These Are Our Bad Automotive Opinions [Doug DeMuro + Alanis King]

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Tune in as I chat with Alanis about our bad automotive opinions. What is acceptable and what is just downright WRONG! Some of this might be shockingly bad to you. Tell us your bad automotive opinions in the comments, but please be nice. :)
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CHAPTERS:
00:00 CARS & BIDS!!!
00:32 Introduction
01:58 A Bad Opinion About Technology
08:04 A Rather Unorthodox Vehicle
12:50 Are We Too Dependent??
21:09 Doug Is Siding With The Car Dealers
25:23 The Gravest Automotive Sin
29:42 Outro
#dougdemuro #cars

[@AlanisKing]

Oh no

[@JeffKing310]

Buckle up everyone !

[@waventures855]

I actually agreed with most of your takes. I was hoping for more controversy lol.

[@RushQuacker]

Did Doug bake you cookies? Or does he only do that for Kennan.

[@cliterally1791]

gotta get those pink splitter guards for my civic!

[@JW88275]

@alanisking where’d you get that shirt? It’s awesome

[@MehdiEsfahani]

I’m so in love with the video editor who on purpose didn’t capitalize the M in the last name while Doug is talking about how he judges people specifically based on this

[@fortheloveofnoise9298]

underrated comment

[@OutsideDuhBox]

Ummm im not exactly sure this was the intent...but ok

[@Zemzam]

ABSOLUTELY. The ironic audacity was impressive.

[@CHMichael]

Has it been changed or can't I find it?

[@SeanWithaFada]

@@CHMichael idk how you couldn't find it, it's there when they're talking about it. 26:41.

[@spartanxlv]

Leaving the splitter guards on your SRT is the automotive equivalent of leaving the holographic sticker on your New Era hat.

[@SDMathew87]

Yes! You are 100% correct! But people will still do it 😂

[@evancol-eyraud4923]

which make it even cooler imo

[@derron3959]

Never thought about it like that but I've been definitely torn on the style

[@rex-1141]

I'd say it's closer to leaving the ziptie tag on a pair of Off-White sneakers. It's an attention grabbing signifier that you paid for an exclusive thing and you're willing to sacrifice functionality to make sure people notice.

[@jonkeefer6865]

i factory ordered a 21 charger 392. when the dealer called to say it was in, i said to remove the guards. they said they can't, dodge forbids it. as soon as i got home, that shit came off. i kept them in case i ever sell the car, but i'm not driving with them on.

[@bretts1646]

It's really cool to see dedicated car people advocating for better public transit.

[@odortiz]

for over 10 years, i rode a bicycle and train to work, wife worked from home, and we had 6 cars at home. we had to find places to drive, to not let the gas get too old. i drive 80 miles round trip now. miss the cycling days.

[@mickeymang6]

Yeah, in California, NY, Chicago. Try doing that in Texas. Texas is to spread out. Plus I enjoy driving.

[@arkoudiou]

Honestly I'd never expect to see this but makes total sense

[@JETZcorp]

It's part of the coastal city disease. Honestly the transit focus and Europhilia drove me out of Portland almost as much as the crime and high costs. Once you start saying that traffic jams are god because they increase transit ridership, I'm done. I have no patience for urbanists after what they did to the place I used to call home.

[@justinborysenko3885]

We spent a month in Amsterdam this summer. Amazing transportation and amazing cars with zero traffic.

[@ewplayer3]

The key on touchscreens and buttons is to find the right balance. Things that are commonly used should be buttons or knobs because you can build up muscle memory and not take your eyes off the road. Things that are less commonly used can be moved to touchscreen functions safely.

[@britaanddan]

I just want the manufacturers to do testing and use actual design to ensure the interface is intuitive and not distracting. Instead they do what is 1) cheaper, 2) they can sell for more money, or 3) what they think looks good.

[@The_Stanman]

Yes, Doug's take on touchscreens is actually aligned with most "anti-touchscreen" sentiments. The pushback has been against the recent trend to put basic controls (HVAC, audio) into a screen. BMW, Merc, Audi, all put those basic controls in a screen now.

[@gnoxycat]

I don't want a button or knob for A/C or volume. I want a toggle switch to raise and lower the car max and min. That is it. Nothing else. And if you disagree, you are wrong. Fight me!

[@Marc-zi4vg]

yeah if you want the best balance, just look at the rolls royce spectre that is the benchmark on modern infotainment both buttons and screens are different but they have done it with taste!

[@anthonykaiser974]

​@@gnoxycatFight's ON! knobs or sliders are way better because of responsiveness.

[@Ultranothing]

The thing about up-badging is that the only people who would even notice the badging are the same people who are going to know the badges are fake.

[@MikeKayK]

Exactly. Which is why I think the people up badging must be doing it to make themselves feel better and don't actually care what others think. It has to be that way, right?

[@hypr1]

They do it to try and trick people who know just enough about cars to recognize the badge, but not enough to realize it's fake.

[@StreamerBTW99]

@@hypr1 Thats so little people though

[@MikeKayK]

@@hypr1 Yeah, this is probably it. They're only impressing a very small percentage of people but because they're too dumb to know that, they still get the ego boost. Questionable whether their self worth actually goes up, though, since they themselves know that they're poor and lying about it. In fact, it probably goes down, since seeking self-worth or validation through external appearances is usually detrimental to one's overall well-being.

[@fortyfive4632]

I can vividly remember pulling up at a stop light in Stephenville TX next to a 96ish blue Mustang V6 with white stripes, and cobra emblems on the side. I was in my 08 GT500 -blue with white stripes. That poor kid looked like he was 17 and had his girlfriend in the passenger seat. His face was red and he would not look over. Wish that kid was just happy to be 17 and have a mustang and not have been embarrassed because he had fake badges on his car.

[@Kroov.]

Doug is the type of guy to not make cookies for his guests

[@PasleyAviationPhotography]

His "special" cookies

[@Mr-pn2eh]

His cookies probably don't have any quirks and features.

[@elmayimbe_the_amateur_mechanic]

and leave them on the CGT 😂😂😂

[@Kroov.]

​@@Mr-pn2eh😢

[@Taco-bomb-GTA]

Oh my god , you are so funny haha

[@toddr3093]

How anyone could dislike this guy is a mystery. He is an automotive genius, but the main thing I’ve learned from him is that being yourself is the only way to achieve true longevity and happiness. The money hasn’t changed him one bit.

[@tripledgt]

I have multiple friends who immediately wrote him off cause they don't like his voice. Their loss.

[@bigbadkittenperson9179]

In a sea of trendy, image-obsessed “content creators” 🤢, DD’s automotive video journalism and his overall plain spoken approach is such a breath of fresh air

[@anthonykaiser974]

I think some folks just like to make Doug jokes. Really, it's turned into a game.

[@dannysdailys]

And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Didn't he wind up divorced?

[@samgardner7376]

I really don’t think there’s too big an underground group of Doug haters😂 He’s pretty big on youtube cause people do like the man

[@jaromirr7720]

16:35 this is a fantastic take. I’m Belgian, but have lived in the Netherlands for 10 years now. It is wild how freeing it is to be able to bike to work, or have good public transportation nearby. It allows me to only have my 1987 M535i that’s half track spec, rather than having to own or lease a daily alongside it.

