Imagine that. That’s a very futuristic idea. 

What Creature Comforts Are Non-Negotiable For You?

The US democracy suffers from the head start it had a long time ago. Where others improved their democracy over time, the US democracy is stuck in the past. With functionally a 2-party democratic system, politicized voter suppression and a politicized judicial system it is, politically speaking, barely better than a…

Traditionally, because VWs offered something extra. Be it interior quality or even driving experience. The ones that currently sell in the US though are the cars that are shared with China, and which are not offered in Germany. Cheaper, bigger cars without the characteristics VWs are known for.

Well, in Europe cars with automatics typically (until 10 years ago?) were:

You call yourself a rally maniac, and you lose interest when someone mentions the iconic 205? I’m confused.

When discussing ancient habits that should have died a long time ago, like the UK driving on the left; the insistence of the US to resist the metric system trumps everything else.

My perspective is western Europe. Basically (north of the) Alps, west of the formerly communist countries.

Those three phases are exactly my experience when driving in the US for the first time. It felt a bit... previous century too.

I recently drove behind a Smart in Germany. You could not find a single parking space, everything was full. At least for my average length car. The Smart parallel parked in a spot that seemed to have been similarly long as the wheelbase of my car.

In old narrow cities the tiny size was useful and a unique selling point.

My parents had one of those when I was a little kid. From 1983 if I’m not mistaken. I do remember the odd pods.

The grass is always greener on the other side, and all that.

This is not a large car

Agreed, except for the distance part. In summer you tend to see these towed campers everywhere in Mediterranean countries, with license plates of countries 1000+ miles away.

That thing is tiny. Meanwhile, in Europe, I can use my midsize FWD coupe from the late 90s with 135 hp to legally tow a caravan like this one. It’s roughly the heaviest trailer the car is allowed to tow. I’d probably need a trailer drivers license though. A smaller trailer, still larger than the Scotty one, can be…

Just get a classic beetle.

I’m not sure about the US, but in Europe I notice that Google Maps screws up quite often. Especially in/around cities. It frequently takes low speed routes directly through town, in stead of city rings or other main routes that require you to drive a slightly longer distance but which are at least just as fast (if not…

Your “If you already believe in magic despite evidence more evidence isn’t going to sway you.” is kind of a tl:dr summary of my word salad.

$4500 is <4k in euro. For a very clean R5? Does not seem extremely optimistic to me, but I’m not in the market.