Man, that Caproni...two sets of triple wings! I’m surprised no Russian aircraft made that list.

As far as I’m concerned, the poster child for substandard U.S. military aircraft will always be the V-22 Osprey. There is no freakin’ way I’d get in one of those things.

Those legs are short out of necessity; landing on a carrier is a major stressor for any aircraft. I will agree, though, that the F/A-18 is a bit too slow. Its main advantage is that it can be configured for fighter or attack roles.

True...but it also has to be shaped properly, or it won’t be able to generate any lift.

I will agree that it was a pretty damn capable aircraft, especially in light of its use by the Air Force, the Marine Corps, and the Navy. And it was able outrun the F/A-18s I used to work on.

Being a vet, I agree with some of his points. Collectively, the military has a bad habit of overbuying, especially food. But in the case of developing new equipment, sometimes overrunning time frames and budgets are necessary. Why? Our military personnel do not want, and sure as hell do not need or…

I was going to write an explanation of the limits of the First Amendment, but your last two sentences summed it up nicely.

The F4 Phantom...the ugliest aircraft ever put into service by the United States uniformed services.

Great story, and fantastic car...exactly the sort of automotive material I like to read. And those octagonal gauges are pure genius.

Either the ‘18 Wrangler has a dinky glovebox or its print manual is the size of a printed Los Angeles phone book! But yes, I definitely prefer to have a print manual, especially given that the Uconnect system seems to have been very trouble-prone.

In the collapsible spare tire, we have found a good compromise. Chrysler, for one, knew that back in the early 1970s when they fitted Challengers and ‘Cudas with them.

Also true. I don’t care how much space and/or money are saved; neither a can of spray foam nor a temporary spare are an adequate substitute for a full-sized spare.

That’s an altogether better option if your climate control system is capable of running off electrical power.

A 13-speed knob on a lever connected to an 18-speed transmission is almost certainly better than the other way around.

That would have been some hell of a sight!

Now I’m curious as to whether it comes with a CD-ROM, an online manual, or access through the “infotainment system.” A CD-ROM is only worthwhile if you have a laptop handy, online manuals can only be accessed if Wi-Fi or mobile data is available, and the “infotainment system” is useless without enough battery juice to…

As an example, the Saturn Ion in my garage has a remote jumping lead and a grounding point under the hood. The battery is in the trunk...I don’t think the engineers and tech writers were sage enough to provide or mention a grounding point in the trunk in the event that the trunk is more easily accessible. Since it all…

Though uncommon, some semis are equipped with a lavatory...but that usually means a longer sleeper berth, which could prevent a truck from legally running in some states. Otherwise, your “urine management system” is parking as close to the truck stop’s doors as possible.

I prefer the dash in the Peterbilt, personally. Is it a 13, 15, or 18-speed?

A driver can always idle the truck’s engine through the night. Years ago, that was the only solution. Nowadays, you’ll see trucks sporting a holographic “California clean idle certified” decal so they can idle legally. A lot of truckers seem to prefer that to a power pack or an APU.