utm_source=Voice of San Diego Master List&utm_campaign=7288849400-Morning_Report&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c2357fd0a3-7288849400-84112189&goal=0_c2357fd0a3-7288849400-84112189
August 12, 20231 yr One of the best accounts on Twitter or whatever it's called this week "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 12, 20231 yr 3 hours ago, KJP said: One of the best accounts on Twitter or whatever it's called this week Those look like small apartment buildings designed to look like single family homes. I bet the density is actually pretty high compared to American suburbs.
August 19, 20231 yr America, land of car potatoes NEW POLL: Nearly half of Americans opine in a recent survey that they would avoid a store — any store, apparently — that doesn’t have a drive-thru. https://thehill.com/business/4158341-nearly-half-of-americans-insist-on-drive-thrus-survey/ "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 20, 20231 yr 5 hours ago, KJP said: America, land of car potatoes ROFL!! That's great, and sadly so true...
August 25, 20231 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
August 25, 20231 yr 2 hours ago, KJP said: The car, TV/Internet, and air conditioner -- while lifesaving at times, these three technological developments made big changes in society.
September 6, 20231 yr If walking costs you $1, we all pay $0.01. If biking costs you $1, we all pay $0.08. If bussing costs you $1, we all pay $1.50. If driving costs you $1, we all pay $9.20. Via @thediscourse study. This isn’t just about choice. It’s about who pays for your choice. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 7, 20231 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 10, 20231 yr Bingo "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 10, 20231 yr I would love to go car-free "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 10, 20231 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 16, 20231 yr Auto debt has increased to $1.5 trillion, a 28% increase since 2020. In a car-dependent nation like the U.S. this is a serious problem: https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/09/15/fridays-headlines-are-drowning-in-debt The original article referenced is from ProPublica: https://www.propublica.org/article/wall-street-bet-big-on-used-car-loans-now-crisis-may-be-looming Edited September 16, 20231 yr by gildone
September 16, 20231 yr So, young people are graduating from college with record levels of debt. To get to their jobs in our car-oriented cities they have to take on more debt to buy and maintain a car. House prices and interest rates are going up. That all adds up to a really big uphill climb to starting a family -- debt is a generational handicap. No wonder people are waiting to have kids and fewer kids. The cities and neighborhoods that make car-free living possible are going to be winners.
September 17, 20231 yr I'm wondering if these sustained high prices in new and used vehicles will lead to manufacturers getting back to heavily subsidized leases as a way to keep selling new units. The vehicles today last so much longer than just 20 years ago. I would think higher residual values and financial incentives from manufacturers could keep the market going and make payments more affordable to more people. The current UAW talks and the ensuing rising labor costs could strain any ability of manufacturers to support such attempts. But that doesn't mean other non-union ones couldn't capitalize on such a strategy.
September 17, 20231 yr Cars do last way longer. 150k is the new 50k. But I don't know if the perception of the main consumers of leases (senior citizens and wealthy individuals with little car knowledge) has changed enough yet. To them 100k miles is astronomical. It doesn't help when some of the cars with the highest lease percentages are cars like Jaguars, Land Rovers and Maseratis which start handing people big repair bills way earlier than Toyotas. So much of life is perception rather than reality 🥸
September 17, 20231 yr 1 hour ago, GCrites said: Cars do last way longer. 150k is the new 50k. I got my 2012 Ford to 180K with only one unusual repair - a bad radiator thermostat. The transmission did die on Christmas morning but that was the notorious warranty-covered transmission issue.
September 28, 20231 yr I dunno, sometimes I feel like people just don't understand the scale of the problem "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
September 28, 20231 yr 42 minutes ago, KJP said: I dunno, sometimes I feel like people just don't understand the scale of the problem A large percentage of Americans do not understand that CO2 pumps are a problem at all. Climate change is politics, we don't like it and don't understand it and don't want to change. I have a high school classmate who found his way to driving a bus in Seattle. I'll have to check in with him next year and see how it's going with the new buses.
October 2, 20231 yr “New research indicates that there may be a whole host of toxic chemicals being shed from tires & brakes that have been largely ignored until now. Even worse, these emissions may be so significant that they exceed those from a typical car's exhaust.” https://www.thedrive.com/news/tire-dust-makes-up-the-majority-of-ocean-microplastics-study-finds "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 5, 20231 yr "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
October 5, 20231 yr 14 hours ago, KJP said: Exactly -- we don't need to remove every car from every road to make our cities better. But we do need to make it possible for most people to get most places without having no other choice than to use a car.
