Excellent article. This is the exact info I wanted about next years moto gp season, rather than another Marquez/Rossi article. Keep it up Lanesplitter!

Nothing says “Football World Cup competition” quite like the Fiat Panda Italia ‘90:

Bikes always win, because a car you cannot afford to own will never be as exciting as a bike you can.

I remember getting the Night Glow set with the jump ramps one year and a few days later going to Sears and getting the train set crossing. I then spent HOURS trying to time my jumps to get the Firebird to clear the flatbed train car and not bounce off the boxcars...

This only works if you’re financially well-off. Keeping a young person in any kind of competitive racing costs lots of money, exponentially higher as they work their way up the ladder.

Ooh, I had Cliff Hangers.

Hot wheels/Matchbox/Random Die cast

I think I got banned from Gawker.com for being somewhat trollish, so I spend more time here than I did previously. It feels much more like a friendly, positive community. It’s definitely a happier place than world politics for sure.

I’d still really like some posts about getting a non-rider into riding. Like “This is my friend Jack. He’s never ridden a motorcycle and I’m going to get him on one and show him the ropes.” And then updates as Jack completes things like an MSF course, or him picking out his first bike, or him getting gear.

Man, I’m such a sucker for these cars. They have their flaws, but those are overshadowed by the looks and the sound

Yeah...the country includes huge swaths of land that are outside the Northeast Corridor.

Meh, doesn’t matter. It’s my money and my car, not the internet’s. I’d rather be happy and have nobody agree with me, than be discontent, even though the internet said I made the right decision.

Those are unmistakably wagons, which, like the minivan, have a stigma of being uncool.

Now I want a soup-breathing hippo. A tiny one, that lives on my desk and sharpens my pencils...and makes sure my mouse always has fresh batteries.

The truth is out there

But where am I supposed to place my elbow?

Save money by spending more, while getting a less well equiped car that will cost more to repair, sooner?

I was going to say the same thing. And it looks pretty Audi-ish up front.

I like the WRX, but not the flat-bill Monster hat that is required for ownership.

I’m guessing you don’t have kids, or you have a life insurance policy out on yours. A turbocharged, 275hp car would be a terrible first car for a kid, especially a male.