Irrelevant. VMT and population don’t have any correlation, as places in Japan and Europe readily demonstrate.  Density of development and VMT, however, strongly correlate, as densely-developed places don’t require personal automobiles to travel to jobs or shops or other amenities.  The U.S. is not densely developed. …

1st: We’ve known for 200 years that if you massively reduce the cost of transportation, development spreads. So shock and awe, we’ve reduced the costs of automotive transportation with high-mileage vehicles and massive freeway spending and expansion, and sure as stink on shit we’re driving way way more now! This is…

Yeah, because “predicted” reliability is so much better than actual data collected from owners.  Remember, CR is the organization that said the Toyota Matrix was predicted to be reliable but the Pontiac Vibe (which was just a Toyota Matrix with a Pontiac logo in the grille) was predicted to be far below average.  Same…

The early ‘80s were rough for pickups. You had the Chevy/GMC, which would run forever but would dissolve from rust like sugar in water. The Fords looked great and had the better interior, but they were cursed with the variable venturi carbs and no end of trouble. The Dodges were the odd one out, but they’d also run…

A Renault Alliance disintegrating?  The hell you say!

People don’t just dart out and appear from thin air. They’re around, adjacent to the roadway before stepping into it. If there’s a row of parked cars, there’s space beyond the parked cars where people will be visible, giving the clue that the motorist should be alert to them and their movements. If it’s a busy…

Might does not make right. 

If it’s an area with lots of pedestrians, lots of delivery vehicles, lots of parked cars, then 25 is probably too fast for conditions, regardless of what’s posted on the sign. Going 10 over on the freeway doesn’t matter. Going the speed limit on a street like you describe is probably going too fast. Just because the…

Ah yes, the age-old “they just came out of nowhere” nonsense.  If you’re driving that fast along a row of parked cars where there are pedestrians likely to be present, you’re driving too fast for conditions.  That’s on you. 

So, for all the comments about cyclists and pedestrians not obeying the rules of the road bla bla blah: How is it that everyone’s keen to harp on that, yet no one bats an eye at motorists rolling through Stop signs or barely slowing down as they turn right on red? How about that speeding at 10 over on neighborhood…

“I’m not going to exercise the due care and caution I’m supposed to while motoring.”  

The driver of said larger mass is duty- and legally-bound to keep full control of the vehicle.  If you’re so bad at driving that you can’t avoid a slow-moving pedestrian or cyclist, that’s on you and you’re not fit to hold a driver’s license. 

There are a number of studies now showing that texting while driving is as dangerous as driving while drunk.  What would happen if we made the penalties for texting while driving comparable to the penalties for drunk driving? 

Fair, but don’t pretend motorists obey them either.  

Stupid? You’re in control of a 4,000 pound weapon. If you’re so ill-equipped to handle it that you can’t avoid a cyclist moving at 10 miles per hour, you should not be allowed to drive. It’s not hard-if you’re somewhere where cyclists would be present, drive a reasonable speed and pay the fuck attention.

Sure, people walk and use their phones. What of it? If you’re so insufficiently capable of controlling your automobile that you can’t even avoid a person walking at 2 miles per hour, you should not be allowed to drive, period.  

5th: Enforcement is a huge factor here. Plenty of places now have distracted driving laws, but they’re not enforced.

Also, at present, I’m a Ford guy. 209,000 miles and still going strong.

Not surprised by anything reported here today. Of course the Silverado’s sales are falling-that’s the face only a mother could love. It took a few too many whacks from the ugly stick outside, and from what I saw at the Detroit Auto Show their interiors are still a decade behind.

Pumped until the pump kicked off, then that was it, as per owner’s manual instructions.  No filling to the even dollar or anything like that.  And it would stall once, occasionally twice, as I’d be waiting to pull back into the traffic after filling the gas.  Did it pretty much every single time I filled the gas, from…