I bought a 2014 Volt with less than 15k miles in 2016 for under $20k. It currently has almost 175k miles. I tell people that the Voltec drivetrain was designed with government money to 1st generation Lexus/1970s Mercedes standards. I'm looking seriously at a Mitsubishi Outlander Phev as our next family car.  Current…

I have been to qualifying in 1994 and the USGP in 2000.  Both times I got a hotel in Bloomington.  A little over an hour from the track, about my average morning commute sometimes.  Hotels were still near normal rates. In 94 I drove in from a job in Michigan. In 2000 a buddy and I flew in and out of Ft. Wayne and…

I would say that it has a lot to do with smaller/less government too.  Living in a city means another layer of government usually.  Same for suburbs with a neighborhood HOA.  The more rural the area the less government telling you what you can and can't do.  Usually just a few basic county zoning requirements that…

Obesity is the easiest way to avoid kidnapping. NOBODY kidnaps fat people. It is entirely too much work.

I like the Nissan Leaf idea.  For the longest time my suggestion was late 1970s or early 1980s 4 door American land yatch.  I'm talking 400+ cubic inches and less than 180 HP with all of 9 mpg.  Big enough to bounce off most things.  Cheap, or they were forever. Make them pay for their own gas, they won't be driving…

SRX seems like a glorious Mashup of the old Fast Masters (Crash Masters) and IROC, in a good way.  I believe that 90% of the racers have done the Dinner with Racers podcast. Go listen to those now, especially Tony Stewart, Willy T, and Paul Tracy.

The 1st gen Volt has two horns. Standard horn in middle of steering wheel. “Pedestrian" horn, since it is so quite at low speed, on the end of the stalk.

The last vehicle that I had with that was a 1989 Ford F-150 with a 5-speed and a straight 6 (should have never got rid of it).  I was one to just push the clutch in at stop signs/red lights.  I was a problem when I had to dim the lights at a stop.

I’ve got a few:

BMW E30s had similar window controls. I just figured that it saved the cost of extra switches. 

High beams or radio seek?  My 1967 Imperial had floor buttons for both.

Well there were a few complete electric S-10s that got released into the wild. That drive train is about 95% EV-1. Just need to find one of those as a donor vehicle.

After a certain age, entry height becomes a primary consideration in vehicle choice. 

Nobody with decent credit is buying a Mitsubishi Mirage.

Maybe they are requiring a $5995 down-payment. And just happen to own the payday loan place next door.

Get ready for a shock registering a car in Georgia.  They changed the tax system a few years back.  You basically pay 6-8 years ad valurem tax up front.  Tax rates are based off year only with no accounting for mileage or condition. Expect to pay $1000-$2000 up front.  The good news is tag renewal is only like…

Linda Vaughn’s episode of the podcast Dinner with Racers is great.

Missed my chance to nominate the 4.3L V-6 in the 2011 Silverado. The 4.3L was a fine engine for the S-10 and S-Blazer.  But by 2011 in a full size truck, it was pitiful. It offered the power of a 4 cylinder and the fuel economy of a V-8.  No joke, the 4 cylinder in the 2011 Colorado had the same horsepower and the V-8…

Grab a few trees from the garden section and start digging holes in the women’s clothing section to plant them.  The right uniform, the right demeanor,  and a few orange cones and you might get away with it at 2am.

Electric makes sense here because there is a good chance this thing is going to be used inside a building. Digging out plumbing or adding basement space. It is so narrow so that it fits through doors.