My dad still to this day spends 2 hours going between an HHGregg and Best Buy that are less than 1000ft from each other, playing one off the other to get maybe a $100 discount or free extended warranty. He grew up poor and still does the same things his parents did back in the 1960s to save.

I wanted a BRZ, but after dealing with dealers in eastern VA when they first came out I couldn’t get one for under $30k once dealers had adjusted pricing due to “demand”. I promptly went to the Toyota dealer down the street and got an FR-S for $1100 under the MSRP since my body shop purchased parts from them. I’ve…

This is the thought I had exactly, start by bringing over cars from their other brands and just rebadge as a VW. Quick and easy way to put “fresh” products in dealers and they’ll be distinctly more European than what’s currently offered. Take a loss on them for a few years, then once redesigns come around prices can…

I agree with you completely. Even non lifted trucks coming up behind my FR-S. It shouldn’t be hard, set a federal standard for how headlamps should be aimed; keep them from blinding drivers at night, bring the auto beam technology here, and require state safety inspections every year that check the aim or your…

I owned a 2013, only got rid of it because I got a company car and moved to Chicago, but I’d buy another just as it was, but with a bit more refinement. Honestly my only issues were the first year quirks like leaky tail lamps and a shift boot that had poor stitching. I would love more power, but I bought the car with…

My first car was an 89Si with 4WS, we paid $1500 for it in 2006. It had 180k miles on it, but for about $500 my dad and I redid the motor, water pump, and alternator so I got another 2 years and about 25k miles out of it before I sold it to a family friend. He promptly blew the motor and I was driving a bright yellow…

I’ve wondered for a while now why no one went this way, or followed up on the GM trucks by attaching a hybrid system to the transmission. It seems this would be the easiest way to boost an entire fleets fuel mileage. So many automakers use the same engines and transmissions across the board, you develope a small…

The Element and CRV from older generations are just really easy to reach and just high enough off the ground that they can slide underneath the car without too much effort. Most places are selling the cats for scrap to someone who melts it down for the metal inside. Mid 2000s Hyundais come in a lot too, but the…

I'm an insurance adjuster and I've written probably 5 estimates in the last 6 months for Accord Sport wheel thefts. All in the city of Chicago, 3 of the 5 with wheel locks. Between those and Honda Elements with stolen catalytic converters, they're the easiest estimates to write and unfortunately happen very often.

Fiat Chrysler as a whole only has 5 years left. Their position in the market makes no sense; Jeep and Ram make money while everything else is a loser. Alfa can’t develope a safe midsize sedan, people don’t want Fiat 500XLZTs, Dodge doesn’t have cars that can compete with the major players in their segments, and…

And it kind of fits the real world since the only people buying Renegades are fleets looking for a sweet deal...

More important to check for than recalls even. Scion/Toyota never issued a recall for my FR-S, but I got both tail lamps, both window regulators and switches, and a fuel pump replaced under TSBs. Having that paperwork checked off on my VIN report through Carmax actually added value to my vehicle when I had it…

According to every Mercedes estimating database I’ve ever seen, tubular bars attached to the vehicles frame or front crossmember are called “nerf guards” while non factory attachments are generally called brush guards. That's straight from the OEMs.

From what my dad and his racing buddies tell me about the old days, Petty was racing more than once a weekend racking up those wins. With only 36 races a year, it’s virtually impossible to break 100 wins in a career. Gordon ran like 22 seasons and dominated a number of them, but I’m not so sure Johnson can even reach…

I'm 26, I feel like Buzzfeed and half of Jezebel articles are written in a foreign language. I'm only 3 years removed from college and I feel like I'm 60...

I work in insurance, the people at the top do care about occupant safety, insomuch as it pertains to bodily injury claims. There’s a reason the more airbags you have the higher your discount. Once a wreck costs too much, you total it out to cut losses, you can’t really do that for medical bills when people are getting…

Elliot is how I found Gawker in the first place. I went to college in DC and somehow never started to follow the show on Twitter until I moved to Va Beach. I’d get bored at my job and search Gawker, Jalopnik, etc, and now I’m hooked... Worst part about living in Chicago is no Elliot syndication and no unlimited data…

I hope they put better brakes on these things over the SRX. My mom has a 2010 that's FWD and anytime I drive it I need to take a few stoplights to acclimate to Cobalt level brakes they put on the 4000+ lb CUV. This one definitely looks better, hopefully lighter weight means better handling and acceleration.

I honestly wouldn't be shocked if within 10 years Mazda makes more money developing platforms to sell to other manufacturers than their own vehicles. It seems like if you want a good chassis or need advice in tweaking your own, you go to Mazda.

If I remember correctly the new Titan started life as a joint development with Ram for the 2018 half ton series. Moreso than anything, Fiat needs to partner with someone, Nissan may be a good suitor due to this. They both sell the majority of their vehicles to subprime buyers, so it could definitely be a big player in…