Trump told autoworkers the other day that the electric car will put an end to the American car industry – and thus, put an end to their jobs as autoworkers as there won’t be many jobs left when a car becomes an extruded plastic body dropped onto a generic “skate,” the underlying and homogenous made-in-Chyna components of a battery-powered device.
But will also put an end to the Japanese (and German) car industries. It will put an end to the car industry being the point he missed.
Honda is a company that is known for its engines, among these benchmark designs such as the Compound Vortex Combustion Chamber – CVCC – engine that powered Civics back in the ’70s. This engine was so clean it did not require a catalytic converter to achieve federal emissions certification for sale in 1975, the year practically every vehicle available for sale had to have a chemical exhaust scrubber – which is essentially what a catalytic converter is – in order to be legal to sell in the United States.
Honda also produced incredibly efficient cars like the ’80s-era Civic CRX HF – which had an engine that could deliver better than 50-miles-per-gallon with a carburetor. This is nearly as efficient as the best hybrids are, today.
In the early 2000s, it made the most fuel-efficient hybrid yet offered for sale by a major car company, the Insight. This car was capable of traveling 70 miles on a gallon of gas.
There were also high-performance models like the S2000 roadster and the NSX, both of them powered by engines that spun as fast as race car engines – but lasted longer than almost anyone else’s engines. The NSX was a Ferrari you could drive to work every day – for about half the price of a Ferrari.
People bought Hondas like the Civic and Accord in the millions because they were Hondas – and so not the same as other cars.
Unlike the latest Honda – the 2024 Prologue – which is the same as the GM-badged battery-powered appliance it is derived from underneath its “Honda” badged extruded plastic shell.
The Prologue – a name is apparently meant to conjure thoughts about Honda’s future, which looks bleak – will be one of two Honda-badged extruded plastic shells dropped onto a common GM skate, the so-called “Ultium electric vehicle platform.” These will be “Hondas” in the way aspirin with a house brand label is different from aspirin with a Bayer label.
As in there will be no difference, beyond the label.
This begs the obvious question apparently not being asked within Honda, which is what future can there be for a company that has nothing to offer other than what every other company is already offering?
Do they really think a badge – that no longer has any real meaning – can support a company? This strategy of selling the same thing under different badges did not work out very well for Plymouths – which were the same as Dodges – which is why there is no Plymouth anymore. Nor for Mercury – which resold Fords. GM had trouble selling Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs and Saturns when all they were was rebadged Chevys. And they were at least not the same as Dodges and Fords.
The problem now is everyone is trying to sell Teslas.
Well, they’re being forced to try to sell them – for all practical purposes. That is to say, they are being forced to make electric vehicles and these are all necessarily, fundamentally, the same as Teslas in that all of them are battery-powered devices.
There is only so much you can do to make one cordless drill (or smartphone) meaningfully different from another, other than the color. This one has a different shell. That one has a bigger touchscreen. But you can get yours in any color you like!
GM’s Ultium Platform (notice the verbiage; the implication is GM’s battery is the “ultimate,” just as “fast” charging makes it sound as though you won’t have to wait) is already underneath various House Brand extruded plastic shapes, such as the Chevy Equinox, Blazer, Cadillac Lyriq and Hummer devices. It will be the motive source for Honda’s new devices, the Prologue and its Acura-badged “luxury” version, the ZDX. Honda’s Chief Engineer tries to smear the lipstick on the EV pig by pointing out that the Prologue and the ZDX do not “share any body panels” and the Prologue’s battery will spin the front wheels while the ZDX’s will will spin the rears.
But it will be the same source of motive power spinning both. The same source of motive power that spins GM’s devices. So why bother with Honda’s? What are you getting, in other words, that you don’t get from GM?
And vice versa?
If you thought new vehicles all looked the same just wait. Soon they will be all the same, too. And when they are, there won’t be much need for so many. For the same reason there aren’t more than two brands of aspirin at the store – the House Brand and Bayer. Both the same except for the label and the price.
