A federal judge in Denver on Friday indefinitely blocked Colorado from enforcing a new state law requiring that retails post air quality warnings on gas stoves sold in stores or online. 

U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews issued a preliminary injunction against House Bill 1161, which was passed by the legislature earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis. It took effect Aug. 6, and imposed fines up to $20,000 per violation.

Crews, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Joe Biden, agreed with an argument from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, a trade group, that the law likely violates their First Amendment rights.

“The court disagrees that the labeling requirement merely enables customers to access information — the only reason customers can access this information is because the State compels peddlers of gas stoves to speak it,” Crews wrote in his 27-page ruling. “Further … whether the information is truthful and accurate is subject to substantial disagreement within the scientific community.”

The preliminary injunction means the law cannot be enforced until and unless the case goes through the full legal process and the state overcomes the lawsuit filed by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. The state may also appeal the preliminary injunction to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in Denver. 

The lead sponsors of the bill were Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver, and Sens. Cathy Kipp, D-Fort Collins, and Katie Wallace, D-Longmont.

“This bill discloses facts, and the appliance industry doesn’t like facts,” Valdez said in a written statement Friday. “If you know their product is killing you, which this law requires, you will buy better products. At the end of the day that’s all these people care about is money, not you or your family. Their morals are as toxic as the pollution they want forced into your home without disclosure.”

Kipp said she absolutely disagrees with the ruling.

“The required label makes no judgment as to whether the indoor air implications from having a gas stove in your home are good or bad, but merely points to a website which contains ‘credible, evidenced-based information on the health impacts of gas-fueled stoves,'” she said.

The law required retailers to post a yellow adhesive label on gas-fueled stove display models in bold-faced, black type in English and Spanish that says: Understand the air quality implications of having a gas stove. The notice must include a QR code linking to a website created by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The law required retailers selling gas stoves online to prominently post the warning and QR code on the yellow label.

The state, represented by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, argued that the law doesn’t fall under free speech protections because it regulates government speech only. Crews rejected that claim.

The judge said the government can compel speech only if it’s purely factual and uncontroversial, and found that the claims gas stoves pose air quality concerns don’t meet that standard.  

“The labeling requirement is controversial because there is robust disagreement between scientific sources concerning whether gas-fueled stoves cause or are associated with negative health outcomes,” he said. “Defendant does not present any conclusive evidence regarding the potential health effects of using gas-fueled stoves.”

The Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on the preliminary injunction.

“I can confirm the department has not engaged in any enforcement of the law since it took effect,” said Lawrence Pacheco, a spokesman for Attorney General Phil Weiser.

Earlier this month, Strava, the popular fitness-tracking app, released its annual “Year in Sport” wrap-up—a cutesy, animated series of graphics summarizing each user’s athletic achievements.

But this year, for the first time, Strava made this feature available only to users with subscriptions ($80 per year), rather than making it free to everyone, as it had been historically since the review’s debut in 2016.

This decision has roiled numerous Strava users, particularly those who have relished the app’s social encouragement features. One Strava user in India, Shobhit Srivastava, “begged” Strava to “let the plebs see their Year in Sport too, please.” He later explained to Ars that having this little animated video is more than just a collection of raw numbers.

“When someone makes a video of you and your achievements and tells you that these are the people who stood right behind you, motivated you, cheered for you—that feeling is of great significance to me!” he said by email.

Strava spokesperson Chris Morris declined to answer Ars’ specific questions about why the decision to put Year in Sport behind a paywall was made now.

Other users feel that Strava is getting a bit too greedy. Dominik Sklyarov, an Estonian startup founder, wrote on X that Strava’s decision was a “money hungry move, really sad to see. Instead of shipping useful features for athletes, Strava just continues getting worse.”

Meanwhile, Reddit user “andrewthesailor” pointed out, “Well, they want me to pay to look at data I gave them (power, [heart rate] etc). And the subscription is not that cheap, especially when you consider that you are also paying with your data.”

Sana Ajani, a business student at the University of Chicago, told Ars that she used to be a premium member but isn’t anymore.

“I did notice the Year in Sport and was a little annoyed that I couldn’t unlock it,” she said in an email. “I would’ve expected some overall stats for everyone and extra stats for subscribers. Year in Review-type stuff is great content and distribution for most apps since everyone shares it on socials, so I’m surprised that Strava is limiting its reach by only letting paid subscribers see it.”

