The concept has always seemed odd to me, too. But then I learned to drive and shift on a truck without a tach, and my bike doesn’t have one.

“Indian Motorcycles wanted me to come ride its new FTR1200 so bad...”

My uneducated speculation would be that the motors have stock electronics that want to see the gauges connected, so they just put them out of the way. They might also be useful for testing and tuning as a quick way to see that they’re synced up.

There’s a guy with one where I work. I smile every time I hear it drive by. And feel a little envious compared to my wife’s ‘05 n/a Outback.

Having been been there (a week before speed week. Dammit!), The lack of sensory feedback as to your speed can be deeply unnerving. It sounds like you’re going fast, and you know you are, but your eyes just don’t perceive it.

I’d argue that at a certain level of cold, this while argument becomes irrelevant, and you need to let the car warm up enough that the defroster can start doing its job and your breath doesn’t freeze to the inside of the windows and blind you. Engine wear be damned, I need to see to drive

So...

Around me, sellers with replaced frames are using it as a selling point

Unless you’re a pro racer, reducing your time on a track is equally as useful as juggling. But people learn to juggle, shave off seconds on track, make card castles, and drift, because they enjoy it.

They seem to very rarely pop up for sale, but those 2-door XJs are a huge automotive fetish of mine.

2 doors and stands out among exotics?

Seems a bit high, but not out of the ballpark, what with their cult following. Mine just reached the end of its life due to underbody rust, and it is slow, uncomfortable, gets mediocre gas mileage, and provides the driving joy that only a 4-speed auto can provide.

I can't vouch for how they'll hold up in warmer weather, but those are excellent snow tires.

Again

Fine. You may enjoy things.

I feel like I’m probably in the minority here, but I honestly think that, visually, this generation of Mustang is aging better than the generation that followed. 

I was thinking badly-rebuilt salvage titled car, but first semester shop class car works.

I got my first auto about 3 years ago. Only owned manual for the previous 10 years. Vermont’s safety inspection has determined that it’s time for me to shop for a car again due to structural rust, and I’m really hoping to get back into a manual.

Ahh, that makes sense. Thanks.

Yeah, fake vents are lame, as always.