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The sales tax stings when you purchase a new car. Other than that, not bad. Plus, IIRC, there is no sales tax on food at the grocery store. Sometimes, just not filing a state income tax return is a nice thing. Weird how Washington and Oregon are next to each other, but so different as to how taxes affect you. Oregon doesn't have a sales tax, but their income tax rates are brutal because the marginal tax rates get very high at low levels of income. Overall, as a whole, Washington is far more cosmopolitan and worldly than Oregon. Portland is an overrated and overpriced river town. Every single secondary market in the West has been "exposed," so real estate prices are high: Denver, Sacramento, Phoenix, not to mention the PNW. I've lived in the South and I liked it for the short time I lived there. Atlanta's difficult summer weather lasts about 2.5 months. The rest of the year is great. Some places in the South have 4 months of high heat. I was discussing thermal comfort with a teacher in a continuing ed. class and she said that people do abhor high heat, but that extreme cold will finish you off faster than high heat. That's true. On some levels, California is not as prohibitive to live or retire in. That's depending on where in it you live and if you've managed the house or condo purchase. The other things that might be expensive are car insurance and fuel. Groceries, utilities, and income taxes are decent. Their income tax scales are very gradual and the brackets are very fair. The issue with California is how it's now overpopulated, too scruffy and not updated, and even sort of "ghetto," for lack of a better word. California to the PNW can be culture shock. SoCal is, or was, socially free wheeling and sort of obnoxious. NorCal is a little less so, because of the more P.C. Bay Area. By comparison, the PNW is uptight. I was once told, "You should move back to California. We're liberal here." I got more comments like that directed my way and it was hard to take. (When I lived in Atlanta, even being a Yankee, I felt welcomed.) California is certainly not conservative. It has a more balanced mix than does WA or OR, though. - - - - - If Montreal's winter were more like a Boston or N.Y. winter, I would have probably attempted to live there at some point in the past. I love that place and have felt very at home there. Not so much in Toronto. The big deterrent was that, to get any sort of license or board certification, you have to take the exams in French. Mastering a language on a conversational level is one thing. Mastering a language on a commercial level, including writing in it, is an entirely different ball game - much more difficult.

I don't think I'd want to live anywhere colder than NE Ohio. I like how it's hilly near here, and kind of a mix of the Midwest but more like PA and W. New York. I love the Northeast and New England region, but the winters are considerably colder, harsher and longer. Don't think I could live in the South (though I could see spending Jan-Feb in S. Florida or the Florida Keys). I do love So Cal and the Front Range of Colorado, but both places are just too expensive to live anywhere really nice. The Southwest, been there, done that. Had enough desert for one lifetime. The PNW is still an area I want to explore more...visited friends in Portland and Seattle before, but there is more I want to see...

What I love for the most part about Washington, mild winter weather, solid health care and a pay as you go state, so no state income tax, just a basic 10% sales tax. Nice part is you can be just a few hours from the core of Seattle and be very rural and still only be 30 min from the downtown of smaller surrounding cities. I DO NOT handle heat well at all, so I will never move to the southern states. For me, it would appear that we will stay in this house till death do us part as the wife wants to stay close to the kids. Good thing I bought back in 1999 as it was cheap and this was rural then, now considered Suburbs.

Other than a plane-change in LAX a long time ago- I've never been to the West Coast. The weather sounds lovely, but many aspects of State regulations don't appeal. That's a terrifically pertinent point.

G-Wagen had an all time global sales record in 2021. It’s more popular than ever.

My wife & I breezily talk about 'where we would move to' when retired... but all we end up achieving is "Well, we're not moving there!" via some news story or learned factoid / weather events/ etc. The 'crossed-off' list slowly grows. I would be fine in a very rural setting but she's a city girl.

In the same universe, there is exists these two scenarios with the same person regarding the same practice. See if you can spot the difference. Dealerships and market adjustments=Good because of free market capitalism and customer choice. Uber and other delivery services expanding during a pandemic and giving customers that same choice under that SAME free market=Bad That is both a double standard and hypocrisy. And I didn’t even need ten paragraphs and fifty thousand words in one post to explain it. Ain’t that some shyte?

Just read an article out of Kentucky, where they have what's called 'automotive property tax'. Article also calls it 'car tags', so perhaps it's akin to registration. However, in KY, they use a tax based on the rolling yearly value of your vehicle. The example used was that a 2014 F-150 cost $133 in 2021, but's going to cost $193 in 2022 due to that (year older now) truck being valued a lot higher (they use NADA values)- a 45% increase.

