And a grille that looks like Hercule Poirot's mustache.

Again, aluminum is under a buck a pound, production methods of which notwithstanding. And last I checked, they also recycle a great amount of steel for the same reasons you're talking about.

OK, carbon fiber is wicked expensive. So what's the excuse with aluminum? It doesn't rust, it's light as hell, and it's pretty strong. They've been making airplanes with it for decades. And it's trading right now for ninety eight cents a pound.

And the price has to come down at least ten grand. I think the biggest problem is people wrapping their minds around the idea of paying over FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS for a Chevrolet. Unless it says "CORVETTE" on the deck lid, it's nearly impossible to justify.

And I bet most of those Volts are being driven around by the sales staff at your local Chevy dealer.

Can they catch up? Not after Consumer Reports got through testing it. Yeah, if you only drive 35 miles a day, you'll never buy another drop of gas. After that, it's just as inefficient as any other sedan in its class. Going further than, oh, 80 miles round-trip? My non-hybrid Civic ('10 sedan, auto trans) beats…

I had the hatchback. Yes, it was a hell of a car at the time. Took a beating and asked for more right up to 170,000 miles, which is a lot in the Northeast. Bum fuel pump that would have required removing the rusted-on fuel tank to replace sent it to Honda Heaven. Its engine is probably still running in somebody…

Just make a real ergonomically-designed seat, for Christ's sake. It can be unisex - my junk goes right to sleep on a standard bicycle seat (not a good feeling), and I have been considering replacing it for some time now. Male or female, the weight needs to rest on the buttocks, not the part in-between.

The weather was shit in the Northeast, thank you very much. First pouring rain, then hot and really sticky, then more pouring rain today. The climate-controlled comfort of my office would have been preferable to sitting in the house all weekend.

I lived in South Carolina for the latter half of the 1980s. I know what sort of lackadaisical attitudes people are capable of in the Palmetto State. You know, like stopping in the middle of a two-lane road to talk to somebody who is stopped in the other lane. Like doing 35 in a 55 while talking on a cell phone,…

Well, if Netflix really does take the money they'll be saving from not renewing Starz Play and use it to expand their streaming selection over and above what they were getting, I'll be happy. As it is, I bought Dad a Roku box for Father's Day, and now I feel like I just gave him an expensive and rather ugly…

Attentive driving isn't something one should be forced to do. I think I can focus perfectly well while not having to change my own gears.

People who drive automatics by choice aren't fighters.

I was talking about the USPS cutting some kind of deal to keep that DVD mail traffic going.

Given that (1) automatic transmissions now offer at least as many gears as most sticks, (2) they work a lot better than they used to, and (3) the efficiency problem has been licked - many give higher MPG than their manual counterparts, there is no longer any reason for most people to drive a stick, except perhaps for…

If the USPS were smart, they'd have offered to chip in on whatever deal they have to make to maintain the status quo. Can you imagine the loss of revenue resulting from 36% of Netflix users dropping the DVD service?

Well, that depends. On the New York State Thruway (I-90), 75 is a nice, comfortable cruise because it was laid out more or less along the Erie Canal route. Nice and flat, and mostly straight. On I-71 from Cincinnati to Louisville, 75 is a hair-raising experience because that highway is in poor condition, and the…

You can't be serious. Imagine George W. Bush. Now remove 3/4 of his brain.

Well, you could. Few cops will pull you over for going 5 over. It's just too big a pain in the ass to defend in court.

That was Montana. It was a disaster because American's barely know how to drive, and cops had a heck of a time defining "reasonable and prudent" in court. Now it's 80, I think.