WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:07.639 Joining us now is Eric Peter's always loved talking to Eric. 2 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:11.599 We share a love of cars and a love of liberty, 3 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:16.359 and that covers a wide range topics. Eric peters dot 4 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:18.559 com is where you'll find a lot of very interesting 5 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:23.600 articles about cars. And I'm interested, very interested in a 6 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:26.679 couple of things that you've got here, the anodyne exotic. 7 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:28.199 I want to get into that. But before I do, 8 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:32.679 what does breaking on your mind? Because I picked up 9 00:00:32.679 --> 00:00:35.200 some of the articles, it's been I guess three or 10 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.759 four weeks since we've talked, and so there's a wealth 11 00:00:37.799 --> 00:00:41.159 of things that have happened in the automotive industry. But 12 00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:44.719 what is at the forefront of your mind right now? 13 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:45.640 Thanks for joining us. 14 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:48.359 I've been ruminating. I've been ruminating lately a lot about 15 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:51.759 making do with again the things that we used to 16 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:53.479 make do with. You know, if you're a Gen X 17 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:56.679 person or older, you'll remember a time when it was 18 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:58.600 feasible for even a high school kid to buy a 19 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:01.240 car using their own money than having their parents buy 20 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:03.560 a car for them. Because there was a time when 21 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:07.000 you could still buy basic new cars, which made them affordable. 22 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:10.640 You could buy a car with or without things like 23 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:13.680 air conditioning, power windows, locks, automatic transmissions, and I'm by 24 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:16.120 no means disparaging any of that. Those things are all 25 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:18.120 very nice, particularly once you get a little older and 26 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:21.319 you like the idea of having an air conditioning system 27 00:01:21.359 --> 00:01:23.120 that you can turn on to keep you cool. But hey, 28 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:25.079 when you're seventeen or eighteen, it's kind of nice to 29 00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:26.879 be able to go out and buy seven hundred dollars 30 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:28.959 a lobby that lets you get from A to B, 31 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:31.680 you know, And it's one of the reasons why, you know, 32 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.719 when we were at that age, we became functional adults 33 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:38.719 a lot sooner than the kids today. Because cars, they've 34 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:40.640 been priced out of cars largely, and part of the 35 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:43.200 reason for that, it's what I like to call this 36 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:47.760 riptide effect of being comfortable with extravagant debt. You know, 37 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.120 people now think nothing of signing up for a fift 38 00:01:50.680 --> 00:01:53.799 or sixty thousand dollars in denture. That's, you know, for 39 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:55.959 a car for the next six years you're going to 40 00:01:55.959 --> 00:01:58.239 be paying five six hundred dollars a month for it. 41 00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:00.480 Because they all have these things that are now standard 42 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:03.040 that used to be considered luxurious. There used to be 43 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:05.319 a thing We'll remember you and I can remember called 44 00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:07.280 an economy car. Remember economy cars? 45 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:11.360 Oh yeah, oh yeah, Shell it was at car was 46 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:13.120 a Pento you want to talk about. An economy car 47 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:15.919 had rubber mats, It didn't have air conditioning, it didn't 48 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:16.960 have power windows. 49 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:19.319 It was it was pretty bare bound. I tell you what. 50 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:20.960 We were living in Florida. 51 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:23.560 If you don't have air conditioning in Florida, you're thinking 52 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:24.520 about it all the time. 53 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:25.599 Sure. 54 00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:28.479 Now, to be clear, I am in no way disparaging 55 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:31.680 the comforts and amenities that new cars have. My point 56 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:34.199 is that now that they all have that, they become 57 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:38.080 extravagantly expensive and there's no downward price pressure. Back in 58 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:41.520 the day, when you had the option to pick say 59 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:44.240 a luxury car or luxury features, which was what they 60 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:46.879 were considered once, like air conditioning, in power windows and 61 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:50.879 automatic transmission, it kept prices in check because you always 62 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:53.080 have that option. If you wanted to buy the higher 63 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:55.719 and more expensive car, you could, but you know, on 64 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:58.120 ether side of the lot there was a more inexpensive car. 65 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:00.479 I remember, just after we got out of car college, 66 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:03.280 one of my best friends, he just lives down the 67 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:05.439 road for me. He wanted to start a roofing business. 