I once got lectured by an officer for spending too much time in the left lane not passing anyone. Well, um, yeah - I was guilty of that, sort of. The reason I took my time to pass is that I couldn’t tell if it was a cop or not and didn’t want to go blasting by. I determined that it wasn’t a cop, passed, and then got…

A car with an automatic, especially if it doesn’t have A/C. I personally hate the feel of a car moving without my telling it to do so (just putting it I D doesn't count...). If it would just stay put if I didn’t touch any pedals I might be OK with it, otherwise give me that third pedal and leave me in charge of when…

This reminds me great truth in advertising I once saw in a Recycler ad: “1976 Audi Fox. Doesn’t run, don’t know why, get it away from me please”.

Well, you're not supposed to. I had one former co-worker we nicknamed ‘Tuggy’ for obvious reasons. Couldn’t get rid of him, however - his mom was the head of HR. We all learned to either give alerts to others if he was in there (he tugged at least three times per day) or learned to use restrooms on other floors or…

Avocado? Yeah, I can see charging extra for that. But how about lettuce? I was a little surprised that McDonald's actually charged me for frigging shredded lettuce.

I actually bought my PS3 as a BlueRay player first and video game console second. For the ports I needed, a used PS3 was only slightly more expensive than an equivalent BlueRay player, so it seemed a no-brainer. I don’t even know where it is anymore as I tend to just watch whatever’s on the TiVo, be it recordings,…

I understand completely. When I had money I drove all sorts of German vehicles - BMW, MB, Porsche, VW - but now that I’m poor I’ve switched to Mazda for a blend of performance and reliability, with the hope that it won’t turn into a financial sinkhole. Even if I did have the funds (or more likely, the credit line) to…

Maybe it’s not that unusual after all. But then again, what do I know - I like mayo on my broccoli and cocktail sauce on my egg rolls.

Since this occurred some years ago, and not directly to me, I don’t have all the details. My dad is a quiet but resolute person, and I’m sure he did what he could at the time to remedy the situation without involving lawyers. By this time I think he was soured on the experiences he had at this local MB dealer, both in…

No, it just means don’t treat anyone that buys a luxury car like they bought a used Tercel on an 84-month loan. Not better treatment than others because of money, just the proper treatment that is expected in that price class and commensurate with the reputation of the marque.

I burned through a few sets of P6s on my Rabbit GTI before finally switching to Michelin MXVs for some noise relief and longer-wearing tread. But I pushed that car hard, and it was a used vehicle with performance rubber. A new, sedately-driven E-Class on all-seasons should not go through a pair of fronts in 6,000…

By that I mean just writing a check instead of financing or leasing. We’re talking about someone of means, someone that’s not overextending themselves to have a nice vehicle but can instead use money that is already on-hand.

Seating position has little to do with this activity; it’s more about learning the systems and the timing of what to do when. Think about it - a Lamborghini and an 18-wheeler couldn’t be more different in terms of seating position, yet the skills to drive one are quite similar to those necessary to drive the other.…

The front tires on my dad’s then-new E320 were worn out at 6K miles. The dealer claimed it was aggressive driving, something that couldn’t be further from the truth, and charged him for two new tires. Well, those tires were toast by 18K. When that pair was being replaced it was discovered that the steering rack was…

There’s an electric power station just south of LAX, semi-appropriately named the Scattergood Generating Station, that gets a good portion of its fuel from methane generated by the Hyperion sewage treatment plant next door.

Mmm, mustard. I’ve got about a dozen varieties in my house, but you’d be hard pressed to find any ketchup here. Mustard on fries is just normal for me; one of these days I’ll have to try mayo, but I’m perfectly content with mustard.

A GoldWing Aspencade, similar to this one, is the only bike I’ve nearly dropped. A friend of mine got rid of his Harley and bought the GW because he was riding back and forth every weekend between LA and Vegas, and wanted something a little more comfortable for that kind of journey and the HD, while nice, was a little…

Delfin Grey because you can’t be choosy when you want to buy a used sedan with a manual transmission.

Right now I’m more interested in what’s hiding behind that 944. Is that a Mk II Scirocco with a Zender body kit? So cool, so ‘80s. It needs bigger wheels than the stock 13 inchers though.

Copper red mica. The color says that I had a choice of only three colors if I wanted the manual transmission, and that the red one was the only one available for several hundred miles so I took it. I was not going to buy a car with an automatic.