The other impact is the reduction of the Esses without turns 6-9. From what I've seen on TV the Aussie V8s are quite entertaining to watch as they rocket through turns like that.

The majority of our Lemons team (Tetanus Racing) will be there too— about 1/2 of us in Turn 15.

And don't forget the lucrative Sony PlayStation sponsorship. I'm sure that if you ask nicely (and in French) the folks at Sony will send a few Playstation 1s to Shelton for you to use as wheel chocks.

Banner year for me. I did 10 races in 2011 (8 Lemons, and 2 ChumpCar), so I got to drive 7 different cars at race speed, on 6 different tracks. Amazing diversity: LHD, RHD, and center seating positions; FWD, mid-engine RWD, front-engine RWD, front-engine/rear-transaxle RWD. Got a few trophies to boot, I was part of…

Banner year for me. I did 10 races in 2011 (8 Lemons, and 2 ChumpCar), so I got to drive 7 different cars at race speed, on 6 different tracks. Amazing diversity: LHD, RHD, and center seating positions; FWD, mid-engine RWD, front-engine RWD, front-engine/rear-transaxle RWD. Got a few trophies to boot, I was part of…

This year's season-ender for 24 Hours of Lemons is up in Decatur, December 17th & 18th, at Eagles Canyon. It's a great track for spectators because there's a hill from which you can see a good portion of the course. Hit the Lemons forum on their website to find a team that wants a crew member ("Human Resources"…

Agreed! We better not end up in a bidding war or the depreciation factor won't be there.

I most certainly will be watching. Now that they've found their own voice and are willing to not always copy TGUK down to the finest detail, the show is really entertaining and is improving every time I watch. Some weeks I look forward to the US version more than the UK! (I know, I will now be denounced as a heretic,…

I agree. I would love for manufacturers to supply nothing but an amp with an Aux-in, and antenna cables leading to a GPS/AM/FM antenna array. Also power from 12V and USB plugs.

Except the dealer is in TX, not CA. Still, I'm quite certain they behaved the same way— stopped reading and deleted.

Not suicide doors but sliding ones. It was sold as the Stanza Wagon in the US, Multi in Canada, and Prairie in some other markets.

Yes. My wife & I made "the pilgrimage" to Le Mans for the race in 2010, and all gearheads should go do that. Do it soon, don't wait until a nebulous "some year in the future." We said we would do it one day and finally said, "If not now, when? It won't be as fun with arthritis, hearing aids & walkers."

Agreed! McCluggage is a big part of why I still subscribe to AutoWeek. (Though Mouton was the first woman I thought of, honestly.)

My wife & I met the Robertsons on the grid at Petit Le Mans last year, and yes, they do seem like great people in person too. Andrea chatted with us for quite a while. We were delighted to see them get the podium spot.

#corrections - taught != taut

Disappointing indeed. I drove the older C-Max for a week in France with the diesel and found it great. I don't think the newer vehicle will have similarly good handling with the addition of a battery pack. I wish they'd give us the choice: hybrids for folks who do stop-n-go, diesels for those who long-haul.

Wonderful COTD! You had me laughing... and wishing I spoke Italian.

Agreed! The KV is what I intended to post as an answer— thanks for doing the heavy lifting of getting an image by Nibbles!

I agree— I've always thought an Mi-16 would be a cool car to have but this one is just not in a condition worthy of that price.

Our neighbor is tied into both the local scooter scene and the local arts community, so when someone wanted to do a mods/rockers photo shoot it was a natural outcome. It's a little creepy to do that image search and see how many different blogs and websites have misappropriated the photog's work as if it were their…