On the motorcycle front, if you have an oil that meets JASO MA spec’s, you should be good to go. If you’re extra paranoid, some online searching will point you in the direction of JASO MB oils. JASO is the testing body, and the MA/MB cert is a set of tests performed to ensure compatibility with wet clutches. MA is the…

There’s a lot of truth to this. The reason the pulled zinc is that it’s deactivates the catalysts in aftertreatment systems (not near as bad as phosphorous - another previously heavily used oil additive - does, but still pretty bad).

Particularly at start-up, and double in particular during the winter, there can be a significant difference in how an engine behaves using different oils. Sure, once your vehicle is warm (and you’re more or less in the correct ballpark viscosity wise) it should mostly level out, but differences do persist.

AWD vs FWD. In the latter, the tires are nigh always the fuse point. In the former, it’s generally the clutch or the transmission

The Great Leap Forward!

I’m almost there with you. The only clarification I’d make to your last paragraph is that if people are free to do what they will with their bodies, or with other consenting adults (something I strongly STRONGLY support, by the way), they should also be responsible from any repercussions that their behaviors or…

Particularly in regards to CARB, this feels like a perfect opportunity to let CARB states hoist themselves by their own petard. If the CARB requirements are specific to a set of states, then the companies should only need to meet the requirements for vehicles sold in those states.

I would imagine, though I can’t be certain, that the term ‘Barbie Jeep Racing’ was not the phrasing used explicitly in the marketing materials. Much like the lawn games “Conhole” or “Nutsack”/”Redneck Golf”, “Barbie Jeep Racing” is the common colloquialism for racing scrap Mattel Power Wheels (or similar) vehicles…

Naah. The Impreza will just become the Crosstrek Sport, and the Legacy will once again pick up the mantle of Outback SUS (Sport Utility Sedan).

Kidding aside, I’m actually with you there. Admittedly, my mileage is probably a bit worse than that, but in my defense, my bike of choice is not exactly the most svelte thing in the world.

Youtube is lousy with proof that trying and succeeding are not mutually inclusive.

Raph.... We get it. You love oddball shit specifically because it’s oddball shit. That being the case, why don’t you go all the way, and follow your your question to its logical conclusion.

Respectfully, I fear that you’re getting waaay too far into the consumer side of the discussion, when thinking about pricing strategies. Believe it or not, the residual value of a product has almost nothing to do with initial product cost beyond - potentially - a correlation in the total amount of raw materials…

I’m thinking motoGP might be a bit of a stretch, but Harley should be making more of the AMA flat track series. Right now, Indian is absolutely killing it, and they keep teasing a FTR1200 that is straight up gorgeous:

Okay, while I can understand where you’re coming from, the vast majority of a vehicle’s cost (even for components as research intensive as a modern on-highway engine) is driven by the raw materials, the manufacturing processes, the overhead for those processes and the labor. Think of it this way - would you expect the…

Not when you feed the thing ethanol! I’m currently averaging between 15-18, depending on how much fun I’m having.

Similarly, people seem to have very real concerns about going out in public in either. ...most of which are unfounded.

You’ve got it! My comment was intended to be a bit of a tongue in cheek dig at the folks who complain about prevailing market trends while not taking the one action (save governmental intervention) available to alter said trend.

The short answer (for BMW and Audi, at least) is the 1980s. At that time, the German cars were filling a niche much closer to that of Volvo in the 1990s, or Subaru in the late 2000s / early 2010s. They were the car that was just a little bit nicer and a little bit different than your average white good, and cost just…

The implication, since the start of this discussion is that if fewer people, of their own volition, decided to walk out in front of traffic, we would have fewer traffic deaths. It’s great that you feel safer in Amsterdam, and it’s well and good that they have made the city as car unfriendly as possible - largely…