As US Tariffs Hit EVs, Hyundai Discontinues Its Cheapest IONIQ 6, While Kia Delays EV6 adn EV9 GT (electrek.co) 74
First, Hyundai "is discontinuing its most affordable electric sedan after just three years on the market," reports USA Today. After being introduced in 2022, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 "quickly gained the admiration of automotive critics because of its affordable pricing and capable performance specs." But now, Hyundai "is axing the most affordable versions of the EV, leaving consumers with only one Ioniq 6 option."
Hyundai will continue to produce the Ioniq 6 N performance trim, which is the quickest and most powerful iteration of the Ioniq 6. It's also the most expensive. The South Korean automaker is getting rid of lower Ioniq 6 trims due to "disappointing sales and tariff considerations," according to Cars.com. Hyundai sold 10,478 Ioniq 6 models in 2025, dropping 15% from 12,264 units in 2024, a company sales report stated. Hyundai's Ioniq 6 is mainly produced in South Korea, so it faces high import tariffs.
Sales increased for their earlier IONIQ 5 model, reports the EV blog Electrek, "up 14% through the first two months of 2026, with 5,365 units sold... Meanwhile, IONIQ 6 sales slid 77% with only 229 units sold in February."
Elsewhere they report that Kia's EV6 and EV9 "didn't fare much better with sales down 53% (600 units sold) and 40% (819 units sold), respectively." Now a Kia spokesperson tells Car and Driver that the 2025 EV6 GT and 2026 EV9 GT "will be delayed until further notice." They attributed the move to "changing market conditions," but added that this delay "does not impact the availability of other trims in the EV6 and EV9 lineups."
More from Electrek: The news comes after Kia already said it was delaying the EV4, its entry-level electric sedan, "until further notice." It was expected to arrive in the US this year alongside the EV3, Kia's compact electric SUV that's already a top-seller in the UK, Europe, and other overseas markets.
While Hyundai didn't directly say it, since the EV3, EV4, EV6 GT, and Hyundai IONIQ 6 are built in Korea, the Trump administration's import tariffs and other policy changes are likely the biggest reason to blame here. Kia and Hyundai, like many others, are hesitant to bring new EVs to the US due to the changes. The IONIQ 6, EV6 GT, and EV9 GT join a string of other models that have either been postponed or canceled altogether.
Sales increased for their earlier IONIQ 5 model, reports the EV blog Electrek, "up 14% through the first two months of 2026, with 5,365 units sold... Meanwhile, IONIQ 6 sales slid 77% with only 229 units sold in February."
Elsewhere they report that Kia's EV6 and EV9 "didn't fare much better with sales down 53% (600 units sold) and 40% (819 units sold), respectively." Now a Kia spokesperson tells Car and Driver that the 2025 EV6 GT and 2026 EV9 GT "will be delayed until further notice." They attributed the move to "changing market conditions," but added that this delay "does not impact the availability of other trims in the EV6 and EV9 lineups."
More from Electrek: The news comes after Kia already said it was delaying the EV4, its entry-level electric sedan, "until further notice." It was expected to arrive in the US this year alongside the EV3, Kia's compact electric SUV that's already a top-seller in the UK, Europe, and other overseas markets.
While Hyundai didn't directly say it, since the EV3, EV4, EV6 GT, and Hyundai IONIQ 6 are built in Korea, the Trump administration's import tariffs and other policy changes are likely the biggest reason to blame here. Kia and Hyundai, like many others, are hesitant to bring new EVs to the US due to the changes. The IONIQ 6, EV6 GT, and EV9 GT join a string of other models that have either been postponed or canceled altogether.
Withdrawn from USA (Score:2)
They're still selling to the rest of the world. Presumably can buy them in Mexico and Canada.
Re: Withdrawn from USA (Score:2)
Re: Withdrawn from USA (Score:2)
I drive with old plates (unregistered for a 5 years now), they pulled me over at 3 years.
So I'd gather as long as you don't get pulled over for other reasons you can probably go 3 years or so.
They check registration at the border though. So you'd need to come over with the registered owner. And there could be issues with insuring a car with a foreign VIN in your local zip code.
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The summary is unclear and confusing regarding which decisions are worldwide or only apply to the US exports. This makes a really big difference for the discussion regarding the consequences of tariffs. The OP is helpful in clarifying that they only stopped exporting to the country that enforced increased tariffs.
