SBC-swapped XJ6s were extremely common in the ‘80s and ‘90s. LS is just a modern version and everything can be bolted in without cutting or welding. I bet some of these old Jags have had two or three different GM engines during their lifetimes. The V12s are tougher to maintain, and many of those got swapped out, too.

That’s a good variety for a single gen, esp. if you include the transmission choices. The W220 S-class had 13 different engines during its production run. Most of them had the 7-speed auto.

The Fox Mustang is a pretty good one, but the B5 Passat might be a winner: I4, turbo I4, 20-valve I4, VR5, V6, W8, diesel I4, diesel V6. Oddly, the B5 Passat didn’t get the VR6.

For what it’s worth, the level of traffic—aside from the last month of course—also means people quickly get tired of being clutch jockeys.

Yeah, I came up with a similar list. The EB110 has really improved with time, but Gandini’s original Diablo design has not (in my eyes). I guess I would place the Countach ahead of the Khamsin, which I find very elegant but not particularly inventive aside from the kammback. But the others are better.

The first-gen RX-7 also had the distinct advantage of being sold during the nadir of the Malaise era, when most of the remaining sports cars for sale were poorly made, unreliable, inefficient, and slow. It was an era of really lightweight cars, which suited the rotary, particularly the understressed 12A. Mazda had…

Stirling Moss claimed that Fangio let him win his inaugural British Grand Prix, though his adversary would deny it.

What designs would you put ahead of it? I can identify five or six that would probably be more important in terms of influence and commercial success, but it’s hard to push the Countach out of the top 10.

That looks to be the single 9-5 XV8 that GM used for evaluation purposes. But I think the engine was intended for both the 9-3 and 9-5. The 9-5 was still using the old Saab H-engine and transmission at that point and I’m sure GM was prioritizing an update.

What’s really odd is that in addition to Steinwinter the Avanti chain of gas stations in Europe use(d) an image of a horse that is almost exactly like Ferrari’s, down to the white features and angle of prance. Some old Ducati motorcycles use the image as well, and the decal the company used was almost exactly like…

That’s a cool comparison. What’s amazing is that the Fit almost matches the cargo space of the much heavier and slightly larger Bolt.

It’s hard to imagine Honda ceding the subcompact market, but I tend to agree. It’s a very U.S.-centric company now and the original Fit was an oddball not really designed for U.S. driving. Now that it has been Americanized it’s exceedingly dull to my eyes.

I doubt we’ll see an EV Fit anytime soon. The packaging advantage of the ICE car would go out the window, as would the light weight.

If the Fit is like most modern transverse FWD cars it has an intermediate shaft and therefore doesn’t have the sort of unequal-length driveshaft setup that would promote torque steer. And besides, torque steer has a lot of different causes. Unequal-length driveshafts are just the biggest culprit, and that has long…

I love that it’s not totally its own wiper. It looks like an outrigger.

It’s true, there aren’t any other options left. The best alternative was the Beetle, which had a lower starting price. It has a lot more power than a base Mini, but it’s bulkier and the one I drove didn’t feel like a droptop GTI. It also lost the manual transmission around 2015 I think?

The GR Yaris already uses the rear-end from the Corolla platform so it would be easy to do.

Yes, Mini convertibles are excellent. There’s really nothing else like them. Hefty upcharge but worth it.

The Countryman S can easily exceed $40K. I’ve seen stickers for $44K and that was a few years ago. So can a well-equipped Clubman S.

Yeah, BMW did this, too. Cost is the real reason I’m sure. Mercedes took the lead with using TC transmissions for almost everything in their lineup, and BMW and Audi are just following suit.