vbranis's saved articles

They’ve slowly been choked out by SUV. Few exist, but they’re still around. VW Golf wagen is phenomenal, Merc E class has one (gorgeous), Panamera (gross), BMW has/had a 3 and maybe a 5 series wagon, Jag did as well, Audi and of course the stunning Volvo ones. Read more

They are worse in every way vs regular cars, except 1) driving through high water and 2) making you feel a false sense of security because your butt is higher off the ground. Read more

SUV’s

Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator. Never understood the appeal of having one as a DD. Read more

Miata. Does nothing for me. And yes I have driven one on track for hours. Give me POWER.  Putting on hardhat now.

I recommend a set of torx. If you ever need to work on a Saab, people will think you’re a wizard. I swear to god, the average mechanic acts like a torx fastener is some exotic lost technology.

I just bought my first wagon. Read more

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, etc. Read more

It’s like a sedan but more practical without the drawbacks of a crossover. Not a deep concept.

Airplane mechanic checking in here. This is no outside the parameters of normal usage or in this case lack of usage (airplanes in storage). The 5th state bleed air check valve is a spring loaded plunger like check valve who’s purpose is to prevent back flow of 5th stage bleed air from the other bleed systems on the… Read more

It’s almost like unfettered capitalism has major flaws. Deadly ones. Read more

Personally I’d rather stay away from the “exotics” - one of the things about the Bronco’s revival is that it’s not just for the super weatlthy like a Miura or Lancia Stratos would be.

Definitely thought of the Sensonic when I read this article. In particular, I thought of the Top Gear episode where James May was attempting to parallel park a Saab 900 Sensonic on a hill. Carnage and hilarity ensued. I’m assuming Hyundai made some kind of provision to hold the car to start on hills? 

SAAB for sure. They were outside the box and would have been awesome electric. Imagine a new version of the 95 not (the 9-5 mind you) with electric power.

Sure, you CAN get trailer tires that are rated for higher speeds. They won’t come on the trailer, they will DEFINITELY not be on ANY rental trailer, and nobody does. Which leads to the frequent boat/trailer “yard sales” all over the Maine Turnpike every summer. Don’t be a dumbass, and you can use European tow ratings… Read more

We get it. You don’t like trucks. In a little over a month, you have posted three articles implying trucks are terrible. Don’t buy one. Read more

I’m willing to pay for added capability (and niceness), to a point - I have owned a number of rather expensive cars. There isn’t nearly enough added capability here to justify the silly price tag. No matter how you slice it, this is just a hot hatch with a lift kit. Which is just dumb to start with. No car has ever… Read more

A Golf can tow a braked trailer up to 1800Kg - how much more do you need to tow? And having looked at these on the lot - not sure it REALLY has more cargo capacity. The cargo bay is a little longer, but it’s a lot shallower. Read more

So what does this do that a Golf R won’t do for rather less than half price? Other than have a Porsche badge and impress your law practice partners, of course? Is that extra 1.25" or so of ground clearance really going to matter ever? 

Best seats I’ve ever sat in were the 9000 Aero seats, bar none. No Porsche, BMW or Volvo before or after could ever quite match them.