In 2012, I went searching for a fun to drive yet reasonably practical, reliable and fuel efficient car for my daily 80+ mile round trip commute in a place with a lot of weather. After trying out a lot of cars, including the entry level luxury standards, I bought the least expensive car I tested, a Mazda 3 (with a…

When I saw the ad I had hope in the first few seconds, as I remember the Acura ad when a couple were going to look at a house on top of a mountain and, when they get there, the guy looks at the winding road and says “we’ll take it.” It was ridiculous, too, but it was at least amusing. But as I saw the rest of the as I…

I’d go with British Racing Green. Because I think it’d look great and to see how many people say, “Nice Jag” or “Nice Aston.”

I’ve wanted to drive there for quite some time but recently put it out of mind after seeing some videos of how crowded and crazy it could be (and even barring injury how much it could cost if you mess up), and now I read this. Maybe next June I’ll see if I can get both attending Le Mans and a drive around the…

I had an ‘89 Nissan Pulsar but never got the optional sportback, just the regular hatch which I never removed. It was the first car (of only two) I bought new. I used my first steady job money for it, there was a girl involved in the selection, I paid too much for it especially as I drove 120 miles a day at the time.…

I took a look at sold listings in my area and saw a few contenders, most of which had some questionable issues and descriptions. This car’s description seems a little too good to be true (and the seller hasn’t gotten feedback), nor would it work for a family trip. However, for $5,600 you and a friend/significant other…

While the customer service stories are impressive, as someone considering an Audi at some point I’m disturbed that a 2011 S4 needed $7K worth of repair. Maybe I’ll stick to Mazdas and older Hondas.

I think I’m fortunate to live near the main Classic “campus” and have always got great service from them. I bought my Mazda there and helped my parents by their Toyota there. It was a nice surprise after the experience from some other dealers, especially another large chain.

The track outline can be cool. This is from the Mazda/Leguna Seca site.

This was my first thought, as well, as I owned a '92 Sentra, had friends with CRXs and had planned to get an Integra. The late 80s early 90s were great for affordable, fairly unassuming, absurdly reliable and utterly fun cars. Of course, that's probably part of the reason there are so few that haven't been thrashed…

With this information I'm astounded that I was able to get an MA in English Literature or remain employed as an editor, all while driving fun cars with manual transmissions. The car I had in grad school was even a charcoal-hued coupe. If I wake some morning and fail to remember the difference between a gerund and a…

Also my first thought. Just looked at WRXs on Carmax. To make it more outrageous about every used WRX has been driven hard because it's about impossible not to. I was once at a preview day for a dealer off lease auction. The dealers were taking turns hooning the WRX around the massive lot.

Oh, and while this doesn't rise to near the level of those ads, this Acura ILS promo really gets me in some dark, twisted way. Mostly it's the background music coupled with the way that guy says, "Yeah, Jammin!'" Some people just shouldn't say "jammin'."

These are all great, in that by "great" I mean "so awful I can't look away," but the Renault ad is special. I mean, how many car ads have featured mimes? (That's rhetorical as I don't want to know if there are more). But mines! How did the idea meeting go when that came up. "We have the dancing, we have the music,…

A lot of great articles, but my favorite has to be, "How A $500 Craigslist Car Beat $400K Rally Racers."

The linked Times article has some detail. I first heard about these on a news program, but I've forgotten which.

How about some down to the basics coolness? The US Marines have Kawasaki KLR650 dual sports that run on diesel. NY Times article

OK, I never knew this existed. Even though I knew of "Eat My Dust," another movie starring Ron Howard as a kid who steals a race car, picks up a girl and is chased by the police and even the other race car drivers throughout the movie. (Edit - Nevermind. I just saw it is in the Worst Car Movies list, and deservedly.…

Another not unheard of but under appreciated movie, especially for people born well after it was made, is Grand Prix. This quote has stuck with me: "I think if any of us imagined - really imagined - what it would be like to go into a tree at 150 miles per hour we would probably never get into the cars at all, none…

I'm flattered my nomination made it to the list, but this is the scene of which I was thinking.