Most of those things, first paragraph excluded, either fit inside a normal car or fit on a simple trailer you can tow with a normal car. No need for a truck. I’ve moved multiple transmissions and engines (not at the same time) in a compact with the rear seats folded down...

The wagon version of the Corolla is, by far, the most common version I see in real life.

It seems like the B-segment CUVs are replacing C-segment hatchbacks as family cars.

Turkey has strong ties to NATO (as has the US), but that doesn’t make it European in any way. Turkey and the EU are neighbors, but they certainly do not have very friendly ties. The corrupt Turkish regime that is killing freedom of speech, freedom of the press, an independent judicial system, democracy and so on does…

In Germany, your tires have to be rated for at least the top speed of your car. If not, you’ll need a visible sticker in the dashboard indicating the top speed rating of the tires.

The thing about LPG, is that generic aftermarket solution will burn ~10l/100 km.

That is exactly right. Sure, ‘fast car fast’ beats everything, however it is not attainable by most. Due to lack of driver skill and/or occasions to drive a fast car fast. You surely cannot do so on a public road.

Peugeot continued this tradition in the 1980s and 1990s with their x05 and x06 series of cars. Some of those were still offered in the early 00s. Like you mentioned: a great balance between comfort and sweet handling. And in Europe they were reliable as well, and excluding 305/505 they were much better protected…

If I ever visit Australia, I want to meet that man.

Sounds about right. It’s roughly €1.60 per liter here in Germany, which also translates to $7.08 USD per US gallon right now.

If done right, LPG is a great solution. Cost effective too. My now 21 year old daily has had an LPG conversion installed roughly 20.5 years ago. I’m close to 400k km now. It’s a Peugeot with an NA engine though, I doubt these VW-based vehicles with downsized engines are as long living and reliable.

I don’t know where you went, but the typical speed limit on European highways is 130 (81 mph). It isn’t the same in every country, but this is the most common highway speed limit I see. Distances between cities are certainly shorter though, that is certainly correct. And sure, typically people buy one class up (so…

People actually do use these on the highway at 80 mph, and they’re fine. When overtaking you simply need to anticipate a bit more, and that’s basically it.

Actually, I don’t mean to pedantic but that is not what average means. That would be the median; half makes more, half makes less. In the US the median is much lower than the average. So more than half the population makes less than the average.

I’m too lazy to look up the details, but recently in Germany the government actually had to cut down on carbon emissions quicker due to a ruling by the court. The government was ruled to govern unconstitutionally, by ignoring the negative effect of their (lack of) actions on future generations. Which is apparently…

I guess you will be disappointed by the ‘out there’ part :). My convertible is a 1987 Peugeot 205 CTI with a turbo engine swapped in from a 1996 Lancia.

You are correct.

Big and, relatively, high emission simply due their bulk.

I own a (4 seater!) convertible with a manual. That thing is a blast on mountain roads. You don’t have to cruise slowly in a convertible.

I can daily my 1987 Peugeot with 1996 Lancia turbo engine swap just fine as well. In crawling stop and go traffic I modulate the clutch pedal roughly similarly to how you’d modulate the brake pedal in an automatic. No gas, barely brake, so it’s mostly 1-pedal driving.