The CC sold reasonably well for a few years, especially considering its disadvantage of being launched a premium VW during the recession. But VW let it wither on the vine.

It’s an interesting comparison. The Accord is basically the same size (better passenger space but less cargo room) and you get your choice of transmissions. I have yet to drive the 10-speed but I hear it’s good.

“generally the same” as far as body style. But there’s a whole raft of differences:

Yeah, I really don’t remember them and I’ve never seen one despite growing up in New England, which tends to be rich with VWs. A family member had a red four-door. All I remember about it was that the heater was stuck on high all the time—even in winter they drove with the windows down.

According to ‘webs the U.S. never got a Dasher sedan. I wouldn’t put it past VW to let a few in but I’ve certainly never seen one.

It’s not entirely depressing. The team that edged MacLaren out in the bump sessions had no sponsor, a young driver new to Indy, a team with only a couple of years of Indy experience, and suffered through the same calamity of crashing out badly in qualifying. It’s not great for Indy promoters to miss out on an F1…

The market in general doesn’t want or need capable off-roaders, but they want some of that look, as well as the svelte look of a sports car, all in one. The second-gen rig dropped the center locking diff, saving over 500 pounds. It was a no-brainer given the usage patterns of the customers.

They’re possibly getting three more before this generation ends:

Ahhh... marketing. Back in the day, Porsche’s “turbo” badge marked a huge step up in performance and cachet. And the company has never stopped using it that way.

It’s confusing... the original 1970s Audi 80 was sold in the U.S. as the Fox. They are almost all extinct. The Fox platform was used for the original VW Passat, which was called a Dasher in the U.S. I think it was available in a five-door hatch, station wagon, or this really rare two-door hatch.

I was hoping I would see this comment. Thank you for the perspective.

The absolute low point was the Cobalt SS in the mid-aughts that dropped the supercharger for the regular old 2.4 inline-4. That’s right, no special engine. The turbo came a couple years later.

The Cisitalia? That was a Grand Prix car—it predated F1. The pre-war Auto Union were steel tube chassis cars, but did have a lot of magnesium components.

It’s correctly called a Porsche now because Ferry Porsche badged it a Porsche after the war. He registered it in Austria in 1946 after creating his eponymous company. I’m not sure where Torch got the info that Otto Mathe applied the letters. Sothebys clearly specifies Porsche himself badged it.

The earlier engines are much easier to tune, in part because they have fewer concessions to emission and fuel efficiency. But, sure, this can and will tuned. It’s a closed-deck design and in the Z4 M40i it’s quoted at 382 hp.

“All I want is a real Toyota-powered 2+2 coupe with a manual for those with a mortgage.”

I have to think his car was kept in a garage. What’s also amazing is that it was never stolen in all that time—I suppose because it was always moving.

I had a 2008 and 2009 WRX. Both 2.5s but different turbo setups—the 2008 was almost jumpy off the line but fell really flat at the top-end, while the 2009 had less oomph down line but actually did want to hit redline. What they really need is a twin-turbo or other setup that fills in all of the natural gaps in the…

The Crosstrek gets a 60:40% split in dry, non-slip conditions. It’s a little confusing because Subaru has a number of differences between its AWD systems depending on platform, transmission, and WRX-ness.

The Subaru is definitely full-time AWD: a 60:40 split. The rear is never disengaged. It can vary torque between the wheels, but it’s not the system in many transverse-engine vehicles in which the rear wheels only get 1 to 5% torque pre-loaded to improve system reaction. The newest systems from Honda, Toyota, Mazda,…