68 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:07.520 And so he bought a brand new eighty nine Ford 69 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:10.039 F one fifty pick up. Now it just had a 70 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:14.960 straight six engine, manual transmission, manual, four wheel drive, and 71 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:17.319 that was it. No air conditioning, no power windows, nothing, 72 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:19.199 And he could afford to do that, you know, as 73 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:22.520 a kid just out of college to start his business. Today, 74 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:26.759 the least expensive aft Sun truck that you can buy 75 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:28.719 is pushing forty thousand dollars. 76 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:29.800 Yeah, yeah, I. 77 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:31.639 Mean how many how many kids just out of college 78 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:32.840 can afford something like that? 79 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:35.439 Yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, it used to be. 80 00:03:35.960 --> 00:03:38.240 You know again, it was a real unusual thing to 81 00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:41.319 have power windows. My dad would get catallcts. He would 82 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:43.280 usually wait until they were like two or three years old, 83 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:45.479 so that all the appreciation was gone, but he had 84 00:03:45.520 --> 00:03:47.840 he would have power windows, and it's like, wow, look 85 00:03:47.879 --> 00:03:49.080 this has got electric windows. 86 00:03:49.240 --> 00:03:50.759 All the rest of the cars. 87 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:54.159 I guess that I had for about ten years worth 88 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:57.520 of cars before I ever had one that had power 89 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:00.439 windows on it. They were all crank and it was 90 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:02.840 not really a problem with the spitfire. Like we got 91 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:06.120 behind me right here, the spitfire. While I was sitting 92 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:08.159 there in the driver's seat, I could reach your car 93 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:10.280 with so small I can reach across and I could 94 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:13.199 roll the passenger window up and down with it while 95 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:16.079 I was driving manually, I could roll it up and down. 96 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:19.920 Well, I think we're reaching a kind of event horizon now. 97 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.480 You know, this was sustainable as long as debt was viable. 98 00:04:23.720 --> 00:04:26.279 But I think we're getting to the point now where 99 00:04:26.279 --> 00:04:29.920 people can't continue to assume the levels of debt necessary 100 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:35.360 to maintain this Potempkin Village facade of affluence and prosperity. 101 00:04:35.600 --> 00:04:38.319 It's just ridiculous self. Evidently. You know, what's the average 102 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.839 family income in this country, something like sixty thousand bucks 103 00:04:41.120 --> 00:04:43.560 something like that, and the average price paid for a 104 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:46.639 new vehicle as of last year approached fifty thousand dollars. 105 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:50.399 It's ludicrous. You know, you can't keep doing that. So 106 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:52.399 I don't know that it's necessarily such a bad thing 107 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:54.839 in a way that perhaps Americans who have gotten used 108 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:59.040 to living beyond their means are kind of nudged in 109 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:01.639 a way to go back to living within their means. 110 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:04.839 It's not necessarily a bad life lesson. You know, the 111 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:07.959 more you live within your means, the less you're at 112 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:11.560 the mercy of these corporations. And of the government. You know, 113 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.720 back during the pandemic, one of the great things that 114 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:15.600 I had going for me was that I'm not only 115 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:18.759 self employed, but I don't have debt. So I didn't 116 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:20.759 have a corporate orval or telling me that I had 117 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:23.879 to mask up, you know, and threatening me with with 118 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:26.560 loss of employment if I didn't roll up my sleeve 119 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:29.680 to get jab. You know, I had the financial wherewithal 120 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:31.680 if I had to to ride it out, you know. 121 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:34.639 And that's a really really comforting thing, you know, to 122 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:37.360 know that you don't have to put up with really 123 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:40.360 abusive kinds of situations at work, because in the back 124 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:42.079 of your mind, you're thinking, well, if I don't, if 125 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:43.920 I don't bow my knee, bend my need to this, 126 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:46.720 I'm going to not be able to take care of 127 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:48.639 my family. I'm not going to be able to pay 128 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:50.160 my mortgage. I'm not going to be able to put 129 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.920 food on the table. It's an enormous pressure that's been 130 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.639 applied and people, it's very subtle. People have fought into 131 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:57.680 this now. You know, for at least the less generation 132 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:00.720 or two it's been, it's been more realized to live 133 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:03.560 paycheck to paycheck, to have no savings and thus to 134 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:06.079 