Followup RE: the second incident. The Stewards penalized De Villiers 5 hours for running over the bike. Toyota cannot be very happy. GdV admitted they got the signal warning them of the downed bike, but could not see it as it was hidden behind the crest of the dune. GdV also admitted their warning light was on the…

He tested positive on Dec 26 and his participation was in doubt. Covid-fatigue or covid-brain?

That’s cool, but something is off with the guy now. Maybe he’s just having a bad day, maybe he’s not fit to be racing right now, or maybe he put his helmet on backwards.

Villiers is being vilified on at least one of the Dakar forums for the incident with the Chilean. Villiers claims he had room to go around, but a concealed rock threw him to the left hitting the rider. No one is buying that including ASO. In the second incident the Moroccan dumped his bike over the crest of a dune and…

That video makes it look like Villiers either hit the rider intentionally, or he has zero awareness of the size of his vehicle. In either case, it would appear that he’s not cut out to be racing professionally. 

Fuck street racers straight to hell. The average driver is a lose cannon as it is. Going faster just makes it worse.

The Crosstrek is literally a lifted Impreza with bigger tires and body cladding.

REVIVE THE GRAVEL EXPRESS!

Again, racing on public streets is never a good idea retarded criminal behavior regardless of who you are or what you’re driving.

And yet people will still defend street racing, especially some commenters on this site.

SoCal resident here. They are fucked. Completely FUCKED. LAPD takes street racing very seriously and they’ll probably end up with 20+ years behind bars. More than likely, they’re trying to determine who was actually driving at the time of the accident so that each person receives the correct charges. Passengers will…

Yeah. There is a time and a place for passive voice, but this ain’t it. People were killed by idiot racers.

I hope the dumb animals get life in prison.  From the tone of the article, it reads like the shitheads will get slaps on the wrist.  How “wonderful”.

They didn’t lose their lives. They were KILLED.

It will get you to all the same places that 90% of Wrangler owners will ever go, for less money and a less miserable experience anywhere not covered in boulders.  And it’s cheaper and easier to park than an Outback.  It’s a totally boring but extremely reasonable choice for a lot of people.

Both of my cars have adjustable steering wheels, both have found much less ugly ways of hiding the mechanicals. 

They really need to drop the WRX drivetrain in this. It would solve a lot of the complaints people have.

The secret sauce to the crosstrek is a trifecta of affordability, versatility and capability.

Going on 14 months. Still have headaches, extreme fatigue and breathlessness. However, I did actually feel like I was smelling more accurately - sense of smell has been FUBAR since last June. I smell things that aren’t there: exhaust, something burning, rancid meat, excrement (why can’t it be PLEASANT?). This morning…

I’m 15 months out from COVID and nowhere close to normal, significantly reduced lung function (out of breath at the drop of a hat) as well as brain fog. double the frequency of gastric distress, etc.