Scenario: DCT programming on a hypothetical vehicle allows excessive clutch slip. It is inevitable that under normal driving the clutches will be damaged to the point of the car not becoming driveable before the 100K powertrain warranty is up, say four years from now. Under such a scenario, I am allowed to do…

The portion of the Ford document that the article doesn’t touch on, and is unfortunately the most significant, was the portion that covers exhaust modifications. It says that any exhaust modification, including an average performance muffler, reduces backpressure in a turbocharged car. And, in their view, might cause…

Not doubting your experience but the Volt, at least on paper, wins in most categories. I imagine the Bolt being tall perhaps feeling airy as a result, like the Spark did. But, rubbing elbows with my passenger was irritating.

I leased a Spark EV for three years and I wouldn’t do it again with a Bolt. Even with the increased range the size of the interior is now a deal-killer. Never again will I do Tiny Car Living (tm). Also, living in an apartment, granted, one with a garage, meant I was relegated to 120v charging. If I went on a long trip…

One gives you cancer of the lungs, the other gives you cancer of the soul. Fair trade.

December weather has been pretty bad for much of the country. I doubt many people east of the rockies are buying vehicles.

I got $6700 off of a loaded Veloster - no trade-in shenanigans, just straight off the MSRP. Hyundai is throwing money at their vehicles. Ford is also. 2017 Mustangs are an incredible value with some priced in the $22K-23K range. However, a number of car makers either don’t have to or simply aren’t throwing money yet.…

A thing to consider about gas prices, and the market in general, is that as long as the cheeto-in-chief is pushing corporate tax handouts and regulation cuts (and on and on) those with the kind of cash to move markets will prop us up to keep their gravy train running. If we replace the cheeto with someone corporations…

And then this...

Mazda’s reflex blue is handsome, without being over the top. Ford’s Lightning Blue is deep and rich.

What I need most is a giant map front and center. Here, Audi has nailed it. A digital tach and speedo are certainly needed, however I would like something new: an available power gauge, shown as a percentage. Nowadays both ICE and EVs frequently restrict power output. They are also implementing “overboost” functions,…

I was 11-years old and for some reason I cannot forget this commercial’s tagline. Just watched it for the first time in 30 years annnnnnd yep - that’s it.

About 90% are from Vandenberg, and they do both military and civilian operations. Occasionally they’ll launch one from a submarine and I think I recall a launch from an island off the coast. In addition to the fortuitous timing perhaps another key was the direction of the launch. This seemed mostly southward…

Looking back at it, I’m surprised there was no public notice. There have been some that have chastised people for not knowing what it was, but highly visible launches like this are very infrequent. I’ve got pictures of similar launches from 2005 and 2002 and I think there was one I missed, but on average visually…

Thank you all, and sure. This was taken with a somewhat old Canon 60D DSLR and a first generation Tamron 150-600mm lens I purchased to photograph the eclipse a few months ago. Cheapest long lens and totally worth it for my purposes, see (admitted noisy) photo below! I used a $50 Sony tripod and clumsily hand guided…

Ad-free because ads suck :) , but if Mr. Musk has a Model 3 he wouldn’t mind parting with I’d happily film every twilight SpaceX launch for years. Thanks for the compliments, and enjoy!

I got all those videos beat. I shot it with a 600mm lens from approx. 170 miles ESE. I’m so stoked about the details that are captured. The reddish color initially is the plume in sunset colors, then as it exits sunset in rises up into the sunlight @ 30 seconds I can see the vehicle itself! Would have been a 10 out of…

$20M is a pittance, and a bonus is not the long-term commitment to good paying jobs that Americans need. While it’s good to see American workers reap pay increases let’s keep it real:

I just purchased a new ‘17 and I’m enjoying it very much. My requirements were: price around $20K, automatic trans, sufficient HP, hatchback, 2-doors, sunroof strongly desired. I ended up with a loaded Turbo DCT for ~$21K before TTL (no trade-in). As a 6' guy I’m really happy with the Veloster’s door setup. In my…

If I may interject, I just purchased a Veloster turbo DCT with the same engine and transmission in that car. You’ll probably find the ECU and transmission programming fairly unrefined - lots of surges and hesitation without any corresponding throttle inputs, and the car can be EXTREMELY reluctant to downshift in D…