It's all the same to me. It's a very nanny-state-esque measure, and besides, we have capitalist car insurance here in the US and only one of our companies does that. Besides, it all comes out of the same place, whether it's a government regulator decreeing that all modifications must be engineer-certified or an insurance company putting a tracker in your car in exchange for lower rates (but only if you accelerate, brake, and corner very gently all the time).
In which case you were complaining about the wrong thing. But I think you will struggle to find people who disagree with the concept of "laws that exist purely to make people feel safer, while having little to no impact on actual safety, while also having a large negative impact on other minority groups of people", well, apart from when the affected people are someone else, then of course most people don't care On a separate, more on topic clarification note. Not all UK insurers offer black boxes either. Black box's are only on specific plans, and only a few providers offer them. They just happen to be cheaper for new drivers, hence why new drivers are attracted to them. I presume the insurers have the numbers to back this up, since they wouldn't offer cheaper prices for them otherwise. This is because the less people that claim against their insurance, the more money the insurance company can make, the cheaper they can make their plans, the more people sign up to them. All adds up to profit. Interestingly, black boxes are usually more expensive to get insurance with if you have been driving for many years and have a solid no claims bonus. Which imo shows insurance companies are only interested in employing them in markets where they stand to earn more money by reducing claims. Since if they had other intentions they would be forcing them on everyone, not charging more for them to the majority of road users. Since the insurer will likely be paying a different company to use the "technology", because outsourcing, so it probably isn't profitable to make "low risk" drivers use them.
So winter has ended, the roads are dry and car enthusiasts started taking their cars out. During the last two days I saw a Lotus Evora, a C124 with AMG aero wheels and a E36 M3 with aftermarket M3 graphics. Have you seen any interesting cars that weren't seen in traffic during winter?
Might be the new Acura Type-S, but now it's called an A-Spec. Surprisingly, the 2019 MDX gets this treatment. On the other side, we got the official new RDX, solely inspired by the concept.
There's a few with big badges as well. I guess it's supposed to make it more clear what brand it is, although it would be obvious that it is them from the rear.
That seems to be a modern trend in cars too. Can't say I am too keen on it. Whatever happened to sophisticated discrete classiness, not even "luxury" brands seem capable of it any more. It feels like race for who can (plastic) chrome plate the biggest emblem. There is a place for cars with this sort of style, but it would be nice for other options to exist too. I guess when you can't design a brand style distinctive enough you have to resort to sticking huge badges on the cars so people can tell what they are. Having said the above, Acura probably has a hard time making themselves distinct when so many of their cars are rebadged Honda's. Which will make it very hard to develop a brand identity, the Acura NSX doesn't even have an Acura shape grill, it has a Honda shape grill, and it is presumably their halo product.
The NSX was originally from Honda, so that's not surprising. In fact, most of their cars in the 80s and 90s were Honda rebadges.
Well, I'm looking from an modern point of view, specifically the SUVs. This is an example of an big badge SUV.
Another example of hugely oversized badges, Nissan Maxima. This picture if pretty good because there is another nissan with a much more reasonable badge in the background for comparison. I'd say this isn't really a new trend though, quite a few car models since the early 2000s have the same oversized badging, just changes from model to model.
That maxima looks surprisingly like a gtr, I kinda like that, especially when compared to Toyota approach.
I've decided that the newer Chrysler 300 is one of the ultimate highway-mile eaters. Even the V6 that I experienced was surprisingly powerful (but still a V6) and it was quiet and planted at a long distance cruise of 90-95 topping out at 110. (officer i mean i was going 71 in a 70) I can see why the people who bought the 300SRT loved it, its the best of both worlds, power and speed, and a good looking car that isn't in your face about it being an SRT product. Now only if they could make a Hellcat 300...
Chrysler do make a Hellcat 300... it’s just badged as a Charger. It’s actually kinda funny when you think about it. FCA literally make 2 cars badged as a Chrysler: the 300, and the Pacifica. Everything else is a Dodge. Why not take some of those Dodges and badge them as Chryslers with a price hike? Call the Challenger a 300D and price it 10-15% higher. Hell, take a Maserati Ghibli and badge it as an Imperial and price it 10-15% lower. I should be chairman.
While I like the charger, the 300 was always more the gentleman's choice. A little less shouty. But yeah I could definitely see the Chrysler brand going under soon. They can't sell THAT many cars...
It's not like there are many Dodges left... Plus, not sure if all Americans (if any) agree with me, but rebadging Italian cars as American and vice versa sucks massively.
