Hertz Car Sales on Amazon & GM's Bolt Blunders: Scotty Kilmer's Auto Advice

Hertz Car Sales on Amazon

• 🚗 Hertz is partnering with Amazon Autos to sell used rental vehicles online, initially launching in four cities and planning to expand.
• 💡 Scotty Kilmer views this as a gimmick, with Hertz primarily using Amazon for advertising rather than a direct sales platform.
• ⚠️ He strongly advises against buying used rental cars due to potential hidden damage from hard driving and self-insurance practices that obscure accident history.
• 💰 Prices for Hertz vehicles are non-negotiable, and buyers must still pick up the car from a Hertz location.

GM's Chevrolet Bolt Fiasco

• 📉 The Chevrolet Bolt, once the second-best-selling electric car in the US, is being brought back by GM after an initial discontinuation.
• 🧩 Despite claims of a new architecture, the revised Bolt is expected to use an older platform, which Kilmer criticizes as GM "putting makeup on a pig."
• 🤷 GM's strategy of discontinuing a popular model only to reintroduce it with outdated technology is seen as a sign of the company's lack of direction.
• ⚡ Kilmer personally would avoid buying a Bolt, especially given its 0-60 time of 6.8 seconds compared to faster EVs.

California Gas Prices and Electric Vehicles

• ⛽ Two major refineries in California, Philips 66 and Valero, are set to close in 2026 due to regulatory pressure and fines, potentially driving gas prices to $8 a gallon.
• 📉 This shutdown will eliminate 20% of the state's refining capacity, with companies citing stringent regulations as the reason for leaving.
• 💡 Kilmer suggests that excessive regulation is a primary driver of these business decisions, contrasting it with Tesla moving its headquarters to Texas.
• 🔌 For those considering electric cars, he recommends the used Nissan Leaf as the cheapest option, citing lower insurance costs compared to Teslas.
• ⚠️ He advises against buying new electric vehicles due to high costs and unproven technology, recommending used Leafs as a more practical choice.

Future Car Tech and Museums

• 🔬 Researchers at Georgia Tech are developing zinc-ion batteries that may thrive on fast charging, potentially offering a cheaper and safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
• 🧪 However, these batteries are still in the laboratory phase and face challenges like needle spike formation, meaning they are not ready for commercial use.
• 🏛️ Kilmer notes the decline of movie car museums and prop rental businesses, attributing it to the rise of CGI and a general lack of public interest in traditional car museums.
• 📉 He observes that items sold at auctions for these museums often go for very low prices, indicating a shift in public interest away from such memorabilia.