Dead Nissan Walking

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It will probably take more than repossessing Carlos Ghosn’s $32 million yacht to save Nissan – which is in really bad shape, according to the latest news about the company’s financials.

Nissan’s last quarter operating profit is down 99 percent – and Nissan dealers report earning about 70 percent less this year so far vs. the same time last year. There is still an inventory glut of brand-new 2023 models on the lots – and we’re less than three months away from the end of 2024.

But the “good news” is Nissan’s share value has only fallen about 27 percent  . . . so far.

Bloomberg attributes Nissan’s troubles to exactly the wrong thing: “The company doesn’t have any hybrid models at a time gas-electric models are in vogue.” 

But they’re not so much “in vogue” as they are being resorted to by the car companies as a way to be able to continue selling – as opposed to manufacturing – vehicles people are willing to buy. The manufacturing of electric vehicles that aren’t selling has been “stimulated” by federal regulations that effectively require them to be manufactured – because only only electric vehicles qualify as “zero emissions” (at the tailpipe) and because they are allowed to cheat on federal fuel efficiency tests. 

The latter in italics to make a point about the federal apparat’s true intentions as regards “cheating.” VW was subjected to a worse beating than Roberto Duran got over “cheating” on federal emissions certification tests, by programming its diesel-powered vehicles to pass the tests. This was considered “cheating” by the federal apparat and that became the justification for the beat-down that left VW on the floor whimpering, no mas.

But EVs are allowed to cheat – by advertising false mileage claims styled “MPGe” that make it appear they go much farther than they actually do and which do not take into account energy losses in transmission.

People see “90 MPGe” on the window sticker, which leads them to believe the EV goes three times as far as a vehicle with an engine that advertises 30 MPG (no “e”).

Kind of like “safe and effective.”

Of course, the device doesn’t go 90 miles on a gallon-equivalent – and the federal apparat knows it. But allows it nonetheless. Because this iteration of cheating – which it actually is cheating – is ok. Because it serves the apparat’s purposes.

Anyhow, partially electric vehicles – that is, hybrids – serve as a way (for now) to get around the regs and get people buying what otherwise isn’t selling. The problem is that hybrids – like fully electric vehicles – are also expensive, just less so than fully electric vehicles. And more expensive vehicles – whether partially or fully electric or just expensive – are getting hard to sell because many people no longer have the money to buy them.

Because many people are finding they cannot afford groceries anymore.

It is the same problem besetting another dead man walking – Stellantis, which is the European conglomerate that owns the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck brands – all of which are in the same kind of trouble Nissan’s in. And not because these brands aren’t offering enough partially electric vehicles.

In fact, the opposite.

These brands are offering too many of them. The roster includes the new Dodge Hornet – which came out last year as the putative replacement for the Charger and Challenger during the interregnum between their forced retirement and the bringing-forth of their entirely electric replacement – as well as hybridized iterations of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, which is the only model in the Chrysler lineup – and hybridized iterations of Jeep Cherokees and Ram trucks.

The problem isn’t that they’re hybrids. It is that they are expensive. Which they are, in part, because they have been hybridized. Adding a whole adjunct drivetrain – which is what you get when you buy a hybrid – adds thousands to the price of a vehicle. It is why a hybrid such as the Toyota Prius – which is a fine car, per se – costs close to $30k. It gets 56 MPG (no “e”) but you have to be able to afford it.

Increasingly, many people can’t.

Which brings us back to Nissan – which has retired or is in the process of retiring its affordable models, including the Sentra and Versa and trying hard to sell devices like the Ariya EV that cost twice as much as either of the former. Bloomberg says the problem – for Nissan – as regards the Ariya is that buyers of this device are not eligible for the $7,500 federal tax kickback because this device is not made in the USA but this entirely misses the point in that the Ariya, like all devices, is a net money loser that can only be “sold” by paying people to buy it.

What’s needed is cars people can afford to buy – that earn a profit for the company that made them. Simple – but also not easy, because of the cost of compliance that is a largely hidden cost in that most car buyers do not understand why the cost of cars has increased so astoundingly over just the past four years.

Certainly, inflation – the devaluation of the buying power of money – is a factor. But compliance is the bigger one. It is the same factor that is behind the exploding cost of replacing a water heater or a heat pump. The federal apparat issues regulations that manufacturers must comply with that we get to pay for when we purchase a new water heater or heat pump or vehicle.

