Drove a 15 Suburban with the new 5.3 from coastal VA to Pittsburgh Steelers home opener last year. Calculated my mileage at all stops, averaged 23.6 MPG cruising around 70 MPH through mountainous WV and PA. I’m still a big believer in the V8 being better suited to real world MPG than the force fed motors.

You’d be surprised at how many I see for insurance claims. Then I explain how a deductible works and that they’d be better served spending the money on spray on bedliner. I’d also say 90% of the white F150s and Silverados I see doing construction around Chicago don’t have anything but exposed paint in the bed.

Yes, because it’s still based on a $17k economy car. Sort of like how the RS3 is going to be in the $50k range. Yeah it’s nice and the performance features are great, but it’s still based off a $14k Jetta at its roots. The older I get and the more bills I start to see, suddenly $5k for a 10 year old Craigslist Xterra…

I imagine if that nameplate sticks, it will be stylized “TourX”, but we’ll all call it the “torks” anyways. I enjoy the Regal very much, however I don’t think anyone can outdo the current Outback this generation. The only thing missing in the Subarus case is a turbo 4 option rather than the H6, other than that it’s…

I got into an S3 and put the seat back to a comfortable position for myself. I’m not tall by any means, only 6', but I wasn’t even going to try and fit into the rear seat.

I remember when I bought my FR-S the salesman went to “check in” my trade in and they brought out a middle age Latina with her cleavage exposed to try and upsell me on paint protection, extended warranties, etc... Even with my fiancé next to me they tried using sex appeal to upsell me their isles product. My previous…

It’s funny that my fiancé made the same argument against me buying a WRX. She said I’d look like a tool pulling into an interview. I already had a job and used her argument as an excuse to get an FR-S since the BRZ had a horrendous markup. If the next SI is available with the auto trans from the ILX or TLX I can…

He picks up a Mercury Marauder for like $8000, then has plenty of money left over to soup up it up. Or maybe a used Pontiac G8, but the Mercury wins for the better visibility and ergonomics for big boys.

Personally, I don’t know any adjusters who ever not totaled a car, even if it’s a suicide with minimal damage to the vehicle. Usually blood in the interior means on the estimate we write to replace everything which costs a pretty penny. Thresholds depend from state to state, but if you can justify to the company and…

I’ve yet to write one, but plenty of my coworkers have handled total losses that ended with a fatality. Modern cars are really pretty safe and can handle a lot, the times we see most fatalities are when no seat belts are worn or the cars are pre-2000s.

I wish Jalopnik could pay me for a write up of the crazy reasons I total cars for. Like driving through the Pet Store you just picked your dog up from because he barked loud...

And everyone will be happy until they realize a few years down the line that FCA build quality means doors will be rusted out from galvanic corrosion within 5 years... I can't tell you how many insurance claims I deny for people who have rusting hoods or decklids on 10-15 year old American built SUVs. Aluminum isn't…

GM will never kill the front engine/rear drive Corvette. Two cars wearing the Corvette badge are fine, but there is a sizable market still for a $65k American sports car with big V8s. Until gas is $5 a gallon we will have a traditional Corvette, and I believe you’re spot on that the upcoming mid engine is going to be…

In laws will be there for the Steelers game this weekend. I told them to grab one and report back.

Unfortunately the coupe and sedan are dying, now even the two door hatch is going the way of the dodo. I very much dislike four door vehicles and have never owned anything other than a two door coupe, but my next vehicle will most certainly be a four door something simply for the ease of dealing with kids and car…

I could have brought the car with me, but it's hard to justify a car payment and paying for two parking spots in downtown Chicago. Carmax gave me $1500 over book value for it last October, I work in insurance so I knew that was a deal not to pass up when dealing with car valuations. I'm hoping at least the Si will…

My first car was an 89 Prelude Si and I loved the dynamics and profile of the car. I always wanted an RSX back in high school and college, but by the time I could afford a new car they were gone in favor of the Civic Si. I test drove that, decided to wait another year and got an FR-S. I loved that car and am sad I…

Faux window is pretty genius on these newer cars. It's often hiding an ugly weld or seam and is generally cheaper than cleaning up that area and painting it. I love it because it gives a great break line on the quarter panel so there is no need to mess with painting the sail panel or roof rails when body repairs are…

We’re driving down Friday morning to pick up our garage passes and credentials. Sounds like if I stay to the north part of the track I should be ok? I’m used to Richmond, which is a cluster because it’s basically in the middle of a neighborhood. Looks like as long as I can avoid downtown traffic at peak times it won't…

Is it bad getting in and out of? Coming from Downtown Chicago, my dad got hot passes for the pits and garage during the race. Haven't been to a race in years, but it gave my parents an excuse to fly halfway across the country and visit me for a change.