When I travel to Maui - once or twice a year to visit family - I rent from one of those local, family-owned firms. I get a twelve year-old Hyundai or similar car that has definitely seen better days. But,

A stone pretzel steering wheel? What could go wrong?!? I can see getting a hand caught in that loop during a hard turn and fracturing a wrist. And the tensile strength of marble doesn’t exactly make it a flexible piece during an accident. However, this isn’t made for driving. Like unwearable jewelry, it’s for show,…

Air France flew the A380 from LAX to CDG - among other routes - and I took that AF 65 flight several times. It was a monster of a plane that lumbered down the runway and cut through most turbulence like a pointed brick. But it was quiet and smooth, especially in Premium Economy above and behind the wings (and…

Get a grip, Andy. I own a Buick Encore (after years of owning expensive and high-performance cars). It’s amazing how much I get cut off, tailgated, and passed close on the right in reduced lane conditions. Your invitation for gripes about inoffensive vehicles merely justifies more of this kind of sick behavior. I’m…

Erin’s reporting on this was right for Jalopnik. And given the significant intersection between politics and vehicles, I’m guessing there will be plenty of stories for him to write about in the weeks and months to come. Maybe not about such stupid folks, but as Louis B. Mayer of M-G-M (paraphrasing H. L. Mencken) once…

1st Gear - Yes, while we’re at it, let’s start asking about all those oil ‘mines’ dotting and polluting the countryside. And all those ‘mining’ refineries located along rivers, coasts and in poor neighborhoods. To question a couple of dozen lithium mines which will have to meet the latest environmental regulations,…

A great connection for Jalopnik - “Dune” and Chilton. Where else can one find such obscure references? Thanks. As for the movie, I actually like the David Lynch movie - it was weird, over-stylized and hard to follow. Much like the book. I read the “Dune” and “Dune Messiah” last month and saw Villeneuve’s  effort on…

Somehow, Ford manages product planning and cadence really well - the timing of the Mustang-E, Bronco Sport, Bronco and various F-150 models all seem to strike the market at the right time. But their manufacturing prowess is seriously in question. Meanwhile, GM can’t get product planning right at all - Blackwings too…

Of course it is.  An unregulated economy will always work to push the ‘external’ costs (pollution, worker safety) on to society.  So, there are only two exclusions to this - enlightened corporate leadership (e.g. Patagonia) or  government intrusion into the marketplace.  Since there are too few Patagonias out there to…

I have no problem with increasing the pollution tax or with including trucks into fuel economy rules - it’s the biggest loophole / scam in the industry. However, I would also allow the car companies to buy equivalent credits from any other industry. No need to tip the scales in Musk’s favor.

Disney called...

Kvetch all you like about the photos, Jason, but that is one handsome car. Why can’t we have nice things anymore? How hard would be it be to make something like this at a $35K price point? Instead, we get Corolla Crosses. Ugh.

In the 1960's the US pre-tested every component of the Saturn V rocket, shipped it to Florida on a raft and launched every one of them successfully. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union built N-1 rockets and tested them complete at launch. They all failed. Perhaps we should rename SpaceX’s Starship, N-2.

Let me take some pressure of you, Mr. Brownell. Your comments about living in the Wilderness-urban Interface (WUI) have real merit. Moving further and further away from the city is heavily subsidized by government - mostly cities and counties - through the maintenance of road, sewer and water line extensions (usually…

Who’s to say what GM’s long-term plans might be? Corvette could easily become a stand-along brand within the GM family. Porsche is part of the Volkswagen group, offers a line-up of cars, and people have somehow learned to live with it. (Years ago it was just the 911.)  Let’s not get too short-sighted about what’s…

Mom bought a new ‘84 Skylark with the non-turbo Brazilian 1.8. She deserves special credit for buying the 5-speed model as she had to re-learn to drive stick-shift at 55 years. I later took it over and had two memorable experiences: First, I nearly rear-ended a car on the Pasadena Freeway when I found out how weak the…

Nice article, Raphael. This being ‘Merica, I’m hoping some of the Democratic Governors gather their Attorneys General and file a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the State of South Dakota and the City of Sturgis for the costs they are incuring for the virus’s transmission to these states. The suite may not succeed…

Thank you for the explanation. I wondered about heat dissipation. I figured it would take some very sophisticated chemical formula to create a magnetorheological fluid that would efficiently transfer 'geared' motion between two turbines. And maybe that just doesn't exist. Your comments were enlightening.

Black exterior, off-white interior

Jeep!