My kids are each driving grandma cars I purchased for them. My 19 year old daughter loves her 2001 Toyota Avalon. Big, comfy, reliable, peppy, not fast. My 19 year old son has a 2004 Grand Marquis. He wasn’t thrilled at first, but he thinks it’s kid of badass now. I love both of the cars and would drive them myself if…

I wish there were half as much noise made about “protecting the 4th” as there is about the 2nd amendment. The USSC continues to gut the poor 4th every chance they get.

Totally disagree with the RX-350. I’d have one in a minute for my daily/road trip car. Quiet, comfortable, great ride, quick enough, invisible to cops, what’s not to like? They are a high priced in the used market, but that’s because they are so good. The guy who said he wouldn’t take one even for free is full of…

Heck, I’m beat to hell and hurt like crazy after just 3 sessions in the gokarts at Andretti. I can’t imagine an whole weekend in something faster. Alas, maybe I’m not cut out to because racecar.

I would totally go there. I love looking at cool engines. What’s the twin cam I-6?

The cheap car train challenge/race was terrible. No drama, nothing broke down, no lively banter and trash talking between the hosts, no one left behind, and the only difficulty anyone had to overcome was finding a spot hot enough to stick foil pouch of food so that it won’t be raw five hours later. It would have been…

I will add that the habit of using the parking brake every time before getting out of the car has saved me more than once when I hopped out to do something only to return and find I’d left the transmission in gear. Embarrassed to say it, but it’s true.

I have a very steep driveway and don’t trust the little metal pawl that locks the transmission when in park. I have trained my wife and kids to ALWAYS use the parking brake every time, everywhere, even when parked in our dead level garage.

Put it in “R” for race!

Reminds me of sailboat racing using the various handicap systems meant to equalize boats with differing levels of performance. In theory, if the handicaps were perfect and everyone sailed the race to perfection, everyone would finish with the same time. In reality, the guys who consistently finish at the back of the…

friend of Jalopnik and Top Gear host Chris Harris ™

...and I thought curbing a wheel is bad.

As much as I like the new F-150, I have to admit that I’m puzzled by it at the same time. I don’t understand why Ford went to so much trouble to make the latest generation out of lighter aluminum only to make it even bigger. These things are huge! If they built an F-150 with today’s engine technology and the aluminum…

When we were kids, my brother left a box of 64 Crayolas on the rear window ledge of my Dad’s 1972 Impala. The big aquarium back window and a hot summer day in South Georgia conspired to make a big puddle of molten wax that rolled from side to side as we turned left and right. Dad was apoplectic and my brother was…

What this episode pointed out very clearly was they would be better off all around without Chris Evans. LeBlanc is getting more comfortable and more screen time in the studio segments, a good thing. Harris evoked old-school TG style, and the other guy was pretty good as well. I’d like to see a film with more Sabine,…

Bring back Mate Petrany!

I briefly got to drive a 2011 Aston Martin Rapide about two weeks ago. Was around $200 new, you could buy it for $95-ish today. The sound of the engine is hard to beat. But ain’t no way I’m going to buy a depreciating asset -er car that cost more than my first house.

I had one too. A ‘78 128 coupe, a marvelous POS. Always broken and the only shop was the local VW/Fiat/Lancia dealer. You can imagine how brutal that was. My buddy had a Strada of the same era. Let’s just say there was a reason Fiat abandoned the US market lo those many years ago.

You’ve obviously never owned a Fiat.

If Nissan wants to build attractive cars, the IDx is a big step in the wrong direction. De gustibus non est desputantum aside, that thing is ugly.