iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

There is no doubt that EVs will be having a rough go in the coming years. But with Tesla still dominating the EV market and Tesla customers most likely being Republicans, one could make the case that EV fortunes would be even worse without those right-leaning Tesla buyers.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

So my old high school friend is selling his amazing low mileage manual 2011 BMW M3 ON Cars and Bids. Check it out! carsandbids.com/auctions/3ol...

carsandbids.com

2011 BMW M3 Convertible - ~34,800 Miles, 6-Speed Manual, V8 Power, Unmodified

This 2011 BMW M3 Convertible is for sale on Cars & Bids! Auction ends October 15 2025.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

My thoughts on @cnbc.com about the return of the V8 to the Ram 1500 pickup!

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Oh wow thanks!! I didn’t know it had already been posted - thank you. :)

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

So we legitimately can call Teslas Nazi cars now.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Yes. That’s absolutely a big part of it.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Best Star Trek movie of all time with the possible exception of First Contact! And perfect recital of that scene. Funny thing, I just rewatched that movie as the Star Trek discussion group I’m in decided to revisit.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Which basically means today’s new cars are a screaming bargain? Hard to say that with a straight face but maybe it’s true. Maybe they just feel expensive because everything else is so expensive now and we can’t afford shit.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

It's true. The new car affordability issue has more to do with the cost of EVERYTHING rising. My family's 1990 Honda Accord LX cost $15,000. Today, that's almost $37,000 for a car with plastic wheel covers and few modern safety features. Today's Accord is a relative bargain by comparison.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

And to continue that thought, most consumers shopping at new entry level vehicle price points would rather buy a nicely equipped used vehicle than a new stripper with no AC and crank windows. Modern car durability enables this.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

Size is only part of the issue. The additional sheetmetal and glass and carpet and plastic actually only add very moderately to the cost. It's more about feature content, both in terms of mandated safety and emissions content and consumer-demanded comfort/convenience/tech features.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Mind totally blown. One of Porsche’s first vehicles was an EREV. 125 years ago.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

My take on that parade is that it was such a disservice to the US Army. All it did was to make the US Army look weak, sad, and pathetic. The US Army didn't deserve such humiliation. The orange clown disrespected the US Army in the most Trumpy way possible. The silence, sparse crowd, and the squeaks!

tiktok.com

🤣🤣🤣

TikTok video by briantylercohen

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE LOCAL LA-AREA PROTESTS??? I know they’re everywhere because I see pics posted after the fact but that does me no good. Scouring BS and Google turns up literally nothing. Numbers are important but I can’t be present if I don’t know where my presence can be of value.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Absolutely. I remember that everyone in the area was proud of that anthem. Even though we lived in Irvine, we were in LA so often that it did feel like an extension of home to me.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

I need to do this. I do remember the line “Look at that bum over there man, he’s down on his knees.” For some reason, that’s the one lyric I remember. And yeah, that hasn’t aged well as the tone of that line was humorous, and the actual homeless situation in LA today is anything but.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

Looks like Google may be hiding the effects of the ICE raid and subsequent protest at the Home Depot in Paramount? Apple Maps is showing the area completely affected but Google Maps shows the area like nothing ever happened.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

I meant Monday. He closed on Sunday

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

That hits all the Gen X nostalgia buttons!! I’d have called the Fox Package though since Toyota literally right now is launching the Corolla FX Edition, which similarly recalls Gen X performance nostalgia. This means there are two FX special editions recalling the “rad era” at the exact same time.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

Omg it’s Anders!! Gonna see him on Sunday for the latest Saab story. 🤣😭

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

We’ve got a long long way to go. And I’ve been saying forever that it’s a mistake to for Hyundai Motor Group to switch their 800v EV models to NACS so quickly when charging these models on Superchargers is much slower than using a proper 800v charger. That’s a rare but big misstep from them.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

I’m sure we probably did! That’s all I ever got there. I still like them. Did you used to go to the one off Culver and Michelson? That was our go-to. We went like all the time because my dad loved it. He was all about the Famous Star.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

I mostly agree save for one: the Western Bacon Cheeseburger is as good as it always was. Dude, I remember the baked potato bars!! Also, the one by my dad’s old office next to John Wayne Airport sold beer. 🍺

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

It looks good on collapsed suspension! 🤣 Actually, it’s probably just in its lowest setting for loading stuff. We have a neighbor with one and it always looks like this in their driveway.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

I know it because the wife’s side of the family hails from Michigan and Ohio!