On the upside, both cure headaches while what’s going to happen to the car industry – and to us – is sure to cause them.
. . .
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They don’t want us driving,hell they don’t want us living. Time to push back on Internationaljewbanker. Fuck em.
As I was commuting into work last week, I saw a Honda model-something with a Biden/Kamala sticker on the bumper. (Unusual even in the blue state of Oregon…most have removed them by now.) Got up next to the guy and he was alone wearing a mask in his Honda. A guy my age to boot. WTF happened to my country? Honda wants to kiss the electric car tar baby…go for it. Plenty of maskers ready to buy.
What was GM and Ford told by the government regarding electric cars? Don’t worry you are too big to fail, and we got your back?
So Honda, the maker of more different kinds of IC Engines than anybody on the planet,,,,, has to go to,,,,,, GM,,,,,, of all companies,,,,, to get an electric motor?
That is seriously messed up.
Honda made cooler, cheaper cars in the 1970’s…like the Z600…..Starting at $1,270 …$8,999 in 2023 dollars…and got almost 60 mpg highway…
It had the cool air cooled sound ….to get that now you have to buy an expensive used VW Beetle or an air cooled Porsche 911 or 356…..
600 cc engine , 4 SP MAN…. 1330 lbs curb weight…
The Civic now is 3000 lb….lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nOutIHSbEc
A 5000 lb Honda….what a joke…lol….and costing $50,000
Meet the Prologue – an SUV based on the Ultium platform developed by General Motors. Granted, it looks nothing like a Cadillac Lyriq, a Chevrolet Blazer EV,
These official images show the model riding on 21-inch wheels with six lug nuts, which isn’t a surprise as the aforementioned Blazer and Lyriq have the same setup. Although there is no word about how much it weighs, we’ll remind you Cadillac’s model – which is 4.7 in (119 mm) longer overall – tips the scales at a hefty 5,610 lbs
good luck finding the curb weight of this whale..I dare you……they don’t show it now…..that is it’s biggest handicap compared to an ice vehicle…way overweight….because of…the 1000 lb plus battery….
Weighs 4X as much as a 1970 Honda Z600 economy car….costs 5X as much…..progress….lol
Anon1 wrote: “Weighs 4X as much as a 1970 Honda Z600 economy car….costs 5X as much”
Thus proving that car prices have only gone up 20% over the last 50+ years meaning inflation has been less that 1/2 of one percent per annum since 1970.
If you understand that, you now understand MMT, Magic Monetary Theory.
I think what most people in the USA don’t understand, including the traditional manufactures ie GM, Ford. It is that that 95% of the world doesn’t virtue signal.
There NEVER will be an EV charging network in Mexico, Central-South America, Africa, India, Central Europe the Middle East, most of Asia or anywhere else outside of China(coal powered) some coastal states in the USA, and few Eu countries. The only place you will EVER find a charger in of all of the locations, I mentioned will be near Embassy Row in a few very major cities. Think Nairobi, Rio de Janeiro or Dubai. In fact Germany, Italy and now the UK are backing away from ICE bans to protect domestic manufactures. My point is; billions of people are still going to be buying a Toyota or Honda ICE cars for at least the next 50-100 years. The problem is, they just might not come here. At some point maybe the morons in Detroit and DC will figure this out.
‘There NEVER will be an EV charging network in Mexico, Central-South America, Africa, India, Central Europe the Middle East, most of Asia or anywhere else.’ — David H
Our rich-country EeeVee Bubble hinges on a growing economy, and cheap, plentiful financing (already gone). Another 2008-style meltdown of stocks and housing would pop this aspirational fad in a heartbeat.
As for a growing economy, the past 12 months of inverted Treasury yield curves — that is, when short-term Treasury bills and notes yield more than longer tenors up to 30 years — now are uninverting. That’s the urgent tell that hell-hound recession is at the door (found coyote scat in front of mine, after last night’s full moon), as confidence crumbles.
