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More 2035.

Mick Jagger, 92, begins his worldwide "Ain't Dead Yet Tour."
Telo announces they perfected the nano diamond battery; holds 2.3 google-watts of power, enough for 16,200 years.
Washington, DC: Autonomous vehicle geo grid now includes all of Maryland.
Gasoline hits $20 a gallon. Wisconsin farmer announces a milk-powered vehicle; extracts the vitamin D and converts it back into electricity.
A 1971 Chevrolet Vega sells for $29M at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale AZ, auction

Chris Blanchard
Prescott, Wisconsin



Too optimistic.

Sorry to say it, but I think you’re being optimistic about the continued viability of American car & truck manufacturers. There don’t seem to be many reasons to buy one. Price? No. Reliability? No again. Resale? No again, again. Styling? They’re indistinguishable from their competitors. Dealership experience? A joke. I don’t see how they can hang on for nine more years.

Mr. Arthur
Ann Arbor, Michigan



Auto's Last DJ.

PMD, the future ain't what it used to be. Tom Petty wrote a song called The Last DJ, showcasing the perils of losing human control of things we take for granted. That whole album was a slap in the face to consumerism and corporate greed. And he took heat for it. Standing up is an American right. Because when that predicted future crashes and burns, those that were on the right side of things can sleep well. Even if you can’t sleep. Keep those solid lifters clacking. We still need a Last DJ for the automotive industry.

JRR
Plymouth, Michigan



It's Nature's Way.

It seems that "industrialization" created something. A cycle of innovation, milking every dollar out of that "innovation", increasing employment while stuffing their own pockets, stuffing pockets while hiring financial manipulators and NOT investing in the company. And then come the "unions" and the contraction that we see today. The financial manipulators suck at product planning; they suck at budgeting for R & D; they suck at selecting new product and new markets. They are great however, at shell games and fighting unions. They also have muscle but, too stupid to work with the union, instead they tear down assembly plants while moving jobs to low wage, slave wage nations, just so that assembly plant never builds union made vehicles. Henry Ford wasn't that smart but he knew that if he didn't create a market for his product, he wouldn't last long. Today's dumb fucks just ddon't get it, hence, the great exhale. Face it, we waited too long to deal with the climate. Heck, the average driver has no idea that 1, A 6-lb. gallon of gas creates 19 lbs. of Co2. When you have 1 BILLION vehicles running at any one time, how much Co2 is that? Do the math. Mother Nature has plans for our "auto industry."

Ptg0
Highland Park, Michigan



Ford's dismal recall record.

Ford's 68th recall of 2026 has to be the most embarrassing yet. The new "#1 quality brand" in the JD Power survey has gas tank straps designed so poorly that their drivers, and anyone near them on the road, have to worry about being killed in a fiery explosion when the tank drops off the truck. What the Hell is going on? Did they find a cheap supplier so incompetent that they couldn't produce the part correctly? Is this one of those AI issues that caused them to recall 500 engineers? How is Farley keeping his job?

I'm a lifelong Ford fan but the past decade of recalls, botched product rollouts, and marketing miscues is nothing to brag about.

Kevin Kelly
St. Peters, MO



Predictions not plausible.

Every so often I read or listen to news feature with the same recurring theme: What happened to affordable vehicles?

The average new vehicle buy, just North of $50 grand, would have been ridiculed twenty years ago. But here we are, and Joe and Jane America seem willing to keep signing up for long term payment plans forever and ever. At the risk of sounding like an Old Bastard, there was a time when automakers were very keen to have options for buyers at all price points. To wit; getting buyers to come to the dealership for that First New Car, and then having them return to buy more upmarket. In these days of activist investors, long term market strategy has left the building. At some point buyers will demand Chinese cars because they are all they can afford.

As for your prognostications, I would have to say that VW's rapturous turnaround is not founded in plausibility. Stellantis surviving? Who knows, and who cares? I can see Toyota and Honda merging, but Mazda will become a Hyundai subsidiary. That's my take, but after all, it's your Dream!

And I rarely read any car magazines these days. Just more of the same, month in and month out.

Jim Jones
Cole County, Missouri