I recently bought a used car through Internet dealer Vroom and thought I would document my experience. This is not the first time I’ve bought a used car, not my first Internet auto transaction, and not the first BMW i3 I’ve bought, so perhaps this gives me a little perspective.
cars
Your Mileage May Vary: Lies, Damn Lies, and Benchmarks
The hot story in the news this week is Volkswagen’s reported brazen cheating in diesel engine emissions testing. This brought to mind a host of similar occurrences, from Samsung/HTC cheating at benchmarks to alleged cheating in SPC enterprise storage performance testing. Cynics say we should just assume we’re being cheated, but is this a world in which we want to live?
The Myths of Standardization
I certainly benefit from standardization of the world around me, and I welcome interoperability and interchangeability as well as the price and product selection advantages. But I am not blithely focused on standardization above all else. I will happily use a proprietary solution if the alternative is inelegant, ineffective, or insufficient.
Walled Gardens, Gilded Cages, and Right to Repair
Things are getting awfully complicated, aren’t they? The custom parallel CPUs, proprietary communications networks, and encrypted data ports require extensive training, special tools, and a computerized reference library to comprehend, much less debug. And the manufacturers, who derive much of their money and differentiation from warranties and authorized repair centers, are loathe to see independent shops get a piece of the action.
Wow That’s One Amazing SUV!
I spotted this on a Ford commercial last night. Their new(ish) Edge SUV sure is fast! I imagine no other vehicle in any class even comes close to this top speed! Someone tell Bugatti and Pagani! Update: Because I’ve been asked, here are the answers you seek: The ad aired on the local educational access […]