The 2010 is a bigger car, about the same size as the Accord was a decade ago, on the inside, at least. But it's lighter, quicker, gets better mileage, and much better looking. Why is comfort such a bad thing?

Also consider that until recently, only the Japanese and Koreans could be bothered to make and sell reliable, energy efficient small cars in the USA. It stands to reason that there aren't as many used cars for sale that aren't the sort of hulking gas hogs everybody's trying to unload.

Four seconds is enough to get Jeremy Clarkson seriously aroused.

...there's much to be said for a car that does exactly what it's supposed to do — no more, no less.

Two magic words in this case are, "it depends." It indicates to the salesmonkey that you already have a good idea what your old car is worth, and won't be taken to the cleaners.

It exists to keep auto mechanics employed taking more bites out of your wallet. If the "check engine" light displayed a code, and a list of these codes were available in your operator's manual, you might be tempted to try and repair the easier of these problems yourself (or at least tell the mechanic you know exactly…

Elect Palin: What The Hell, She'll Quit After Two Years Anyway!

Well, yes. The Impala used to be the top of the line Chevy, at least until the Caprice came out. It was Biscayne - Bel Air - Impala. Same car, different trim levels. You can't really say that about this Impala.

And an electric car uses about a quarter the energy as a gas engine to do the same amount of work. Yes, they're that efficient. I did the math. The Nissan Leaf, for example, holds 20 kwh of electricity in its batteries (roughly equivalent to 3/4 of a gallon of gas) and goes 100 miles between charges. That's…

What you need are larger cubes. I got a few of these nifty silicone trays from Amazon that makes two-inch cubes. One per glass, and there's still about a cubic inch left over when you're finished with your drink.

Or Upstate NY, which is where all the old people in FL go in the summer. Same thing happened to me the other day, except in my case it was a mid-90s vintage Dodge minivan. Something about Dodge minivans that says to me, "don't expect to get within 80% of the posted speed limit."

And in general, if you find yourself hitting the brakes all the time, you were probably going too fast to begin with, and wasting gas. Take the hint and slow down.

If you're using cruise control through the mountains, you're an idiot. Example: I-17 north from Phoenix through Flagstaff, AZ. Forget about it. That's not what cruise is for.

Except by improved aerodynamic design. A car designed like a bird will do better at high speed than one designed like a brick.

You want to drive a land barge, quit bitchin' about gas prices.

The difference being, the French believe things like rust holes add character to a car. Or so I heard from my German wife.

And duct tape and paper clips and clotheshanger wire.

Could your flunking the smog check have anything to do with the fact that your car is now OLDER and probably needs maintenance? FAIL.

A good source for a general definition of gasoline: [en.wikipedia.org] While it varies from batch to batch, the majority of what's in there are straight-chain hydrocarbons from four carbons to twelve.

Maybe you can't find it because it doesn't exist. If there really were differences between no-name gas and brand-name gas, what's in the underground tank at the Exxon-Mobil station down the block? If I boycott that station because I frickin' hate Exxon-Mobil for being dicks about the environment and American…