Thanks to Bill James for graciously tweeting the link to yesterday’s post, Wayfaring Wednesday.
Despite trying for weeks, we were unable to secure vaccine appointments for my wonderful wife’s parents via our state’s Department of Health Services website. The first day we tried the website of a large national pharmacy chain, who has just introduced the vaccines here, we were able to make all four appointments. Government is not a panacea.
Of course, without the federal government guaranteeing payments to companies like Moderna and Pfizer, it is likely the vaccines would not have been produced as quickly. The private sector is not a panacea; if you don’t agree then explain Enron and Facebook.
Yes, the real world is complex. However, engaging in impossible distillations of reality and blindly following ideology almost always lead to the wrong path.
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I really enjoy watching Everyday Driver on Motor Trend and Amazon Prime. One of the cars that has been featured in more than one episode is this, the Toyota 86:
(Picture from Motor Trend)
In 2022 for the tenth anniversary of the car–jointly developed and produced by Subaru (their version is called the BRZ)–the 86 is supposed to receive an upgraded engine and transmission. The new engine is supposed to produce about 25 more HP (up to about 230) and 30 more LB-FT (up to about 185) of torque than the current motor. (Whether or not they fix the “torque dip” in the middle of the RPM range that Todd Deeken and Paul Schmucker complain about in Everyday Driver remains to be seen.)
One of these (branded as a Scion FRS, the Scion make no longer exists, but it was really just a Toyota with a different badge) is always parked on a driveway in our neighborhood. Every time I walk past it I think it is a handsome car and is probably an affordable way to get a decent performing, decent handling automobile.
I find it interesting that Toyota will upgrade the 86 at the same time it is producing the new Supra (in conjunction with BMW). In this post I wrote about a CNBC video report on Japanese automobile manufacturers continuing to produce sports cars when the rest of the world is, basically, abandoning them to produce SUVs and pickup trucks (much to my chagrin, of course).
One of the reasons the Japanese auto industry is still making cars like the 86 (and the new Supra) is to distinguish themselves from the rest of the industry by giving people the option of buying cars for the fun of driving and not for grocery shopping and schlepping the kids. For the nth time, I will offer my strong opinion that the shift to non-cars in the US is due, in large part, to the fact that more than 70% of American adults are overweight and more than one-third are obese. Obviously, I am not a politically correct person nor do I aspire to be one. As far as I am concerned, political correctness is just another form of fascism.
Does anyone have any opinions about the Toyota 86? We would like to read them.
#NothingIsAPanacea
#Toyota86
#somanycarsjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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Disaffected Musings 
My only experience with Toyota vehicles is their Avalon line, though I do like the looks of some of the sportier cars Toyota has produced over the years. Scion had a few models that attracted my attention, just not my dollars. >grin<
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My sister looked at a Toyota 86 a couple years back, but ended up going for a 2dr Civic. She just preferred the Honda.
My only experience with Toyota was my dad’s 91 Tercel S, as stripped down as you could get… 2dr, 4speed, crank windows, no radio or clock, vinyl high back buckets. Good car though, as I recall he put about 250,000 miles on it. And I even found him a clock and radio at a Upic scrapyard!
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