As the e-Golf is getting replaced by the ID hatch, definitely the GTI. Don’t think there are plans for there to be another e-Golf in the future. On the flip side, the ID is scheduled to come out in 2020, and will there be a 300 hp GTI by then? Probably not! Also I don’t think that ID hatch is coming to the US...

My dad’s got another unicorn transmission in his ‘02. Bought it new in 02, still on the original trans at nearly 300k and climbing. It’s been a fantastically reliable car. Only time it ever let us down was with a flat tire 100 miles from nowhere on a Memorial Day backpacking trip, we did nearly 1000 miles on the spare…

And FutureTruck! I actually helped write a proposal for Ecocar 3, but then our sponsoring professor pulled out his support right before the submission deadline so we were ineligible and I went on to work in the industry instead of grad school.

If you haven’t heard about it, Formula SAE is what you’re looking for. Not quite as large-scale as this, but also much more approachable for most colleges to be able to compete in!

Too old for a hot hatch? Sounds like it’s Rover James time.

The planned base price is actually $35k + destination fees, the federal incentives were never factored into that price. With the incentives, you’re talking about a $28k car. Now if you’re lucky it could be like $32k base 2Q19.

I’ve got a 100 mile round trip commute and have had numerous opportunities to spend significant time in the Bolt, but my problem with it is the seats and interior... my 12 year old Subaru with 226k on the clock is significantly more comfortable to sit in for an hour, and I do that twice daily. As much fun as it is to…

Would require some software hacks as all EVs at this point prevent you from going into drive when plugged in and won’t initiate a charge when moving, but I don’t see why it couldn’t be done. Especially if you had an EV pickup or something, just bolt a generator into the bed and plug it in right there, no wires hanging…

Haha yeah, I get that a lot too. I live closer to Ann Arbor and there are quite a few around here at this point, not like it was in CA (where I moved from 4 years ago), but still more variety than just big 3 cars. Honestly, I’d love to upgrade to a new Ford AWD turbo wagon that gets slightly better mileage than this…

Depends on where you are and what conditions you’ll drive in. My SO and I both have a fairly long (~50 miles each way, opposite directions) commute and do it daily in SE MI, where we’ll get some decent snow storms through but overall they do a pretty good job of getting snowpack and ice off in the first couple hours…

4th Gen Subaru Legacy. I’m totally bias because I have a turbocharged wagon version, but I think all of them look sharp more than a decade later.

Ironically, most pumps in Nebraska are ethanol free!

Did you get your PCM reflashed to account for the new tire OD? If not that can easily account for about 3% of the difference with the new tires, or nearly 1/2 mpg...

My first car as well, the rear head on the 3.1 cracked, and reman’ed parts would have been nearly $1000 on a car worth about half that. I drove it and added a gallon of coolant a month or so for almost 2 years, with no more other quibbles other than the vacuum lines popping out every once in a while...

I flew into PHX this morning, and just now learned about this! Guess I’m glad they had it figured out by then...

Was just talking to a 6'8" coworker yesterday and he was lamenting that he missed his Mini cooper. Said it was the only car he’d ever driven where he didn’t have the seat all the way back in his driving position.

I’m fortunate that engineering where I work doesn’t give a damn, but the plants do and I’ve always wondered what particular authority they have to actually offer tickets or tow vehicles for being”improperly parked”. If I’m issued a ticket, it’s not from a police department, but campus security. I guess it’s private…

There are several failure modes that lead to decreased lithium cell life. Excess heat is one of the most dangerous, and why the non-thermally managed Leaf packs have such issues fast charging. As you mention, the rate must be slow near top of charge as excess voltage is the next failure mode, and absolutely the more…

You make me has sad :(

Hyundai i30 N! Or Elantra GT N or whatever we hopefully will get in the US.