The San Francisco-based company, however, clearly sees things differently.

“Our goal was to give our users ample notice before the personalized Year In Sport was released,” Morris, the Strava spokesperson, wrote Ars in an emailed statement. “With the relaunch of our subscription this year, we wanted to clarify the core benefits of Strava—uploading activities, finding your community, sharing and giving kudos—remain as accessible as possible.”

Some Strava users have blamed financial pressures as the company’s monthly average user base has nearly tripled since 2020, reaching 50 million as of this year, according to Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm. Per PitchBook, Strava’s rapid rise has only made the company more valuable; it now has an estimated valuation of around $2.2 billion as of May 2025.

CEO Michael Martin told the Financial Times in October that the company has an “intention to go public at some point.” “Growth profiles like ours… are particularly uncommon, especially at scale,” Martin added. “It attracts a lot of attention—especially from bankers.”

Some disappointed fans say restricting access to Year in Sport represents the latest in a series of company missteps dating back to at least 2023, when the company raised its annual subscription fee from $60 to $80. On top of that, last year, many Strava users thought the company’s foray into AI (or as Strava put it, “Athlete Intelligence”) was a bit of a miss. Earlier this year, Strava sued Garmin over alleged patent infringement—before promptly dropping the case less than a month later.

Still, at least one longtime user is now having second thoughts about Strava.

Matt Cook, 32, an amateur triathlete in Oakland, California, who has been active on Strava for a decade, told Ars that while he is a Strava Premium member, many of his friends are not. As such, that’s created some stratification and anxiety for him.

“It makes me not want to share [my Strava year-end results] because it feels like I’m flexing,” he said.

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In a past that wasn’t so long ago, each of America’s Big Three offered an affordable mid-size pickup truck for folks who wanted to do hard work with a smaller truck. Yet, for a while, the only mid-size offering from Stellantis was the Jeep Gladiator. That’s finally changing, as Ram has confirmed that its new mid-size pickup truck will bring back the Dakota name, and it’ll be hitting the road in 2027. But what’s interesting is the projected price: It’ll start at roughly the same price as Ram’s full-size 1500.

The fact that Ram is gearing up for a mid-size truck revival isn’t anything new. A couple of months ago, we reported that Ram’s new mid-size truck will be built alongside the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator in Toledo, Ohio. This is after Stellantis initially allocated the truck to the Belvidere, Illinois, plant. Stellantis is putting $400 million into this project and it could also add 900 jobs to the area. The automaker also said that the new mid-sizer was coming in 2028.

… and that was pretty much it. No concepts or sketches were revealed to the public, the truck didn’t have a name, and no price was announced. We just knew that some sort of mid-size pickup truck was coming and that it would compete with the likes of the Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, and Toyota Tacoma.

The Dakota Is Back

Ram boss Tim Kuniskis has finally spilled the beans. The new truck is going to revive an old and beloved name with mid-size truck enthusiasts. Yeah, the Dakota is back! Tim kept bringing out the good news, saying that the new truck is now scheduled to come a year earlier in 2027, and as if things couldn’t get any sweeter, Tim then said that the new Dakota will have a myriad of propulsion options, including gas and plug-in hybrid versions.

If you stop here, this sounds like some of the best news to come out of Stellantis in a while. Ram abandoned the Dakota nameplate in 2011 when the third-generation Dodge truck bowed out. Since then, Ram hasn’t had any mid-size truck to sell in the United States, which has basically let Ford, Toyota, General Motors, Nissan, and Jeep enjoy the spoils.

Mid-size trucks have enjoyed a strong fanbase for several years. In 2024, Ford sold 46,205 Rangers. This year, Ford’s moved 62,864 units as of November. Chevy moved 98,013 Colorados last year, and the GMC Canyon added another 38,486 units into the GM pile. Nissan moved 69,813 Frontiers in 2024. Meanwhile, Toyota sent 192,813 Tacomas home to families last year.

All of that is great! Mid-size trucks are a great way to do truck stuff, but without having a beltline as high as the Pan Am/MetLife building. The idea that Ram is coming in swinging with an all-new Dakota with a plug-in hybrid option is exciting. But then, you read the rest of the news. Namely, Tim says that the new truck will start at around $40,000.

Alright, let’s look into this.

The first concern that I have is that the Ram Dakota might be galloping out of the gate at a higher starting price than every other mid-size truck. Currently, a Ford Ranger starts at $33,350, a Chevy Colorado hits $32,400, a GMC Canyon is $38,900, and the Toyota Tacoma is $32,145.

