Drew Dowdell

We could do it with one simple change to the constitution, all other changes would flow from that. We need an amendment for ranked choice voting required in every election, even dog-catcher. Also the elimination of the primary elections. This will do several things. 1. It will stop extremist from both sides getting elected unless a true majority of the voters want it. The primary system is the primary cause of the extremism we've been seeing. Only the lunatics can make it through their party's primaries and the sane, sober "boring" people don't get soundbites or traction. 2. It opens up the door for 3rd parties to make a real go of it. Ranked choice, even in just the general election, would likely have changed the outcome of 2016 and 2024. Once the sane people are back in charge, we could look at things like breaking up monopolies/oligarchies and retiring the Electoral College.

This is a last hurrah sort of thing. The Durango was supposed to have gone out of production 5 years ago, but Stellantis has been in such turmoil they never build a replacement. They could make short work of it by doing a re-body of the Grand Cherokee L and making it more street-sport than off-road.

This is Ranger sized. Purely a guess, but I'm thinking we'll see the debut of the truck by April. The Model T moment is the reinvention of the production line. A 40% reduction in build time is huge. Why? People are switching to Equinox EVs en masse and it isn't even that great. A base 'Nox EV is $33.6k before incentives and it's the best selling non-Tesla. Prologue is higher and sells great too. The "Ranchero" EV truck would be the only one in the segment at that price. The Scout and the Rivian are more than double. It's going to be a RAV-4 sized interior with a lockable bed and frunk, at a price lower than a RAV-4. There will be waiting lists for the first few years.

They said during the press conference that it was going to be ultra-high speed charging. Whether that matches them to Hyundai/Kia or beyond, I don't know.... but LFP batteries are those batteries in China that can do 1000kw charging.

Maybe check the date on that article.

There's so much to digest with this: 1. This is a new way of assembling vehicles. The new production line is now a production tree with three branches that converge into one. 2. Ford has cut a lot of weight out of the platform. 4,000 fewer feet of wiring harness, 25% less fastener. Lower weight will mean more range with less battery. 3. LFP cells that are built in the US without cobalt or nickle. 4. Faster production, while overall production time will drop 15%, the assembly process will drop 40%. Ford will use some of that savings to in-source some component production. 5. 52,000 sq/ft expansion of Louisville facility. 6. Ford claims lower total cost to own than buying a 3-year old Model-Y. (I'd like to read the fine print on this one) 7. The way the components are assembled is now significantly more ergonomic, less twisting and bending for assembly workers. There was an audible gasp from someone in the crowd of assembly workers at the press event when the presenter said "You will never need to put a dash cluster through a door opening ever again". 8. The platform will allow many kinds of body styles including crossovers, sedans, and sport cars. The debut vehicle will arrive in 2027 as a mid-size truck.

Today, Ford took the wraps off its breakthrough Universal Vehicle Platform, a new EV platform intended to bring a new level of affordability to electric vehicles. Ford is investing $5 billion in its Louisville, KY assembly plant and the BlueOval Battery Park in Michigan to bring this new platform to life. As part of this project, the Louisville plant will expand by 52,000 square feet and secure 2,200 jobs. The first UVP product will be a 4-door electric pickup with a targeted base price of $30,000 and going on sale in 2027. Ford says it will have more passenger space than a Toyota RAV-4 and be faster than an Ecoboost Mustang while having a frunk and truck bed. Ford is taking the inspiration for the Universal Vehicle Platform from the Model-T built over 100 years ago. The idea is that Ford will have one platform that supports multiple body styles. While the first vehicle is a mid-size truck, the platform is destined to support sedans, crossovers, and sports cars. The platform reduces parts by 20%, uses 25% fewer fasteners, and 4,000 fewer feet of wiring than Ford's first-gen electric SUV, the Ford Mach-E. With this new innovation, Ford is again innovating the production line as it did with the Model-T. Instead of using a single line, Ford will move to a production tree, three parallel lines move sub-assemblies down simultaneously and then joined together mid-way through. Ford is using large, single-piece aluminum castings to allow the frond and rear of the vehicle to be assembled separately. Ford predicts that this new process will speed vehicle assembly by up to 40%. Some of that savings will be redirected to quality control for a net speed increase of 15%. The big bet Ford is making is on new prismatic LFP batteries, built in the United States. These new batteries are cobalt-free and nickle-free, greatly increasing the sustainability of the batteries' construction. The battery pack is structural to the vehicle, giving a lower center of gravity and greater interior space. View full article

Just a few months ago I was getting Kerry Gold on sale for $10.99 Your grammar lesson for today.

That's where your Windows Updates are being stored. If you're going from 10 to 11, Windows just treats that like a really huge Windows update. 11 sucked when it first came out, but for the last year they've fixed it up enough that it runs better than 10 now.

This one is a rat bastard to change. There isn't enough clearance to get the housing out because you bump the thermostat housing. I have to almost take the carb off (4 bolts plus choke heater) to slide it back enough to remove the fuel filter housing. I had to replace the housing because the threads were damaged on the old one and I needed new gaskets. The whole kit was like $18.