So what is Nissan planning to do? Build more hybrids that probably won’t sell because they’ll cost too much. “Nissan has pledged to launch seven new hybrids and EVs in the US by 2028,” according to Bloomberg.

That’s like offering another “safe and effective” booster.

It’s also tragic in that Nissan – like Dodge and Jeep and Ram – used to offer vehicles people wanted to buy and at prices they could afford to pay. But that was before they decided it was easier to go-along to get-along and that the federal apparat was their primary customer rather than the people who can elect not to buy what they’re trying to sell.

. . .

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79 COMMENTS

  1. ‘Hey, maybe North Carolina should rename itself Israel so it can get $20 billion in aid. Or maybe Ukraine so it can get $300 billion in aid. I mean, I’m sure the economy must be great for smug liberals like yourself. Listen to me, Mister Kurgman — your degree is worthless. You all fucking suck.’ [2:49 video]

    https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1841813298817196389

    This is an epic, grass-roots, blowtorch rant directed at liberal DemonRat New York Slimes columnist Paul Kurgman [sic].

    Evidently, a mountain of rage is building as Americans learn that relief funding for hurricane victims in North Carolina and Tennessee was LOOTED to supply debit cards, apartments and cars to Mayorkas’s millions of migrant invaders.

    HELL TO PAY.

  2. The Israelis have completely lost it. It appears they bombed a Russian base in Syria. Some say it was a warehouse just outside the base. Either way it triggered the Russian air-defence which some say may have shot down a few Israelis. The bad part is many of the missiles targeting the base/warehouse were said to be launched by navel assets. As far as I know only the US have navel assets in the Med. We all know how badly US corpgov wants a confrontation. In a war with Russia the US gov may put off the election especially if they think the Trumpster could win. Just thinking aloud…..

    • They are also bombing Beirut again, trying to assassinate Nasrallah’s purported successor. These attacks use US munitions. Israel doesn’t care how many civilians die as collateral damage. Any resemblance to the 9/11 attacks is totally not cohencidental.

  3. Nissan sells an awesome truck in Mexico called the NP300 i would buy in a heartbeat, but as is the case in the USA we only get daddy cab trucks.

    • Hi SCWS,

      Yup. I’d buy a new HiLux ($13k) tomorrow, if I could. But we’re not allowed to. Because the feds won’t allow it and that’s how the corporations want it.

  4. Good comments. We buy new vehicles every 5 years and have a ’23 CX5 and ’23 Titan Pro 4X, both great so far. Might have to keep them longer if we even get to 4 years from now. Who knows what’s even going to be available. I used to work on everything except engine and transmission overhaul and drive our vehicles until they dropped but no more.

  5. There was a dude at my high school that drove a shitty mustard yellow Datsun B210. It had “The Pleaser” factory written on the rear quarter. We broke his ball unmercifully about it and even called him “the pleaser”. His last name was Cox! Oh the fun we had with that! He did not keep that car long.

  6. Nissan has made it clear that all-new petrol and diesel internal combustion engines (ICE) will no longer be developed by the brand, signalling its shift to an electrified future.

    This is in stark contrast to Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru who recently announced a collaboration to produce new-generation combustion engines to run on alternate fuels.

    Speaking to Australian media just prior to the above announcement at Nissan’s Sunderland facility in the UK, the brand’s Senior Vice-President and Chief Planning Officer for the AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania) region, Francois Bailly, put it plainly when asked by Drive if there was a future for diesel.

    “Our future is EV,” he said.

    “Petrol and diesel engine development is done, as Nissan goes all-in on electric car future”

    So if Nissan is not going to survive, I say good riddance.

    • While visiting New York City, the psychic Edgar Cayce shied back from stepping into a nearly-full elevator. It proceeded to plunge to its doom.

      Asked how he knew, Cayce replied elliptically, ‘I looked at the faces inside and saw they didn’t have a future.’

      Et tu, Nissan?

  7. Re the mpgE scam:
    we just bought a 21 jeep grand Cherokee used. std. v6, combined mpg is 22. These new start at 45K
    If you look at their hybrid 4xE, no where on the site can you find mpg, only mpgE which they state as 56……………….. OMG. poor souls.
    But google AI found real combined mpg = 23. OMG really for and extra $10-20K to start?

  8. Oh man! What a time to be alive! We are living through and witnessing a major historical event. The fall of the civilized Western world. This is a multi-front war against a moral and civil society, in which the eradication of transportation is but one front.