[@tomm7863]

I get the premise, and it sounds nice. But the reality is that having a personal car is a luxury that most people now see as essential and infrastructure supports their use in 99% of places. It's almost always faster to drive in a personal car than to take public transportation in the US. There are Very few places where that isn't true (Manhattan for example but even in the outer boroughs a car is often faster even when taking parking into account) You are asking people to forgo using their personal luxury item and instead use a public service that is almost certainly slower, and may or may not be smelly, dirty and probably has at least one crazy person on it. Telling people to go use public transportation so the roads are more free for people to drive for fun is unlikely to get much traction.

[@bedforthescraping]

@@tomm7863 i live in st. petersburg, florida, and commute to work using an electric scooter. my e39 525iT only gets used for trips to the supermarket or fun trips. public transportation isn't the only option. i wish more people would get into PEV's as a way to commute. it's a lot of fun.

[@nickmurphy4209]

As a not just bikes fan learning how good the public mobility and safety is in Europe makes me jealous living in the US

[@azroadposer]

I am one of the lucky few in the US that has a bike path to/from work. Kid duties are the only thing keeping me from using it. Daughter is closing in on driving age and I can’t wait to start riding everyday again. Not giving up my car either.

[@MarkTrades__]

sure, but you dont live in america. And I would bet money you probably dont work a job that is NOT computer based, or service based.

[@yogtheterrible]

I am LOVING that someone in cartube agrees that we're too reliant on cars. We spread this around and maybe at some point we can make our cities walkable.

[@kylem324]

Smoking Tire has expressed similar sentiments. And has had guests (experts and authors) on their podcast that talk about the future of city planning, livability, and the compatibility with auto enthusiasm.

[@axe2grind244]

People who live in warm weather climates aka not reality love saying this.

[@Scisca1a2a]

Someone saying that moving away from cars and using more public transport and bikes will allow us to enjoy cars more, because the traffic will get lighter, is totally ignorant and clearly has never been in Europe. The econuts will paunce on every opportunity to limit roads, lanes and kill any opportunity to drive and have fun behind the wheel. This is a trap!

[@kylem324]

@@axe2grind244 There’s plenty of people in 4 season urban climates that would agree with the original post. One of the primary issues in 🇺🇸 that makes this unfathomable is that there has been a chronic underinvestment in infrastructure for the last ~50 years. Good public transit can work just as well and be as convenient in cold climates as California.

[@porsche928s4]

​@@axe2grind244yea it's 100° for about most of the summer here year after year no way in hell I'm walking around town

[@THEKNIGHT108]

Super avid car enthusiast here (like just about everyone) and used to HATE the idea of public transportation and taking away the car dependency. I recently vacationed in Tokyo, and this has completely changed my mind. It’s fast, convenient, clean. Walking a small distance is super nice too. And you can still have your fun time car if you want. Imagine a city where far more people than LA, wayyy bigger than LA, but with zero traffic jams. It really is just better.

[@ToolkiT73UK]

Ditto in London

[@HouseOfSneed]

Japan is a homogenous nation with an emphasis on law and order. L.A. or the U.S. in general is a soulless shit hole with no identity. This would never work here. Hell you can even see drug deals happening on the L.A. metro , they don't care about the law

[@insaneconqueror5421]

We could be a healthier society potentially.

[@pk13910]

In Tokyo it's clean, convenient, and efficient. Try that in most cities in the USA. Trash, graffiti and violence is what you'll get.

[@blackbriarmead1966]

@@pk13910 yeah, definitely. Took the train from atlanta airport to downtown a few weeks ago. Dude with bloody gums hounding us for money

[@asifmahmud9092]

13:14 wholeheartedly agree with this. Here in Tokyo I prefer taking the train to work and not be stuck in traffic jam and worry about parking and what not. I take my (somewhat)warm hatch out in weekends and enjoy the relatively free roads. Just the fact that you have other options to go somewhere besides a car makes it great! Options are always good!

[@Aearonjer]

I lived in Japan for 15+ years, rode a bicycle and used public transport. No need for a car, saved money from parking spaces. As soon as I got back to Australia, I needed to buy a car asap. Everything is context.

[@blaketindle4703]

The public transportation take is actually really good. We definitely should have more and better public transportation in all major cities!

[@devononair]

America's public transport system is one of the worst of all the rich countries. There are some great videos on youtube about why this is and it's a fascinating topic. Unfortunately, the reasons it is the way it is are also the reasons it is unlikely to change.

[@southerninterloper4107]

If you think the state/federal governments in the US would allow anyone other than the ultra rich or ultra connected to have cars if there was an adequate (not even good, merely adequate) public transportation system in the country, you've been doing lines with Hunter in the White House.

[@pablo4yu]

DUDE!! ONE DAY my car was getting tuned and my truck is a nissan so obviously it broke down and i wasnt feeling driving my motorcycle so i said FUCK IT! Ill take the city bus… i live in a large city in texas. i got picked up at the stop with ZERO SHADE! Then bus driver was rude asf whatever i gave them $1.50 and took a seat… then i had to go to one main hub and wait 5 minutes for the bus to come IT CAME LIKE 25-40 minutes LATER BRUH THEN THEY TOOK ME TO ANOTHER MAIN HUB TO GET ANOTHER BUS WHICH WAS ALSO LATE ASF JUST FOR THE BUS DRIVER TO STOP MID DRIVE, BUY BURRITOS EAT 4 FUCKING BURRITOS THEN FINALLY STARTING THE BUS JUST TO GO TO A GAS STATION AND GO USE THE RESTROOM FOR 15 MINUTES WHILE THE BUS IS FULL THEN GETS ON AND GETS MAD AT A LADY FOR COMPLAINING THEN FINALLY I GET TO MY DESTINATION AND THE MF ALMOST DOESNT STOP LMAOOO WTF IS OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

[@rlh1984]

@@pablo4yuI also live in a fairly major city in Texas and used to rely on public transportation when I couldn’t afford a car. Texas wasn’t made for/doesn’t care about public transportation. And that trickles down to attitudes about public transportation. People look down on pedestrians and treat them like trash. The car and truck culture in Texas is embarrassingly juvenile. There’s no reason why there isn’t a rail system from San Antonio to Austin, and people have been talking about it for decades, but it will never happen because there’s no political will to make it happen.

[@pieterdebie4162]

It's a revelation to hear your opinions on car dependency. I just took the thalys from Brussels to Paris and being able to drive 300km/h without traffic jams or red lights is such a great timesaver. And all with a lower carbon footprint

[@Gee_Jay]

AND -- DON't Forget -- You get On AND Off _ in the CENTER of Each City -- NO TRANSIT NEEDed , to And from Each AIRPORT - - NO Lengthy CHECK-IN /-OUT Procedures -- NOT Even Customs / Border Patrols -- BECAUSE of the SCHENGEN Treaty -- Signed by MANY European Nations -- LOOK it UP !!

[@navarredr]

Yeah - While 300km/h sounds fast, that's like... what... 30mph? jk ;)

[@HaxxorElite]

​@@navarredrabout 100 football stadiums

[@rjdavis7503]

I will do the honors. Here is your carbon footprint.

[@austintillman8297]

Doug is the type of guy to zippity zoppity when everyone else is googley boogley

[@daroachdoggjr188]

Took the words right outta my mouth with this one

[@YtseFrobozz]

@@daroachdoggjr188 I would have gone with googley moogley, but I'll allow it.