Lemmings

It's sort of a coveted thing to live in the hilly parts of Los Angeles and its suburbs. However, these guys always make the news, since they live in and roam those hillside canyons ... and get a little too close, sometimes. Maybe it's safer, and cheaper (not at all, really), to live in "the flats." - - - - - @balthazar Where's the Los Angeles area on your list?

How can you have worked at 3 dealerships yet never seen a new vehicle sell below MSRP??? I’ll email you images of my truck’s sticker and the purchase contract if you want. Wife’s prior car bought new off lot was well under MSRP also. This can’t be a foreign idea to you, it just can’t be. You are aware of retail MSRP vs. dealer invoice, yes? Holdback amounts, yes? OEMs discount to dealers in order not to take on 2500 locations & employees/costs; to avoid all the expenditures to have local stores on the their books. GM takes over all that dealer-level costs…. how do you figure vehicles prices are magically going to go DOWN?

That avoidance of facts seems to have spread to others, as evidenced by the last 24 hours. Shhhh! You know we don't talk about that around here lol.

@surreal1272 I find it speaks volumes when SMK is presented with facts and yet he chooses to ignore my post that shows he is full of BS and move the goal posts with an ever-changing Apples to Oranges comparison and excuses while attacking American Business. Seems he needs to move to Germany.

I've done very rural before (family farm is 90 miles south of here in very rural E Ohio), college towns, small cities, big cities, a resort town/island, and suburbia... I think ultimately I'd like to stay close to a major city w/ great hospitals and health care (always important as one gets older), plenty of arts/culture, plenty of diverse restaurants, an airport, close to beaches and parks...so maybe 30-40 min outside of Cleveland close to Lake Erie in a semi-rural setting will be my next move...

And what dealership is this because I’ve worked at three in two different states and the only time a vehicle is sold below MSRP is when it’s a carry over year model or otherwise something that has been on the lot for more than a year? Dealerships would go out of business if they made a habit out of that and you know it. You mean like how dealership lobbies have spent years trying to block direct sales in a lot of states thus taking away the choice for potential customers? That is making them the only choice for buyers which is the opposite of how a free market economy works. It’s almost like the dealerships want to make it mandatory that you have to “choose” them. Help it make sense Balth.

Reminds me of my childhood 'farm' in some respects... 130 wooded acres out in the middle of nowhere, 2 large ponds on the property, we were lucky if we could get 2 channels w/ an antenna (until my Dad installed a satellite dish in the early 80s). Alas, after my mother's death in 2016, my idiot brother has made it impossible to visit and enjoy the property. Hope to sell it eventually (my brother has been trying to sell but ignores the fact my sister and I also co-owners) and buy a vacation property close to Lake Erie...

I have no interest in reading through all these posts just to add my point, so bear with me if these points are redundant. The last two pages or so have certainly been interesting, at least. For me, what I personally hate is that if I go to a manufacturer's website, build a vehicle and find said vehicle in inventory (far-fetched these days, but...), I'm given a price for that vehicle. Until you contact the dealer directly or arrive at the lot, there's often no indication online there may be a markup. Worse yet, I could place a reservation/order and have a market adjustment added after the fact in order to take delivery. The point to be made with a direct-to-consumer sales approach, at least for me, is transparency and consistency. When a manufacturer raises the price, it's clear and consistent. You're not placing an order and being surprised with a higher price upon delivery either. The flip side is losing the ability to potentially haggle for a lower price (not likely in this market, but worth mentioning). This model also likely directs more profits towards the manufacturer, for better or worse. Though not directly comparable, it's not far off from the strategy that has fueled CarMax's success in the used car market. ?

We had no cable TV, and antenna reception sucked, so we never watched TV up there. Certainly no computers in the '70s/ '80s /90s. Real simple living, a ton of time outdoors. Kids today would be mostly bored, I expect. I think it worked so well for me, mu sister & brother growing up was the people; our immediate family, extended family, locals to the lake, etc. This Large Mouth came out of that lake, 7th largest in the state that year, 7lb 1 oz, 24” long. Other than teaching my sons to fish, I haven’t fished since, almost 40 years now.

