The joke’s on Matt because that shows why the tariffs are necessary to rebalance the economy.
Because Americans need to do more low productivity jobs like making hats!
Just look at Switzerland: big trade surplus, lots of manufacturing, lots of low value textiles in there.
(OK: one of those might not be true.)
The US is a continental economy so the parameters are different to Switzerland. If you have 170 million people with below average IQs and your economy has no place for low productivity jobs like making hats, then you can expect to have a lot of social problems.
Half of Swiss people have IQs below average IQs too. How come they are able to work in high productivity jobs?
Your argument seems to be that because America is big, it cannot have high productivity. Which is absurd. (Or at the very least would suggest that America shouldn't be one country.)
How productive are the people who collect your bins or make your coffees? Even high productivity economies need low productivity jobs.
The point about size is that you can get away with being somewhat parasitic up to a certain scale, but beyond that you can't.
I don't understand. Who is Switzerland being parasitic on?
The rest of the world. Their wealth is not self-sustaining.
How?
In the case of the company I used to work for, a large American corporation, all of its EMEA sites traded via the Swiss legal entity for saleable product. They had no factories just a rather swanky office with some highly paid leeches extracting mafia fees from the divisions.
Any orders for products that went into COGS went out with the Swiss legal entity on the PO header. Effectively they owned all inventory on site rather than the division.
Effectively we made no profit or loss in the U.K. it all went via the Swiss head office. And that included any sales to and from the US. I was told, and as not an accountant not sure of the ins and outs, this was all to minimise tax.
Made the supplier list a pain as effectively if a supplier sold you non COGS stuff you needed a second account.
Swiss principal model. Contract or toll manufacturing at cost-plus, local limited risk distributors on a fixed operating margin, and all residual profit goes to the principal company.
All fine and dandy unless there’s a loss in the supply chain, then it all accumulates in Switzerland (or Ireland, Luxembourg, UK, Netherlands etc) while high tax countries keep paying tax on their routine profits.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
Taste is subjective, but it doesn't even look cool to me, it looks clunky. Unless it was of absurdly high quality and technology, which doesn't seem to be the case, were there ever going to be that many people who a) did think it was cool, and b) could afford it?
Here's the thing: it makes other trucks look tiny!
Unless you are in one of a very small number of American cities based around mega sized vehicles (like Houston), then it's simply too big.
The concept was potentially interesting. The execution risible.
Lifeline for the moribund European auto manufacturers. They were being slowly annihilated by EV and China. Now they can recalibrate as Veblen goods. Impossibly expensive due to tariffs, but oh so posh.
Acyn @Acyn · 55m Carney: Canada must be looking elsewhere to expand our trade, to build our economy, and to protect our sovereignty. Canada is ready to take a leadership role in building a coalition of likeminded countries who share our values… If the US no longer wants to lead, Canada will
Acyn @Acyn · 55m Carney: Canada must be looking elsewhere to expand our trade, to build our economy, and to protect our sovereignty. Canada is ready to take a leadership role in building a coalition of likeminded countries who share our values… If the US no longer wants to lead, Canada will
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
The rear window opened onto a giant pacel shelf, the lock didn't work, but no one ever tried to break in and nick it, neither in South London nor Walsall. I wonder why.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
The rear window opened onto a giant pacel shelf, the lock didn't work, but no one ever tried to break in and nick it, neither in South London nor Walsall. I wonder why.
That’s true, I could never get the rear window to open either.
He's richer than he's ever been and effectively immune for any crime committed before or after his presidency, and every day his allies praise him and his enemies cannot stop thinking about him - of course he thinks it's going well, he's already basically in heaven.
The header has a funny error, but from what I can see in other councils Reform have done an impressive job in getting candidates in - considering how little effort they seemed to have made last year even, they appear to be genuinely trying this time.
The question is how many of those standing are actually prepared for the hard slog of doing the actual job?
A fair question, but to also be fair many parties have paper candidates, and many of the ones who are not paper candidates find it is not really the role they thought it was - I don't have stats on it, but you do get plenty of one termers.
For sure. All the parties persuade people to stand, on the basis of a firm promise that they won’t get elected. And they all have a generation of data and electoral experience to back up those promises, which usually come good - once in a blue moon, a paper candidate gets elected by accident, and either grows into the role and starts to enjoy it, or goes AWOL for much of their term and is carried by the others, or resigns and there’s a by-election.
Reform’s problem is that they have so little electoral history and such significant unpredictability of prospects that they can’t honestly promise very many of their thousands of candidates that they might not actually find themselves having to really do the job.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
The joke’s on Matt because that shows why the tariffs are necessary to rebalance the economy.
Because Americans need to do more low productivity jobs like making hats!
Just look at Switzerland: big trade surplus, lots of manufacturing, lots of low value textiles in there.
(OK: one of those might not be true.)
The US is a continental economy so the parameters are different to Switzerland. If you have 170 million people with below average IQs and your economy has no place for low productivity jobs like making hats, then you can expect to have a lot of social problems.
Half of Swiss people have IQs below average IQs too. How come they are able to work in high productivity jobs?
Your argument seems to be that because America is big, it cannot have high productivity. Which is absurd. (Or at the very least would suggest that America shouldn't be one country.)