[@sparkgrid]

Wtf 😂😂😂

[@prophetsatirical8946]

Pippity poppity, give me the zoppity.

[@jst2889]

Embarrassing attempt at humor. Cringe chills when reading that

[@dougt5357]

The best 'fake badge' I ever saw was just a few months ago. I pulled up to a red light and there was a Volkswagen Jetta in front of me, Under the Jetta badge, instead of something like 'Wolfsburg Edition' it said 'Sh_t Box Edition'. I could hardly stop laughing!

[@ClubZoltar]

I have Shitbox Edition badge for my truck! LOL

[@Goldieridesbike]

I can't have enough content from Alanis, seriously. She is what the sector (and I) needed. Keep them coming, please, by yourself or with whoever!

[@lionofgod1353]

The “Are we too dependent” I really liked I didn’t expect you to actually talk about how dependent we are on cars

[@jmearig]

12:00 Thank you, Alanis! As someone who acquired a disability right in my prime car-enjoying days it sucked to not be able to drive manual anymore. I was thrilled when VW brought the dual-clutch to the car enthusiast crowd at a reasonable price

[@Lumber_Jack]

My problem with markups is that dealers are often taking advantage of people who make poor financial decisions. These were the same folks who got ripped off before, and it's just gotten worse for them. The rest of us might sit out the market and wait, but these unfortunate folks are over-paying and signing up for 96-month loans to make the numbers work. Factor in depreciation and the long term financial outlook of that whole process truly makes my stomach hurt.

[@opesorryboutthat]

That’s just capitalism too

[@titan5525]

​@@opesorryboutthatexactly, f*ck capitalism

[@mikehawk6175]

At that point they’re basically asking to be taken advantage of

[@DarthSokka]

The solution to dealer markups is have automakers sell direct to consumer at MSRP like basically every other commodity. Then it is fair and equitable and profitable for all involved.

[@houseofno]

Unfortunately the national dealer lobby is powerful with lots of cash and essentially able to BUY your elected representative.

[@Jehowy666]

We have dealers in Europe and no dealer is selling over MSRP. This is solely the problem of US and A.

[@Lucifer_Cardozo]

Let the auto manufacturer raise the price, not the dealers is my personal stance on this topic. I think if the website says $35,995 but the dealer says $40,000, that’s ridiculous and false advertising. Let the company set the price.

[@ianhardin1148]

It helps me to not be too mad at them because right now I couldn't afford those cars at MSRP anyway. LOL

[@brianplum1825]

Laws forbid manufacturers selling directly to consumers or owning their dealer networks. This is not free market and people understandably hate it. Get rid of dealers and put every new car on opening bidding like ebay or even Cars and Bids.

[@zollotech]

I agree on touchscreens. Touchscreens are great especially for improvements over time. I do like physical climate controls though.

[@FL910]

There are certain things that should always be a physical button. Audio on/off, climate controls, hazard lights, and defrosters need physical buttons that can be accessed instantly.

[@jtrex2249]

Same! I don't understand the *hate* for touchscreens. Now, I very much am.annoyed by the volume and at LEAST basic climate controls under screen menus. Otherwise, I can find all the offroad stuff in my truck and most of the tech in screens. And I like it!

[@meow2175]

Touch screens are fine, the problem is when EVERYTHING is on the touch screen.

[@caldera11]

Touch screens should only be for media.

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

@@meow2175 Yes. Touchscreens are best for "set and forget" features that you adjust once or twice during the time you own the car, and for things like nav destination entry that you can't easily implement through traditional physical controls. Unfortunately, it took automakers a few iterations to realize this, so touchscreens got a bad rep that has stuck around.

[@dodgert9034]

Dealer markups make sense to a degree. Dealerships need to keep their employees who are selling less vehicles, so a couple of grand over sticker I can understand. There was a dealer near me who usually (by their admission) had 800 cars in stock usually and at the time of our talk only had 6 cars, a couple of grand above to keep sales people in that sort of shortage is logical. Once you get to the point where you are charging 30-50%of the msrp over sticker that argument goes away, then it just becomes greed. And dealers pulling bait and switches on pre-orders need to stop.

[@The_Stanman]

It is very well-established that market-based pricing (mark-ups and discounts) is the best approach, but consumers lack the education to know why. Imagine you set a price ceiling (MSRP). Now there are far more buyers than cars available. How do you decide which lucky buyers get to buy? There's a few options in market with price caps 1) Based on your order in waitlist. This creates a huge incentive for flipping. Investors/flippers will immediately join every wait-list for every popular car. They buy it and sell it for a profit with no intent of actually driving the car. 2) Based on customer relationship with dealer. Dealers prioritize consumers who have bought the most cars from them. This just means long-term, wealthy consumers get all new cars. 3) Lottery system. Everyone who wants it is entered in lottery and a lucky few are selected. While better than #1, it still creates a big market for flipping. Investors/flippers will flood the lotteries, including shady way to get more entries to increase their odds. Economists learned that price ceilings are ineffective decades ago.

[@The_Stanman]

Regarding the 30 - 50% mark-ups, actual transaction data shows that is very rare and temporary. It only happens on the first deliveries of a brand new model then normalizes. Important to realize that advertised mark-ups ≠ actual purchase price. The internet freaks out over crazy advertised prices, but those cars usually don't transact at that price.

[@F3udF1st]

We don't have any mark-ups over here. I prefer that. It saves me money.

[@madecko50]

The market deciding price based on the balance of supply and demand is great. It overall makes products cheaper. What makes Doug semi-wrong is calling these mark-ups strictly capitalism or a completely free-market approach. When you involve the government in the mix, it turns less and less into a free market. One example of this is dealerships going to Congress to lobby them to ban direct online sales of cars; that's crony capitalism. If you encounter a local dealer markup, your options are limited to in or out-of-state "dealer"-ships.

[@spentron1]

It's better for there to be excess supply, what we have now is something wrong. Whatever system you have.

[@farshidrahmani6262]

Finally! Thank you Alanis. There’re car enthusiasts with limited physical ability who’d like to have the option to drive an exciting car with automatic transmission 👍🏼

[@gunfighterzero]

Seeing as how 97% of cars are available with an automatic, I'm sure they can find something

[@FiatUno2003]

​@@gunfighterzeroyeah but what if I want a sports car but I can't get it in automatic? if I want an automatic sports car, I'm not going to get a fucking corolla ☠️

[@gunfighterzero]

@ErickPhoenix even supercars have automatics now days because they shift faster. There are shitloads of sports cars with autos. Not sure what you are crying about

[@farshidrahmani6262]

Of course there are lot of automatic options out there. And good and fast ones too. I was just pleasantly surprised that a car expert/ enthusiast mentioned it on a major site. Happy driving fellows. 👍🏼

[@djentrification1631]

@@FiatUno2003Subaru WRX, BRZ and GR86, Mk 5 Supra, Nissan Z, Elantra N. All of these cars have optional autos. There are definitely a ton of others too.

[@Suileron]

I love how the title is "bad automotive opinions" and yet people in the comments are still like "man idk these are some bad takes I disagree with"......like yes that's the idea haha

[@estebanmorales6487]

YES! THANK YOU! I've been struggling to express my disdain for car dependency while still being a huge car enthusiast, I'm so glad I'm not the only one!

