I got to work for both Deal sisters, Veruca Salt, Hatfield, and Phair. Every single one of them were classy, vibrant (well, Juliana Hatfield was painfully shy off-stage), professional, and could rock a crowd. Those were fun times, except for the part where I was broke as fuck.

Serious question: Has Rinspeed ever produced a single one of its concept cars, ever? Aren’t they all just adverts for their contract engineering work?

I’ve been poking around at the dealer, and yes, apparently we’ll get both hybrid (53) and nonhybrid (450) versions of this motor in the E-Class. The 450 version will replace the current 400 V-6. They’re launching first in the revised CLS, then the E a couple months later. These will be 2019 models with delivery…

Dealer is telling me that same car in the US will be badged as an S450. No friggin idea why.

They’ve been slapping AMG badges on more pedestrian models for *years*. The E280 I owned down in Costa Rica had factory AMG badges on the seats, side rub strips, and trunklid. This was a 217-hp car with skinny tires.

I agree that they’re ‘milking’ the brand. But as a guy who owns multiple Mercedes and will replace my current DD Merc with another when it’s time, the 43 cars are currently more appealing than the ‘real’ 63 cars. The ‘real’ AMGs are too stiff for the street but too porky for the track. And the marginal speed…

They’ve gotten a lot better with the MQB / MLB platforms and AE888 engine family. We’ve got 3 GTIs in the extended family and recently turned back a ‘14 Passat 1.8T at the end of its 3-year lease. No problems whatsoever with any of these cars, and they feel and drive solid.

I was there a couple months ago. You’re not wrong, but also...there’s still homeless dudes and jizz.

It’s Times Square. The surface is already covered in gum, snot, flyers, homeless dudes, grease-soaked kabob sticks, discarded pizza crusts, and jizz.

Yup. Times Square may be *the* most camera-covered place outside of D.C. And a dozen tourists will be posting their cell phone videos of this to YouTube/SnapChat/IG within 24 hours.

Luck is, in part, something you can create with testing and preparation. Toyota’s core problem is that Audi & Porsche had somewhere between $50M and $100M more to spend on that.

Luck is, in part, something you can create with testing and preparation. Toyota’s core problem is that Audi & Porsche had somewhere between $50M and $100M more to spend on that.

That GIF makes me laugh every. single. time.

VW reliability has improved a *lot* since the Internet formed an opinion.

David Tracy: The Internet’s slowest-motion snuff film.

Nearly perfect. Just add that no auto show will satisfy you until Subaru puts a turbo in the BRZ.

I believe I’ve seen all those colors on G-body Buicks from the Malaise Era.

Mmmmm...yes!

Your fun fact is that Mercedes has it only on certain cars, and it depends on which factory manufactures that model. Everything from the Sindelfingen plant is can be painted to sample, at least: E-Class, S-Class, CLS, and AMG GT.

The deep purple would be my color pick as well. Maybe I can talk my wife into replacing her GTI with this...