Typically, slightly more than half of a population have an IQ above the mean because the IQ distribution is somewhat asymmetric, with more people of very low IQ than of very high IQ.
Of course, half of the population are above (or below) the median IQ.
The problem, as regular PB’ers understand all too well, is that even some demonstrably dim folks believe they are somehow way above the average.
The joke’s on Matt because that shows why the tariffs are necessary to rebalance the economy.
Because Americans need to do more low productivity jobs like making hats!
Just look at Switzerland: big trade surplus, lots of manufacturing, lots of low value textiles in there.
(OK: one of those might not be true.)
The US is a continental economy so the parameters are different to Switzerland. If you have 170 million people with below average IQs and your economy has no place for low productivity jobs like making hats, then you can expect to have a lot of social problems.
Half of Swiss people have IQs below average IQs too. How come they are able to work in high productivity jobs?
Your argument seems to be that because America is big, it cannot have high productivity. Which is absurd. (Or at the very least would suggest that America shouldn't be one country.)
Typically, slightly more than half of a population have an IQ above the mean because the IQ distribution is somewhat asymmetric, with more people of very low IQ than of very high IQ.
Of course, half of the population are above (or below) the median IQ.
The problem, as regular PB’ers understand all too well, is that even some demonstrably dim folks believe they are somehow way above the average.
They're called MPs.
(I don't actually believe that, many are quite bright, even if politics and caution means they don't get to demonstrate it).
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
My first car was a Simca. It was quite OK until I crashed it into tree.
After that I had a Citroën Dyane, which was definitely a step down. Like a 2CV without the cachet.
The joke’s on Matt because that shows why the tariffs are necessary to rebalance the economy.
Because Americans need to do more low productivity jobs like making hats!
Just look at Switzerland: big trade surplus, lots of manufacturing, lots of low value textiles in there.
(OK: one of those might not be true.)
The US is a continental economy so the parameters are different to Switzerland. If you have 170 million people with below average IQs and your economy has no place for low productivity jobs like making hats, then you can expect to have a lot of social problems.
Half of Swiss people have IQs below average IQs too. How come they are able to work in high productivity jobs?
Your argument seems to be that because America is big, it cannot have high productivity. Which is absurd. (Or at the very least would suggest that America shouldn't be one country.)
Typically, slightly more than half of a population have an IQ above the mean because the IQ distribution is somewhat asymmetric, with more people of very low IQ than of very high IQ.
Of course, half of the population are above (or below) the median IQ.
The problem, as regular PB’ers understand all too well, is that even some demonstrably dim folks believe they are somehow way above the average.
That's democracy though. Any dim persons vote counts the same as Musk's.
Almost 90% of flights from Luton are taken for leisure - in other words British tourists taking their money out of the country to spend abroad. Expanding Luton is not good for UK growth & certainly not good for nature & the environment. Why doesn’t Labour understand that? https://nitter.poast.org/CarolineLucas/status/1907815643023372579#m
How are Americans going to be able to afford to buy both the more expensive foreign imports that pay the tariffs and the even more expensive homemade versions that pay the wages that have no taxes because of the tariffs?
🚨 Dow ends day after “liberation day” nearly 5% down. Nasdaq 6% down. s&P 500 5 % down….As investors question just how much US blue chips are worth now that the President has ended many of their existing supply chain models…
And this probably includes some notion of row back
🚨 Dow ends day after “liberation day” nearly 5% down. Nasdaq 6% down. s&P 500 5 % down….As investors question just how much US blue chips are worth now that the President has ended many of their existing supply chain models…
And this probably includes some notion of row back
I assume most business leaders wanted Trump to win (or was that just the crypto and tech bros?), it's a shame they cannot get a comeuppance without it hitting everyone else.
Almost 90% of flights from Luton are taken for leisure - in other words British tourists taking their money out of the country to spend abroad. Expanding Luton is not good for UK growth & certainly not good for nature & the environment. Why doesn’t Labour understand that? https://nitter.poast.org/CarolineLucas/status/1907815643023372579#m
I once encountered a Green who had confronted what the various demands of the movement meant. Rationally.
She believed that everyone should live in vast tower blocks. Flats allocated and owned by the government. Work would either be at home or allocated by the government in next door workshops-factories. Travel of any kind would be strictly rationed.
All it needed was a War on Sugar and policemen on motorbikes with really big tires.
Almost 90% of flights from Luton are taken for leisure - in other words British tourists taking their money out of the country to spend abroad. Expanding Luton is not good for UK growth & certainly not good for nature & the environment. Why doesn’t Labour understand that? https://nitter.poast.org/CarolineLucas/status/1907815643023372579#m
I once encountered a Green who had confronted what the various demands of the movement meant. Rationally.
She believed that everyone should live in vast tower blocks. Flats allocated and owned by the government. Work would either be at home or allocated by the government in next door workshops-factories. Travel of any kind would be strictly rationed.
All it needed was a War on Sugar and policemen on motorbikes with really big tires.
So so many greens are actually just reds at heart. The watermelon meme is powerful and often true.
🚨 Dow ends day after “liberation day” nearly 5% down. Nasdaq 6% down. s&P 500 5 % down….As investors question just how much US blue chips are worth now that the President has ended many of their existing supply chain models…
And this probably includes some notion of row back
I assume most business leaders wanted Trump to win (or was that just the crypto and tech bros?), it's a shame they cannot get a comeuppance without it hitting everyone else.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
My first car was a Simca. It was quite OK until I crashed it into tree.
