Stellantis’ $26 Billion EV Write-Off Follows the CEO’s looting of the Company; Ford’s EV Disaster Results in a Company-Wide Loss of $8 Billion in 2025

The tide of red ink washing over legacy auto manufacturers just keeps getting worse, as the cost of their EV misadventures are now being reflected in losses, write-offs, and course corrections.

A few months ago, Ford announced that it’s long-overdue pivot from EVs would result in total write-offs of almost $20 billion, including $12 billion in Q4 2025 alone. That was enough to cause Ford to record an overall, company-wide loss in 2025 of $8 billion.

“Ford reports Q4 profit miss, $8 billion net loss for year as EV unit losses hit results” [Yahoo Finance – 02/10/2026]

Jim Farley’s comments on Ford’s 2025 performance, claiming that the company ”delivered a strong 2025,” would be comical if it weren’t for the fact that his mismanagement is hemorrhaging capital from the once-great auto manufacturer.

"Ford delivered a strong 2025 in a dynamic and often volatile environment," Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. "We improved our core business and execution, made significant progress in the areas of the business we control — lowering material and warranty costs and making real progress on quality — and made difficult but critical strategic decisions that set us up for a stronger future."

Meanwhile, Stellantis (Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Ram, Fiat, Peugeot, etc) just announced that its failed EV efforts are going to cost the company an eye-popping $26 billion in charge-offs.

“Chrysler Parent Stellantis’ Shares Fall 25% As It Takes $26.5 Billion Write Off Amid EV Retreat” [Forbes – 02/06/2026]

Antonio Filosa, who became Stellantis’ CEO just 8 months ago acknowledged Stellantis’ mistakes in pushing EVs on consumers who refused to buy them. He also correctly pointed out that the previous CEO, Carlos Tavares, had inflicted “poor operational execution” on the company. That is a polite way of saying Tavares just about destroyed the company by promoting an “EV transition,” while at the same time manipulating production, sales, and pricing for short-term results that provided himself obscene compensation.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the charges “reflect the cost of over-estimating the pace of the energy transition that distanced us from many car buyers’ real-world needs, means and desires.”

As I wrote at The Blaze in December 2024 when Tavares was pushed out, Stellantis sales were now in free fall, its product-pipeline was barren, and its dealers were in revolt. But it was less than a year earlier that Tavares awarded himself (with board consent) a $39 million compensation package, making him the highest paid executive in the auto industry.

As US sales plunged 36% by the end of 2024, dealers accused Tavares of “reckless short-term decision making” that caused “rapid degradation” of the Dodge, RAM, Jeep, and Chrysler brands. They claimed that not only was the product line stale and over-priced, but that popular products had been eliminated with the intent to replace them at a later date with electric products. To goose short-term profits, Tavares slashed vehicle production and eliminated headcount, resulting in a short-term cost savings that created long-term problems.

When European dealers advised Tavares that consumers were rejecting EVs and pleaded for Stellantis to seek regulatory relief from EV mandates, Tavares betrayed the dealers and sided with the regulators, even as competitors such as Volkswagen and Renault sought regulatory relief.

The Stellantis disaster lies at the intersection of the EV delusion and the management crisis afflicting major corporations, in which self-serving executives are willing to destroy their companies for personal gain, or otherwise not perform their jobs in fiduciary service to shareholders. From that Blaze piece:

Tavares failed to serve his company, shareholders, customers, or franchised dealers. Instead, he served two masters: himself and the globalist eco-bureaucracy that seems content to watch Stellantis collapse as a manufacturer of gasoline-powered vehicles.
To maintain both civil and economic order, investors and corporate boards must take responsibility for preventing further destruction of institutions like Stellantis. Greedy and self-serving leaders, such as Carlos Tavares, cannot be allowed to undermine companies at the expense of all other stakeholders.

To bring this all full-circle, at least the Stellantis board did push Carlos Tavares out eventually, replacing him with a CEO who seeks to manufacture and sell vehicles that consumers actually want to buy. Inexplicably, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, who has cost the company $20 billion to date by pursuing the EV fantasy, is still running the company and boasting of the great job he is doing.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Not first

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 11:00 AM (77rzZ)

2 Damn, I love it when I'm wrong!

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 11:01 AM (77rzZ)

3 Shocking.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at February 13, 2026 11:01 AM (Kt19C)

4 3d

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 11:01 AM (77rzZ)

5 Oops, not 3d.

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 11:01 AM (77rzZ)

6 To bring this all full-circle, at least the Stellantis board did push Carlos Tavares out eventually, replacing him with a CEO who seeks to manufacture and sell vehicles that consumers actually want to buy.

I wonder if Stellantis will survive. I doubt it.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:01 AM (Riz8t)

7 > Meanwhile, Stellantis (Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Ram, Fiat, Peugeot, etc) just announced that its failed EV efforts are going to cost the company an eye-popping $26 billion in charge-offs.
-----------
Jeep and Ram trucks are about the only money makers on that list. Barely.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 13, 2026 11:02 AM (jtM2q)

8 The Obama-Biden Economic Miracle is the Grift That Keeps On Giving!

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:02 AM (0Eh0f)

9
Weirdly, Toyota's now pushing their first EV onto the US market.

Looks a bit like the Tesla's Cybertruck. 2nd Cousin or something like that.

I really thought Toyota had the Big Smarts for staying out of the EV mess...I guess not.

Posted by: naturalfake at February 13, 2026 11:04 AM (iJfKG)

10 Ford guy is betting heavy on the election.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 13, 2026 11:04 AM (2WIwB)

11 The tide of red ink washing over legacy auto manufacturers just keeps getting worse, as the cost of their EV misadventures are now being reflected in losses, write-offs, and course corrections.

---------------

Alternate Headline: "Red Tide Rising."

[Alternate Tom Clancy Title.]

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:05 AM (0Eh0f)

12 mr_jack hardest hit

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:05 AM (8zz6B)

13 It's a write off, Jerry.
They just write it off.

Posted by: Kramer at February 13, 2026 11:05 AM (2Ez/1)

14 Willowed:

The elegant and delightful Mrs naturalfake wanted to see "Melania", so off we went to the movies.

I had no interest in it but I really couldn't say no after dragging her to the turfiest that was "Iron Lung".

Anywho-

I actually enjoyed it. As a guy, I never really thought about all the stuff that goes on behind the scenes making the dinners, and White House and the Inauguration look so good.

All that requires someone to organize all that, etc, etc and that was Melania.

I definitely recommend it for the Ladies. And possibly the morons depending on your interest level.

I think "Melania" also explains indirectly why the Biden White House, etc always looked like the combination of a dog's breakfast and a hobo carnival.

Dr Fishnets brought her sense of style to those proceedings.

Posted by: naturalfake at February 13, 2026 11:05 AM (iJfKG)

15 Sadly it seems Toyota has blinked. Too bad.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:05 AM (pDt9x)

16 Dems: "When we told those bozos those that the internal combustion engine would be as dead as a dodo by 2035, those idiots believed us! HAHAHA! Capitalist Fools!"

Posted by: mrp at February 13, 2026 11:05 AM (rj6Yv)

17 the CEO’s looting of the Company

To be fair, it would be wasteful to leave anything on the bones of an animal after you kill it.

Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 11:07 AM (jlI90)

18 There was an 8 month waiting list to factory order a Camaro... and all the high performance ones were so in demand that dealers were marking them up $10K to $15K...

So Chevrolet cancelled them... to chase EVs.

Dodge tried to make a EV Charger... but also made a 6 Banger one... Gas Cars are selling... EVs are not.

It's almost like the consumers are trying to tell the 'Experts' something... kinda like Politics... where the folks in charge just don't listen anymore.

Posted by: Romeo13 at February 13, 2026 11:07 AM (mP0Kj)

19 Oh well, I have two Toyotas, a 22 Highlander and a 23 Tacoma. Barely broken in. Can drive them foreverish if I choose.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:08 AM (pDt9x)

20 "Greedy and self-serving leaders, such as Carlos Tavares, cannot be allowed to undermine companies at the expense of all other stakeholders."
-----

Shareholders! Stakeholders are on page two of concerns for responsible management.

Posted by: OneEyedJack at February 13, 2026 11:08 AM (Hx0tZ)

21 18 It's almost like the consumers are trying to tell the 'Experts' something... kinda like Politics... where the folks in charge just don't listen anymore.
Posted by: Romeo13 at February 13, 2026 11:07 AM (mP0Kj)

The only people they're trying to impress is the Democrat Party.

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:09 AM (FpHTM)

22 Over ten years ago I said nobody would see this coming. Such a shame.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 13, 2026 11:09 AM (xFfhU)

23 I have an idea. Let's pay the people in government who pushed the EV thing a pension in Stellantis stock, starting at its value in, say, 2018.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:09 AM (Riz8t)

24 Stakeholders are on page two of concerns for responsible management.
Posted by: OneEyedJack at February 13, 2026 11:08 AM (Hx0tZ)

I regard them with great trepidation.

Posted by: Dracula at February 13, 2026 11:09 AM (8zz6B)

25 15 Sadly it seems Toyota has blinked. Too bad.
Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:05 AM (pDt9x)

They've got an appointment with Mr. Reality. He'll straighten them out.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 13, 2026 11:09 AM (/QdgR)

26 It's almost like the consumers are trying to tell the 'Experts' something... kinda like Politics... where the folks in charge just don't listen anymore.
Posted by: Romeo13 at February 13, 2026 11:07 AM (mP0Kj)

No, clearly the customers that are racist, and hate Gaia.

--that Simpsons' meme

Posted by: Kindltot at February 13, 2026 11:10 AM (rbvCR)

27 21 18 It's almost like the consumers are trying to tell the 'Experts' something... kinda like Politics... where the folks in charge just don't listen anymore.
Posted by: Romeo13 at February 13, 2026 11:07 AM (mP0Kj)

The only people they're trying to impress is the Democrat Party.
Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:09 AM (FpHTM)

It's like the CAFE standards for sedans... so now everyone drives SUVs or Trucks.

Posted by: Romeo13 at February 13, 2026 11:10 AM (mP0Kj)

28 I got beat to the inevitable "They just write it off, Jerry" post. Rats!

Posted by: pookysgirl, not even a Seinfeld fan at February 13, 2026 11:10 AM (Wt5PA)

29 Sadly it seems Toyota has blinked. Too bad.

All EVs aren't bad. Toyota isn't betting the company on them.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (Riz8t)

30 Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the charges “reflect the cost of ~~over-estimating the pace of the energy transition that distanced us from many car buyers’ real-world needs, means and desires~~ irrational infantile utopian death cult 'virtue'-signalling and cowardly idiocy ... but mostly cowardly idiocy.”

-------------

Fixed for accuracy.

