I like the Recon. I think the “as customizable as the wrangler” is going to be a stretch given that it’s independent front and rear.

As a Wrangler lover (albeit TJ lover), an electric Wrangler is god damn ideal.

Thanks! I love it as much as the day I picked it up in Munich. And it’s slightly elder cousin the 128i convertible I have now too. Amusingly, both 2011s, but one is a very early 2011 and the other one of the very last 2011s, so they were born 13 months apart. Also amusingly, my wagon and I share a birthday, albeit 42…

For one efficiency differences between autos and manuals have been much reduced. And the auto has much taller 7th and 8th gears which benefit high speed fuel economy.

Much easier to game EPA ratings in an auto because you can program it to shift for maximum efficiency, at least under the throttle loads used in EPA testing. In a manual they are required to shift 1-2 at 15 MPH and then continue to upshift at exactly 10MPH intervals thereafter. An auto can be mapped to shift wherever…

Striking like a bat upside the head to me. Eye searingly ugly.

They look surprisingly less goofy in person, especially the real spoiler.  Seeing the first photos I thought it looked like something out of a Cars movie but it works in the flesh.  I mean it’s not inconspicuous but not obnoxious either.

Yup - I remember that world as well. I think it really changed once automatics went past 6 speeds (to the 7- 8- or even 10-speed automatics of today). You can just fit in a lot more gear ratios (and go taller for those upper gears).

I may be too skeptical, but I feel like the EPA ratings rely on manual transmission drivers not knowing how to shift appropriately, or assuming they will shift at higher revs for more fun. By putting all manual trans drivers into those ‘boxes’, they mis-represent that one can probably match an auto pretty closely in…

Drove one about a month ago. It’s light-years ahead of the Model S in every regard. It’s a better-engineered, more thought-out vehicle, full-stop.

Except these days it seems that there’s something dated about a limo. The power brokers tend to be driven around in high end SUVs instead. Which is a bummer for them, given just how much smoother/quieter an executive sedan is to ride in, compared to even the most luxurious body on frame SUVs. Oh well, their loss - I…

they are damn good looking. i saw a dream in austin. other than that stupid trunk cut line i love them.

Had my first in the wild sighting of a Lucid the other day, and I agree, based on just road presence, that pretty much puts a stake in the Model S. From the looks of it, it makes it look like the folks at Lucid are out-Mercing Mercedes - will be curious to see if that holds up for the vehicle as a whole. Not that I’m…

agreed!

I did saw a green Rivian truck the other day and I never wanted a car so bad in my life. 

I saw my first Rivian yesterday, it was slick as hell.

Toyota is reached king of the hill by over-engineering cars in the 80s. Then doubled down on that over-engineering in the 90s, cementing its reputation across the entire world for decades to come. Toyota easily has the largest, and longest lasting brand loyalty out of any car maker today, because they made reliable,…

Can’t recommend the Niro enough - we get 275 miles on a full charge, the interior is really spacious and our EX is really well-equipped, and it’s legitimately fun to drive. Not one issue yet. I wish I would have gotten two back when they were dealing on them.

I drove an acquaintance’s Ioniq 5 not too long ago. It was pretty amazing. I’m a three-pedal guy all the way and not ready to give up my 6-Speed, manual Acura TSX any time soon, but the neck-snapping, absolutely linear acceleration, and imperceptible levels of NVH of the Ioniq 5 leave me no doubt that electric cars…

Also live in a very conservative area - I think a lot of people understand how conservatives feel about EVs. I’d say easily 20% of my friends and neighbors here own EVs, and I can’t think of one that doesn’t also have a pickup. We have a Niro EV, which convinced a couple of friends to get them. Helps offset the…