Trump's Card

[WOM]

Yeah, Honda, Datsun and Toyota were the early birds in the '70s. And Chrysler sold a good variety of rebadged Mitsubishis and whatnot. But I'd have to call it '80, '81, '82 before they really started moving volume.

I remember test driving a brand new Renault Le Car (5) when I turned 16. Surely they knew I wasn't a buyer, but they took the time anyway.

[San Bernardhinault]

There's a good number of Fiat 500s here, too.

I assumed that as US manufacturers stop building cars altogether and just focus on ugly soccer-mom minivans and giant heavy trucks that feel like they're made of flimsy plastic, it makes sense for Fiat to try and stay here as the regular car market frees up.

[WOM]

The Fiat 500 is lovely (but shit), but suffers from Mini syndrome: what to do next? Mini keeps adding failed new products to the lineup to keep the show going, but it's a losing proposition. Nobody wants the ugly extended 500L, or the small CUV thing. What now?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

My mother was consider iconoclastic when she bought a Datsun (now Nissan) in 1974. There were only a couple of dealerships in the entire tri-state area.

Amor, the same thing has happened with Fiat 500s and Smarts here (and to a lesser extent with Minis). Though I think that a casual observer over-estimates their influence as one of their primary selling points is that they are easy to park on the street. The garages here are full of SUVs that are used for outings to second homes.

my parents switched from Hillman hunters to a Datsun Sunny shortly after I was born. I think they really weren't alone at the time. Apparently the hillman hunter they bought was a fucking nightmare. I can remember us having trouble with the Datsun once, but ever since about 1980, my parents exclusively bought japanese cars, and post 1990, exclusively toyotas. I think that's pretty representative of the typical Irish car buyer. by 1990 the Gardai had switched from the Ford Sierra, and the Ford Granada, to Toyota Carinas (the bond with ford breaking finally 6 years after the plant in Cork was closed)

[ursus arctos]

The long term hope is for Alfa Romeo to make a comeback, but that's harder than selling 500s to yuppies.

TAB, as far as Illinois governors go, it's more the latter, though one also has to take into account the fact that the Chicago US Attorney's Office has always been very ambitious and has extensive experience in prosecuting that kind of thing.

[ursus arctos]

https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1002217479777726464?s=19

[Tubby Isaacs]

Does he think that him pardoning is like a legal precedent, or something?

[Tubby Isaacs]

He's just pardoning a Democrat so that he can say he's not just pardoning people in his own party.

[ursus arctos]

The pardons are both favours that he can call in to be reciprocated and signals to those who have been or will be charged with similar crimes as to what is available for those who remain "loyal".

The administration also sees them as part of the wholesale destruction of Obama's legacy.

[Ginger Yellow]

It's all about a) signalling to people who might flip on him that he'll pardon them if they keep schtum, and b) creating a narrative that conservatives and political grifters are being unfairly prosecuted.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Why pardon this Democrat grifter?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Christ. He's also today denied that he sacked Comey "because of Russia".

[Ginger Yellow]

Like I say, game recognise game.

[WOM]

The long term hope is for Alfa Romeo to make a comeback, but that's harder than selling 500s to yuppies.

Lovely looking vehicles. But after driving a grief-free Lexus or Infiniti or Acura, why would you go near an Alfa?

Couple of weeks back, Mrs WOM intimated that I could get one of the lovely looking Ducati Sixty2 that was sitting (slightly used) in the showroom. I sort of sucked through my teeth and said "Yeah....I could....".

[Tubby Isaacs]

I hadn't realised Utah has already passed some (reduced) Medicaid Expansion.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Lovely looking vehicles. But after driving a grief-free Lexus or Infiniti or Acura, why would you go near an Alfa?

Couple of weeks back, Mrs WOM intimated that I could get one of the lovely looking Ducati Sixty2 that was sitting (slightly used) in the showroom. I sort of sucked through my teeth and said "Yeah....I could....".

Your wife wants you to buy a motorbike? Don't eat any rhubarb based dishes, and sleep with one eye open

[Amor de Cosmos]

Couple of weeks back, Mrs WOM intimated that I could get one of the lovely looking Ducati Sixty2 that was sitting (slightly used) in the showroom. I sort of sucked through my teeth and said "Yeah....I could....".

You do realise she's talking about her next birthday present don't you?

La Signora had a Ducatti for awhile. It looked almost as hot as she did riding it.

[WOM]

You're a suspicious lot. Doesn't every woman tell her husband to go ahead and buy a Ducati? No...oh...

[Tubby Isaacs]

Are these tariffs going to hurt the Ontario Trumper in the elections?

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

And we've lost A de C for the rest of the afternoon.

[ursus arctos]

Ford Nation is really a whole different thing.

[ursus arctos]

This is a good thread (just click through) expanding on the points that GY and I have made about the pardons.

https://twitter.com/Popehat/status/1002223740585852928

[ad hoc]

Has he heard that Muller is about to get him? I mean I know that suggesting he's become even more frenziedly crazy today canb sound a bit meaningless, but the list of stuff he's done just today and it's still only lunchtime over there is "impressive" even for him

[ursus arctos]

He's really worried about Cohen, largely because Cohen almost certainly knows stuff for which 45 could be prosecuted after he leaves office (recall that all of the smart money is on Mueller respecting the current DOJ guidance on a sitting President being effectively immune to prosecution outside of impeachment).

He's also purged the building of those who were trying to constrain him (Kelly is only focused on avoiding nuclear catastrophe at the moment, and has long been on board with the racism and Kulturkampf).

[WOM]

Are these tariffs going to hurt the Ontario Trumper in the elections?

No. It won't play in the election at all, frankly. Nobody will ask about it and he'll just sidestep it if they do. His candidates aren't even turning up at all-candidates debates in their ridings, so he's coasting on 'desire for change' alone. It's going to be tight, I suspect. Hopefully it falls the right way. I've already voted.