Watch the October 6 employment report (assuming that the blessed fedgov shutdown doesn’t postpone it). If the unemployment rate rises above last month’s 3.8%, the cake is baked, the goose is cooked … and ‘Biden’ is toast. 🙂
Goodbye Audi: Brand Just Killed Itself Using Chinese EV Platforms
Today it was confirmed that Audi has partnered with China’s SAIC to use its EV platforms for future Audi EVs. It is a sad day when 113 year-old Audi can’t make vehicle platforms anymore.
Your government is pushing EV’s? Why?
the ccp/wef/globalist cabal has infiltrated all levels of governments, taken control
Who benefits the most from the EV vehicle conversion? china does.
All the most important components in the new EV’s are all made in china.
Every EV is a chinese EV, 80% of all the key parts and the battery come from china, same as solar panels or wind turbines …low quality, they all catch fire.
Then you are dependent on china for replacement parts, etc., in effect they take over the whole vehicle supply chain. Vehicle production then centralized in China.
the chinese are taking over the electric car market, they are starting to export their EV’s worldwide, their EV’s are supposed to be advanced and cheap, they will kill off the other manufacturers……
the chinese make most of the chips, maybe the shortage was to help their EV launch….lots of their cars coming here soon
no wonder tesla moved a lot of production to china…
china…..it is where most rare earths are processed; and most of the mineral supply-chains for electric vehicles lead there, with existing supply sewn up.
With more EV’s the grid has to be upgraded, most of the equipment for expanding the grid is made in china.
The largest beneficiaries are the Chinese manufacturers of electric transformers, cables, generators, etc. since almost none of that stuff is made anywhere else anymore.
Slave population management….
deagal forecast for 2025…
get rid of higher paid, non cooperative slaves….
population forecasts……
U.S. 78% drop in population
Germany 68% drop in population
give work to cheap compliant slaves……
India 0.9% increase in population
China 2.3% drop in population
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/goodbye-audi-brand-killed-itself-using-chinese-ev-platforms/
Deagel.com provided the 2025 forecast for population of each country
https://www.ahava528.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Deagel-Analysis-updated.pdf
Eric,
Extrusion produces parts of constant cross section:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrusion#:~:text=Extrusion%20is%20a%20process%20used,of%20the%20desired%20cross-section.
>Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex cross-sections; and to work materials that are brittle, because the material encounters only compressive and shear stresses.
Injection molding is used to create parts which do *not* have a constant cross section:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injection_moulding
>Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for which the process is called die-casting), glasses, elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers. Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel, mixed (using a helical screw), and injected into a mould cavity, where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity
FWIW. bricks can be made by different processes, and in ancient times were molded, but today are commonly made by extruding a paste of clay and water through a die. The resulting extrusion is cut to length using a wire or a knife, and then fired in a kiln.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=GEvoXuFKSA0
Car bodies do not have constant cross section, and therefore cannot be manufactured by extrusion. Metal body panels are typically mass produced by stamping, which requires a large press and a stamping die. Thermoplastic panels must be molded, not extruded.
Thermoplastics *can* be extruded, to form pipes, but can also be molded, in order to manufacture more complicated parts which do not have a constant cross section. Valve bodies for TIPS are molded, whereas metal valve bodies are cast from molten metal.
https://www.ppfahome.org/page/tips
https://www.cla-val.com
The Nonsense Machine is at full throttle!
It’s been Honda Dull for years now.
The little Ford garden tractor starts on the first crank every single time. You need cranking amps from the lead acid battery.
Henry Ford had a good idea, got to run with it. Ford tractors run like Deere Tractors, nothing runs like a deer. Farmers aren’t Luddites, they make life better for themselves and you too. The only Luddite out there is John Kerry, he’s out there, spaced out in the jet mobile.
Changed the gearbox gear oil not so long ago along with transmission oil. Use a 75 foot 1/2 inch wire rope and pull down a big tree.
There’s always a use for some wood, burning it can do a lot of good. Load up a tender of good burning hardwood, you can throw the wood into a fire-box and away you go, a car, a steam locomotive, steam engines work too.