Yeah, I was changing the fuel filter on the toronado along with the fuel filter housing (the bright new brass piece) and the wrench slipped and I snapped the old brass tubing.

eeeeffffffffff

So, unfortunately no, especially on a vehicle that age... and there is precedent for it. The most you can hope for is some sort of Visa gift card for a very modest amount IF you kick up enough stink with Lincoln Customer Service. Back in the mid-2000s, the Buick Lucerne and the Cadillac DTS had heated washer fluid. There was an initial fix to move the system to a larger fuse, but the systems still were shorting out and causing fires. The supplier ended up going into bankruptcy over it. The recall was to disconnect the system and owners received a $100 gift card. That's while the cars were still in production, so I can't imagine Lincoln doing much for yours now.

What precisely are you smoking?

It does have Android Auto and Apple Car Play. The press release doesn’t mention it but some of the photos show it on the screen.

Now in entering its third generation for Mazda, the 2026 Mazda CX-5 has grown in this latest redesign. Adding 4.5-inches in length and wheelbase, and nearly an inch in width, the new CX-5 is able to increase interior roominess significantly while adding new technology. While it maintains a mainstream price, the CX-5 has always felt closer to a luxury-class vehicle than its direct competition and that trait carries over to this new model. Externally, the CX-5 recipe is a familiar and natural evolution over its predecessor. The redesign brings the look in line with its larger cousins, the CX-70 and CX-90, and Mazda includes interesting curvaceous bodywork without looking overwrought. Across the back, Mazda is spelled out in chrome letters, replacing the more traditional Mazda logo. Interior space was one of the drawbacks of the previous model, but while exact dimensions haven't been released, Mazda claims a significant improvement in passenger and cargo capacity. Rear passengers gain legroom and ingress and egress is made easier with much larger door openings. The cargo area is two inches deeper, over an inch taller, and has a lower lift over height for loading. Rear passengers now have access to dual USB-C chargers and, if equipped, outboard heated seats. Mazda's interiors have always been minimalist and subtle in design. The new interior features materials and finishes crafted to suggest a timeless quality. The base infotainment screen has been upgraded to a 12.9-inch unit standard, replacing the prior 10.3-inch screen, while a 15.6-inch screen is also available on certain trims. The new system is powered by Google Built-In, the connected system allows access to a curated Google Play app store so drivers can customize their driving experience. While the rotary button from the prior model has been removed for a full-touch screen experience, the pictures with the 15.6-inch screen also show no physical buttons, meaning that volume and HVAC controls may be entirely touchscreen based. Removal of physical buttons has been met with backlash from consumers at other brands. Mazda does retain the standard console gear selector, no dials, buttons, or column stalks here. Powering the 2026 Mazda CX-5 is the same 2.5-liter Skyactive naturally-aspirated 4-cylinder as the prior model, but with some software tweaks to add verve. This unit produces 187-horsepower and 185 lb-ft of torque and mated to a carry-over 6-speed automatic. There is no word on the previously available 256-horsepower Turbo 4-cylinder that still available in the CX-50, so assume for now that it is done. Mazda says that a new hybrid option will join the lineup the following year with an in-house hybrid design rather than the Toyota unit the CX-50 hybrid uses. For now, Mazda is a bit light on details like trims, dimensions, and pricing. Since the CX-5 will still be manufactured in Japan, the tariff situation caused by Trump could make pricing unpredictable. We expect to hear more as the on-sale date next spring approaches. View full article

Yup! That's new ADA grant funding through the Biden Bill.

OMG yes about the road construction! Between the Biden infrastructure bill and the new investments by PennDot and funding to the local municipalities to fix roads, it is sometimes impossible to get around here. It's also not just roads, utility companies, especially water and sewer, got a lot of fresh funding for projects too. I get that there is a lot to catch up on, but it's making it really hard to get about.

I think the issues in the middle east are causing some regional price fluctuations based on fear and greed. The prices here haven't budged and are actually pretty low for summertime.

Honestly, that's actually a good thing that it goes up every July. The problem with many states, and this isn't just gas taxes but all taxes, is that they don't index taxes to inflation, and then the governments are forced into drastic budget cuts and big jumps in taxes. I work with local governments in PA and time after time I see this play out. They pat themselves on the back for keeping property taxes low and not raising them for 6 years and then boom, they find themselves in a deficit which local towns are not allowed to run in PA. Then there's a big tax hike and everyone gets pissed. I'm working with one town where the population of the town is very affluent, but the town is going broke because of the tax structure. They rely on property taxes, but the county hasn't reassessed property values in 30 years. So you have parcels that are worth 6-7 figures being assessed for tax purposes at like 100k. And now everyone is stuck because if the properties get reassessed, the property taxes jump a few hundred percent. Having the gas tax go up a little bit every year is the smarter way to do it.

Unfortunately, none of the low-cost crossovers will be particularly good with that. The Maverick Tremor might do okay with it's locking diff, but at a base price of $43k, I have a hard time calling it "low-cost".

I think people settle for all black interiors. When the choice is cloudy-day gray or all black, people opt for all black.