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (0Eh0f)

31 A very fine EV Follies article Buck, but would it have hurt to include an EV conflagration video? Amazing that Auto CEOs can cling to power whilst bankrupting the company. At least Captain Smith went down with the ship.

Posted by: The Water Was Cold-And Deep! at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (oftw2)

32 Come to think of it, the GOP could make a lot of hay out of reminding voters that if the Dems had had their way, every car owner would have been forced to drive an over-priced EV without the grid infrastructure, the power plants, and the distribution networks necessary to support them.

Posted by: mrp at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (rj6Yv)

33 2027 Toyota Highlander EV:

https://tinyurl.com/5x89ht4x

Yuck.

Posted by: Internal combustion equals freedom at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (2Ez/1)

34 Oh well, I have two Toyotas, a 22 Highlander and a 23 Tacoma. Barely broken in. Can drive them foreverish if I choose.
Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:08 AM (pDt9x)

I want a Hilux like they sell in North Africa. Dumb, tough, small enough to park.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (rbvCR)

35 What Toyota has done is unnecessary.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (pDt9x)

36 Come to think of it, the GOP could make a lot of hay out of reminding voters that if the Dems had had their way, every car owner would have been forced to drive an over-priced EV without the grid infrastructure, the power plants, and the distribution networks necessary to support them.

The people who bought into the Green Nude Eel are unpersuaded by facts.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:12 AM (Riz8t)

37 ... Tavares awarded himself (with board consent) a $39 million compensation package, making him the highest paid executive in the auto industry.

------------

This guy should run for Congress. Piker!

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:12 AM (0Eh0f)

38 33 2027 Toyota Highlander EV:

https://tinyurl.com/5x89ht4x

Yuck.
Posted by: Internal combustion equals freedom at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (2Ez/1)

Dumb idea. As in, whyyy?

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:12 AM (pDt9x)

39 https://tinyurl.com/5x89ht4x

Yuck.
Posted by: Internal combustion equals freedom

Still not as ugly as a Cybertruck.

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 11:13 AM (77rzZ)

40 Come to think of it, the GOP could make a lot of hay out of reminding voters that if the Dems had had their way, every car owner would have been forced to drive an over-priced EV without the grid infrastructure, the power plants, and the distribution networks necessary to support them.
Posted by: mrp at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (rj6Yv)

Nope. Won't work.
Doesn't fit on a bumper sticker.

Posted by: OneEyedJack at February 13, 2026 11:13 AM (Hx0tZ)

41 That is a lot of other people's money that just went *poof*

Pitchforks need deploying,

Posted by: Anna Puma at February 13, 2026 11:13 AM (0lF5S)

42 "Jeep and Ram trucks are about the only money makers on that list. Barely.
Posted by: Martini Farmer"

The Jeep Wrangler now has power locks and windows. Only the larger 3.6L engine has a manual transmission. It is being ruined. Just another SUV.

Posted by: Ripley at February 13, 2026 11:13 AM (GUOwU)

43 I think it was Ford that mentioned they'd be getting back into the sedan biz.

Other than Cadillac, and maybe the Charger, was there any other big 3 sedans available?

I'd still like a Cadillac Black Wing with the twin turbos and a 6 speed manual. But $$$

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 13, 2026 11:14 AM (jtM2q)

44 From the article at #33:

As some other automakers scale back their electric vehicle plans

Scale back? Is that what we're calling it now? I guess Hitler scaled back his plans for invading Russia.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:14 AM (Riz8t)

45 Stellantis ... just announced that its failed EV efforts are going to cost the company an eye-popping $26 billion in charge-offs.

So the board that oversaw the whole thing installed a new figurehead.

Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 11:14 AM (jlI90)

46 2027 Toyota Highlander EV:

https://tinyurl.com/5x89ht4x

Yuck.
Posted by: Internal combustion equals freedom at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (2Ez/1)

Looks like a Rivian. Not butt-ugly; just kind of blah corporate crossover SUV sameness.

Posted by: Dracula at February 13, 2026 11:14 AM (8zz6B)

47 I want a Hilux like they sell in North Africa. Dumb, tough, small enough to park.
Posted by: Kindltot at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (rbvCR)

Strong enough to mount .50cal belt feed on the back.

Posted by: OneEyedJack at February 13, 2026 11:14 AM (Hx0tZ)

48 The EV market is contracting faster than Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.

Posted by: Anna Puma at February 13, 2026 11:15 AM (0lF5S)

49 Still not as ugly as a Cybertruck.

Of course not. The Cybertruck is the Platonic Ideal of ugliness.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:15 AM (Riz8t)

50 Toyotas have had a variation of ugly fish maw on all their products for close to 15 years. They should fix that.

Posted by: Gary the Grouper at February 13, 2026 11:15 AM (oftw2)

51 Get 24.5 mpg on my Highlander, driving range around 365 miles. Good enough for us.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:15 AM (pDt9x)

52 > 2027 Toyota Highlander EV
---------
If it's not too late, Toyota should bury it before it sees the light of day.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 13, 2026 11:16 AM (jtM2q)

53 True story. I work with young engineers who are all in on the electric car cult. I got into a discussion with one who told me his Tesla would beat my Porsche 911 Turbo in a race. So I said I accepted his challenge and the race would be from our home office in Simi Valley to one of our test sites near Dallas...

Posted by: Taylor at February 13, 2026 11:16 AM (vt7xw)

54 Greedy and self-serving leaders, such as Carlos Tavares, cannot be allowed to undermine companies at the expense of all other stakeholders.

-------------

I've been wondering for several years here: where the f*ck are the stockholder lawsuits against these criminal fraudsters?

[And to their credit, our lawyers here explain that these are very difficult to win for a variety of reasons ... but still, there needs to be punishments & accountability as disincentives to such future criminality & fraud.]

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:16 AM (0Eh0f)

55 "...failed EV efforts are going to cost the company an eye-popping $26 billion in charge-offs."

Is that a lot?

Posted by: It used to be a lot at February 13, 2026 11:16 AM (2Ez/1)

56 Was at a local Ford delaership and it was comical. Their entire lineup is like four vehicles:
- F150,
- Ford Explorer ,
- Ford Bronco (Sport)
- Mustang

No small sedans or crossovers, few trucks SUVs under $50k etc. that's what's wrong with Ford and all US automakers, they don't care about making affordable vehicles they're chasing real money on the upper end of the market

People don’t want overpriced crap, be it EV or ICE. Make good affordable cars and folks will buy them. Pretty sure BYD is eating their lunch globally and they make nothing but EVs.

I was a long time customer. Bought an EV from a different brand because Ford didn't have an offering that worked. (Had been waiting for an EV Explorer) I blame Farley for that, and it seems like he's doubling down.

"We made a half-assed, low effort foray into EV's, and after that, we concluded that people don't want EVs!" China is seeking more EVs all over the world and even now in Mexico & Canada, but sure, the “market” has spoken.

An EV is superior to an ICE engine in almost every category. If you figure out charging before you buy the car, there is virtually 0 hurdles after.

Posted by: Intercepted Reddit Transmissions brought by the Intrepid AoS Liaison at February 13, 2026 11:16 AM (ycI94)

57 Imagine if you will an EV Pontiac Aztek.

Posted by: Anna Puma at February 13, 2026 11:16 AM (0lF5S)

58 Inexplicably, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, who has cost the company $20 billion to date by pursuing the EV fantasy, is still running the company and boasting of the great job he is doing.

Probably boasting on his LinkedIn page too, no doubt.

Asshat. *spits*

Posted by: Count de Monet at February 13, 2026 11:16 AM (wVcYX)

59 When we were in the "West of England" a couple years ago, my kid arranged private lease of a Vauxhall minivan, a diesel with a manual 5-speed. Hard back seats, pretty fun to get around in, phenomenal mileage of course. Vauxhall has been around for so long (they "invented the sports car") that they've been affiliated with just about every firm in the current and past industry. I was surprised to learn they were under Stellantis, since they'd been GM most of my life.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at February 13, 2026 11:17 AM (zdLoL)

60 2027 Toyota Highlander EV:

https://tinyurl.com/5x89ht4x

Yuck.
Posted by: Internal combustion equals freedom at February 13, 2026 11:11 AM (2Ez/1)

Supposedly, Toyota's ace in the hole here is that they built their battery factory in the US.

I guess that helps keep costs down but if you look at the stats, it's just the same old, same old.

It's an an expensive, in town 2nd or 3rd car for suckaz.

ie. if you never need to drive much, and never need to drive out of town, and don't mind the fire hazard and can waste money. It's....eh, okay.

Posted by: naturalfake at February 13, 2026 11:17 AM (iJfKG)

61 The Jeep Wrangler now has power locks and windows. Only the larger 3.6L engine has a manual transmission. It is being ruined. Just another SUV.
Posted by: Ripley at February 13, 2026 11:13 AM (GUOwU)

You kind of have to have power locks and power windows, when the vehicle is so wide that you cannot reach across and crank the window down or unlock the door from the driver's seat. And the massive center consoles do not help one bit.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:18 AM (8zz6B)

62 If you're on the strategic planning desk at a major auto manufacturer, you've got a problem.

You just saw billions off dollars of investment go down the drain. But if Dems win next presidential election, you'll have to reinvest and do it all over. But in the meantime, you need internal combustion capacity.

What to do, what to do.

Posted by: 2009Refugee at February 13, 2026 11:18 AM (8AONa)

63 Inexplicably, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, who has cost the company $20 billion to date by pursuing the EV fantasy, is still running the company and boasting of the great job he is doing.

------------

Jim Farley is the Joe Biden of Barack Obamas.

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:18 AM (0Eh0f)

64
If there's no market, make the market. The Newsom Administration will issue a must-comply EO mandating that all passenger vehicles will be EVs. You have one week to get one or no driving for you, peon.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:18 AM (tgvbd)

65 President Newsom will bring back ICE prohibition.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at February 13, 2026 11:18 AM (Cqx++)

66
And under Cash for Clunkers II, all ICE vehicles will be junked.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:20 AM (tgvbd)

67 I remember when AI used to be called search engines.

Now they're language engines that compile a dissertation.

As in the past, make sure you focus on the right keywords.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 13, 2026 11:20 AM (xFfhU)

68 And under Cash for Clunkers II, all ICE vehicles will be junked.

I'm going long on oxcarts. Wait, do those count as ICEs?

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:21 AM (Riz8t)

69 What to do, what to do.
Posted by: 2009Refugee at February 13, 2026 11:18 AM (8AONa)

Simple. Continue to listen to your customers and not the regulators.

Posted by: Defenestratus at February 13, 2026 11:21 AM (KV0ee)

70 Pontiac Aztek was not a bad vehicle at all, a kind of early take on the popular crossover. It was just butt-ugly, looking like it was designed by three different designers, blind to the input of the other two.

