Ford Fiesta is about equal; Over 4o% of Focus sales are hatchback , and growing.

My take-away was he’s pretty ignorant of how a Tesla actually works; a manual would do nothing to enhance the driving experience, whereas it’s critical with an ICE (IMHO). Like all the others, he’s just enamored with the Apple-esque ‘lifestyle brand’ status symbol.

some sense? I’m a die-hard manual driver, but tell me why you would need a stick in a car with ONLY ONE FORWARD GEAR?

Not my misdiagnosis, but I was almost reamed as a result: Decades ago, my GTI 16V was bucking under acceleration. (Note: the car had a Bosch KE-Jetronic system, which was basically a mechanical fuel injection with an electronic piggyback for the O2 and other sensors... a pain to diagnose compared to modern digital…

This happened to my friend and me in high school (mid-80's). We were out on a Friday night doing burn-outs in his dad’s old Chevy Sport Van... only the u joint didn’t give out until we were at speed:

“Technically it’s a leaning quad, because there’s four tires at each end”

If it’s George’s wife’s sibling and their spouse, both referred to as in-laws to George without any incest required.

I do it all the time (heel/toe in flip-flops). I live in Olukai sandals most of the time when not at work. I’ll obviously wear something more appropriate for spirited driving, but just running around town I’ve never had any problems.

I heel/toe in flip-flops!

“Please stuff me into a 914.”

This aired on Fifth Gear, not Top Gear. To use your own snarky words:Have you been living under a rock the last decade to not realize they are different shows?

boats =/= cars!

“Dream Car Week... The other cars up for grabs this week are a Mercedes 550 4Matic Coupe, a Tesla Model S, a Porsche Panamera, a Maserati Quattroporte, and a BMW 320i available on a Big Wheel spin.”

But current OBDII SMOG checks are more than a scan. Although there is no tailpipe sniffer, a visual inspection is required to verify all emission components are in place. Unless one goes to the trouble to fabricate a test pipe to look like an OEM cat, you will fail the visual.

I don’t mourn the death of the sedan as I’m a gear-head who’s never owned one (4 door that is), and don’t think I ever will. I don’t equate ‘car’ to sedan but I do mourn the trend to *UVs (SUV/CUV/whatever).

“GM, which has built the car for the past 30 years, won the contract again, and it’s expected to go into service in 2017.”

No. A sway bar resists uneven suspension compression (body roll). The ‘auto-poise control’ appears function similarly (it’s described as a torsion spring) but instead of resisting body roll by being connected to the suspension with vertical linkages, it resists steering de-center by being connected to the spindles…

“This Mazda RX-7 is the most beautiful Japanese car ever made.”

Ditto... drove to work today an A4 Avant 6MT Quattro we bought new. 10+ years later still a great car.

Most states have allowances for replicas that don’t have to meet current emissions. Since you mention SMOG check, I assume you’re in CA. Thanks to SB100, this car would not need EFI or cats to be street legal in CA.