Weekend News Roundup March 02, 2024

If there’s one thing that fans of ’80s and ’90s BMWs know is an irrefutable fact, it’s that ever since Chris Bangle got his grubby little paws on the German automaker’s designs, everything there is to love about BMW has been ruined. Ask the folks over at Consumer Reports, though, and they would beg to differ. CR has just released its annual brand rankings for the year, and wouldn’t you know it, BMW came out on top. - Collin Woodard Read More

The car company with a performance trim named after a throw-away joke from every 13-year-old’s favorite Mel Brooks film is apparently expanding its EV performance lineup downward with a new Model 3 Plaid on the docket. The Model S Plaid proved no match for Porsche’s Taycan or Lucid’s Air Sapphire on track. As a result, maybe Tesla has taken a page out of the muscle car handbook, putting the big motor from the big car into the small car to go fast. - Bradley Brownell Read More

After making a name for itself making bargain EVs for regular buyers across China, automotive upstart BYD has broken with tradition and unveiled its production-ready all-electric supercar that’s taking the fight straight to Tesla. The catchily named Yangwang U9 has one big advantage over the Tesla Roadster, however, as it might actually exist in the real world very soon. - Owen Bellwood Read More

Dave Ramsey may be an expert at running a toxic company where employees aren’t even treated with basic respect, but when it comes to giving financial advice, he has a questionable background at best. Earlier this month, he gave some truly dumb advice to a woman whose husband got taken advantage of by a Kia dealer. And even if we ignore his stupid envelopes-of-cash system, that’s far from the only example of Ramsey giving bad advice. This time around, Yahoo reports he’s back on his “if you have a car payment, you’ll die alone, broke and miserable” bullshit. - Collin Woodard Read More

Flock, a startup which promotes a surveillance state, has installed car tracking cameras in 4,000 cities among 42 states. The company makes its money and shareholder value by delivering AI-based tracking hardware and software to local police departments, which are more than happy to pay Flock’s $3,000 annual fee. The Atlanta-based company has grown nearly 2,700 percent since 2020, and at least some of that growth, according to a new report from Forbes, has come from a willingness to bend the rules to get their cameras installed and tracking your every movement. - Bradley Brownell Read More

The Boeing 737 Max door plug blowout on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 has put the aircraft manufacturer and its newest plane under intense scrutiny. The incident has also brought several figures from 2019, after the pair of Max crashes that killed 346 people, back into the public eye. - Ryan Erik King Read More

Elon Musk’s dumb — and almost entirely pointless — tunnels below the Las Vegas strip are not exactly going as planned. Since the company first appeared about seven years ago, plans have been scaled back, promises have been broken and safety violations have piled up. - Andy Kalmowitz Read More

We may not have many city cars to choose from, but here in the U.S., there’s no denying that new car shoppers are spoiled for choices. Automakers from around the world sell more than 200 models here, and even if you’re generally interested in cars, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes time to head to the dealership for a new car. And that’s not even accounting for the stress of the buying process itself. - Collin Woodard Read More

We all know healthcare costs in the U.S. are stupidly high. One of the most disgusting aspects of healthcare costs in this country is ambulatory costs. The simple act of taking someone to the hospital to save their life can come with life-changing debt. Sadly, one family is dealing with this situation now, nearly five months after losing their mother. - Lawrence Hodge Read More

For years, the reason you bought a Toyota Tacoma wasn’t that it got the best gas mileage, came with the latest features or had the most comfortable seats. It didn’t have any of those things. You bought it because it had a reputation for both reliability and durability, as well as the boost in value those two qualities gave it on the used market. Still, even the legendary Toyota Tacoma isn’t perfect, with Motor1 reporting that hundreds of thousands of Tacomas have been recalled for possible axle failure. - Collin Woodard Read More