I don't hate this nearly as much as I thought I would.

I appreciate what you're saying, but all of that can be undone by journalistic integrity. All car hacks have their preferences of course, but I've not yet spoken to one who is easily swayed by a fancy launch or other perks. At the end of the day, we all do it because we like cars, we like writing and we want to help…

I write for a UK automotive website and I can confirm I certainly don't get "free stuff" from VW. If it's actual VW we're talking about, rather than Skoda, SEAT or Audi, then even getting cars for review isn't a simple task - they certainly don't just "throw" stuff at the press. Or maybe they do and I'm not a big…

I'm driving the Cactus next month. Can. Not. Wait.

Thank you for covering this one. It's long been one of my favourite concept cars, if only because it would have had truly useful, real-world relevance. Also, who doesn't want a modern-day 2CV?

I always wanted one of those, but never had one. Now I'm sad.

I'm gonna throw in a left-field option here: Smart owners. I went to a Smart show in the UK a few years back and the atmosphere was great - there's no "accepted look" for a Smart (/Roadster/Forfour/etc), no elitism about track, or stance, or other "trends". Just a bunch of people who love their tiny little cars…

I nearly bought a Ka as my first car. Ended up with a Fiesta (of the same era, with the same engine) instead. Fiestas were a little less prone to rust, but when I bought mine the Ka rust problems weren't widespread. Almost bought a Ka again a year ago as a fun runaround, until I realised that I couldn't find one that…

You'll be lucky if there are any left by the time they're 25 years old - they rust like bastards.

If you wanted to know how deceitful Zero Hedge is trying to be, just read their latest article, which does the classic ZH trick of taking a small fact and blowing it way out of proportion to make ridiculous assumptions — like knowing that Usain Bolt can run 100 meters in 9.58 seconds and then assuming cats are really…

Almost anything by Skoda. They're refreshingly free of "lifestyle" this, "sporty" that and "premium" whatever, as a rule. Few recent exceptions, but they're a lot easier to like than most other VAG brands. Not least because you're getting 90% of a VW or 80% of an Audi for an even smaller percentage of the price, most…

This. I really like the car, but could have done without that scoop. And maybe the massive audio system too, though at least that bit is hidden.

Fair play to Oklahoma trying to get edumacated. Or maybe they're just searching for places in the world to avoid catching what Texas has.

I can understand that, but you're looking at it from the point of view of someone who'd break down at the side of the road, hit something with a hammer and get going again. What I'm saying is that if a modern BMW breaks down at the side of the road it's going to be no easier to make mobile than a modern BMW electric…

And I repeat: If something *electrical* goes wrong on a regular combustion vehicle, will they be any more likely to fix it? Some regular, gasoline-powered cars these days have literally dozens of ECUs - the only difference is, they also have hundreds of moving parts in the engine and gearbox too.

Sure, those mechanical…

There's one moving part in an electric motor, and far fewer ancillaries than on a regular vehicle. Even if you include ECUs, PCUs etc (and it's not like modern cars don't have dozens of those anyway), electric cars are a great deal simpler than modern combustion ones.

I've not tried, but I can't imagine diagnosing a…

5.) Buick Reatta

Ways to cause even greater pain for your relatives after death: Subject them to another Taylor Swift song.

I'll tell you the taxi I really don't want to ride in - the one where the driver has ruined the ride by fitting sodding enormous wheels.

Of course, the benefit of both the 2CV and the Multipla is that you can either flip down or completely unbolt the seats in about 20 seconds to hugely expand the luggage capacity.