Of course, all of these base prices are before fees that will drive the price up by a few grand or so by the time you leave the dealership. But, notably, most of these trucks are a pretty good bit cheaper than their respective automaker’s full-size trucks.

The odd one out is the GMC Canyon, which has a starting price that’s $900 higher than a GMC Sierra. However, the Sierra does have two lower trim levels that the Canyon does not have. Another exception is the Jeep Gladiator, which starts at $38,830. However, Jeep doesn’t have a bigger truck. Besides, the Gladiator is both a Jeep and a truck.

As of publishing, the Ram 1500 has a price of $41,575 before fees. Punching out the mid-size truck at $40,000 wouldn’t leave much buffer between it and the bigger truck.

Now, this could be harmless. Maybe, like the GMC Canyon, the new Ram Dakota will be a ‘premium’ truck even in base trim, with no cheap work truck version on offer. Sadly, since Stellantis isn’t really saying much yet, there is also the possibility that this truck will come at a similar level as a base Ford Ranger or a base Chevy Colorado, but at a Ram 1500-like price.

I should note that GM does sell a work-spec mid-size truck, so it’s not a big deal if GMC doesn’t have a cheap version. But if Ram launches the Dakota as a premium mid-sizer, it could be leaving money on the table, letting fleet sales go to Ford and GM.

Or, maybe my worrying is entirely unwarranted, and the new Ram will sell like hotcakes even without a lower-cost trim level. It’s also entirely possible that, given rising car prices, mid-size trucks in general could start at around $40,000 in 2027, making the Ram Dakota’s price right on target. I sure hope not.

Time will tell. Either way, it’s awesome that America is getting another choice for a mid-size pickup truck. I also love that it sounds like Ram is putting in a good effort on this one, too. This seems like a win for everyone! We’ll have to see if it all adds up to something folks are going to scoop up.

Top graphic image: Ram

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Whether your idea of fun is a vintage JDM performance icon, a modern legend of the autobahn, or simply a car with little creature energy, we all want to drive something fun. Sure, a used Prius is a great way of getting from place to place, but you probably don’t have a saved search for one, yeah? It’s easy to fantasize about fried-egg Porsche 911s and spinning triangle machines, until the tether of reality holds you back. You can’t realistically expect something like a 120,000-mile BMW M3 to reliably get you to work every day without at least a few faults, and have you seen what the average used car loan costs in interest alone? The compromise, of course, is the certified pre-owned car.

We’re talking about manufacturer programs for generally well-kept used cars that charge a little bit of a premium, but often bundle in extended warranty coverage and subvented financing rates, primarily to appeal to more rational consumers. It sounds fairly pragmatic, and if you’re willing to cast a wide net and hop a cheap flight, you could end up with something that ticks those sensible boxes while delighting your senses.

However, you will want to watch out for what those certified pre-owned programs actually offer. Coverage can vary significantly, so here’s a quick run-down on five exceptionally joyful cars you can find under $25,000 with certified pre-owned stamps of approval, and what that fancy title really means in each instance.

Mazda MX-5 Miata

Let’s start with the distilled essence of sports car, the Mazda MX-5. We all know it as the best-selling sports car lineage of all time, and an update for 2019 with a higher redline made it pretty much the perfect affordable performance vehicle. While stick-shift certified pre-owned examples are thin on the ground, you can end up with something nigh-on perfect if you’re determined. Check out this 2023 model with just under 33,000 miles on the clock, up for sale in Virginia. It’s an MX-5 Club, so it gets the limited-slip rear differential and Bilstein dampers, along with creature comforts like heated seats and a Bose sound system. The asking price? A reasonable $24,543.

So, what does Mazda’s certified pre-owned program get you? Well, the headline item is a slightly extended warranty package. A one-year, 12,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty kicks in either when the factory three-year, 36,000-mile comprehensive warranty finishes or when you take delivery of a vehicle with no remaining factory limited warranty coverage. At the same time, the powertrain warranty gets extended from five years or 60,000 miles from the vehicle’s in-service date to seven years or 100,000 miles. A roadside assistance extension follows the powertrain warranty extension, while certified pre-owned models with satellite radio come with a three-month free trial.