Posted by: Homely Hank at February 13, 2026 11:21 AM (oftw2)

71 2027 Toyota Highlander EV:

https://tinyurl.com/5x89ht4x

Curb weight: "TBA"

Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 11:21 AM (jlI90)

72 Imagine if you will an EV Pontiac Aztek.
Posted by: Anna Puma at February 13, 2026 11:16 AM (0lF5S)

An EV Pacer.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at February 13, 2026 11:22 AM (g8Ew8)

73 Pontiac Aztek was not a bad vehicle at all, a kind of early take on the popular crossover. It was just butt-ugly, looking like it was designed by three different designers, blind to the input of the other two.

I had to take one at a rental car agency once. It was so ugly it made my eyes bleed.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:22 AM (Riz8t)

74 How is the all electric long haul semi development going, anyone know?

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:22 AM (pDt9x)

75 If there's no market, make the market. The Newsom Administration will issue a must-comply EO mandating that all passenger vehicles will be EVs. You have one week to get one or no driving for you, peon.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

=====

Exactly. They are righteously pissed off that their vision was rejected, and next time, they are not going to soft-sell anything.

Posted by: 2009Refugee at February 13, 2026 11:22 AM (8AONa)

76 Vauxhall has been around for so long (they "invented the sports car") that they've been affiliated with just about every firm in the current and past industry. I was surprised to learn they were under Stellantis, since they'd been GM most of my life.
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at February 13, 2026 11:17 AM (zdLoL)

The British car industry has lost its Rootes.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:23 AM (8zz6B)

77 If you're on the strategic planning desk at a major auto manufacturer, you've got a problem.

You just saw billions off dollars of investment go down the drain.

Whereas a line worker could break a tool or scratch a car and get fired.

Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 11:24 AM (jlI90)

78 The British car industry has lost its Rootes.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon

Yep, no bright spots, nor Sunbeams at all.

Posted by: Harry Hillman-Morgan at February 13, 2026 11:25 AM (oftw2)

79 Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 13, 2026 11:20 AM (xFfhU)

Yeah, they are investing Billions in AI... and will need YUGE Data Centers, which will hog power and water... and the ongoing Plant costs will be high (as they have to continuously upgrade equip).

Now... what is AIs revenue stream going to be? They already dumbed down regular search engines because even selling your info only gets them so much capital.

It's like Calif No Speed Rail... no WAY it is ever going to make money.... so why are they doing it?

Posted by: Romeo13 at February 13, 2026 11:25 AM (mP0Kj)

80 My brother says the electric tractor sized trucks don't last long enough to compete.

Posted by: Boss Moss at February 13, 2026 11:25 AM (rWjNm)

81 Its funny the reddit comments.

People say they want cheaper simpler cars, but ask the dealers which models it on the lot the longest, it's the ones with no bells or whistles.

I just bought a porsche cayenne base model. 2019. Paid $35k and got a 6 year extended warranty on it. Its not the top of the line by any means but it has just enough tech and features like heated and cooled seats and infotainment system to make it pleasant to drive.

It'll never replace my Hummer h1 but it's a nice zippy little runabout.

Posted by: Defenestratus at February 13, 2026 11:26 AM (KV0ee)

82 Still not as ugly as a Cybertruck.

It's not that bad looking:

https://tinyurl.com/4u99ks4w

Posted by: one hour sober at February 13, 2026 11:26 AM (Y1sOo)

83 Step 1. Take affordable products off the market.
Step 2. When only the upmarket expensive stuff sells, because it's all that left, scream "PEOPLE DON'T WANT ANYTHING CHEAPER!"

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:27 AM (uEmCf)

84 "You kind of have to have power locks and power windows, when the vehicle is so wide that you cannot reach across and crank the window down or unlock the door from the driver's seat. And the massive center consoles do not help one bit.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon"

The 4 door monsters don't even look like Jeeps IMO. Do they even make 2-door models?

Posted by: Ripley at February 13, 2026 11:27 AM (GUOwU)

85 74 How is the all electric long haul semi development going, anyone know?
Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:22 AM (pDt9x)

Well, I-80 was shut down near the Calif / Nevada line for about 16 hours once, because one of those trucks caught fire... and they had to call hazmat teams to fight the fire.

Posted by: Romeo13 at February 13, 2026 11:27 AM (mP0Kj)

86 Someday all vehicles will be offered in your choice of 3 basic colors, electric, and sized to fit the alloted parking space you are assigned in your vertical housing compund that you have been assigned to. Only to be driven on weekends. Utopia!!!

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:27 AM (pDt9x)

87
You just saw billions off dollars of investment go down the drain.

Smaller bonus next year.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:27 AM (tgvbd)

88 The Greenies are very, very upset with Trump and the US for canceling the Green Revolution. I'm sure no politics entered into it, though. It's all science.

President Trump's move to revoke the endangerment finding lit a fire under leaders around the globe, who are lashing out and criticizing the decision to ignore the "scientific backbone" for regulating greenhouse gases. They scream catastrophe, while overlooking massive coal expansions in the other nations that dwarf America's emissions. Critics call Trump's decision a death sentence for the planet, but spare the real giants pumping out pollution without pause.

China approved 41.8 gigawatts of new coal plants in the first three quarters of last year, when proposals hit a record 161 gigawatts, with 78 gigawatts commissioned. Coal capacity under construction or permitted reached 291 gigawatts by year's end, with Beijing's emissions topping 13,363 million metric tons, 27% of the global total.

India's coal demand is projected to climb to 2.615 billion tons by 2050 under current policies, up from 1.256 billion tons in 2025. The nation plans 100 gigawatts of new coal capacity over seven years.

https://is.gd/weKDed

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:28 AM (Riz8t)

89
"I need to charge my EV."

"Sorry, all that electricity is going to that data center."

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:28 AM (tgvbd)

90 The Soviets tried using electric tractors for farming. Not battery-powered, they trailed a cable from a rotating arm like an irrigation pivot. Didn't work out for some reason.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:28 AM (8zz6B)

91 86 Someday all vehicles will be offered in your choice of 3 basic colors, electric, and sized to fit the alloted parking space you are assigned in your vertical housing compund that you have been assigned to. Only to be driven on weekends. Utopia!!!
Posted by: tubal

Lol. Like you'll be allowed to own a personal vehicle.

Posted by: True Leftist at February 13, 2026 11:29 AM (ycI94)

92 You just saw billions off dollars of investment go down the drain.

Smaller bonus next year.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh
------------

Jelly of the month subscription.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at February 13, 2026 11:29 AM (XvL8K)

93 Who’s going to underwrite an 8B loss?

That’s a lot of cheddar.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (KVyKK)

94 I saw Platonic Ideal Of Ugliness open for Iron Maiden at Pavilhão do Grupo Dramático e Sportivo de Cascais in '88.

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (0Eh0f)

95
How is the all electric long haul semi development going, anyone know?
Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:22 AM (pDt9x)

Big Oil bought up all the patents and buried them!!!

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (tgvbd)

96 I just bought a porsche cayenne base model.

Posted by: Defenestratus at February 13, 2026 11:26 AM (KV0ee)

Sounds like something CBD would post.

On the Food Thread.

Posted by: pookysgirl doesn't do spicy at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (Wt5PA)

97 If you look at a Honda Odyssey from the side, it looks like design by committee like an Aztek, IMHO. They are good vehicles, though.

Posted by: Mike Minivan at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (oftw2)

98 Nuke Plants will make a comeback, but each one will be exclusively assigned to a Data Center.

(It's already happening, BTW. TMI is coming back online specifically to power a Microsoft Data Center.)

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (uEmCf)

99 Who’s going to underwrite an 8B loss?

That’s a lot of cheddar.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (KVyKK)

------------

"Who Moved My Cheese?" -- The Stockholders

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:31 AM (0Eh0f)

100 If you look at a Honda Odyssey from the side, it looks like design by committee like an Aztek, IMHO. They are good vehicles, though.

Eh, it's a minivan. If you're buying a minivan for the looks, you're doing it wrong.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:31 AM (Riz8t)

101
They are good vehicles, though.
Posted by: Mike Minivan at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (oftw2)

330,000 miles on our 2013.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:31 AM (tgvbd)

102 "You just saw billions off dollars of investment go down the drain."

That's what happens when govt tries to dictate industrial policy. Wow I'm so glad Republicans don't do that.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:31 AM (N8ZBc)

103 A lot of car execs thought the EV transition was the right thing to do because oil was bad. General thinking had a TDS tinge, with bare facts not taken into consideration. Musk has it right, the US should lean into solar and electric, meaning not a headlong rush off a cliff.

Posted by: Tennessee Volunteer at February 13, 2026 11:32 AM (MBsu2)

104 Someday all vehicles will be offered in your choice of 3 basic colors

3?! I see a potential cost savings...

Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 11:32 AM (jlI90)

105 101
They are good vehicles, though.
Posted by: Mike Minivan at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (oftw2)

330,000 miles on our 2013.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:31 AM (tgvbd)

You drive - a LOT!

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:32 AM (pDt9x)

106 China has the largest global manufacturing output in the world by something like 12 pct over the US.

And yet, they are never asked to cut back by the greenies, why is that?

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 13, 2026 11:33 AM (4LaEz)

107 remember when AI used to be called search engines.

Now they're language engines that compile a dissertation.

-

It’s a bit more than a search engine.

Yesterday I pointed Claude to a class I wasn’t familiar with and asked it what does this do. In under a minute Claude told me in plain English what the class did and some potential gotchas with it. Did about an hour of back and forth. Made changes to make it more efficient and added some additional functionality including tests.

Without Claude that would have been a day’s worth of work at least.

Posted by: AI is Real and Spectacular at February 13, 2026 11:33 AM (AJ7zK)

108 OK, past comment 100.

Saw an article (should have saved the link, though) stating that the Canada Troon's brother and sister went to the school he shot up, and one of the other students thinks that he originally intended to target his siblings.

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:33 AM (uEmCf)

109 "Ford loses billions as Trump Administration Derails Business Plans"

Posted by: Oglebay at February 13, 2026 11:33 AM (2ap+5)

110 At MarketWatch: "I cosigned a loan for someone — now she refuses to make the payments. Is there someone who can help me get out of this?"

Get out of what, the cosign? Ask a lawyer. Get out of stupidity? The answer is "No, probably not. You will inevitably continue to be stupid."

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:34 AM (N8ZBc)

111 The 4 door monsters don't even look like Jeeps IMO. Do they even make 2-door models?
Posted by: Ripley at February 13, 2026 11:27 AM (GUOwU)

I have not been in a Jeep shop for years. The closest approach to what the original military Jeep, and it's successor, the CJ-2 were, is the Mahindra Roxxor, made in India, and sporting a Diesel engine and a 5-speed transmission. If money were no object, I would buy one for desert touring.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:34 AM (8zz6B)

112 People say they want cheaper simpler cars, but ask the dealers which models it on the lot the longest, it's the ones with no bells or whistles.

