Brand loyalty does not enter my car buying process. I take a logical approach hinged around “What is this car going to be used for?” Then I look for a vehicle that meets the needs, has good reviews, and won’t embarrass me every time I walk up to it.

If you get stuck in a train you can pit and ask the marshals to insert you where there is more running room in front. If you are catching up with the pack that often you are in the wrong rungroup.

How about an “On the way to the track” story? I was heading to VIR in a JDM B18C5 swapped Civic Hatch and I launched it over a dead deer lying in the middle of the road. (I forgot which car I was in and tried to straddle it in my lowered Civic). It caused mostly cosmetic damage (deer fur and guts all along the…

Your E46 convertible has pop-up roll protection. Some tracks allow this for HPDE’s. Looks like Mid-Ohio allows them for certain sessions. From http://www.midohio.com/school/courses… on the “Requirements” tab it says: “Convertibles are permitted in our Open Track Time - Limited Speed Lead/Follow Lapping Sessions only”

My brother-in-law bought a diesel version and loves it but ran in to problems with the emissions system throwing codes early on. Turns out he wasn’t the only one. Once that was fixed, under warranty but not without a huge hassle, he has been a happy camper.

I haven’t driven a modern vtec but in my ‘98 Civic with a B18 swap, you absolutely could feel the vtec kick in. But you won’t ever hit it in “normal” driving. You have to have it floored and over 5K RPM or so. I kindof doubt that guy in the commercial got into vtec right there heading into a curve on a road he’d never…

I’m thinking a Hunter Green Mazda MX-6 was very 90’s. Ford Probe’s better looking brother.

I really enjoy my tig.

On a recent 5 hour trip to visit a friend I saw over 30 for the drive down and I tend to drive at a rather “brisk” pace.

People have been clamoring for a TDI Tiguan for years; I think they’ll make it happen in the next generation.

The Tiguan is made for Europe with a Diesel in mind but since VW thinks we should be like them, we have a car that clearly doesn’t make sense.

We own a 2013 Tiguan and, sadly, I can’t disagree with anything you said in this article. We get 18mpg around town (yes, we are regularly north of 3000 rpm) and I’ve never gotten over 24 on the highway. The GTI engine has to work too hard to lug this thing around at the pace we want to go. I think if there was a TDI…

Yeah, I suppose that is possible. I think Tesla should publish the exact specs of the car that obtained the 3.1 second number in that case.

I agree. Do they not stomp their foot all the way to the floor when they are doing these tests or something?

I wonder how test conditions at Consumer Reports are different than Tesla for the 0-60 run? I doubt Tesla would advertise numbers that couldn’t be independently verified. Even though 3.5 seconds 0-60 is crazy fast, expectations were set to be even faster.

That civic needs to run free! Who needs that left rear wheel on a left hand turn anyways?

No brainer for me. A Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetek. Smooth ride, strong engine, incredible mileage for a 4 door sedan. Good size trunk for all your stuff. Gets 34MPG on the highway and has a cruising range pushing 700 miles on one tank. It’ll last longer than your bladder on a road trip. I’ve got 95K miles on mine and it…

Sorry to hear that. My wife had a 2001 C230. It was fun for awhile before the electrical issues started. You’d be going down the road and the speedometer would start freaking out and bouncing all over the place. Disconcerting. We traded it in for a 2007 E320 Bluetek which has been the best car we’ve ever owned. Fast…

If you don’t smile when you see your car, you probably bought the wrong car.

There’s even an optional sport exhaust with a loud button that opens up the exhaust for more burbles, pops and obnoxiousness