After that I had a Citroën Dyane, which was definitely a step down. Like a 2CV without the cachet.
OGH had a Simca! It had plastic seats that got very hot in the summer, and it broke down all the time.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
Petrol pump attendant was my Saturday/holidays job when I was a teenager. They were an absolute b*gg*r to fill..
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Very true, it’s not about the car.
Everyone remembers their first.
My old 1972 Sunbeam Rapier fastback, in Sundance Yellow (pic scraped from the internet as I can’t be arsed go look for my old photo prints). Once wrote off a mini without so much as a scratch on its bumper. If it didn’t start at the second attempt, you had a flat battery. Went to the west coast of Ireland, the top of Scotland, and the beaches of the Mediterranean in it, but it had a dodgy gasket such that in hot weather you daren’t go uphill at more than 30mph. Took me all round Europe then the gasket finally gave way on the M1 near Luton. I loved that car, but once they gave me a company one it sat sadly unused, until I gave it away for restoration.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
My first car was a Simca. It was quite OK until I crashed it into tree.
After that I had a Citroën Dyane, which was definitely a step down. Like a 2CV without the cachet.
OGH had a Simca! It had plastic seats that got very hot in the summer, and it broke down all the time.
One of their models was very similar to the Hillman Imp externally. Was that the one he had ?
Almost 90% of flights from Luton are taken for leisure - in other words British tourists taking their money out of the country to spend abroad. Expanding Luton is not good for UK growth & certainly not good for nature & the environment. Why doesn’t Labour understand that? https://nitter.poast.org/CarolineLucas/status/1907815643023372579#m
Isolationism is one strand of socialism, and one strand of environmentalism. Not the dominant strand of either, I don't think. But something to pick from the menu.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
My first car was a Simca. It was quite OK until I crashed it into tree.
After that I had a Citroën Dyane, which was definitely a step down. Like a 2CV without the cachet.
OGH had a Simca! It had plastic seats that got very hot in the summer, and it broke down all the time.
There were some really rubbish cars back then. My mother had a Vauxhall Viva which lasted only a couple of years, it rusted so quickly .
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
Petrol pump attendant was my Saturday/holidays job when I was a teenager. They were an absolute b*gg*r to fill..
Yep, I did that job too. The tank is under the bonnet. Basically 5 gallons of 4 star in the drivers lap. It was a masterpiece of design.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Very true, it’s not about the car.
Everyone remembers their first.
My old 1972 Sunbeam Rapier fastback, in Sundance Yellow (pic scraped from the internet as I can’t be arsed go look for my old photo prints). Once wrote off a mini without so much as a scratch on its bumper. If it didn’t start at the second attempt, you had a flat battery. Went to the west coast of Ireland, the top of Scotland, and the beaches of the Mediterranean in it, but it had a dodgy gasket such that in hot weather you daren’t go uphill at more than 30mph. Took me all round Europe then the gasket finally gave way on the M1 near Luton. I loved that car, but once they gave me a company one it sat sadly unused, until I gave it away for restoration.
Love those rear lights. Used to be made at Butlers IIRC. My first full time role was in vehicle lighting and I have a great deal of affection for the old style rear lamp clusters.
There were some really rubbish cars back then. My mother had a Vauxhall Viva which lasted only a couple of years, it rusted so quickly .
My Mum bought a Vauxhall Viva from the next door neighbours. It didn't last long, but was the start of a lifelong brand loyalty. Chevette, multiple Astras, Corsa, Adam
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
My first car was a Simca. It was quite OK until I crashed it into tree.
After that I had a Citroën Dyane, which was definitely a step down. Like a 2CV without the cachet.
OGH had a Simca! It had plastic seats that got very hot in the summer, and it broke down all the time.
Yes, I remember those plastic seats. Mine was pretty reliable though, until that tree jumped out in front of me.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
My first car was a Simca. It was quite OK until I crashed it into tree.
After that I had a Citroën Dyane, which was definitely a step down. Like a 2CV without the cachet.
My first car was a Daf Variomatic - the original rubber band car! I needed to learn on an automatic and in the early 80s there were not many available within my £200 budget.
It looked just like this one, but with less paint:
Love those rear lights. Used to be made at Butlers IIRC. My first full time role was in vehicle lighting and I have a great deal of affection for the old style rear lamp clusters.
A little sad.
The very first component around which the Land Rover Discovery was designed were the rear lamp clusters from a sherpa van as I understand it
EDIT: It also had the door handles off a Morris Marina
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Very true, it’s not about the car.
Everyone remembers their first.
My old 1972 Sunbeam Rapier fastback, in Sundance Yellow (pic scraped from the internet as I can’t be arsed go look for my old photo prints). Once wrote off a mini without so much as a scratch on its bumper. If it didn’t start at the second attempt, you had a flat battery. Went to the west coast of Ireland, the top of Scotland, and the beaches of the Mediterranean in it, but it had a dodgy gasket such that in hot weather you daren’t go uphill at more than 30mph. Took me all round Europe then the gasket finally gave way on the M1 near Luton. I loved that car, but once they gave me a company one it sat sadly unused, until I gave it away for restoration.
