My slightly-educated guess would be that it is tuned for good fuel efficiency and low emissions. That tuning causes durability issues when running with high power for extended periods of time. So, after some time, to prevent damage, they simply limit the power. The EPA regulations are not something they can break, so…

I had one of these as a rental over Thanksgiving. I put over 1000 miles on it, mostly back roads and highway (50-80mph). I averaged no more than 24mpg... pretty bad for something rated at 30mpg, when my GF's Passat TDI gets roughly 48mpg driven at 75-80mph while being rated at 42mpg highway.

I love this comment

Peel P50 is the clear winner for "rarest non-supercar". Let's look at the stats:

This is very, very similar to what I do on the transmission calibration side of things. Are you hiring? :p

Despite there only being cones to hit, from my limited experience it's quite a bit harder on a car than autocross. Of course that depends heavily on the surface you're on... but a lot of fields get deep ruts very quickly, and have enough bumpiness to mess things up. You definitely don't want to do it regularly in a…

Here's my advice: fix the engine, do it right. Leave it in the car until the body/chassis is past salvageable, but in the meantime search for a clean roller. When your current body/frame goes kaput, swap your refreshed motor and trans in and call it a day! That'll be the cheapest option overall, as a rust-free roller…

Yeah I noticed immediately after posting and couldn't delete, thanks Okinja

To me, the lesson is "do a compression test on any car that cranks but doesn't run, especially interference engines." A half hour of your time and a tool you should already have if you're trying to do this type of work is well worth it.

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The company says in documents posted Tuesday by U.S. safety regulators that if the air pressure drops on all four tires at the same time, the monitoring system may not warn drivers of the problem. Low air pressure can cause a sudden tire failure.

Yup yup, I think it's more a testament to the Euro/non-US S50, really. One of my bucket list engines for sure! I know S54 makes more power but S50 tickles my fancy more.

I was just having this discussion today! I don't care for cross-plane V8s. I know that from a power per weight/packaging point of view, it's hard to beat an LS-series motor. But they still just don't do anything for me. Even-fire only, for me (or VR6, close enough).

The head is VERY similar to S50!

Oh gosh. These comments. I don't usually facepalm, but this is an appropriate time.

I think the key for this case is that there WAS an officer there to witness it, thankfully.

At WOT it sounds quite good. I heard one from a distance, but even far away it sounded really nice. I don't have any context though (i.e. listening to other cars at the same time).

I can't wait!

Not all Japanese OEMs are the same when it comes to demanding quality... in general they're still better than most of the world, but they're not all on the same level. Even the "good" ones aren't always consistent.

I had a trip to Japan in April, window in the office was open because the weather was nice. I was in Building 10 overlooking the Honsha test track, and I got to listen to them going WOT out of the tight turn all day. It was wonderful.