Honda Civic Si

Need more space than a Miata but still want an absolutely stellar shifter? A Honda Civic Si is the obvious choice. No, it’s not a Type R, but it’s a sweet-handling compact sedan with 200 horsepower and a proper helical limited-slip differential. Certified pre-owned pre-facelift 11th-generation examples are now creeping below $25,000, and they’re pretty great. However, they do tend to have higher mileage. For instance, this 2022 model is up for sale in Delaware for $24,400, but it has 71,000 miles on the clock. This seems about typical for less expensive eleventh-gen CPO Si models, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Still, the HondaTrue Certified program does offer real benefits. Not only do certified pre-owned models feature a powertrain warranty of seven years or 100,000 miles from the vehicle’s in-service date, but they also come with a comprehensive warranty of two years or 100,000 odometer miles. For vehicles with some factory bumper-to-bumper warranty left, this latter extension kicks in after the factory warranty’s done. For vehicles without, it kicks in when you pull off the lot in your certified pre-owned car, but expires after either two years or when the odometer reading rolls into six figures. As for freebies, Honda throws in two oil changes to be done within a year after delivery, along with roadside assistance matching the CPO extended bumper-to-bumper warranty and 90 days of free satellite radio.

Hyundai Elantra N

Is a Civic Si just not exciting enough for you? Believe it or not, there are now a handful of certified pre-owned Elantra Ns out there under $25,000. Fairly slow depreciation for a Hyundai, considering these sport compacts originally started just south of $33,000. But this isn’t your normal economy car. A 276-horsepower two-liter turbocharged inline-four and a nigh-on magical electronically variable limited-slip differential conspire with masterful chassis tuning to serve up a wailing good time. It might not be as quick as a Honda Civic Type R, but it’s the most engaging front-wheel-drive car you can buy, and that’s saying something. Just check out this DCT-equipped certified pre-owned 2022 model, up for sale in North Carolina for $24,250. With a little over 54,000 miles on the clock and a clean Carfax, it would make a sweet daily driver.

Does Hyundai’s certified pre-owned program come with an extended warranty? Sort-of. It’s complicated. While Hyundai does tout a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty on its new cars, only half of that warranty term is normally transferable, typically capping out at five years. However, certified pre-owned examples do keep the full warranty term, so buyers will be covered for longer than if they bought from an independent used car dealer. Mind you, unlike most manufacturers’ certified pre-owned warranties, Hyundai’s does carry a $50 deductible. Does Hyundai throw anything else in? Yes. Three months of satellite radio, a year of telematics, and roadside assistance for 10 years from the car’s in-service date. While it doesn’t seem like subvented rates are being advertised for certified pre-owned Elantra Ns, having a warranty as a cushion while you’re making payments does give peace of mind.

Ford Mustang

Alright, wildcard time. Since 2024, you haven’t been able to buy a new Mustang Ecoboost with a row-your-own manual transmission. However, that just means you now have an opportunity to score a three-pedal, 310-horsepower Mustang on the low. We’re talking zero-to-60 mph in about five seconds, a limited-slip differential for responsible hooliganism, seating for four, and a huge aftermarket when your warranty expires. Sure, you might have to do some travelling to extract maximum bang for your buck, but check out this certified pre-owned 2022 Mustang Ecoboost up for sale in Florida. It might be a low-option car, but it’s also barely used with just 18,752 miles on the clock. Plus, it’s part of the Ford Gold program, and that’s important.

See, Ford offers two somewhat confusing tiers of certified pre-owned programs. While Blue Certified vehicles are up to 10 years or 150,000 miles old and come with 90-day or 4,000-mile warranties, Gold Certified is the whole enchilada. We’re talking Ford vehicles less than six years or 80,000 miles old, equipped with some significant perks: A one-year or 12,000-mile comprehensive warranty kicking in when the factory warranty expires or, if it’s already expired, when you take delivery. In addition, Ford provides a powertrain warranty for seven years or 100,000 miles from the vehicle’s in-service date. Are there other perks? Yes. Three months of satellite radio, extended roadside assistance, a full tank of fuel, fresh wiper blades, a fresh oil change, and 22,000 FordPass points to spend on servicing or accessories. However, the big one is a current offer of 4.99 percent financing for 60 months, far better than the 7.15 percent average Bankrate reports for Superprime customers with credit scores north of 780.

