Intellectually, I understood those systems like TurboGrafx and Jaguar existed even though I never encountered them (except TG16 solely as a display in Toys R Us). But I don’t think I became aware of the Master System until I was an adult- even though I played one a few times at a friend’s house when I was a kid. It…

Helpful guide, thanks for posting about it.

3rd Gear: I don’t think it’s unreasonable to buy an, uh... “unused” 2015 TDI now. They are so few that your odds of getting what you want are pretty slim, but the prices are good and that super-extended warranty is amazing. I ended 14 years of TDI driving about a month ago, but I’d have been tempted to roll my buyback…

Pretty sure that phrase is rarely ever uttered, for one. Second, let’s see if your reasoning holds up when you’re slammed with foodborne illnesses because the FDA has its funding hit. Or find yourself in a snafu in a foreign country and need the U.S. consulate to come fix your situation. Or are rendered homeless in a…

Yeah, well said. The presence of a CVT in Nissans (or just about any car) is a bogeyman for anyone looking to take something down a peg. It’s a different flavor of transmission, and it sure as heck isn’t going away. I’ve got one in my new Subaru that I find to be a much more competent transmission than the DCT that…

Back when I was 17, I got caught in a speed trap going 52 in a 45. My friend - who lacks some social graces and believes everyone he meets is as interested in Linux as he is, for instance - asked the cop writing the ticket what the percentage of cosine error was on the radar he used. I think the cop said it was like…

No kidding about the micromanaging bureaucracy. I’m the manager on a project concerning getting an interactive wayfinding (map) system in my hospital. Of course a bunch of departments wanted input in the design of the system, but no responsibility for working with the vendor to get it done. So I cherry-picked the…

Would these have the same extended warranty on drive and emissions components that already-owned “fixed” ones have? As I recall, it was like an additional 60k miles. I was super-relieved to get rid of mine a few weeks ago, but that super-warranty would make it a much more attractive proposition, given how expensive…

SUVs perplex me. Roads have ever more traffic on them, and parking is getting harder to find everywhere. Is it an arms race mentality? Is it fooling oneself into thinking they’re more outdoorsy than in reality? Do they think gas prices are never going up again? Is it because of having a kid? Because if it’s that, I…

This seems like a massive waste of resources for Cadillac. Just integrate Apple Car Play/Android Auto. They work well, duplicate a UI users are already familiar with and update their software from the phone. When I was shopping for new cars, one of my must-haves was Car Play even though Subaru ended up having their…

I find the debate around this interesting, but also disheartening. It’s easy to think of people as being stupid - I do it every day. But gear selectors like this are a prime example of over-engineering. This thing’s function has been overtaken by design, and begotten a whole bunch of cascading effects that required…

1st: I know Lost in Space was supposed to take place in the “distant year 1997" and all, but it’s time we get real. Do any of us really expect that in 50 years we’ll still be using gasoline in new passenger cars? I can barely imagine it in another 20. Rolling back on fuel economy is just regressive. Then again, we…

Drove two TDIs for a dozen + years. Never had to pay through the nose for any malfunctions, but that rebuilt turbo in the 2004 required payment through a slightly larger orifice...

I don’t have a sad stuck story to contribute. The worst was having a flat tire the next morning after staying out all night, so my roadside assistance sent out the IRL Nico from Grand Theft Auto.

Not defending the transgression at all, but I imagine the airline employees here and the cops have little agency/training to de-escalate the situation. The employee is trained to let the computer pick a passenger, but can she overrule the computer? The cops are trained to remove someone, but can they argue this…

Nothing much to add other than I think this is the best explanation of the rationale and behavior of The Corporation that I’ve ever read. They have unlimited resources to cause you misery, so don’t bend over when you don’t have to.

Gotcha, Von Mises.

Being poor doesn’t mean they don’t budget. I’d imagine being on the edge makes one budget more carefully than not. Nor does proper budgeting correlate to an unbroken axle, functioning shocks, or any number of other expensive, invisible car components.

In case you were serious:

I also like the looks a lot. This is stupid car mumbo-jumbo, but it feels like they look like they’re supposed to look. They ain’t wrong-lookin’.