Tag Archives: vehicles

News

Missouri Might Kill the Safety Inspection—But Not Yet

Missouri drivers are being told they can skip the safety inspection and roll straight to the license office. That advice is wrong—at least for now. Despite viral posts insisting inspections are already dead, the Show Me State’s vehicle rules haven’t changed. Not even close.

What has changed is the conversation. A newly introduced bill in the Missouri House would eliminate most vehicle safety inspections statewide, a move supporters say modernizes an outdated system that’s more hassle than help. The problem? The internet appears to have jumped ahead to the victory lap.

On January 6, the Missouri Department of Revenue issued a rare and pointed correction, warning drivers that claims about inspections being scrapped are false. According to the DOR, the misinformation spreading online was “most likely generated from artificial intelligence (AI) sources.” Translation: your Facebook feed is not the law.

The bill in question—House Bill 1695—was introduced by State Rep. Mazzie Christensen (R–Bethany). If it passes, Missouri would stop requiring safety inspections for nearly all passenger vehicles. Commercial vehicles and salvage-titled cars would still need to comply, but the average daily driver would be off the hook. For now, the bill has been read twice and hasn’t even landed in committee.

Today’s rules remain firmly in place. Missouri requires a safety inspection every two years for vehicles more than 10 years old with over 150,000 miles, as well as during a change of ownership and for certain specialty vehicles. The inspection costs $12, with $1.50 going straight to the state for the windshield sticker.

That sticker—and the economics behind it—are a major target of the bill. Inspection stations say the math simply doesn’t work. Christensen told local station FirstAlert4 that shops might pocket about $10 per inspection while eating $60 to $75 in labor costs. The result? Some rural counties don’t have inspection stations at all, turning a routine requirement into a logistical nightmare.

Supporters also argue the change could help address Missouri’s very visible problem with expired tags and plateless cars, particularly in St. Louis. The logic is simple: remove the inspection requirement, lower the barrier to registration, and maybe more cars end up legally tagged.

Not everyone’s buying it. Critics point to safety data, including a 2022 Carnegie Mellon study that found states with safety inspections see about 5.5 percent fewer roadway deaths than states without them. Whether that reduction justifies the cost and inconvenience is the debate now unfolding in Jefferson City.

Even if HB 1695 sails through the legislature, nothing changes overnight. The bill wouldn’t take effect until January 1, 2027. Until then, Missouri drivers still need to book that inspection appointment—no matter what the algorithm says.

A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for Thursday. Until lawmakers decide otherwise, the rule stands: inspect the car, pay the fee, and ignore the viral shortcuts.

Source: Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR); Photo: iStock

NEW CARS

Refreshed VW ID.4 Aims to Become the Electric Tiguan

Volkswagen’s electric strategy in the U.S. hasn’t exactly been lighting up the sales charts lately, but the brand isn’t retreating. Instead, it’s doubling down on its most successful EV. The ID.4—one of just two VW models to post a sales increase in America in 2025—is getting a substantial mid-cycle refresh that goes well beyond a new bumper or fresh wheel designs. Internally, it’s already being framed as something more ambitious: an electric Tiguan for the EV age.

Spy shots of the updated ID.4 reveal a crossover that’s familiar at a glance but noticeably more assertive in the details. The front end adopts a squarer, more upright look that mirrors Volkswagen’s next-generation design language, closely aligning the ID.4 with the upcoming ID.Cross. It’s a subtle but deliberate shift away from the softer, almost egg-shaped aesthetic of the current model, and one that gives the electric VW more road presence.

The changes continue along the sides, where the doors are new and finally feature proper pull-style handles instead of the current flush units. Around back, the revisions are quieter but still meaningful. The tailgate panel now curves inward rather than outward, the D-pillar has been re-profiled, and the overall effect is cleaner and more conventional—again, very Tiguan-like in execution.

This isn’t a clean-sheet redesign, and it doesn’t pretend to be. The basic structure appears unchanged, which is exactly what you’d expect from a mid-cycle update. But Volkswagen’s designers have clearly spent their time massaging the surfacing and proportions, tightening up the ID.4’s stance so it feels more in step with VW’s latest combustion and electric crossovers alike. Think of it less as a reinvention and more as a maturity phase.

If the exterior tweaks are evolutionary, the interior overhaul sounds downright apologetic—and that’s good news. Volkswagen is bringing back physical buttons and switches in a big way, including a real, honest-to-goodness volume knob. A redesigned dashboard, upgraded materials, and a revised user interface promise to address some of the loudest criticisms of the current ID.4. We’ve already seen hints of this new interior philosophy in the recently revealed ID. Polo, and if that preview is accurate, the ID.4’s cabin should feel more intuitive and less like a software beta test.

The tech upgrades don’t stop there. The digital gauge cluster, long criticized for being undersized, is expected to grow, and the infotainment system will benefit from updated software and a more capable AI-powered voice assistant. Volkswagen seems to have finally accepted that touch sliders and buried menus aren’t a substitute for usability—especially in a family crossover.

Underneath, the refreshed ID.4 will ride on a revised MEB Plus platform. The headline change is the likely adoption of LFP battery chemistry, which should improve efficiency and potentially extend range, while also offering better long-term durability. Don’t expect lightning-fast charging, though: the architecture remains 400-volt, not the 800-volt setup that’s becoming the gold standard for next-generation EVs.

Powertrain updates are expected to be incremental, and that’s probably fine. Volkswagen already gave the base single-motor ID.4 a significant boost in 2024, raising output to 282 horsepower—an 80-hp jump over earlier versions. With that improvement still fresh, the facelifted model is more about refinement than raw performance.

