I would pay more for a turbo variant. Hell, my JCW stickered at 38k with all the options. I'd pay 34k for a STI variant of the BRZ with decent options.

Exactly. If you're not rev-matching, you're causing unnecessary clutch wear. I think you're just mad that you've been doing it wrong.

So every time you go from a 60mph zone to a 25mph zone in a manual, you stop first so you can start in first again? Laughable. You sound like someone who's never driven stick. Or if you have, you must have done so very, very poorly.

I've driven various manuals for ages, and I do it as a matter of habit. It's a perishable skill, and the only way to stay good at it is to use it.

Those are referring to large diesel trucks with an actual engine brake, which has more of an effect than simply using engine compression to slow you down. They're also noisy, and they're banned because of the noise rather than any safety danger. Engine braking might get you fined in a city with noise pollution…

At the $24,500 base price, I find that hard to expect.

Actually, I can tell you as one of those "IT dept" fellows that with most websites that have dynamic content, each time you click DOES look like an individual page view to a middleman web filter that's tracking what users are looking at. AJAX technology makes HTTP requests to get more requested content without…

One thing I do worry about. The Euro version that was tested is made in Germany. The version we'll actually be getting here in the states is made in (correct me if I'm wrong) Mexico. I have heard that the Euro spec, being a more premium car over there and costing considerably more, has a nicer interior materials…

Best HP/liter in its class? Someone forgot about the JCW Mini. Which is 140 pounds lighter to boot.

Uh, right. Which is why a GT500 Mustang costs more than a V6 Mustang, and why a JCW Mini costs more than a "Justa" Cooper. What Subieyota has given us is only the V6 Mustang, only the non-turbo Mini Cooper. Want more power and have the money for it? Take a hike!

Yes but I've become incredibly lazy and don't like to perform the maintenance on my DD. Short of oil changes, my Mini's get serviced by the dealer. That's not to say I don't enjoy working on cars - I used to own a dirt track racer. I just like doing it on my own time. So voiding a warranty isn't for me.

You missed the point entirely. Nobody is buying the Ford Flex. But more people (myself included) might buy the FT-86 variants if they didn't have anemic power. The options aren't speed and handling. You can have BOTH.

I drive a JCW Mini. I'm a member of two local Mini clubs (laugh if you want) and we make a habit out of finding curvy backroads to tear through. I drive it hard through corners and honestly, my next car will have more power because I'm not satisfied with the JCW any longer - I'm on my second one. Point being that…

You know what else does 0-60 in under seven seconds? Ford's idea of a replacement for the premium minivan: the AWD 3.5L EcoBoost Ford Flex. Yes, all 4,839 pounds of it. Seats 6-8. And guess what? It's getting more power for 2013, and will do 0-60 in under *six* seconds according to Car and Driver. You know what…

Huge +1. I've driven one, it's all kinds of awful. If it had a Kia badge? It would be expected. But no vehicle of that nature should ever have a seven slot grille and a Jeep logo on the front.

Now that I have a garage, I actually do less of my own repair work. I guess that sort of goes along with buying new cars. But it wasn't too long ago that I'd have my hoopty completely torn apart in a gravel parking lot, using my other hoopty to make runs to the parts store.

P 4/5 Competizione, because any excuse to drive it is a good enough excuse for me.

But doesn't gasoline burn cleaner and contribute less to smog?

I've driven the 2012 GT500 on twisty backroads here locally. A friend of mine (who must be insane) owns it and lets me thrash it around corners. He's too chicken to do it, and for some reason he thinks I can drive well. He traded a highly modded 06 GT for it, and I got to drive that as well. I will say that Ford…

Broke the hard plastic vacuum line on my 03 Mini trying to pull the check valve out of the booster to run some seafoam through it. That part takes weeks to get ahold of, so I put it back together with superglue. Yes, I superglued my fucking brakes into working. And it worked like a charm for about two weeks. …