    I used to think that America’s Constitution would help to save us.

    Look, seeds are currently being planted into the mind that that document should be torn up:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/31/books/review/constitution-secession-democracy-crisis.html

    They hate us for our freedom, think we do not deserve it, and are taking it from us, slowly, progressively.

    • Now for a little education on the USA and the Constitution of the united States of America…

      The united States of America (united purposely lower-case) is NOT a “democracy”. It is (supposed to be) a “representative republic”, its power (is supposed to) rest with the citizenry, NOT “permissions” granted by the government from the top down.

      Unlike every other country in the world, our Constitution (is supposed to) limit what government is allowed to do. Yes, the Constitution has been compromised in many ways, partially due to an ignorant uninformed public, but Constitutional principles still apply.

      My criticism of other countries is not meant to belittle or degrade their forms of government but to make others aware that in the united States of America, us American citizens are not “subjects”.

      You see, unlike other countries, the Constitution of the united States of America limits what the government is allowed to do, our “rights” inherent on us merely being human, “endowed by our Creator”, and are non-negotiable.

      In every other country, “rights” emanate from “the top down”, granted by the government which can be taken away at the stroke of a pen.

      Witness the Canadian “truckers’ strike” in which the government threatened protesters (honest Canadian citizens) with loss of their trucks, removal of their children and freezing of bank accounts, all by (illegal) government edicts for merely exercising “rights” granted to them by their government with their “Charter of Rights”.

      You see, in Canada as in every other country, “rights” are actually “permissions” granted from the top down, which can be rescinded for any reason at any time.

      This is the difference between the Constitution of the united States of America versus every other country’s “charter of rights”.
      The Constitution of the united States of America needs to be RE-READ, NOT RE-WRITTEN.

      • Absolutely spot on. We are rulers of ourselves only. Not a democracy, rule by a mob. The only legitimate “laws” are the one pursuant the privileges granted to the various governments by us. We retain the right to drive and the right to own and use every weapon.

        But people have gone to school and been taught otherwise. When the first traffic cops weren’t gunned down in the streets for highway robbery, we were well on the way to a truly pernicious tyranny.

      • That was a nice pep talk.

        “But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain – that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case it is unfit to exist.” – Lysander Spooner

        Without a citizenry ready, and willing to die to defend their “rights”, they in fact have none.

        “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Thomas Jefferson.

        Vote Harder!

      • [The Constitution of the united States of America needs to be RE-READ, NOT RE-WRITTEN.]

        It was! The first constitution which severely limited the national government was illegally superseded by the present constitution which moved the power from the people to Washington.

        It was in fact a coup by the individuals we hold as hero’s today. Slowly, over time, (boiling the frog)the new rogue government took over. First the war between the states,,, then the Federal Reserve,,, then the amendments of the early 1900s to enslave Americans,,, then came the wars and recent ‘law’ that make citizens second class in their own country. Billions of their tax money spent replacing them.

        Today the monster despises its citizens. In North Carolina FEMA threatened a citizen with arrest for using his helicopter to bring people to safety. Yet the people are scared shitless to complain, much less do something about these out of control gov parasites.

        FEMA now says its broke after spending hundreds of millions/billions on ‘newcomers’. After a week people citizens are still stranded waiting for help while apathetic Americans go about their daily drudgery watching their taxes wasted on more wars and illegals. American children crying and hungry waiting for the government to take the time and money to help. It appears corpgov is hopeful many die as that would hurry the replacement going on.

        • “In North Carolina FEMA threatened a citizen with arrest for using his helicopter to bring people to safety.”

          I saw the guy’s interview. When threatened with arrest, he complied. He actually left a person stranded (he had just rescued the wife) instead of disobeying. I commend his efforts, but he should have kept doing what needed to be done, damn the consequences. No court would have convicted him, and he probably would have made quite a hefty sum after a lawsuit against the bastards.

          • I damn sure wouldn’t trust the courts these days. But I wouldn’t have complied no matter.
            I’m thinking this is where a citizens militia would come in handy.
            The best case going forward is to hope Bad Vlad drops a Sarlat or two dead center of the DC beltway. 3/4 of the world’s problems would resolve themselves in very short order.

    • Philo, I read the Unz Review, comments, some commenters rant and rave about the Jews and the nefarious ways they behave.