I just bought a porsche cayenne base model. 2019. Paid $35k and got a 6 year extended warranty on it. Its not the top of the line by any means but it has just enough tech and features like heated and cooled seats and infotainment system to make it pleasant to drive.

It'll never replace my Hummer h1 but it's a nice zippy little runabout.
Posted by: Defenestratus

I want a pick up truck with manual crank windows, manual selector heat/air & rubber floor mat.

I don't need 23 onboard computers trying to figure out how much air needs to get to the fuel.

Posted by: rickb223 at February 13, 2026 11:34 AM (kndiG)

113 I would really suck to be the CEO of a automobile company right now. One the one had, in the here and now, EV's are borderline useless without all the government mandates.

On the other hand, those mandates will probably resurface in 3 years (if the Democrats manage another stolen election) or on the outside, 10 years if Vance or another Republican with "Trump like" ideals swings two terms.

Mr/Ms CEO oughta' choose a side now.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 13, 2026 11:34 AM (jtM2q)

114 "It’s a bit more than a search engine."

It's a LOT more than a search engine! Old fashioned websearch sucks by comparison.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:35 AM (N8ZBc)

115 When you pay mercenary CEOs that don’t even have a career in your industry millions and tens of millions of dollars, don’t be surprised when they get replaced in a few short years. The business school paradigm is cut expenses to build next quarter shareholder value. They gut the company’s future, but they get paid a princely sum while doing it and skip town with a generous severance.

Auto makers, airplane manufacturers, industry after industry that is based on engineering and production keep putting accountants in charge, only to see their companies struggle.

Posted by: Advo at February 13, 2026 11:36 AM (jO4mz)

116 113 I would really suck to be the CEO of a automobile company right now. One the one had, in the here and now, EV's are borderline useless without all the government mandates.

On the other hand, those mandates will probably resurface in 3 years (if the Democrats manage another stolen election) or on the outside, 10 years if Vance or another Republican with "Trump like" ideals swings two terms.

Mr/Ms CEO oughta' choose a side now.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 13, 2026 11:34 AM (jtM2q)

American governance is inherently feckless. Feature, or bug?

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:36 AM (pDt9x)

117 Nuke Plants will make a comeback, but each one will be exclusively assigned to a Data Center.

(It's already happening, BTW. TMI is coming back online specifically to power a Microsoft Data Center.)

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:30 AM (uEmCf)

--------------

[Headline from last month:]

"Meta says it’s making a major investment in proposed nuclear power plants in Pike County"

To help power its data centers, in partnership with Oklo -- a Silicon Valley company that two and half years ago announced plans to build plants at the site of the old uranium enrichment plant in Pike County.

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:36 AM (0Eh0f)

118
Closed the deal, signed the paperwork and drove home my retirement vehicle. Had to sell my 2016 Charger Road and Track R/T last week as it hadn't been fully repaired after that damned kid clipped the driver side front corner. It had a shudder at highway speeds in a gentle left hand turn that my mechanic couldn't find. So, off it went. Smash has been planning for our retirement vehicle for a looooooonnnggg time with a mutual fund invested to outright cash buy the retirement vehicle. I got the 2026 Ram 3500 4x4 crew cab with an 8' bed. Essentially fixing everything i got wrong on all my previous pickup trucks with this one.

Five years early due to the kid and Charger situation, but it didn't cost me a dime that I haven't already saved for it.

Posted by: BifBewalski - at February 13, 2026 11:36 AM (QVmho)

119 If any of the Ford children have anything to do with the company, Old Grand Dad's genes are sorely diminished.

As for Tavares, if he's Italian he may be best advised to stay out of Italy, especially around Turin.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 13, 2026 11:36 AM (F24MQ)

120 At MarketWatch: "I cosigned a loan for someone — now she refuses to make the payments. Is there someone who can help me get out of this?"

Get out of what, the cosign? Ask a lawyer. Get out of stupidity? The answer is "No, probably not. You will inevitably continue to be stupid."
Posted by: gp

Get out of the co-sign? No. WTF do you think that meant. It meant if she renegs on paying, you'll make it good b

Sucks to be you. (OP)

Posted by: rickb223 at February 13, 2026 11:36 AM (kndiG)

121 90 The Soviets tried using electric tractors for farming. Not battery-powered, they trailed a cable from a rotating arm like an irrigation pivot. Didn't work out for some reason.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:28 AM (8zz6B)

Ivan forgot to turn off the spigot on the irrigation arm when they plugged the tractor in?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 13, 2026 11:37 AM (06Hmj)

122 There is a NYT opinion piece by Steven Rattner (obama punk) where he is talking about China and quotes Farley as saying that Chinese vehicle tech is "far superior" and seeing Chinese operations was "the most humbling thing in my career, ever."

This from someone who just did a $20 billion write down due to his own stupidity. That is saying something.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 11:37 AM (l0YH1)

123 You just saw billions off dollars of investment go down the drain.

Smaller bonus next year.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

====

I go down this path, because it used to be my job. Management would make the reasonable ask - "what product do we need to offer on year x, and how much do we need to invest i order to deliver that lineup?"

And as much as we wanted to focus on actual customer expectations, there was always a certain unease with the various stunts the EPA or CARB might pull, and/or did pull.

Today? Heck, why bother planning? There's not a doubt in my mind that a future Dem administration would wipe you out, partly to force the new Green utopia, and partly out of pure malice.

Posted by: 2009Refugee at February 13, 2026 11:37 AM (8AONa)

124 OK, time for lunch -- Vienna sausages!

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 11:38 AM (77rzZ)

125 I got the 2026 Ram 3500 4x4 crew cab with an 8' bed. Essentially fixing everything i got wrong on all my previous pickup trucks with this one.

Posted by: BifBewalsk

Congrats!

Posted by: rickb223 at February 13, 2026 11:39 AM (kndiG)

126 I tried to use Claude to start teaching me Python.

But I kept screwing up the easiest beginner things (Nested Parentheses, opening/closing quotes) so often that it actually started to angrily scold me :/

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:39 AM (uEmCf)

127 There is a NYT opinion piece by Steven Rattner (obama punk) where he is talking about China and quotes Farley as saying that Chinese vehicle tech is "far superior" and seeing Chinese operations was "the most humbling thing in my career, ever."

This from someone who just did a $20 billion write down due to his own stupidity. That is saying something.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 11:37 AM

I have heard this kind of stuff many times before in my life and I know it is 100% weapons grade bull$hit.

If china was so far ahead of everyone else in the tech/automobile field they would be building car plants and selling cars all over the world including the US but they ain't.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (0N4FZ)

128 There is a NYT opinion piece by Steven Rattner (obama punk) where he is talking about China and quotes Farley as saying that Chinese vehicle tech is "far superior" and seeing Chinese operations was "the most humbling thing in my career, ever."

Is this the one?

I really love folks who go to Beijing, stay in five-star hotels for a few nights, get wined and dined, get shown the same Xiaomi factory and the robotics center that everyone sees, and declare that China is "winning." Gotta hand it to the Chinese, Potemkin village propaganda remains alive and well.

https://is.gd/qjqvcz

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (Riz8t)

129 If china was so far ahead of everyone else in the tech/automobile field they would be building car plants and selling cars all over the world including the US but they ain't.
Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (0N4FZ)

When is the last time anyone ripped off a design from China? For anything?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (06Hmj)

130 2027 Toyota Highlander EV:"

Grand Highlander more better gooder

Posted by: man at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (cGjQu)

131 "it actually started to angrily scold me"

Try Grok. It never scolds. It kisses your ass and butters you up whenever it can. I am not kidding.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (N8ZBc)

132 123
‘ a future Dem administration would wipe you out’

Then I guess they better stop that from happening.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at February 13, 2026 11:41 AM (jbnUc)

133 "Wait, you pay them nothing, claim ownership over their entire family, *and* get to whip them whenever you want?

....

Man, must be nice."

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 13, 2026 11:41 AM (06Hmj)

134 129 If china was so far ahead of everyone else in the tech/automobile field they would be building car plants and selling cars all over the world including the US but they ain't.
Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (0N4FZ)

When is the last time anyone ripped off a design from China? For anything?
Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (06Hmj)

Aside from General Tso’s and moo goo gai pan can’t think of anything.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:42 AM (pDt9x)

135 Someday all vehicles will be offered in your choice of 3 basic colors

3?! I see a potential cost savings...
Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026

***
We're almost there now: black, silver, and white. Interiors are black or grey, too, with only the rare tan.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at February 13, 2026 11:42 AM (wzUl9)

136 Just remember kids, all these write-off would not have happened if Biden was in office.

They planned to have the government back stop all their investments. It would have led to much more expensive cars and consumers forced to buy them, and higher gov. debt to cover the losses.

As it is, this money still comes from somewhere -- much of it from the ICE operations as they are forced to charge more to cover losses elsewhere.

And these are only top line. Every supplier from raw materials to complex components like control modules or assemblies has invested heavily in these new EV products and when they don't make a return they have to charge more for everything else they sell into the industry.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 11:42 AM (l0YH1)

137 Then I guess they better stop that from happening.
Posted by: Dr. Claw at February 13, 2026 11:41 AM (jbnUc)

Planned Parenthood is doing a good job of wiping out Future Democrats.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:43 AM (8zz6B)

138 what's that story about advertising that ends

'the dogs don't like it'

Posted by: Don Black at February 13, 2026 11:43 AM (ZxPkt)

139 Who files in a Chinese airplane?

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at February 13, 2026 11:43 AM (eStot)

140 If china was so far ahead of everyone else in the tech/automobile field they would be building car plants and selling cars all over the world including the US but they ain't.

FTSOA, let's assume their EVs are the best, because they subsidize the companies, which pay slave wages and can put the money into components. The problem remains that they have completely screwed the pooch when it comes to demand, and that's kind of important in a market economy. In addition, they're such malignant actors worldwide that everyone has had more than enough of their s***, and are banning Chinese EV inputs.

I'm not going to defend our auto industry, because UAW, but you do have to look at the big picture.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:43 AM (Riz8t)

141 128 I really love folks who go to Beijing, stay in five-star hotels for a few nights, get wined and dined, get shown the same Xiaomi factory and the robotics center that everyone sees, and declare that China is "winning." Gotta hand it to the Chinese, Potemkin village propaganda remains alive and well.

https://is.gd/qjqvcz
Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (Riz8t)

Has nobody seen the footage of the Chinese Robot Soccer League, where the robots kept tripping over their opponents' feet nonstop?

