Latest news with #Smoke
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Car buyers, dealers are both shocked by latest price trends
Tariffs have been on car buyers' minds as they've headed to lots around the country. The threat of paying an import tax on our favorite Toyotas, Hyundais and Land Rovers has motivated buyers in a way the car industry hasn't seen in years. Auto dealers' customer traffic index rose to 37 from 33 in Q1 last year. Franchised dealers reported a 10-point increase in in-person visits, the largest increase since the metric was introduced in Q3 2022, according to Cox Automotive. Related: Popular Ford newcomer overtakes Jeep in a key area "People are buying cars because they think tariffs are coming," one Mazda dealer said. "The U.S. economy remains fundamentally strong, but the recent tariffs have had a swift and measurable impact on vehicle affordability," said Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke. During the first part of the year, auto dealers offered incentives to get people through the doors, leading to new vehicle affordability improving to its best level in nearly four years in March. The average price of new vehicles decreased by 0.2% in the month, according to Kelley Blue Book. The average auto payment also fell by 0.2% to $739 per month, a 1.3% decline year over year, and the median weeks of income needed to purchase the average new vehicle fell to 36.7 weeks from a downwardly revised median of 36.9 weeks in February. But new data suggests that the good times are coming to an end. Pricing trends are going the wrong way for car buyers, according to new data from the Cox Automotive/Moody's Analytics Vehicle Affordability Index, After reaching the lowest affordability point of the year in April, the index "essentially flatlined"at that level in May. "The forces that typically drive improvement – like incentives and income growth – have been neutralized by stubbornly high interest rates and stagnant prices," Smoke said. "Without meaningful gains in wages and further easing of rates, we're likely to see affordability limit demand as we move into the summer months." Related: Ford CEO Jim Farley has a strong take on tariffs The estimated average auto loan rate rose by 9 basis points in May to 9.88%, but it was still lower year over year by 77 basis points. Income growth was also strong in the month at 3.4% year over year. The average payment increased 0.2% to $756, marking the highest monthly payment since December, despite a 1.1% decline year over year. The average monthly payment peaked at $795 in December 2022. The number of median weeks of income needed to purchase the average new vehicle held steady at 37.4 weeks. Last year, it took 39 weeks of median income to purchase the average new vehicle, even though prices were 1% lower because interest rates were higher. Due to the uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's trade war, dealers have increased incentives to combat consumer sentiment, which has been in the tank since Trump took office. Nearly half of American drivers cite car expenses as the reason they can't save any money, and the average American spends about 20% of their monthly income on auto loans, fuel, insurance, and maintenance. Most financial experts cap the monthly income you should spend on a vehicle at 15%. According to a MarketWatch Guides survey, about 10% of drivers say they spend 30% of their monthly income on driving, while another 12% said they "found themselves living paycheck to paycheck due to the financial strain of their cars." Related: Car buyers notice a disturbing trend at the car lot The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
What to stream this week: Taron Egerton's fiery thriller and five more shows to catch
This week's picks include an arson thriller, an investigation of the OceanGate submersible disaster, season two of British crime drama The Gold and a revisit of Hannibal Lector. Smoke ★★★★ (Apple TV+) Few movie stars have come to streaming with more subversive purpose than Taron Egerton. The British actor, empowered by the Kingsman action-comedies and the Elton John biopic Rocketman, has used the 2022 Apple TV+ crime drama Black Bird and now this twisty, unconventional investigative thriller to play flawed men who want to believe they're the hero of their story. Egerton has become the great pretender of leading men, undercutting viewer expectations – especially here – and serving as a skeleton key for harsh revelations. The story of a hunt for a pair of serial arsonists in America's Pacific Northwest, Smoke starts giving off uneasy but intriguing vibes within the first episode. The dynamic between arson investigator Dave Gudsen (Egerton) and his new partner, police detective Michelle Calderon (Jurnee Smollett) is askew. The familiar, hard-nosed procedural stances feel forced – he's playing some kind of self-ordained role, she's carrying too much trauma. Dave and Michelle tell themselves truths that the story casts doubt on. And they don't trust each other. Like Black Bird, Smoke was created by the American crime novelist Dennis Lehane, whose books have become Clint Eastwood's Mystic River and Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. Lehane isn't doubling down on the grim realities, he's looking at them anew. Early on, Dave explains arsonists often act from a place of powerlessness, and the show digs into how that creates a hidden fury that must be satisfied. The story gives time, and explanatory scenes, not just to cops but also criminals. The nine-part series stages several fires, whether as an apocalyptic conflagration or a sudden nightmare that leaves skin literally peeling off a victim, but