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But it's not just tariffs. It's also the rolling back of certain mandates that made selling EVs attractive or even necessary in the US market. Besides that the fact is EVs aren't doing all that well in the US market. It's a similar situation in Canada. Since Canada is a much, much smaller market than the US, I expect Hyundai to similarly discontinue that same model there also.
You'll drive your (Score:2)
6000 SUX and like it! https://robocop.fandom.com/wik... [fandom.com]
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"I'd buy that for a dollar!"
LOL, classic.
Re: You'll drive your (Score:2)
At 7 pre-war bucks per gallon will you?
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I have a Hyundai Inster. Cheap materials, shitty software, but the sheer utility of it is unbelievable. I call it Hyundai Tardis.
Re: Not the most compelling cars (Score:2)
I wish they would sell it in the US, but even a $38k base price car is too cheap for us, per the article :-/
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I would be too craven to drive such a tiny car on American roads full of wannabe APCs.
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Well, they're certainly not Toyota or Subaru. But the bottom half of every annual Consumer Reports' owner reliability survey I've seen is typically littered with American car manufacturers - not Korean ones.
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For 2025, Genesis was one of the worst. You may know that as one of the marques of Hyundai, a Korean company
However, US brands do have a stronger showing down there this year.
Ford, Tesla, and Buick are both above Hyundai this year, and Kia is above Ford, but below Buick and Tesla.
And it tends to move around a lot.
Also, does Chrysler still count as US? Aren't they owned by the Italians, now?
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Re: Not the most compelling cars (Score:2)
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I don't know what "World Car of the Year award" is given for, but it's not reliability.
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Re:Not the most compelling cars (Score:5, Interesting)
Korean cars were, for years, just poorly made shitboxes.
Then they became the poorly made cars that handled poorly but at least you got a lot of features for cheap.
More recently, they became the poorly made cars that handled decently and sometimes even quite well with lots of features for cheap but not super cheap. And the materials inside are still pretty awful.
So when there's blood in the EV streets, nobody's going to the Hyundai or Kia dealers. People only went there for the super good subsidized deals.
I learned to drive stick in a Hyundai Excel. I mean, they named it after accounting software, which tells you how cheaply made it was.
I drove some other shitty Korean car all over Spain and Portugal. Can't remember the model, but I had no problem with speeding because doing so was impossible.
I had a Korean made Chevy EV, the Spark EV, for a few years. It did the job, but it was not a great car. The most plastic seats I've sat on since a Datsun wagon. Questionable handling. Nice motor, though. GM built it in the USA, supposedly.
Korean cars these days are well made, and well equipped - rather than the long, confusing, flexible, and expensive accessory list you get from European and American car makers they tend to group them into 3-4 levels with the latter having the kitchen sink. They have long warranties (7 years for Kia here) because they stand behind their "these are well made cars" claim. As for handling, the ones I've had/used aren't on the level with the best European cars - but they are far, far better than anything American I've ever driven.
When I think of American cars, I think of poorly made and bad handling. I had some while I lived in the US and when I've been vacationing there or on conferences - and I'd never buy one again. Even before the "I'd rather avoid American products"-phase now that Trump is supporting Russia and threatening democratic countries.
As for EVs - I'v had EVs for 9 years now. They're absolutely great, and I won't buy a fossil car again. Fortunately, most others here do the same. The air is so much better near the roads/crossroads, and I can smell when a fossil car passes by.
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Korean cars these days are well made
Consumer Reports reliability ratings don't reflect that.
When I think of American cars, I think of poorly made and bad handling.
ok, so your "knowledge" comes from memes.
US cars have impressive showings in both teh supercar segment (and for a fraction of the price), and the sports car segment.
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Korean cars these days are well made
Consumer Reports reliability ratings don't reflect that.
When I think of American cars, I think of poorly made and bad handling.
ok, so your "knowledge" comes from memes.
US cars have impressive showings in both teh supercar segment (and for a fraction of the price), and the sports car segment.
Korean cars are in the top half of the brands in reliability reports, while most US brands are clustered near the bottom. Strangely enough with the exception of Tesla, which has a bad rep for build quality here.
When it comes to handling - I've never driven a US made supercar or sports car. I was talking of SUVs and sedans, and for those the US cars I've tried (Fords, Cadillac, Pontiac, Chevrolet) have been universally bad. I've had a Hyundai, which was OK+. My current car is an electric Jaguar, which has r
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"My current car is an electric Jaguar"
the i-Pace crossover? i still think it's the best looking BEV yet made but Jaguar didn't do enough with it
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"My current car is an electric Jaguar"
the i-Pace crossover? i still think it's the best looking BEV yet made but Jaguar didn't do enough with it
Yes, an i-Pace. Brilliant car. Compared to today's EV lineup it needs some upgrades (longer range, faster charging, Apple Carkey, wireless carplay and Android audio), but it is just such a nice place to be - and drive.
