As recently as the early 2000s, Mercedes regularly sold around 13,000 SLs annually. Last year, just 1300 moved off dealer lots. So what happened, and why does Mercedes continue to bother?
What’s it Like to Go 283 MPH on an Electric Motorcycle?
“At that speed, the wind creates a really big noise. You feel like an airplane taking off. When you break the wall of the air, you make some noise.”
The Big Book of Tiny Cars
Once a car category departs the commonplace, interest tends to pick up among enthusiasts and collectors. How else to explain the current fascination with personal luxury coupes of the ’70s and ’80s?
The Future of Rolls-Royce, Part II
“Every carmaker discovers that selling their first EV is a lot harder than they blithely assume. Find me your random luxury-vehicle salesperson who is conversant in local electrical-utility incentives, charging stations, charging-station types, and voltages. There’s just a lot of additional information.”
Envisioning an Optimistic Automotive Future
Improbably, for a pessimistic nihilist like me, I wrote an essay about optimism for the future of the car in the face of climate catastrophe, our ruined world, and the automobile’s leading charge in catalyzing both.
How to Buy a Vintage Mercedes SL Roadster
Avoid these things.
Magnetic Cement? Electric Semis? Recycled Rare Earth?
And other key ways our transportation infrastructure may have to change to accommodate the ruinous mess we’ve made of the world.
Is Paul Rudd a Replicant or a Vampire?
How does Paul Rudd manage to remain so damn youthful when our own visage resembles postmortem Jessica Tandy?
My first story for a hilarious new lifestyle publication–The Arrow–from the AARP aimed at GenX men.
I Finally Rode a Harley
It was not what I was expecting.
The Future of Rolls-Royce, Part I
“The last thing you want to see is that a Rolls-Royce can’t go any longer into a city center. Then, it’s goodbye for us, because our clients live around cities, in cities, they are commuting into cities,” he said. “To go electric is a must.”