      One comment caught my eye. The commenter revealed a law firm in New York City that hunts down corporations that are publicly traded tickers on the NYSE.

      If there is not enough Jewish investment in the equity, the lawyers target the company, buy puts and calls to devastate the stock price, then Jewish investors swoop up the decreased price per share using calls.

      Could be all bunkum and bosh, but maybe not, too.

      Paul Singer did a number on Cabela’s stock.

      Looks mighty suspicious. You know how they lie all of the time.

      I wonder who they are. Who are those guys?

      Maybe what is happening to Nissan.

      It’s a financial war out there.

      Nukes? What nukes? We don’t need no stinkin’ nukes.

      The US mainland is one huge target, coast to coast.

      Have to be real these days.

  9. 52,000 USD for a 2024 Pathfinder is a high price to pay, after 7 years, the vehicle will lose more than 50 percent of its value.

    In 2012, 26,000 USD was what was paid.

    The price has doubled in 12 years.

    Nissan had a share price in 2013 of 19.67 USD maybe made it above 20 USD now and then. The S&P 500 was hovering around 1300 back in 2013. Today the S&P is over 5700. Nissan should have a share price of nearly 80 USD based on the 2012 share price and S&P 500 number.

    Nissan is running on empty instead. The stakeholders are not good at decision making.

    A plate of crow and humble pie for dessert is the well-deserved meal.

    A heavy frost two nights ago occurred, the garden is over for the year. Have to dig carrots, but they get sweeter as the cold invades.

  10. Pretty sad. They made some excellent cars. A friend of mine had a 240SX which was a staggeringly fun car to drive. I still liked my RX-7 better, but it was sure tempting.

    • Hi Yeti,

      Yup – I am on my second Nissan Frontier; the old one (a ’98) is probably still running, if the guy didn’t wreck it. These are great little trucks. If nissan still made ’em, I might buy one. The new $30k-almost-full-size Frontier? No, thanks.

  11. Nissan was killed when Renault bought it, gutted it, and turned it into an automaker of cheap, unremarkable, unreliable garbage for people with bad credit.

    In the 1990s, Nissan built the glorious 300ZX, the “4-door sports car” Maxima, the unkillable Hardbody pickup and the Sentra S-ER, vehicles that were nearly as good as Toyota and Honda. Now they build droning CVT-infested junk like the Altima, Versa, Sentra and the Mallfinder. The Titan is an unreliable pile of junk. Infiniti is a bunch of boring SUVs now.

    The 350/370 Zs and the G37s were great cars, but that isn’t enough to bring people into the showrooms.

    I have one of the last great Nissans, the Infiniti G37/Q40, built before Ghosn and his corporate raiders took the C-suites and ran the once-great company into the ground. The VQ growls like a pissed-off badger, the suspension and the steering are world-class and it has some of the best seats in any car I’ve ever driven. It’s a reminder of Nissan’s former greatness.
    The Q50 was killed by its steer-by-wire garbage and general malaise of a luxury brand that had lost its way.

    • I bought a six-speed manual G35 sedan when they came out, and it’s been the best car I ever owned. My elderly dad still drives it now, it’s 21 years old, it’s never broken down, it’s got over 200k miles on it, and the engine still runs great. It’s finally showing one problem; the security chip in the keys isn’t always deactivating the immobilizer. Not a bad run!

      They used to make such nice cars.

  12. “The company doesn’t have any hybrid models at a time gas-electric models are in vogue.”
    They are NOT “in vogue”, they are required, by the psychosis of the Psychopaths In Charge. God knows what they will require in a few short years. They are after all INSANE.

  13. There’s no such thing as a high flying cheap Dollar Store/Walmart economy. The dollar is being destroyed by sanctioning other nations and uncontrolled spending as we write. We manufacture very little to nothing other than war material and not much of that. We are waging two hot wars and one cold while importing the poorest of the poor, unskilled and uneducated, sapping the economy of anything left. The country is surviving on arrogance,,, intimidation counterfeiting and bullying,,, its citizens poor, broke, in debt, gas lit and divided,,, hating each other to a degree no nation present or past has ever accomplished.

    So far, the ‘experiment’ of 1776 is a failure.

