Yeah, I used to work in a prison outside of Palm Springs. During August, the monsoon humidity from Arizona monsoon drifts over to the California side of the desert, but rarely brings rain. What you’re left with are those high wet bulb temperatures and they are absolutely miserable. Even with 30% humidity at 120°, that…

Towing companies are predatory AF. As someone who’s been living in apartments with terrible parking the last few years, towing companies have contracts with apartment complexes. They’ll lurk in the parking lots, looking to tow peoples cars to rack up the fees. I had my car towed without a warning a couple of years…

As someone who’s had to work in extreme heat, there’s a trick beyond staying hydrated and finding shade that’ll help IMMENSELY.

Is it bad that I don’t hate this?

Doubt it. The hype train is real, and the MSRP is only 5k more than a Kia EV6 for a real performance EV. The base Porsche Taycan starts at $100k, and isn’t nearly as track capable as the Hyundai when it comes to the ability to lap consistently. I don’t think you can get equivalent or better EV performance for less…

For free? I’d take one. Then sell it, buy a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, and pocket the change.

What I’m wondering is how the simulated noise, redline, gearing, and engine braking actually affect an individual’s lap times vs having everything in normal EV mode. Do the simulated features translate to better lap times because of the feedback it’s giving, allowing the driver to better gauge speed, shift points,…

Personally, I think the whole simulated ICE drivetrain thing that the Ioniq 5 N is doing is fucking awesome. It’s the first EV I’ve actually WANTED. If I could afford it, I’d buy one right this second. 

More choice and competition in the market is never a bad thing.

This is one of the reasons that hydrogen fuel cell EVs have always been so appealing to me. They have a fuel cell stack and a battery that aren’t integrated into the structure of the vehicle. For example, in the Toyota Mirai, the fuel cell stack lives where the engine would, and the battery is under the trunk like a…

We want the EV to be small and cheap and not a luxury thing.

The new GX is available as a hybrid, though not with the V6. You can get the Tundra with the same V6 as a hybrid, and I don’t see why Toyota wouldn’t make a version of the GX with that setup. It’s not a plugin, but there’s hope!

You can get a Mustang with the GT Performance Pack (formerly Performance Pack 2) for between $34k-$38k. The GTPP comes with upgraded brakes, a larger radiator, track focused coilovers, larger sway bars, and a Torsen LSD on both the manual and the automatic. If you can find one, the Mach 1 comes with the better Tremec…

Still ugly, but now in a cute way. The googly eyes on the angled panels make it look like a stainless steel Pug. 

I live in the IE, and see wrapped ones on an almost daily basis now. The wraps make it look like the textures haven’t finished rendering on a low-poly Playstation 1 asset.

My favorite engine swap for the Miata is the Rocketeer Jaguar AJ30/Ford Duratec 30 swap. Probably around the same horsepower as the K24, but with MUCH more torque and a less expensive engine. The swap overall is probably about the same price.

No, that one’s turbocharged. 

I think Texas deserves an honorable mention. The 10-12 hours it takes to get across it are INCREDIBLY boring, and the traffic in the big cities like Houston and Dallas are incomprehensibly bad. I grew up driving in LA, and Houston is by FAR worse. You can at least (mostly) time LA traffic to miss the really jammed up…

The 2018 Nissan Maxima I had as a rental. COMPLETELY numb steering, I hated the CVT, seats were uncomfortable, the interior was INCREDIBLY cramped for what was supposedly a full-sized sedan, material choices were meh (even though I did like the tan color scheme), and the infotainment system was hilariously slow and…

I think it’s less the fact that the Cybertruck is aluminum, and more the fact it was CAST aluminum. Stamped or extruded aluminum has much better elasticity than cast. Also, while casting makes for a simplified production process, as we see here it’s a nightmare for reparability. With a traditional stamped and spot…