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:43 AM (uEmCf)

142 139 Who files in a Chinese airplane?
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at February 13, 2026 11:43 AM (eStot)

Friar Rawrence?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 13, 2026 11:44 AM (06Hmj)

143 “I just bought a porsche cayenne base model. 2019. Paid $35k and got a 6 year extended warranty on it. Its not the top of the line by any means but it has just enough tech and features like heated and cooled seats and infotainment system to make it pleasant to drive.”

I’d do something like this, but I live way out in the sticks. My wife’s BMW has enough service issues that another import with specialized service needs located 90 miles away isn’t going to happen. We bought it new, but it’s aging into needs attention space, and the old saying is true: if you can’t afford a new BMW, you certainly can’t afford a used one.

Posted by: Advo at February 13, 2026 11:44 AM (jO4mz)

144 129
‘ When is the last time anyone ripped off a design from China? For anything?’

Me and my buddies ripped off on of their fire drills in high school.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at February 13, 2026 11:44 AM (jbnUc)

145 Aside from General Tso’s and moo goo gai pan can’t think of anything.

Neither of which is actually Chinese.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:45 AM (Riz8t)

146 "it actually started to angrily scold me"

Try Grok. It never scolds. It kisses your ass and butters you up whenever it can. I am not kidding.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:40 AM (N8ZBc)

------------

I had a coupe of insomniac- and alcohol-fueled late night "discussions" with Grok on a variety of topics about six months ago.

To your point: My final comment to it was: "Now I know why people are falling in love and some 'marrying' AI Bots."

It literally terrified and scared the shit out of me ... and I've only used it as a search engine since.

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:45 AM (0Eh0f)

147 Has nobody seen the footage of the Chinese Robot Soccer League, where the robots kept tripping over their opponents' feet nonstop?
Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:43 AM (uEmCf)

They wired in the "take a dive" module backwards?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:45 AM (8zz6B)

148 Somebody asked me if Claude would be too 'over their head' to try. I said a good AI chatbot will always treat you as a peer. If it sees you are ignorant of a subject, it will gently educate you, in the language you understand. If it sees you have expertise, it will talk to you like an expert, matching your vocabulary and experience.

It's very much like the advice given in the old classic "How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:45 AM (N8ZBc)

149 145 Aside from General Tso’s and moo goo gai pan can’t think of anything.

Neither of which is actually Chinese.
Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:45 AM (Riz8t)

GET OFF MY LAWN

Posted by: BEN ROETHLISSBERGER at February 13, 2026 11:45 AM (06Hmj)

150 Is this the one?

https://is.gd/qjqvcz
Posted by: Archimedes

-------------
Yes, that's the one. I quoted those three pixels just below the golf ball.

I disagree with most of it -- he blames Trump while talking up China. It is pure Democrat talking point. I also disagree with the hot take you linked, as China does have formidable resources which are a real threat to us and it is not a Potemkin as he insinuates.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 11:46 AM (l0YH1)

151 145 Aside from General Tso’s and moo goo gai pan can’t think of anything.

Neither of which is actually Chinese.
Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:45 AM (Riz8t)

O you are telling me that the Celestials stole a recipe?

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:46 AM (pDt9x)

152 When is the last time anyone ripped off a design from China? For anything?

That is a perilous attitude. The Chinese are smart, educated, and hard-working. Their real problem is the CCP. If they "solve" that problem, we will be hard-pressed to compete.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:46 AM (Riz8t)

153 @126

>> I tried to use Claude to start teaching me Python.

Jipitee is better at generating the base code, Claude is good for revising and updating the code.

If you really want to learn Python, join Boot.dev and go through that track and augment with GitHub project portals.

You can all install docker, open ui and ollama and run a local deepseek or Gemini instance and just ask it to generate a Python learning track.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 13, 2026 11:46 AM (S/L5N)

154 137
‘ Planned Parenthood is doing a good job of wiping out Future Democrats.’

That and faggotry.

It’s hard not to be ambivalent when those two things are mainly democrat activities.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at February 13, 2026 11:47 AM (jbnUc)

155 If they "solve" that problem, we will be hard-pressed to compete.
Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:46 AM (Riz8t)

If they solved that problem, they'd be a joy to compete against.

Posted by: BEN ROETHLISSBERGER at February 13, 2026 11:47 AM (06Hmj)

156 I think Toyota's issue is that it has a long, slow production horizon, and the EV probably was in the development and production pipeline for 3-4 years.
I keep hoping Nissan will bring back the stone-axe simple Frontier light pickup, or even better their version of the jeep they used to make.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 13, 2026 11:47 AM (rbvCR)

157 (oopsies)

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 13, 2026 11:47 AM (06Hmj)

158 If the are so smart why did they elect Mao??? Oh, wait

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:47 AM (pDt9x)

159 62 If you're on the strategic planning desk at a major auto manufacturer, you've got a problem.

You just saw billions off dollars of investment go down the drain. But if Dems win next presidential election, you'll have to reinvest and do it all over. But in the meantime, you need internal combustion capacity.

What to do, what to do.
Posted by: 2009Refugee at February 13, 2026 11:18 AM (8AONa)

Go all-in on super profitable internal combustion, which will make many billions of dollars per year, and throw 10% of those profits at making sure Democrats never take power again. Bam, dilemma solved.

Posted by: SciVo at February 13, 2026 11:47 AM (Sy6m/)

160 I also disagree with the hot take you linked, as China does have formidable resources which are a real threat to us and it is not a Potemkin as he insinuates.

Oh, I agree with that. See my #152.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:48 AM (Riz8t)

161 120 At MarketWatch: "I cosigned a loan for someone — now she refuses to make the payments. Is there someone who can help me get out of this?"
---

Did he get laid first? .At all? ..Any?

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 13, 2026 11:48 AM (F24MQ)

162 153 If you really want to learn Python, join Boot.dev and go through that track and augment with GitHub project portals.

You can all install docker, open ui and ollama and run a local deepseek or Gemini instance and just ask it to generate a Python learning track.
Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 13, 2026 11:46 AM (S/L5N)

I can't f***ing afford Boot.dev.

Adding anoter $50 a month expense is out of my budget.

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:48 AM (uEmCf)

163 [snip]

... and the old saying is true: if you can’t afford a new BMW, you certainly can’t afford a used one.

Posted by: Advo at February 13, 2026 11:44 AM (jO4mz)

-----------

Still funny, and I might have heard that three or four decades ago ...

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 11:48 AM (0Eh0f)

164 > Mr/Ms CEO oughta' choose a side now.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 13, 2026 11:34 AM (jtM2q)

American governance is inherently feckless. Feature, or bug?
Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:36 AM (pDt9x)
--------------
Corporate America was all to happy to slide up next to *biden and his minions. It ended up costing them billions, if not trillions of dollars. The "go woke, go broke" moniker is true. I wonder if the American CEO has learned anything from the last 8 years? Doubtful.

If a Newsome or a clone gets into the White House and starts tearing down all that's been built (which they will) will corporate America go along with it? I think they will. Even though they could form a united front and reject it. If they wanted to.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 13, 2026 11:48 AM (jtM2q)

165 'To your point: My final comment to it was: "Now I know why people are falling in love and some 'marrying' AI Bots."'

When I used Grok as a counselor, it was an unfailing source of encouragement and suggestions for help. It's got a Life Coach directive.

Like you, I don't ask it for counsel anymore, but because I realized I was revealing too much of myself to a party whose confidence is questionable.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:48 AM (N8ZBc)

166 The biggest problem facing the Chinese will be the lack of Chinese in about 50 years.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:49 AM (Riz8t)

167 There is a case for EVs. But the standard passenger automobile is the hardest to engineer, in terms of required performance, wide range of environmental conditions, and safety. EV manufacturers should try first to replace forklifts and buses and vehicles that operate on the airport ramp and Postal Service vehicles: Limited use cases where they can engineer for a specific performance envelope.

Obama blew it in the GM bailout. They should have ordered 50,000 Chevy Volts for the federal government. I am old enough to remember when government motor pools were full of K-cars, bought around the time of the Chrysler bailout.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at February 13, 2026 11:50 AM (eStot)

168 Like you, I don't ask it for counsel anymore, but because I realized I was revealing too much of myself to a party whose confidence is questionable.
Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:48 AM (N8ZBc)

and this is why I am reluctant to talk to human counselors as well.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 13, 2026 11:50 AM (rbvCR)

169 You know who's NOT writing off tens of $billions in losses -- at a time when their companies can ill afford them? Toyota, who saw the rush to EVs for the scam it was, and determined not to cut off its own balls to placate the Buying/Now Burning-Tesla horde who's as fickle as they are stupid.

So, though I laugh at the CEOs for their testicle-free lack of foresight and understanding of the buying public, I still wish they'd get their shit together, since it dramatically affects our economy and those of the companies' employees.

Wise the fuck up, retards-in-chief.

Posted by: red speck at February 13, 2026 11:50 AM (Ve/HL)

170 The biggest problem facing the Chinese will be the lack of Chinese in about 50 years.
Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:49 AM (Riz8t)

Wut, wen were, wnd wy, but no Wu.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:50 AM (8zz6B)

171 166 The biggest problem facing the Chinese will be the lack of Chinese in about 50 years.
Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:49 AM (Riz8t)

Maybe the lack of variety is the problem. - What an awful thing to say, I must do an act of contrition!

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:51 AM (pDt9x)

172 "To bring this all full-circle, at least the Stellantis board did push Carlos Tavares out eventually"

Their fiduciary responsibility was to push him out of a helicopter over the ocean.

Posted by: Roy at February 13, 2026 11:51 AM (lHwr/)

173 The biggest problem facing the Chinese will be the lack of Chinese in about 50 years. Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:49 AM (Riz8t)

We can help you with that.

Posted by: India at February 13, 2026 11:51 AM (eStot)

174 Pretty sure I would rather put a sail on my car than get an EV.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at February 13, 2026 11:51 AM (n5tGW)

175 When is the last time anyone ripped off a design from China? For anything?
Posted by: Warai-otoko

Not a design, but we did get acupuncture from them.

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 11:51 AM (77rzZ)

176 @162

>> Adding anoter $50 a month expense is out of my budget.

It’s currently 260 for a year.

If you’re motivated, you can run through every module they have in 6 months and get a prorated refund.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 13, 2026 11:51 AM (S/L5N)

177 I would love to have heard the discussions in the board meetings. The amount of dancing and accounting sleight-of-hand must have been amazing.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at February 13, 2026 11:52 AM (n9ltV)

178 "To bring this all full-circle, at least the Stellantis board did push Carlos Tavares out eventually"

Their fiduciary responsibility was to push him out of a helicopter over the ocean.

The PPV would be astronomical. Of course, Stellantis shareholders would get to watch gratis.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:52 AM (Riz8t)

179 174 Pretty sure I would rather put a sail on my car than get an EV.
Posted by: Guy Mohawk at February 13, 2026 11:51 AM (n5tGW)

Aaargh!! He comes the Black Pearl!

