2022 VW GTI: $29500-38000 USD, 31500-39000 CAN (manuals)

The first SE-R was a delight. It's been pretty sad ever since. 

The Mazda-based Escort GT was sneaky good. The original Gen 1 Squirt was just a blackout trim and rim upgrade, but after a few years it meant you got a HO engine and better suspension. The 1988 rework actually looked really cool, but wasn't a particularly good drive. The Gen 2 was a sweetheart. Gen 3 looked like a…

This was such a fun car to drive, especially when you compared it to its rivals at the time. If you had an SE Max with a stick back then, you were someone who knew what they had. 

The scary thing was, this passed for an actual performance upgrade in the mid 70s.

This is actually weirdly brilliant. But I'm a bit odd myself, so YMMV. 

Exactly. It had 285hp, 19s, and an LSD. The problem lied with the actual car itself, not the badge. The SRT version was the only Caliber worth driving. 

The hilarious thing about that R/T version was how they were trying to market it as the "Man Van". And it wasn't that long ago, either. I doubt that rep got the corner office afterwards.

My dad had two of these. He loved them. They stopped building them so now he drives a Telluride. 

You’re not wrong. These guys now play to caricature, and it’s almost painful. The last one was borderline unwatchable. That said, I’ll check it out. The pandemic may have forced them to dial back the bombast. The trio are a shell of their former selves (who among us...), but it could still be 75 minutes of dumb fun,…

I didn’t say it was good, did I? I said it exists. It’s woefully inadequate, but it’s not 8 stations nationally. My friend drove her Tesla across the country with minimal fuss. And if you look at PetroCanada’s website you’ll see the charge points spread along the Trans-Canada, even here in Northern Ontario. It's not…

You are forgiven. Although the first round is on you the next time you come visit, Bahd. 

Especially outside of the big cities where most Canadians live. Up here it’s big trucks and long travel distances city to city. Range and cold weather performance are massive issues.

We have next to no hydrogen infrastructure. Eight filling stations nationwide in fact. At least we have a bit of a coast-to-coast charging network for the few BEVs we do have.

Who besides you thinks our geographical size has any significance to this announcement? You’re the only one who brought it up. It does however play a giant role in this plan. If you knew anything beyond your favourite Canadian cliches, you’d understand the giant infrastructure challenges this presents. There are vast…

Jalopnik: In Praise of Shitboxes

Have you checked out Throttle House? Two Canadian guys. They’re sharp and funny.