The Car Ensh*ttification Epidemic

[00:00:00]As if buying new cars wasn't already unattractive enough from soaring new car prices, rising interest rates, and other BS I've already yapped about in my overpriced car epidemic, which you can just watch later since I really don't want to repeat myself again here. Add on to all of those problems the utter downfall of automotive design. Like, what am I looking at here? Then of course we also got the decline of car quality and the rise of planned obsolescence in most modern automobiles.

[00:00:36]>> 10,000 miles on it, right?

[00:00:37]>> And by declining quality that only affects the quality of things that you and I care about like AC and whether or not that works after a few years. You know what's still going to be in absolute pristine condition decades down the line, though? all of the money these evil corporations are dumping into these brand new cameras that scan our faces.

[00:00:56]And of course, the mandatory kill switches that are preventing us from starting the car, that stuff's probably built to last forever because we can't have big brother losing out on his ability to spine us and sell our data.

[00:01:07]But heaven forbid we have working AC a few years later down the line.

[00:01:11]>> It is Mississippi in June. I ain't got time for my air conditioner to not be working in my brand new car. truck is dog. For a hundred grand, you get this GMC Denali and it's going to break down.

[00:01:23]>> Buy $107,000 truck. They said, "Yep, CARPLAY DOESN'T EVEN WORK."

[00:01:29]>> NOW, as fun as it is to doomost, remember that you can actually still opt out of this ownership experience by just continuing to buy used vehicles. I mean, come on. I hope the $100,000 truck and SUV epidemic videos already helped convince you with that because I do think part of this is a hyperconsumerism issue. Now, of course, it's not me excusing the horrible and awful things that the government is trying to shove into our vehicles because eventually at some point everyone who owns a used vehicle will have to eventually replace it, right? Like, I don't think you're a bad person for wanting a new vehicle.

[00:01:58]Just want to make that clear. All right?

[00:01:59]But if you did need more motivation right now about getting a 10 plus year old used car as opposed to a brand brand new car, just remember that not only will it be cheaper, it also won't spy on you. Like, ain't no way I'm signing up for modern car ownership and willingly paying thousands of dollars a month on these disgracefully high payments only to be spied on as my vehicle falls apart everywhere else.

[00:02:22]>> Brand new Escalade V Magnus Frost, one of 255 produced.

[00:02:28]Check that out.

[00:02:33]Nothing like a little bit of a knock in the engine here with uh a whole 18 miles. A nice check engine light that's normally flashing. My $130,000 Cadillac Escalade screen went black with 4,000 miles. And with all the modern tech in the screens, that means everything is blacked out. So, before I complain about car interiors getting worse and worse with all this tech, multiple screens, and Plan Ops lessons for the nth time on this channel, I actually want to save that rant for the final chapter of this video because I actually want to start this video off with something fresh, which is the humongous elephant in the room that deserves to be the first chapter, guys.

[00:03:13]Why are car designs getting so much uglier than ever? Like, are they I want to say, are they even trying anymore?

[00:03:19]But the reality is they have to be trying because you have to actively be trying to make things this ugly. Like someone who didn't try, if I gave this to a 5-year-old and told them to draw a car, someone not trying can make a better car. You have to actually try in the opposite direction with how hideous cars are getting now. Chapter one.

[00:03:36]They're hideous.

[00:03:37]>> You look at it.

[00:03:40]Look at You want to see the inshitification of cars? Just literally show them pictures of new cars that are coming up. Like why on God's green earth are we letting these soulless tech bro Apple employees design modern cars? We have to put a stop to it. The dark ages of automotive design because have you seen the Ferrari luch the new Mercedes AMG GT and so on.

[00:04:04]Like I'm laughing knowing that the Audi R8 and the BMW M3 designers might have actually let out a huge side relief because they're like hey our designs are kind of controversial. Are you sure you want to release it to the public already? And then Ferrari fumbled so hard with the luch reveal that anything that comes after it is going to look good. So BMW and Audi were like, "Yeah, just just release our concepts. What? It can't get any worse." And they kind of were right because I actually don't mind the new M3 design in comparison because maybe it is in comparison. Maybe everything else was just so hideous that this one slid under my radar. But like legitimately, they did announce that it's not EV exclusive. They also have an internal combustion engine planned for it because heaven knows Dodge royally screwed up that release with the new EV charger that is thankfully finally getting an internal combustion variant, the supercharged V8 thrown back into it.