“Homegrown tomatoes, homegrown tomatoes
What’ll life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can’t buy
And that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes” – Guy Clark, Homegrown Tomatoes
>The little Ford garden tractor
My Dad had a Planet Jr. when I was a boy.
https://toschauction.hibid.com/lot/46843572/1954-planet-jr-walk-behind-tractor
He always planted Rutgers tomatoes, which are delicious, and suitable for eating fresh or for canning, which my mother did. The garden was fertilized with chicken manure from my grandfather’s farm just up the road, in Plainsboro, NJ. I still have vivid memories of helping my Dad shovel chicken manure into, and out of, the bed of his Chevy pickup.
My grandad had by that time gone back to being a banker, and worked for Trenton Trust Company, which was owned by the Roebling family. Roebling is most famous for wire and cable, as well as the Brooklyn Bridge, but also had been involved, in earlier times, in automobile manufacture and racing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercer_(automobile)
>The Mercer Type-35R won five of the six 1911 races it was entered in, losing only the first Indianapolis 500. The Raceabout became one of the premier racing cars of the era- highly coveted for its quality construction and exceptional handling.
>In February 1914, Eddie Pullen, who worked at the factory from 1910, won the American Grand Prize held at Santa Monica, California, by racing for 403 mi (649 km) in a Raceabout. Later that same year, Eddie also won The Corona Road Race held in Corona, California, on November 26.
The name Mercer derives from Mercer County, NJ. Trenton is the capital of NJ, and also the county seat of Mercer County.
My grandad’s boss was Mary G. Roebling, who was the first woman to be the head of a major U.S. bank.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Roebling
“ when a car becomes an extruded plastic body dropped onto a generic “skate,””
I’d contend that were already there. Cars nowadays are homogenized, ugly, boring government, spec cars.
There is a regulatory “design envelope” for the shape of each kind of car, within which, the body must fit. Automakers can’t make anything outside of those limits.
Lighting standards dictate the shape and placement of lights, front and rear. Have you noticed all the tail lights in many new cars are on the bumper? It’s because they have a full width hatch, and they can’t be on movable elements. Some cars have a second set of tail lights inside the hatch in case you drive with it open. Craziest example is Chevy Bolt, where the tail lights in the normal place are non-functional, while the ones in the bumper have the brake lights and turn signals.
Once you’re done sketching something within the design envelope, and with lights in the right places, you have to worry about aerodynamics for fuel efficiency. There is only one “most efficient” shape, so, everything ends up looking the same except for tiny little bits of flair or the angles of the window pillars. Innovation in design is mostly dead. I miss the rolling art from a few decades ago.
Tail lights and turn signals in the bumper are a very STUPID location. It gets hit and guess what, your lights don’t work…..
All the new ice cars are horrible, computer filled, plastic junk and the EV’s are far worse…..
So what do you buy? Maybe get an old ice car and drive it till you die…..or until it is banned…
something very high quality, well engineered, not overly expensive….practical, with a back seat, big cargo/trunk space, handles really well, can be used for long distance high speed freeway trips, or on the track, an analog driver’s car with lots of feedback, the best driving experience, has a prestige badge (why drive junk?)….
This owner recommends the Porsche 944…the 924, 924S 924 turbo and 968 are a similar experience….
A 911 would work, but costs more….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I7w4WAvP7A
Some good news for the day…Feinstien croaked today.
She and her ilk are exactly why the 17th amendment needs repealed.
Now, if the Big Guy can just make Pelosi, Biden, and the Witch disappear.
Ding-dong, the Witch is dead!
The last active SF Dem politician who owed Jim Jones for her career.
“Ding, Dong, the BITCH is dead”!
Hopefully Pelosi is right behind her on the “Express Elevator to Hell, GOING DOWN!”
Good riddance, time for the rest of the geriatrics to exit, starting with Biden and McClownell.
The problem is, they’ll be replaced with young authoritarian collectivists full of piss and vinegar.
I can see Newsom appointing himself to the Senate seat. If not himself someone of his ilk for sure.
