" but it's based on (and still very similar to) the Honda Accord which is one of the highest regarded vehicles in the industry for reliability, safety, low maintenance, while having a decent driving experience."

Step 1: hide your patrol car behind the overpass in the weeds.

What kind of exception are you? American car culture is excellent.

The rest of Texas enjoys good food, good music, and a good weekend trip to Austin. Living there is for people who hate parking their car, but don't hate on it for visiting purposes.

Is that because you're actually floating at that speed? Also: kudos to your transmission to get rolling that fast on large tires.

Once you get into the desert-y parts, the two-lanes are nice to drive. People hug the shoulder when they can, and you have plenty of sight distance to make the pass. A good portion of the time, people who want to pass will drop back, build up speed, flash their lights, and blow past you, if they don't have the power…

I used to drive I-35 between Dallas and OKC regularly. Pretty frequently, I would be passed by traffic while bouncing off the 94mph governor in my friend's truck. I did the drive in another truck that didn't like to go above 80, and was definitely slower than traffic.

"less than a minute" is a long time. I can have my full attention back on the task at hand within a few seconds of sending a text. He probably was actively texting, but according to everything I've read, he denies texting, and at the time of the crash he was only receiving a text. Without proof of him looking at his…

While the kid definitely deserved to be punished severely, I can't say I like the precedent of charging him with texting while driving, when apparently he RECEIVED a text at the time of the accident.

From what I understand, they can be any shape, not just round. So you could potentially be able to tell based on touch.

VW is no more Hitler's brand than Germany is Hitler's country. Ruling out either is silly, but losing family members gives you the right to be silly about a few things.

Including the fastest trans-america jaunt, which it nailed on its final journey when it landed at Dulles, just down the road.

You know why it's windy in Oklahoma? Because Kansas blows, and Texas runs down its students with a bus.

I had two last names - I dropped one of them, she changed hers to match my new last name.

When I got married, I changed my name. My wife also changed hers.

Enjoy: [shiftfrequency.com]

DFW isn't so bad. Driving the highway takes a bit of testicular fortitude, but it's mostly suburb, and parking is easy. Highways are a lot less frightening once you figure out that everyone else on the road will do the most aggressive thing possible - dallasites are very predictable.

Smells good, too.

Move to Virginia. I pay a few hundred dollars a year in property tax on my cars, and most of the state* has fantastic roads.

My neighbor back in TX had a tiny sedan. One day, the sedan was gone and there was a giant-ass Ram 2500 in his driveway. I was appalled. The next day, there was a giant-ass boat parked beside it. I was impressed.