I'm going for the German transmission conspiracy theory.

I'm going for the German transmission conspiracy theory.

The flat rate is based on an "average" mechanic using hand and factory tools. The fact is that power tools are often used for disassembly (and assembly if no one is looking) which shortens the actual time considerable. Also often there are special tools developed which greatly reduce the time.

Assume that the tax incentives are equal. California loses on high personal taxes, high cost of living and high cost of doing business. Cali may give incentives to Tesla but what about the hundreds of supporting businesses? The last issue is the effect of eliminating the automotive franchise requirement. …

I didn't think the 737 was on the list of twin engine craft that were certified for transatlantic service? Ok for re-positioning but not for scheduled passenger service. Something about certified engine reliability and range with one engine. Florida / Texas flights don't always go in the straightest line because of…

Sure, Disney World has had a monorail from the day it opened. It really didn't have a choice to exclude this iconic form of transportation. Since it opened Disney World has expanded many times over. What has been the choice of transportation to accommodate this growth? Monorail? Nope, it is pretty much like it…

You can still get a Cayenne 6M. My wife has a 2011 version. Fun to watch valets.

Second thought: I notice he has detailed records of how fast the car was going and where. I bet there is no data on who was driving anywhere or at any time. The cops will have to come up with photo data to charge a driver. It looks like much of the driving was done at night or away from overhead cameras. They…

Something needs to be said about the 9 year old 100K+ miles CL55. To average 98mph they had to have a lot of 125 to 155mph stretches. Moreover the drivers were having to push the car all of the time. I think the comparison of the typical US highway with the autobahn is laughable. The autobahn is designed for…

Wheel slippage is when the torque available is in excess of the restraint available from the size of the tire contact, the coefficient of friction and the amount of weight applied to the tire. Before they used hub sensors to sense when one wheel was spinning faster than the others followed by reduction in power…

...and there a cars a lot cheaper than Porsches so what's your point?

Not only a great fob but a great approach. The Porsche has a receptacle for the fob that you turn like a key plus it keeps it in a consistent place. No fob? No problem next to the fob dock is a hidden (looks like a TosLink jack) real ignition switch with an immobilizer function. This allows you to have slightly…

For many cars much of the work has been done for cars sold in Europe. They also have the volume to cover the expense. I expect the cost to do US calibration doesn't add much especially when performed in conjunction with Euro calibrations. Also the software used to develop the calibrations has become much more…

Where were you? Just got back from Japan and rarely if ever was a street sign in Japanese and English and I'm talking about Tokyo, smaller cities were often much worse. The big signs were obviously in Japanese but the English version often started a "Where's Waldo" as these signs were most often mounted on the sides…

"Here are ten items our readers think will also go in the next decade". Thank God you only asked 10 morons. Two of the items, OBD2 and mechanical throttle linkages have a good chance of being obsolete in the next 10 years because they deliver value and cost less. Most of the remaining items cost more and deliver…

"We all have the same problems?" where did you get that shit? Most cities don't have government unions who in conjunction with corrupt politicians claim pension benefits for which they paid little or nothing from severely underfunded accounts. Most cities have to balance their books every year which are verified by…

OK, my BMW X5 iDrive doesn't suck as much as I thought it would however it is far less competent than any smart phone you can buy. Its navigation system far more difficult to operate than an iPhone using Apple or Google maps. As if by magic Google Maps not only does turn by turn navigation, the voice comes through…

If there was significant interest for a women's point of view on cars there would already be a women's car show on air, maybe even two or three. We have hundreds of channels chasing every demographic yet there is no female version of Top Gear. What is the reason? Discrimination? No. There aren't many women…

In times past automakers imported a wide range of cars despite the low sales numbers. Today, sales numbers have exploded and the relative diversity has been reduced. The majority of S-classe cars sold were equipped with 6 cylinder engines gas or diesel. In Europe the story was and still is the same. MB decided a…

Try this for yourself. Take a cheap laser, go to the end of the block, have a friend at the other end, then try to shine the laser at him/her. More than likely you can't do it because the beam spreads and in doing so reduces the intensity such that you can't see the reflection needed to aim it. If you are able to…