flames are seen as a kind of abyss. There's nothing there. It's interested in the people drawn to the abyss. Loading The tone is always sharp, the stakes genuine, but the mechanics hint at the absurd. Dave, who is writing a novel about an arson investigator, imagines himself playing the tough guy hero in his everyday life, and you see this. Delusions can become dominant. It's as if Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman, circa Adaptation, have snuck into the writers' room. Smoke suggests that wrenching outcomes can have absurd seeds, and then it contrasts that with brutal bursts of corrupted reality. The show has hints of brilliance that can only appear with an idiosyncratic mindset, but it's also smart enough to staff the supporting cast with impressive actors, including Rafe Spall and Greg Kinnear, who can catch you out. Every episode from the second onwards ends with an unforeseen turn. That should be valued. From June 27. Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster ★★★★ (Netflix) Sadly, but not unexpectedly, the explicit causes and systemic failings that led to the June 2023 implosion of the tourist submersible Titan, killing all five people on board during a dive to the wreck of the Titanic, are familiar and predictable: OceanGate co-founder and CEO, Stockton Rush, who was piloting the undersea vehicle, was a narcissist who disdained safety regulations. He believed, like the Titanic, that the Titan was 'invulnerable'. The immense pressure at 3000 metres depth in the Atlantic Ocean proved otherwise. Loading What this feature-length documentary from director Mark Monroe provides is a level of detail and testimony that is damning. The narrative's thoroughness stands in contrast to Rush, who was obsessed with using an experimental carbon fibre hull to mark himself as a visionary. Rush had Bezos envy. He wanted to be acclaimed as a pioneer and brought start-up shortcuts to a technically demanding industry. Cutting between former employees, including one who was fired within 24 hours for raising serious safety concerns, and official investigators, the documentary makes clear it was only a matter of time before the hull of the Titan gave way. Monroe is circumspect with the four paying passengers, who lost their lives to Rush's hubris, but there's no deference to the latest instance of the CEO psychopath. 'He wanted fame,' a former staffer notes. 'And he's got it.' The Gold (season 2) ★★★½ (Stan) The first season of this British crime drama, which uses the real-life robbery in 1983 of a fortune in gold bullion as the starting point for an incisive and deeply entertaining take on ambition and order, was one of 2023's best shows. Creator Neil Forsyth returns for the new instalment, but it takes an episode or two to acquire a genuine rhythm, while the plot requires a lot more speculation. Nonetheless, with Hugh Bonneville exemplary as the chief investigator, there's still a muscular desperation and some mighty monologues. Mr Loverman ★★★½ (Binge and Foxtel) British actor Lennie James (Line of Duty) rightfully won the best actor category at the recent British Academy Television Awards for his portrayal of Barrington 'Barry' Walker, a London charmer of Antiguan birth whose ebullient life spans dual marriages: officially to his wife Carmel (Sharon D Clarke), and unofficially to his boyhood friend and soul mate, Morris De La Roux (Ariyon Bakare). This painfully nuanced series, adapted from Bernardine Evaristo's novel of the same name, captures Barry's belated attempt to finally deal with his deception after a lifetime of cultural exclusion and unacknowledged selfishness. Call Her Alex ★★½ (Disney+) This two-part documentary, directed by filmmaker Ry Russo-Young (Before I Fall), offers powerhouse podcaster Alex Cooper, who has taken Call Her Daddy from raunchy confession to chart-topping celebrity hub, the ultimate 21st century media compliment: an authorised portrait that celebrates her ascendance to mogul status. Framed around a live tour, Call Her Alex finds plenty to recount from Cooper's narrative, including a university sports career marked by sexual harassment and business difficulties when Call Her Daddy blew up, but it doesn't want to ask questions about who she is now, even as adulation furthers her ambition. Hannibal ★★★★ (Binge, Foxtel and Stan) Rewatch alert. It's 10 years since the third and final season of Bryan Fuller's exquisitely twisted reappraisal of author Thomas Harris's Silence of the Lambs characters concluded. Few shows since have come close to matching its vivid mix of baroque tableaus and psychological horror. With Hugh Dancy as FBI profiler Will Graham and Mads Mikkelsen as then leading psychiatrist (and surreptitious serial killer) Hannibal Lecter, this is a truly twisted take on the buddy (bloody) cop procedural. It's a show about empathy's cost and the need for transformation, told with an ambition that would worry today's streaming giants.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
5 most shocking betrayals in GTA history
