Issue 1336
March 18, 2026
 
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Hits the nail on the head.

Peter's rant on March 15 hits the nail on the head. Big lesson for American voters: FAFO!!

DW
Traverse City, Michigan



F1.

I have been a follower of F1 for many years (I know you hate it, but I enjoyed it). Until the ground effects cars came along. Now I hate it even more. The 2026 rules are totally absurd, and I am not an Apple TV subscriber. Guess F1 has finally run me off. Seeya.

Tuna
Mustang, Oklahoma

Editor-in-Chief's Note: I don't hate F1; I'm just so disappointed in the direction it has taken. It could be and should be so much more. But Antonelli's win in China was spectacular. -PMD



Keep on keepin' on.

Thanks for your Rants today. We need more people with a following to say the obvious. Impeach, convict and remove. The sooner the better before we lose our democracy. Please keep speaking out. Why can’t people see what is so obvious? Oh, I know, the world is full of idols.

MLH
Salem, Virginia



Three Strikes.

In the last election a huge contingent of autoworkers swung to Trump.  His promise of tariffs, job creation, killing of EVs, etc., was the right combo for autoworkers to ignore Trump's past failings.  This time he would deliver.  And deliver he has.  The UAW negotiated collective bargaining for the EV and battery plants being constructed.  We all know those jobs aren’t going to happen. Strike one.  Basic High School economics tells us tariffs are bad; they drive up the cost of goods which are already sky high.  That pickup truck costs even more now courtesy of Trump. Strike two.  Cheap gas is the only thing stopping people from going all in on EVs.  And when you don’t offer them, or hybrids, or small, fuel-efficient cars, your customers go elsewhere. Hopefully nobody starts a war in the Middle East.  Strike three.   Never underestimate the stupidity of the voter.  Because they are responsible for this.  Sadly, some of us saw this coming.  Shame is a powerful thing.   More people need to call out the American voter for allowing this to happen.

JRR

Plymouth, Michigan




The Changing Environment.

Recently, we were faced with getting rid of our 2011 VW Tiguan as it needed $3.5K in repairs and that didn’t seem worth it for a car that was approaching 100,000 miles. My wife has always wanted a Volvo but what with their reputation of unreliability and high repair bills the only sensible option was an electric Volvo as they depreciate so much. Specifically, a 2023 XC40 Recharge (which was two years old, we got it for $28K. New, it's close to $60K). From an electric perspective, it’s not the greatest one out there. It only has 220 miles of range, uses the old charger adapter, but has lots of bells and whistles (and the clincher for my wife was a heated steering wheel). Now currently we can’t charge it at home because an Amazon truck took out our lamppost which the car could have been plugged into. However, I get free charging at work and the highest bill we’ve had in charging the thing at a car park was $6. When we filled the old Tiguan, it was $30 for the same range. That is pretty attractive, particularly as she doesn’t drive much. Servicing is once every two years (although I’ll probably rotate the tires more frequently than that). Moreover, when I was expecting our insurance to double like it did for our neighbors when they bought a Tesla, it only went up by $16.

We did look at a brand new 2025 Tiguan, which was incredibly nice, but way too big for the small streets near us. I think, what with all the instability in the economy, more drivers will be doing the same math. Ten years from now it's only going to be hard core enthusiasts who will be paying for new gasoline cars, unless they can get the prices down.

Paul G.
Silver Spring. Maryland



The ongoing Ford embarrassment.

Does the Ford family ever read the news? Why haven't they fired Farley? This wonder-boy CEO was supposed to fix the recall issue by employing all the magic he learned at Toyota. That was 5-1/2 years ago. How much longer are they going to wait?

Last year's recording-smashing recall record may be broken by midyear if the current pace of announcements continues. Pathetic and embarrassing.

Kevin Kelly
St. Peters, Missouri