Excellent write-up as usual David. I’m surprised they haven’t done more to eliminate the hot post-radiator air from contaminating the intake air, such as venting elsewhere. seems like that would be the easiest way to bring down the intake temps.

“but when you have to push an engine to its limits to get any power out of it, that’s a lot less fun.”

Or be sent to help their F1 team.

I mean, there’s still some overlap there.

He died doing what he loved: experiencing hypothermia and pulmonary edema, confused, unable to breathe, feeling his pulse plummeting, and falling down in a place where his body may never be recovered. But on the other hand, he did put a lot of other people’s lives at risk in the process. So there’s that. 

What treatment do you recommend the doctor administer to the dead woman?

I mean...

I imagine part of the allure of climbing Everest was not just it being the highest point on Earth yet the now antiquated belief that so few people could actually do it.

Lobster at the time was considered barely edible, and fit only for those at the bottom of society. 

This is it, folks. Pushing the limits of ‘analog’ car enthusiasm right here.

What’s next, nostalgia for turn signals that don’t have tap-turn?

Bingo! Short term profits are winning out more and more over long-term stability.

Wall Street (or investors in general) want to see continued growth and even high profits. Making the same profit margin in 2019 that you made in 2018, despite 2018 being a “record” year isn’t good enough for these people. It is NOT…

I work for a big foreign OEM. There aren’t even whisperings of layoffs - just doubling down on new tech, cost down projects, and adapting to the future market. Our cars are manufactured in the US and are more US made than some Ford/GM products.

Agreed. People always think tariffs are about economics and not international finance and currency manipulation. I am guessing you are one of these people who do not understand why he has to implement these tariffs....

Listen, I’m generally in the “modern automatics are better for high-performance cars” camp, but a WRX with an auto? Unfathomable. 

My wrx was in for the 60k service (ouch), so I was given a forester sport for a few days. I felt so soulless driving that car. No sound, pretend gears, sitting a mile in the air, all these electronics beeping and flashing at me - it was nuts. I fear the day I need to replace my wrx, its not going to be easy...

A couple of things... it’ll make 330HP even on a hot day at altitude, so that’s the minimum power you should expect. People who don’t really know how cars, or things in general, work will assume the performance is some feat of unmatched German engineering - I’ve heard this way too many times for companies not to…

Its because BMW (and the other Germans) guarantee rated HP regardless of outside conditions (hot/high). The turbocharged engines do much better at sea level or normal temps.

That’s what the next S2000 should be ;)

I totally understand the superior ‘numbers’ of computer-controlled automatic transmissions, hybrid drivelines, and turbocharged engines, in terms of fuel mileage, shift times, absolute performance, etc. etc.

Why was the LFA a failure? They made as many as they originally planned to (500) and every one sold easily. It got great reviews, even from a hater like Clarkson and it’s still an icon of automotive engineering and performance. A failure because it’s more than you can afford or more than what people thought it was…