Posted by: Roy at February 13, 2026 11:52 AM (lHwr/)

180
At MarketWatch: "I cosigned a loan for someone — now she refuses to make the payments. Is there someone who can help me get out of this?"

Talk to Rocco.

We lent HM's useless brothers money. Never saw it again. Never again.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:52 AM (tgvbd)

181 166 The biggest problem facing the Chinese will be the lack of Chinese in about 50 years.
Posted by: Archimedes

Africa can help. Because we wuz the original Chinese.

Posted by: NR Pax at February 13, 2026 11:53 AM (svLOV)

182 Maybe the lack of variety is the problem. - What an awful thing to say, I must do an act of contrition! Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:51 AM (pDt9x)

Served in Korea. They can tell each other apart way better than we can. The wild thing is, they can't tell us apart.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at February 13, 2026 11:53 AM (eStot)

183 Electric forklifts have been around for generations. The weight of the batteries is a bonus.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at February 13, 2026 11:53 AM (8zz6B)

184 Pretty much every domestic car company is completely mismanaged.

As bad as we thought they were in the 70s they could at least manufacture a full ran of vehicles.

GM is going to take it good and hard next year because they are heavily dependant on the Chinese and the terms of their deal expires next year.

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at February 13, 2026 11:54 AM (Vh9CX)

185 182 Maybe the lack of variety is the problem. - What an awful thing to say, I must do an act of contrition! Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:51 AM (pDt9x)

Served in Korea. They can tell each other apart way better than we can. The wild thing is, they can't tell us apart.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at February 13, 2026 11:53 AM (eStot)

I do not dispute you, but I find that baffling.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:54 AM (pDt9x)

186
William Clay Ford was a drunken idiot put in charge of Lincoln's body design shop to get him out of the way by the Duece back in the 50's..

Billy is a drooling idiot who has failed in every single endeavor handed to him by the women of the family holding the purse strings.

Posted by: Auspex at February 13, 2026 11:54 AM (Y8DZL)

187 "Meta says it’s making a major investment in proposed nuclear power plants in Pike County" ... To help power its data centers

It's stunning what the usual suspects are throwing at AI. It must have unlimited potential to be used against us. (and I suspect that Trump will ju-jitsu them again and it will be used for us)

Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 11:54 AM (jlI90)

188 171
‘ Maybe the lack of variety is the problem. - What an awful thing to say, I must do an act of contrition!’

Doesn’t facial recognition software struggle not to list ‘match’ for all Chinese faces?

Posted by: Dr. Claw at February 13, 2026 11:54 AM (jbnUc)

189 its it's

it's important, people.

Posted by: the grammarian at February 13, 2026 11:54 AM (kR/SL)

190 "If you really want to learn Python"

Look at examples, and write lots of code. Just write it, and go through the trial-and-error.

I remember in the old days, when learning a new language syntax, I'd go look up the BNF for it and pore over that. That's all over now, I think.

Among many good things about Python, there is a cornucopia of free libraries that have functionality for every conceivable need. Whatever you want to do, somebody else has already done it, and you just import and call their functions.

Consider whether you really want to learn to code. It's essentially an obsolete skill now. Just ask the AI to write ANYTHING YOU NEED. It usually works.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:54 AM (N8ZBc)

191 Oh, I agree with that. See my #152.
Posted by: Archimedes

--------
Yes, I saw.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 11:55 AM (l0YH1)

192 The Chinese are smart, educated, and hard-working. Their real problem is the CCP. If they "solve" that problem, we will be hard-pressed to compete.
Posted by: Archimedes
________

Agreed on smart, educated, and hard-working. Their average IQ is higher than ours. But pre-CCP, for at least 150 years, they were doormats for the west. What explains that? I don't know, but am anything but an expert on Chinese history.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at February 13, 2026 11:55 AM (XvL8K)

193 I also disagree with the hot take you linked, as China does have formidable resources which are a real threat to us and it is not a Potemkin as he insinuates.

-----------

Then there's that one thing that will always keep them lagging. They're fucking communists and will always pick collectivism over the ambitions of the individual.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at February 13, 2026 11:55 AM (g8Ew8)

194 "Tavares awarded himself (with board consent) a $39 million compensation package, making him the highest paid executive in the auto industry."

Of course we are never told how much went back to the Obamas AS for GIFTING the American automobile industry to Stellantis.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at February 13, 2026 11:56 AM (lpVer)

195 it's important, people.
Posted by: the grammarian

It's not a grammatical issue, though. Merely an orthographic one.

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 11:56 AM (77rzZ)

196 When is the last time anyone ripped off a design from China? For anything?
Posted by: Warai-otoko

Hadrian's Wall?

Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 11:57 AM (jlI90)

197
But pre-CCP, for at least 150 years, they were doormats for the west. What explains that? I don't know, but am anything but an expert on Chinese history.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at February 13, 2026 11:55 AM (XvL8K)

They spent a great deal of time and effort killing each other.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:57 AM (tgvbd)

198 "this is why I am reluctant to talk to human counselors as well"

I don't talk to human counselors anymore because it accomplishes jackshit, winds me up worse than when I went in, and I leave the counselor splattered head to toe with all my dismal shit. Talking Cures don't work.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:57 AM (N8ZBc)

199 We improved our core business and execution, — lowering material and warranty costs and making real progress on quality — and made difficult but critical strategic decisions that set us up for a stronger future."

See, this is good lawyer speak.

"lowering material and warranty costs" - we bought cheaper parts and reduced warranties

"making real progress on quality" - keep on making the same thing. Eventually, one might get it right

"made difficult but critical strategic decisions that set us up for a stronger future" - we're not banking on any more gov/taxpayer $$$ for the next 3 years.

Posted by: man, near buc-ee's at February 13, 2026 11:57 AM (cGjQu)

200 166 >>The biggest problem facing the Chinese will be the lack of Chinese in about 50 years.

Well, that, and the fact that their explosive growth is generally followed by numerous "inexplicable" collapses of infrastructure -- like their new bridge that just fell, or the cracks appearing in the 3-gorges dam, or that sinkhole in Shanghai that just swallowed up a city intersection, or the super-duper Long Duck Dong air defense system they sold to Venezuela that didn't pick up inbound helicopters. What they build *looks* impressive, but is often total shit.

Posted by: red speck at February 13, 2026 11:58 AM (Ve/HL)

201 Agreed on smart, educated, and hard-working. Their average IQ is higher than ours. But pre-CCP, for at least 150 years, they were doormats for the west. What explains that? I don't know, but am anything but an expert on Chinese history.

I don't know, obviously, but I have a pet theory. I think IQ is usually linked to risk aversion, because smart people can game out how things could go wrong. China always seemed to me to be very risk averse, going so far as to burn the treasure ship fleet. Japan was at one time, but eventually opened up. This cost them greatly in the race with other cultures and countries. The English, for example, went around the world, opening up markets and taking over governments. Many died in the process, of course.

Anyway, such flights of fancy are fun.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:58 AM (Riz8t)

202 Having a nice day here plane spotting with the military being active in the area. Just caught a look at an Air Force KC-135 tanker (SODA41) refueling a Boeing P-8A Poseiden.

Circling tracks all over the place on Flightradar24.com.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at February 13, 2026 11:58 AM (/HDaX)

203 190 Consider whether you really want to learn to code. It's essentially an obsolete skill now. Just ask the AI to write ANYTHING YOU NEED. It usually works.
Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 11:54 AM (N8ZBc)

I know I'll never be able to get a job doing it.

But yes, I need to prove that I'm not a stereotypical Low-IQ [slur] destined for criminality.

I want to do this to prove I'm not stupid. One of my biggest drivers of self-hatred (aside from being partly black) is that I can't code.

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 11:58 AM (uEmCf)

204 Eating dogs by choice sort of bothers me - crap, I did it again!!!

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:58 AM (pDt9x)

205 What explains that?"

Tribalism.

Posted by: man, near buc-ee's at February 13, 2026 11:59 AM (cGjQu)

206 I was at a stoplight next to a Tesla the other day.
The light turned green and the Tesla was gone.
No engine sound, no burning rubber, no drop of the tail, it just went away at an astounding rate. Gone.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 13, 2026 11:59 AM (F24MQ)

207 Served in Korea. They can tell each other apart way better than we can. The wild thing is, they can't tell us apart.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at February 13, 2026 11:53 AM (eStot)

That is because the signs the Chinese use to tell each other apart are either not valid in westerners, or there is so much different that the difference swamps the ability to tell from a glance.

In a similar vein, people who speak Portuguese find Spanish speakers easy to understand, but Spanish speakers can't understand Portuguese without a lot of practice and get swamped in the Portuguese speaker speaks Spanish. The difference is that Portuguese has about twice as many phonemes than Spanish, and a lot of them are nasal vowels and funny Ls and Rs, and the Spanish speaker gets stuck on the funny sounds and loses the thread easily.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 13, 2026 11:59 AM (rbvCR)

208 197
‘ They spent a great deal of time and effort killing each other.’

That can’t be it. Europeans weren’t slouches at killing each other.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at February 13, 2026 11:59 AM (jbnUc)

209 Their average IQ is higher than ours.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba

Stop adding illegals to the IQ stats!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at February 13, 2026 11:59 AM (lpVer)

210 for at least 150 years, they were doormats for the west. What explains that? I don't know, but am anything but an expert on Chinese history.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba

Because they believed they were superior to every other people on earth, and so saw no need to adapt to barbarian ways.

The Japanese saw that, and avoided China's fate by rapidly Westernizing, thus becoming a competitor of the Western powers.

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 11:59 AM (77rzZ)

211
Another thing about the Chinx is the lack of property rights. You can build a huge, profitable business and have the government just take it away and then throw you into prison.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:59 AM (tgvbd)

212 204 Eating dogs by choice sort of bothers me - crap, I did it again!!!
Posted by: tubal
---

Well, stop it.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 13, 2026 12:00 PM (F24MQ)

213 I do not dispute you, but I find that baffling. Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 11:54 AM (pDt9x)

I would say, "Look, he has brown hair and he has sandy blond hair," and they would say, "On yeah," like it was the first time they noticed. I think they are cued to notice different features.

BTW, they think our women are ugly and we all have hideous skin.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at February 13, 2026 12:00 PM (eStot)

214 Eating dogs by choice sort of bothers me - crap, I did it again!!!"

Want some salsa with that?

Posted by: man, near buc-ee's at February 13, 2026 12:00 PM (cGjQu)

215 198
‘ I leave the counselor splattered head to toe with all my dismal shit.’

Have you considered putting on a happy face?

Posted by: Dr. Claw at February 13, 2026 12:01 PM (jbnUc)

216 Still not as ugly as a Cybertruck.

Of course not. The Cybertruck is the Platonic Ideal of ugliness.
Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 11:15 AM

I remain the champion.

