I’m allowed to telecommute as long as I don’t have a meeting or need to be in the lab. I rarely do it because I’m far less productive working at home. It’s nice if I need to take a half day though, cuz the commute would just kill the benefits.

I agree: the Magnaflow doesn’t impress. It was the first video I found where the exhaust was easily audible, probably because that’s what they’re advertising. It also makes this a direct side by side comparison.

What’s the project?

Gorgeous old car, but not worth the asking price.

We’re only talking about noise here. Of course forced induction gives performance advantages. Otherwise no one would do it.

An Abarth sounds good for the same reason that old Raptor does: a V8 is basically just two inline-4s side by side. Yes, engine nerds: I know that’s a gross simplification. A V6 just won’t ever sound like that because the harmonics are different.

It sounds... fine. But only fine. Here’s the old one with a Magnaflow.

I have a friend who won’t watch any British TV because he says they’re too celebrity focused, particularly on footballers.

I’m male and a little older than Stef, and I’m perfectly willing to admit that a good DCT can shift faster than I can. The thing is, there are so many other things which are slowing me down that going from half second shifts to 50ms shifts wouldn’t make much difference overall. Since I also find shifting by hand far…

FYI: the rallyX they do is different from what you’re going to find at a typical SCCA event. SCCA rallyX is solo, like autoX — just one car is out there at a time. On the other hand, that means you don’t need as much safety gear and you’re less likely to get rammed.

I’ve always heard FWD is the way to go for all but the top tier of rallying.

Having driven in both, I’m amazed Atlanta wasn’t above LA.

Every Masshole I know loves the term. I don’t know exactly what that says, but it makes it seem more appropriate to me.

The fastest car in the world is a rental with full insurance.

If it were FA, you might guess it was used to buffer nuclear waste. Yes, that’s a real thing. In case it ever comes up, don’t use the “all natural” kind.

Got to punch someone on boxing day... this is the dream.

Water doesn’t smell like petrol. Diesel can pass if you’re not paying attention or not familiar with the difference.

By using a CVT or driving an electric motor, you could easily have a turbine powered car with zero lag and where the turbine is constantly at its ideal speed.

Can you help me figure out which of my locals were part of it?

I see every tailgater I know. Most of them are reasonably normal people. Most...