I thought Mazda’s push upmarket was a mistake from day one. The last gen didn’t sell particularly well, and a more expensive Mazda 3 is problematic considering it’s still perceived as a direct competitor to the Civic and Corolla. It doesn’t help that most of the 3's still on the road are beaters and too many of those…

There’s no ambiguity around the word “gradual”. It means progressing slowly.

Most beautiful sedan ever is a massive stretch. There are better looking sedans even within BMW’s own lineup. While it’s aged reasonably well, this 5-series has a bit of 90s bulbousness to the design.

This sounds like people who buy something they don’t need on sale then claim they’ve saved money.

It’s ridiculous how much cheaper tolls are in Europe and both traffic management and road quality are far superior. It’s $16 just to cross the George Washington Bridge; for the privilege of being stuck in endless traffic, enduring garbage roads and contending with idiotic highway design.

Car culture is plagued by tribalism and cargo cult mentality, so I’m not surprised that enthusiasts would be turned off by certain brands and models.

Totally agree. Around here it’s virtually a free-for-all. On a near daily basis I see people randomly ignore red lights, casually blow through stops and go into the on-coming lane to pass people. That’s in addition to assholes speeding down narrow residential streets and the general chaos from motorcycles and ATVs in…

The only feature that makes sense being unavailable on the manual is lead vehicle start assist. The rest of them are odd considering that the manual Corolla includes all the rest.

That roofline on the new Z really bothers me. It’s reflective of another era in sports car styling and worked better with the bigger rear end on previous generations. The new proportions really exaggerate the peak and the taper to the rear makes it feel like something is missing.

Meh... To me they’re different flavors of a sports coupe.

striking

Last night I read a story about how a woman was dragged out of her car and beaten up by a bunch of shitheads. They were blocking traffic with their motorcycles and went into a rage when she honked her horn at them.

It’s only “painfully slow” by American standards. This is a global platform and in the rest of the world, where fuel economy matters, 155hp is respectable. The base model everywhere else is a 2 liter hybrid which produces 120hp.

I disagree. 200hp is the perfect amount of power.

Even 40 year old manuals are easy to operate. Manuals only seem difficult when you’re inexperienced and working way too hard to shift gears. If you can’t get your car rolling without stabbing the throttle a dozen times, then yeah, it’s a pain. There are way too many people out there with terrible habits who never…

I would have assumed that any modern manual with an electric parking brake also includes hill assist. These systems utilize the standard brakes, not parking brakes and they release the moment you depress the clutch. I have to admit that it’s incredibly convenient. My car even has a button that engages the brakes for…

The real problem with this car is that, with the exception of the front end, it doesn’t feel like a Countach. It looks like a Diablo. The big black triangle seems like a revision intended to evoke its namesake so it’s too visually dominant. The NACA duct isn’t the first thing I think of when I visualize the original…

Yeah, it looks like a Diablo, not a Countach.

Not bad, but the side and rear looks like a Diablo, not a Countach.

In Japan cars are also sold with blank plates because consumers have the option of installing something other than the factory system, or opting for nothing at all. Honestly, that’s how it should be everywhere.