^^^^ This. I assume this is a fad that will die down at some point, but I have no idea when. The 991.2 GT3 is so goddamn good at going fast that it’s only interesting on a racetrack. On the street it’s just a rough, pong-y pain in the ass. But dudes (and I’m pretty sure it’s all dudes) love their Walter Mitty…

Porsche *is* continuing to put a 4cyl in the base and the S, just as they have been. These new models are $100k track-focused versions, the 718's analogue to the 911 GT3. It’s a basic factory hot-rodding formula: They took the base 911 motor and stuffed it in the Boxster / Cayman, and now they can charge 911 money for…

Also, would you buy one of these over a V-6 Chevy Colorado? That’s the closest real competitor. (The Tacoma still doesn’t have the towing capacity to pull an enclosed race trailer with car in it.)

Although I’d never realized just how much wider the 2nd-gen model is, compared to the first gen. Big hips!

Agree. The Telluride is the better looking of the twins. The Kia isn’t bad, though, at least not by modern mom-mobile standards.

They have some story around it. Kia is supposed to be more classic and appeal to older buyers, and Hyundai is supposed to be more futuristic and appeal to the youngsters.

BMW builds cars that *dealers* will buy, and BMW dealers are by and large trying to force their enthusiast clientele into high-margin M products.

My experience of Belgians (had an office in Brussels for a while) is that some of them combine some of the worst qualities of the French with the dogged rigidity we associate with Germans. I found some of them to be very punchable.

^^^^ this. The LT series is one of the all-time great engines. It’s even fuel efficient. Cadillac is just stupid to not use it in its sedans

 But, crucially, is not available in yellow. (Well, unless you do paint-to-sample for a $10k uncharge.)

Wait, so are they bringing this wagon to the US? The prior gen A-class had a wagon, too, but it was forbidden fruit for us Americans.

I’d settle for a Hellcat DB7. Which, come to think of it, is probably possible. Hmmm....

But is it a sandwich or a ravioli?

Yup, this. Yesterday I sat in a new CLS 53 ($99k sticker) and an AMG GT ($186k sticker). And other than the fact that one goes 200 MPH and the other doesn’t, quite, I couldn’t figure out any objective reason to prefer one over the other.

How’s the steering? Any feedback/feel, or is it in the video-game-controller realm of current BMWs?

The reason here is you’d have a car with a usable back-seat and a trunk big enough to carry 2-3 roller bags for a weekend trip. Plus some of us would like the burble of a front-engined V-8 rather than the braaap of the turbo flat-six.

Already happened. The current Bentley Continental is built on the same MSB platform as the current Panamera.

The 2nd-gen Panamera went to electric PS, and yeah, it’s really wooden. Yet another car that is capable as hell, but not particularly fun to drive around town.

The Boxster and Cayman are priced pretty much exactly where the 944 was in inflation-adjusted dollars. But yeah, I wish they were smaller, and front-engined, and had a huge cargo area like the 944s.

I feel like I know the answer to this already, but which 4?