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

WOW. TIL that not only did Honda borrow Isuzu’s Rodeo/Pickup platform for the Passport, but they also borrowed Isuzu’s pickup too for Southeast Asia! So yeah, there was once a “Passport” pickup.😮 #weirdcarbs www.instagram.com/p/DJ-cA6ghTZ...

instagram.com

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

I remember that! I thought it was so cool, especially in a non-luxury car.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Come to think of it, they were getting brave with color and trim even before NF f/l. I had a Tiburon GT (the one with a six-speed manual and Pioneer stereo with aux input - the main reason I chose it bc no other Hyundai could play an iPod) company car that had brown seats in a mostly black cabin.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

NF facelift was particularly neat. That’s when they started getting brave with color and trim: it was available with a lovely brown and gray interior at a time when anything outside of gray or beige was radical in non-lux cars.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Accent, Elantra, Sonata, Azera, Tiburon, Tucson, Santa Fe, Veracruz, Entourage. Genesis Coupe and Sedan may have overlapped with Veracruz briefly. Veracruz was sort of a proto-Genesis in that the material quality was definitely lux. Squishy soft-touch materials in places you’d never even notice!

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Having been a product planner there when it came out, I can confirm it was indeed Infinity!

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

The origins of K-lux! Funny, I’ve thought about an XG too. Needs the Korean Grandeur badging and hood ornament for sure for full effect!

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

How do you know I wasn’t talking about the MKT Town Car? 😁

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

I’ve always thought it an indignity that American car enthusiasts’ last ride will be a shitty Lincoln Town Car hearse. So a huge kudos to whoever in my neighborhood decided to import this UK-spec RHD Mercedes-Benz W210 hearse!! When I go, make this be my final ride. #weirdcarbs

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

I can’t predict what’s going to happen. Because many MAGAts are so blindly loyal that they may see it as “owning the libs” as well as a tax they’re willing to pay to be able to publicly say the n-word and other ugly slurs without repercussions.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

This is why the Dems are dead to me. I have no party. Hell, at this point I’m probably rooting more for the CCP than any other party, at least for trade issues. They have more power than any American to fix the mess this administration is making. I’m only half joking.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Environmental experts: what’s better overall for the environment (cars are hypothetical): a brand new 2025 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid which got me 53.2 mpg over the week but has new car manufacturing impact, or a 10 year old used car that gets 18 mpg but no new car manufacturing impact (reuse/recycle!)?

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

I’ve never seen one in California or anywhere until last summer in the south of France. I saw at least five or six.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Dude! Our beloved Irvine Unified School District must have had a bunch of these for this purpose because Irvine High had the same exact car for driver’s ed except our school’s was non-metallic beige. We also had a really decrepit Pontiac 6000 whose dash shake violently above 50 mph. 🤣

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

I have an Elantra Hybrid right now. It’s pretty first class and a very good deal fully loaded for about $30K. Nearly $5K cheaper than Civic Hybrid, though resale won’t be as strong and doesn’t handle or steer as well.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Hey, you wanna know which auto consumers are gonna get hit by these tariffs the worst? Less affluent new vehicle shoppers in the market for affordable vehicles. So much winning! Some of my thoughts in this Topspeed piece here.

topspeed.com

Industry Analysts Warn That Trump's Tariffs Could Decimate The Sub-$30,000 Car Market

Trump's tariffs, analysts say, seriously threaten any cars selling for under $30,000.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

The U.S.’ biggest problem is that we have forgotten to cherish and value democracy. For South Koreans, democracy was hard fought and won only a few decades ago. They remember what right wing authoritarian rule is, and acted accordingly. We otoh have forgotten. amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/04/...

amp.cnn.com

Yoon Suk Yeol: South Korea’s impeached president is removed from office, four months after declaring martial law | CNN

South Korea’s highest court has removed embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, ending months of uncertainty and legal wrangling after he briefly declared martial law in December and plunged th...

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Tariffs tariffs tariffs! We at @autopacific.bsky.social surveyed new vehicle shoppers a few days ago on March 31 about how they think tariffs will impact their shopping. In sum, yes absolutely they believe tariffs will impact their shopping. Read on to get all the details.

autopacific.com

New AutoPacific Survey Reveals How Tariffs May Impact New Vehicle Buyers — AutoPacific

The automotive industry is entering a time of significant change due to the enactment of tariffs that will affect vehicle pricing and production, sales volumes, and more. A new survey finds that consu...

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Haven't found anything on specific Canada- and Mexico-built vehicles' USMCA compliance status. That's what I'm looking for.

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Ed Kim @ekimap.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

I found a partial answer here: www.autonews.com/manufacturin... So the non-US content of those Canada and Mexico-built USMCA-compliant vehicles will be tariffed, not the whole vehicle. But does anyone know which vehicles comply with USMCA?

autonews.com

U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles are in effect, with parts duties following soon

Vehicles are subject to a new import tax. Here's a look at all the tariffs the auto industry faces.

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