Article today on LRC: “1600 scientists sign declaration denouncing climate change hoax.” States clearly CO2 a necessity for plants and life on earth.
We owned an early 1980’s Civic hatchback with the 1.5 liter, 5 speed. That was one of the best cars ever. Simple, over 40 mpg. Easy to maintain, lots of room in the engine compartment – and the fuel economy was not topped until GM produced the Geo Metro, which is a rebadged Suzuki Swift, with the 1.0 liter.
Having owned 9 Geo Metros, I can tell you the Honda was far better quality, especially the engine.
If Honda would make a 4 door hatchback, with a 1.0 liter 6 speed, less than 1900 lbs, no airbags or any of that other high tech shit, then you would have a good car. And yeah, real bumpers.
What they make now is shit, overly engineered high priced shit with engines twice what is needed.
Let me repeat, new cars suck.
Here is a chart to drool over, nearly 100 mpg at 50 mph:
https://forkenswift.com/album/24-graph-speed-mpg-insight.jpg
The original Honda Insight, 2000, was designed for fuel economy, it had a very low Cd and very high pressure tires.
Now imagine taking that drive train and putting it into a practical, lightweight, 4 door hatchback. Then you would have something to get around Montana, drive all day for a tank of gas.
My ideal car is 1500 lbs, 4 dr hatch, 6 spd, 1.0 liter, 80 psi 90 aspect ratio tires, with a low Cd below .3 and a Drag Area lower than 5.5. And that 1 liter could even be a V-Tech engine.
People need to figure out modern tires suck gas. Can you imagine putting a stock car tire on a bicycle? What light weight cars need are bike tire equivalents, like motorcycle shaped tires – tall and thin. No one rides a bicycle with less than 50 psi, so why in the hell are car tires typically inflated to only 32 psi? That is real stupid. I have 8 ply 12″ Ironman tires on my Geo I keep inflated to 52 psi. (They are rated 65 psi.) I want low rolling resistance, which you get with high pressure tires.
When my metro is on the flat, you can push it with one finger. Try that on the Queen Mary boats everyone drives, like those huge ass Suburbans or those Nissan’s like the Titan (Greek giant) or the Armada – the SUV so damn big it is named after a naval fleet. Do you think the Japs are mocking you fat assed Amerikans?
Ford should name their F-750 the Armaggedon. Chevy should name their supersized land yacht the Blue Whale.
Having owned one Geo Metro, I can say without a doubt that you are nuts to have had nine, unless eight are for spare parts 🙂
I sold them all, people would buy them on the spot, because they needed the fuel economy when gas prices spike.
I owned a 1998 Acura Integra GSR for many years. Wasn’t a rocket but you felt like you were in a fighter cockpit with the expansive views and man that engine! Way more fun past 4K rpm than anything today and plenty quick.
BTW, I have only had 2 Tesla owners call my shop requesting, or rather demanding, an appointment for the VA State Vehicle Inspection. I do have the option of refusing such demands, and will likely never allow one on my lot due to their propensity to self-immolate, along with their immediate surroundings. I am incapable of extinguishing such a conflagration, and will refuse any contact with said ‘fire-bomb on wheels’.
Even a ‘wealthy, privileged, white, mean-tweeting billionaire (as D. Trump is often described) knows the EV is meant to destroy individual autonomy in transportation options, as in, we will have no options. He is one of many who have already stated this fact repeatedly. Yet the sheeple keep bleating the same woke garbage that flies in the face of self preservation. I don’t know what, if anything, can be done to end the collective stupidity and self destruction of the general populace. I find myself now hoarding my vintage motorcycles, firearms, and ammo. I know I wouldn’t last 30 days when the lights go out, but I would never participate in their ‘electric wet-dreams’, even if I had all the money to do so. Group Identity and Socialism are so abhorrently evil and destructive, and are the opposite values of myself and all 12-15 generations of family before me, that even pre-date the War of Independence.