Subaru BRZ

Okay, this one’s cheating a little bit because there’s currently only one certified pre-owned BRZ in America under $25,000. However, there are several out there between $25,000 and $26,000, so if you’re a shrewd negotiator, the next step is up to you. When Toyota and Subaru teamed up on their second generation of affordable sports coupes, the result was pretty much the perfect tin-top sports car under $75,000 or so. Not only is it quick enough thanks to a 228-horsepower, 2.4-liter flat-four engine, but the inputs and suspension tuning create the best non-convertible sports car this side of a Porsche 718 Cayman. It’s more engaging than a C8 Corvette Stingray, plus it has an emergency-use rear seat and decent cargo capacity. This certified pre-owned 2023 BRZ Limited is up for sale in Florida for $24,911 with a mere 26,747 miles on the clock. When you think about it, that’s nearly new. Plus, it ticks the right boxes. It’s a stick-shift car with the fancy headlights and heated seats. Job done.

So what does Subaru’s certified pre-owned program get you? Well, the headline item is a powertrain warranty extension to seven years or 100,000 miles from the vehicle’s in-service date. In the case of this BRZ, that’s powertrain coverage until September of 2030, provided you keep a lid on the mileage. In addition, Subaru throws in three months of satellite radio, one year of basic telematics, and roadside assistance matched to the warranty term.

New enthusiast cars are expensive, but you might actually be able to justify a joyful certified pre-owned car, provided you’re willing to search far and wide. If you have to finance a car, the safety net of a factory-backed powertrain warranty is huge, because nobody likes paying for major repairs while they’re still making payments. Just remember to read the fine print and be aware of a vehicle’s in-service date.

Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal

The post Here Are The Most Fun Certified Pre-Owned Cars Under $25,000 appeared first on The Autopian.

Browser extensions with more than 8 million installs are harvesting complete and extended conversations from users’ AI conversations and selling them for marketing purposes, according to data collected from the Google and Microsoft pages hosting them.

Security firm Koi discovered the eight extensions, which as of late Tuesday night remained available in both Google’s and Microsoft’s extension stores. Seven of them carry “Featured” badges, which are endorsements meant to signal that the companies have determined the extensions meet their quality standards. The free extensions provide functions such as VPN routing to safeguard online privacy and ad blocking for ad-free browsing. All provide assurances that user data remains anonymous and isn’t shared for purposes other than their described use.

A gold mine for marketers and data brokers

An examination of the extensions’ underlying code tells a much more complicated story. Each contains eight of what Koi calls “executor” scripts, with each being unique for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and five other leading AI chat platforms. The scripts are injected into webpages anytime the user visits one of these platforms. From there, the scripts override browsers’ built-in functions for making network requests and receiving responses.

As a result, all interaction between the browser and the AI bots is routed not by the legitimate browser APIs—in this case fetch() and HttpRequest—but through the executor script. The extensions eventually compress the data and send it to endpoints belonging to the extension maker.

“By overriding the [browser APIs], the extension inserts itself into that flow and captures a copy of everything before the page even displays it,” Koi CTO Idan Dardikman wrote in an email. “The consequence: The extension sees your complete conversation in raw form—your prompts, the AI’s responses, timestamps, everything—and sends a copy to their servers.”

Besides ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, the extensions harvest all conversations from Copilot, Perplexity, DeepSeek, Grok, and Meta AI. Koi said the full description of the data captured includes:

• Every prompt a user sends to the AI
• Every response received
• Conversation identifiers and timestamps
• Session metadata
• The specific AI platform and model used

The executor script runs independently from the VPN networking, ad blocking, or other core functionality. That means that even when a user toggles off VPN networking, AI protection, ad blocking, or other functions, the conversation collection continues. The only way to stop the harvesting is to disable the extension in the browser settings or to uninstall it.

Koi said it first discovered the conversation harvesting in Urban VPN Proxy, a VPN routing extension that lists “AI protection” as one of its benefits. The data collection began in early July with the release of version 5.5.0.

“Anyone who used ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or the other targeted platforms while Urban VPN was installed after July 9, 2025 should assume those conversations are now on Urban VPN’s servers and have been shared with third parties,” the company said. “Medical questions, financial details, proprietary code, personal dilemmas—all of it, sold for ‘marketing analytics purposes.'”

Following that discovery, the security firm uncovered seven additional extensions with identical AI harvesting functionality. Four of the extensions are available in the Chrome Web Store. The other four are on the Edge add-ons page. Collectively, they have been installed more than 8 million times.