October 8, 20231 yr How car ownership costs are financially harming more and more Americans: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/10/07/business/car-ownership-costs.html
October 14, 20231 yr If anyone lives in Pepper Pike, please vote FOR the sidewalk issue. And let’s all have a good laugh at these sociopaths. I found this letter to the editor in the Chagrin Valley Times When is the last time I-71 turned a profit?
October 17, 20231 yr When people ask why Americans basically lead the world in obesity, it's Letters to the Editor like these ^ that remind me why. Basically moving to a suburb that used to be rural, to only enjoy it in the confines of your car is quite something. Edited October 17, 20231 yr by AsDustinFoxWouldSay
October 22, 20231 yr This jackass is facing 40 criminal charges: Man raged before careening through Portland parade, video shows: ‘They got it all blocked off!’ https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/10/man-raged-before-careening-through-portland-parade-video-shows-they-got-it-all-blocked-off.html
October 24, 20231 yr If 7 people were killed and dozens were injured on transit yesterday, it would be on prime time with wall to wall coverage with headlines reading “is transit safe?” Yet, this is just how desensitized we are in a car dependent America.... At least 150 vehicles collided on 1-55 outside of New Orleans Monday morning amid a "superfog." At least 7 people were killed, and more than 2 dozen were injured. Smoke from nearby marsh fires contributed to the dangerously low visibility. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/2-dead-100-car-pileup-louisiana-interstate-rcna121809 "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 13, 20231 yr Parking crater resulting from car dependency bomb going off in Green Bay (before and after images in case it doesn't show up) "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
November 13, 20231 yr ^ Such a damn shame. I went there with a friend in 2015 to see the Packers (my friend’s a lifelong fan). I was surprised and disappointed to see what a sterile and frankly uninteresting place it was. I was expecting something of the usual MidWest post-industrial effect, but the fact it’s consistently kept growing it’s population led me to think there was something more to the place, but there really wasn’t. My hovercraft is full of eels
November 17, 20231 yr Ebikes are doing more to cut oil demand than electric cars: https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-280-million-electric-bikes-and-mopeds-are-cutting-demand-for-oil-far-more-than-electric-cars-213870
November 19, 20231 yr The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that speed limiting technology be installed in new vehicles, limiting top speed to 100 mph. I offer no opinion on the matter, just tossing it out for conversation. Understand that it is just a recommendation by the NTSB, which is unlikely to be adopted. There has been push-back in Congress about installing them in semi-trucks. The same will happen with this. I suspect this will result in the same contentious debate that the red light cameras thread has with the usual arguments about safety, privacy, government oversight: You shouldn’t be driving over 100 mph—and your car shouldn’t let you The NTSB recommended that automakers be required to install technology to prevent reckless speeding. https://www.fastcompany.com/90985257/you-shouldnt-be-driving-over-100-mph-and-your-car-shouldnt-let-you
November 19, 20231 yr 2 hours ago, gildone said: The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that speed limiting technology be installed in new vehicles, limiting top speed to 100 mph. I offer no opinion on the matter, just tossing it out for conversation. Understand that it is just a recommendation by the NTSB, which is unlikely to be adopted. There has been push-back in Congress about installing them in semi-trucks. The same will happen with this. I suspect this will result in the same contentious debate that the red light cameras thread has with the usual arguments about safety, privacy, government oversight: You shouldn’t be driving over 100 mph—and your car shouldn’t let you The NTSB recommended that automakers be required to install technology to prevent reckless speeding. https://www.fastcompany.com/90985257/you-shouldnt-be-driving-over-100-mph-and-your-car-shouldnt-let-you Interestingly, my 2022 GMC has a limiter. I cannot go over 98 mph… allegedly.
November 19, 20231 yr Most pickup trucks and some SUVs already have a limiter around 100 since the tires often aren't rated for speeds above and for stability reasons. Edited November 19, 20231 yr by GCrites
November 19, 20231 yr 1 hour ago, GCrites said: Most pickup trucks and some SUVs already have a limiter around 100 since the tires often aren't rated for speeds above and for stability reasons. Good to know. Thanks.
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