    • ‘We are waging two hot wars and one cold while importing the poorest of the poor.’ — ken

      Who is this ‘we’? I see war *** ‘Blinken’ instigating those wars; usury *** ‘Yellen’ financing them; immigration *** ‘Mayorkas’ waving in the huddled masses [CBP One™ for the win!]; and Lawfare *** ‘Garland’ blessing the onslaught as ‘all legal.’ We’re being sabotaged in broad daylight.

      As ‘they’ are wont to say, NEVER AGAIN!

      • ALL jews worldwide are culpable for the ongoing genocide that has been going on for approximately 80 years now.
        DO NOT use the term “zionist” as it is an excuse to justify categorizing, blacklisting zionism and whitewashing those jews who claim to be against this genocide.
        ALL JEWS are infected with the genocidal, eternal victimization and jewish supremacy genes and must be recognized as such.
        Yes, I realize that there are some jews who have totally renounced these judaic attitudes, but they are too few and far between and cannot make a difference.
        Judaism itself has to be exposed for its genocidal, supremacist and eternal victimhood stances. Judaic behavior along these lines must be called out and recognized as being detrimental to the survival of the human race.
        Today, it’s the Palestinians who are the “enemy”. In the future, it will be ALL OF US (gentiles).
        Let’s not forget that jews believe in the (false) concepts of “collective responsibility” and “collective punishment” but only for gentiles, not for themselves. This one aspect of judaism serves to “justify” (in their minds) the genocide of a total people. This concept is also used to continue the demonization of Germany to this very day.
        In judaism, the blame never ends. Not good.
        Judaic genocidal actions are a result of mental illness. The IOF soldiers abuse of innocent Palestinians and Gazans is but one aspect of judaism that must be totally recognized as evil and punished. EVERY IOF soldier as well as their government leaders is a war criminal and must be treated as such. Approval by their “government” adds to the seriousness of the charges.
        It will be up to JEWS themselves to declare the abandonment of their genocidal, supremacist and eternal victimhood attitudes which are crimes against humanity.
        JUDAISM HAS TO CHANGE. The total disavowing and abandonment of their supremacist-based talmud would be a start.
        I won’t hold my breath…

      • [Who is this ‘we’? I see war …]

        Awwww,,, come on! You know well what I mean by ‘we’ 🙂 The fools doing this was elected and appointed the assholes destroying the country. One could cry they cheated all one wants BUT the election stands. Yes? And hundreds still in jail. This doesn’t happen in a country where the government does the will of its citizens. In fact,,, this government despises we the citizens.

        The next election consists of the entirety of front runners doing their best to be in front of the line to Bibi’s zipper. Millions of illegals will vote. How are they still here,,, mainly because ‘our’ taxes pay their subsistence. ‘We’ support them. Dog barbecues and all.

    • The fallout of this now showing up locally, small town in eastern WA loses its major employer, Lamb Weston potato processor. Major supplier to MacDonalds. Note they state this shutdown is permanent. This town is a stop on my yearly Idaho motorcycle trip, dusty grim looking place – favorite mom and pop burger joint was closed last year, the whole town looks like it’s barely hanging on now this.

      https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/business/article293337499.html

      • Hi Sparkey,

        That is upsetting. Does “supply and demand imbalance” mean “management has run operations into the ground”?

        We have a lot of businesses closing in my area and very few are opening. I have been practicing accounting/taxes for 20+ years and a total of two businesses opened in 2024 from my clientele. I cannot remember it ever being this low. How many closed? Twelve. None from bankruptcy or unable to stay solvent, but the owners just threw up their hands and said, “I am done.” Most of these businesses were from Baby Boomers/early Gen X. I also have a very large amount of clients (employees, not business owners) throwing in the towel in their 50s/60s.

        I still believe we have truly lost 30-40% of the workforce since COVID. The bleeding is not stopping. I am fearful of the numbers I am seeing. There are not enough skilled replacement works to make up the loss.

        • The news reporting on the potato place was pretty light on details, as usual. One problem is mgmt is in a lawsuit from I believe, lack of disclosure re info a on computer system problem eventually affecting earnings thus stock price. Washington State is a pricey place to do business so Lamb Weston is probably shedding the high price operations first. We have a business and occupation tax on gross receipts, not profit. Fun times for a business going down the tubes owing vig to the government as you’re losing money.

          Daughters pals own a wine shop in town, nice place with related snack stuff goes with the wine. She told my daughter they’re about done if business doesn’t pick up over the holidays they won’t renew the lease & that’s it. It’s an outlet for their winery so they will still have that, as long as demand holds up.