[@ToolkiT73UK]

Same here, big petrol head, but realise that car dependency is a problem.. so let's look at the alternatives so we can keep driving/riding as a hobby in the future

[@speterbilt]

Yep I'll just hop on a local train in the middle of bfe Kansas to go to the grocery store

[@mikegaravani7309]

@@speterbilt well yeah you don’t have an option. And if you live rural there probably will never be. But, let’s say, you live outside of Topeka and work downtown, wouldn’t it be nice to get a train/bus?

[@Ultranothing]

I think it's a cultural phenomenon, and it has been this way for at least half a century. When we turn 16, it's just a "thing we're supposed to do." You turn 16, you get your license - it's a right of passage moreso than any kind of necessity. I love cars. I also know that there are *serious* improvements to be made in the way we travel in this country.

[@speterbilt]

@@mikegaravani7309 not for me.

[@USCanthony]

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from this video but I have to say that I really appreciated it. Yes, some of the opinions were controversial but both of you made very good points. I will always appreciate more videos like this one.

[@torygrima]

17:07 love that even the camera guy cant bold back 😂

[@bruncebanani8854]

I didn't notice anyone ever saying that touchscreens were bad. People just want buttons for the car functions they use all the time. Climate controls, radio, headlights etc. I don't care where the function to change the ambient color is, but I want a knob or at least some buttons to change the fanspeed and the temperature.

[@person.w9780]

I've definitely seen a good amount of people online hate the concept of touch screens across multiple sites.

[@benjaminrobinson3842]

You must not have been around when Mercedes and BMW introduced their systems. Even the print media railed against this feature. To be fair, there were no ergonomic standards back then, and in these early systems you'd sometimes have to wade through several menus just to change a radio station. (Which reminds me -- "next track" is often used to change stations, so I think it legitimately should be a button.)

[@volvo09]

Yeah, the phone feature in late 90's early 00 vehicles was a perfect example... Even if you never used it, you always had a phone dialpad on your center stack. Important buttons are great (traction control, heated/cooled seats, climate control, 4wd functions, windows, mirrors) the rest can be a touchscreen menu.

[@bruncebanani8854]

@@benjaminrobinson3842 I don't think I ever used BMWs first touch screen system. But if it was as good as their first iDrive, then I guess the print media had a point. :D I always feared that whoever I drove to might have moved house, by the time I entered his address in the satnav..

[@budleysulterton7931]

Touchscreens are bad. There, now you've seen it

[@UR2SLO4ME]

Upbadging, no. DOWNBADGING, now that’s cool. Somebody putting an ecoboost badge on their mustang gt, or a 328i badge on their M3, yes.

[@niveketihw1897]

We have the "driving to work" thing covered as I am full time remote. No driving. Our excellent grocery store is a 1.6 mile round trip drive. We do walk it once in a while but we live in Texas so the May through September months we always opt for car (carrying a bunch of groceries when it's 95 out and you could have driven the car just doesn't seem worth it). We have two cars and have considered going down to one. Truthfully we could probably get by a good portion of the time with zero cars.

[@CC-qe1gq]

as a Swiss car enthusiast, I love to commute with our train and bus service just to drive only when I can enjoy it.

[@jaibinmathew1323]

That car reliance hot take is so true. Part of the reason I want public transit and walking/biking infrastructure is because it gives people the most freedom of choice! I love cars but I also love walking and biking outside on a good day, and taking a train can be fun.

[@SomeGuysGarage]

The problem with it though is those advocating for public transit and pedestrian infrastructure, always do so at the expense of road users. They take existing utilized traffic lanes and convert them to unused bike lanes. I would have far less problems with it if they didn't do this. Here we have "multi-use" paths on some roads, which are basically widen sidewalks to share between people and bikes....I'm ALL FOR THIS. We also have downtown streets getting converted to one way and half of it turned into bike lanes, I'm NOT FOR THIS.

[@ethanxkennedy]

@@SomeGuysGarage driving downtown sucks, and just isn't a place that massive 2 ton vehicles should coexist with pedestrians or people on bikes. You're not having fun driving there, cars take up valuable space, and really devastate air quality. You can't structure a dense urban center that is walkable if it has to also primarily function for cars. Ultimately public transit needs to be advantageous to convince people to use it. Something like a park and ride solves this problem. The whole point of critiquing car centric infrastructure is that we shouldn't be catering society to some randoms who just want to be so disconnected from the world that it makes everything worse for the people around them.

[@MS-37]

We all want that. We can’t have nice things in the states. For certain reasons…

[@jaibinmathew1323]

@@SomeGuysGarage I definitely get where you're coming from! But making streets where people can walk, bike, and drive is a balancing act. For decades we've prioritized cars over other modes of transit, the multi-use paths represent a rebalancing from the overprioritizaiton on cars. I understand that can be frustrating when you try to drive and there are less lanes, but imagine how frustrating it is to try to walk where there are no sidewalks or bike when there are no bike lanes Bike lanes make sense in a lot of areas because sometimes pedestrian traffic and bike traffic would warrant separation. Just like cars don't like bikes in the same lanes, bikes don't like dealing with people on sidewalks. Mixed speeds of transit make it uncomfortable when they mix, which is why bike lanes could be warranted Also on the comment on unused bike lanes. There may be a lot of reasons for this. Lots of bike lanes are not connected, which would feel the same as if you were driving down Main Street and then the road suddenly stops. This phenomenon makes it unendingly hard to use bikes Additionally, bikes just visually take up less space, so if you're doing the eye test, it may not look like loads of people are using it, but in comparison to many car only streets, mixed use streets tend to be much better than car only streets for moving the most people. If those people who biked used cars, the traffic would be much worse I appreciate that this conversation is happening on Doug's channel! Hope anyone who read this is having a good day

[@raulponce9012]

​@SomeGuysGarage You say that as if cars don't take space away from pedestrians and alternative vehicles, I mean almost every city in the usa used to have tram lines all across their cities and they destroyed them to make space for cars. Also, if the objective is to get people out of their cars we need to make them have a reason to consider get out of them and give them a safe way to do so and the best way is to take the infrastructure that already exist and adapt it

[@andrewhernandez6753]

Doug: "Dealer markups... make sense." Alanis: "NOOOO, DOUG!" 😂😂😂 There's the first real bad opinion. 21:10

[@RZFitnessTV]

Her reaction has me cracking up lolll

[@DekiaryCarter]

I love these laidback podcast type of videos 😎

[@the4fibs832]

12:50 My respect for both of you skyrocketed when you talked about public transit

[@randrewp]

The best "up badge" I ever saw was a Pontiac badged as "Jean Claude Grand Am"

[@pjaxy]

That's called meme badging and is totally acceptable.

[@phazonlord0098]

0:09 I hope Doug has booked a review of this Lagonda, cause it has a completely different dashboard from the one he reviewed, it's the original and most insane and unreliable one. To show how crazy the Lagonda was, it had basically 3 different versions throughout its life and all of them had completely different dashboard tech and layout. First one was the LED with touch controls, the second was the one he reviewed with the CRTs and the third one had VFD displays.

[@DrunkTalk]

Car lover here. Good public transit is awesome! Wish we had more trains here in the states.

[@ehiracheta]

I agree! Dealer markups are just there cuz someone will pay. Want them to end? STOP paying them. Don't like it don't buy. If no one buys they will stop.

