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New vehicle sale prices fell below MSRP in March for the first time in nearly two years as supply chain issues continue to ease up, but cars and trucks are still far from cheap.

The average price paid for a new vehicle was $48,008 in March, according to Kelley Blue Book, a drop of $550 from the prior month.

"We’ve been anticipating transaction price declines, as inventory has been steadily improving and choice has expanded. More vehicles on dealer lots — and on their competitors’ lots — means dealers simply don’t have the pricing power they did six months ago," said Rebecca Rydzewski, Cox Automotive research manager of economic and industry insights.

Prices are expected to continue their downward trend, but are unlikely to reach the $37,736 average they were at in March 2020 anytime soon, if ever again.

CONSUMER REPORTS SAYS THESE ARE THE BEST CAR INSURANCE COMPANIES

The average new car transaction price was over $48,000 in March. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

That is partly due to inflation, but also because many automakers have been focusing on building more of the most profitable high-end trims and discontinuing their lowest-priced models altogether.

The most inexpensive vehicle offered by an American brand is the new 2024 Chevrolet Trax SUV, which is $21,495, following the end of production for the $14,595 Chevrolet Spark hatchback last year.

Along with cuts by other brands, there are only three vehicles left on sale with starting prices including delivery fees below $20,000.KIA RIO/RIO5

The Kia Rio is the brand’s smallest sedan. (Kia)

The Kia Rio subcompact sedan starts at $17,875 and the Rio5 hatchback at $18,515.

Both front-wheel-drive models come standard with a 120 hp four-cylinder engine, automatic transmission, air conditioning and a highway fuel economy rating of 41 mpg.MITSUBISHI MIRAGE/MIRAGE G4

The Mitsubishi Mirage is the most fuel-efficient car that is not a hybrid. (Mitsubishi)

The Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback starts at $17,340 and the Mirage G4 sedan is just $1,000 more.

GM DITCHING CHEVY BOLT, SHIFTING TO ELECTRIC TRUCKS

The Mirage's claims to fame are that it is the least-powerful new car on sale in the USA — its three-cylinder engine rated at just 76 horsepower — and the most-efficient non-hybrid vehicle, with the hatchback getting an EPA combined rating of 39 mpg.NISSAN VERSA

The Nissan Versa is the cheapest new car on sale today. (Nissan)

The Nissan Versa sedan is priced at $16,925. It is roomy for the price and has a relatively potent 122 hp four-cylinder under the hood, a standard 5-speed manual transmission, automatic emergency brakes and a five-star NHTSA crash test rating.

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Models equipped with an automatic transmission start at $18,595 and have a 40 mpg highway fuel economy rating. A fully-loaded version with adaptive cruise control, heated seats and a wireless charging pad tops out at $20,215.

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World

Inside Iran’s notorious Evin Prison – as Tehran says damage shows Israel targeted civilians

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Inside Iran's notorious Evin Prison - as Tehran says damage shows Israel targeted civilians

It is one of the most notorious and secret places in Iran.

Somewhere foreign journalists are never allowed to visit or film. The prison where dissidents and critics of Iran’s government disappear – some never to be seen again.

But we went there today, invited by Iranian authorities eager to show the damage done there by Israel.

Evin Prison was hit by Israeli airstrikes the day before a ceasefire ended a 12-day war with Iran. The damage is much greater than thought at the time.

Evin Prison, Iran

We walked through what’s left of its gates, now a mass of rubble and twisted metal, among just a handful of foreign news media allowed in.

A few hundred yards in, we were shown a building Iranians say was the prison’s hospital.

Behind iron bars, every one of the building’s windows had been blown in. Medical equipment and hospital beds had been ripped apart and shredded.

What Iran says was the hospital at the Evin Prison
Image:
Debris scattered across what Iran says was the prison hospital

It felt eerie being somewhere normally shut off to the outside world.

On the hill above us, untouched by the airstrikes, the buildings where inmates are incarcerated in reportedly horrific conditions, ominous watch towers silhouetted against the sky.

Evin felt rundown and neglected. There was something ineffably sad and oppressive about the atmosphere as we wandered through the compound.

The Iranians had their reasons to bring us here. The authorities say at least 71 people were killed in the air strikes, some of them inmates, but also visiting family members.

