Yep, I DD one. I don’t need to cross my arms to make a 90-degree turn with my hands at 9-3, but I will still usually use the center console for the 1-2 shift during a left turn from a stop. That’s no more onerous than driving a manual, which I used to do exclusively, and in any event that single use case is sufficientl…

I just love that VWAG has exactly one (1) corporate steering wheel. Same one I have in my GTI and same as the one in the Atlas the dealer uses as a courtesy shuttle. Just different center cap, cover, and buttons.

This. Also, the paddles should turn with the wheel anyway so giant blades are pointless.

As a Packer fan, the Fabian Washington pick is a highlight of my football-watching career. It was the doldrums of the Mike Sherman era, we had just gotten embarrassed at home in the playoffs by the Vikings, and I’m into my third beer watching the draft. I’ve started getting my hopes up and then the Raiders *trade up*…

Or we can say that 17 years is too much time for dealing drugs — or even for freaking out and killing someone in the midst of a deal gone bad — but not enough time for thinking it over, sleeping on it, and deciding to hire a hitman to kill your pregnant girlfriend because you don’t feel like parting with some of your…

Coming to a buy-here-pay-here lot near you in tax season 2025!

“the same important safety equipment that’s required at the track.”

Right? Or the Civic R. Or the 5-door iterations of the WRX/STi. Or the FoST and FoRS. Or all Golf Rs and 99% of GTIs sold in the last 10 years. Etc. This isn’t the 90s.

A compact CUV is nothing more than a lifted hatch, but that makes it a hatch you can’t track or autocross because it’s taller than it is wide. Pretty sure “slamming it” won’t help, as exclusions are generally model-specific. Yet another reason why “performance” SUVs/CUVs make little sense to me.

I can’t believe mine is the first star you got. #jetfuel

Which the owners were able to negotiate from a position of power because (a) they have a special right to collude for talent in a way that would be criminal in most employment markets, and (b) there are fewer teams than there would be in a competitive market, because they also have a special right to collude to reduce…

I should call and see if they’ll take a gun and a motorcycle in trade.

Eh, not necessarily. It’s pretty common for banks to require personal guarantees on the credit line, especially if the business isn’t well-capitalized. Then the owners will end up filing BK, and their personal assets in turn are also likely tied up in other secured loans, so a different bank gets the lake house, boat,…

Exactly this. Budget another $4-5k for a complete engine-out service — IMS, clutch, plugs, belt, water pump (?). Depending on how much budget you have left, maybe another grand or so to replace the driver-side upholstery. A Saturday on exterior detailing and a new wheel centercap. For ten grand you get a nice driver…

Here’s a replay from another angle:

It isn’t that people are overpaying. It’s that they so detest the traditional dealership model that they knowingly pay a premium to avoid it. I’ve never bought there but the people I know who do are very happy with it (and don’t care that they could have saved a few hundred dollars with Greasy McFoursquare).

Buried in the midst of your excellent post is the point that author and commentors alike seem to be missing: a mountain of debt used to buy an asset that is currently worth a fraction of its purchase price is *exactly* why we have Bankruptcy Court.

Qualified star. Yes, there are public costs associated with operating a cab, and limiting medallions is one way (not the only, or necessarily best way, but one way) to manage that. Too many people overlook that.

IKR??

That’s what I remember thinking when I first saw this article. I was under the impression that what really drove OHV engines post-WW2 was the newfound expertise by oil refiners at making high-octane fuel at reasonable cost, after having spent the war making huge quantities of aviation fuel. That in turn allowed…