I'm familiar with how CA manages registration of specially constructed/kit cars (the SB100 process), as I'm building one. Every state is different, and I assume this would be the case for imports, as well.

I agree, but the first step is to keep people from squatting in the left/fast/passing lane.

Most of the aluminum chassis panels on the 818 get covered up and they're very light; little advantage to replacing them with CF except for aesthetics in the interior if you don't carpet. The fiberglass body panels, however... I'd love to replace with CF!

Just go for it! I starting my build and donor tear-down at a friends garage, when I was in a condo and didn't have space. Now in a house, the 818 is home in the garage. You don't need a fancy shop with a lift... I've gotten by with basic tools and jackstands. Definitely get the finances settled, though... the budget…

Agree totally... However Mazda was able to circumvent this on the new Miata by having an active hood that pops up in case of pedestrian impact, providing a crumple zone. Why didn't any of the big Germans figure this out instead of turning all their front ends into whale sharks?

Someone knows the 818! Are you on FFForum?

Not driven yet, but I have run the cables, and converting the tranny to RWD, and can shift, so I know what it feels like.. The Fuel tank is behind the seats (I used a smaller Boyd Welding custom made for the 818). The firewall has been fit, but it's not installed in that photo.

No Honda here... It is a K-tuned shifter (designed for Honda swap), but it's flipped 180 degrees for a mid-engined Factory Five 818 I'm building (2006 WRX motor)

I'm happy with my shifter... no shame here!

Yeah, but for those of us who like to live life more than a quarter mile at a time (and actually downshift) pretty much any other transmission will put this one trick pony to shame.

In a properly functioning modern Quattro with a Torsen center diff and the Electronic Differential Lock will kick in and one wheel will propel the vehicle even if 3 have no traction.Perhaps the BMW marketing guy pressed ESP allowing the wheels to spin? Naw, that would never happen!

Yeah, I also came here to contrast a good AWD system!

9/10. I could have sworn that was a Pulsar.

"but who, I ask, WHO, has ever done 155 in a Chevy Malibu?????? "

It just seems so effing pointless to detain this father/son for 24 hours over the lack of a useless piece of paper that could be so easily faked by anyone intent on actually smuggling a child internationally. Passports aren't 100%, but getting much more secure; in a digital age a 'travel consent letter signed by both…

just to play Devil's advocate... how would a border patrol official in BFE know a signed consent letter is actually genuine? A piece of paper seems pretty pointless unless the minor's passport is linked to a database in their country of citizenship so permission to travel can be established.

It's quality of construction and the thickness and strength of the materials, not design, that counts. I sheared a crappy 4-way tire iron in two with my bare hands and one foot getting a stuck lug off (no cheater bar). The 4-bar has the advantage of working on all sized lugs with only one part (no sockets to lose),…

My wife drives a 2013 135i vert (stick and M-sport, no nav or idrive). It's not the fact that it's a turbo; it the how they tune the exhaust on the new cars. There is no fake exhaust noise on the her 135i... the exhaust that came with the M-sport package is actually quite aggressive. Nice growl and turbo whistle…

Apple did NOT invent any of the technologies that made them a success (personal computer, digital music player, smartphone); all of these technologies were already happening and would have without Apple. They were simply the first to garner commercial success due a combination of features, interface and industrial…

Hell, try to figure out the displacement of nearly any model that traditionally stuck to a similar naming convention. (I'm looking at you, BMW, MB!).