Not trying to be critical about anyone’s idea of fun, but there are those of us that think sequential transmissions are more fun that manuals. I know that is heresy, but it’s a lot of fun to hear and feel a full-throttle upshift or bang a shift out in a sweeper.

Congratulations, Robb - excellent job and a great read.

I don’t know and don’t care about your tax abatement rant, but I drove into the island this morning and everyone in the car commented that the they “could just make out the cars over traffic noise”. Your gripe might hold some water if the race was held at midnight but... during the day? Not so much...

Belle Isle is a public park and has no permanent residents, and very few people living in close physical proximity. The park is in a very poor state of repair, but is actually on the mend largely because of infrastructure improvements funded by Roger Penske and others in the Indy community.

The Silver State Classic Challenge and the Nevada Open Road Challenge (the same event run in the spring and fall respectively) are time trials over 90 miles of public roads, except in the “Unlimited” class where there isn’t a specific time/speed/distance target. Three-pass half-mile and mile shootouts are part of the…

Not enough stars in the sky for this comment. I understand why this can’t be the “Auto Tech Corner”, but we need a little more substance.

Thank you for the clarification, as your post could be interpreted in several different ways and I didn’t want to believe that you (or anyone in this thread) could suggest that Nicky deserved this somehow. Cheers!

I’m just a dumb engineer and I’m totally confused:

Came here to read comments made by people smarter than Ford engineers, wasn’t dissapointed.

I’ve read a lot of these replies, and I think that most of the people that are writing the “manual no matter what” posts haven’t really driven a high-HP car with a manual. It is very difficult to drive a front-engine/rear-drive high-HP car with a manual near the limit, on the track or otherwise; the change in weight…

Let’s be thankful that something this niche is getting built and sold at all.

Actually, it is different in that there is more time spent specifying the details of the build and it is usually easier to get a test-drive in a premium car than in, for example, a Corvette. I’ve had, after establishing my credentials, demos given to me for use over weekends without batting an eye...

The clips are pretty much standard fare in Detroit, Chicago or Cleveland. And I was already prepared for this clip by Forza Horizon III. The comments, however, are priceless...

I have a hard time understanding how a consensus is formed on what is the “right” car and which is the “wrong” car, why the crowd goes after one car instead or another. I own a Viper, have spent a lot of time driving GT-Rs and...

I was going to make the same comment; the build quality of the Slingshot is truly execrable.

Several small Ohio towns enjoy national infamy as speed traps:

Surely you mean “pound-me-in-the-cloaca space prison”, seeing as he(?) is  some kind of amphibious frog/duck/puppy thing...

All the hate and butthurt...

Taste vary, but everyone should beg, borrow or steal a drive in a Ferrari with the current Oerlikon Graziano 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. Put the manettino in RACE, pin the throttle and pull the UP paddle - it hammers you forward and the engine torque cut sounds amazing; kind of a pop/bang/whump sound/feel that…

This is precisely why I winch cars into my trailer. I can’t count the number of times that I’ve seen things go bad at the track, and elsewhere, when people try to drive into/onto a trailer...