[00:04:56]So BMW saw what happened with Dodge and they're like, "Yeah, we're not playing with that. Release two versions to ease people into it." And also, I don't blame the mass public for wanting to not adopt it because as we already see, the trend is kind of showing the opposite direction from EVs right now. Turns out everyone who wanted an EV kind of already got an EV and most people are actually gravitating back towards normal cars. For the last decade, a lot of these major car manufacturers thought they were playing a game of catch-up to the EV leaders in the space. Pushed by significant investor pressure from shareholders that wanted Tesla level valuation. But a lot of them are now realizing that the demand they were all chasing is a lot softer than they were expecting. The early adopters that wanted an EV have already purchased one.

[00:05:36]And as the market is flooded with more options, it isn't necessarily driving people to make the switch. It's just dividing the original pool of customers between more brands. According to research from Cox Automotive, even existing EV owners are considering a switch back to internal combustion engine or hybrid vehicles. So yeah, I'm fine with BMW. Now, speaking of Dodge, though, I do want to briefly shove some hopeium into this video cuz heaven knows we're going to need it. Things aren't all bad. The Copperhead, which is meant to be a Viper successor, has been rumored to be in the works. So, the future isn't entirely lost. I mean, we also got the Toyota GRGT that's still around the corner, too. But dear God, I cannot avert my eyes from the Ferrari Luche. Like, I I we got to spin back to this topic. Like, here we are again. All right. This is $650,000, by the way. Like, I'm sure that immediately shut up some any avantgard Ferrari glazer who was about to push their glasses up. Actually, you guys don't understand the appeal. Oh. Oh, wait. It's 650 grand. Uh, never mind.

[00:06:36]That is ass. Because literally every other EV does a better job than this thing. So, despite being a Ferrari, which is a company known for luxury and performance, it was actually designed with the intent of being the opposite of what Ferrari customers and what the company was known for. Why they thought that would be a good thing to do and why that would lead to anything revolutionary is beyond me because it's not a revolutionary vehicle. It does get a 2.5 second 0 to 60 which while being fast is far from the mark compared to its competitors especially at the 650 grand price point. Really got to remind people if you really want a nice performance EV, you have so many options that are way cheaper than 650 grand. You obviously have the Lucid Sapphire, 250 grand. Really, really good car. I know it's going to always make Tesla Glazers mad whenever I mention that one, but hey, hey, true FS. True FS. A Porsche Tyon, dude. They're going 60 grand used these days. Easily, easily. Such a good car to buy for speed, performance, luxury. You're going to get luxury, too.

[00:07:38]Lovely looking car. One of my favorite looking EVs. And then, of course, if you don't live in the United States, which claims to be a free market, but actually just bans these cars instead because oh no, competition. If you actually live in a country that is truly a free market, you have access to the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which is only 75 grand, and that is the Nurburgring record holder right now for EVs. So maybe the Ferrari Luche, maybe despite being 650 grand, maybe I'm still missing the peel. Maybe it's not a performer. Maybe it's maybe it's super luxurious, right? Maybe it's like this jizzworthy thing. No, no, it fails miserably at that, too. Its total range is extremely abysmal compared to its competitors. Like I think it's still down in like the high 200s, low 300s, which this is something tech bros and daily drivers and like non-car guys, right? The the other audience that Ferrari is claiming to appeal to cuz they're like, "Oh, this isn't our usual audience. This is like we're trying to get the brand new Californian tech bro audience with this." The the Yepies. The Yepies guys. Now, the yepies don't want this either because brother, I don't know how Ferrari missed the mark so far to make something that not only is not beautiful, not only is super expensive, not only is not that luxurious, also fails at having good range, fails at being comfortable, having good storage space, fails at being even fast. Who is this made for Ferrari? Like I have more confidence in the Jaguar Whimos that are doing laps in Atlanta suburbs than whatever Ferrari software that they're going to install in this 650 grand monstrosity. Anyways, I just got to stop thinking about this vehicle. It's actually getting me kind of pressed. So, moving on to chapter 2.

[00:09:10]>> Right now in law that's going to be implemented for the it says for 2026 and beyond, but there is a law that states that every vehicle manufactured is going to have to have a kill switch in it. The car itself will monitor your driving.

[00:09:26]And if the car thinks that you're not doing a good job driving, it will disable itself. So, the car dashboard becomes your judge, your jury, and your executioner.

[00:09:39]Chapter two, mandatory kill switches and spyw wear and eye monitoring. So, this is a really, really heavy to digest thing. So, if cars looking uglier than ever weren't enough to dissuade you from purchasing new vehicles, don't worry.

[00:09:52]The initification continues with governmentmandated kill switches and 10 bajillion cameras installed on every corner of your vehicle to track your face and sell your data online. I I mean track your face and make sure you're still awake and being a good driver. Mhm. Yep. That's what it's for.

