You know, I was thinking just yesterday “I’d sure love to buy a Kia, but I’d really rather spend $60 grand.” 

I think it will sell. Mostly in the work truck trims, where massive power isn’t really a concern. Some folks have a fair amount of things to haul, but they may not be heavy or require that much power. Think painters or electricians or things like parts delivery. Besides, this engine has more power than decent size…

iPads have had a camera bump for a while. My iPad Pro (a couple years old now) has a bump. 

“Utilitarian” usually does translate to “cheap.” Reason being, people aren’t going to say “Wait... I could pay $30K for this thing with no carpet or any comfort item besides power windows and air conditioning, or I could pay the same amount for the one that has literally everything on it? Why would I get the spartan…

Everybody wants something utilitarian until it’s staring them in the face. Then they realize it’s kinda nice to have seats that fold into the floor, vacuums built into the cargo area, even heated seats for the driver/front passenger, and enough power ports to recharge half the devices in use at Apple’s headquarters in…

No A/C in a black car, so it’s hell to drive if the sun is out or ambient temp is above 65 degrees. Low miles, but that probably just means it’s time to replace every belt, hose, and seal in the thing. Not common, but neither is it that sought after. I like the look (it has a very ‘80s cop movie villain look to it),…

Ordering can take FOREVER. If you’re lucky it’s only three months. Likely more. And once it’s built there’s no telling how long it will take to get to you. Nor is there any way to know what incentives/pricing will be like- maybe better, maybe worse, maybe the same. Dealers will usually cut more of a deal to take…

Coooool. I admit I’m a bit surprised they went with the OEM head unit instead of a more modern one, but wow, that thing looks nice. It’s good to see even the little econoboxes get some restoration love.

Not surprising. F-150s are light duty, good for cargo that’s bulky but not necessarily heavy- most of what homeowners might need to haul. A couch doesn’t weigh much but it won’t fit in a hatchback. That little Jeeto is for groundskeepers, who need to throw a yard or two of dirt in the back of the thing and putter over…

Yup. Sometimes it doesn’t make much sense to buy used. When I bought my GTI (2017, S) I was originally looking used. The prices were somewhere in the mid-20s for (admittedly high trim) models with 20-30K miles on them. I was able to get mine for 21K even. I’m still astonished at how good a deal that was- the dealer…

The DSG has a more direct feel- the lack of a torque converter means it really does feel like the engine is truly connected to the wheels. Now, I’d agree that a manual would be more diverting and the DSG can be caught napping when in standard mode, but it’s a darned good transmission if you have to plan around heavy…

If Indy, I’d think Verizon would be the natural one. For F1, not sure- some European phone provider?

I get that with that many colors it’s going to cost more to provide them all, but $2500 for a color choice? That’s more than luxury car makers charge for their nice colors. Heck, even the two really spendy color choices on the Alfa Giulia aren’t that much. I’d love to be able to order a GTI in those colors (well, if I…

Usually you get whatever incentives are available when the car comes in. Maybe they’re better than when you placed the order, maybe not, but if there’s no incentives at all and the ones on the lot do have them, it generally means the dealer is keeping them to punish you for not buying what they had.

I always loved the Modulo, ever since I first saw it in a Road & Track special Ferrari issue way back when (probably sometime in the early 90s). Glad to see she’s running and driving. 

Those are cool.

Meh, you know they’ll just hit you up for new wiper blades, even if you don’t need them. That’s where they stick it to you.

I don’t think that would even qualify. The F-150, F-250/350, and the medium truck levels of Super Duty (the chassis cab versions of F-450 and on up) share darn near NOTHING. Not the platform. Maybe the Power Stroke diesels from the 250/350 and the big ones. From F-150 to F-250/350, the cab is shared. But all the…

Which is why Road & Track even tells you what’s generally a significant difference. And those weather conditions are WHY they correct things to a given standard.

Such published numbers are useful only as a comparison with other vehicles. Since they’re all corrected to a given standard, you get an idea as to whether car A is faster/slower than car B. Just like fuel mileage numbers- depending on a wide variety of factors, your experience may (and likely will) vary.