Is anyone else depressed looking at new vehicles?

Take away all the Federal mandates on cars and a new Ram 1500 would cost about $10,000.
I think there's more to it than that, but the price would, indeed, drop.

What I get a kick out of are the Car Companies trying to make the mandates appear as if they were their own ideas. "Toyota Safety Sense, included for free!" Toyota Safety Sense my ***, they were federally mandated.

About twenty years ago, perhaps longer, GM made the decision to put daytime driving lights on all of their vehicles so that they no longer had to make two models of the same vehicle; one for domestic purposes and the other European. Europe already had requirements of daytime driving lights. They made a decision to save money, but laid it on us that they cared for our safety. BS!

I saw another one this past week that was taking credit for another Government Mandate, but I can't remember what it was.

Car Companies after 1975 making statements of "Disk Brakes Standard" is another one. Really? Gee, thanks!

The other day, before I picked up my Grandson in my Newport, my Daughter asked me if the car had seatbelts? I told her they were mandated for all cars in 1968 and mine is a '70. I told her that even so, I had belts in the '62 as well. She remembered that.
 
The CCP and its 100% government-owned "businesses" and universities are stealers of technology. They are in no way innovators. They copy very, very well. They keep the best for their domestic markets and ship the crap overseas.

Keep in mind, the child slave labor uses to build much of what they export.

Look for an "L" as the first character of the VIN, that indicates the vehicle was built in Red China. And, yes, the Envision and a couple of other Buick models are now built in China.
So you've seen the IML7, Nio? Interesting!

You forgot global manufacturers and shipping controllers
 
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I didn’t think the Chinese make whole cars, just parts.

Great Wall motors, super truck, yup a 4 year old designed this too!
Great-Wall-Motors-Supercar-Pickup-main.jpg
 
SMH!,
I also loved the look of Superbird's and Daytona's at first sight too! Vehicles out of Japan are a favorite of mine as well. Not so with most in the 70s.
The Cybertruck looks like the future, today, as one would have evisioned it back in the 80's. Not in a 130 hp Delorean kinda way either. The way the stainlees is formed without marring, rolling art, with new tech!


Purple is possible, BTW, as heating the metal to 282 degrees yeilds a purple hue.
 
Not seeing the future, only design experimentation. To each his own, I'm not the target audience anyway. FWIW, I'm not a fan of winged things either, but I do love the XNR, go figure, most here think that one is ugly too!
 
Was looking at new dodge diesel’s.
Find the colors VERY BOOOOORING

Was asking salesman if I could get some of the optional challenger colors on 3500s,5500s
Answer was NO
I asked what about code 999 special order paint?
Answer was what???
Manual trans trans no longer available?????
Toyota still offers a manual trans as an option.
 
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Was asking salesman if I could get some of the optional challenger colors on 3500s,5500s
Answer was NO
I asked what about code 999 special order paint?
Answer was what???
...
I believe you can, but it requires a special order of 50+ of the same. It's like any fleet colour, right @Dobalovr ?
 
The low volume paint options are available on the 2024 Ram Heavy Duty trucks but they are not a match to the Challenger or Charger Impact Colours. They are fleet specific colours such as IH RED UPS Brown School Bus Yellow etc. There are a couple of close colours such as Omaha Orange (Hemi Orange) and Bright Green (Sublime) but not exact. There may be a way to get a specialty colour if enopugh were ordered like the old 999 option but I haven't seen that since the RCMP ordered the Blue Diplomats in the 80's
 
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