Great article! And I'm relieved; Before I clicked I was a little concerned that Doug had already broken the crank in his GT-R.

The pull cable is in a sort of pocket on the door panel; you can grab around the pocket and pull the door shut.

So much irony in a weight-saving pull-strap cupholder :D

It's not as bad as it would seem; it's a dry sump system so most of the action takes place on top of the engine rather than underneath.

If I recall correctly, the California was actually the last Ferrari to be offered with a manual transmission.

Tennessee is pretty weird too. We have no rolling exemption - 1975 and newer must be smogged, meaning my '75 VW Bus which would be exempt in CA has to be smogged here. However, only a handful of counties require it, so move 10 miles away and you never have inspection, smog, or anything on even a brand new car.

I think if the axis really won the war, the poor and middle class would drive Japanese cars, and the wealthy would drive German cars.

I went on the internet, and found this.

Ok, so I suggested an Integrale, but the very minor disappointment of a Skyline over the Lancia is more than made up for by the two car plot twist!

I have a fondness for these cars, and if I were going to spend 15-20k on a car (as opposed to my usual 0.5-1k) this would be at the top of my list. Having seen the engine bays in person, they are actually very uncluttered and look easy to work on once the plastic shrouding is removed.

I don't envy you having to pick between Gandini and Giugiaro! But I agree; Gandini has many breathtaking designs, but his greatest influence is all but limited to the late 60's- early 80's. Giugiaro 's influence extends much further, both in terms of time and prolificity.

Looks to me like a Ferrari 456 and a Ferrari 456 mated.

Dibs on the Amilcar Biplace Sport. I'll take the Singer while I'm at it too!

Good list, but the REAL biggest disappointment of 2014 was when the front giubo on my Alfa Milano exploded on the way to Cars & Coffee.

This is a perfect example of "The Supercar Replica Dilemna." As the quality of the replica approaches acceptable standards, the price of the car approaches a value that would buy a nice 308/328/348/355/Esprit/Other real supercar. And since a real supercar is always better than a replica supercar, I'm out.

My Porsche 912, because it means I will have successfully restored a car that sat in a barn ten years longer than I've been alive.

This is sort of what I assumed would happen since we heard that Fiat was getting the Miata-based car. The Fiat will probably be slightly more expensive than the Miata, and the Alfa will come in a little under the Z4 and Boxster. I think it's a lot smarter than trying to justify a large price premium for a Miata-based…

I am not familiar with the door handle mechanism on new Mazdas, but I frequently play a game when I have passengers in my Alfa Milano called "Try to Get Out of the Car." The record is 26 seconds, with several giving up after two or three minutes.

I think it's even more annoying with Maserati:

He can also find you a V10 BMW for the price of an STi, and a Ferrari for the price of a BMW. By the Tavarish law of induction, go out and get yourself a Ferrari for the price of a Nissan Versa!