You’re absolutely correct on the lockout being the part we should be questioning. I hate the old Ford and VW way of pushing the shift knob down. My FR-S was perfect, reverse was pull up on ring then left and up.

Sometimes road tests require getting up to speeds. I had a guy bring his CTS-V in once, said he heard a rattle only above 75mph. Guess what, we had to take it out on a back road near the shop to do a few pulls to try and duplicate his concern.

Also, most people in the mid 20's-30's will buy a BMW/Audi/MB for the same money they’d drop on a decently optioned pony car. Cars are status symbols, and the pony cars don’t brag to your coworkers that you dropped $40k on your vehicle like the midsize luxury sedans.

If Jalopnik can help fund me, I'm totally down to run for the VA State legislature and then in a few years move up to the US House of Representatives. We are definitely on to something...

Fun fact, my uncle is a biomechanical engineering professor at a big-time engineering university. He’s also a current consultant for Hyundai/Kia, formerly with Holden and Boeing on restraint systems. He single handedly talked me out of being an engineering student while I was in high school. I applied to a pretty…

I just want him to play in the game against the Colts when I get out there. I bought his jersey at the Steelers home opener a few years ago when he was “retired”, best $25 I ever spent in Pittsburgh...

Would I have wanted more power in my FR-S? Yes. Did it need it? No. 200 hp in sub 3000lbs is perfectly acceptable for nice twisty roads, especially keeping it in 2nd or 3rd gear with traction control off...

I'm watching it now, if anything this is giving me hope for trickle down hybrid tech. I'd love to own a sedan someday that's rear wheel drive with a turbo 4 or V6 that uses a hybrid system to create AWD and was positioned more towards sporty than Eco. Lexus or Infiniti may have one now in the GS or M/G70, but I'd love…

I’ve wondered that for a while too. Should we have a licensing system similar to racing? Before you can buy a Z06 over a regular Corvette, should you have to prove you can handle it? I honestly wouldn’t be opposed to a system like that, it would probably prevent a lot of reckless accidents; especially if said license…

Yes, but the first iteration, before they removed the plastic lower moldings. In metallic gree, I loved these things as a kid. The idea was too far ahead of its time, the build quality was too 90s GM.

The Ion isn't bad, but the first gen Vue Redline was much cooler.

$20 says I have to do the insurance appraisal on the Lincoln. That's just my luck lately and accidents in that area are part of my territory...

It's a wonderful idea when executed properly. The issue lies is two groups 1) those who merge too early and slow down the open lane, and 2) those who try to get in and cut off one extra car thus slowing down the open lane. I experience it everyday in Chicago, somehow my 25 minute morning commute turns into 60 on the…

That’s about 75% of the issue. The Enterprise I use for work has about 140 cars rented out to dealerships at any given time for airbag recalls, preventing my customers from getting into smaller cars while they’re in the body shop for their insurance claims. The issue mostly lies in the supply chain, not in customers…

It doesn’t see nearly as much traffic, and it’s much more bike friendly, but the Lakeshore Trail in Chicago is pretty damn dangerous too. Most of it is tourists stopping to take a photo, or the hordes of joggers on Saturday mornings that don’t run single file and block the whole pathway(!!!). I can’t tell you how many…

Not a dad yet, but plan on being a homeowner within the next 12 months and a dad within the next 3-4 years. Best balance for both will be the Ridgeline, I've been in the Pilot and loved it, but I want the utility of that bed for my bikes and home improvement projects since we're looking at pre WW2 homes.

I’m pretty jealous I left on the early train, I’d love to have seen that. I had to deal with the weirdos taking the 6:30am train back to Chicago, after watching the piss poor game on Saturday night. Thank God I’m not a Cardinals fan, my poor fiancé though...

Young is relative, they’re looking to 40somethings businessmen who are in the market for $150k+ exotics. There will always be a traditional Corvette for the retirees, but performance models of other brands are being bought by people still in the workforce as status symbols. I like the idea of the Corvette Stingray is…

I remember reading some time ago that's how most soccer teams operate. The city they're in usually has an equity stake in the team. I personally don't understand why any level of government would throw money at any private business, especially when the idea is to make it up later in tax revenue. How about we beef up…

You're right, on paper it will look good, but those numbers don't tell the whole story. TTAC just did a good write up on Nissan increasing market share at the expense of profits and many commenters noted similarities to what we had going on prior to the 08 collapse...