be completely at the mercy of these big corporations and 135 00:06:06.120 --> 00:06:06.800 the government too. 136 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:07.439 Yeah. 137 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:10.839 Yeah, yesterday I interviewed a couple of doctors, a married couple, 138 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:15.160 and they were both mds, physicians and New Zealand. They 139 00:06:15.160 --> 00:06:19.399 did clinical trials and stuff like that. But he had 140 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:23.879 gotten out even before the COVID stuff, and I said, so, 141 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:26.240 you know, when the interview was over, I talked to him. 142 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:28.399 I said, so, what are you doing now. You know, 143 00:06:28.439 --> 00:06:32.079 both of you were doctors and you've had to get 144 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:35.639 out of your position because of your principles and because 145 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:38.839 you were fighting this stuff on the basis of real 146 00:06:38.879 --> 00:06:40.839 science and things like that. And they said, well, you know, 147 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:43.519 we've got some farmland and we're homeschooling our kids and 148 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:46.639 we're raising food and we're self sufficient, just like you 149 00:06:46.639 --> 00:06:49.160 know what you're talking about. They said, we've never been 150 00:06:49.199 --> 00:06:51.839 happier because we don't have to work for a corporation 151 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:55.800 and we're not and they're not working in New Zealand. 152 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:58.240 They would be working for the government as part as 153 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:00.240 being a doctor and that type of thing. But they're 154 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:03.879 now independent and self sufficient and they've got neighbors. I mean, 155 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:07.360 they're living the life that we all aspire to, I think, 156 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:12.040 and it's worked out for them. That really needs you know, 157 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:15.120 we need to have our goals and our aspirations, I 158 00:07:15.160 --> 00:07:18.519 think adjusted. In this country. They've been telling us for 159 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:21.240 the longest time that both husband and wife need to 160 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:23.120 be working for the man and we've got to have 161 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:25.199 these careers and that's the only way that we're going 162 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:28.560 to have any real self respect or respect from other people. 163 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:31.360 And that simply isn't true. But they put that onus 164 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:33.519 on us that oh, you need to have a job 165 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:35.639 and you need to have a title or you're nothing, 166 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:38.040 and that really isn't true. You know, we need to 167 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:41.160 completely rethink these lies that they're telling us about how 168 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:44.639 we evaluate ourselves, how we evaluate our life, what our 169 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.079 goal in life is. That is what really needs to 170 00:07:47.079 --> 00:07:50.680 be rethought. We need to start with the reformation with ourselves, 171 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:52.519 and that's a big part of it. 172 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:52.920 I think. 173 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:56.240 I think so too, And I think it's politically poisonous, 174 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:59.639 particularly with regard to the younger crowd. You know, the 175 00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:02.360 general that's coming up now that's in their twenties, that 176 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:06.160 feels to spare hopelessness and anger when they look at 177 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:07.920 the stats that you know, at an average house now 178 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:10.959 costs the average price for a house is four hundred 179 00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:13.959 thousand dollars now, and they can't afford a car, they 180 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.040 can't afford a house, and they feel like they're going 181 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:17.920 to be living in their parents' house until they're forty, 182 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:19.800 you know, if they ever get out of their parents' house, 183 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:23.879 and that is fertile ground for this Marxism that's been 184 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:27.120 percolating upward everywhere where. They promise people, oh, just like 185 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:30.680 Lenin did land food, you know, will take care of you. 186 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:33.360 Don't worry the oppressors, when in fact they be. The 187 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:35.679 whole reason for the problem has to do with exactly 188 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:38.879 the machinations of these machinators, and the people who are 189 00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:41.039 responsible for it, you know, are the ones who are 190 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:44.399 offering the solution. It's it's just it's absolutely tragic because 191 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:46.240 these kids, they don't know. You and I grew up 192 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:49.159 in a different world. You know, people who are who 193 00:08:49.159 --> 00:08:52.799 are under forty don't really know the world that existed 194 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:54.759 before them, and you know, I don't know. It's our 195 00:08:54.840 --> 00:08:58.080 job to somehow try to convey the reality of what 196 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:00.240 was to them so that they can see what be 197 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:01.000 in the future. 