This emphasis on leasing must be a short term fixation. Once companies move onto more mature generations of vehicles, the upgrade cycle will lengthen pushing more people toward ownership.
Leasing is mostly just a financing model for people who like to have new cars. It hasn't been economically sound for individuals maybe ever. The shortest I've owned a new car was 5 years and that's because it was a dog from Dodge.
Exception may be some European cars which have a reputation for very expensive dealer maintenance after the warranty period.
Mercedes dealers in particular are thieves. Mercedes-Benz of Boston tried to bait and switch me replacing an AC compressor on my 1999 E300D Turbo. Initial quote was $1750, after they had the car a couple days they made up some bullshit about the condenser being bad and said therefore it would be $5000. I told them to go fuck themselves, bought the necessary refrigerant handling equipment, and did it myself. This was 5 years ago. Still nothing wrong with the condenser.
IME it's 100% of the time better to buy whatever tools you need and do the necessary research to DIY than to take a car to a mechanic. And certainly never a dealership.
EDIT: Almost forgot. When I checked the pressure in the AC system after getting it home before working on it, it was super high. What I suspect they did (because I told them I wasn't going to pay their usurious rate) was just cram a bunch of refrigerant into the system from their recovery tank in the hopes it would blow seals and screw me over. So, yeah, avoid MB of Boston in particular.
If you don’t want to do your own maintenance, I’ve been told that you really need a good independent mechanic for German cars unless you want to spend a fortune.
At one point I did an event at BMW’s place in SC and was really tempted but came to my senses.
> This emphasis on leasing must be a short term fixation
It is an inevitable consequence of modern rabid capitalism. The 99.99% shall own nothing in our name, while the 0.001% enjoy their life on the rent every single one of us has to pay for the privilege of existing.
More and more of basic life necessities are gated away behind subscriptions (and yes, I am counting a basic computer with an office program suite as such), or they are rapidly depreciating assets, and what remains gets bought out by the rich in fire sales during economic crises (remember the "for sale / foreclosure" signs 2008ff?) - and the frequency of the latter has only increased.
Of course this all has an end game because eventually people will have no money left to even lease these things, but by then those who are in power and enjoying their life will be long gone.
I agree. That's a good idea for any historical photo series. It would be a massive project but it seems that it could be done with this photo set since they are dated and locations are noted.
You live near one of these developments? Your reaction may be correct, but my experience has been that the density has brought amenities. A brewery, a cafe, and a good restaurant moved into vacant/underutilized spaces. My street hasn’t been had issues with long-term parkers. Crime’s no issue. IDK. My experience doesn’t align with your certainty.
I actually do live in a neighborhood affected by densification, although not in Minneapolis. The "amenities" got worse, a couple of local small stores were demolished and replaced with apartment buildings. A couple of these apartment buildings are "low barrier housing", meaning that they are given to junkies. So the property crime in the area skyrocketed (not helped by newly opened transit), and we don't have a single 24-hour pharmacy in the area anymore.
The street parking is now oversubscribed, so my friends often have to circle around the area for quite a while to find a spot when they visit me.
These changes actually made me look into the question of density. Before that first-hand experience, I used to be a pro-urbanist victim of propaganda. And yes, I lived in Europe and I got my driving license when I was about 30.
That’s unfortunate. Maybe it can be done well or be done poorly. From my experience as a homeowner in Minneapolis, the dense housing has been net neutral/positive.
FWIW: as a Minneapolis resident, my experience is that there is active hostility and grassroots rejection of adding dense housing in neighborhoods that are traditionally single family homes. I would be curious to see how much dense housing has actually been built post-2018 relative to the historical norm, as the small number of apartment buildings I've seen go up along light rail and buss corridors have fought tooth and nail against certain demographics in the neighborhoods.
So... you want all new buildings to have parking minimums? First of all, pass, but secondly what about that article justifies your cynicism, and lastly what exactly is the root of your anger? Do you just love being isolated to the point that you think everyone else hates or should hate living somewhere where they don't need a car?
I'd be pretty annoyed about only being able to own something that had to have a dedicated parking space. What a waste.
That’s said, if you’re struggling with humility and connection, legally punching someone in the face and being punched in return can be quite rewarding.
So, go join that boxing/bjj gym and learn just how pathetically average you really are!
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