iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Starting my day off happy that every car I have ever owned has been more pleasing to the eye than the latest million-dollar Ferrari.

It's a low point for the worldwide zeitgeist. That's how bad the Ferrari Luce is.

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The Ferrari Luce is a sobering monument to unchecked ego, the desperate desire for auto shareholders to own a tech stock, the victory of short-term capital over long-term brand value and sycophancy so pervasive that no one could say no.

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Anticipated by whom? By what benchmark? Isn't this breathless superlative an insult to journalism? Cybertruck, R3, Slate... months of anticipation across income sectors, and real pre-orders. The hideous Luce, a plaything for the moneyed and tasteless, is somehow more anticipated? No.

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Ferrari has been irrelevant to me since they dumped the manual transmission. At the same time, I believe that any enthusiast vehicle without three pedals should be electric. But in this electrified era, design is the single-most important differentiator. Ferrari forgot that.

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If anything, the Luce proves the worth of Pininfarina and the Italian carrozzeria model. A sports car is nothing if it is not beautiful. On design alone, the Luce is nothing. As it turns out, the value of Ferrari was always directly tied to Pininfarina.

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What does the Luce say about the Ferrari customer? What long-term impact does the Luce have on the once-impeccable Ferrari brand?

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Does Ferrari have to actually build the Luce? Should they? The most maligned Ferraris in history—Dino, Mondial, 412—none are as far off from what Ferrari is supposed to stand for as the Luce.

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Marc Newson is a talent, of course. And his Ford 021C resonates to this day. But the minimalist ethic that worked for his city car was an absolute disaster in the Ferrari Luce. No one had the self-awareness to step away and bin the finished product, and that will cost Ferrari for decades.

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In a world of Xiaomi SU7s and Yangwang U9s, a Ferrari is nothing if it is not beautiful.

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Ferrari Luce. Hoo, boy. This industry really had to learn the hard way that consumer electronics design cannot directly translate to automotive. Such a high-profile, public disaster.

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Imagine if Miata owners were snobs instead of weebs. "Actually, we call those *retractable* headlamps, not 'pop-ups'. 'Vinyl'? You mean, the Hampton seats? With Bose Audiopilot surround sound? Yeah, an M Edition is worth like $50,000 more nowadays. The OEM BBS alone... "

scotthoots.bsky.social @scotthoots.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Reposted by adam barrera

He can keep $10B of his total net worth and everything else should go to the people. That's more than enough to buy a professional sports franchise in any sport by yourself. If he's mad about that then it's off to the guillotine.

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Then let's quadruple them? Asshole. 🙄

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Reposted by adam barrera

The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

"We're dealing with a Jim Crow legislature... Tennessee is is a state autocracy... if this was happening anywhere else we'd call it authoritarianism." @timmiller.bsky.social & @brotherjones.bsky.social on the TN GOP supermajority racially gerrymandering Memphis, kicking Dems off committees, etc.

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Sitting and steeping in the moment my dear Shogo and I were nearly alone in Nissan's Zama storage facility, when it was invite-only and almost no one even knew of it. We found the actual Abunai Deka Leopard, and he was so excited. I lost my photos from that trip but I remember everything.

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Maybe I gave up my career in favor of a meaningless job so I can get paid to sit and steep in the unbelievable moments from the time before, which I can barely face enough to call to mind, much less write down in preservation.

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Reposted by adam barrera

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 30/04/2026

Sometimes our covers offer reprieve from an ambient heaviness; other times, they're a call to skip brunch and take to the streets. And sometimes, they're just a rattlesnake. As Editor-in-Chief @gusbova.bsky.social explains, with our May/June 2026 cover, we're planting a flag:

texasobserver.org

Editor's Letter: Introducing Our May/June 2026 Issue

A note from the editor-in-chief

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Reposted by adam barrera

Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 18/04/2026

The FBI Director, the DC US Attorney, and the Secretary of Defense walk into a bar. Apparently like every day.

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@jennylsq.bsky.social Thank you so much for your work through the years, and for giving us the chance to hear Kurt Vile thriving in that bump. There's not a lot of good news these days, so it's excellent to hear proof that good guys do indeed still win. 💙

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Kurt Vile - Chance to Bleed (Official Music Video)

Listen to Kurt Vile - "Chance to Bleed" — and find strength in all the other survivors of socioeconomic calamity who are still thriving in spite of the state of the world. youtu.be/FDq6YTeldcY?...

youtu.be

YouTube video by KurtVileVEVO

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Hearing Kurt Vile so energized and committed to his art in a time like this was so powerful and important. It made me think that I, and other fellow survivors of 2008 and 2020 and today, should try to live loudly and boldly and stand as strong as we can for what matters, in spite of trying times.

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Kurt Vile's recent bump on SiriusXMU playfully and confidently challenges the listener to create great art in this moment and "bleed it all onto the tape", as his song urges. And I think we NEED to hear that, from successful survivors from the multiple societal traumas *we have all survived*.

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Kurt's "Space Forklift" was the perfect soundtrack for the Chevy Volt — ethereal synths for our industry's most important moonshot, in a literally do-or-die moment. At the time, Vile was soft-spoken, unassuming, known to only the most indie of sound seekers. His humility aesthetic was iconic.

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I first heard Kurt Vile in 2009's "Space Forklift", still reeling from graduating into the Great Recession, fully committed to what felt like a kamikaze mission to save Detroit, deeply linked to indie rock beamed over satellite radio, at a time when all American innovation was at risk.

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Heard the new Kurt Vile on SiriusXMU Friday. It is, of course, so accessible and lovable and immediately singable. But 2000 miles is a lot of time read way too into Kurt's intro bump, where he sounds so wholesome just like the good dude he is — a voice that we need in these times.

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Nissan's current top-trim wheel designs are iconic. There's not another word.

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

The truly epochal moments within my automotive lifetime. 1986 Ford Taurus 1991 Saturn 1994 Dodge Ram 1994 Audi A4 1997 Toyota Prius 2004 Scion 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2011 Chevrolet Volt 2012 Tesla

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

America is a dangerous unaccountable police state.

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

I can't even listen to Grimes anymore. I'm sorry.

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

This was a targeted government attack on El Paso, a safe, welcoming, Hispanic and Democratic city. There must be full accountability for these threats to isolate El Paso, impede global commerce and rescind freedom of movement. Accountability Now!

adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

I refuse to believe closing El Paso airspace was just incompetence. This was one step shy of Yoon Suk Yeol declaring martial law. This was government terror targeting our own citizens in a heavily Hispanic, Democratic and easily isolated city.

adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Ever notice that Cayman owners are the only Porsche people who deign to speak to others?

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Chrysler dealers got what they asked for: V8s in everything, zero globally competitive products, nothing in the pipeline and the most aged lineup in the business. Tavares tried to modernize Chrysler. Dealers refused, legislators set us back 20 years, and short-term profit beat long-term survival.

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adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Today's design leaders are Renault, Hyundai, Kia and Nissan — they're a decade ahead of the industry. BMW, Honda and Mercedes are so wildly off the mark of elegance, it's shameful. GM has all the talent in the world and none of the wherewithal. And Chrysler's wilting lineup is honestly sad.

adam barrera @highmileage.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Buick and Lincoln are zombie brands that somehow still exist in 2026 because of China. ✍🏻... ooookay.