Family used to have a cabin lakefront in upstate NY- my grandfather built it in 1970 and growing up my family went there every summer. Hiked thru the woods, explored around the railroad & the old mine works, swam every day. My grandfather spread lots of coarse sand well out, so it was great to walk in / swim. You could see your feet at chest depth. There was a 'float' a ways out, a row boat, I took my sons there many summers, my sister took her girls there. Sold in 2013 as everyone's priorities slowly changed, my grandmother had entered dementia and my other grandfather local to there came to be at odds with our side of the family, and other family/friends there passed away.

Yet they sold every single one that they made. Guess that fact never occurred to you. And their worst selling SUV still sold more than anything out of Germany, mainly because the biggest player doesn’t even have an EV SUV yet. Kind of like the G Wagen.. Sells like crap so it's the worst, right? *eyeroll*

I haven’t swam in a lake since I was a kid. I’ve been canoeing and boating on lakes as an adult, thinking about taking up kayaking or canoeing. So many lakes and rivers in NE Ohio. I miss having a swimming pool like I did in Arizona, was very relaxing. I don’t really like public pools.

Is that Model Y & Model 3 combined? I see thru Oct the Model Y was only at 105K - I seriously doubt they moved another 85K in just 2 months. Like you said; GM will sell every one they build.

I havent watched the movie Lake Placid. Heard of it, never seen it. Maybe I watch it someday. I will look out for it. Sharks in Greece and Italy? Yeah! They dont bother me as I know there are dolphins that will save me from them. THIS is my justification for not being afraid of the Mediterranean. And yes, Im being serious! Quebec lakes...look how scary this fish looks. It swims fast and it could spear me instead of me spearing it. And you know...Canadian lakes and some American ones too, have this scary thing lurking in the deep. Sure its nice and cute when its this small But the damn thing grows. 20 feet. As long as a freakin' Great White. And let me tell you, there arent any dolphins around... This one is from B.C. But look at the boat and the name of the company and you tell me why I shouldnt shyte my pants. LOL It even breaches the water like a Great White. I am being funny though. I aint scared. But my creepiness for lake water is very real for whatever reason. Greek yogurt that tastes like roasted marshmallow? Sounds intriguing. Only in America would they think of something like that!

The irony here is just about EVERYTHING everyone buys is thru ‘sleazy middlemen’, making sleazy profits over & above the manufacturer. Supermarkets; just bulldoze them all down. ?

There's the part I was looking for. It's "coming" but not before they released a low demand ugly ass sedan. Again, your criticism of MB does not equal the criticism you have bestowed upon literally everyone else. And congrats. That EQB will have a whole 26 miles more range as the equally paltry ranged Jaguar E-Pace. The "best or nothing" right?

And your proof of this is what exactly? The EQS? It has no gasoline equivalent. The closest thing to it is the S-Class and it sure as hell isn't that. The EQB? That will start, minimum $50K while the GLB starts at $38K. Why are you lying?

Well, neither do you...you don't own a car dealership chain.

Exactly. Not even close to an apples to apples comparison.

That's different. A manufacturer raising product prices isn't the same is a corrupt middleman reseller tacking on fake 'market adjustments'.

With a direct store model like Tesla, you cut out the middleman resellers (dealership ownership group). The middleman reseller model is obsolete and provides no advantages to consumers.

Upcycle before 'n after :

Got jab #3 about 4 hours ago. I had Pfizer for the first 2 injections, but opted to go with Moderna. I had been thinking about doing it this way, and then found out a friend of mine did it this way a week or two ago and is doing fine. I had a mild but dull headache after both Pfizer shots and am expecting the same.

Every car company sells every car they make. Tesla sold 190,000 Model Y's in the USA in 2021, Mach-E 27,000. And the current wait for a Model Y is 7 months, yet people are still waiting for it, rather than buying a Ford or VW iD4. So when the gas cars are gone, I don't see how Ford competes with Tesla. Blackwing was really low volume, like in the hundreds, CT4 was down 48% in Q4 (although up for the year, not sure if it had a full sales year in 2020) and CT5 was down 65% on Q4. Shouldn't Blackwing be elevating those cars and getting more people to buy them? And where are the V-series SUVs?

You're incorrect, at least in my case. As much below MSRP as my truck was, I know nearly exactly what their profit was (and it was a profit). I nor my wife has ever paid MSRP. My brother has never paid MSRP. I don't believe my father has ever paid MSRP. There's ALWAYS (prior to summer '21) money off. It IS the norm in my experience and those I know. I'll ask politely once more; you are aware of the difference between MSRP and dealer invoice, yes? Dealers do not buy from OEMs @ MSRP.