Right. That's not the free market though - the taxes change buying patterns - a lot. That was my point.

I have been to Europe. When they talk about 'standard of living' they mean that they have a 'better' lifestyle when everything is factored in. I don't want to get in a numbers fight - but if we assume that's true.. They aren't talking about more disposable income. Europeans do not have more disposable income.…

See - that is where you are wrong. It's not that they don't embrace it - its that they can't really afford it. Gasoline is very expensive so every little bit saved becomes worth it. Engines are taxed by displacement so large engines are rare - and turbo engines are more expensive to build.

meh. I haven't found this to be strictly true. Sure if you are comparing a Miata to a V6 Camry..the "slow" Miata is way more fun.

My g/f is from HK and she love Anime. I have had several Japanese friends. So I have some insight into it..

Fairly spot on.. Honda's best designs seem to be their Kei cars - and those don't even make it to the States. At least they haven't messed up the Accord yet. The Civic though has been good since the 95 Hatch.. Yikes.

Tom did the right thing. Guys like Butler - might not last in the NFL more then 2-3 year. Yeah he makes a lot of money now - but trying making 750k after taxes last the rest of your life. I am not harshing on the guy either - he was working at Popeyes before the Pats signed him.

Seahawks got crazy luck on that catch - and then Butler got em back. I call that justice not luck. Lynch was no sure thing to punch that in..

I just don't get Japanese design nowadays.. I think that is so ugly. It makes a Chevy Traverse look handsome. I guess its physics and aerodynamics. Who thought the windcutting shape of Prius would be so ugly..

Huh? Audi's have been pretty reliable for a while now..

Why? In Europe they tax engines based on displacement. This is why most engines are 2.0 liters or smaller in Europe. They didn't do that in the states because we are smarter here and understand (well maybe not Doug) that large displacement does != poor gas mileage and large displacement doesn't mean large size (A…

This. I tried explaining this earlier but you clearly did a better job then me. Nissan is attempting to get people to associate their cars with race cars. So Nissan are vaguely seen as sporty and exciting instead of boring and dull (which most of them are).

Nissan does this because like Toyota they push a lot of boring as hell 'consumer' metal out there. So they hope to 'shed' this status with commercials that talk about racing. It's brand positioning.

We know empirically that atheists rate higher on intelligence tests (they test out smarter). Most of the 'good' qualities these atheist kids have are likely simply related to their higher intelligence and a lot of the good environmental factors associated with this. That might not be politically correct to say - but…

I wouldn't get one of these - I don't even like SUVs. The ground clearance advantage isn't useful enough in day to day life to make them worthwhile in my life. Even when I go skiing a regular car with snow tires will do. And the Renegade will eat its lunch.

You can pass legislation that ensures gas tax money goes to fixing the infrastructure. This would be part and parcel of any gas tax raising bill.

When you consider how much money you have to drop on a new car - looks matter. It costs a lot - so why not get the complete package. Why settle? That being said I think it looks fine. I am not really seeing the 'mouth guard' part. Though maybe once I see it I will hate it.

They are very rarely sold in their home countries and something of a niche. The taxation issue is with say with German cars 2.0L engines are the big thing.. In the US you can get a push-rod engine that moves a lot of volume (not a niche). These engines (when made of ALU) cost a lot less to manufacture. They have…

Mazda makes excellent cars but they don't have the R and D money in the engine department. They should team up with Chevy here in the States. How about an option for one of Alu Chevy V-8s? I think people would like that.

Not surprised. The Japanese car companies are run by accounts not by enthusiasts. Gimmee a shitty 'unreliable' German or American performance car any day.. They might not be perfect but at least the guys in charge love cars.