[@etherealicer]

Yes and no. Unlike concert tickets, which are pure luxury, cars can be both a luxury good and a necessity (depending on where you live, what you do for work and even if you have physical limitations). If your car is a necessity, you might not have a choice but to pay.

[@ehiracheta]

@@etherealicer You can always fix an old car. Buy an old car. That may be the only choice if finances are not where they need to be. A new car is a luxury.

[@etherealicer]

@@ehiracheta What if a big SUV has crashed into your parked car and demolished it? No, you cannot always repair, cars can get totaled (water, rust, crashes). There is also a point of diminishing return, where so much breaks and more will break that it does not make sense from an economical point of view. Then there is parts availability. And of course if you depend on your car (e.g. for work), you cannot wait for repairs all the time. Adding in that repairs need skill and access to a garage and time (full time job, maybe a long commute, evening school, household-work, children) . And finally, if you depend on your car due to physical limitation, those same limitations might make repairs difficult to perform for you. P.S. Dealer markup also happens on 2nd hand market and it follows the same dynamics.

[@ehiracheta]

@@etherealicer Nope...you buy a car in your budget. Cars don't always break like you say. Do your research and buy a good one. They are out there. They will always be out there. You can find a 2000's ford focus and that thing will run. Even new cars get stuck in the shop. A good reliable older car is all you need. A NEW car is a luxury.

[@etherealicer]

@@ehiracheta I agree that factory new cars are a luxury. But second hand cars are also subject to dealer markup, so can be very expensive for what you get.

[@matterialistictendencies]

I will always argue that the Pontiac Aztec was ahead of it’s time.

[@mikelldowns8866]

Would sell like hotcakes today

[@mikelldowns8866]

Lincoln blackwood was also

[@nicholasstocker8864]

I agree!

[@insaneconqueror5421]

It was but still ugly as sin.

[@KeeganRobbins]

It came with an optional tent! How could that not be cool?

[@t.j.vellinga6225]

Making bicycling enjoyable would make car driving more enjoyable. In the Netherlands they have asphalt bike paths that are separated from the main road with a row a trees. And on the other side of your bike path is a fricken beautiful tulip field! So awesome! Biking is an enjoyable activity there. When in Florida if you go on a bike, the sidewalks end, the bike paths end, and there is no separation between the bikes and traffic. So if you ride a bike in Florida, you're gonna die by a car hitting you.

[@brazilianboss10]

this is the way it is with most cities and towns in the states and it’s awful

[@johnbau7943]

10:06 is perfection. I love that you are both, well, real people. Thank you!

[@jfrey1]

This topic could easily get a Pt. 2. Really enjoyed this one.

[@Yourmission9]

I saw a car meet where a bunch of mustang owners were trolling SRT’s splitter guards by putting big yellow pool noodles on their mustang splitters😂

[@mikegaravani7309]

yes, absolutely!! i think we should heavily fund public transit!! i live in switzerland now and basically all regular commuters take the train/bus, and you can see that because the density of enthusiast cars on the road is crazy. America as a system will never be able to go that far (see suburbs) but we can try to get there by building more densely!! I’m actually so glad you feel like this too

[@caldera11]

The easiest way to reduce car dependency is to stop making people who sit in desks for a job have to commute to work for 2 hours per day Remote work saves the environment and reduces road damage with almost no downside except management can't lecture people in order to feel like their job is important

[@mikegaravani7309]

@@caldera11 hmmm idk about that. Remote work works in a pandemic but in the long term i’m afraid it would just make people lazier fatter and antisocial.

[@axeavier]

@@caldera11 That won't help. If the city is built on car dependency then you need to use a car for everything aside from working. It literally wont reduce it at all. There's 5000 other things people do aside from work that requires travel

[@bocahdongo7769]

@@caldera11 the problem you completely forget is not the work part. But the WHOLE thing. I can just grab some beer or doing small grocery run with only walk 30-50 yards down there. No need to stock pile everything, no need to do big grocery run with big SUV, no need to worry about drive drunk. More fit, less car, and less bad driver

[@caldera11]

@@axeavier driving for 3 minutes vs driving for an hour to work and back, simplest god damn math possible

[@ldmtag]

I love listening a track over and over too! I seriously concentrate on my music and don't like distractions that are inevitable while driving! Back button is my most used one!

[@mospalacios]

im with you on the next/previous track button! cars without them feel incomplete. how do people move between songs these days without going into their phone or messing with screens?

[@SomeGuysGarage]

The thing about dealer markups though is we're talking a $2000 discount versus a $20,000 markup. If the markup was equal to the discounts ever available, probably wouldn't be so bad but dealers get greedy and markup a frickin' Ford for $20,000+ it's absurd.

[@alphonsevallery]

this

[@JayCAlan]

10 $2000 discounts on explorers = 1 $20000 markup on a Raptor. Even Steven. To me it makes more sense for the dealership, a business that exists to make money selling cars, to get the extra market on a hot car than some rich rando who just happened to get one first and immediately flips it. I don't understand why people expect dealers (or anyone selling anything for that matter) to price their goods under the actual value.

[@pato655]

nobody is forcing you to buy, it your choice. If more people would exercise prudent restraint, the markups would not be so high. Its that simple.

[@WhoThisGuy515]

Yeah I've never seen a 100k discount on a 80k car

[@matthewguerra5410]

The other issue it makes the car manufacturer look bad, and some of the length dealers are going with the markup nonsense is seriously shady

[@ruk2023--]

Touchscreens are good as long as you keep a few buttons like you said. If you converted every feature and parameter on a modern car into a button it would be like driving in the cockpit of a commercial airliner.

[@ChR0nos_7734]

BMW before they went full double wide with screen was perfect ratio of screen to physical buttons. For example G20 3 series pre-LCI

[@ruk2023--]

@@keving1662 Climate is a pain in the screen just because it can be hard to hit the buttons when the road isn't as smooth as glass.

[@maksymfedoriaka2851]

People love CarPlay, for example, and obviously you can't make it fully button-based, the main benefit of it is that it feels like a smartphone. However, for some stuff like cruise control, wipers and climate control I strongly feel that it has to be a physical button. Capacitive buttons or small screens don't quite do it, you need to be able to find those things without ever looking at them

[@ruk2023--]

@@keving1662 yeh it can but even as someone who is heavily involved in the tech industry and in my early 40's (not some old fart with no eyesight as you're imagining) I find voice control in cars useless. 1. it's slow. 2. you look like an absolute bellend if you have passengers 3. it doesn't always work apart from Tesla's and I don't have one of those.

[@blaketindle4703]

I lmao when poor Hoovie had to rip the M badge off his X6 because he found out the engine had been swapped for a regular BMW V8 from a junkyard! 😂

[@stephenburnett8431]

alanis is right. upbadging is good because i cant think of a single time ever where my day wasnt at least a little bit better after seeing an upbadged car. even when its “not funny” i love trying to figure out the type of person who did it, and at what point did they decide they were going to go for the amg badge. such an interesting bridge between car people and non-car people. there is truly so much intrigue in the world we live in doug deMuro, and if anything i should be thankful i get to see it and learn a bit more about my fellow man.

[@AmosDohms]

My family has a Nissan NV, someday we want to put at least one Nismo badge on it, cause why not?

