Miles off

In the olden days, dodgy car dealers would turn back the odometers on vehicles to make them appear to have had less usage - and hence increase their value.

Apparently it involved a drill and the speedo cable.

You can't do that with modern cars.

Now, in the first of two Tesla stories from Reuters this week, they are accused of tampering in the opposite direction.  There is an allegation and matching lawsuit claiming that Teslas over-record their mileage so that the warranties run out quicker.

Another reason not to buy a second-hand Tesla if it's true.

The second story is about investor nervousness about brand damage done by Elon Musk.

They seem relieved that he will be reducing his Trump duties and spending more time with Tesla.

And the share price is going up despite a massive drop in profits.

I guess I don't understand finance.

I would have thought having a Nazi tosser spending MORE TIME running the company would be a bad thing.

Ssangyong Bows Out

A couple of stories from my favourite Australian car news site to start 2023:

The first marks the end of the car company that brought you the odious Rodius:

Although it only marks the end of the name, not the company.

The story is here - and their newer output does look like it is going to be better:

Albeit, borrowing heavily from Jeep...

...and even Dacia:

The new name is to be "KG Mobility" which to me sounds like a company that would supply invalidity scooters to overweight people.

So that picture there will be the KG Mobility Torres.

I don't know if they will sell many - especially as a new metric has been found as an indicator of car sales and it is indicating a sales drop.

This is the second story. It tells us that "new-car sales could be on the brink of a slowdown, if declining sales of showroom bows are any indication"

But even a bow wouldn't have made a Rodius look presentable.

Or a Chevrolet Trax apparently.