The Incredible Shrinking Steering Wheel

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Marian’s car is 12 years old and she’s ready for a new one. So yesterday we went out car shopping, and I discovered an odd thing: steering wheels seem to be smaller than they used to be. I didn’t bring along a tape measure or anything, but I’d guess that the steering wheels in the cars we looked at had a diameter an inch or so less than either of our current cars, which are both more than a decade old.

Was this an optical illusion? Or are they really smaller these days? And if so, why? Is it just a change in fashion? Or is there some functional reason for this? Any car nuts out there who know the answer?

And while we’re at it, what’s the deal with the declining height of the line where the windshield meets the roof of the car? Visibility was at least modestly compromised for me in several of the cars we looked at, and I’m not Shaq-tall, just a little taller than average. This is annoying.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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