Personal Finance Topics / Macroeconomic Trends and Risks
No. of Recommendations: 1
Just trying to live vicariously through you today. 😬
No. of Recommendations: 11
Nah, my balcony faces the wrong way.
Besides, life is tricky race weekend. All stores and most roads closed, no way to get a table at a restaurant, so it's either party all night or become a shut-in.
A few years ago our neighbourhood association had a special package for grand prix weekend---a trip to Portugal.
Jim
No. of Recommendations: 1
I wondered if the locals hated this race because of all the disruption.
No. of Recommendations: 1
I wondered if the locals hated this race because of all the disruption.
Sounds like the people who really hate it are the drivers. The first four drivers on the grid finished in the same order they started.
No. of Recommendations: 1
Yeah, it’s almost impossible to pass anyone
No. of Recommendations: 3
Yeah, it’s almost impossible to pass anyone
It's a pretty entertaining race when it rains, and the winner is not known in advance. Though it's more like a demolition derby, so I don't imagine the teams like the repair bills.
Jim
No. of Recommendations: 2
I recommend the Monaco Historic GP.
Every 2 years a few weeks before the "real" one.
Classic F1 cars, few people/traffic, leisurely, cheap.
(At least last time I was there.)
No. of Recommendations: 11
I recommend the Monaco Historic GP.
Every 2 years a few weeks before the "real" one.
Classic F1 cars, few people/traffic, leisurely, cheap.
Absolutely. And there is almost no picky security, so (last time I tried) before or after the race you can just wander into the pits and chat with the mechanics, sometimes the owner/drivers. Everybody is there for the joy, not the prize money. Seeing a 1920s Bugatti cornering on two wheels is quite something, but it's even more impressive when you get close and see how the brakes work. Or don't.
The 1950s sports racer category is full of beautiful beasts. (the cars, not the drivers).
Jim
No. of Recommendations: 0
That sounds really fun. I would like to travel to Monaco at some point and check that out.
No. of Recommendations: 0
While nowhere close to comparable, my town has a rod run where people in a 100 mile radius bring their old restored cars in the town for the weekend and drive them down the main street. It's a big tourist draw that I hate so much because I cannot shop in my favorite Mexican bodega in the old town. Or anywhere else in the old town because there is no parking.
I do miss the styles they had back then. Stupid EPA mileage rules. I would much rather drive a station wagon than an SUV. How does the government get to decide that a big car that looks like a truck is OK but a big car that looks like a car is not?
No. of Recommendations: 11
How does the government get to decide that a big car that looks like a truck is OK but a big car that looks like a car is not?
Lawmaking, when done well, is the art of spotting unintended consequences. Many parliamentary democracies in fact have a department for that, sometimes called the privy council office, made up of bright long term civil servants (not politicians) who advise each new batch of elected riffraff on new legislation before it is introduced.
But back to cars or the lack thereof---
The US drives pickup trucks because there is an IMMENSE tariff on imported ones, so they are disproportionately profitable. (the temporary "chicken tax", don't ask)
And if I understand correctly, the reason SUVs became popular is because they don't count as "cars" for fuel economy rules, so the auto companies spent billions convincing the public that driving a truck was a reasonable and desirable thing to do, as that was cheaper than trying to find a way to make fuel efficient cars desirable. For example in Canada without that perverse incentive, in the relatively early years of this nonsense, minivans (higher efficiency with the same internal space) outsold SUV's 2 to 1, but the reverse in the US.
Sometimes lobbying is more cost effective, sometimes brainwashing the public is more cost effective.
Did I miss something, or is it true that no US car maker still makes what one would consider "cars" for the US market? A couple of niche things like the Mustang and Caddy, but not much else?
Ah, imagine the joy of driving a Ford Prefect 107E that actually worked...electric windshield wipers, for example, and a nice fuel injection unit.
Jim
No. of Recommendations: 1
No. of Recommendations: 1
Did I miss something, or is it true that no US car maker still makes what one would consider "cars" for the US market? A couple of niche things like the Mustang and Caddy, but not much else?True, 'tis all cross-overs and SUVs. Though something like a Ford Escape is more like a station wagon/estate car wearing 6" heels than an SUV.
https://www.ford.com/suvs-crossovers/escape/Honda/Toyota/Mazda/Nissan/Kia/Hyundia all sell normal "cars". We have a few.
No. of Recommendations: 5
As usual, brain-dead politicians (sorry for the redundancy) don't think beyond the first level. They always assume that their intended result will happen and that nobody who is negatively effected will do anything to minimize or evade the harm.
[Classic example is one senator who asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) how much tax would be collected in each of the first 5 years if the income tax rate on millionaires was 100%.
Anybody with a brain would know that the after the first year, $0.00 would be collected.]
People bought station wagons because they needed the space to seat 2 adults and 2 or 3 or 4 kids and some cargo like groceries. The CAFE fuel economy standards killed station wagons because they were rated as cars.
SUVs and minivans were rated as truck, which had a different CAFE rating.
People needed the haulage capacity, but they couldn't get a station wagon so the had to get a minivan.
No. of Recommendations: 1
The CAFE fuel economy standards killed station wagons because they were rated as cars.
Could be, but then IMO safety standards continued beating the dead station wagon horse. You can't legally transport 2 parents and 4 kids in a station wagon, and you can't comfortably transport 2 parents and 3 kids in one for long distances either.
I grew up traveling to school in the back of a pickup truck with 3 other kids. But when I had a sedan for my own family, it was limited to seating 4 people due to car seat size. Theoretically you could put an adult between the car seats, but they had to have half the average hip size.
No. of Recommendations: 1
[Classic example is one senator who asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) how much tax would be collected in each of the first 5 years if the income tax rate on millionaires was 100%.
Anybody with a brain would know that the after the first year, $0.00 would be collected.]
Umm...
100% wrong.
The tax, but also your math.
Income vs wealth.
No. of Recommendations: 1
The US drives pickup trucks because there is an IMMENSE tariff on imported ones, so they are disproportionately profitable. (the temporary "chicken tax", don't ask)
That doesn't make sense. A large tariff on imported pickup trucks would cause american manufacturers to sell them for a higher price than if there was no tariff on imports. There would be MORE pickup trucks driven if there was a low or no tariff on them.
Wouldn't there?
R:
No. of Recommendations: 13
The US drives pickup trucks because there is an IMMENSE tariff on imported ones, so they are disproportionately profitable. (the temporary "chicken tax", don't ask)
...
That doesn't make sense. A large tariff on imported pickup trucks would cause American manufacturers to sell them for a higher price than if there was no tariff on imports. There would be MORE pickup trucks driven if there was a low or no tariff on them.
It's true that pickup trucks would be better value in the US without the tariff wall protecting the local manufacturers. Either cheaper or better or both. Since the US firms have no competition in pickups, they can and do charge more (and cut content), explaining their immense profitability. But that's not the only thing going on.
Never underestimate the power of motivation and brainwashing: the US firms have spent much of the last 60 years pulling out all the stops to convince people who need cars that what they really want is a truck instead. If you have one obscenely profitable product with almost no competitors and one so-so profitable product with tons of competitors, which one are you going to push as hard as you possibly can? In the end, ads work, and Americans internalized the idea that it's normal, even stylish, to drive around in a truck. The market share of pickups in other countries is tiny by comparison, as there is no motivation to push them. Canada is probably a bit in the middle since the brainwashing spills over even though the tariffs don't. Estimates are that F-series pickups account for around 70-90% of Ford's global profits in recent years, but certainly over half. The last Ford compact cars are being discontinued.
Jim