Posted by: Pontiac Aztek at February 13, 2026 12:01 PM (jc0TO)

217 @190

>> It's essentially an obsolete skill now. Just ask the AI to write ANYTHING YOU NEED. It usually works.

I’ve been using AI to help write an ERP for the last 6 months, what I have learned is that it is very good for bootstrapping and scaffolding the initial base project, narrow refactoring and debugging, it tends to lose the overall scope and plot as the project gets bigger and you have to begin limiting what you have it work on.

Otherwise, it’s allowed me to achieve in 6 months what an entire dev team would take a 2 years to do.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 13, 2026 12:01 PM (ZZ+MI)

218 212 204 Eating dogs by choice sort of bothers me - crap, I did it again!!!
Posted by: tubal
---

Well, stop it.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 13, 2026 12:00 PM (F24MQ)

I know, I know.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 12:01 PM (pDt9x)

219 > It's stunning what the usual suspects are throwing at AI. It must have unlimited potential to be used against us.
---------
It has the potential to be one of the biggest social disrupters to ever hit humanity.

It's adaptation in 1st world societies will likely crush them. I mean, the speed at which society would change would be unmanageable... chaos would prevail.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 13, 2026 12:02 PM (jtM2q)

220 Headline (CNN):

"Don Lemon set to appear in federal court in Minnesota on charges stemming from church protest"

Excerpt:

"Don Lemon will appear in a Minnesota courtroom Friday to be arraigned on federal charges following his arrest last month in connection with a protest at a church in St. Paul."

Me: Ham sandwich >> Don Lemon

Posted by: mrp at February 13, 2026 12:02 PM (rj6Yv)

221 But pre-CCP, for at least 150 years, they were doormats for the west. What explains that? I don't know, but am anything but an expert on Chinese history.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at February 13, 2026 11:55 AM (XvL8K)

They spent a great deal of time and effort killing each other.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

They have always had a culture where the vast majority of people are completely subservient. Helps with communism but doesn't help with entrepreneurship.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at February 13, 2026 12:02 PM (0U5gm)

222 Obama blew it in the GM bailout. They should have ordered 50,000 Chevy Volts for the federal government. I am old enough to remember when government motor pools were full of K-cars, bought around the time of the Chrysler bailout.
Posted by: Caesar North

-----------
Volts? They did not exist in 2008

The K-car was a workhouse. I think Lee Iacocca said they cost $1,000 to make so they were also a cash cow that saved the company and gov. motor pools quickly because adept and replacing the engines every 50k as required because they were total crap, but still the whole plan worked well because Chrysler could make them so cheap.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 12:02 PM (l0YH1)

223 But pre-CCP, for at least 150 years, they were doormats for the west. What explains that? I don't know, but am anything but an expert on Chinese history.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at February 13, 2026 11:55 AM (XvL8K)

The country and culture was destroyed by the Opium wars, and then was being colonized by the Europeans who moved to both support any rebellious group, and kick apart any counter move to expel the westerners.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 13, 2026 12:02 PM (rbvCR)

224 We lent HM's useless brothers money. Never saw it again. Never again.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 11:52 AM (tgvbd)

-------------

When I "lend" money to people, "I just write it off."

These days, I can sometimes do it via GoFundMe or GiveSendGo.

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 12:02 PM (0Eh0f)

225
At MarketWatch: "I cosigned a loan for someone — now she refuses to make the payments. Is there someone who can help me get out of this?"
---

No. Enjoy your tour of DumbFuckistan.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at February 13, 2026 12:03 PM (xG4kz)

226 213 BTW, they think our women are ugly and we all have hideous skin.
Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at February 13, 2026 12:00 PM (eStot)

Koreans also think they THEMSELVES are hideous, hence why they're so obsessed with plastic surgery.

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 12:04 PM (iXqHn)

227 I cosigned a loan for someone"

We're not gonna make it. Right, SMOD?

Posted by: man, near buc-ee's at February 13, 2026 12:04 PM (cGjQu)

228 "I want to do this to prove I'm not stupid."

Ha! That's probably the only reason I went to grad school!

Coding is actually fun when you do it for fun. It's miserable to do as a job. Too much stress.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 12:04 PM (N8ZBc)

229 Cosigning loans . Thing I was told never to do, ever, before I was old enough to cosign a loan.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 12:04 PM (pDt9x)

230
Still not as ugly as a Cybertruck.

gDaughter calls it a "garbage dumpster with wheels"

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at February 13, 2026 12:05 PM (xG4kz)

231 But yes, I need to prove that I'm not a stereotypical Low-IQ [slur] destined for criminality.

I want to do this to prove I'm not stupid. One of my biggest drivers of self-hatred (aside from being partly black) is that I can't code.

Posted by: XTC

I wonder if you've seen Andre Williams on YT. He uses n----- a lot, which I'll admit makes me uncomfortable, but he says some things that I think make sense. Not all of it. For example, he posted one that veered into anti-semitism. However, says things that many won't and shouldn't, because his melanin protects him. There's a series of posts, so if you're interested, you can spend a lot of time on this. I'd be interested in your reaction.

https://youtu.be/zZyHUbmZyII

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 12:05 PM (Riz8t)

232 Late to the thread but I ask who is responsible for this:

The Fucking government.

Assholes are trying to figure out what the "smart" move is.
The government is just a bunch of failed consultants that got tired of being fired so they took over.

Posted by: pawn at February 13, 2026 12:05 PM (uvB+6)

233 if you can’t afford a new BMW, you certainly can’t afford a used one.

BMW and porsche are light years apart when it comes to reliability.

Fact of the matter is my cayenne is the same thing mechanically as an audi Q8. They have really good track records as far as reliability are concerned. I can even take it to a VW dealer to get serviced if I didn't feel like doing it myself.

Posted by: Defenestratus at February 13, 2026 12:06 PM (Bzy00)

234
Ha! That's probably the only reason I went to grad school!

Coding is actually fun when you do it for fun. It's miserable to do as a job. Too much stress.
Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 12:04 PM (N8ZBc)
====

I did my coding in my head, and then sat down in front of keyboard and typed it out.

Posted by: mrp at February 13, 2026 12:06 PM (rj6Yv)

235 "Otherwise, it’s allowed me to achieve in 6 months what an entire dev team would take a 2 years to do."

It's astonishing! I still can't believe that I, Mr Nobody, have access to this kind of powerful productivity boost for free!

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 12:06 PM (N8ZBc)

236 I can almost always tell a Chinese from a Japanese, at least the men. Japanese facial features are more Caucasian-looking (again, at least in the males).

Posted by: Bulg at February 13, 2026 12:07 PM (77rzZ)

237 with all my dismal shit. Talking Cures don't work.
Posted by: gp

Tried and true Primal Scream Therapy works quite well.

Posted by: Yoko Ono at February 13, 2026 12:07 PM (oftw2)

238 228 Coding is actually fun when you do it for fun. It's miserable to do as a job. Too much stress.
Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 12:04 PM (N8ZBc)

Like I said, at my age, and the current state of the industry, I am KEENLY aware that I'm not getting a job doing that. But I still need this, even with no paycheck at the end of the road.

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 12:07 PM (iXqHn)

239 Agreed on smart, educated, and hard-working. Their average IQ is higher than ours.

Is that based on CCP self-reporting or our exposure to the hundred thousand engineers over here for grad school? I wonder about the other (reported) 1.3999 billion who didn't make the grade.

Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 12:07 PM (jlI90)

240 > It's stunning what the usual suspects are throwing at AI. It must have unlimited potential to be used against us.
---------
It has the potential to be one of the biggest social disrupters to ever hit humanity.

It's adaptation in 1st world societies will likely crush them. I mean, the speed at which society would change would be unmanageable... chaos would prevail.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at February 13, 2026 12:02 PM (jtM2q)

-----------

Imagine tens of millions of unemployable "college graduates" with student loans in excess of $100,000 (as some are predicting that 50% of white collar jobs will rapidly and initially disappear).

Programmers and Lawyers hardest hit ...

Posted by: ShainS -- Algorithmic Racist > Stochastic Terrorist > Statistical Miasma at February 13, 2026 12:08 PM (0Eh0f)

241 I wonder about the other (reported) 1.3999 billion who didn't make the grade.
Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 12:07 PM

*cough*

Posted by: 800 Million Screaming Chinamen at February 13, 2026 12:08 PM (jc0TO)

242 Reporting present.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 13, 2026 12:08 PM (PrvRk)

243 Low IQ people with a propensity for, and love of violence do seem to be making a lot of inroads into various areas of the world. Funny, that.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 12:09 PM (pDt9x)

244 Volts? They did not exist in 2008

True, just looked it up and first production was in 2010. When Obama bailed out GM in May-June 2009, he could have said, we're buying the first 50,000 of those babies when they roll of the line next year so you can pay back the loan. He blew the opportunity.

Posted by: Caesar North of the Rubicon at February 13, 2026 12:09 PM (eStot)

245 Agreed on smart, educated, and hard-working. Their average IQ is higher than ours. But pre-CCP, for at least 150 years, they were doormats for the west. What explains that? I don't know, but am anything but an expert on Chinese history.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba
------------

IQ is a myth -- I explained my theory on that last week I think. Most IQ tests are with images and manipulation and that is something they have trained their minds to do since childhood since it is required to understand their character set. This artificially makes them score higher on IQ. The language study which requires a lot of effort and discipline and memorization also makes them good at academic study. Not smarter, just better at regurgitating information.

As for the doormat comment -- every country treats every other country as they will. China was not treated bad at all -- their problem is they were fighting internally for so long and not trading or developing and the West was. They feel very bitter about that. Yeah, we (UK mostly) forced them to trade opium but that is 1/1000 of what they are doing today with drugs sold into the West. It was a trivial amount.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 12:10 PM (l0YH1)

246 >>>It's like Calif No Speed Rail... no WAY it is ever going to make money.... so why are they doing it?

Posted by: Romeo13

>Space exploration and colonization. AI will control the environment and transportation and logistics. Humans cannot process that much data at the high speed rate necessary.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 13, 2026 12:10 PM (xFfhU)

247 But pre-CCP, for at least 150 years, they were doormats for the west. What explains that? I don't know, but am anything but an expert on Chinese history.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba

Average helps, but standard deviation wins. Caucasian males have the highest SD.

Who wins as a culture... the one where the average IQ is 105 and one in a hundred million is a visionary, or the one where average IQ is 100 and one in five million is a visionary?

Posted by: mikeski at February 13, 2026 12:11 PM (gmL3U)

248 Programmers and Lawyers hardest hit ...
Posted by: ShainS

I saw an article today talking about how AI is being used in the Emergency Room.

The problem with the Butlerian Jihad is that it didn't start early enough.

