With his song Brick, angry piano banger Ben Folds shifted gears from his usual bombastic fare for a haunting and introspective lament. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe Volvo 245 Diesel is itself a brick, and also lets you shift gears, but the question is, will you find its price lamentable?

Tesla Motors' response to this morning's revelation that Tesla Roadsters carry a devastating design problem that could lead to the cars becoming "bricked" — i.e. so drained of battery power they are unusable and require a $40,000 replacement — has been to insinuate that the problem was with the owners and not the car.