Latest news with #KyleCheromcha
The Drive
6 days ago
- Automotive
- The Drive
Why the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon is a Secret Tax Write-Off
The latest car news, reviews, and features. If the financial alphas of TikTok are to be believed, there's a secret loophole in US tax code that allows you to buy a Mercedes G-Wagon and deduct its cost from your taxes. They're not entirely wrong—let's dive into Section 179, hustle culture, and how the G-Class ended up becoming a status symbol in more ways than one. Really, it's 'G- Wagen ' as in Gelandewagen, which is pretty much just German for 'off-roader.' But colloquially, it's a 'Wagon' stateside. Not everybody driving around in a Merc G is committing tax fraud, but the vehicle's unique combination of specs and appeal does open the door for shady small-biz shenanigans. See, in late 2010, Congress passed the Small Business Jobs Act. It was designed to help small businesses recover from the financial crisis of 2008, and provided business owners with access to lending programs, increased limits on what they could borrow, and tax cuts on essential equipment. A part of that was what's known as Section 179. Section 179 of the IRS's Publication 946 deals specifically with large equipment needed for work. As our Editor-In-Chief, Kyle Cheromcha, breaks it down in the video above, for example, if a farmer needs a $50,000 tractor, but only puts $5,000 down and finances the rest, they can still write down the entire purchase on their taxes in the first year. The spirit of this is so companies can acquire expensive, unique equipment like construction vehicles or restaurant kitchen appliances. But it gets a little murky when it comes to road-going vehicles. A road vehicle can be eligible for this deduction if it's used at least 50% for business, and has a GVWR of between 6,000 and 14,000 pounds. When this rule was minted, that pretty much only included heavy-duty trucks, not luxury vehicles. But of course, the Mercedes G-Class is both. And now that more cars than ever are extremely heavy, and plenty of work trucks are loaded with luxury features, Section 179 is more susceptible to abuse than ever. Check out the video for the full breakdown of how we got here, and whether or not claiming a $150,000 luxury SUV on your taxes is a good idea. Have you seen our YouTube channel since we brought it back online last year? Check it out right now!
The Drive
14-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Why America's Street Lights Are Turning Purple
The latest car news, reviews, and features. If you're over the age of 25, you probably remember when streetlights had a warm, yellow-orange glow. That was emitted by sodium vapor lamps—the streetlight standard for many years. Recently, as lighting technology has changed, the old has been replaced with newer and more efficient LEDs. But it turns out that there were some unforeseen consequences of using the LEDs that were chosen for street-lighting duty. In this video, our Editor-In-Chief, Kyle Cheromcha, digs into why so many street lights around America have turned purple and what could be done to rectify it. I kind of like the color—it gives everything kind of a moody synthwave vibe. But that's not what any municipality intended when the old lamps were swapped for LEDs. As Mr. Cheromcha put it: 'The 2010s saw the first big push by local, state, and federal governments to switch out the old lamps for LED streetlights, which are a lot more efficient. They also produce a much harsher, colder, blueish white light that a lot of people can't stand. So why are they turning purple now? The thing is, white LEDs don't exist. To make one, manufacturers use a blue LED that shines through a special filter that turns it into white(ish) light.' 'And it turns out that in the mad rush to convert everything to LEDs, no one realized that the filter layer would break down a lot quicker than anyone expected, which causes the lights to turn purple. Or blue, depending on how complete the failure is.' So it comes down to quality control … or lack thereof. Give the video a watch and get the whole picture. Then make sure you're subscribed to The Drive 's YouTube channel to see these explainers every time they come out! Got another automotive or infrastructure-related mystery you'd like to have solved? Drop us a line at tips@
