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I was wondering the same thing – could you get a decent FHD LCD display and reduce cost even further? Surely that would make for a very enticing value for money proposition.
Big fan of the Zenbook line, had one serve me well for 6 years before soldiering on for another year with parents before the display finally kicked the bucket. Tempted to detach the screen and try and use the base if it’s still working as a media PC or something. Do miss the signature concentric swirls on the lid though.
At the very least good on Asus for putting one USB C on either side. It really beggars belief that so many forego this obvious customer benefit (it’s one small flaw for sure on the otherwise excellent M1 Air for eg).

Not sure scientific journals are a great model seeing as it’s totally broken. It’s only now that publishers are being forced to give concessions to the people whose work it is by letting them retain copyright, generally the journals used to just make you sign away your copyright to your own manuscript. Ask anyone who isn’t the publisher and the whole model is the most crooked thing you can thing of.

NGL, My partner has regularly had their Buds Pro fall out their ear, it’s incredibly stressful to me when it happens on train platforms and public transport. I’ve had my Buds+ get knocked out my ear from getting gently jostled while waiting at a platform. Almost makes me think neckbuds would be preferable just for the peace of mind of knowing they’ll just flop around your neck if dislodged from your ear.

Lack of multi point is a bummer but a nifty feature of Samsung earbuds my partner and I were delighted to discover is that I could connect my Buds+ and they could connect their Buds Pro to the same phone – meaning we could be on a train or going for a run and both listen to the same podcast. Obviously helps we both have Samsung phones but I wish this feature was more common or advertised more. It was legit a surprise when we discovered it one day when both sets of earbuds stayed connected to the same phone. I hope it doesn’t get used as a walled garden thing (sadly it is for now because it only works with Samsung earbuds and Samsung phones from our limited experience)

I get what you’re saying with lifetime emissions but I also think it might be a bit disingenuous ignoring the relative size of the market sector the particular vehicle belongs to. Absolutely the Hummer eg you use should be ridiculed because it’s part of basically the biggest market segment (or fastest growing in other markets) in most car markets, SUVs and crossovers. A quick google suggests that 2 seater sports cars like this are 2-3% of the global auto market, Way lower than other major segments. Decarbonising the meat of the auto market should be the priority now and for the most part it does look like the market and major OEMs are moving that way.
At this point you could use the analogy of say private jets and their footprint vs commercial passenger aviation in terms of the sports car segment. Again, just thinking about it, I reckon it won’t even be close to the sort of disproportionate increase that the airplane eg has. Sports cars like these, and exotic supercars (if we count them as a subsegment) don’t really do the kind of long journeys that would start giving them a big old footprint, mostly they get used on trackdays or for just cruising around Monaco or London in second gear (think small high end municipal areas a few km2).

I have to admit I’m a bit perplexed why this car of all cars would engender such aggrievement.

It’s a sad bit of irony that Lotus now have basically shot the foundational principle of Colin Chapman into the sun by going all in on electric. Even their final ICE sports car is positively portly by their standards.

It’s a long while yet I feel for battery tech in EVs to get to the point they can replicate the driving dynamics and enjoyment of a spirited little hot hatch/sports car (and no I’m not talking using the brute force approach).

Again I think the by all accounts is a bit of a generalisation when it comes to EVs. Granted I haven’t personally driven one yet, I’m keen to, but to me a large segment of the enthusiasm from car enthusiasts that I know (have driven EVs) has been one tempered by the novelty of the EV experience. For many of us still, elements of analog motoring are still appealing – I still thoroughly enjoy driving a manual transmission naturally aspirated car (be it a small hatchback).

I think you’re giving this Verge article a lot more credit if it actually did spur a buying spree – no offence to the writer but they’re not one of the bigger names from the Verge (that I know of). The last time to my memory a Verge writer actually ended up boosting sales of a particular device was when Vlad Savov recommended niche Japanese ear buds (being a recognised audiophile, those earbuds became out of stock in Europe and America within hours of that article going live). Say if someone with a big cross cultural recognition like Marques Brownlee went about extolling the virtues of this car, sure, have your rant about giving undue exposure to a platform you’ve deemed obsolescent.

Ah thanks for this. Was wondering where Chaim went – not seen him for a while. Enjoyed his Button of the Month pieces. Nilay’s also been quite absent recently. This explains things.

Oh man that car was such a classic. It amazes me how so many OEMs miss the universal signal of beloved small light and simple cars like the Mk1 1 series and just go with the inevitable bloat in successive generations. I mean there’s a reason the Miata/MX5 has such a cult following and that’s because Mazda, bless them, realised what the core draw of that little beauty is and decided we’d stick to the small and light formula. The current version is barely bigger than the OG.
I think there are electric halo cars coming – remember the justified Hyundai love in when they revealed their Pony inspired prototype? Opel should hopefully have their Manta EV retro-mod car out. Hopefully those are a sign that EVs will continue to have some designed for the driving enthusiasts out there rather than those seeking convenience and utility (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

I think you’re on the right track with calling out the fact that the obsession with big inefficient SUVs is manifestly bad overall for pollution levels but clubbing sports cars into the mix is a weird decision. Sports cars are a niche segment of the market targeting enthusiasts, as such the volumes are absolutely minuscule compared to the droves of SUVs and crossovers that dominate sales in most major auto markets. Pillorying the Verge and small 2 seat sports cars again is a weird one to get the pitchfork out for. If this was a Nissan Patrol with a 5L V8 petrol engine, by all means, decry it for the huge dumpster fire it’s carbon footprint would be.

I think this is a poor take. I might be the minority on here but I’d say I fall in the camp of those customers looking to buy a car like this for the simple fact its something they might enjoy driving. I feel like often discussions just assume that the act of driving is a chore and that there aren’t people who might actually delight in the feedback of driving (even if its in daily traffic conditions on regular old roads).
If social value was a thing, grown men would probably stay away from something like a Miata/MX5 because of the "hairdresser" connotation but they don’t because, funnily enough, that car continues to be one of the best handling affordable two seaters out there.

I think it’s a weird hill to choose considering the Verge has given ample coverage to EVs, admittedly their fault being they have an annoyingly myopic view of the global EV market as only being what is available in the US market, contrary to the fact that in Europe at least there’s a healthy selection. If anything, articles covering ICE cars are by far and away an exception to the rule on the Verge here.

I am seriously worried about this trend of flush mounted door handles. I don’t live anywhere where snow is a problem but feels like a neat design that comes at the cost of usability issues. Is the coefficient of drag saving really that much?