[@ondrejmitas3325]

So appreciate the statement and explanation about car-centric urban layout. Well said. There are indeed many people out there who enjoy an occasional sporty drive, and their 5 minute daily bike commute.

[@cliterally1791]

YES FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS IT, you can like horse riding without thinking everyone should have to have a horse to get to work

[@nunyabusiness896]

Pretty sure there are more horse breeders and horse paths if everyone is riding them, just saying. How many horse breeders and dedicated horse trails do you have in your city/town? If cars are no longer the mode of transit, fewer and fewer models will exist and fewer and fewer roads will exist for them to drive on and before you know it you have a choice of like 5 crappy cars and just a couple of pot hole laden roads to drive them on.

[@Aaron.Rants.Reviews]

100% Agree with the "too reliant on cars", especially in the US. Like you said, less cars would actually be good for enthusiasts! What's the point of having a Challenger or Mustang as a daily driver if you're just going to sit bumper-to-bumper. Less cars on the road would make cars more fun for everyone!

[@1954telecaster]

Public transportation in major American cities is a nightmare. The people you encounter are the worst of the worst. Drug addicts, criminals, mentally ill, homeless, perverts…at least an independent vehicle offers some security and privacy.

[@Vorael]

"If you're going to support the system, this is just the way it is." Gotcha. As someone who hates dealer markups, I no longer support capitalism. You've converted me, comrade DeMuro.

[@user-qr2vj6zc6s]

The problem is the alternative to markup. If Dealers sell for sticker 100% of the time, the people who really want the car and are willing to pay what it is worth to them don’t get the chance. Dealers don’t make money where they can and are forced to make it elsewhere or go out of business.

[@Vorael]

​@@user-qr2vj6zc6s That's like worrying about a scalper going out of "business" though. You could buy a ticket through the venue, but you can't, because the scalper already bought it and is selling it at a markup. Rich fucks can still afford the increased ticket prices, whereas normal people are priced out. Why should dealerships exist when you could (if dealerships hadn't lobied to make it illegal) just buy it from the manufacturer and save a whole bunch of money? The scalper does not benefit me or anyone else; they're just creating profit for themselves by flipping a limited resource. They're not providing a service, they're literally just leeches. Similarly, while dealerships do provide some services (that could also be provided by manufacturer-owned stores, at a lower cost to consumers), they mostly just generate profit for themselves without adding much value for the consumer. If dealerships went out of business, I'd be totally okay with that. And then I'd just go buy a car online, or through a brick and mortar manufacturer-owned store if they bothered to build them. Stealerships going out of business is good, actually.

[@Andrew-zs5tc]

@@Vorael Vorael, If the dealerships were forced to sell at MSRP and no more, all desirable vehicles would be sold to the first to show up at the dealership, just as tickets are sold to the first available. This facilitates the markets for the scalpers. In this scenario, only those with ready financing that show up at exactly the time the vehicles are released will be able to buy, most likely the scalpers. Dealerships are local businesses that provide the service of showing customers alternatives, preparing vehicles for delivery, arranging financing, complying with local sales laws, providing warranty and maintenance, and so on. It would not be more efficient for manufacturers to establish national networks of stores to provide the services. They would have all the costs of the local dealerships PLUS the cost of running a huge additional business. The current model allows the manufacturers to focus on what they do best, making vehicles, and the local dealerships do what they do best, selling and supporting local customers. Without dealerships only those who don't need help in the purchasing process, know exactly what they want, can service it themselves or have local mechanics able to handle even the most complex needs would be better off. I believe you classify them as the Rich fucks. The rest of us would be out of luck. By the way, I am not related with a dealership and have never purchased a vehicle for over MSRP. I have bought many below MSRP, which would be impossible if the dealer network did not exist and I was not able to negotiate with multiple local dealerships.

[@ukiyo5283]

I actually agree with the public transit point. I lived in Japan for a number of years and the roads there are always much more open because most people are getting around on trains. I think it is crazy there is no train between say LA and Vegas.

[@antonio7334]

also.... just imagine the congestion is Tokyo was like the US...... 36 million ppl. Don't even wanna think of it

[@SJRS700]

@@antonio7334 it already very congsted, cant drive anywhere, its a city for the losers who walk to work

[@jonathanchapman8070]

These types of videos can be the most fun. (as long as they're real : ) which this totally feels ) Keep it up.

[@carcrazynik]

I'm so glad she got a new laptop. That one with the cardboard looked rooooough before. 😅 But you two together are so much fun!

[@tony_5156]

Wow, I’m actually very happy to see more and more KZbinrs become aware and critical of car dependence in America. Very cool

[@longwingdetrain3183]

So, while I am all for alternative modes of transportation…. America is fundamentally different to almost every other country because of population density and scale. I would have been very happy for Doug to provide some solutions he thought would be viable. Despite our history and hate of taxes in America…. Cities like to use public transit as a money-maker, so it winds up being more economical to take a car(which is kinda crazy, but understandable given the distances that need to be covered by vehicle outside of work. Also the average distance to commute to work in the US is 23 miles). Also, we like to be very independent culturally(for better or worse). We shift dependence from cars to public transit, the public transit will become the burden(Tokyo is an excellent example of this). It is a very difficult question and very easy for Europeans to judge us for our dependence on vehicles. I guess the closest comparison would be Australia, but they have a lot less people settled outside of the coast, whereas we have a lot of people in the midwest. So while a good start, it isnt very easy to compare the two. EDIT: There seem to be a few of people trying to troll me instead of open a dialogue about the future of transportation in American cities and metropolitan areas, as well as the realities of how we got here. If you resort to begging the question fallacies or respond with a point I have already responded to prior, I will not respond to you.

[@BambooBrad]

THIS… is a bad opinion

[@RayanM50B25]

@@BambooBrad how so? If there are less and less people on cars and more of them walking/using public transport there's just more place for us to have fun

[@maksymfedoriaka2851]

@@longwingdetrain3183 how you use land is a choice at the end of the day. Zoning laws that don't allow building commercial property within a suburb were also a choice. Low population density of the US isn't inherent, that's how it was built. And the country itself being huge isn't really a good excuse for having to drive everywhere within your own city. There's an excellent NotJustBikes video on this exact topic kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHbRmmuFnpaEgLM I don't have a solution for you, unfortunately. To me at least it seems unfixable within our lifetimes, since everything was built like that, and only a very slow change to European standards of city-building would be financially viable, if even that

[@jkliao6486]

@@longwingdetrain3183 When you can't build a high speed railway because every single city along the line wants a station, which essentially destroys the whole concept of high speed railway, you are in some serious problem with building your infrastructure.

[@dbmabe]

Oddly enough, the Polaris Slingshot is what brought me to Doug's channel originally. I had just started watching Legit Street Cars doing a video on a custom Trans Am and saw Doug's review of the Slingshot as a suggested video. I clicked over to it and was hooked. Doug is still my favorite automotive KZbinr.

[@JonathanEzor]

It's the only car I considered buying on Cars and Bids, for a lark, when a local one was still going for $4k. As soon as it jumped up, I was out.

