I agree, they can program all these algorithms in automatic transmissions that provide a best case in testing conditions at steady state speeds, but you can’t completely take the human element out due to different driving styles. Also, no one wants manual suvs so that's just a net gain to the automakers. 

In all fairness, I’m a black male and my parents were already worried enough about me driving home from Alabama, let alone driving up there and doubling the opportunity for L.E. Interactions while driving a car with temporary tags. 

I did the same. Live in Texas and bought my car in Alabama. Flew there for about $200 and drove it home. Saved about $5K over local market prices.

I have to give kudos to the driver and to Mazda. The driver for managing not to flip the car, and Mazda for focusing so intensely on handling in all their vehicles which likely made it easier for the driver not to over-correct and flip the vehicle.

Taller body almost definitely coincides with a higher center of gravity which means diminished handling.

“Had this just been a Sentra, it would’ve been fine. But Nissan just had to go and toss that NISMO badge into the mix, huh?”

Alternate take, I own a 2017 model and it’s a manual transmission. Still gets good fuel economy though. Much better than the 2015 non-Nismo, cvt equipped Sentra I had before it. 188 hp, 177 lb-ft of torque from a 1.6 liter turbo that has been around since at least 2011 so it has been well worked out in the meantime.…

And GM fronts up to $1200 to install a charger. 

“Though I still own about 60 TDK SA-C90 cassette tapes that I recorded records onto. They’ll probably end up at Goodwill as I don’t even own a cassette player anymore and can’t digitize them.”

Probably their phone... 

Well, all that to say, I've yet to have a bad claim experience with them. 

“I just hope I never need to make a claim, I am under no illusions about what a delight that would probably be with Progressive.”

It was a cartoon back in the day too. 

Once trucks and SUVs started outselling cars that’s the point the safety standards carve-out should have been removed. Cars bumper heights have gotten higher to protect pedestrians, but trucks have gone so high and have so much mass they are more fatal. And now that they outnumber cars in sales...the regulations need…

Those are definitely in the minority compared to trucks and SUVs though. Almost to the point they are the exception rather than the rule. 

Can't say I've ever had a problem with tinted windows either now trucks and SUVs that are 6-7 ft tall, stock, it is the very reason I hate when a truck or suv pulls in front of me. I can no longer see and anticipate what is going on other than the square mass directly in front of me. 

You know what’s funny? Those damn “light” truck laws that allow shitty, poorly fitting wheel and tire combinations on trucks and SUVs that stick out psst the fenders while for cars, the laws are very clear in that wheels can’t stick out past the fenders. These crazy offsets with the wheel pushed out just puts more…

Wow! The spare tire sharing space with the turbo? I bet the spare was useless from heat cycling after a few thousand miles. That's a cool looking engine bay otherwise. 

I think it would have been helpful if the author was able to provide the acceleration times in eco mode so we could relatively understand why it’s a problem. I agree with you that those times you posted were perfectly adequate and undoubtedly, people still drive some of those cars. However, in the years those cars…

Ideally, if a EV drive train including battery pack was at parity with ICE engine weight+full fuel tank, I’d be perfectly fine with it. Cars have oy gotten heavier over the years. Used to drive a ‘91 Sentra that weighed just over 2400 lbs. Then an ‘03 that weighed about 2800 lbs. My current ‘17 Sentra weighs about…