Love those rear lights. Used to be made at Butlers IIRC. My first full time role was in vehicle lighting and I have a great deal of affection for the old style rear lamp clusters.
A little sad.
My first car was a Ford Popular £14. I drove it until the rear axle went. Bought another for £12. It burned oil. I carried a gallon can of reconditioned oil in the boot that I used to top it up with. I think it used as much oil as petrol. When I started up at traffic lights, you couldn't see out of the rear window because of the cloud of purple black smoke.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Very true, it’s not about the car.
Everyone remembers their first.
My old 1972 Sunbeam Rapier fastback, in Sundance Yellow (pic scraped from the internet as I can’t be arsed go look for my old photo prints). Once wrote off a mini without so much as a scratch on its bumper. If it didn’t start at the second attempt, you had a flat battery. Went to the west coast of Ireland, the top of Scotland, and the beaches of the Mediterranean in it, but it had a dodgy gasket such that in hot weather you daren’t go uphill at more than 30mph. Took me all round Europe then the gasket finally gave way on the M1 near Luton. I loved that car, but once they gave me a company one it sat sadly unused, until I gave it away for restoration.
Love those rear lights. Used to be made at Butlers IIRC. My first full time role was in vehicle lighting and I have a great deal of affection for the old style rear lamp clusters.
A little sad.
My first car was a Ford Popular £14. I drove it until the rear axle went. Bought another for £12.
More successful than the surprisingly-overlooked Ford Unpopular
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
Petrol pump attendant was my Saturday/holidays job when I was a teenager. They were an absolute b*gg*r to fill..
Yep, I did that job too. The tank is under the bonnet. Basically 5 gallons of 4 star in the drivers lap. It was a masterpiece of design.
My Dad had a Ford Zephyr when I was a wee kid.
I can remember sitting in the drivers seat when it was on the drive and pretending to drive.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Very true, it’s not about the car.
Everyone remembers their first.
My old 1972 Sunbeam Rapier fastback, in Sundance Yellow (pic scraped from the internet as I can’t be arsed go look for my old photo prints). Once wrote off a mini without so much as a scratch on its bumper. If it didn’t start at the second attempt, you had a flat battery. Went to the west coast of Ireland, the top of Scotland, and the beaches of the Mediterranean in it, but it had a dodgy gasket such that in hot weather you daren’t go uphill at more than 30mph. Took me all round Europe then the gasket finally gave way on the M1 near Luton. I loved that car, but once they gave me a company one it sat sadly unused, until I gave it away for restoration.
Love those rear lights. Used to be made at Butlers IIRC. My first full time role was in vehicle lighting and I have a great deal of affection for the old style rear lamp clusters.
A little sad.
The whole story of that car was sad. Made by Rootes nor far from Coventry, subsequently taken over by Crysler. They wanted to design a sporty, rallying car, but cost pressures meant that had to economise by building it on the floorplan of the Hillman estate, sharing a lot of common parts, hence from the side it looked like an eye-turning sports car but from the rear like the back end of a tank. Once the Ford Capri came out, backed by Ford’s massive marketing and rallying budget, its days were numbered. When Chrysler itself eventually went under, most of the spare body parts were scrapped, so getting replacement body panels was exceptionally difficult, which was a serious handicap to a car seriously vulnerable to rust. Having to replace the sills - which held the car together - for the second time was the straw that finally persuaded me it had to go. It was the only car I had where you could watch the road whizzing by through the hole in the floor behind the pedals.
PB Brains Trust: Does anyone know if the cost of buying back years of NI contributions is going up after 5th April?
My HMRC app says I have an option to buy back three years to get the maximum State Pension and that I will continue to have that option until 2028... but it doesn't specify whether the price will remain the same.
It's still partly just vibes, but the mood music in this area at least is more positive. I am worried the counter-reformation will hit back soon though.
PB Brains Trust: Does anyone know if the cost of buying back years of NI contributions is going up after 5th April?
My HMRC app says I have an option to buy back three years to get the maximum State Pension and that I will continue to have that option until 2028... but it doesn't specify whether the price will remain the same.
I just bought a year for £820 odd, and to buy the year after (which I don’t need, now being at max) cost over £900. So the cost certainly varies depending on which year you are paying for. Whether the cost of a given year increases through time, I don’t know, although it would be logical that it should.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Very true, it’s not about the car.
Everyone remembers their first.
My old 1972 Sunbeam Rapier fastback, in Sundance Yellow (pic scraped from the internet as I can’t be arsed go look for my old photo prints). Once wrote off a mini without so much as a scratch on its bumper. If it didn’t start at the second attempt, you had a flat battery. Went to the west coast of Ireland, the top of Scotland, and the beaches of the Mediterranean in it, but it had a dodgy gasket such that in hot weather you daren’t go uphill at more than 30mph. Took me all round Europe then the gasket finally gave way on the M1 near Luton. I loved that car, but once they gave me a company one it sat sadly unused, until I gave it away for restoration.
Love those rear lights. Used to be made at Butlers IIRC. My first full time role was in vehicle lighting and I have a great deal of affection for the old style rear lamp clusters.
A little sad.
My first car was a Ford Popular £14. I drove it until the rear axle went. Bought another for £12.
