Want a Tesla Cybertruck?  You were smart to wait.  There are always going to be some people who are willing to pay a lot of money for the bragging rights to be one of the first to have a hot new vehicle.  Such was the case with the Tesla Cybertruck.  I brought you a story here just a little over a year ago about a loaded Cybertruck that ran through the Manheim dealer-only auction in Dallas. This was a Foundation series truck, the top-of-the-line that had a starting price on the Tesla website of $102,235.  The truck only had 69 miles on it, and a Florida Porsche dealer was the last person with his hand in the air and when the gavel banged, the bid was $244,000.  There was a hefty buyer’s fee added to that amount.  The Porsche dealer listed it on its website immediately for $289,000 and then in short order, the listing was gone, presumably because it quickly sold.  Oh, my how things can change in short order.  Cybertruck values has come way down since that time.  Perhaps it is because of CEO Elon Musk’s activities with DOGE, his affiliation with the President, or perhaps it is the eight recalls it has had since introduction.  Another explanation is it is another casualty of the EV market in America, which has tanked.  Just today in this publication I tell you about the best and worst vehicles for resale value and we learned that electric vehicles lose almost 60% of value in just five years.  So, the $100,000 BMW I just got will be worth $40,000 in 60 months if the loss of value doesn’t get worse.  You see why I say to LEASE electric cars if you want one?  What do I care what it’s worth, I’ll just walk away.  Back to the Cybertruck, the last Foundation Series Cybertruck recently reached a high bid on Bring A Trailer of $74,500 and did not sell.  That is a long way from $289,000 just a year ago.  I suppose the moral of the story is that if you want to be the first on your block to have the latest, greatest, most unusual vehicle on the block, it's going to cost you.

How about a walk down memory lane?  I thought it might be fun to look back a decade at what we were talking out in April of 2015 in the Car Pro Newsletter.  In car reviews, I had the long gone 2016 Mazda 6 sedan, but Amy Plemons was not doing reviews yet, although she was doing the newsletter.  I brought you a story about the very first cross-country trip of the self-driving Audi Q5.  Auto sales in March 2015 were up for the 13^th straight month and on pace to top 17 million sales, a mark we haven’t seen in quite some time.  California Governor Jerry Brown enacted strict water restrictions, leaving car dealers in a lurch because they couldn’t wash cars.  Chevrolet was teasing the all-new 2016 Chevy Camaro debut, which we now know is gone again.  There were only three recalls that week, a far cry from the numbers we are seeing today.  Back then, we reported on gas prices, both local and national. The national average for unleaded was $2.37 per gallon.  And finally, we found out that Chrysler was going to increase production of the 707-horse Hellcats that were selling like crazy, which was great news for Dodge dealers.  Now the Challenger Hellcat is gone and is an all-electric coupe, which I reviewed and loved recently.  I also had one other review that week, a super-loaded 2015 Lexus NX F Sport, the top trim offered at the time, and it had a starting MSRP of $36,580.  Today, it is $50,550.

Most celebrities are driven by chauffers, but what did they drive first?  Usually when we see celebrities pulling up to the red carpet, they are getting out of a limo, but like the rest of us, they were not always that lucky.  I looked at a list of famous folk and what their first cars were, and I thought it was interesting.  Who knew Taylor Swift’s first vehicle was a pink Chevy half-ton truck?  Surely the color didn’t surprise you.  Fellow car reviewer Jay Leno spent $350 on a 1934 Ford pickup.  18-year old Tom Cruise headed for New York to become a star in a Dodge Colt, and I am a little surprised he actually got there.  Princess Kate, a commoner in her younger days, started driving in a VW Golf.  Elon Musk hasn’t always driven an electric car.  His first ride?  A $1,400 1978 BMW 320i.  Miley Cyrus probably sang Achy Breaky Car when her Dad Billy Ray gifted her a Smart Car.  She must have really been a bad child.  Vin Diesel didn’t drive a diesel first, he spent a whopping $175 on a 1978 Chevy Monte Carlo.  Brad Pit apparently liked very large cars, his first a 1973 Buick Centurion with a 455 V8 that was about the size of the QE2.  The late, great Paul Walker began driving a 1978 Ford Ranger before he became famous for driving Fast and Furious.  In case you are wondering, your favorite Car Pro’s first car was a 1967 Chevy Malibu 2-door my Dad paid $450 for.  It was a 283 V8 with a 3-speed manual transmission on the steering column, but it did have air conditioning and power steering.

While we're on the topic, what about ex-President’s cars?  Ever wonder what some of our Presidents drove before they got into the bulletproof Cadillacs that have been affectionately referred to as the Beast?  Turns out, like celebrities, former Commanders-in-Chief are all over the board as well.  Vice President Harry S. Truman became President in 1945 after FDR died in office, just before the end of World War II.  Ford was the first automaker to return to building cars, so President Truman got a 1946 Ford Super Deluxe Tudor given to him by Henry Ford himself.  President Eisenhower is credited with creating the Interstate Highway system we still have today.  He was often seen driving around campaigning in a 1914 Rauch & Lang electric car.  That’s a brand I have never heard of AND I didn’t realize there were viable electric cars 111 years ago.  President Lyndon Johnson became famous for driving an Amphicar on his ranch in Texas.  At the time, nobody knew they would drive in water, and he loved to load up first-timers in the car, head to the boat ramp and fake that he had no brakes as they sped into the water.  Ronald Reagan loved to drive his 1963 Willys Jeep CJ-6 around his ranch, which was a gift from his beloved Nancy.  You can still see the Jeep when you visit the Reagan Library, which by the way, is terrific.  Barack Obama had a big Chrysler 300 when he was elected President and ran as an environmentalist.  Insiders say he dumped the 300 in favor of a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid.  Bad trade, sir.  President Biden’s father ran a car dealership for decades, so he was a car lover from way back.  His favorite?  A green 1967 Corvette that he still owns to this day.  Our current President is a car lover from way back with his taste running all over the board.  Some of his cars we know of include a Cadillac Allante, a couple of Rolls-Royces, an SLR McLaren Mercedes, a Tesla Roadster-one of the early models, a Ferrari F430, a Lamborghini Diablo, and a Cadillac Escalade.  We also know he recently purchased a couple of Teslas for his family and staff.

So, in the words of my favorite swine, Porky Pig, THAT’S ALL FOLKS!

2024 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLE 53 Coupe     
Beautiful, luxurious, and a great value, too.

Read Jerry's review→