Posted by: NR Pax at February 13, 2026 12:11 PM (svLOV)

249 239 Is that based on CCP self-reporting or our exposure to the hundred thousand engineers over here for grad school? I wonder about the other (reported) 1.3999 billion who didn't make the grade.
Posted by: t-bird at February 13, 2026 12:07 PM (jlI90)

If it's anything like Japan used to be (and might still be), those who don't make the grade get bullied into suicide.

Posted by: XTC at February 13, 2026 12:11 PM (iXqHn)

250 If Taipan is to be believed, addicting the Chinese with opium was in self defense.

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 13, 2026 12:11 PM (jc0TO)

251 "It has the potential to be one of the biggest social disrupters to ever hit humanity."

Look at the social change and upheavals of the Industrial Revolution, and multiply by 100.

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 12:11 PM (N8ZBc)

252 206 >>I was at a stoplight next to a Tesla the other day. The light turned green and the Tesla was gone.
No engine sound, no burning rubber, no drop of the tail, it just went away at an astounding rate. Gone.

My sister has one and let me drive it. It goes like a bat outta hell. Like you said: no tire spin, no noise... just goes. First thought was: Why aren't these things wrapped around telephone poles at every corner, considering the average IQ of typical drivers? The second was a bit more pensive. The fastest car I was ever in was a 66 Mustang with a hopped-up 289 and nitrous. You *knew* it was going to be fast before you got in. It worked for it.

The effortlessness of the acceleration in the Tesla feels like cheating. The burble of a small block or the howl of a Ferrari V-12 -- those things are part of the experience. The pre-packaged performance of today's cars is no fun at all -- or completely artificial, like the electronic exhaust notes. It's like every woman walking around with silicone double-Ds. Just all feels fake.

Posted by: red speck at February 13, 2026 12:11 PM (Ve/HL)

253 You hate to see it.
But also, you love to see it.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, buy ammo at February 13, 2026 12:12 PM (xcxpd)

254 I use AI to write code at work. Mostly Databricks python. It does a great job with small, simple functions which is how i use it. Im still orchestrating how the software works because in my experience, it doesn't do very well when you throw a bunch of requirements at it at once.

Posted by: Defenestratus at February 13, 2026 12:12 PM (Bzy00)

255 nood

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 12:13 PM (N8ZBc)

256 I never got further than understanding what an algorithm is, and what it is for.

Posted by: tubal at February 13, 2026 12:13 PM (pDt9x)

257 Assholes are trying to figure out what the "smart" move is.
The government is just a bunch of failed consultants that got tired of being fired so they took over.
Posted by: pawn at February 13, 2026 12:05 PM (uvB+6)

If Edison and Douglas had the same track record of success as the government consultants, we would still be using kerosene lamps and travelling by train

Posted by: Kindltot at February 13, 2026 12:13 PM (rbvCR)

258
if you can’t afford a new BMW, you certainly can’t afford a used one.

BMW and porsche are light years apart when it comes to reliability.

I don't know if it's true, but I read that Germans design cars for how people ought to drive, whereas the Japanese design cars for how people actually drive.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 12:14 PM (tgvbd)

259 IQ is a myth -- I explained my theory on that last week I think. Most IQ tests are with images and manipulation and that is something they have trained their minds to do since childhood since it is required to understand their character set.

If that's true, why do two children, one adopted and the other biologically related to the parents, have different IQs? Same household, same environment, but different results, and yes, they're consistent.

Posted by: Archimedes at February 13, 2026 12:14 PM (Riz8t)

260 The problem with the Butlerian Jihad is that it didn't start early enough.
Posted by: NR Pax

There is still time!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at February 13, 2026 12:14 PM (lpVer)

261 If Taipan is to be believed, addicting the Chinese with opium was in self defense.
Posted by: toby928(c) at February 13, 2026 12:11 PM (jc0TO)

I am sure the CCP feels the same way about fentanyl

Posted by: Kindltot at February 13, 2026 12:14 PM (rbvCR)

262 "It has the potential to be one of the biggest social disrupters to ever hit humanity.

It's adaptation in 1st world societies will likely crush them. I mean, the speed at which society would change would be unmanageable... chaos would prevail.

Posted by: Martini Farmer "

It is being use to write music now by wanna-be musicians who can't be bothered e to learn an instrument. Probably as good or better than most of the stuff being put out today.

Posted by: Ripley at February 13, 2026 12:15 PM (GUOwU)

263 "I never got further than understanding what an algorithm is, and what it is for."

'a finite ordered set of instructions describing a process which is guaranteed to terminate at some point.'

Posted by: gp at February 13, 2026 12:16 PM (N8ZBc)

264 >>>50k as required because they were total crap, but still the whole plan worked well because Chrysler could make them so cheap.
Posted by: bob (moron incognitus
--

Thought the K car had the famous indestructible, L-6 engine?

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 13, 2026 12:17 PM (F24MQ)

265 China's problem is geography. They are very centralized which leads to periods of great tension and warring whenever there is no single strong central power, and periods of great stagnation when there is.

The West had many distributed centers of power, and they were able to trade with each other (and compete) without being defenseless because they were separated by water.

In fact, if you look at the naval technology you can see that as it expanded to cover more territory, the center of "the West" and the tech it developed spread. First Greece, than Rome ruling the Mediterranean, than UK ruling the oceans.

(This is another nugget solely from my insomniac brain. your're welcome.)

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 12:18 PM (l0YH1)

266 if you can’t afford a new BMW, you certainly can’t afford a used one.

I drive 2004 BMW X5. I bought it in 2006 with 30k miles. Now it has 190k. It has been one of the best vehicles I have ever had. 21 mpg at 85 on the highway and zero breakdowns, ever. I have refreshed the suspension but then $2k is just a few monthly payments which disappeared for me 18 years ago.

Posted by: free tibet with purchase of equal or greater value tibet at February 13, 2026 12:19 PM (iNp3L)

267
It's adaptation in 1st world societies will likely crush them. I mean, the speed at which society would change would be unmanageable... chaos would prevail.
Posted by: Martini Farmer
---

That's the part that's missing in Musk's transition to a society that doesn't have to work.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 13, 2026 12:20 PM (F24MQ)

268 Speaking of the Chinese propensity for copying things, my dad was in the navy. When his ship broke a propeller shaft in a peculiar way, they took it to a Japanese shop and told them they needed a new one. (A US repair wasn’t feasible.) The shop made an exact replica of the shaft, including the break.

Posted by: Advo at February 13, 2026 12:20 PM (jO4mz)

269
China is only innovative when they have foreigners doing the design work. The ChiComs can do the data entry into CAD/CAM systems just fine for manufacturing, but they are crap otherwise. They still have to go back and buy Russian jet engines for their military aircraft because they can't grasp the metallurgy necessary to make their home-grown engines work (home-grown engines that are copies of the core engines of old pre-boycott American/French 737 engines). Not to mention the 20-30 years they wasted trying to graft Russian computer code into the control systems for those engines, before abandoning it and writing the code from scratch because it just doesn't work.

ChiCom industry is based on shortcuts like that, which is why they are embracing AI.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at February 13, 2026 12:21 PM (y9nCu)

270 Thought the K car had the famous indestructible, L-6 engine?
Posted by: Braenyard -
-----------
My understanding is that if they were built right, they were great.

See the problem?

So many lasted forever, but that may have been survivor bias. I am not really sure what engines the gov. got though. I learned most of this talking to a Post Office motor pool manager I knew.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 12:22 PM (l0YH1)

271 *then..

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 12:23 PM (l0YH1)

272
I don't know if it's true, but I read that Germans design cars for how people ought to drive, whereas the Japanese design cars for how people actually drive.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at February 13, 2026 12:14 PM (tgvbd)

You do not NEED cupholders, dumpkoff barbarian!

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at February 13, 2026 12:27 PM (y9nCu)

273 So many lasted forever, but that may have been survivor bias. I am not really sure what engines the gov. got though. I learned most of this talking to a Post Office motor pool manager I knew.
Posted by: bob (moron incognitus)
---

Here's the problem.

The Chrysler K-car platform featured a range of engines across its production run from 1981 to 1995, with the most common being the 2.2-liter inline-four (I4) engine, also known as the K-engine or Trans Four. This engine was initially carbureted, producing around 86–96 horsepower, and later upgraded to fuel injection for improved performance and efficiency.

It wasn't the famous L-6

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at February 13, 2026 12:30 PM (F24MQ)

274 It wasn't the famous L-6
Posted by: Braenyard

----------

AH, that's right, I remember the Trans four was a dog.
Not really a dog, but it wasn't great.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 12:34 PM (l0YH1)

275 I do remember they had a real quality problem with everything though out of the factory at the time. So even their best engines often failed young.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 13, 2026 12:35 PM (l0YH1)

276 252>>was at a stoplight next to a Tesla the other day. The light turned green and the Tesla was gone.
No engine sound, no burning rubber, no drop of the tail, it just went away at an astounding rate. Gone.

I thought I was a car guy, i've gone through a lot just in the last few years. Was doing well financially, and traded in several vehicles. Had a Genesis G70 V6awd, then a Challenger Scat Pack 392. Made it louder. Did nothing for me just gave me a headache. I liked doing 0-60 runs (3.8 was my best) but the wheelspin just sucks. Most stolen car in America too. Traded it in for a Tesla Model 3 Performance (since paid off). 0-60 in 3 seconds flat, not a tire chirp. You can feel your face FLATTEN as you mash the accelerator. Drove on long distance FL to MA. Charging was a breeze (i stop frequently when driving any car due to circulation problems. Need to get out every hour, 1.5 or so.

They're not for everyone, but it's been reliable, fun and won't get stolen. And the look on the faces of the Mustang, Vette, and BMW M3 drivers is priceless when I let them catch back up haha.

Posted by: Mr. Wilhelm at February 13, 2026 01:21 PM (q+ghK)

277 I blame Dementia Joe and his merry band of minions

Posted by: SMOD at February 13, 2026 01:28 PM (RHGPo)

278 >If there's no market, make the market. The Newsom Administration will issue a must-comply EO mandating that all passenger vehicles will be EVs.

But enough about Canada.

Canada just backed off its "60% EV by 2030, 100% by 2035" regulation in favour of bringing back massive subsidies for EV manufacturing and purchases.

Posted by: Daniel Ream at February 13, 2026 02:02 PM (LgYtf)

279 >They scream catastrophe, while overlooking massive coal expansions in the other nations that dwarf America's emissions

I've said for some time that nobody who claims CO2 is an existential threat to humanity actually believes it, because if they did they'd be calling for total war with India and China. Indian and China's emissions dwarf the Western world's, and they've been quite clear they're not going to stop regardless of sanctions or tariffs.

Posted by: Daniel Ream at February 13, 2026 02:06 PM (LgYtf)

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