Thank you for perfectly articulating my feelings. I am bone deep exhausted from the last 3 years of facing the harsh realities of what has happened to what seemed to be a wonderful country and the threats made by the WEF, the WHO, Bill Joe and Klaus of their plans to steal our individual freedoms, block out the freaking sun, poison us with useless drugs, flood our country with migrants and in general try to destroy the lives and dreams of millions of good hard working citizens so they can personally benefit. Even referring to us as useless eaters. The hell we are! They are the useless ones as they do nothing honor or lift people up. The upcoming presidential election just bodes more of the same puppet leadership with a younger replacement, aka Gavin or Michelle. I worked hard at my job the last few months to take a much needed drive to visit relatives and enjoy the heck outta driving a new car. I bought the best car with the best engine I could possibly afford and so far its worth every penny. What a joy to just drive for hours never once worrying about needing to charge up. I will miss it.
One reason for brand loyalty in power tools is the battery connector. Slotting a Dewilt battery to a Willf***ye drill is impossible. So you spend hundreds on batteries that work across different tools… until you cook the motor and have to replace the drill. Or you overdischarge the battery and now it won’t hold. Then you discover the new drill won’t use the old battery (which isn’t made anymore), so now you have an oddball and you start over. Talk about environmental impact!
Musk understood that the money won’t be in the car, it will be in the charging network (and carbon credits, but that’s another topic). So he went with a different connector that wasn’t compatible with the SAE standard. Razors and blades strategy, and it basically worked, or at least was a good strategy from an investor POV. Now everyone else demanded he “open” his standard to other vehicles because Tesla understood the business model. Time will tell if it will pay off for automobile manufacurers who don’t run their own charging networks.
Of course, no one sells cars by advertising gas pumps. That’s one of those “it just works” things that no one considers when buying. It was a little bit of a concern when I owned my TDI, since diesel isn’t as ubiquitous as gasoline (and I learned the quality of the product varied drastically), but certainly not a deal-breaker and there was no need for nozzle adapters or other problems with filling up.
I have corded tools that are 30 years old. My father has tools my grandfather bought that still function as they did the day they were made. They have standard plugs, designed by Edison 150 years ago. Today manufacturers can’t go 10 years without changing plugs. Apple “finally” updated the iPhone to USB C only after the EU forced their hand. Sure, there’s more to a Lightning or USB connector than delivering angry pixies to a motor, but at some point things are going to have to settle down to a standard that will be around more than half a decade.
Great article Eric. That’s really too bad.
We bought a used 2016 Accord V6 for my wife a few years back. She came off a 2007 Accord 4 cylinder.
The V6 not only has surprising acceleration (0-60 is as quick as a 2005 Mustang GT), but it actually gets 35+ mpg on the highway cruising 75-80. It gets better mileage that her 4 cylinder 2007 Accord without resorting to turbos or direct injection. It does have the cylinder deactivation, which is barely perceptible. What I love the most is the sound of the V-6 past 4,500 RPM – it is beautiful.
What’s most alarming about this BEV nonsense is that those who should know better are all going along with this, for no other reason I can reckon other than fear of being called names like “Climate denier.”
I make it a point to publicly not accept the premise that there is any “need” to switch to all BEVs, and point out how ludicrous it is to call something with a 0.5 – 1.5 ton battery “sustainable.”
I quote a lot of business for 26-28 MY vehicles. My job is centered around Stellantis, but I see my colleagues quoting all the other OEMs. Almost every model is “BEV” by 27MY.
The issue is, these projected BEV volumes are the same as the current ICE cars. In other words, they are pure fantasies.
So either they are assuming no drop in volume even at substantially higher prices due to higher input costs (which kind of goes against the basic supply/demand/price model from basic economics), or they are assuming profitability per vehicle goes substantially down.
If they think the latter, apparently they don’t understand that their jobs are going to evaporate right along with the margins.
If the former, they are just plain dense.
Thank goodness I’m ready to be laid off.
The industry has gone full retard (no offense to actual mentally handicapped people).
The 2016 manual V6 coupe Accord is really top Honda. End of an era. It’s first on my list if I change cars. Thanks for the review!