198 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:03.159 That's right, yeah, I think a lot of them are 199 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:05.799 seeing that. You know, the university situation is a potempcon 200 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:07.799 village for the most part. You know, it can help 201 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.120 you to get a job, but you know you're still 202 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:13.080 going to be in that corporate world of control. I 203 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:15.120 think a lot of them saw how that control worked 204 00:09:15.159 --> 00:09:18.200 out four years ago, and I don't necessarily want to 205 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:21.240 put themselves in that trap, into a debt trap in 206 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.039 order to get that degree and a lot of other 207 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:25.080 things like that. So yeah, I think it you really 208 00:09:25.159 --> 00:09:29.320 do need to adjust what you aspire to. What you 209 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:33.240 think is, you know how whether or not you care 210 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:35.279 about what other people think, or whether you're going to 211 00:09:35.320 --> 00:09:37.600 pursue your own goals. I think that's really the key thing. 212 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:39.240 Absolutely, yeah, absolutely. 213 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:41.240 You know you've got an interesting article. I said, this 214 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:42.440 is the first one I wanted to talk to you 215 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:45.879 about the Anodyne Exotic. And I tell you as somebody 216 00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:49.519 who owns a little tiny car that doesn't have a 217 00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:51.799 whole lot of horsepower, but I'd love to drive it. 218 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:55.559 That really hit home the Anodyne Exotic. You know years 219 00:09:55.600 --> 00:10:01.440 ago Ron Atkinson, who's mister Bean and he's very successful. 220 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:02.879 Of course, I got a lot of money as a 221 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:08.519 movie start, he talked about how he's got hypercars and everything, 222 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:10.279 a million dollar cars. They say, you don't really so 223 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:15.039 much drive them as you manage them. I thought that's 224 00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:17.159 a pretty good description of these things. And I think 225 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:19.720 that's really what you're talking about with the anodyne exotic. 226 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:22.399 I mean, what good is it to continue? And this 227 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:25.279 what the other public cas just want to appreciate about 228 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:30.559 what you do at your website, Eric Peters autos dot com, 229 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.919 is that all the other sites, what they do is 230 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:38.399 they compare all these meaningless statistics about zero to sixty 231 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.360 and all of the other metrics that they've come up 232 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:45.440 with in the past few years, skid pad numbers or whatever, 233 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:48.919 and it's really is meaningless to the experience, and you 234 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:52.799 focus more on the real experience of it as well 235 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:54.960 as the things that they're putting in the cars that 236 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:58.279 are going to make them unaffordable and are going to 237 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:01.360 basically spy on us. And so I think when we 238 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:05.120 talk about the anodyne exotic, that really does fall into 239 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:07.759 that category that you know, there's a lot of stuff 240 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:11.000 that they've loaded this up with. It is really unnecessary, 241 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:13.759 and you take it back to the real experience. 242 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:17.200 Yeah, well, cars have become quite one dimension. A good 243 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:18.960 way to understand this is if you're a fan of 244 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:21.559 stock car racing. All of the cars have to fit 245 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.159 within a template, a literal template. They have a template 246 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:26.679 that they fix over the body of the vehicle so 247 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:29.720 that it conforms to whatever the standards are. And a 248 00:11:29.799 --> 00:11:32.720 similar thing is applied to new vehicle design and regard 249 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:34.840 to the government regulation. So you get these vehicles that 250 00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:37.039 all look pretty much the same. So there isn't a 251 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:38.960 lot of personality. There's not a lot of difference in 252 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:42.639 terms of anything meaningful emotionally, the intangible stuff, you know, 253 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:44.480 it makes a car interesting, Like you can think about 254 00:11:44.519 --> 00:11:47.679 the fins of a late fifties Cadillac or Chrysler. You know, 255 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:49.960 just the look of that that was just wow, look 256 00:11:49.960 --> 00:11:52.039 at that. Somebody came up with that. That's just incredible. 257 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:54.519 So you focus on the one thing that they're still 258 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:57.559 allows some latitude with, and that's horse power and how 259 00:11:57.639 --> 00:12:00.519 quickly the thing can get to sixty. The problem with 260 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:02.240 that is that, you know, once you get beyond that, 261 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:04.879 it's very ephemeral. You know, this this car that I 262 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:07.320 focused on in the article is the one thousand something 263 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:09.480 horsepower version of the Corvette that's going to be coming 264 00:12:09.480 --> 00:12:13.240 out next year, and okay, great, So for a few months, 265 00:12:13.279 --> 00:12:15.840 it's going to be I guess, short of a Bugatti, 266 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:19.799 the most powerful new high performance car that you can get. Well, 267 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:21.120 you know, somebody else is going to make one with 268 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:23.720 twelve hundred horsepower car and then they'll be fifteen hundred. 