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Korean manufacturers are still trying to shake off their bad quality reputation from the 90s, as the grandparent post puts on full display. They've had good cars for decades now, but some people's brains are so stuck they can't comprehend it.
Give Tesla until the 2040s, maybe that will be enough time for them to shake the bad quality reputation they achieved from 2015. Assuming the company is even producing cars that long.
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Calling them good is just apologist bullshit.
They're good like a Buick, or a Tesla, or a Ford.
Give Tesla until the 2040s, maybe that will be enough time for them to shake the bad quality reputation they achieved from 2015. Assuming the company is even producing cars that long.
Funny enough, Tesla sits above every Korean manufacturer in terms of reliability ratings.
Not by much I'll grant you- but that's the stupid part of all this. Tesla's do not have great reliability. The only people calling them "good" are people who are invested in them, or trying to engage in apologetics for
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Korean cars are in the top half of the brands in reliability reports, while most US brands are clustered near the bottom. Strangely enough with the exception of Tesla, which has a bad rep for build quality here.
Exception?
Ford, Buick, and Tesla are above Hyundai.
Buick and Tesla are above Kia.
Genesis is down in the bottom 10.
And the part you miss- Ford, Buick, and Tesla do not have good ratings. The "Top half of the brands" is apologist bullshit.
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My universally bad Ford is a full 10 seconds faster than the i-Pace at Leguna Seca. That will apply at any other race track as well.
The i-Pace handles great for an EV, among even low-level performance cars, it's downright bad.
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The I-Pace is a luxury GT crossover than can do some legit offroading. It being slower than a performance car at Laguna is not surprising. Also, running on 255 Pirelli P Zeros is not a recipe for true high performance on track, especially at 4700 lbs. It's great on the road, though.
Sure, by some value of "great" that isn't backed up by any objective measurement. I'm going to call it "it gets 10/10 on making you feel like you're driving a Jaguar."
They set the standard:
and for those the US cars I've tried (Fords, Cadillac, Pontiac, Chevrolet) have been universally bad.
My current car is an electric Jaguar, which has really nice handling.
My point is that his perception is positively fucked. It cannot be reconciled with reality- his feelings for his Jaguar have nuked his objectivity.
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Sure, by some value of "great" that isn't backed up by any objective measurement. I'm going to call it "it gets 10/10 on making you feel like you're driving a Jaguar." They set the standard:
My point is that his perception is positively fucked. It cannot be reconciled with reality- his feelings for his Jaguar have nuked his objectivity.
There are a lot of objective ways of measuring all sorts of things about car performance, including ride quality and track numbers. A car that gets great track numbers usually sacrifices comfort and, often, performance on the road. A Model 3 Performance is a great track weapon, one lap at a time. On the road, the one lap issue mostly goes away, but then the terrible design of Tesla suspension, which as far as I can figure goes into weird geometry issues on mid-corner bumps, raises its ugly head. Sure, y
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There are a lot of objective ways of measuring all sorts of things about car performance, including ride quality and track numbers. A car that gets great track numbers usually sacrifices comfort and, often, performance on the road. A Model 3 Performance is a great track weapon, one lap at a time. On the road, the one lap issue mostly goes away, but then the terrible design of Tesla suspension, which as far as I can figure goes into weird geometry issues on mid-corner bumps, raises its ugly head. Sure, you can put in stiffer springs and dampers to limit the travel away from those extremes, but then you have less wheel travel and a worse ride. I know from experience. I also have driven the I-Pace on the same roads, and it handles mid-corner bumps with aplomb, as does the i4. Hence, a stock I-Pace can be driven harder on questionable canyon roads than a Model 3 Performance can, but the M3P is faster objectively on track.
Apologetic bullshit.
They said:
My current car is an electric Jaguar, which has really nice handling.
The I-Pace has mediocre handling compared to any random price-equivalent American sedan, which was what they compared it to.
The fact that you're trying to say the thing can handle "canyon roads that an M3P can't" is absolutely fucking insane. You don't know how bad your car is.
There are videos of it doing Moose tests and slaloms. It is legitimately fucking bad.