More successful than the surprisingly-overlooked Ford Unpopular
'Popular' remained a brand-modifier until the 1990s. My mother had a Ford Fiesta Popular. I think 'Popular' denoted the base model.
I heard that he wanted to speak to me a couple of months back, when I'd been looking up the history and family tree of Bert the jockey who done for doping, and gardened and walked our dogs
He told me that he'd interviewed Bert's (much older) widow Alice a few times before she died. She did cleaning and ironing for my Mum for more than ten years. When I'd looked her up on Ancestry she was born in Ogbourne, died there, and only ever registered as living there
The historian told me that he'd interviewed her because she was the oldest person in the village. It turned out that her story was more interesting than just Ogbourne all her life
She moved to London and stayed with an aunt in her early twenties where she trained as a milliner. She then worked in the trade in Malmesbury before moving back to Ogbourne
Along with the interviews he did, he apparently got a load of documents and photos from her. He put it all together and took it to the funeral. He approached her family (who he didn't know at all) and they showed no interest
So now the postie's going to get a copy of it all. The historian seems pretty happy that his work isn't going to waste, and my Mum can't wait to see it all
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Very true, it’s not about the car.
Everyone remembers their first.
My old 1972 Sunbeam Rapier fastback, in Sundance Yellow (pic scraped from the internet as I can’t be arsed go look for my old photo prints). Once wrote off a mini without so much as a scratch on its bumper. If it didn’t start at the second attempt, you had a flat battery. Went to the west coast of Ireland, the top of Scotland, and the beaches of the Mediterranean in it, but it had a dodgy gasket such that in hot weather you daren’t go uphill at more than 30mph. Took me all round Europe then the gasket finally gave way on the M1 near Luton. I loved that car, but once they gave me a company one it sat sadly unused, until I gave it away for restoration.
Love those rear lights. Used to be made at Butlers IIRC. My first full time role was in vehicle lighting and I have a great deal of affection for the old style rear lamp clusters.
A little sad.
My first car was a Ford Popular £14. I drove it until the rear axle went. Bought another for £12.
More successful than the surprisingly-overlooked Ford Unpopular
'Popular' remained a brand-modifier until the 1990s. My mother had a Ford Fiesta Popular. I think 'Popular' denoted the base model.
RCS has suggested the best response to the tariffs is to do nothing, and I understand where he is coming from. The USA is no longer an ally, and when your opponents are digging themselves into a hole, best to do nothing and let them keep digging.
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Very true, it’s not about the car.
Everyone remembers their first.
My old 1972 Sunbeam Rapier fastback, in Sundance Yellow (pic scraped from the internet as I can’t be arsed go look for my old photo prints). Once wrote off a mini without so much as a scratch on its bumper. If it didn’t start at the second attempt, you had a flat battery. Went to the west coast of Ireland, the top of Scotland, and the beaches of the Mediterranean in it, but it had a dodgy gasket such that in hot weather you daren’t go uphill at more than 30mph. Took me all round Europe then the gasket finally gave way on the M1 near Luton. I loved that car, but once they gave me a company one it sat sadly unused, until I gave it away for restoration.
Love those rear lights. Used to be made at Butlers IIRC. My first full time role was in vehicle lighting and I have a great deal of affection for the old style rear lamp clusters.
A little sad.
The whole story of that car was sad. Made by Rootes nor far from Coventry, subsequently taken over by Crysler. They wanted to design a sporty, rallying car, but cost pressures meant that had to economise by building it on the floorplan of the Hillman estate, sharing a lot of common parts, hence from the side it looked like an eye-turning sports car but from the rear like the back end of a tank. Once the Ford Capri came out, backed by Ford’s massive marketing and rallying budget, its days were numbered. When Chrysler itself eventually went under, most of the spare body parts were scrapped, so getting replacement body panels was exceptionally difficult, which was a serious handicap to a car seriously vulnerable to rust. Having to replace the sills - which held the car together - for the second time was the straw that finally persuaded me it had to go. It was the only car I had where you could watch the road whizzing by through the hole in the floor behind the pedals.
That was the problem with the Imp too. Apart from being nowhere near as good as its rivals the Mini and Austin 1100, it was made in a completely new factory in Scotland by people who had never made cars. Then they put a water cooled engine at the back, almost designed to overheat, and built it with an aluminium cylinder head that warped if it did.
It wasn't just the unions that destroyed our car industry. Everyone was in on the job.
PB Brains Trust: Does anyone know if the cost of buying back years of NI contributions is going up after 5th April?
My HMRC app says I have an option to buy back three years to get the maximum State Pension and that I will continue to have that option until 2028... but it doesn't specify whether the price will remain the same.
Donald Trump's tariffs are set to drive up bar bills and wipe out spirits jobs, analysts said. US drinkers will pay more for cocktails, champagne and foreign beers and brands will disappear from bar menus
President Trump, with Commerce Secretary Lutnick standing behind him, tells reporters on Air Force One that tariffs “give great power to negotiate.” He says he could be willing to deal if a country offers something “phenomenal.”
On when manufacturing could ramp up in the U.S., Trump predicts “a year and a half to two years.”
Donald Trump's tariffs are set to drive up bar bills and wipe out spirits jobs, analysts said. US drinkers will pay more for cocktails, champagne and foreign beers and brands will disappear from bar menus
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
My first car was a Simca. It was quite OK until I crashed it into tree.