The visitor centre at Evin Prison after Israeli attacks
Image:
Authorities say this building was the visitor centre


Iran says this is evidence that Israel was not just targeting military or nuclear sites but civilian locations too.

But the press visit highlighted the prison’s notoriety too.

Iran’s critics and human rights groups say Evin is synonymous with the brutal oppression of political prisoners and opponents, and its practice of hostage diplomacy too.

British dual nationals, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe were held here for years before being released in 2022 in exchange for concessions from the UK.

Read more:
Iran: Still a chance for peace talks with US
Why Netanyahu wants a 60-day ceasefire – analysis

The main complex holding prisoners sits atop a hill
Image:
Inmates are held in building on a hill above, which has been untouched by airstrikes

Interviewed about the Israeli airstrikes at the time, Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe showed only characteristic empathy with her former fellow inmates. Trapped in their cells, she said they must have been terrified.

The Israelis have not fully explained why they put Evin on their target list, but on the same day, the Israeli military said it was “attacking regime targets and government repression bodies in the heart of Tehran”.

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The locus of their strikes were the prison’s two entrances. If they were trying to enable a jailbreak, they failed. No one is reported to have escaped, several inmates are thought to have died.

The breaches the Israeli missiles made in the jail’s perimeter are being closed again quickly. We filmed as a team of masons worked to shut off the outside world again, brick by brick.

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Environment

Tesla prototype sparks speculation: a Model Y, maybe slightly smaller

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Tesla prototype sparks speculation: a Model Y, maybe slightly smaller

A new Tesla prototype was spotted again, reigniting speculation among Tesla shareholders, even though it’s likely just a Model Y, potentially a bit smaller, and the upcoming stripped-down, cheaper version.

Over the last few months, there have been several sightings of what appears to be a Model Y with camouflage around Tesla’s Fremont factory.

It sparked a lot of speculation about it being the new “affordable” compact Tesla vehicle.

There’s confusion in the Tesla community around Tesla’s upcoming “affordable” vehicles because CEO Elon Musk falsely denied a report last year about Tesla’s “$25,000” EV model being canceled.

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The facts are that Musk canceled two cheaper vehicles that Tesla was working on, commonly referred as “the $25,000 Tesla” in early 2024. Those vehicles were codenamed NV91 and NV92, and they were based on the new vehicle platform that Tesla is now reserving for the Cybercab.

Instead, Musk noticed that Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y production lines were starting to be underutilized as the Company faced demand issues. Therefore, Tesla canceled the vehicles program based on the new platform and decided to build new vehicles on Model 3/Y platform using the same production lines.

We previously reported that these electric vehicles will likely look very similar to Model 3 and Model Y.

In recent months, several other media reports reinforced this, and Tesla all but confirmed it during its latest earnings call, when it stated that it is “limited in how different vehicles can be when built on the same production lines.”

Now, the same Tesla prototype has been spotted over the last few days, and it sent the Tesla shareholders community into a frenzy of speculations:

Electrek’s Take

As we have repeatedly reported over the last year, the new “affordable” Tesla “models” coming are basically only stripped-down Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.

They might end up being a little smaller by a few inches, and Tesla may use different model names, but they will be extremely similar.

If this is it, which is possible, you can see it looks almost exactly like a Model Y.

It’s hard to confirm if it’s indeed smaller because of the angle of the vehicle compared to the other Model Ys, but it’s not impossible that the wheelbase is a bit smaller – although it’s hard to confirm.

Either way, the most significant changes for these stripped-down, more affordable “models” are expected to be cheaper interior materials, like textile seats instead of vegan leather, no heated or ventilated seats standard, no rear screen, maybe even no double-panned acoustic glass and a lesser audio system.

As previously stated, the real goal of these new variants, or models, is to lower the average sale price in order to combat decreasing demand and maintain or increase the utilization rate of Tesla’s current production lines, which have been throttled down in the last few years to now about 60% utilization.

If this trend continues, Tesla would find itself in trouble and may even have to close its factories.

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Politics

US Senator Lummis’s crypto tax relief plan fuels DeFi momentum: Finance Redefined

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US Senator Lummis’s crypto tax relief plan fuels DeFi momentum: Finance Redefined

US Senator Lummis’s crypto tax relief plan fuels DeFi momentum: Finance Redefined

Increasing US regulatory clarity is enabling more traditional finance participants to seek out decentralized financial solutions.

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