Wifey bought a bare-bones 2011 Patriot (new). The crank windows, I can live with, but the manual door locks are a PITA! Especially the back doors. The locks are those skinny ones you can barely grip, and pulling the door handle does not pop them open.

Steve, your articles are always enlightening. I always come away with something newly-learned. My friend, the mechanic, has run into circumstances which are sometimes legitimate claims, and sometimes BS. I wonder how he protects himself from the scammers, myself. He's told me stories of his guys backing into stuff…

I've never seen Mad Men, but I can only imagine the kind of harassment- sexual and otherwise, that went on back in the 50's, 60's and forward. I suspect in some workplaces, even now, there are those that still get away with it, but it must have been rampant back then.

Now I have two reasons to say "Go Captain Pussy!" Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

I could watch planes all day long.

Passenger: Uh stewardess. The wing is on fire!

Yeah, going to the park and driving on the grass is off-roading to some. Wonder if it had AWD?

She hadn't had time to give it a name...

Pine straw and twigs stuck in the skid plates might do it...

The first time around, the mayor and governor were all about being ready. I left Roswell at 12:45 and it took 3 hours to make it 27 miles home. Second time, they were better prepared, but I was traveling, and the boss told me to stay where I was for a few days.

Wait! Don't forget Panoz. I used to drive past it every day. Admittedly, it's in Braselton, or Hoschton, but that's splitting hairs.

Yes, Porsche was building that new place with the race track by the airport. There was some hubbub about naming the road after a Nazi, and rules prohibited naming it after the company. Atlanta eventually relented and allowed naming it after the company.

Yeh, it's supposed to get near 0 in the next couple of days. Can't wait.

I've never understood the attraction, myself. But then, Honda has this rep they've been riding since the late 80's, and people fail to note the luster is wearing off. My friend buys Hondas almost exclusively, between Odysseys (hers) and Pilots (his), which are built off the same platform.

That Volvo concept smacks of an updated version of Roger Moore's P1800 in The Saint. But it needs vent windows up front.

Looks so BMW-ish. I don't dislike it. It looks light and thrashable. Back in the day, I didn't much care for the boxy BMW designs, but I hated the wheel well overhang on most American cars. The tires on this car sit right on the edge of the wheel wells, where they belong.

"Added lightness" is an oxymoron. Unless you are adding helium or hydrogen. Otherwise, it stands to reason, adding something will make it bigger, heavier, louder, etc. Can we just say "weight reduction?"

Hmmf...1. Don't sleep at the wheel. 2. If you must sleep and crash, maybe you should try to steer with both hands. 3. Seat belts save lives. 4. Do not sleep at the wheel.

Outstanding. This is definitely an option for me. Looks great, plus, I love the way the back window works with the gate. Great, great product. Maybe I'll just get the strip version with soft tip and "build" my own.

Hard to argue with the CTS-V. I'd really love to see BMW and the rest toppled by a domestic car, even if it has to be GM.