[00:10:08]>> Section 24220 directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to mandate in quote advanced impaired driving prevention technology. No breath test is required. No police officer is involved. The judgment is made by software. Once flagged, the vehicle can refuse to start or restrict operation.

[00:10:31]Now, of course, that's not how it's marketed to lawmakers or as consumers.

[00:10:36]The reason this garbage managed to sneak through the cracks and get made mandatory or in the process of being made mandatory is because it masqueraded itself as safety equipment. Oh, think of the kids. Think of all the drunk driving incidents you can stop by having these cameras that stare at your face constantly and scan every detail about it. Yeah, we're just checking to make sure you're not sleepy. Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm just now realizing this in post. So, us Asians are completely and absolutely cooked. There's no way Congress or whoever is currently demoing this software right now. Like, look at it. It tracks like eye openness what direction you're gazing in. None of that's going to matter. It's just going to look at people like me and be like, "Yo, this dude's terminally drowsy. Car stays off. I literally won't be able to drive cars from 2027 onwards with this government mandate for like model years.

[00:11:25]Maybe when the software gets better and they remember that Asian people exist, I might be able to drive like 2029 onwards cars." Like, can we talk about how stupid of a concept this is? Like a lot of us wake up tired to our jobs in the morning and we leave starting our commute with like probably more closed eyes than we'd like to admit. Like we're still awake and our eyes are still open, but you know what I mean? Like we're going to have the facial expression of tired. Nothing pisses me off more than these designs that are designed by out of touch losers who could then get their designs approved and passed through legislation by outofouch lawmakers who then punish the general public who essentially serve as play testing guinea pigs to determine how screwed this software actually is in real world applications. People might actually lose their jobs if this becomes a thing because they won't be able to make it to work because their governmentmandated kill switch has determined they do not look capable of driving. This country is just becoming a giant corporate circus, aren't we? Like this is still heavily glossing over the fact that this software is going to constantly scan your face for other nefarious reasons like selling your data. A few months ago, I went over a politician that voted against this garbage that was voted against in full, Thomas Massie. And in addition to this, on this channel, for a long time, I have gone over the fact that car manufacturers will pay people to say that if you have the ability to get access to the data in your car to be able to fix your car, that this hands the keys to China, North Korea, and Iran. I've also gone over many of Ford's patents back when my white balance was a little bit more on the reddish side about them patenting the ability to lipre and emotion detect inside your car. We've also gone over on the channel the fact that a judge has ruled that it's legal for your car to retain all of your text messages and not provide you with a way to delete them even if you want to sell the vehicle to somebody else. I've been going over this in this channel for quite a long time and the issue what I I find is not that I don't go over the issues, it's that unfortunately nobody cares. And of the very few people that care, a even smaller number actually participate.

[00:13:37]He's just genuinely tired of talking about it. He has mentally run out of surprise or anger towards this concept where all he has left is pure distilled disappointment. Thank god my Royal Enfield still has a physical key that cranks the motor. And if you have a literal Kickstarter, no AI algorithm in the world can randomly hijack your crankshaft if it isn't even connected to an internet GPS Bluetooth or any software. It's a physical mechanical interaction to kickstart these vehicles.

[00:14:06]Genuinely, one of the biggest reasons I mostly ride motorcycles and even electric bikes these days is because of how absolutely repulsed I feel towards the rapid inshitification, corporizitation, and consumer profit-driven mindset that has absolutely annihilated every aspect of car ownership and every aspect of car culture. Especially over the past few years, cars are completing their transformation into soulless appliances.

[00:14:31]And I don't know about you guys, I don't have the heart left to stick around and watch it complete. I want out, right?

[00:14:37]Especially with all this flocking that's coming about. What is flocking, you ask?

[00:14:42]Well, >> have Americans finally had it with this mass surveillance system? That is a flock safety camera. It's an artificial intelligence automated license plate reader. That's because at least 90,000 flock cameras across 6,000 communities read over 20 billion plates per month.

[00:14:58]All that information then gets uploaded into a giant shared database which can be accessed by law enforcement and government agencies. And no surprise, this raises a slew of issues. And not to perpetuate stereotypes, but multiple cops and police chiefs have accessed Flock hundreds of times to stalk their exes and current partner.

[00:15:16]Chapter 3, the flocking epidemic. Now, just like with governmentmandated kill switches, it was marketed with good safety intentions, but ultimately existed as a backdoor to destroy our privacy, just like the former. As you saw, law enforcement isn't using it strictly for business purposes, but using it on innocent civilians, like stalking their crushes, stalking their ex-girlfriends, or even just monitoring the home that the flocking camera is default pointed towards at all times.