After that I had a Citroën Dyane, which was definitely a step down. Like a 2CV without the cachet.
My first car was a Daf Variomatic - the original rubber band car! I needed to learn on an automatic and in the early 80s there were not many available within my £200 budget.
It looked just like this one, but with less paint:
My brother in law has a collection of elastobandomatic Volvos based on the same Daf gearbox. Some operative, some not so much.
I have never tested exactly how fast they go in reverse...
Elon Musk’s Cyber Truck is poised to become the biggest flop in automotive history. With sales coming in at 16% of expectations, it will become a bigger flop than the Pinto and Edsel as a $200M inventory sits dormant.
I remember the launch of the Rover 75. Full steam ahead 3,000 cars a week, for the first two or three months. Then nothing and stories in the papers of fields full of cars no one wants (because they were shit)
Point of order. The Rover 75 wasn’t shit, so much as meaaaaah. You bought one, you got a sensible sized saloon car that was reasonably well built at a not ridiculous price. It just wasn't better than spending the same money on other brands.
Ha. What would I know.
I love the Hillman Imp, Austin Allegro and SD1.
I had a Hillman Imp for 18 months. Bought it as an MOT failure, trusting that nothing terminal was going on, got it through and had 10 000 happy miles in it. Weird tyre pressures to balance the rear engine, and hot water pipes in the inner sills connecting the rear engine and front radiator.
My first car was one. When it rained the drivers footwell filled with water and it reeked to high heaven when drying out.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
It’s not really about the car though, is it ? I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
Very true, it’s not about the car.
Everyone remembers their first.
My old 1972 Sunbeam Rapier fastback, in Sundance Yellow (pic scraped from the internet as I can’t be arsed go look for my old photo prints). Once wrote off a mini without so much as a scratch on its bumper. If it didn’t start at the second attempt, you had a flat battery. Went to the west coast of Ireland, the top of Scotland, and the beaches of the Mediterranean in it, but it had a dodgy gasket such that in hot weather you daren’t go uphill at more than 30mph. Took me all round Europe then the gasket finally gave way on the M1 near Luton. I loved that car, but once they gave me a company one it sat sadly unused, until I gave it away for restoration.
Love those rear lights. Used to be made at Butlers IIRC. My first full time role was in vehicle lighting and I have a great deal of affection for the old style rear lamp clusters.
A little sad.
The whole story of that car was sad. Made by Rootes nor far from Coventry, subsequently taken over by Crysler. They wanted to design a sporty, rallying car, but cost pressures meant that had to economise by building it on the floorplan of the Hillman estate, sharing a lot of common parts, hence from the side it looked like an eye-turning sports car but from the rear like the back end of a tank. Once the Ford Capri came out, backed by Ford’s massive marketing and rallying budget, its days were numbered. When Chrysler itself eventually went under, most of the spare body parts were scrapped, so getting replacement body panels was exceptionally difficult, which was a serious handicap to a car seriously vulnerable to rust. Having to replace the sills - which held the car together - for the second time was the straw that finally persuaded me it had to go. It was the only car I had where you could watch the road whizzing by through the hole in the floor behind the pedals.
That plant was still making Peugeots until the early 2000’s
Rooted also had a plant in Glasgow IIRC.
It sounds like one of those cars, like the Austin 1100 my Dad had in the seventies, you had to apply underseal every year to try to prevent rot.
President Trump, with Commerce Secretary Lutnick standing behind him, tells reporters on Air Force One that tariffs “give great power to negotiate.” He says he could be willing to deal if a country offers something “phenomenal.”
On when manufacturing could ramp up in the U.S., Trump predicts “a year and a half to two years.”
Donald Trump's tariffs are set to drive up bar bills and wipe out spirits jobs, analysts said. US drinkers will pay more for cocktails, champagne and foreign beers and brands will disappear from bar menus
The heavens are still raining violent tornados down on some of the red states, but they just won’t get the message….
They will notice the beer problem, but I don't think all this talk of stock market crashes will bother them at all.
Most just-getting-by types in the US don't have big share portfolios. They might notice the eventual fallout but I suspect the initial reaction will be a shrug.
The joke’s on Matt because that shows why the tariffs are necessary to rebalance the economy.
Because Americans need to do more low productivity jobs like making hats!
Just look at Switzerland: big trade surplus, lots of manufacturing, lots of low value textiles in there.
(OK: one of those might not be true.)
The US is a continental economy so the parameters are different to Switzerland. If you have 170 million people with below average IQs and your economy has no place for low productivity jobs like making hats, then you can expect to have a lot of social problems.
Half of Swiss people have IQs below average IQs too. How come they are able to work in high productivity jobs?
Your argument seems to be that because America is big, it cannot have high productivity. Which is absurd. (Or at the very least would suggest that America shouldn't be one country.)
How productive are the people who collect your bins or make your coffees? Even high productivity economies need low productivity jobs.
The point about size is that you can get away with being somewhat parasitic up to a certain scale, but beyond that you can't.
I don't understand. Who is Switzerland being parasitic on?
The rest of the world. Their wealth is not self-sustaining.
How?
At the most basic level Switzerland is not self-sufficient in food. Even if you think that's just a healthy sign of specialisation, it means that someone somewhere has to be running a more agricultural economy.