269 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:25.679 And once that happens, it's kind of like owning a 270 00:12:25.679 --> 00:12:28.240 six month old iPod or iPad. You know, it's like, 271 00:12:28.240 --> 00:12:30.279 oh wow, when you get it, it's the latest, coolest thing, 272 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:33.240 But after a couple of months, it's just not anymore. 273 00:12:33.240 --> 00:12:35.399 It's old. And then because it doesn't have anything else 274 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:38.840 about it that's particularly appealing that connects with you on 275 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.960 an emotional level, it's just a throwaway and it's sad. 276 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:42.360 You know. 277 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:43.799 All you have to do is go look and I 278 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:46.600 put some pictures with the article and look at earlier quarvets, 279 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:48.519 and they're just you don't even have to drive the thing. 280 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:50.480 You don't even have to be physically in its presence. 281 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:52.120 Just look at the picture of the thing. 282 00:12:52.320 --> 00:12:54.320 Oh I know, yeah, when I was a kid looking 283 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:56.600 at those things, I didn't really care about the zero 284 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.159 to sixty and from sixty to zero numbers, you know, 285 00:12:59.240 --> 00:13:02.639 with the with the Corvette, I just looked at It's like, wow, 286 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:05.440 that is just amazing. And you know, the sting Ray 287 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:10.759 Corvette was my favorite one, and it was a small car, 288 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:13.279 you know, but both as a convertible and also as 289 00:13:13.320 --> 00:13:15.879 a fastback they were just amazing to look at. 290 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:18.960 Yeah, absolutely corgeous. You know, there's an analogy here that 291 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:21.759 occurs to me too. I'm an aviation fan, and if 292 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:24.360 you look at older airplanes, there was a lot of 293 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:28.080 difference between one airplane and another. Military aviation, in particular 294 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:30.480 fighter jets. Now they all look the same. They all 295 00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:32.679 have that same insect look. And the reason they had 296 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:35.840 that insect look is because it is dictated by the function. 297 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:38.759 You know, they're trying to maximize the performance of the 298 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:42.080 aircraft within a certain envelope. And the same is true 299 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:44.240 with regard to these exotics. It's why the new Corvette 300 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:46.919 looks like the new Lamborghini, which looks like the new Ferrari, 301 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:49.080 which looks like the new whatever it is, they all have, 302 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:53.960 you know, that same sort of angular, insectoid look. And 303 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:56.919 motorcycles is another one. You know, I have motorcycles. I 304 00:13:56.919 --> 00:13:59.279 love motorcycles. Now, you know how you tell the difference 305 00:13:59.320 --> 00:14:02.960 between a Honda and a Kawasaki and a Suzuki by 306 00:14:02.960 --> 00:14:07.000 the color of the plastic. You know, Hondas are red, 307 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:11.360 Kawasakis are green, Suzuki's are blue, Yamahas are yellow. But 308 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:14.840 you know, I'm talking about hyperbikes here, sport bikes, which 309 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:17.399 is the analysis of the supercars, because you know, the 310 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:20.000 sole objective is to see how quickly this thing can 311 00:14:20.039 --> 00:14:22.919 go through the quarter mile and how fast it can 312 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:25.200 go on the top end. That sort of windows down 313 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:27.960 and dictates what type of shape you're going to have. 314 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:30.279 So that's why they all look the same. You're respective 315 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:31.120 of the brand. 316 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:33.600 Well, at least they're doing them in different colors, because 317 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:35.759 most of the cars are either you know, black, white, 318 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:38.360 a shade of gray or red, you know, and it's 319 00:14:38.480 --> 00:14:40.480 very rare that you see a car that's different color. 320 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:41.960 I was driving with Karen. 321 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.720 The other day. She said, look at that car. There's 322 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:45.600 the color. It's not a. 323 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:47.559 Black or white cars and I forgot what it was. 324 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:49.919 It doesn't like it, but it's it's interesting that they 325 00:14:49.919 --> 00:14:50.720 have a different color. 