[00:15:46]And like many other AI algorithms, it's not perfect, but its results are treated like gospel. And police have acted with full impunity towards wrong information.

[00:15:57]They have arrested stolen vehicles that were actually not stolen, but the flocking camera of its AI algorithm mixed up a few numbers. Whoopsy daisies.

[00:16:07]>> Like one Ohio man pulled over accused of stolen plates attacked by police dogs and jailed because Flock read the seven on his plates as a two. or the Colorado woman accused of stealing a package and treated as guilty until proven innocent because flock caught her driving 20 times in one month. Then there's the Arkansas couple that had a flock camera pointed right at their house, putting them and their guests under constant warrantless surveillance.

[00:16:28]>> Also, before someone mentions, "Why do you fear being tracked? Only people who did something wrong have something to fear. That's why I don't care about all this tracking stuff." Miss me with that bootlicker mentality. I'm not bending over to big daddy corporate or big brother government on this one. It doesn't matter if you're actually innocent or not. 50-year-old grandmother spent six months in the slammer doing hard time because AI tools flagged her as a suspect in a bank fraud case in North Dakota. Now, Angela Lips is a mother of three, grandmother of five, and has lived her entire life in North Central Tennessee, roughly a thousand miles away from where the crime she was accused of committing took place. In that last incident, what happened is the authorities were comparing AI had flagged somebody and they were comparing driver's license to the picture and he just basically said, "Well, all right, if AI says so." There is this blind trust in AI from authorities like this to just do their job for them. I fear being tracked not because I'm a criminal or have the intention of committing a crime, but because I fear what crimes my government is doing with it, like selling our data, stalking ex-girlfriends and other people, or falsely accusing innocent civilians of incorrect AI generated information. And if that's already being abused right now, already has happened multiple times as we speak, then this isn't just some straw man invisible boogeyman. This is stuff that has happened and will continue to happen, which is why it just sucks. This is de facto stupid garbage.

[00:18:01]And if it's being abused this much, you also have to consider how far are we from them teaming up with corporations next where this isn't just a government thing. So, who's to say that's not in the future for flocking where it teams up with dynamic pricing to even track your grocery trips on your way there and set the prices when you get there. Heck, they might even be selling your data for other things already right now as we speak. Now, on a somewhat related tangent, I just got a Glazel ebike, so I've been riding one for almost a year now. Got one last summer. And there's something so cool about having something that has no registration or license plate on it. Since flocking is such a big thing nowadays, and their cameras already everywhere, at every gas station you go to, even brings a lot of peace of mind to not only not be tracked everywhere I go. Not going to lie, it's kind of rebellious and cool to know that you're existing outside the system. I even wear a full-faced helmet, not just for safety and UV protection, but also the further obscure identification by blocking my face from these garbage devices. And I'm not alone in this movement either, since most people from all walks of lives. Cuz yes, these aren't just for tree huggers, cardio fans. This is for older dads. This is for former military veterans and other sovereign citizens and true freedom loving individuals who want liberty. If you want peace in society, an electric bike is a really good thing to think about right now. Seriously, do not do what Twitter did when I revealed I got an ebike and somehow turn it political.

[00:19:29]Like I said, freedom and privacy is for all walks of life and all citizens in America. It is your right to have it.

[00:19:36]Our cars are now becoming a secondary form of identity, and I hate that. Why did the government have to stick their nose this deep into vehicle ownership?

[00:19:46]Also, if you're new to this channel, I promise you I'm not usually this doom pill or dystopian. Please go watch my previous video on people buying dumb slop to cheer yourself up. Just do it.

[00:19:56]You're going to need it. It just it'll be like a nice pallet cleanser. And subscribe for more epidemic slop if you're enjoying this video so far, or rather feeling existential dread since I don't know if this specific topic has really been that enjoyable. Again, please go check out some of my more funny, positive videos after. Anyways, it's one thing to have someone ruin their own finances like last video, right? But it's another to have governments and corporations monetize our life in every single aspect to the point where we will truly own nothing and definitely not be happy. You know what's crazy though? If you told someone this 30 years ago in the '9s, they would unironically call you a nut job and they're just like, "Ah, you've read George Orwell's 1984 one too many times.

[00:20:37]Ah, this is the United States, the US of A. This is my freedomloving liberty country." There would they would never stoop to that level of surveillance, corporate monetization, and civilian stocking, especially just three decades from now. Who do you think you are? And yet, here we are. The things you buy are purposely designed to fail. Light bulbs used to last decades.

[00:21:01]>> Chapter 4. Planned obsolescence.