          “ There are not enough skilled replacement workers to make up the loss. “
          A constant problem here now. I’m on my 2nd HVAC company as the first one totally FUBAR’d my furnace installation. The new crew is from the next city about 35 miles away but they are willing to pick up business here as well. Mid October they will fix a filter and duct problem hopefully correct this time.

        • Hi RG –

          It’s similar in my area. And it’s personal. A good friend of mine used to own a neat little restaurant/bar on top of Bent Mountain called the Bent Mountain Bistro. Everyone loved it and the owner – Ben – who is a hard-working dude and good dude. Then along came the “pandemic,” which shut him down completely for months. And then he was allowed to sort-of reopen but only 50 percent capacity and no one at the bar allowed (which killed him financially). He had to close the Bistro down – with his wife just recently having given birth. I will never forgive the sons-of-bitches for what they did to him and all of us who loved that place.

  14. Excellent essay, Eric. Several interesting points in the Bloomberg article:

    ‘Nissan’s top-selling EV in the US — the Ariya SUV — isn’t eligible for the fedgov’s purchase tax credit of up to $7,500 because it’s made in Japan. Nissan has gotten around this somewhat by taking advantage of credits available to leased vehicles. It’s offering leases for as low as $199 a month.’

    https://archive.ph/C2spv#selection-1827.11-1831.51

    Joe Manchin, the DemonRat senator whose IRA extended the stinking EeeVee tax credit for another ten years, claims Clowngress never intended to apply it to foreign-made, leased vehicles. But the ‘Biden’ regime of chiselers and pirates, headed by the ‘Yellen’ entity, determined that it’s ‘all legal.’ So we pay for this chicanery.

    ‘S&P Global cut Nissan’s credit rating to junk in March of last year.’

    This is a very big deal. A junk credit rating cuts off access to commercial paper (short-term IOU’s). It means that any new bonds floated carry a punitive interest rate. Such impediments only accelerate a downward spiral in the underlying business.

    ‘[Nissan] nevertheless plans to buy back ¥79.9 billion of its shares from Renault as part of an agreement to rebalance its alliance with the French carmaker.’

    GOOFBALLS! Burning up 80 billion yen of scarce cash in a futile bid to prop up a plummeting share price reminds one of the monomaniacal Japanese soldier found on a remote Pacific island in 1972, still dutifully carrying out his 1944 orders to defend it.

    It’s a Japanese cultural trait: when trouble looms, just keep pounding your thick head against a brick wall till your freakin’ skull breaks. At least you went down punching! 🙂

  15. Bloomberg says the problem – for Nissan – as regards the Ariya is that buyers of this device are not eligible for the $7,500 federal tax kickback because this device is not made in the USA

    Once again, if the Earth is facing an existential crisis, why play games with encouraging people to purchase US built devices? In fact, if it is such a horrible fate that awaits us, why not just ban fossil fuels, take a few billion dollars out of the welfare and war funds and do a 1:1 trade for everyone? After all, there won’t be a future to defend if the pundits and Scientistas are to be believed.

    Of course we all know the answer. It would be politically unpopular. No use losing your head over climate change after all. And good luck finding a real, actual scientist who believes the worst case scenario is the only outcome. The only people truly worried are the ones who own property in areas that would be affected by minor changes in the weather. Not even destroyed, just changed enough so that they aren’t as desirable. That’s not good if you’ve parked a few million in your Asspen (sic) ski chalet and the snow stops falling. You could end up with Leadville on the Roaring Fork!

    • Good point RK,
      Obummer certainly isn’t worried about the sea level rising and wiping out his megamansion on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, along with his giant propane tanks. The whole ‘climate change’ BS is to scare the plebes into submission.

      • If asked, he’d probably spout some pablum about how he has so much faith in the human race to solve the crisis that he’s putting his money where his mouth is. All that hope and change bulls**t that got him to jump line before Hillary.

        And from that perspective, there’s no downside. Even the minuscule difference in CO2 output that’s happening because of the wasted resources -renewables and EVs, shutting down coal plants, forcing everyone to buy a heat pump- will be touted as a great success in preventing the end of all life as we know it. Great success!

        Because when you’re screaming about the sky falling, when it doesn’t, the credit goes to Chicken Little.

