Helluva good reminder on keeping perspective!

Great piece! Though a conspiracist might allege the FIA’s 3.5L rule was done not simply to entice more manufacturers into F1; it was perhaps done to undermine the hugely popular-at-the-time Group C/IMSA GTP, which was taking eyeballs away from F1.

Drove 1000+ miles in CO recently while on vacay. You’re not wrong - CO drivers absolutely blow. Total space cadets.

Preach. I’d love more roundabouts, even if some people suck at using them. They are all over the UK and Australia; traffic flows MUCH better.

YES. Car and Driver wasn’t wrong referring to the state’s traffic infractions system as the American Gestapo.

In defense of cops - every cop I’ve talked to HATES traffic duty. They’d rather be out dealing with real problems.

American drivers. That is the only correct answer.

One other thought: I’m a free-market libertarian when it comes to most things, but IMHO a mechanism that disables almost all cellphone or mobile device functions while the vehicle is moving should be mandatory.

This is why I don’t ride a bike here in the city. Everyone I know who does it regularly has either been hit or been off after dodging a hit. My 65-year old father had to go to the ER last week after a car nearly took him out.

That started before 2020, but perhaps people got even more hooked while sitting on their asses at home during COVID? I found myself impulsively checking my phone more often during and post-lockdown.

This. I honestly think that some people forgot how the hell to drive during the COVID restrictions. More and more people ventured out in 2021 as the situation improved and rules eased. Driving is a learned skill that takes repetition to maintain.

Agreed. People seem to be forgetting these were not considered particularly good back in their day. Reviewers often slammed them, in fact.

How many bad Jalopnik demanding manufacturers build something that has little to no business case for it must we endure?

Bingo. A roofing contractor buddy of mine dropped nearly $60k on a loaded Tundra a few years ago. Why? Because he practically lives in that thing traveling from site to site. In his words, “I spent 10 hours a day in my truck. It’s my office. Might as well be a nice one.”

I take Jalopnik editors’ opinions about what’s needed in a truck for work/duty purposes about as seriously as I’d take their recommendations on how much gun I need for deer hunting. Most of them are opining about something they know little to nothing about.

I’ll take your word on the new ones feeling the same, but I drove the old ones within a few weeks of each other. I could definitely tell the difference. The Toyota wanted to naturally rotate into a drift when driven hard around a cloverleaf. The BRZ would stay neutral and ultimately understeer but could easily be…

Agreed 100% that the FiST always feels like it wants to party. That’s part of the charm for sure. Where IHMO the Toyobaru shone was as you get closer to the limit, which is low enough to easily reach during hard road driving. You can really feel the inherent balance and rear-drive dynamics kick in at that point. 

I’d hesistate before buying an auto Toyobaru. The new engine should improve things, but the old car’s biggest flaw IMHO was the engine feeling gutless when not kept at high rpm. Turbo engines with fat midrange torque plateaus tend to flatter automatics, while manuals play better with peaky small-displacement N/A…

RVA native - not surprised at all. Church Hill is progressive hipster central. Subarus are very popular among progressive hipsters, including quite a few local friends.

Subie driver in Richmond here. Local Subie/WRX social media groups are blowing up about this. Wagering this is either a disgruntled dealer employee or some drunk person trying to get revenge on their ex. Either way I won’t be rolling into Church Hill for a few days, just to be safe.....the city’s godawful goat trails…