Am I a bad person because when I saw this story, all I could think of was Hawking going all Clarkson and yelling "POOOOOWWWWWERRRRRRRRRRRR!" in his computer voice?

I gave serious thought to getting an Oh Cock vanity plate. I even figured out a spelling I thought would get by the plate nazis. But I don't think enough people would get it and the wrong sort of people might start tailing me.

Does hoonage fit his philosophy of Christian motoring?

When I took Driver's Ed, I heard an urban myth about an instructor telling some girl to pass a car, so she put it in Pass and dropped the transmission.

There was an author Q&A at the end of the audiobook I just finished this weekend by a British female Muslim doctor who worked in Saudi Arabia for two years. She was talking about reckless driving/hooning by young Saudi males and couldn't remember the term for it. "Hagwalah!" I replied to the car stereo. Then it…

I still have 'Children's Story' on my iPhone. Still know most of the words, as apparently, does my friend b/c we were singing it out loud the last time it came up on shuffle in the car.

Quoth Montell Jordan, "This is how we do it."

Or shooting with a D-SLR camera, using manual settings rather than a point-and-shoot.

MINI occasionally offers learn-to-drive-stick lessons. Check their site to see if any are coming up in your area.

Re: #5: I'm a straight chick with a Subaru (5MT, thank you). My younger sister (also hetero and a stick driver) got me hooked on 'Top Gear' several years ago (I even subscribe to the magazine). The other day, the two of us were comparing our family's horses to cars. She likened the quarter horse to a Camry (steady,…

@Thomas McIntyre Re: #5: I'm a straight chick with a Subaru. My younger sister (also hetero) got me hooked on 'Top Gear' several years ago. (I even subscribe to the magazine on my iPad.) Just the other day, we were comparing our family's horses to cars. She likened the quarter horse to a Camry (steady, reliable, dull)…

Ah, being single means never having to compromise on one's automotive transmission philosophy. (I have been known to mock men for not being able to drive a stick.) That said, I don't think the Forester's gearbox is quite as smooth/easy than my old Integra's. You have to keep the clutch completely buried at a light…

Wow, I guess they've even heard about the World's Most Stereotypical Lamborghini Owner in the UAE. But seriously, good on him. Thank you for topping off my faith in humanity, Mr. Abdulla. It's been running a little low lately.

Beautiful pics, esp. coming from a phone. I'm a newbie too, though my 2012 5MT Forester already has 13,000 miles on it, thanks to a few 1,000-mile road trips and numerous day hikes in Shenandoah Nat'l Park. (I half-joke that if I do not hike at least twice a month, Subaru will come and take my car away.) I love it;…

Great story! One problem: your promo blurb has Radford in Minnesota instead of Virginia.

There was a doo-doo brown Panamera at the dealership near me last fall. Shuddered every time I drove past until it was gone. Then I started pondering who would buy a s***-brown Panamera.

Well, they already have 'Dexter' star Michael C. Hall doing voice-overs for their SUVs. Which always makes me wonder how many plastic-wrapped bodies I would be able to fit in the vehicle being advertised.

Confession of a recovering car slob: Thanks to my new black car, I have an all-you-can-wash membership and I go every week or two — or right after a trip to the mountains with the dogs, whichever comes first. I bought my own set of detailing brushes à la Capt. Slow and if I'm at a long light, I grab the big one out…