[@vertrox3435]

Doug's theory that "every person probably enjoys cars, they just haven't experienced them in the right way" is 100% spot-on. My anecdotal experience: I recently went on a trip to Arizona for a competition my university was participating in. I decided to rent a Saturn Sky Redline on Turo for the week that I was there (it's a car I'm thinking of buying, so I was trying it out). I spent the week giving rides to my teammates, a couple of whom were not into cars at all at the start of the trip. I'll never forget when one girl told me, "Y'know, I was never into convertibles before this, or cars at all really. But after spending this week blasting through the desert and listening to music in this car, I get it, and I think I might buy one when we get back." Every person _can_ enjoy cars, they just need to be shown that they're more than the box you get in to go to work and the grocery store.

[@kadenk.3760]

I lose faith in society every time I see a normal F150 with a Raptor grille

[@IanHobday]

My car guy unpopular car opinion: No one is impressed by the car you drive. No one looks at your car and thinks, "Damn, that guy's really cool." What actually happens is people who like that car look at your car and think, "Damn, if *I* had that car, people would think *I'm* cool." So buy what you love, mod it how you want, and don't give any Fs about other people's thoughts or opinions!

[@waventures855]

I would normally agree, with one exception. When I was a kid staying at the Chicago Hilton on family vacation, I saw Michael Jordan’s Ferrari with his customized license plate “MJ23” parked underground and I was BLOWN AWAY. I thought, what a cool car, “OMG it’s MJ”. It probably helped that it was owned by him, but coming from Oklahoma, I’d never seen anything like that.

[@bwofficial1776]

This especially goes for the people with weedwacker Hondas and Nissans and Harley-Davidsons you can hear from the next county. No one thinks it's cool but the people who also have cars/bikes that sound like that. If anything, the more expensive the car the less impressed I am. A Mercedes-AMG S63 is nice but does it legally get you from point A to point B any better than a Toyota Prius? I like stealth wealth cars like the Toyota Land Cruiser. Those who know, know it's a high-quality car that's subtle and doesn't flex. Those who don't, it's just a Toyota SUV.

[@andrewbaskett8581]

I love that they would always get the other person to agree with their idea. Bravo. More of you two doing videos. These are great. And the car reviews.

[@SamuelSantos_]

Even if you prefer driving every day instead of taking public transport, you may need it one day. Your car could get stolen, it could get wrecked in an accident, you could get injured and be unable to drive, etc. It's good to have other options if your car is unavailable or you're unable to drive.

[@willdickerson6810]

Part of the problem with markups is that there is some evidence (IE Ford Maverick) of inventory supply purposefully being lowered to allow the markups.

[@pballfin]

Fun nuanced discussions that require thought and understanding???? Never!!!! 😅😅 I loved this and really look forward to these Sunday vids. I wish they were longer and I was there to participate in these fun discussions!

[@michaelfjmusic]

Same!!!

[@danshimandle1938]

I totally agree we are too reliant on cars, and traffic sucks. I love driving not going really slow, stopping and starting in a line.

[@tman1129]

What will happen when the touch screens fail after warranty? Like the steering wheel volume controls on my 04 have? I still have the stereo controls on the head unit 😊

[@shawnxu5082]

I think part of the reason of majority of Americans don’t like public transit is that they haven’t seen how good it can be. The only “good” large scale transit system in US might be NYC.

[@metalbudsgaming8371]

Up badging is the worst because A) the people you *are* fooling don't care or know anything about cars, so they don't care about yours and B) the people you're *trying* to fool will immediately spot a fake. Literally impressing no-one.

[@TML34]

this is the right take. BUT, if you put a Kia badge on your BMW, props. 😅

[@metalbudsgaming8371]

@@TML34 Oh yeah putting like a GT-R badge on a rust bucket chrysler is hilarious.

[@bwofficial1776]

@@TML34 I saw a BMW Accord once. It was a Honda Accord with BMW logos all over it. Either it was a joke or someone was desperate to convince themselves they had a BMW.

[@ashaman8567]

As someone who loves cars, especially big engine, loud, fun cars... I also love walkable beautiful cities where a car is not required.

[@crisvargas2276]

A fine balance between touch screens and buttons is definitely the way to go, however my only argument is I can’t stand smudges on my touch screen 😂 now reckon you can use a large dial by the shifter (I own an A90 btw) and I find the dial has too many steps to do what I want like scrolling one by one from music to maps while on CarPlay so I’ll end up just touching the screen thus leaving smudges.. good thing I detail weekly but yea a smudge-less touchscreen would be nice ☝🏽

[@devononair]

I think what people want from touchscreens is pretty simple. They want a volume knob, a fan speed knob, a temperature knob and a few other buttons for selecting air flow or turning on the heated seats. The screen can then do everything else, such as car settings, navigation and most of the music controls. As long as you keep the most commonly used controls separate, people are happy. You don't want to have to use the screen to quickly adjust the volume when a cop pulls you over or you're at a drive-through. Putting such controls in a touchscreen is a vanity project and doesn't reflect the reality of driving a car.

[@adamfrancissmith5511]

As a 30-something car enthusiast who has never been able to drive due to occasional epilepsy, despite reading car magazines since I was a little kid, THANK YOU for acknowledging that you can be interested in cars while not denying the damage they’ve done and are doing to us. I live in an Italian city where I get around via bicycle and hate the fact that I spend maybe an hour a day pretty much breathing in exhaust fumes, even though most intra-city journeys I make are much quicker on a bike than by car. I just fly past the traffic. I just fold up my bike and take it indoors when I arrive. I still dream about one day owning a little roadster and being able to go around mountain and coast roads for fun at the weekend. But I’d never commute by car. And the city would be a nicer, cleaner, safer, quieter, healthier place for everyone if people weren’t so car-dependant. And increasingly insisting on driving US-style “compact SUVs” on medieval Italian streets, but that’s another thing…

[@jbrenofficial]

No one's saying dealer markups don't make economical sense. They do, and that's how the market works. The piece that's most annoying is the proportion. People buying economy cars are being charged far in excess whatever deal they'd have gotten before the car market changed. Dealers are making more than consumers saved by a LOT and *that* is what's so angering.

[@btw985]

Re: touchscreens. This is why the horizontal 12” ford screen is better than the vertical 15” screen. You have room for regular buttons below. Volume, HVAC, NEXT TRACK!

[@howardtang1833]

As a car enthusiast, I was surprised to discover that I agreed with most of your “bad” opinions. Especially Doug’s take on dealer markups, that is the basic supply and demand in capitalism.

[@jtrex2249]

That you, Alanis for mentioning disability! I have a few disabilities that are slowly getting worse and even my Yaris manual I just got rid of this year was getting hard to drive. I am not hugely wrorried about not being able to drive a Type R but I know a few vets and other folks with disabilities that would love to have access to a car like that. 😊

[@caldera11]

there are many similar automatic cars to the Type R, thats what cars are all about, many options to choose from

[@houseofno]

I have seen hand controls that allow people with foot or leg disabilities to operate a car that might not be able to drive a manual or automatic equipped car, but I can't imagine the hand and arm gymnastics they have to perform to be able to operate both the steering wheel as well as the accelerator and brake pedal with their hands, especially a manual car with a clutch and that third pedal.

[@4Kandlez]

There are companies who specialise in adapting car controls for people with disabilities

[@AkioWasRight]

Who cares about people who can't drive stick? If you can't drive one, too bad, buy another car! Some cars aren't compromising, which is fantastic! I'm 6'4" and can't fit into Miata. Should they make the Miata 25% larger just for the small number of people who are my size???

