I think the penultimate question is this: Base price has gone up 20% after adjustment for inflation. Do you get 20% more car?

I could already tell you it’s worse because 2 less cylinders = 1/1000 as much ‘Murica

I think that’s how you know you’re doing it right.

Great article, really mimics my own thoughts on the car. I don’t own one, but that’s the thing... I just paid off the Snuze and want to be payment free for a while. I keep thinking when I am ready in a year or two, I’ll buy an ATS, or a new Camaro, or something. But then I keep thinking about the times I’ve driven the…

I’ve heard that, or something like it, before. Love it. I used to work as a logistics specialist in helo support in the Navy. Heres a few other ones I like that I heard during my time:

This, all day everyday.

To be fair, those things are relatively robust as far as helicopters go. But they were also meant as simple utility choppers and got pressed into all kinds of duty from medivac to gunships and close air support. Also, if you want safety and reliability, the helicopter is not the best platform to start with.

Chevrolet 1.4L Ecotec Turbo is pretty old school. This thing lags like crazy... it’s geared to “cruze” around at about 2000~2500rpms all day. So when you need the go juice, you mash the gas, and it’s like nothing nothing nothing... ALL THE BOOST!!!

This man is my new hero.

Agreed! As someone who likes to camp and go outdoors but still needs to commute and occasionally haul people and/or stuff, I think the Aztek sounds amazing. And then I see it. And I die a little bit inside.

I’ll second this. My uncle still has one, and it is a really nice car. The interior feels kind of futuristic, almost like a spaceship, without being too hokey or dated. Also, the 4.9L Aurora V8 is smooth and powerful, a really great engine.

It’s mostly tribal knowledge having sailed with a few former Sea Wolf sailors. I’ll look for a more concrete source. And I may be exaggerating a bit, the 21 and 22 still make underways and deployments, but my understanding is the Carter gets preference in terms of parts and yard time, to the point that parts have been…

Well the whole Sea Wolf thing was kind of a debacle to begin with. Tyler briefly mentioned it in the article - the class was originally envisioned as the ultimate hunter-killer submarine, designed to chase down and destroy Soviet subs in deep water. As they were just getting into production, the Soviet Union collapsed…

To biggest factor in determining a boats lifespan is it’s reactor. Refueling costs close to $1B per boat, on top of all the other stuff you’re doing. The more you look at it, the less economic sense it makes. I’m sure the Navy would love to have a 2nd or even 3rd, but it makes way less economic sense when you could…

Another great story, Tyler. Though you for got to mention that just like your crazy uncle who bought a ratty old El Camino that’s still sitting in his front yard to strip parts off of to fix up his sweet drag Chevelle, the Navy is cannibalizing the 21 and 22 to keep the 23 going. They are now pretty much relegated to…

They still consider it because it’s the same overall hull architecture (just with the 100 foot section welded in), uses the same reactor plant, and probably sports the same interior layout and equipment (or at least it did when it was launched). To be technical this might be considered more like “Sea Wolf - Block II”

The US Navy designed the Sea Wolf class to fight the Russians during the Cold war. They started building the Sea Wolf and the Connecticut. The cold war ended relatively suddenly and the Navy found itself stuck with 2 submarines designed for a war that no wasn’t going to happen. Funding for the Sea Wolf class dried up,…

My guess is that they mean iron is “prolific” in the sense that it is probably the most well researched and understood metal in terms of it’s properties and alloys. Iron lends itself to alloying incredibly well.

When can we expect to see the Jello Picnic transformation?