I did use winter tires for several years on my Prelude and it definitely helped. Of the cars I’ve owned, all FWD, that one was the worst in the snow for some reason. That said, it was manageable, just a pain in the ass to get out of my parents’ driveway and I had to be more considered in my route. On subsequent cars…

The new styling is not bad at all, but there are a few things that bother me about it, at least based on these photos. I realize that they were trying to evoke the Accord, but I can’t help but be reminded of German sedans instead. From the a-pillar back I see the 2-series coupe, A3 and Jetta.

A car’s styling informs wheel size and often that means a smaller wheel size looks best. Just because automakers are pressured to pander to a consumer’s poor taste doesn’t mean they’re making the best aesthetic decision. Work in any design-related industry this will be painfully obvious, although you are proving my…

Europe isn’t a big player for Japanese automakers because their cars are expensive there. For example, a Civic STARTS at USD$28k in Portugal for a base model with a 125hp 1-liter. UK pricing isn’t too far off from that, at about USD$26k. I can get a comparable Renault for a few thousand less, but your typical European…

Their parents do. Have you been on a college campus lately? $25k seems to merely be a starting point for many of these people because I routinely see kids driving $50k cars.

Mazda is dead on about Mazdaspeed not suiting their new direction. Those cars never sold particularly well and seemed to mainly appeal to the WRX crowd. They weren’t known for being particularly reliable, although that wasn’t helped by the aforementioned demographic beating the crap out of them. This also doesn’t…

I know ostentatious sells, but modern BMWs seem like a social experiment to gauge how ugly cars have to be before consumers reject them. The odd thing is that if it weren’t for the gigantic kidney grilles the styling would be derivative. Most of the car looks like a dozen other crossovers already on the market.

The Honda E’s real problem was price. It’s the same problem the Japanese have always had in Europe. A big culprit behind the price difference was that the EU imposed tariffs on Japanese cars.

Honda’s tech might work in Japan where roads are pristine, speed cameras are everywhere and drivers are predictable. I don’t see anyone’s system working reliably in the US where conditions, especially in most urban areas, are more akin to Russian dashcams.

Citroen BX. The first time I saw one I was hooked. They looked futuristic and the hydropneumatic suspension was incredible.

I wasn’t fawning over the new Hummer. It looks like an offroading skateboard with the bunker-style greenhouse, elongated body and giant wheels. It’s got big flat expanses of bodywork punctuated by an incredibly busy front end. It’s mashup of all the current truck/Jeep/SUV fads.

People keep making this claim, but there’s no evidence it’s true. If it were, cars like the Versa and Mirage would be selling in huge numbers, Honda wouldn’t have pulled the Fit and Toyota would give us the real 4th gen Yaris.

I don’t really care about the Branco, but damn if that livery doesn’t look fantastic on that car.

Yeah, amongst the multitude of coupes, sedans, trucks and SUVs in all kinds of shapes and sizes, in a variety of drivetrains, there really is an unfortunate dearth of choice. GM, Ford and FCA are far from perfect, but they are in 1st, 2nd and 4th place for total passenger car sales.

This car drives better and more predictably than a significant proportion of the drivers in my city. Actually, given the number of people around here who run blatantly red lights, they’ve progressed way beyond blowing through a late yellow, I wonder how the Cruise would cope.

I love the speedometer. Nice, big digits with nothing extraneous. It’s weird that even in the age of fancy digital gauges no one I’ve seen offers a mode like this.

Watch Toyota/Subaru release this thing with another 50hp-100hp and stoplight warriors continue to bitch that it’s lacking somehow.

I love driving, and was able to eke out some satisfaction on my commute by taking back roads. However, by late 2018 and most of 2019 traffic had gotten so bad that the commute was constant frustration.

I don’t trust brand new BMWs to be reliable, nevermind an 11-year-old V10 with that kind of mileage. With black side markers. Plus, it’s the ugliest generation of the 5-series.

Blame consumers. They’re the ones who demand technically complex games with cutting edge graphics. Are you willing to pay $200 for a game that takes twice as long to develop?