The Economy

There are 13 houses on my street. The house with two Teslas parked in the driveway is owned by a guy who works for an HVAC company. The house with one Tesla in front of it is owned by a guy who owns and runs a metal fabrication and welding shop. Neither went to college. Both started out as apprentices.

Don't make "working-class people" into a monolith.

 

I'm not buying an electric car, but then again, I'm not buying any new car. I buy a used car I like at about $6500, then I drive it till the wheels fall off. I'm not working class, I'm fixed income retired, and I think that paying 35-60 k for a new car is lunacy.

 

There are dealerships around here with billboards announcing “X dollars off on a 2024 model Whatsit” when I’ve never paid X dollars for a car in my life.

 

Only time I have even topped $15,000 for a car purchase was my $22,000 Toyota Supra in 1988.

Damn that car required tires that were expensive as hell with tread that melted like butter on the highway.

 

Something I learned the hard way when the tires on my wife's new Lexus RX 350 wore out in less than 30,000 miles. I stormed in there, accusing the service guy of trying to take advantage of a woman. He said they put the softest tires on new vehicles so the ride will be as smooth as possible during the test-drive. I countered with, the salesman never mentioned anything about that. I would have demanded better tires at the time of purchase.

 

It's a compromise. You can get harder tires that last longer, and you'll probably get a bit better gas mileage as well. OTOH, a softer compound is not only more comfortable but should also give you better grip and handling.

 

Yeah, I know all that. It is just something you don't think about when buying a new car. The tires are new, you don't expect them to be crap. You don't ask, what quality of brakes are on this car, or what kind of leather is used on the seats.

 

If you’re referring to EVs being too expensive for many of us to afford (and yes, they are), it’s not like the new gasoline powered SUVs and pickup trucks that are most popular with the public are cheap, either.

 

Obviously, Rich Corinthian Leather.

 

My partner and I recently acquired an EV. Leasing a Mustang Mach-E; decided to lease it because the tech is going to be so much better in three years and I know I’ll want all that new and better tech the same way I used to upgrade my phone. (Because this car is, essentially, a rolling iPhone.)

We are two months into the EV experience and I know for sure she’ll never go back to an ICE vehicle, and I’d be hard-pressed to consider one. So much fun to drive and so little about which to worry.

But we check all the boxes for EV ownership: We live in suburbia, the vehicle is almost exclusively used for trips of 15 miles or less and we can charge at home. If any of those things isn’t true, it might not be the right choice.

 

I paid a pretty penny for my new 2024 Toyota Tacoma earlier this year, but based on reputation and past experience with Toyota, I plan on it being the last truck I ever buy. I guess if you divided what I paid for it by the years I hope to get out of it, it wasn't that bad.
I am admittedly a truck guy, and I use my trucks as trucks.

 

I wrote that first, but I didn't know what to compare it with -- Texas cowhide? So I changed it. hahaha