I had the R55 Clubman JCW and it’s high on my list of cars I regret having sold. I’m not a huge fan of the styling of the current one though...plus according to Autotrader there are none on this side of the country.

Can we implement a new rule on Jalopnik that whenever you write about a car that isn’t going to be available in the US, you state that upfront? I was already pulling out my checkbook by the time I got to the bottom and you crushed my little heart.

I don’t know how “obscure” they are, but certainly not mainstream. The Caterham 7 is a car distilled down to driving perfection in my opinion. A buddy of mine campaigns one in autocross and riding along in the Cosworth-engined beast was the only time I’ve ever gotten really car sick just from the g-forces. The…

According to my dad, the Golf? I remember telling my dad I liked these as a teen and he (mostly jokingly) said they were for gay guys. He pointed to this commercial as proof...two dudes driving around together on a Sunday afternoon, antiquing.

In what way? Have you ever driven a properly setup front wheel drive car? Writing them off from the get is a big miss IMO.
I’ve had an e36 M3, e46 M3, e39 M5, Focus RS, JCW Clubman, NB Miata, and an Alfa Romeo GTV. Subjectively, these are all incredibly fun cars to drive. Objectively, my properly setup Mazda 3 was the…

Wax impregnated clearcoat and/or some sort of finish which allows for easier cleaning of a car. There is a redwood near my driveway which leaves little red splotches on all my cars...they require a whole lotta elbow grease to get them to come off.

In 1997 my dad (a pool cleaner) traded in his trusty 1983 Nissan Pickup for a brand new Dodge Dakota. That thing was an absolute wreck, the horrible build quality surpassed only by the trash service from the dealership. I swear, I remember the inside of that dealer’s waiting room better than I remember my own bedroom…

36 year old here, so not quite young, but under the 40 year old mark mentioned.
Personally, I am doing everything I can to avoid a Chinese car. I’ve done a lot of business in China and while I love most all of the Chinese people I know, I hate the Chinese government. And with how entwined government is with business,…

There’s a few vehicles where I mainly regret WHEN I sold them...like my 2015 F250 Diesel Lariat 4x4 with 25k miles...right before values went insane and I could have sold it for another 10-15k.
But the car I probably miss the most is either my e39 M5 or my 2004 Mazda 3 (hatchback with the 2.3 and a 5 speed). I’d…

Oh hiiiii! Thank you for your service! :) Give some huggies to Art and co from Chris

Biased, but I’m going to go with Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley, CA. Birthplace of Radwood (shoutout to the Driving While Awesome! folks), home to Canepa (RIP to their cars and coffee though), and while I hate to say it, enough money around that you find some pretty cool cars.
- Enjoy cruising? Check out woodies on the wharf…

What? Big cities have enough automotive enthusiasts for any tastes that you can find essentially any kind of sub-culture you’re interested in. I’m not saying that small towns don’t also have car culture but saying cycling infrastructure inhibits car culture is just wild.

Spot on. We do most of our camping out in the Sierras, most of which involves moderate off-roading at some point. We have a Four Wheel Camper pop-up camper on my 2018 GMC Sierra (a 1994 FWC that’s still going strong!) that allows for some really fun, really remote camping. I have no doubt a Prius COULD get there, but…

Having had a cable snap at an inopportune parking location on my 1972 GTV and then ultimately having the bracket for it rust away, I have to disagree with this one. I suppose failure is also a possibility on the electronic ones, but the cable actuated ones are far from perfect.

Exactly what I came here to say. Every dang time I had to do anything on my e36 M3, e39 M5, and now e46 M3 I know some brittle plastic part is going to break and I’ll need to get it ordered.

This is the saddest question because the answer I have to give isn’t particularly fun, but probably a new F250 crew cab with 4wd and the short bed. It has all the technology I will ever need, it will allow me to do all of the projects that come up at my house/property, and while I will REALLY miss the fun of driving a…

Uh, isn’t the Mazda 5 just a mini minivan? My 2004 Mazda 3 remains one of my favorite handling cars of all time.

Having owned a few really good front-wheel drive hatchbacks, I was shocked at how horrible the handling was on the A3 even with the S-Line package. My 2004 Mazda 3 with Mazdaspeed suspsension and hotchkis sway bars was admittedly not stock, but it was one of the best handling cars I’ve driven to this day. My bone…

I mean...personally I certainly wouldn’t mind if these tariffs could slow the mass-consumerism around things like “cheap fashion.” I don’t think all Chinese-made products are bad, but I do think many of them are artificially cheap, made so off the backs of factory workers toiling in cruddy conditions. And the amount…

It’s gotta be Westfalia camper interiors on a VW Type-II right?