Timing-wise, this updated ID.4 should arrive toward the end of 2026, carrying the model through to about 2028. At that point, Volkswagen plans to launch a fully new successor on a true 800-volt platform. Whether this refreshed model officially becomes the ID.Tiguan remains an open question. VW could decide the changes are extensive enough to justify the name for the 2027 model year—or save it for the all-new version later on.

Either way, the message is clear. Volkswagen isn’t giving up on the ID.4 or the U.S. EV market. Instead, it’s reshaping its electric crossover into something more familiar, more usable, and more Tiguan-like—qualities that may matter more than ever as the EV market grows up.

Photos: SH Proshots

News

The $3000 Lesson: How Dealership Add-Ons Became the Real Profit Center

Buying a new car has never been fun, but lately it’s started to feel less like a transaction and more like a stress test. Sticker shock is only part of it. The bigger issue, and the one buyers complain about most, is trust—or the lack of it. Now, thanks to a former dealership insider, we’re getting a clearer look at why that uneasy feeling in the showroom isn’t paranoia.

Chris Payton, a former general sales manager who left the dealership business in early 2025, recently went viral by explaining the moment he decided he was done. Not burned out. Not downsized. Morally finished.

@chrispayton527 I left the dealership for a reason. We sold a car $3,000 over MSRP. The customer signed. Then lit us up on Google, Yelp, and social media. So I did what dealerships do best. I fixed the problem. I smoothed it over, got the reviews changed, turned them into a “happy customer” for about $1,000. They even posted positive follow-ups. But here’s the part that stuck with me: They were still $2,000 over MSRP… and thought they won. That’s when it clicked. This is the game. Make the deal ugly, manage the fallout, rinse and repeat. I couldn’t keep doing that to people. That’s why I left. That’s why I help buyers now. So the deal is right before the paperwork, not repaired after the damage. If you’ve ever wondered why dealerships feel manipulative… this is why. And if you want someone on your side before you sign, you know where to find me. #WhyILeftTheDealership #CarBuyingTruth #DealershipSecrets #CarBuyingSuperhero #The615Negotiator ♬ original sound – CP- The 615 Negotiator

The story centers on a Honda CR-V, a model that’s about as drama-free as compact SUVs get. A husband bought one while his wife, who openly hated the car-buying process, wasn’t there. Trouble started when she arrived at the finance office and realized the numbers didn’t add up. The Sport Touring CR-V they’d agreed on carried an MSRP around $43,000. The contract said $46,000.

The missing $3000 wasn’t a mystery to the dealership. Floor mats, cargo trays, splash guards, paint protection—preinstalled accessories added to every car on the lot, whether the buyer wanted them or not. The salesperson defended the charges. The couple signed, exhausted and annoyed.

Deal done. Or so it seemed.

The next day, the dealership’s online presence caught fire. Google, Yelp, Facebook—everywhere lit up with negative reviews. That’s when Payton stepped in, doing exactly what his job required. He refunded about $1000, smoothed things over, and convinced the couple to delete their complaints and replace them with glowing follow-ups. From the outside, it looked like a win for the customer.

But the couple was still paying roughly $2000 over MSRP.

They thought they’d beaten the system. Payton knew they hadn’t.

That realization ended his career in retail car sales. “Make the deal ugly, manage the fallout, rinse and repeat,” he summarized later. The process worked. That was the problem.

What Payton describes isn’t some rogue dealership behavior. It’s a business model that’s quietly become standard practice, especially since the pandemic rewired the market. When inventory dried up, leverage shifted entirely to dealers. According to industry data from early 2022, average gross profit per new vehicle ballooned to over $6000—nearly triple pre-pandemic levels. That money didn’t come from MSRP.

It came from add-ons.

Some of these extras sound useful until you look closer. VIN etching, a decades-old anti-theft tactic, can be done at home for about $20, yet dealerships routinely charge hundreds for it. Rustproofing and fabric protection, often pitched as essential, are widely regarded as unnecessary on modern vehicles. In some cases, buyers are charged whether the service is performed or not.

The trick is presentation. These items are framed as non-negotiable, already installed, or simply “how we do things here.” After hours of waiting, negotiating, and paperwork, many buyers cave. Walking away feels harder than swallowing a bad deal.

And if they complain later? That’s when managers step in—not to dismantle the system, but to contain the damage.

This helps explain a long-standing contradiction in the industry. New cars move volume but don’t make much money. According to dealer association data, new-vehicle sales account for more than half of revenue but barely a quarter of gross profit. The real money is in finance products, warranties, and accessories. The showroom may sell the car, but the back office sells the margin.

Regulators have noticed. The Federal Trade Commission proposed rules that would require dealers to disclose full, out-the-door pricing upfront. Dealer groups pushed back, arguing the regulations would burden small businesses. Meanwhile, consumer protection attorneys report a sharp rise in lawsuits against dealerships since the pandemic, fueled by buyers who feel misled.

Public reaction to Payton’s story has been predictably polarized. Some praised him for having a conscience. Others defended the system, arguing buyers can always walk away. Technically, that’s true. In practice, it ignores the pressure, fatigue, and asymmetry of information baked into the process.

Payton now helps buyers navigate deals before paperwork is signed, not after damage control is required. It’s a quieter job, but one that lets him sleep at night.

If you’ve ever wondered why buying a car feels adversarial, this is your answer. The problem isn’t just high prices. It’s a system designed to extract profit in ways most buyers don’t see until it’s too late. And sometimes, the person who explains it best is the one who finally decided to walk out the door.

Source: @chrispayton527 via TikTok