Obviously GM doesn’t talk to Jalopnik posters about anything, nor does GM care what they say, but there’s certainly a feedback loop between Jalopnik writers and community members, which is evident in Jalopnik articles all the time, and that does influence trends and buying decisions on the customer end.

I’m surprised that Land Rover doesn’t make a Freeloader model exclusively for the royals.

I would have totally paid that much for the new Supra if it came with a manual.

“Still, having a modern Porsche in the driveway with the bumper off makes you look like a much more competent mechanic to the neighbors than you actually are, which has to be worth something.”

Directly? Of course not. I do think that, like many other blogs and social media, Jalopnik has influence over buyers, though, which is why Jalopnik gets to test cars and whatnot.

Absolutely, which is particularly wild when you consider the 135i is around 6" shorter than a 991.

Ha! Well, the backseat of a 128i is noticeably bigger than a 911. There’s probably a little more legroom, but it’s the headroom that makes the big difference, which is pretty obvious when you compare the rear profiles of the roofs:

FWIW, I hadn’t seen your initial post above mine, so I didn’t realize that you drove this car with an auto, because of a bum knee. That’s certainly one of the great things about autos.

In the water-cooled era? Sure, although I think the rear of the 996.2 is better.  997 front with 996.2 rear would be about perfect.

It depends on the length of the trip. I gave up my 911 for a 135i, because my tall seven year old is already cramped in the back, and I like taking my fun car on longer drives and trips. Short jaunts, like to school or whatever, is probably fine, though.

So, I’m curious, is there any car that a self described “enthusiast” could own that you wouldn’t roll your eyes at? An RX 350? A beige Camry? We all have lines in the sand.

Oh, please. We’re all judgmental around here and have lines in the sand. You mean to tell me that if I told you I was a huge car enthusiast, but then said my dream car was something like a Toyota Highlander, you wouldn’t think, “Yeah, right.” ???

You must not know many hardcore fly fisherman.  That’s exactly what they’d say. Yes, it is gate keeping, opinionated BS...but it’s cool. 

Nah. Similarly, if I was a drum set player in a drum forum, I’d be wary of drum machine users. Heck, I once rented a Lamborghini with flappy paddles, and even that was a letdown to me.

Yep, I do. It’s basically like comparing fly fishing with spin fishing. I’m only interested in the former. 

I’m trying to find the link, but I just read that the take rate in the US is much higher than the rest of the world for manual M3s. 

Manuals have fallen off a cliff in the general car buying population, but a sizable amount of sports car buyers still want them.

I don’t know. I once rented a Lamborghini with flappy paddles, and even that bummed me out. The manual is a necessary part of the enjoyment, for me.

No kidding. I bought a 135i from CarMax last year, and thankfully I got MaxCare, because I got water in both headlight assemblies after a carwash, which killed both assemblies and the control module, and the dealer billed MaxCare $4500 after negotiating down from $6000.