Ummmm, I think you’ll find that their extensive fields of chocolate are sufficient to feed the nation.
Donald Trump's tariffs are set to drive up bar bills and wipe out spirits jobs, analysts said. US drinkers will pay more for cocktails, champagne and foreign beers and brands will disappear from bar menus
The heavens are still raining violent tornados down on some of the red states, but they just won’t get the message….
They will notice the beer problem, but I don't think all this talk of stock market crashes will bother them at all.
Most just-getting-by types in the US don't have big share portfolios. They might notice the eventual fallout but I suspect the initial reaction will be a shrug.
I read earlier that something like 60% of Americans have direct exposure to the stock market, compared to 23% in the UK
Donald Trump's tariffs are set to drive up bar bills and wipe out spirits jobs, analysts said. US drinkers will pay more for cocktails, champagne and foreign beers and brands will disappear from bar menus
The heavens are still raining violent tornados down on some of the red states, but they just won’t get the message….
They will notice the beer problem, but I don't think all this talk of stock market crashes will bother them at all.
Most just-getting-by types in the US don't have big share portfolios. They might notice the eventual fallout but I suspect the initial reaction will be a shrug.
I read earlier that something like 60% of Americans have direct exposure to the stock market, compared to 23% in the UK
I assume that is mostly pensions
Are you sure direct doesn't mean individual stocks rather than investment vehicles like funds or pensions? 23% sounds about right for the UK if that's the case...
President Trump, with Commerce Secretary Lutnick standing behind him, tells reporters on Air Force One that tariffs “give great power to negotiate.” He says he could be willing to deal if a country offers something “phenomenal.”
On when manufacturing could ramp up in the U.S., Trump predicts “a year and a half to two years.”
Donald Trump's tariffs are set to drive up bar bills and wipe out spirits jobs, analysts said. US drinkers will pay more for cocktails, champagne and foreign beers and brands will disappear from bar menus
The heavens are still raining violent tornados down on some of the red states, but they just won’t get the message….
They will notice the beer problem, but I don't think all this talk of stock market crashes will bother them at all.
Most just-getting-by types in the US don't have big share portfolios. They might notice the eventual fallout but I suspect the initial reaction will be a shrug.
I read earlier that something like 60% of Americans have direct exposure to the stock market, compared to 23% in the UK
I think this is where many of the arguments made against Brexit went wrong too. People in the red states red wall just didn't care about most of it as they didn't have much of a stake in the first place.
"European Union regulators are preparing major penalties against Elon Musk’s social media platform X for breaking a landmark law to combat illicit content and disinformation..."
I watched this clip of David Miliband on This Week the other day, and was struck by how similar his speech & mannerisms were to Tony Blair’s; it’s like he was doing an impression
Comments
All fine and dandy unless there’s a loss in the supply chain, then it all accumulates in Switzerland (or Ireland, Luxembourg, UK, Netherlands etc) while high tax countries keep paying tax on their routine profits.
I loved that car. Had some great adventures and trips in it.
https://bsky.app/profile/joncooper-us.bsky.social/post/3llwo27zp422b
This isn’t about reciprocal tariffs . A country could have no tariffs at all against the USA and still get hammered .
@justinbaragona.bsky.social
Kellyanne Conway cites Stellantis as a "positive reaction today for all the negative Debbie Downers" over Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.
Stellantis announced today that it is laying off 900 US workers because of the tariffs!
https://bsky.app/profile/justinbaragona.bsky.social/post/3llwmcx3ojk2g
"Before taking office, Mr. Trump told top aides to think of each presidential day as an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals."
Stelter wrote: “I think about this quote a lot.” "
Yesterday, Donny tried to vanquish the markets
Today he got blooded...
I have similar feelings about (heaven help me) a Morris Marina… estate.
https://x.com/bigdirtyfry/status/1907582110988181972?s=61
Reform’s problem is that they have so little electoral history and such significant unpredictability of prospects that they can’t honestly promise very many of their thousands of candidates that they might not actually find themselves having to really do the job.
Let’s see what Jerome Powell says tomorrow and what the earnings season brings.
@michaelehayden.bsky.social
I was waiting for this — the new line will be that Wall Street is too woke. That’s why the red lines go down. Not Dear Leader Trump.
https://bsky.app/profile/coachfinstock.bsky.social/post/3llwq32urok2u
https://bsky.app/profile/drahminedum.bsky.social/post/3llvzwez6t223
Everyone remembers their first.
Lutnick: "The European Union…hate our beef because our beef is beautiful and theirs is weak."
https://x.com/trump_repost/status/1907875431526838529
(I don't actually believe that, many are quite bright, even if politics and caution means they don't get to demonstrate it).
Garry Kasparov: Why I’m Launching The Next Move
The enemies of freedom have a plan. It’s time we made one too.
https://thenextmove.substack.com/p/garry-kasparov-launching-the-next-move
After that I had a Citroën Dyane, which was definitely a step down. Like a 2CV without the cachet.
I’m not sure the space time continuum can handle this kind of load - a breach will form and Chaos will flood through.
No, wait, that was last week, wasn’t it?