They are:

Chrome Store

• Urban VPN Proxy: 6 million users
• 1ClickVPN Proxy: 600,000 users
• Urban Browser Guard: 40,000 users
• Urban Ad Blocker: 10,000 users

Edge Add-ons:

• Urban VPN Proxy: 1,32 million users
• 1ClickVPN Proxy: 36,459 users
• Urban Browser Guard – 12,624 users
• Urban Ad Blocker – 6,476 users

Read the fine print

The extensions come with conflicting messages about how they handle bot conversations, which often contain deeply personal information about users’ physical and mental health, finances, personal relationships, and other sensitive information that could be a gold mine for marketers and data brokers. The Urban VPN Proxy in the Chrome Web Store, for instance, lists “AI protection” as a benefit. It goes on to say:

Our VPN provides added security features to help shield your browsing experience from phishing attempts, malware, intrusive ads and AI protection which checks prompts for personal data (like an email or phone number), checks AI chat responses for suspicious or unsafe links and displays a warning before click or submit your prompt.

On the privacy policy for the extension, Google says the developer has declared that user data isn’t sold to third parties outside of approved use cases and won’t be “used or transferred for purposes that are unrelated to the item’s core functionality.” The page goes on to list the personal data handled as location, web history, and website content.

Koi said that a consent prompt that the extensions display during setup notifies the user that they process “ChatAI communication,” “pages you visit,” and “security signals.” The notification goes on to say that the data is processed to “provide these protections,” which presumably means the core functions such as VPN routing or ad blocking.

Credit: Koi

The only explicit mention of AI conversations being harvested is in legalese buried in the privacy policy, such as this 6,000-word one for Urban VPN Proxy, posted on each extension website. There, it says that the extension will “collect the prompts and outputs queried by the End-User or generated by the AI chat provider, as applicable.” It goes on to say that the extension developer will “disclose the AI prompts for marketing analytics purposes.”

All eight extensions and the privacy policies covering them are developed and written by Urban Cyber Security, a company that says its apps and extensions are used by 100 million people. The policies say the extensions share “Web Browsing Data” with “our affiliated company,” which is listed as both BiScience and B.I Science. The affiliated company “uses this raw data and creates insights which are commercially used and shared with Business Partners.” The policy goes on to refer users to the BiScience privacy policy. BiScience, whose privacy practices have been scrutinized before, says its services “transform enormous volumes of digital signals into clear, actionable market intelligence.”

It’s hard to fathom how both Google and Microsoft would allow such extensions onto their platforms at all, let alone go out of their way to endorse seven of them with a featured badge. Google didn’t return an email asking how it decides which extensions qualify for such a distinction, if they have plans to stop making them available to Chrome and Edge users, or why the privacy policies are so unclear to normal users. More than three hours after this post went live, a Microsoft representative said the company didn’t have anything to “share.”

Messages sent to both individual extension developers and Urban Cyber Security went unanswered. BiScience provides no email. A call to the company’s New York office was answered by someone who said they were in Israel and to call back during normal business hours in that country.

Koi’s discovery is the latest cautionary tale illustrating the growing perils of being online. It’s questionable in the first place whether people should trust their most intimate secrets and sensitive business information to AI chatbots, which come with no HIPAA assurances, attorney-client privilege, or expectations of privacy. Yet increasingly, that’s exactly what AI companies are encouraging, and users, it seems, are more than willing to comply.

Compounding the risk is the rush to install free apps and extensions—particularly those from little-known developers and providing at best minimal benefits—on devices storing and transmitting these chats. Taken together, they’re a recipe for disaster, and that’s exactly what we have here.

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Ford has made a lot of cool Mustangs over the past decade, but I think the Shelby GT350 might be the coolest. First revealed back in 2015, it was meant to be the hardcore track-day-goer’s Mustang, with bigger brakes, a tighter suspension, sticky tires, and, of course, a 526-horsepower naturally aspirated V8 engine under the hood.

That engine, known as the “Voodoo,” immediately inserted itself into legend thanks to its flat-plane crankshaft, a feature that sets it apart from pretty much every other American V8, which has a cross-plane crankshaft. This flat-plane setup, which you see more frequently in V8s from exotics like Ferrari (and more recently, the Chevy Corvette Z06), means the Voodoo can rev all the way to 8,250 rpm.

These cars were insanely desirable when they were new, with Mustang freaks happily paying fat dealer markups to be the first to get their hands on one. Now, though, they’ve depreciated to the point where you can buy one for nearly as cheap as a new Honda Accord.