[@rex-1141]

Keeping the splitter guards on an SRT is the automotive equivalent leaving the ziptie tag on a pair of Off-White sneakers. It was originally a disposable item that's been socially reframed as an attention grabbing signifier, showing that you paid for an exclusive thing and you're willing to sacrifice functionality to make sure people notice.

[@jaiii7788]

Nahh off white clearly made it so that you can keep it on if you want, it’s more like when people keep stock x tags on their shoes.

[@Arkeo36]

We became "too reliant on cars" because nobody who doesn't have absolutely any other option wants to take their life in their hands by riding public transportation OR because they live far outside big cities which can afford to construct public transport anyway and they have to drive far away to get to work because the farming industry of rural America was gutted. All the talk about too much reliance on cars, the push toward exclusively EVs (they are so awesome but also so good for the environment but also it will be illegal to have anything else in x years), the virtues of downsizing, etc. is all part of what used to be called making a virtue of a necessity but I prefer to think of as upselling the appeal of the rapidly approaching era of poverty. It is so easy to talk about the declining standard of living being a good thing rather than asking how and why we got here and doing something about it.

[@Osmosium2507]

In the touchscreen debate, I would like to include the BMW I-Drive, or similar concepts of a physical controller to navigate through menus on a screen. For me, that is a good compromise. But as many concepts BMW tried to introduce in the area of 2005-2010, it takes some time to get used to and some practice before you see the actual benefits.

[@Cohnex]

I don't want a deal, I just want a fixed price based on the options. Direct to consumer for new cars, dealerships for used cars.

[@joechiro]

So right. I used to work from home and drive my Boxster every warm evening in the country. Now i drive a brz on weekends and work 4mins from home. Sanity

[@jeast417]

Public transportation doesn't work in the US bc a huge part of the population doesn't want to live in a tiny box on top of each other

[@StriveDad]

That was the best TED talk I’ve watched in ages 😂

[@MuscleTile]

You two have good chemistry. It was fun to watch this one!

[@oneeff1]

Nope

[@costafilh0]

The best part of dealers markup is that soon all auto makers will sell direct to consumer on their website and we won't have to deal with this BS anymore. And supply and demand fluctuations won't be as bad like paying double for a fvcking car you probably don't need anyways!

[@ryankern2452]

Leaving splitter guards on is exactly like leaving your sticker on a fitted hat. Doesn’t make any sense, but it’s a statement

[@coreybrown8678]

So thankful to hear your position on investing in public transportation. I am glad that people are being presented to the fallacy of personal mobility and car dependency in the US!

[@papai_juju3335]

that only applies to city living rural people need to rely on cars

[@coreybrown8678]

This is a fair point and I am not denying that currently cars are (in most of the US) a necessity. Instead, I am stating that there are many places (outside the US) where a person’s ability to function in society is not wholly dependent on his/her use of cars. If the rest of the world can figure out how to function without requiring the use of cars for every single task, then the US should be able to do the same.

[@axeavier]

@@papai_juju3335 it applies to everyone. The city is still built around the car. As are rural areas. But in places like in Russia despite it being bigger than the US, has an excellent train network. So while rural might still need a car, it shouldnt take away from their need of trains

[@bocahdongo7769]

@@papai_juju3335 It's not relevan in this case. Mere outliner. The problem still that you need car even inside of city is baffling. The point of moving on cities is to get anywhere close enough, not to make rural area but with concrete land

[@papai_juju3335]

@@axeavier i would rather keep my freedom to be as mobile as i want to be with my own car and the ability I have to work on it. why would anybody want to rely on trains ran by the government to be a primary source of mobility, unless you trust the government which is the stupidest thing one could do

[@scunekt]

"I think it's kinda dumb [..], but like, if those people wanna be out there in the world and doing [what they want]-- I see them and I think to myself "that person is living"." "That person is enjoying their life." Thank you for saying this. I wish more people had this mindset, not just in regards to car opinions and whatnot, but in general, honestly. Let people like things, let people enjoy things, let people live how they want to live and do the things they want to do.

[@iamnid]

Agreed. If people want to keep their splitter guards or up badge their car, that's up to them. I'll think they're silly, but it isn't my car 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jaypioh]

i think for me it's the feedback of having an actual button be pressed, mushy or clicky, it doesn't matter. I like it so im sure i pressed something and dont have to look away from the road again to make sure my touch was recognized

[@MozzieSquad]

My issue with touchscreens in cars is that on bad roads it's really hard to press accurately. It's also hard to rest you fingers to stabilise your hand to press the correct spot like you can with a knob or button because it registers a touch where you rest your hand.

[@MrJMS814]

Touchscreens are toys. There's no practical improvement over real controls there. They are simply less effective and far less safe than a real shifter, column mounted stalks, physical climate controls etc. especially in the hands of the general public. Throw all the useless gimmicks and minute adjustments most people will never care about on the screen, sure. But if you want something to function reliably, safely, and quickly, every single day without fail, You will find no better substitute than real physical controls. Professional drivers, pilots, engineers, etc. already know this. Having to pull off the road just to learn how to do one simple thing is NOT progress. Also, using an ergonomic nightmare of a car like the XJ8 is not fair in a comparison of the two technologies. Look at a competent design like the Saab 900 from the same era. All the same features and anyone could learn that by muscle memory in one afternoon.

[@jab23702]

I think the issue with dealer markups is that they've been CRAZY recently. It's not uncommon for a car to be 1.5 times its MSRP (Nissan Z) and then it just makes it harder to get the car out to more people

[@michael2636]

Yeah that's what killed the Focus RS in North America. Dealers were way overcharging and in some cases forbidding test drives to potential customers

[@britaanddan]

No, the issue is that it's not a free market. Dealerships have laws protecting them from the competition of the manufacturer being allowed to sell directly to you. Market adjustments are just Ticketmaster type fees where it's "screw you, because we can".

[@jab23702]

@@britaanddan very much that too

[@christianharris4800]

Honestly, I really liked all of your opinions. Especially that better public transit would still benefit car enthusiasts. It isn't like Japan doesn't have an amazing car enthusiast culture in spite of the fact they have world class public transit. The people who don't care about cars won't have one, the people who are scared of driving won't have one, and the people who can't drive cars well won't have the need or want to have one. It will leave the roads open to people who truly need or want cars and are able to drive them well, and as a result the roads will have less traffic, fewer accidents, and we'll probably have a lot more beautiful, fun, and interesting cars on the road. Think about it we'll have far fewer boring Camry's, Corolla's, and all those ugly boring crossovers and comparatively more Miata's, BMW M5's, 911s, Mustang's, and S500s. Cars will become a more niche product for those who truly need them people who live in rural areas or need a work vehicle, enthusiasts, and the wealthy. Everyone wins, except companies who are best at producing mass market cars (Toyota), but it isn't like they can't shift to making more Supras and more LC500s. Cheers Doug and Alanis looking forward to your next Bad Automotive Opinions episode🥂

[@2W3X4YZ5]

I once sold an RX-7 GSL, and my business partner thought it would be good to upbadge it to a GSL/SE. The Customer sued me, and got refunded the entire sale amount. It’s not something I would even joke with. I’m opposed to touchscreens, because I hate seeing fingerprints when I get in. Thanks for the video.