In a lot of ways, the answer to “why aren’t there any more cheap cars” is that the costs of manufacturing a cheap car and meeting crash standards make it tough to do with any margin. From a business POV it makes more sense to resell an off-lease 3yo Corolla than to build a separate model.
used car leasing basically isn’t a thing, so those cars get sold for cash or at higher interest rates. With a used car they can also upsell on stuff like extended warranties, which tend to be very profitable.
financing/cash won’t come close to where they need to be.
Getting all these cars back as lease returns is valuable, too; it gives them a chance to sell the same customer another car sooner, and it ensures a steady supply of used cars which is good business bc
A few factors:
One is that these are both cars with outstanding residual values, so you’re paying depreciation and interest on that depreciation.
Another is that both Toyota and dealers need to reach certain economies of scale in terms of new car manufacturing and sales and relying on
RAV4 in 2006 vs 2026 is indeed a bigger jump in price.
2006 - $269/mo for 36 mos with $1930 down = $11,640
2026 - $299/mo for 36 mos with $3k down = $13,764
That’s an 18% delta in 20 years - really not bad.
(If I was nitpicking I’d do a proper spec adjust, and that’d only benefit the 2026.)
Ehh, yes and no. The Camry has lost market share but it’s still a huge volume producer. 318,000 units in 2025. That’s almost 2x the entire Audi brand combined. And there isn’t especially heavy lease subvention on the Camry.
This is a delta of 20 years, during which the sticker price of the car went up 50% and the safety, fuel efficiency, and features that come standard are several generations better.
What’s really, really wild about this is that car *leasing* has in many ways gotten significantly cheaper over time.
In 2006, a Toyota Camry lease was ~$225/month for 36 mos with $3k down. Total: $11,100
In 2026, a Toyota Camry lease is ~$275/month for 36 months with $2k down. Total: $11,900
“MAGA’s fundamental shared quality is a total lack of theory of mind for other people” is a theory that keeps getting validated by reality - look at almost every decision they’ve made in the war with Iran, and how they seem constantly surprised by the unanticipated actions of other parties.
I had exactly the same suspicion, and the same thought. Great minds!
This 🧵is worth reading re: Graham Platner, why his claims just get worse the more you know about
Is he a Nazi? Doubt it. But that’s beside the point.
So you want the Iranian people, some 20k of which was just slaughtered, to do what -- mass outside a few govt buildings and try to take them over?
Will those buildings be bombed? Do you realize how easily they can be painted as foreign collaborators now and mowed down? What is it you're suggesting?
I wanted to mention a great talk I saw at Yiddish Culture Jam last weekend with this Moishe Dolman. I think I've even linked this before. But he's quite a funny character and a sharp guy in his own way. When I saw him on the schedule with a 90 minutes topic TBD lecture I knew I had to fit it in😂
Edited screenshot of a tweet by jon_snow_420: Anthropic: I have made AI angels: you fucked up a perfectly good spellchecker is what you did. look at it. it's got anxiety.
A post on X from the betting platform Polymarket that says “BREAKING: Anthropic CEO says Claude may or may not have gained consciousness, as the model has begun showing symptoms of anxiety.”
Literally as I’m arguing with someone about whether AI companies are misleading people into believing their technology possesses God-like super-intelligence I see this monstrosity
His idea was fascism, he got fascismed, he’s just not the guy in charge.
Please don’t get into official business in public, Jake. This is why we started the daily global standup call.
Bluesky post screenshot with name obscured bl psky social The literal only and best joy of being a Marxist and Leninist is being right literally all of the time. Like, everything is awful, but at the very least you're not wrong about any of 8:54 PM • Mar 5, 2026 ® Everybody can reply
Um, no. It is widely agreed that Marx and Lenin were wrong when they advised you to sell those shares of IBM your uncle gave you for your bar mitzvah.
leave britney alone
The SAVE Act doesn't just add requirements.
It ends:
— Online registration
— Registration drives
— DMV registration
5.6% of Americans registered at an election office in 2024.
Under the SAVE Act, that's the only way. For everyone.
I have a number of thoughts about this:
1. This is what I said would happen
2. Um deontological praxis lol
3. That’s because tRump is a pedophile! We have to get him out!
4. [something that may be antisemitic/racist but it’s not worth trying to clarify]
5. Evidence?
6. Random account tagging
Asked whether Americans should be worried about retaliatory attacks at home, Trump acknowledges the possibility. "I guess," he says. "But I think they're worried about that all the time. We think about it all the time. We plan for it. But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die."
The president has immunity.
Everyone else will have trials.
time.com/7382697/trum...
Asked whether Americans should be worried about retaliatory attacks at home, Trump acknowledges the possibility. "I guess," he says. "But I think they're worried about that all the time. We think about it all the time. We plan for it. But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die."
The president has immunity.
Everyone else will have trials.
time.com/7382697/trum...
NATO went in to stop a genocide. That’s Very Fucking Different than this bullshit.
You people are insane. The U.S. government did it because it wanted to do it, not because Israel manipulated us to do it.
You are absolutely delusional and normalizing terrible views that could lead to terrible things.
This is the right messaging
The government knows what they’re doing is illegal
Talking about consequences today can help deter crimes tomorrow.
If Noem leaves, Republicans will try to say that since she’s out, investigation or prosecution of her many crimes is pointless.
That’s wrong as a matter of law and policy.
Statutes of limitations don’t say “X years or when the person leaves govt.”
Republicans in Congress decide whether hearings happen, and whether they are public.
But assuming Noem is ultimately fired, Democrats in Congress were instrumental in making that happen.
So (1) credit where it’s due (2) this shows what’s possible even in the minority.
you’re killing me
Like has nobody ever heard an episode of the [now-canceled, inexplicably] BBC program HardTalk?
Stephen Sackur was a beast.