326 00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:53.399 But this was inadvertent because you know, I've I've kind 327 00:14:53.399 --> 00:14:55.759 of thought about that off and on peripherally for actually 328 00:14:55.759 --> 00:14:57.600 a number of years. Why are these cars all pretty 329 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:00.919 much all the same color? You see lots of over white, 330 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:03.759 you know, this is these sort of generic milk box 331 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:06.399 kind of cont of colors. And I got to looking 332 00:15:06.440 --> 00:15:09.200 at some of the stats of one of the vehicles 333 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:11.559 that I was reviewing, and I noticed, my god, they 334 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:14.159 charge you extra for most of the other colors, and 335 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:16.960 not just a little bit either, you know. I think 336 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:19.399 it was a Mini. I was driving a Mini Clubman 337 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:22.279 a few weeks back, and if you wanted anything but 338 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:24.240 one or two colors, you had to pay eight hundred 339 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:29.440 dollars extra for it. 340 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:31.960 Well, when you look at what they're doing with it. 341 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:34.679 I saw an article I forget which there's probably several 342 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:37.600 of them that are doing it now, you know, different 343 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:40.080 functions on the cars. I think it was it was 344 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:44.120 Audi or Mercedes. Maybe BMW is a German car, and uh, 345 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:46.720 you know, if you want this function that I would 346 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:50.440 take for granted, uh, you've got to pay an annual 347 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:53.159 subscription rate to it, you know, And they're doing that now. 348 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:55.919 They're they're taking these these different functions of the car 349 00:15:56.120 --> 00:15:58.600 and making them a subscription. 350 00:15:58.799 --> 00:15:59.440 It's crazy. 351 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:02.399 Sure, it's the Netflix model. At least when you pay 352 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:05.039 under Bucks for the different colored paint, you actually own 353 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:07.320 the paint, I guess. But you're right now it's me 354 00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:09.480 and W that you're thinking about. They and it was 355 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:13.159 Tesla that started this. Of course, Tesla was the one 356 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:16.600 that came up with this idea of requiring you to 357 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:19.559 subscribe to the features. The features are all built into 358 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:23.320 the car, but they're only activated if you pay the fee. Now, 359 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.240 people discovered this because they would sell the car, you know. 360 00:16:26.279 --> 00:16:28.240 So the second owner of the Tesla and he looks 361 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:30.120 at the windowsticker and it says that it comes with 362 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:32.320 whatever the feature is. I think it was in particular 363 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:35.080 their self driving features. So it looks like, Okay, the 364 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:37.679 guy ordered this with the self driving feature. Great, that's 365 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:39.480 what I want. I'll be happy to buy this car. 366 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:41.200 They buy the car and they find out that it 367 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:43.720 doesn't work. And it's not because of the mechanical problem 368 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:47.039 or an electrical problem. It's because they haven't paid their subscription. 369 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:49.200 So they have to get in touch with Tesla to pay. 370 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:51.240 And BMW is doing the same thing. Now they build 371 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:53.440 the seed heaters into all the cars. You know, all 372 00:16:53.480 --> 00:16:56.279 the cars have the physical stuff that makes the seat 373 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:58.720 heater work. But if you want it to actually work, 374 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.080 when you push the button, you have to say a 375 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:01.960 monthly fat. 376 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:04.440 That is the chenziest thing I've ever seen. 377 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:07.039 I couldn't remember what feature it was, but that's why 378 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:09.200 it's a seat heater of all things. You got to 379 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:12.319 pay them to get the seat heater to work. When 380 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:15.319 Karen and I got married, we didn't have much money, 381 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:17.720 but we had some time, and so we went to 382 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:20.200 England for about two and a half months and we 383 00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:22.400 had no time, and so we were, you know, we 384 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:24.640 were starving. We couldn't afford to even eat, you know. 385 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:27.279 But we stayed in this one little beat up place, 386 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:30.920 this many flatlet that was on the outskirts of one 387 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:33.559 and particular. It's like almost an hour to get in, 388 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:37.839 and they had for the lights, you had to put 389 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:40.519 in a coins, you know, they were like a quarter, 390 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:43.799 you know, And so the heater was like it was 391 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:46.480 like a thousand watt little squirrel cage motor, like something 392 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:47.920 you'd use for a hair dryer. And I mean it 393 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.960 was cold, it was January, and then you would for 394 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:52.920 the lights and for the TV and for the heater, 395 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:55.279 you would have to put coins in this thing and 396 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:56.759 it would give you a certain amount of time. I 397 00:17:56.839 --> 00:17:58.720 mean that's and I thought that was the strangest thing. 398 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:01.119 But that's I think the seat heater that you got 399 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:04.039 to get with a subscription is even chet seer and 400 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:06.279 stranger when you consider the price of a BMW. 401 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:07.039