The Value Per Dollar Here Is Wild

If you paid attention to the car-o-sphere back when this Mustang was new, like I did, you’ll know just how positively received it was by the media. Everyone who drove this thing absolutely loved it, mainly because it was a departure from what Ford normally considered a Shelby-branded Mustang to be (that is, extremely powerful and quick in a straight line, but not good at much else).

The GT350 was quick, sure—Car and Driver squeezed a 0-60 time of 4.3 seconds for the standard version during testing—but straightline speed wasn’t the point, here. Where this Shelby shone was in the corners. From C/D’s original review:

With the six-speed slotted into gear and the surprisingly light clutch lifted, the GT350 leapt onto the asphalt of Monterey’s Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. First corner and first impressions: tight, tied-down, stable, maybe a little bit of push but, hey, the car’s cold and a bit heavy.

[…]

The brakes—oof, such brakes!—chomp down, but the nose doesn’t dive. The car isn’t crossed up or squirming, it’s flat and stable and ready to turn right now! Less understeer this time, a perfect arc scribed from the white line to apex to white line. And it’s on the gas again, the sound flooding back—that addictive, dazzling, erotic exhale of lyric fire.

Yes. Yes, indeed. Ford is serious.

While the engine delivered less horsepower than the outgoing Shelby, it was far from forgettable. From that same review:

You want an engine with character? The GT350’s “Voodoo” V-8 is Brad Pitt, the Terminator, and James Bond coming at you with matching wry grins.

Everybody wants to know first what this 5.2-liter, 526-hp engine sounds like. Even when making its full 92-decibel war cry, it’s not a loping boom-boom like we’re used to from a muscle car, but rather a faster, more syncopated thrum that is more like what you hear from a Ferrari.

That is all to say, the Shelby GT350 is a pretty special car with a decidedly special engine. So when it went out of production a few years back, I assumed used models would never really depreciate, and lower-mile examples would actually go up in value. While most used examples still sit above the 2015 model’s MSRP of $47,795, there are a few you can get for much cheaper.

This classically spec’d 2016 model with its white paint and blue racing stripes on Carvana with 69,000 miles is $44,990, or about $3,000 cheaper than a brand-new Mustang GT. Want something a bit flashier? This red-painted GT350 with 53,000 miles, for sale via TrueCar, can be yours for $39,859.

If you’re not scared of miles, you can find some truly incredible deals. This red one for sale in Alabama has an impressive 149,000 miles on the clock, and it can be yours for just $29,990. That’s as cheap as a new Honda Accord, and $1,000 cheaper than the cheapest new Miata.

Are You Ready To Risk It All?

I’m all for buying heavily depreciated sports cars. I built my career on doing that exact thing, after all. But if you’re willing to dive into the world of cheap, second-hand performance machines, you should probably proceed with caution.

Just because GT350s like the example above are priced like normie commuter cars doesn’t mean they’ll act like normie commuter cars. The Voodoo V8 is a high-strung piece of complex engineering, as Car and Driver found out in its long-term test:

As marvelous as the high-revving V-8 is, its thirst for oil and gas proved insatiable. Run it hard and it will drink premium at an alarming rate. During one of our mountain blasts, the GT350 emptied its tank in 151 miles at an average of 10 mpg. Our 17-mpg test average was 1 mpg better than the EPA’s combined rating, but ours includes many miles on the interstates. And then there’s the oil-consumption issue: Over 40,000 miles, we added 21.5 quarts of 5W-50. That’s in addition to scheduled oil changes. It’s the most we’ve ever added during a long-term test by a long shot.

Your experience will probably be similar if you were to buy a used example, depending on how often the previous owner drove the car to redline (if they used the car properly, it was probably often). Many of these cars likely lived hard lives, with track days and back road blasts accounting for much of the odometer. So expect to replace expensive wear items sooner rather than later, especially if you get into a car with a lot of miles.

The GT350 is also just a lot of car. Going from something like a GTI or a Civic Si to a GT350, which is now priced similarly, is a massive delta in limits and capability. So if you don’t know what you’re doing when it comes to big V8s and rear-wheel drive, I suggest going to a driver’s school or a few autocrosses to get used to it, lest you end up like the dozens upon dozens of Mustang drivers that have embarrassed themselves leaving Cars and Coffee events. But if you’re daring enough, it’s a fantastic opportunity to get into a legendary car for very little money.

Top graphic image: Ford

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