Almost 90% of flights from Luton are taken for leisure - in other words British tourists taking their money out of the country to spend abroad. Expanding Luton is not good for UK growth & certainly not good for nature & the environment. Why doesn’t Labour understand that?
https://nitter.poast.org/CarolineLucas/status/1907815643023372579#m
https://x.com/theliamnissan/status/1907758531362672835
Normally, when things go boom, they are destroyed and leave a pile of wreckage behind.
Who's a clever President then.....
Instead he will be promoted to distract from some other epic fuckup, while the tariffs are reversed in secret
The floor will be what they were on 1st April.
I think that I got away with minimal punctuation
🚨 Dow ends day after “liberation day” nearly 5% down. Nasdaq 6% down. s&P 500 5 % down….As investors question just how much US blue chips are worth now that the President has ended many of their existing supply chain models…
And this probably includes some notion of row back
https://x.com/faisalislam/status/1907892873481056701
Donald Trump set the global economy on fire and then left for Florida to play golf. Seriously.
https://x.com/donwinslow/status/1907887594509336654
She believed that everyone should live in vast tower blocks. Flats allocated and owned by the government. Work would either be at home or allocated by the government in next door workshops-factories. Travel of any kind would be strictly rationed.
All it needed was a War on Sugar and policemen on motorbikes with really big tires.
They were an absolute b*gg*r to fill..
Much more efficient to Judge them at the scene of the crime...
Judge Dredd: Drug bust.
Chief Judge: Look like you've been through it.
Judge Dredd: Perps were uncooperative.
Edit - in that world, the entire law has been streamlined into a small book you can carry in a pocket. So there’s that…
My mother had a Vauxhall Viva which lasted only a couple of years, it rusted so quickly .
A little sad.
Mind you, nearly everyone misunderstood the end.
It looked just like this one, but with less paint:
EDIT: It also had the door handles off a Morris Marina
It burned oil. I carried a gallon can of reconditioned oil in the boot that I used to top it up with. I think it used as much oil as petrol. When I started up at traffic lights, you couldn't see out of the rear window because of the cloud of purple black smoke.
I can remember sitting in the drivers seat when it was on the drive and pretending to drive.
Looked absolutely massive to a four year old.
My HMRC app says I have an option to buy back three years to get the maximum State Pension and that I will continue to have that option until 2028... but it doesn't specify whether the price will remain the same.
Jack Surfleet
@jacksurfleet
·
33m
Friday's FINANCIAL TIMES UK EDITION: World reels from Trump trade shock
I heard that he wanted to speak to me a couple of months back, when I'd been looking up the history and family tree of Bert the jockey who done for doping, and gardened and walked our dogs
He told me that he'd interviewed Bert's (much older) widow Alice a few times before she died. She did cleaning and ironing for my Mum for more than ten years. When I'd looked her up on Ancestry she was born in Ogbourne, died there, and only ever registered as living there
The historian told me that he'd interviewed her because she was the oldest person in the village. It turned out that her story was more interesting than just Ogbourne all her life
She moved to London and stayed with an aunt in her early twenties where she trained as a milliner. She then worked in the trade in Malmesbury before moving back to Ogbourne
Along with the interviews he did, he apparently got a load of documents and photos from her. He put it all together and took it to the funeral. He approached her family (who he didn't know at all) and they showed no interest
So now the postie's going to get a copy of it all. The historian seems pretty happy that his work isn't going to waste, and my Mum can't wait to see it all
RCS has suggested the best response to the tariffs is to do nothing, and I understand where he is coming from. The USA is no longer an ally, and when your opponents are digging themselves into a hole, best to do nothing and let them keep digging.
It wasn't just the unions that destroyed our car industry. Everyone was in on the job.
This Sky article may help
https://news.sky.com/story/pension-top-up-deadline-days-away-what-you-need-to-know-money-13040934
Donald Trump's tariffs are set to drive up bar bills and wipe out spirits jobs, analysts said. US drinkers will pay more for cocktails, champagne and foreign beers and brands will disappear from bar menus
https://x.com/Reuters/status/1907905950163271799
President Trump, with Commerce Secretary Lutnick standing behind him, tells reporters on Air Force One that tariffs “give great power to negotiate.” He says he could be willing to deal if a country offers something “phenomenal.”
On when manufacturing could ramp up in the U.S., Trump predicts “a year and a half to two years.”
https://x.com/kaitlancollins/status/1907905500051812487
I have never tested exactly how fast they go in reverse...
Rooted also had a plant in Glasgow IIRC.
It sounds like one of those cars, like the Austin 1100 my Dad had in the seventies, you had to apply underseal every year to try to prevent rot.
Most just-getting-by types in the US don't have big share portfolios. They might notice the eventual fallout but I suspect the initial reaction will be a shrug.
I assume that is mostly pensions
Heavily skewed to those with money:
https://www.statista.com/chart/30224/share-of-americans-who-own-stock/
I think this is where many of the arguments made against Brexit went wrong too. People in the
red statesred wall just didn't care about most of it as they didn't have much of a stake in the first place."European Union regulators are preparing major penalties against Elon Musk’s social media platform X for breaking a landmark law to combat illicit content and disinformation..."
"The fine could surpass $1 billion."
https://bsky.app/profile/rgoodlaw.bsky.social/post/3llwu4tsn722n
https://youtu.be/J_8k2OXwW1I?si=8PwW7ZkgMdGJ2cuv