  16. I wonder if the fact that new vehicles have so many saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaafety gadgets and spying technology is also a factor in people not buying a brand new automobile in addition to the ever increasing price of a new car and the government (at the behest of globalist/ technocrat sociopaths) trying to shove EVs down everyone’s throats. Other possible factors include the fact the newer vehicles are effectively crap compared to older vehicles and (in my opinion) look ugly compared to vehicles made pre-2010 or so.

  17. Carlos Ghosn’s $32 million yacht ……

    At a time when these car manufacturers are making the most horrible cars ever made…their CEO’s are making far more money…. then the CEO’s were making when they made good, reliable, far cheaper, far more interesting cars….soon to be all dead, boring, unreliable, very short life appliances, nobody wants…..

    CEO’s are making far more money….looting the company before it goes under….more pirates…same as the government parasites….

    • CEOs have headhunting firms helping them find work. Basically Hollywood agents selling them to corporations. Then once they’re in the C-suite, they start putting themselves out there to sit on boards. Once they get on a few boards of directors, they start approving each other’s compensation plans, which have performance metrics that are easy to game.

      Nice work if you can get it.

      • Government doing what government does best,,, muck things up!

        United Way….. POS

        When in the service we were paid cash on a monthly basis years ago, believe it or not. A United Way ‘rep’ was at the end of the line collecting “donations”. I was told it was either donate a monthly contribution and get a four day pass OR be on the weekend cleanup crew cleaning bathrooms. I chose the weekend cleaning crew and told the ‘rep’ United Way would never get a penny from me. All charitable organizations are now rip offs. Even the Salvation Army has went rogue. I also don’t give to any organization/group local or national that considers me a social enemy either.

        • Agreed.
          I stopped donating to the Salvation Army when the organization declared that heterosexual white men were responsible for “racism”.
          Not only have I withheld my support for the Salvation Army and other “woke” organizations, I (attempt to) inform my friends, relatives and acquaintances of their policies directed against heterosexual white males.
          If they call seeking donations, I tell them why I will not contribute.

        • My grandpa told me a story when I was a kid about a flood near his home in Tulsa. The Red Cross pulled up in a van, unloaded a row boat near the edge of the water, snapped a few pictures, then loaded up and left.

        • Over 90%??… of the money collected by these charities goes to overhead…huge salaries for the staff….check out what the CEO of united way makes…you will never give them another cent….

        • Just more poverty pimps….making money off the poor and the homeless…they don’t want to solve the problem….they would lose their funding and huge salaries…..

      • The slave owning control group with their mega yachts…bought with money stolen from the slaves…..

        They say slavery is the most profitable business….8 billion slaves on the planet….look at the cash flow off them….$$$$$$

        The Cost to Fill World’s Largest SuperYacht with Fuel? – Dilbar

        Dilbar….world’s biggest mega yacht…511 feet long….40,000 HP….

        What does it cost to fill the fuel tank?…….220,000 gallons… $783,000.00 to fill the tanks…

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2bdHMgk2vU

  18. Off topic but still worth reading. FEMA Seizing Donated Relief Supplies

    https://x.com/RastaGuerilla/status/1841488252861133311

    As for Nissan, I’ve asked my mechanic and he’s pointed out that there not the most reliable vehicles out there. That said the way the economy is looking affordably prices family cars would sell but .gov will make sure they could never be sold.

    In a real world situation how much safer is a 2024 car than a 1984? Probably not much if you wore your seat belts and paid attention to traffic. In the last week on my bike I was cut off once and had two people pass on a double line and try squeeze me off the road. *ssholes everywhere but I moved over enough not to get hit. Paying attention saves more lives than gadgets.

    • I hold an amateur radio license. The ARRL (our primary club and FCC lobbyist) always makes a big deal about how amateurs step up to help with communications after a big disaster. In the past I did a little participation in emergency “nets” where we practice sending messages as if there were a disaster. Thing is, with the PATRIOT act all the rules changed (actually were added) to require classes and certification, paid for out of pocket. No thank you. FEMA doesn’t really want hams on the scene, neither do the “first responder heroes” because they have their own expensive comms systems. They can’t have a bunch of uncoordinated volunteers show ’em up!

      Besides, if we take care of the problem, then what the hell do we need them for?

      • You make a good point about FEMA and other government-run organizations. When I secured employment as a federal government contractor, my first two days “on the job” were spent watching anti-discrimination, security clearance and other government-mandated videos.
        Any non-government individual who wishes to participate in government-run “rescue” programs is required to do the same, to this day.

