Cars are different than other machines because they let us go out and explore the world. The best car-related stories for me are the ones in which an adventure is had using the car(s). Peter Egan was the master of this in R&T. He was always taking various road trips, and the cars he chose for the trips (or the trips…

Neutral - I get the idea of a luxury truck. If you want a luxury vehicle that can haul your “haul” from Home Depot or tow your boat, then I guess the luxury truck makes sense. It certainly makes just as much sense as an empty nester driving a BMW long wheelbase 7 series. The problem is that a bare bones work truck…

I’m not completely sold on the execution here, but I think the idea is great for a commuter car. Simply put, most of us commute to work alone and this car is designed to that reality. It should be much more efficient for commuting that a sedan that accommodates five passengers but usually only carries one.

I do ride, but the bike that made me want to ride was the Triumph Speed Triple in Mission Impossible II. As ridiculous as the motorcycle sequences were in that movie, the Triple was badass!

Normally, websites that automatically start playing music or videos are the worst. I totally wouldn’t mind if this post automatically started playing the Star Spangled Banner!

My friend had a 1997 (I think) VFR800 and I loved that bike. The first time I hopped on that bike, I felt completely comfortable on it within 5 minutes.

1999 Honda CBR 600 F4

Is there really a difference between Adam reporting “A source told me that JPP had a finger amputated” and broadcasting a screenshot that says the same thing, but in a more definitive manner? In both circumstances, JPP’s medical privacy is being disturbed to the same extent because the same information is leaking.…

Instead of a check box for “manual transmission,” have a check box for “has a clutch pedal.”

The choose your own adventure trim. In this day and age, there is no reason that cars cannot be almost infinitely customizable. I get that some things may not work together. For example, perhaps a manual transmission and a deluxe cupholder package won’t both fit. Beyond that, let me choose what I want. If I want…

The Isetta. A single door in the front of the “car” instead of door(s) on the side(s).

Car soap fumes rising from a freshly-washed car are a laxative for birds...

I think a key to success here is going to be routing. It makes sense, to me at least, to run high speed rail lines along the median of existing highway systems as much as possible. That could resolve a lot of the NIMBY concerns. Ideally, the tracks would be elevated to avoid any encounters with wildlife, vehicles,…

Again, I’m not an expert, but I disagree with the above. There will be some torque caused by the main rotor bearings (that tends to pull turn the helicopter in the opposite direction as the engine), but that should be pretty small and relatively easy to overcome with pedal (assuming the tail rotor still works) and/or…

I never said the helicopter wouldn’t roll or end up upside down. The point was that in the “landing in trees” scenario, you could start your encounter with the trees with almost zero forward and vertical airspeed (in a helicopter) or with 60+ knots of forward speed and some negative vertical speed (in a plane).…

I have also trained as a glider pilot, so I’m pretty confident in engine out circumstances. My grandfather flew a Bell 206 and I flew with him many times. He practiced autorotations quite a bit with us in the helicopter - it was quite the non event.

I’m not enough of an expert to say that you’re wrong, but what you’re saying doesn’t make sense to me. I’m not aware of any altitude-above-ground limit above which an autorotation becomes unsafe. As I understand it, in the event of an engine out autorotation, the pilot lowers the collective all the way and uses the…

Admittedly, in a helicopter, you have a much smaller radius of possibilities in an engine out situation because there isn’t much gliding in a helicopter. But within that radius, just about any open space can be an emergency landing spot. I have also done engine out simulations on small aircraft and you still need a…

Your glide ratio in a helicopter isn’t great, but an autorotation can be executed in a very small space - soccer field, baseball field, decent sized parking lot. Thus, there are a lot more options than in an engine out landing in an airplane. The glide ratio is therefore a wash because you don’t need to travel as far…

RE: 1st gear - Is there any kind of “fast track” certification for small changes? I could see the closing of this loophole having a negative impact on innovation if the tiniest change requires a full certification process.