Yeah, I get that (and the response you got sounds like a load of revisionist history), but all the same, I do wonder if it was a factor and the Italians were just too proud to admit it. I mean, in the end, didn’t Ferrari get bitch-slapped for doing their bar-code not-a-Marlboro-logo thing in F1? If that abstract-ish…

Just a thought: maybe it also has something to do with the more restrictive regulations (and outright bans) on cigarette advertising in certain markets?

And how, pray tell, did you come to the conclusion that Bernie is a communist?

Funny, this exact same thing absolutely bugged the shit out of me when I had my ‘95 Jaaaaaag XJR.

Fallacy. If you refuse to wear a seat belt and are seriously injured as a result of that refusal, then it doesn’t just affect you. Your more serious injuries cause the involved insurance company(s) to pay out a greater amount than would otherwise be the case, causing all other policyholders’ premiums to increase. And…

I know the feeling. I usually have between 4 and 6 cars at the house and there have been times when 3 or more of them are nonfunctional in some way, sometimes minor, sometimes major. There are few things more irritating than having a bunch of cars, none of which work (it’s like the mechanical equivalent of “water,…

My thought, too. But “he also has an even newer 200 as well.” Well geez, that sucks.

Funny that you mention the Festiva. We took one of those in on trade at a dealership I was working at in the mid-’90s. I took it for a spin with one of my buddies, and we played with cycling the A/C while accelerating at near (but not quite) full throttle. We came to the conclusion that turning the A/C off was akin to…

That’s okay. I’m not sure that any of the SUVs on this list are “full size.” I can’t be bothered to look up the measurements of each one, but I don’t think any of them are in the Expedition/Tahoe/Suburban size class, which is what most people who knew even a little bit about trucks would consider “full size.”

Today I learned that a bunch of mid-sized SUVs are apparently actually “full-size” SUVs.

Kind of like the turning of Fortuna’s wheel, I seem to have this cyclical thing where every five years or so, I find myself on the hunt for a big old Mercedes. Last time it was a 280SE 4.5. This time, I’ve been waffling between a W116 and a W126. Found a nice grey-market 500SEL that’s been eating away at me, but now…

Alright, let’s see some time sheets. I was there a week ago and feel like I’ve hit a wall on my times. Not sure if it’s because of the cold track surface or that I just suck. Kinda curious where I would’ve placed had I remembered that this was going on last night.

Wow! Two whole years? You must know everything there is to know, then.

That stretch of Rochester Road is a good one, albeit not nearly long enough. Some nice twisties on Clarkston Road, too, but too much traffic these days. Also, Orion Road (which even gets you a couple of elevation changes, but too bad about the police station). Really, anyplace where there are lakes to go around and…

I have yet to drive in a major city that has “fun” roads (and even the best driving roads in the world are no fun if you’re stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic). What Detroit has is no traffic and relative scarcity of cops. Back in the halcyon days of the early ‘90s, my friends and I used to joke that the only way we’d…

Ragginger looks to be a bit of a menace, tbh. After getting a good start, he is definitely holding up the people behind him, then cuts the course (and in so doing, gains a lot of positions he should have given back but didn’t), arguably re-enters unsafely, and it is no time at all before everyone is caught back up and…

“R” Passat + “no longer gets a manual transmission”+ “unique rocker panels, exhaust tips and front bumper styling”. . . oh, and a “rear diffuser” (non-functional of course)= what a joke. It’s this kind of bland crap that got VW into trouble back in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s.

Excellent, I’m not losing my mind—that is exactly how I remember them. I never saw one in action, either. Interesting idea for cheap energy dissipation, but I would think it was not at all good for handling. Talk about a huge polar moment of inertia!

I could swear I saw Checker cabs with water-filled bumpers when I was a kid (in the ‘70s).

Or, you know, the cars that could not previously do donuts, allegedly due to traction control, can now do donuts because the cheat was refined/modified to allow for post-run “cheat-disproving” donuts. I mean, if the TC exists and can be shut off for inspections (and hey, we already know that VW is good at programming…