Lord of Light by Zelazny has finally overtaken Hitchhiker's Guide for me, at about a dozen read-throughs.

Go read the article linked to by emilminty. It's a humor piece by P. J. O'Rourke. (Emphasis on humor.)

Yeah, we saw some of the tallest trees in Iceland in 2004... and they weren't much taller than what North Americans consider a shrub.

We went there in 2004 for 9 days. Started in Reykjavik, drove about 75% of the ring road (skipped the NW peninsula). Skogafoss was my favorite of the falls to visit, in part because it was about the best single day ever: superjeep trip up to the ice cap, went snowmobiling up there in mid-August, back down to visit the…

Wow, company name & phone? Given the grammatical issues, I had assumed "Steve" was 11 years old and in a hurry.

Skogafoss, right? Beautiful spot.

Thanks for the link, I hadn't read that in years. I recall when published in C&D that it had some very enlightening diagrams too, such as weight distribution in trucks when unladen (100%F/0%R) and fully loaded (0%F/100%R).

While they can be a nightmare if the electrical issues are widespread, a "no spark" issue is sometimes laughably easy to fix: replacement of just 2 position sensors and a DME (overcomplicated fuel-pump & spark relay) is a common fix for this.

The Lemons team found the car, then offered it for sale to try to give the world a chance to save this rare car. Nobody bit at $2500. Nobody came close. So they raced it instead.

Exactly. I don't want a manual for speed, I want it for entertainment. I know the microprocessors can shift faster than my clutch leg, but I don't care. To throw together an analogy, a snowmobile would get me around faster on snow than my legs, but I bought a lift ticket & a snowboard anyway, not a Ski-Doo.

Candlepin is one thing I really miss since moving away from Boston. :(

I had a similar experience showing up to take my test in Mom's 1985 Jetta. Didn't even get to start the car because her registration sticker was expired. I continued to cadge rides from friends for 4 more months before returning to do the test.

I guesstimated it at 3", didn't realize it was a full 5" of space to gain. I have been tempted to do the same, but since we also have a pickup the Focus doesn't have to do "pack mule" duties very often. Did you have to grab any kind of filler panels from another model Focus to get a flat floor?

Try them both and get whichever you like. I haven't driven Fiesta ST but we have a Focus ST and a 9-month-old son. The Focus ST's almost-full-size spare kills some of the cargo advantage that it should theoretically have (trunk floor is a good 2-3 inches higher than in lesser-spec Foci). So buy the car you like and…

They've posted up video to Facebook — Dave (caddywrecker) was trailing it to the tech inspection while wearing a dino mask.

Ah, thanks, ours is a 7.3. I suppose it's quieter than sitting in a Lexus that is in a hailstorm while driving over cobblestones, but that's still debatable.

I would like to know how the NVH of the diesel is in the new truck. Our older PowerStroke truck is great but the "wanna-be big-rig" clatter gets quite annoying after a while.

We were at that race, in the paddock spot just out of frame to the left of that— and since we had just acquired a 944, we watched them do this with more than typical attention. It took them about 7 hours including some parts runs and a pause for dinner.

That's my car in the pic. I can see the logic of "service position" (worst euphemism since "rightsizing" IMO) for major work— it honestly wasn't that tough to get the schnozz off even though I'd never done it before— but it could still be better, and having to achieve service position for just a belt replacement is…

Fun read... one minor correction. The architect is Frank Gehry (not Ghery). #corrections