Re: Full R-yard
That’s what happens when they keep getting bailed out.
Stop doing that, and watch them get real smart real fast, or go under.
Mercury worked when the brand sold Steve McGarrett’s ride, rebadged Ford or not.
The Sign Of The Cat!
Electric motors have been made much longer than gas engines, and being of simpler construction there’s not really a lot of room for improvement, if any. So the chance of “new, different, or better” doesn’t really exist among them. And not much chance of being worse. Not so among gas and diesel engines, which until the Green New Deal appeared to be continuously improving, although at a slower rate than the past.
When I became unable to drive a manual a few years ago, and traded off my Miata for an 05 Accord with 200k on it, my appreciation of Honda has grown. It does not get great mileage, but by all appearances, and sounds, seems to run flawlessly. Had it inspected recently, and when cashing out the mechanic says “That’s a really good car”. I agree. Soon to be worth a new engine, transmission, or both. If it doesn’t outlive me.
I would like to think this EV nonsense will change with a different political landscape, but since our mainstay offerings are vapid, unserious borgs, I fear the road to this futile future state is already paved.
Perhaps consumer pushback will ultimately result in political pressure to end this ridiculous experiment.
The other mandates I can think of to replace a wanted product with an unwanted one are Obamacare & incandescent lights. No one is happy with their insurance now vs pre 2010. Light bulb ban was tried before and rescinded.
Saying the quiet part out loud Obama’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu once said “The American public…just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act.” – WSJ 9/21/09
Yep, our overlords will make sure we do what is good for us.
One good thing is, mental health care is much easier to get than it used to be.
Another good thing is, it’s harder for an insurance co to turn you down over stuff that might not even be your fault, but you need insurance because of it.
These of course are also symptoms of the f’d up system that came before it. Which was largely the result of too much government meddling in the first place.
Overall I’d say we went from bad to worse.
But it is never true that “everything” is worse.
‘The Prologue – a name is apparently meant to conjure thoughts about Honda’s future, which looks bleak.’ — eric
An online search turns up an entry for ‘prologue vs prelude,’ to wit: ‘a prologue is used to provide context and background information that’s crucial for the reader to understand the story. Conversely, a prelude serves as a musical introduction to a larger work.’
Translation: no more music for you, chumps. At least while backing up.
P to Q is a more logical progression, and rhymes to boot: Prelude –> Quaalude
Honda’s new electric Quaalude is a central nervous system depressant which will put you right to sleep. But unlike the big white zombiefying tabs of the 1970s, the Honda Quaalude is not habit forming. Quite the opposite, in fact — buyers will be bored senseless after the first outing.
Soichiro Honda is spinning in his grave: he slaved night and day in wrecked postwar Japan to found the company … only to have it churn out dishwater-dull dogshit like this?
“Soichiro Honda is spinning in his grave: he slaved night and day in wrecked postwar Japan to found the company … only to have it churn out dishwater-dull dogshit like this”
Indeed, Jim –
I have an ’83 Honda GL650, which is a magnificent piece of work. The overhead valve (pushrod) twin spins to 9,000-plus RPM. And in the 40 years since it left the factory, it has needed exactly one replacement part (other than filters and spark plugs). The original rectifier crapped out last fall. That’s it.
I weep for the future – and am furious at those who are ruining it.
Which would be all those who claim engines will wreck the climate. In other words, morons or tyrants.
Run of the mill ‘powerless’ morons I can easily send packing. It’s the Tyrannical Morons hell-bent on ass-raping our Republic, that aggravate the piss out of me, lol!
Eric -FYI
I sent a email to you at Ask Eric,,, don’t know how often you check it but a donation I sent you on Sept 5 has yet to clear the bank. Let me know if you think it may be lost in the mail,,, I’ll try again.
Thx.
Hi Ken,
Thanks for the heads up on both! I definitely did not get the question; can you try resending (via the “ask”) button? I think there may be a problem as I’ve not had one come through for several days at least. I will check on the donation as well and let you know re that ASAP.