[00:21:05]Screens. Screens everywhere. So, we save the worst for last. Like I said at the start, this single-handedly is the largest thing ruining modern cars and arguably the first trends setter of it.

[00:21:16]What is plan ops lessons, you asked? By definition, it is when manufacturers intentionally design products to have limited lifespans or become unfashionable, therefore forcing consumers to regularly replace them at frequent intervals. This is why I'm fixing up all these old cars. As more time goes on, we're going to discover cars like these, built between 1995 and 2012, were the best generation of cars ever built. It was before all the planned obsolescence and computers and at the peak of engineering where they were building stuff to truly last and not worried about profits. Where today's generation of cars has been a huge disappointment and it's only getting worse. From Silverados to F-150s to Jeep Grand Cherokees and even the Rams, these cars are having tons of problems. They can further incentivize this consumer behavior by making parts harder to purchase or replace. Which is why every modern car's engine bay is the most abstract mess of a maze my eyes have ever laid witness to. since how dare we humble owners dare to fix our own vehicles when we should instead be good little consumers and just buy whole replacement cars instead. And what's even worse is they're already phasing out the parts on these cars. This is a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee and guess what?

[00:22:35]The transmission fluid for this thing is on a national back order right now. And when the parts are available, the dealerships know that they're needed and they turn out to be very expensive. Like an alternator for this Nissan right here is like 800 bucks. And don't even get me started on the transmission on this thing because that is the biggest ripoff in the industry. Sure, we have laws like right to repair that limits manufacturers from outright designing bespoke repair procedures that only dealerships have accessible tools for when right to repair was passed in Massachusetts. And after several years of the judge asking for their input, Nitsa ignored them. And then once the judge finally said, "Okay, right to repair is allowed to go through." The judge sent out a notice to every major automaker saying, "Don't comply with it." This isn't even exclusive to luxury brands anymore since even lifelong reliable brands like a lot of Japanese brands have been caught cutting corners lately. Yeah, I'm looking at you brand new Hondas, Toyas, Nissan, and so on so forth. I own a car dealership. In recent years, Honda has dropped drastically in reliability. They used to be top shelf.

[00:23:39]Definitely not anymore. New Hond's are not reliable. And the new Hondas literally, they're not reliable. The new CVTs, I know three people that have had them blown up.

[00:23:48]>> This is not me hating on these brands, by the way. I've actually owned a Honda as well as a Nissan in the past. They're still good in the sense that like Honda specifically is still in the top five.

[00:23:57]There's four brands ahead of them. But I'm making the point that they're not this invincible level of reliable that they used to be known for. And the issue that that has created is now people praise and overmarket older Hond's and older Toyotas because people are chasing the actual reliable ones. Because I will not contest with someone who's probably commenting right now, you're wrong.

[00:24:18]Hondas are reliable. My 2010 has 300,000 mi. You're right. You are right. You have the good one. They're not good like that anymore. So, people are rushing to buy yours. And I will admit, you should probably keep yours cuz they're just going to run super long. But like the newer ones unfortunately aren't as good.

[00:24:35]So people are now overvalue the older ones and that has just screwed up the used market where you have these super high mileage older Hondas.

[00:24:42]>> Y'all really got to stop telling people and recommending people to buy a Toyota or Honda. Y'all really messed up the market for real. Kid you not. I was on Facebook Marketplace. A dude was trying to sell a what a 2011 Toyota like 200,000 miles for like 15 grand. Are you insane? And that everybody in the comments always talking about, "Oh, just get a Toyota. Just get a Honda. Get it."

[00:25:03]Like, no. For like they try to get a used car at a decent price, bro. It's non-stop. I be seeing like Honda Civic Sports like go for like 17,000 with like 170,000 miles on it. Bro, >> guess her grandpa was right when he always said they don't make them like they used to anymore. RP the goat.

[00:25:18]Grandpa, we love you because they really don't make them like they used to anymore. Jokes aside, it sucks at people who are buying new vehicles expecting a reliable, long- lasting vehicle only to have it have problems the moment it's off warranty because it's almost like corporations are designing it to act that way. Ooh. Ooh. That they're now dealing with problems, right? That early on in ownership. It's funny and tragic because the whole point of buying new is to avoid the used car experience. But welcome to modern consumerism, I guess, where one path leads to hell and the other path also leads to hell. If you're buying a new car, nah, it's just a used car of extra steps. Anyways, that's enough doom posting. If you enjoyed this video, make sure to like and share it to your friends, especially ones who just bought a brand new car. Subscribe for more Epidemic Slop and watch my other videos if you haven't already. Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you all next time. Bladed Angel out.