Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Vice President Kamala Harris has finally chosen her running mate to go up against former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance. VP Kamala is joining forces with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. As it turns out, Walz is not only a former teacher, a High School football coach, and an angler, but he’s also a legitimate car guy with an International Scout II.
Matt wrote about this revelation, and it’s neat to see some car people in government. I wonder how he feels about Kei car bans? Anyway, Sid Bridge wins COTD with what is the most smiley-face-clicked comment I’ve seen in a very long time. This has over 120 likes as of this writing!
Kamala Harris: So, I’ve almost made my choice – one more question. Do you have International experience?
Tim Walz: Absolutely.
Kamala Harris: You’ve got the job sir!
Yep, that’s it, shut it down folks!
Thomas wrote about how the Mitsubishi Mirage is dead. Toss in the future death of the Nissan Versa and the number of small cars left in America will continue to fall. Remember when the Nissan Versa was just $10,000 during the Great Recession? Taargus Taargus is saddened by the continued death of the subcompact:
Is this finally the end of the subcompact? I think the Versa is rumored to be dead, but I’m not sure if Nissan made it official yet.
I know this page is going to be loaded with “just buy a used Corolla” nonsense, but I don’t think some people understand that while that may be the ideal solution, it’s not necessarily the best. In my opinion (as I’ve been there) a super-cheap new compact has the ability to deliver one from the dregs. Owning something new, that needs hardly any maintenance initially, with a warranty and is easy to street park can be a blessing. Throughout most of it’s existence, a new Mirage could be had for at or less than a compact out of warranty. That matters.
People have been using the “why buy cheap economy car new when I can buy a 6 year old Grand Cherokee with 70k on it for the same price?!” and they typically pay for it in the end.
Matt wrote about the cars BMW is ready to kill off. He ended the post by asking what BMWs would you be sad to see get axed. As it turns out, more of you are saddened by the death of the Mitsubishi Mirage. Mechjaz fires off a shot:
The BMW XM
When a vacuum fills the space previously filled by apathy, does it make a sound?
TheHairyNug was even harsher:
What BMW product would you be sad to see go?
Um, basically nothing at this point
Thanks, everyone!
Tim Waltz is obviously a car guy. You can see him here just after he was found taking his ’96 Silver Miata 96 miles per hour while also being legally intoxicated.
IIRC charges were dropped and 90+ MPH is the default cruise control setting in rural Nebraska…
We also learned yesterday that there is no way to get ahead of the story if the story is about you wanting to eat roadkill.
Nothing goes better with eating road kill than sharing your dinner with Roseanne Barr.
The worm in my brain is just a bonus…
RFK Jr.
“I know this page is going to be loaded with “just buy a used Corolla” nonsense”
People give that advice because any $18k used Corolla or Civic will be a vastly better car in the long run than a brand new, warrantied Mirage. The Mirage is a tiny, underpowered, dangerous, actively uncomfortable crapcan that will punish you and make you sad every time you drive it. I know- I’ve driven one.
Yes, a warranty is nice, but a lightly used Corolla or Civic is so reliable and such a truly better car in every regard (literally double the horsepower!) that they are very easy to recommend in place of a god-awful penalty box like the Mirage.
I’ve also driven a Mirage. It’s not good, but I’m just not convinced it’s THAT bad.
I’m not necessarily saying that buying a new Mirage is a great idea. Or even a good idea. But there are times where lightly, or even not so lightly used Corollas and Civics are shockingly expensive, and hardly depreciate at all. Sometimes enduring a product that’s a little rough around the edges can save you some big bucks.
I bought a Suzuki SX4 new a while back that everyone around me derided as being a tiny crapcan. Now, that turned out to be a far better can than anyone believed it to be, so maybe it’s not a great comparison. But I took the risk over the comparable used Corolla/Civic with cheap financing, a warranty, etc. That brand new car was dirt freaking cheap to run for the first 3-5 years of it’s life. No tires, or brake jobs, or anything other than basic fluids and tire rotations. It was my reliable transportation through a time where I was a college grad desperate for work not long after the ’08 crash. Every single dollar I had was accounted for, and being on the hook for potential repair or even significant maintenance requirement would have depleted the 1k in my name.
Sometimes when you’re poor, the low as hell payment and peace of mind of owning something new in the short term has tremendous value. Sometimes it makes sense to take your beatings in the Mirage or a similar cheap-mobile until you’re back on your feet.
Good points. To be fair, though, the SX4 isn’t bad at all, and is a Maybach compared to the Mirage.
Hey, I totally understand some of the vitriol lobbed towards the Mirage. It’s certainly cheap, but outside of the color palette, it’s doesn’t bring a whole lot of cheerful to the table.
The psychology of money is real. Being poor is mentally exhausting and sometimes a less-than-rational decision can ease the pain.
Yeah, ideally you’d point someone on the struggle bus towards a $1k-2k beater, but runs and drives beaters at that price point are few and far between. Could the $2k 15 year old GM sedan run for the next 10 years? Sure. Could it also explode tomorrow? Also sure. When you don’t have the money to deal with the worst case scenario, sometimes it’s worth taking the mediocre, but less likely to be catastrophic bet.
That was always my attitude as well until the commenter who’s a Dodge salesman explained that the financially challenged are unlikely to get financing on a car that old, but usually can on a new car. So suddenly these new crapcans made sense on some level.
That’s a decent point. Also, I’d happily point someone towards a new Dodge Journey or whatever, but I’d still avoid the Mirage at all costs.
Fun fact: That’s exactly why my first Smart was new. I kept trying to finance 2008s and 2009s thinking that their lower price tags would make it easier to get a loan on.
Yet, I was approved for only two types of loan. I could have gotten a ridiculously bad subprime loan on a high-mileage 2008, or just 3.6% on a brand-new 2012. Factor in the interest and the well-used 2008 would have been almost as expensive as the new 2012. I couldn’t wrap my head around it, but choosing the new one was a no-brainer.