I guess it makes sense. I assume the new drivetrain is more efficient/has lower carbon emissions. With the old motor they’d be priced out of many markets where they put a significant price on (carbon) emissions. Probably not so relevant for the US, but I expect it’s cheaper for MB to produce just one version of the C63…

This woman is gorgeous!

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has announced that prices for the ID Buzz electric van will start at 54,430 euros ($57,220) in Germany for the Cargo version and 64,581 euros ($67,891) for the five-seat passenger Pro version.

They are targeting the Apple crowd. Design over function, hefty price and who cares about tech details as long as it ‘just works’? 

28" wheels are the default size for Dutch (market) bikes for adults. 26" for short people. They might call this “ETRTO 40-622" in enthusiast lingo, but everyone else just calls it 28".

Not wearing a seat belt is like a self-nomination for a Darwin award. You and your family are the only ones that will deal with the consequences.

Where I live speed is the killer. (...)

I live in Germany. Traffic fines are a joke really, as long as you don’t truly misbehave. I live by the rule of never breaking the speed limit by more than 20 km/h outside of town and 10 inside. The (rare) resulting fines are a joke really. Nothing but a mild slap on the wrist. I’m originally not from Germany, and I…

I guess dumb is subjective, although I thoroughly agree from an emissions perspective. Calling potential buyers tone deaf is an understatement.

As a Dutch person, I’d argue Amsterdam as a whole is a bit of a tourist trap. There are many cities within less than an hour of Amsterdam which are as interesting, but which are not overrun with tourists. And as such much more authentic. Leiden, Haarlem, Den Haag (The Hague), Rotterdam, and so on.

Some of it is so absurd it’s funny again. From this year:

“There must be a critical change with licensing,” Cole told Carsales. “At the moment, with current technology, the gross vehicle weight will be hitting the [license] ceiling of all of Europe [...]

I drove a big engined Touareg. Are they more entertaining than their vanilla cousins? Yes. Are they fun for 3 seconds when you hammer the throttle? Sure. But then you encounter a corner and they’re more boring than a base 1991 Civic. Ugh. They are for highway driving, and that’s it. They are capable but not engaging,…

The US gas guzzler tax is so small it is not really an incentive. So it does not work.

I feel conflicted as well. I just think we should replace the highly polluting mess (like this Caddy) with cleaner alternatives for commuting, errants and whatnot. And leave some space for enthusiasts.

When I visited the Nurburgring in Germany a few years ago for tourist laps, there was a guy with a Raptor truck. He was like a rocket in the straights and like a snail in the corners. On the parking lot afterwards his brakes were still smoking. Like, literally smoking many minutes after he’d parked the thing. He had…

As for fuel economy, expect bad news. GM engineers wouldn’t disclose numbers just yet, though one engineer did say “It’s not miles per gallon, it’s smiles per gallon.” Translation: It’s not pretty. Then again, this is a three-ton-plus SUV

You had mp3 players long before Apple introduced one. And good ones at that. I know I listened to those mp3 I downloaded from Napster and later Kazaa and whatnot on my headphones as a not that techy late-teen, and so were my friends. It just wasn’t as mainstream at time as it was a few years later. They had been on…

I always find these discussions interesting.

Sure, you see those vehicles. But fewer of them. They can also legally import vehicles like this Jeep Grand Wagoneer (and still be hit with this emissions/gas guzzler tax). When we cut through the marketing, this is basically a posh minivan with towing capability, right? So why bother when you can buy something better …