Regarding the GMC Sierra comparison... Wouldn't it make sense to buy an existing cab structure from an established truck manufacturer because of the crash testing that’s already gone into it?

Oh, I love that little thing. Tried to find one a while back but, uh, not a fruitful endeavor

They don’t have anything larger than a 2.5l four right now. It’s the same dev cost as doing a V6 (likely slightly less, actually, since there’s tons of stuff from their existing architecture they could reuse) but smoother -which is better for upmarket sales- and their design language means their cars have a longer…

And I said I wanted them to adapt the 1.5 Skyactiv engine into a 3-ish liter V8 because “fuck yeah, small displacement V8" and..... No other reasons. It’d just be cool as hell.

My first thought here.

Those stains? Yeah.

Couple years back, I spitballed swapping one of these into a TR6 or something.

The previous version was designed to rev to exactly nothing and make like 85% of peak torque basically off idle, so I’d imagine they did something similar here.

Anger and frustration, followed by an alcohol-fueled depressive episode probably isn’t what they’re going for, tho

Yeah, I highly doubt they’d even have a guy left to make that choo-choo noise for the car after the first snap. Probably for the best, really.

Yeah, except the stock engine is already 180° firing order (albeit a V6). I mean, the actual firing order is 1-2-3-4-5-6.

On my old RX8, you had to remove the driver’s front wheel to get to those hilariously expensive spark plugs.

I used to run detail for a limo/transport service (and, shortly after took over managing the whole fleet when I got some help) and my pro tip for drivers when they were in a hurry at night and needed a sweep ASAP was to just grab one of the electric leaf blowers, open up every door, and let ‘er rip.

I can't say I've had the displeasure of even seeing one one on a rental lot

It's always a Nissan Rogue

I’d rock it. Probably.

Lotus Elan?

The outgoing model is something that can only be described as a punishing cavern of sadness meant for only the lowest of rental fleets. It’s the car you buy when you literally test drove nothing else.

I get those every time I renew the registration on my daily driver. My daily is a Crown Vic that’s driven the distance between Earth and the moon, so if they so want to actually give me a warranty, I’m all ears.

The 3rd gen Smart (2nd gen was the first available in North America) was an actual manual, tho, I think?