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Hmm, rent the house, finance the car, and you too can have this lifestyle as a middle manager.

The Escape destroys the Taurus in fuel economy. This is a move to more fuel efficient, albeit taller models. I suspect that making the vehicles more egg shaped, but also smaller is moving in the right direction. People just haven't caught up with the times. The Escape looks more like a hatchback on steroids than a Sports Utility Vehicle. And, people want AWD. In many parts of the country including my own, it's another safety feature.

"Electric cars may seem like a niche product that only wealthy people can afford"

That's because it's exactly what they are

Bullshit. Look at the ebay listings for nissan leafs, 90% of them are under $20K with low mileage, well under. That's not something weirdly unique to ebay either, check any used car site like CarGurus you'll see the same thing.

You might as well have written "I dont know anything about cars". It would have been quicker and faster.

A set of racing spec brake pads and rotors (Project Mu) for my 14 yr old Nissan S15 cost A$1000, that's racing spec (800 degrees C) for sustained track use. A set of povo spec rotors and pads from Supercheap Auto will cost in the vicinity of $300 and this is Australia, one of the most expensive countries in the world.

Also you dont have to replace the rotors with the pads (whoever fed you that line was probably making a mint from you). A set of rotors should last several sets of pads unless you're doing a lot of track days on stock rotors and heating them up until they crack.

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/D...
http://www.bimmerfest.com/foru...

In short: BMW uses thin rotors and the manufacturer recommends strongly against grinding them. It is therefore normal, assuming there was not a defect in the pad, that the rotor would be below spec or warped (and not grindable) when the pad wears out. It's not universal, but pretty normal.

The cheapest I've seen anyone claiming to sell the rotor is about $70ea (not sure that was the 330). The norm seems to be $120ea (looking at 2001 model 330 as that's what I used to own). So there's $480 and I've not gotten the pads yet, nor have I paid a mechanic to install them.

I suppose I have a choice. I can believe the manufacturer, dealer, and mechanic I usually used on my old BMW, as well as the bulk of what's said by owners on the forums... or I can believe you.

Due to regenerative breaking: this is one of many maintenance costs that will be significantly lower on a Tesla S than its competitors; offsetting a potential battery replacement later.

How about the 1989 Mercury Grand Marquis? That style car was around quite a bit longer than 1981.

You didn't have to get a land yacht to get around. Just look how the 1990 civic was. Not suitable for cab use, but could get 50+ mpg and seat five people. In 1993 it started to gain weight to "conform". They screwed the pooch on that one.

This being Slashdot and all, I'm going to give you an example of Apple style innovation using cars as examples. This is the best analogy I can come up with that uses your definition of the word so here goes:

This is tablets before the iPad.

This would be the iPad in this analogy.

You might notice that the person that customized the second example did not actually "innovate" the idea of a 1970s Mercury Cougar. He took what already existed and added his own flourishes. Now how fucking retarded would he look if he went around suing owners of other Mercury Cougars? How stupid would you look defending him?

You simply can't get a small car without any bells and whistles anymore.

"The 2010 Kia Rio Base trim lives up to its name. It provides a seriously spartan experience at a rock-bottom price. While its styling and engine are shared with other, up-market Rios, the Base is conspicuously lacking even the most basic amenities in a quest to offer the best price possible.

The Rio Base is available only as a four-door sedan and rides on small, 14-inch wheels with narrow tires. Power steering isn't even offered as an option, and the only available transmission is a five-speed manual. The driving experience is quite basic, with minimal sound deadening and a noticeable lack of grip from the puny tires.

The interior of the Rio Base continues the bare-bones theme with manual windows, locks, and mirrors and no air conditioning, even as an option. A basic AM/FM CD stereo is at least standard and offers an auxiliary input jack."

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Overview-t37068-2010-Rio-Base.html

You know, as much as I enjoy being able to destroy someones arguments with a simple cut-and-paste, I'd REALLY be much happier if people would just start checking their own assumptions before making these claims.

Unless, of course, you consider a 110hp engine and a basic CD player to be "bells and whistles". In which case, you're right - you can't buy a 1980's style shitbox any more, unless you're buying used. You also can't buy a brand new Commodore 64.