Friend of mine bought one of these first gen Touaregs not too long ago. They are over-engineered beasts. Thank you Porsche for deciding to spend colossal sums of money building a vehicle that tried to do almost everything well, and largely succeeded. The later ones just aren’t quite the the same.

I actually like how most Kias look, but the K5 is overcooked for a midsize sedan. The huge upturned air intakes on the lower front fascia are awkward and obnoxious. It’s like they stretched and pulled on the front bumper panel of a BMW M3/M4, then grafted it onto a Kia. The (likely fake) air vents behind the wheels…

The best DCTs (PDK, BMW M-DCT, et al) are brilliant. The problem seems to be when manufacturers try to tune them for affordable mass-market cars. Not sure why. The Ford DCT in the previous gen Focus was junk.

I haven’t driven a single CVT I like....

1st Gear: the comments section and most Jalopnik posts on the matter are emblematic of why our national response to COVID-19 has been a dumpster fire. We’re stuck between two obnoxious groups of people who (primarily for political and/or virtue signaling reasons) are unable to budge from either “Wuhan Cough is just…

Flying AA on 7/11. Not too worried. The airline requires everyone wear a mask and last time I checked the plane was half booked. Two short connecting flights, each under an hour. It honestly doesn’t concern me much more than the alternative: a 9 hour road trip with multiple stops for food and gas required, where…

Can confirm it hasn’t stopped people in Virginia. Have seen more than one surplus Humvee on the highway. Not that I’m complaining.

The poor 996 is at “rescue dog” stage at this point. It’s made its way to the shelter after getting the shit kicked out of it for a long time. Now comes the rehab. 996s actually drive great, like a 997 with a little less polish. Yeah the styling isn’t amazing and the interior quality leaves something to be desired.…

Beers up to Ford’s designers for not trying to out-OTT the other guys. The giant truck grille trend has jumped the shark. Good to see Ford showing at least SOME restraint.

Can confirm some Charger/Challenger drivers do this here in VA, but this also applies to coal-rolling lifted trucks, cat-deleted BMWs, previous-gen Camaros, and late-model Infiniti Gs.

*Ducks under desk*

Maybe somewhere in between NP and CP? Like water bong, maybe?

To quote the US president in Austin Powers and the Spy Who Shagged Me, when Dr. Evil threatens to blow up the moon:

After seeing the pics, I don’t think I would have given it any mind had I walked past it casually. Had I noticed it at all, I would have thought, “Oh, the rope used to pull down the garage door.” I doubt I’m alone.

Not sure why people are going apeshit about Tesla’s result. Read long-term press reviews. Do some Googling about owner-reported issues. Complaints about panel gaps, poorly fitted trim, cheap interior components, paint quality, etc. are rampant. The cars are great mechanically but the fit/finish is still getting sorted…

Bingo. I re-read this piece. Westbook using what you quoted above to claim a significant chunk of NASCAR (I assume he’s referring to the org, teams, etc., since the fans wouldn’t have had garage access) wishes this on Bubba Wallace is a massive low blow. It’s more typical of the bullshit associated with Gawker and…

Agreed. I don’t think Bubba, NASCAR, or the drivers acted inappropriately given what they knew at the time. It was understandable Bubba and his team would interpret this as a threat given recent events and the symbolism involved. NASCAR’s leadership was smart in acting quickly. The FBI’s findings ruled out Bubba being…

In before the right- or left-wing conspiracy theorists start spewing nonsense...

Correct. I can’t find any adjectives bad enough to describe the state of our political dialogue right now....

Whoa. That actually looks better than any current Audi sedan or wagon! Partially because it doesn’t have a gaping black hole of a grille in the middle. Looks much sleeker and lower as a result.