I nominate a Mazda B-Series / Ford Ranger and here is why:

I'm looking forward to electroluminescent paint going mainstream. It is all our TRON dreams come true.

It's all part of the greater Texas Urban Triangle. With major freeways connecting Houston to Dallas/Ft. Worth (I-45) to Austin and San Antonio (I-35) back to Houston (I-10), it is expected that this will be one continuous belt of development by 2050. They expect it to be home to 38 million people.

I would add trip-taker to that list. We made several minivan rentals to take long trips before buying an SUV. What we learned in the two years of SUV ownership is that Minivan trumps SUV in almost every aspect of kid/stuff hauling.

Sorry. I didn't see your response to my post. They do have the capability to query by age, but I didn't take the time to run the numbers.

I'm convinced small cars are at least as safe as SUV's and trucks.

It's all fun and games until you are 2,000 miles out and need to take a leak. Oh, wait, the range is only 1,500 miles. You will have a chance to take a leak at the first fuel stop.

"Counter counterpoint: Buy one of these"

I like this one better.

Those "truck cargo net" bungie-cord deals you can get at Wal-Mart are, sadly, pretty useless.

Something smells fishy around here.

You should also think about what kind of car you are buying when making the new/used decision. Take, for example, the "lightly used" 6-month-old WRX I test drove - I discovered it was full of modifications such as a COBB tuner, aftermarket blow-off valve, after-market exhaust, etc. My guess was that it wasn't as…

Everyone should use this handy reference when needing to refer to the parts of a bicycle frame:

If you are fascinated by distance flights, you should look into the guys breaking distance records in hang gliders. They are starting in Zapata, TX and following the cloud streets to the northwest. Cloud streets are cumulus clouds that form up in lines from the thermal activity below. The record so far is ~475 miles.

I wish someone would model this so I could drive it....

The proportions remind me of the Funline Muscle Machines. Here's the most Jalopnik of them all:

Mazda B-series pickups

Not exactly a car, but one FANTASTIC record-breaking trike:

Definitely NOT a daisy-chain. The relative positions between the cameraman's glider and the one in front of him proves that.

And this is EXACTLY why hovercraft will never be used as a daily driver. Friction is required if you want to make a reasonably precise turn.