(Image via Rockstar Games) In GTA games, trust is a myth, and betrayal is just part of the grind. Over the years, Rockstar has dropped some seriously jaw-dropping betrayals that left players shaken, angry, or straight-up heartbroken. If you've been playing GTA long enough, you know that trusting the wrong person can cost you everything. Here are the most jaw-dropping betrayals in GTA history that made us question everything. 5. Dimitri Rascalov – GTA IV In GTA IV, Niko tries to do things right, but Dimitri had other plans. After pretending to be cool, Dimitri sells Niko out to Ray Bulgarin and then continues betraying him at every step. This man is snake-tier . He even ruins the game's finale depending on your choice. GTA San Andreas: Definitive Edition - Tenpenny's Betrayal + Hernandez Death Scene 4. Tenpenny – San Andreas Okay, not a friend, but Officer Tenpenny wins the 'most two-faced' award. He frames CJ, manipulates the gangs, and treats the whole city like his playground. You keep thinking you can beat him at his game, but he always pulls a fast one—until the final crash. Lance Vance Betrays Tommy Vercetti | GTA Vice City Definitive Edition 3. Lance Vance – Vice City 'Lance Vance, dance to the devil's tune.' Tommy Vercetti and Lance were supposed to be partners. They survived shootouts, built an empire, and took over Vice City together. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 새로운 재테크 찾는다면 '코인재테크' 시작해라. 골드클래스 더 알아보기 Undo But Lance couldn't handle being second-in-command. He sells Tommy out to Sonny Forelli at the worst possible time. The final mission turns into a betrayal showdown, and honestly, we were all ready to pull the trigger. GTA 5 Why Did Michael Fake His Death? 2. Michael's Fake Death – GTA V Michael pulled off the ultimate inside job: he snitched on his crew and faked his death to live a cushy life in Los Santos. Meanwhile, Trevor thought he watched his best friend die. But when the truth comes out, it's explosive. It's the core reason behind their love-hate chaos throughout the game. Ryder and Big Smoke Betrayal (GTA: San Andreas Definitive Edition) 4K 60FPS Ultra HD 1. Big Smoke & Ryder – San Andreas This one hurt the most. CJ comes back to Los Santos to bury his mom and clean up Grove Street. But two of his closest boys, Big Smoke and Ryder, flip on him and sell out to the Ballas—the enemy. Not only are they dealing drugs behind CJ's back, but they're also in bed with Officer Tenpenny. When CJ finds out, it's war. Smoke's betrayal still stings, especially after hearing 'All you had to do was follow the damn train, CJ! GTA stories hit hard because betrayal isn't just a plot—it's personal. Rockstar makes sure that when someone backstabs you, it stings . And let's be real: these moments are what keep us talking about GTA years later. Which betrayal messed you up the most? Drop your thoughts, and trust no one .
Sydney Morning Herald
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Taron Egerton is a master of flawed men. He's done it again in this fiery thriller
Smoke ★★★★ Few movie stars have come to streaming with more subversive purpose than Taron Egerton. The British actor, empowered by the Kingsman action-comedies and the Elton John biopic Rocketman, has used the 2022 Apple TV+ crime drama Black Bird and now this twisty, unconventional investigative thriller to play flawed men who want to believe they're the hero of their story. Egerton has become the great pretender of leading men, undercutting viewer expectations – especially here – and serving as a skeleton key for harsh revelations. The story of a hunt for a pair of serial arsonists in America's Pacific Northwest, Smoke starts giving off uneasy but intriguing vibes within the first episode. The dynamic between arson investigator Dave Gudsen (Egerton) and his new partner, police detective Michelle Calderon (Jurnee Smollett) is askew. The familiar, hard-nosed procedural stances feel forced – he's playing some kind of self-ordained role, she's carrying too much trauma. Dave and Michelle tell themselves truths that the story casts doubt on. And they don't trust each other. Like Black Bird, Smoke was created by the American crime novelist Dennis Lehane, whose books have become Clint Eastwood's Mystic River and Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. Lehane isn't doubling down on the grim realities, he's looking at them anew. Early on, Dave explains arsonists often act from a place of powerlessness, and the show digs into how that creates a hidden fury that must be satisfied. The story gives time, and explanatory scenes, not just to cops but also criminals.
The Age
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Taron Egerton is a master of flawed men. He's done it again in this fiery thriller
Smoke ★★★★ Few movie stars have come to streaming with more subversive purpose than Taron Egerton. The British actor, empowered by the Kingsman action-comedies and the Elton John biopic Rocketman, has used the 2022 Apple TV+ crime drama Black Bird and now this twisty, unconventional investigative thriller to play flawed men who want to believe they're the hero of their story. Egerton has become the great pretender of leading men, undercutting viewer expectations – especially here – and serving as a skeleton key for harsh revelations. The story of a hunt for a pair of serial arsonists in America's Pacific Northwest, Smoke starts giving off uneasy but intriguing vibes within the first episode. The dynamic between arson investigator Dave Gudsen (Egerton) and his new partner, police detective Michelle Calderon (Jurnee Smollett) is askew. The familiar, hard-nosed procedural stances feel forced – he's playing some kind of self-ordained role, she's carrying too much trauma. Dave and Michelle tell themselves truths that the story casts doubt on. And they don't trust each other. Like Black Bird, Smoke was created by the American crime novelist Dennis Lehane, whose books have become Clint Eastwood's Mystic River and Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island. Lehane isn't doubling down on the grim realities, he's looking at them anew. Early on, Dave explains arsonists often act from a place of powerlessness, and the show digs into how that creates a hidden fury that must be satisfied. The story gives time, and explanatory scenes, not just to cops but also criminals.
