All great choices. In stock form the Sonett III wasn’t much better at accelerating.

In Jeepenese, “Sport” means base model. I guess it’s “sporting” to forgo all features.

At the time, 1966, the DFV didn’t exist. It’s first race was in 1967, so it would never have been considered by Lotus for use in the original Can-Am prototype. Most likely what’s in this car is a custom-built unit loosely based off a Ford small block—Lotus had a close working relationship with Ford Europe and already…

Yeah, that’s very true. Ford had already been percolating the idea of a FWD droptop with the 1983 Ghia Barchetta concept. If that car had been launched even four years later, it likely would have been a hit. Instead, it took the Miata’s popularity to convince Ford to pull the trigger. They even had two Italian design…

And there are more... Audi TT, Fiat 500X, Genesis G70, Ford Edge, along with a smattering of exotics like the Ferrari F8 Tributo (coupe), Portofino M, and McLaren 720S.

The CLA is much smaller than the other two and based off the A/B-class. But, yeah, the C257 (CLS) and the X290 (GT “sedan”) are both very closely related to each other and the E-class.

Del Sol carried 160 hp with the 2500 lb VTEC model, but most of these I think came with the bog-standard D-series Civic motor. Still a good sportyish car for the ‘90s.

It was only faster if you bought the turbocharged XR2. Base was absolutely slower than the Miata.

I’m not sure you can call a DOHC Cosworth DFV similar to a big-block Chevy. I don’t think anybody ever tried to even use the DFV in Can-Am--not nearly enough power.

I don’t think many would opt for a frumpy, crude first-gen Astro over a late ‘80s Vanagon, esp. if the buyer is going after that VW “look”. But if we’re talking second-gen Astro, then it’s a pretty good comparison to the Eurovan, which was basically the same form factor as the Astro. In fact, some people have chopped…

I’ve read that the Voltec system simply doesn’t work in larger, heavier vehicles, partly because as designed it has only modest power from the range extender—just enough to keep a small, aerodynamic car at highway speeds when the battery is depleted. Unlike Toyota’s HSD, which is ICE-centric and can be scaled to other…

The 2.5 and later 2.6L V6 were options on the Vectra B, but not the 3-liter, which was only used in the Sintra and Omega (as well Catera and Saab 9000).

The Catera was plagued with timing belt tensioner issues which was not great because it’s an interference design. Saturn got the same engine with reportedly fewer issues, but it’s still a maintenance-heavy design and not easy to work on.

Check your numbers on Rogue sales because what you are saying is just not true. Granted, the Rogue is probably the only strong-selling model Nissan sells, but it historically (and currently) one of the top 10 selling vehicles in the U.S., often beating the CR-V.

For U.S. roads, the minimum, I think, is a 1.5 to 2.0-liter boosted engine, or a 2.5-liter four if you want to go less expensive. Anything less, given the size and weight of today’s vehicles, results in a drivetrain you have really wring out to keep up with traffic.

The 275 short-nose cars (64-66) have a bit more stylistic balance to them. But front-end lift at high speed led Ferrari to introduce the long-nose cars.

Having seen a bunch of these in person I can somewhat shamefully say I like it. It helps to appreciate brutalist architecture, of course, but it’s certainly more interesting than Merc’s melted soap bars. The XM, however....

I’ve seen a few production trucks and one SUV last month that was clearly a manufacturer test mule (it had GMC-branded parts on it). It’s a very new model.

Yeah, I would have even taken the manual option in the 1.8T wagon if it wasn’t limited to the stripper S model. The stock suspension wasn’t especially sporty, but at least the car felt nimble and eager compared to the Alltrak.

The Model 3 was genuinely new in a lot of fundamental ways, but the Model Y was certainly derivative and 2017 is a long time ago in this business.