“I ask to take it to a mechanic just to check it out. Guy says he doesn’t want to do that, even though California law says you must ”

You can absolutely still negotiate with a custom order. If the dealer wants your business, they’ll negotiate. It’s actually easier for them as generally you take delivery immediately, they never have to carry it as inventory, so it costs them less. You do have to wait, though.

“Here’s another question I keep getting: do I plan to modify it? The answer is no, no, no, no, and more no. I love my cars to be as original as possible“

The article does a good with with it; however, your statement “the red allows you to see details better, but is more harmful to night vision, while a blue-green will harm your night vision less but will not allow you to see in as much detail. ” is a gross misunderstanding and simply wrong.

FYI, 1976 is the cut-off year for SMOG cert, so you want a 1975 or older model year.

... and paid for with money that was already subject to income tax!

Ohhh...

I got invited to the Porsche World Roadshow last fall and got (limited) track time in the Boxster GTS, Cayman GTS and 911 Targa 4S. For a similar price, I’d definitely take a nicely equipped Boxster or Cayman over most 911s, as I preferred the balance of the ‘lowly’ ME-RWD Porsches over the RE-AWD. Unless there’s a…

No Avant either? Thread fail

agreed... my first thought was it looks like an Audi TT with a body kit.

"If you're looking for a track-focused sports car that's significantly lighter and cheaper than aPorsche 911 GT3 RS, but faster than a Cayman GT4, you can get a single-seater BAC Mono, a nice Radical, the even-crazier-than-last-year Ariel Atom, a brand new Zenos E10 or whatever Caterham is cooking up at the moment,…

Came here to post Le Petite Ecolier

"Do you risk crossing the yellow line and face potential oncoming traffic, or venture off road and watch the wheel of your Ariel Atom slip dangerously close to plunging off a cliff?"

"there will be a percentage of them that prefer things like manual transmissions and hydraulic unpowered steering racks."

Well, my wife and I were in the same situation, but it didn't suck... we just had to special order. Sure it takes patience (you have to wait for it) but we got just what we wanted... a LeMans Blue 135i with a 6 speed and the M-sport package, but NO tech package (NAV screen, etc...) or most of the other bells and…

Or just go to http://www.teslamotors.com/

You clearly don't understand the business concept of overhead. The labor rate pays for the shop, tools, etc... all the things that aren't covered by a line item on the invoice, not just the technician's time. Also, most shops use a flat 'book' rate, so you usually are paying a set rate, just expressed as the nominal…

Actually, ironically, the anti-vaccine movement is strongly correlated with income. Antivaxers are much more likely to be driving a new Benz/Beemer/Audi than a poorly maintained beater.

We, the enthusiasts, demand it.

Agreed totally... My wife and I have 2 sports cars and an A4 Avant Quattro 6MT (our 'SUV'). It does everything we need it to than an SUV can... and it drives like a German Sports Sedan. Bikes/skis on the roof... check. Drive to Mammoth Mountain in a blizzard... check. Home Depot runs... check. Poor fuel economy and…