That wasn't name dropping. That was paid product placement. Companies pay the studio to have their parts showcased in the films.

Go back and watch the early episodes of Top Gear. That chemistry developed over time, it was not there from the start.

The A4 looks like an uninspired Impala. And the Impala is probably more reliable.

This list includes several songs that were hits in the UK, but not the US.

I agree that the product needs to be better marketed, but commercials and sponsorships happen because the company pushing the product wants the value of the star (i.e., the NASCAR drivers you cite above). It’s not the other way around. Huge companies like Coke and Pepsi have zero interest in IRL drivers because they…

Well, you win the inflation argument. Still, you don't buy this car for the same reason you buy a Datsun, or any RWD 5-speed car with zero space. You don't even buy this car because it is fun. You buy it because it is cheap ass comfort and I don't think $2k is a terrible price for that.

Buick was never about performance, though. Yes, I lament the loss of the GN, but to be honest the 86 and 87 model was the only one worth a shit. There were a few earlier performance examples in the past, but for the most part they aspired to be a luxury brand that GM always kept a half step behind Cadillac.

My mother had one of these when I was about 14. Both of my parents worked and I was a latchkey kid. Often my dad would be out of town and mom would take his car and leave the Riviera in the garage while she was at work. During the summer, I would usually call a couple of my buddies in the neighborhood, swing by their…

When did you buy this Datsun? Inflation is a motherfucker.

Interest is forbidden, fees for late payments are not. Further, Qatar's legal system is not entirely based upon sharia, with the exception of a few areas.

Qatar's law is a mixture of civil law and sharia. Financial regulations are not based in sharia law and while the charging of interest is forbidden in Islam, loans and debts are not. Most loans simply charge a flat fee instead of interest.

I wish everyone would just settle the fuck down. We are talking about a goddam television program.

Looks like a well card for, well tuned example. Seeing how a stock version of this car is worth about $8k. I would say this is worth about... $8k.

Car and Driver claimed a 0-60 of 4.6 seconds for the GTA, which beat the doors off of anything made in America (and almost anything out of Italy or Germany).

I am really surprised that these cars haven’t gone up in price. There is a 9300 mile example on eBay right now for $42k. That’s a lot for a Trans Am, but considering they only made around 1500 of them and it cost $31k new, you would think they would at least be beating inflation.

Here’s the thing, though. From my research these cars cost $36,500 new. Adjusted for inflation that car would need to be worth over $70k just to break even. So the owner of this car is already looking at a 50% loss if he gets his asking price (whereas if he had but that same $36k in an S&P500 index fund he would be…

Why would a rational person be pissed off by an option that they are in no way forced to have? I’d say that is actually irrational. While I consider it to be ridiculous to buy an automatic transmission in, say, a new Z06, I'm not going to lose my shit because someone else wants to make that choice.

Mazda actually dropped the “zoom, zoom” motto last year. Now it is “Driving Matters”. What apparently does not matter, sadly, is fun.

That paint scheme “catches the eye” the same way pouring bleach in your orbital socket does.

Yeah, but most people buying a car for $25k will be financing it. Good luck finding a finance company who will give a loan for a rebuilt title . Those companies that will, will give you an interest rate that makes this way, way more than a $25k car.