We know how to deal with corrosion resistance, metallurgic concerns of fasteners and coatings, handling and assembly issues. Hence one of the reason for the aerospace analogy. It's not like we are still working on cold fusion here. We have a firm grasp of how to handle aluminum in an automotive field. And what is…

They might get burned by what? That's the point. What is going to go wrong. You say "different use" but I don't get how using aluminum on a pick-up quarter panel is any more of a harsh environment than aluminum used on a passenger jet, or the aluminum used on a motocross bike, or the aluminum used on a rally car,…

So you are saying that truck owners are harder on their vehicles than a 735,000 passenger jet coming into land?

I know as a car nut I'm supposed to love all shooting brakes, but this just doesn't do it for me. Looked better as a coupe.

So you think aluminum in trucks will be a flop because buyers think it won't be good enough?

Sorry, but how exactly is aluminum going to fail? It's been used in a plethora of industries for years. Production cars? Check (Audi A8...). Race cars? Check. Airplanes? Check (just about all of them). Bicycles? Check. Building materials? Check. Home goods? Check. Pop cans? Check.

The corning lights on Saabs would come on when you put it in reverse too. It made it much easier to find the edges of a small driveway while backing up.

You would make a horrible thief. Selling Civic wheels and parts is far easier and less likely to get you caught than either trying to sell an entire Veyron or it's parts.

I wonder if it could actually be configured to be competitive in F1.

The older style headlights (here) are far better than the newer ones on the 650 and P1.

Wha.. whaat?

Yeah, but I bet the Honda will require far fewer unexpected trips to the dealer than many of it's competitors.

Oh, it's a nice car. But the dash layout is enough for me to rule it out completely. Maybe if I spent more time in it I would get to learn it. But it's so damn ugly and there are so many buttons.

I don't care what you guys say. I'm taking an XLR over a C5 'Vette any day of the week.

How can this grow on you! It's horrible.

Just add AWD...

Exactly. That's what makes them competitive. Sure, they lag behind in driving dynamics, innovation, styling and some other areas, but it is made up for (to some people) in quality, reliability and cost. How competitive a product is, is a summation of all attributes, not just a select few.

Wait... is the $1,000 going to count towards the total cost of ownership?

7.62x51mm =/= .308 Winchester

Throw a 7.62 NATO round in a .308 Win chambered rifle. Shoot it. Then try to reload that round. Good luck. Firing .308 Win in a 7.62 NATO rifle can be dangerous. Sure, people do it, but I wouldn't chance it.