      • Just to amplify, I am a volunteer fireman and EMR. The communist bureaucracy has also ramped up the certifications and requirements for us. In a tiny rural town it is hard enough to get able bodied volunteers and we are truly needed. But the bureaucratic mind assumes all volunteers are grossly overpaid paid full time employees with infinite time for training (paid by tax slaves, of course). And also that the expensive equipment (turnout gear e.g.) can just be replaced every year or 2.

  19. Nissan moved their North American HQ from Los Angeles, CA to Nashville, TN (well, Franklin, TN) to escape Commiefornia’s punitive regulatory and tax environments. Guess they’re finding it’s all but impossible to escape the fedgov’s punitive regulatory and tax environments.

    OT: did yall see the longshoreman union boss douchebag? Looks/sounds like a 50s mafia boss.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2y9aSvM5gQ

  20. Getting slaves off the road…herd them into 15 min cities so they can be dealt with….

    At the same time…the great replacement….getting rid of the white slaves…replacing them with easier to manipulate bipoc ones….

    Another way to get them off the road….through changes in insurance coverage…or no coverage and or far higher insurance costs…..

    This video looks at changes in insurance coverage to get slaves off the road….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhclyxVgsHk

    Like to travel?….according to agenda 2030…the airports will be shut down for slave travel in 2029……

  21. While they’re still available, I was thinking of buying a new Versa, as it’s about the only car still available with a manual transmission; if you get the Versa S, you can get it with a 5 speed stick. I don’t know if I should though, as I may not be able to get parts for it in 5 or 10 years from now if Nissan goes belly-up…

  22. On the one hand, I hate to see the unnecessary demise of iconic car brands I grew up with. On the other hand though, it’s hard to feel sorry for someone cozying up to their enemy rather than fighting them. As the Fella once said, if you sleep with dogs, you’ll wake up with fleas…

  23. This is great news and further encouragement that the strategy of not buying new devices is working.

    No sympathy for these companies that refuse to build affordable transportation.

    Nissan used to be called Datsun. Remember Datsun? The manufacturer of economy cars and mini-trucks, and the Z-cars that were useful, affordable, and yes . . . Fun to drive.

    As they say, get Woke, go broke.

    It truly is terrible how many people are going to get hurt as these legacy OEM’s implode but I just don’t see any other way. They made their choices to “partner” with Giverment. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

    • In all fairness though, thanks to FedGov’s regulations, it’s increasingly harder to build affordable cars. On the one hand, NHTSA’s safety regs requiring all these airbags and what not add weight, cost, and complexity to cars. On the other, EPA has the increasingly difficult CAFE regs that are set to rise to 50 mpg in the near future. The only way car companies can meet these conflicting regs is to use lightweight, but expensive, advanced materials and complex hybrid drivetrains to meet the CAFE and NHTSA FMVSS. Costs go up as a result of complying with these conflicting regs.

      Because of FedGov regs, the iconic VW Beetle ceased to be available here in the US after the late 1970s. However, it was available in Latin America until the early 2000s. VW was able to continue building the affordable and economical Beetle for decades after it ceased to be available here; thanks to FedGov, they couldn’t sell it here. There are many such affordable and economical cars that we can’t get here-thanks to Uncle Sam.

      • You’re not going to convince me. I worked 27 years for a couple different OEMs.

        They did nothing but cozy up to Government and blatantly disregarded customers wants and needs.

        Any of the OEMs could have easily put a mirror tag in the car that details regulatory costs added to the vehicle by government that are directly borne by the customer. At least that way, the public would recognize what these regulations and mandates are costing them.

        • As I said earlier, the car companies slept with the dogs, so they woke up with fleas. That’s what they get from cozying up to gov’t.

    • Datsuns were reasonably-priced vehicles whose build quality easily surpassed American iron.
      The downside was that you could hear them rusting away…a friend of mine had a Datsun pickup which was mechanically sound but after three years, looked like it had spent its entire life in salt water. It was still driveable, but every body panel had rust holes that you could almost put your fist through.

      • This was pretty much true of all the imports including German.

        Imports were much lighter than domestics in part due to much thinner steel sheet metal. Unfortunately that thinner sheet metal meant they corroded away faster than many domestics of the same era.

        Modern Galvaneal steel and e-coat have largely eliminated the rusting of the 70’s early 80s era imports.

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