I’m just gonna say that adequate power is not an insult. It’s what you actually need. Would it be great to have more power that one specific time that you really notice your car dragging? Sure. But then you’d have to deal with the downsides- lower gas mileage among them.

But, and I say this as someone who’s got an outback with that same 2.5 engine, why? in my time owning the Outback, I have never thought, “wow, more horsepower is totally what I need right now.” Better racks than the garbage racks that come from the factory? Oh, I’ve wished for that. Apple car play? Oh I have wished…

None of them?

2013 VW sportwagen S 5-speed manual. It was by all accounts a perfectly fine manual transmission but it was the straw that broke the camel’s back and sold me on automatics.

Um, a whole lot of riders do not want 180hp. I’ve never been a Harley guy and it’s doubtful I ever will, but I am 100% not going to fault them for a 120hp sportster.

2nd Gear: America, Doing Next To Nothing To Make Roads Safe For Pedestrians, Wonders Why Pedestrian Deaths Continue

Cars are safer for drivers. Not necessarily for anyone else. See, for example, any of the current sherman-tank sized full size pickups that are so big they need a front facing camera to cover the corvette-sized blind spot in front of them.

Your boring appliance is someone else’s stainless steel built-in.

Just dump the X and it’s a totally normal car name- BZ4 is no worse than RX7.

Do we know what the charging times are for the BZ4? (see? just get rid of the X and it’s a totally normal car name)

I have a personality, I don’t need my car to stand out from the pack. I can do that on my own. I am just as amazing in a camry, an outback or even an equinox.

In elementary school when they told us that the Russians had gotten to space before America we were all collectively shocked. What? Why?

The Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.

(Why are the goalposts of range always moving? Why is 600 miles of range critical when we already have 200? Or 300? Couldn’t we really survive with 100?)

Right hook is especially bad when there’s poorly designed infrastructure- bike lane is on the side, where drivers aren’t expecting another vehicle to be. There’s a lot of ways to fix this problem but so many cities just install bike lanes and say “we’re done” instead of following best practices.

Oh I’m sure the comments on this will be just... ugh. but I’m gonna try anyway.

There’s a stoplight near my house that’s got some kind of trigger that my bike cannot make switch. Because it’s a side road to main road, the light just won’t change unless triggered. So as a cyclist, I have the option of waiting until a…

The Honda Element.

For like $150, you can buy a GPS the size of a big watch that’s preloaded with roads and trails and has breadcrumbs AND works on your bicycle and will go like 14 hours on a charge.

All that being said, VW is doubling down on premium, as the Financial Times reports:

FI and the olympics are both in the same boat- no one wants to jump through their hoops to create a giant venue that will lose money 360 days out of the year. The only places willing to do it are places like the Gulf States, where the leaders are so utterly disconnected from the regular citizens that they just do not…