Sure, it's good for a 4700lb crossover- I guess- since it's effectively in a class of its own, and there's nothing
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Also the [sic] is on your part. My precise quote was "Bachelor of the Sciences degree in Computer Science".
Do better, you mentally deficient troglodyte.
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Have you ever driven one at more than twice the legal speed on a canyon road?
Nope. Such a bar is so fraught with stupidity that I'm not even really sure if I should address it in good faith.
Have you ever driven a model 3 performance at similar to lesser speeds on the same road?
Nope. But the M3P is an objectively better handling vehicle. This is just basic fucking physics.
Weird, I wonder why they didn't get the memo... [whatcar.com]
Just checking if you know what you're talking about.
Oh come on, you can do better than that.
The moon isn't made of cheese, you say? Have you ever been there?
Hell, have you even driven both these cars at all?
M3P, no. M3LR (non-P), yes. MYP- yes. ;)
I also own a vehicle that outhandles both of them with ease
Your defensiveness just further reiterates my p
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Re:Not the most compelling cars (Score:5, Informative)
Consumer Reports reliability ratings don't reflect that.
Consumer reports puts Kia next to Buick above all over American cars. Two down the list is Hyundai who beat out every American company other than Ford, beat out the Germans ahead of Audi, and Volkswagen, and are also ahead of some Japanese brands like Mazda.
Maybe stop guessing at what Consumer Reports reliability ratings say and actually go read them at some point.
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Consumer reports puts Kia next to Buick above all over American cars. Two down the list is Hyundai who beat out every American company other than Ford, beat out the Germans ahead of Audi, and Volkswagen, and are also ahead of some Japanese brands like Mazda.
Buick and Tesla are above Kia.
Hyundai is beaten by Buick, Tesla, and Ford.
Further, you've left out where this all sits- flatly in the middle
Why are you being an apologist?
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Ýou're right I missed Tesla. But your assertion that being in the middle is bad is somehow quite stupid given the middle lump is below only a couple of standouts at the top. There's little separating number 5 on the list from number 10.
But that's not my point, my point is that Kia is ahead of some Japanese brands, and ahead of some German brands, and ahead of most USA brands, and that people in general don't have a problem with them, so to complain about Korean cars is just dumb ignorance.
Why are you being an apologist?
Why are you p
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Ýou're right I missed Tesla. But your assertion that being in the middle is bad is somehow quite stupid given the middle lump is below only a couple of standouts at the top. There's little separating number 5 on the list from number 10.
The middle, frankly, is kinda bad. /s
They're below fucking Ford, and Buick
World-wide known to be great cars!
But that's not my point, my point is that Kia is ahead of some Japanese brands, and ahead of some German brands, and ahead of most USA brands, and that people in general don't have a problem with them, so to complain about Korean cars is just dumb ignorance.
Not really, because I'm sure it would take very little effort to show you don't apply this standard equally as I am.
I bet you talk all the shit you can think of about, say, Fords for example.
Why are you posting like you're mentally retarded?
lol- last refuge of the intellectually diminished. I'm unimpressed.
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The middle, frankly, is kinda bad.
The middle makes up the vast majority of the cars that people have generally no problem with. It's not bad. It's "normal". There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Ford or Buick, you are simply trying to present some dishonest problem that doesn't exist.
No one would bat and eye if we were talking about Audi, hell you'd probably be jizzing your pants talking about a German luxury car instead.
I'm unimpressed.
Given your post I'm not sure there's anything which can impress you.
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The middle makes up the vast majority of the cars that people have generally no problem with. It's not bad. It's "normal". There's nothing fundamentally wrong with Ford or Buick, you are simply trying to present some dishonest problem that doesn't exist.
1) That's not remotely true. The vast majority of vehicles sold are included in the top 5 brands.
2) Sure, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with Ford or Buick. Just acknowledge that a Hyundai or a Kia is about as reliable as them (though a Genesis, which is just a marque of Hyundai, is down there with Chyrsler and GMC)
Perspective-wise, Ford and Buick do not have great names.
No one would bat and eye if we were talking about Audi, hell you'd probably be jizzing your pants talking about a German luxury car instead.
Not in the slightest. German vehicles have always ranked poorly in reliability, and high in total cost of ownership.
I've owned a B
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Maybe stop guessing at what Consumer Reports reliability ratings say and actually go read them at some point.
