I moved abroad so I'd have more options. It worked. Then my son turned 18, moved back to the US, bought a used Elantra for $18,000 at a high interest rate, and I realized the options couldn't go with him. This week: two cars, two loans, and why the country with the expensive reputation gave me the better deal.

What happened

On Wednesday I put a video up about the Yangwang U8 — BYD's luxury SUV, the one that floats. I drove it in Dubai. It's a car you cannot buy in America, and most people assume that's because of tariffs. It isn't.

Here's the fine print. In January 2025, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security finalized what everyone calls the Connected Vehicle Rule. It doesn't ban Chinese cars. It bans Chinese-origin software for two systems — the "vehicle connectivity system" (the part that talks to the internet) and the "automated driving system" — from model year 2027. Chinese-origin hardware for the connectivity system follows from model year 2030. With all the advanced tech in cars these days, some cars are basically a computer on wheels, and the rule targets the computer.

The line I keep coming back to: technically it's not this car that's banned. It's the software inside it. And you can't strip the software out of a modern car any more than you can strip the water out of soup.

Which means: even if every tariff on Chinese cars went to zero tomorrow, the U8 still could not be sold in the U.S. Zero tariff, still banned. That's the part almost nobody says out loud.

What this could cost you

From here it looks like the U.S. automotive market is shrinking. Less choices for consumers, relatively financing rates, and less advanced tech.

Two loans, same family. Mine: a Chinese SUV, financed here at 1.9% — and I know people in Dubai on 0% for five years. His: a used Elantra, $18,000, at the kind of rate a 20-year-old with a thin credit file gets in the US — high. The expensive car came with the cheap money. That's the whole story; here's what I'd do about it, depending on who you are.

If you're a young buyer in the US. Shop the loan before you shop the car — a credit union will usually beat the dealership by several points, and on $18,000 that's real money. And accept that half the world's cheapest cars aren't on your menu; that's a rule, not a market, so don't wait for it to change.

If you're thinking about living abroad. Cheap money is one of the quiet perks nobody puts in the brochure — banks here compete hard for salaried expats, and cars are one of the places you feel it. Price the whole life, not the rent.

If you own the stock. Disclosure: I own a NIO, and I own NIO shares — my views only, not financial advice. The NASDAQ isn't the only stock exchange in the world. Take a look at what else is out there and do research on what suits what you are looking for.

My view

The Connected Vehicle Rule is the template. Watch for the same "it's the software, not the object" logic to migrate — other consumer tech, then grid batteries, then anything with a modem. When it does, the price of the object won't change on paper. What changes is what's on the shelf. Cars are just the first thing big enough that regular people notice.

So no, I'm not annoyed at him. He read the market correctly. I'm just the person who read the rule.

I want to hear from you — hit reply, I read every one:

The last time you bought a car, did you feel like you got "a good deal"?

Jamilia Grier
​Writing about the rules shaping technology and business across the US, China, and the Gulf — and what they mean for anyone building across borders.