If it is an American car, the only thing reliable about it is that it will be too expensive to maintain for long periods of time. They are intentionally designed that way to ensure profits... and you people keep buying them. It is hilariously terrible... which is why even traditionally reliable brands like Toyota or Honda are implementing these consumer hostile features: "People are buying them, the profits are obscene, why shouldn't we participate?"
Now, we are forced to deal with cars that will automagical
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That's nice, except car reliability has never been higher, and neither has the total length of time before the average car is scrapped. The "intentional design" to limit the life of the car is just the usual low IQ understanding of what reliability engineering is. You latch on to ideas such as that Ford insisted that relays are only designed to operate 10,000 times instead of 100,000, completely ignoring the fact that this is good reliability design in a system where the average relay ended up in the dumpst
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"US cars have impressive showings in both teh supercar segment (and for a fraction of the price), and the sports car segment"
which are quite niche. the vast majority of vehicles sold in the USA in the past several decades are pickups and SUVs
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which are quite niche. the vast majority of vehicles sold in the USA in the past several decades are pickups and SUVs
So? The vast majority of cars sold anywhere don't handle for shit. Did you have a cogent point you were trying to make?
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"Did you have a cogent point you were trying to make?"
Did you?
Cars for average people were being discussed and you decided to bring up a expensive niche in which American cars do very well.
What's the"cogent point you were trying to make?"
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Korean cars were, for years, just poorly made shitboxes. Then they became the poorly made cars that handled poorly but at least you got a lot of features for cheap.
What a lovely throwback to the 90s. Sure the rest of us have moved on and recognise the Korean brands for what they are now, but I guess some people will always live in the past.
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"Korean cars were, for years, just poorly made shitboxes"
When Bob Lutz 1st went to GM and complained about the poor build quality of their vehicles, he was asked to show examples of better ones.
Of them all the Korean cars were the best built. This upset Joe Spielman, then GM VP of Assembly so much he - who reportedly stood 6' 9" - grabbed Lutz by the neck and lifted him off the floor
Are we Great yet? (Score:1)
At least we can have coal or something.
Re:Are we Great yet? (Score:4, Funny)
I'm getting tired of all the "winning".
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I'm getting tired of all the [YOB's] "whining".
FTFY?
They weren't selling THAT well anyway (Score:2)
The sales numbers for Kia/Hyundai EVs are somewhat small in the US. Tesla sold about 600k units in 2025. In 2nd place is Chevrolet at almost 100k sales. Hyundai/Kia combined sell about 100k units as well.
The top 10 are:
Tesla 589k
Chevrolet 97k
Hyundai 66k
Cadillac 49k
BMW 42k
Rivian 42k
Honda 39k
Kia 34k
VW 29k
GMC 24k
Total EV sales: 1.28 million units (only about 8% of total vehicle sales and down 2% year over year)
Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story... [usatoday.com]
What Tariffs? (Score:2)
I must be missing something, is there a new tariff on all imported EVs? Or is this headline referencing the new tariff that's specifically targeted at EVs imported from China and implying that's responsible for a Korean manufacturer dropping EV models with poor sales?
I think we all anticipated a drop in EV sales now that the tax rebates have been removed, I would have expected that to be a small windfall for Hyundai as most (all?) of their models were not eligible for the rebate to begin with, which was li
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Electric cars only makes sense (Score:1)
And no nuclear isn't an option. Building safe nuclear power plants is so much more expensive than wind and solar now that nobody's really going to do it. You might get some unsafe plants
Build them in the US to bypass tariffs (Score:2)
Other car companies are doing this.
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The EV market in the US is pretty well saturated by the incumbents. Every upper middle class person who wants an EV pretty much has one, and usually as a second vehicle.
As for the rest, EVs could be a real boon if they were affordable to them, domestic auto makers aren't that interested in this market, even for ICE vehicles. And even a company that might be, such as Slate Auto, is having a really hard time keeping the price down. By the time their little truck is really ready to go, I suspect it will be
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I was considering the Ioniq 6 as my next vehicle. It was priced a bit above what I want to spend, but I might have spent it anyway if my current vehicle blew up. But if their proposition involves pushing me upmarket to the N version, that's beyond what I'm willing to spend on a car.
The Slate truck would be an obvious replacement for my 2002 Ford Ranger, and if the price isn't too far off from the promises, there's a good chance I will end up with one.
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Hyundai has tried to. And then the orange shitgibbon sent his goons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
I considered one (Score:2)
The ICCU failure rate was too much for me, so I avoided all of the eGMP vehicles.