car and driver, 1985 corvette

That was the first year of the C4 Corvette and Car and Driver. They found a work order for repairs that were done after the car left the assembly line but before it was given to Car and Driver. This was after the new model was delayed so long GM had to actually skip the entire 1983 model year; quite possibly the…

1st Gear: While everyone is arguing about the longevity of current cars, what’s making me chuckle is how all the execs are basically saying “discounts are never coming back”. I’ve never heard anything more “car salesy” in my entire life.
“We’ll never have those inventory levels again, because we’re learning to be more…

1st gear: I think it’s also worth adding that in the last 2 years with the increased WFH, theres a LOT of cars out there that just arent getting driven nearly as much. also with gas prices, people are probably going to be a little more conservative as to how far/hard they’ll be driving their cars as well. I think this…

Counterpoint to 1st gear: Cars that were built in 2010 (now 12 years old) are a helluva lot better made and more reliable than, say, cars built in the 80s-90s-early 00s.

They literally had to be better than a brick and mortar dealership. That didn’t seem like a hard thing to accomplish. 

Isn’t it fucking nuts? The Fiesta ST and Focus ST while fun cars, I’ve owned a 2013 Focus ST since it came out in 2012, are truly hot hatches where the only thing worth paying for is the drivetrain. Even then the drivetrain itself has some sacrifices that the competition, then and now, did not make. Mainly the lack of…

Yep - and I’ll also say that our toddler LOVES the Element, because in his car seat he can actually see clearly outside.

I agree! I’m 6'3" and drove a 2004 Element for over 6 years, and I never had a complaint about the seats. The headroom was amazing, both front and rear! And I used to fold the back seats up to fit all kinds of lumber and junk in the back. In fact, for those who are curious, about a half-dozen 8-foot 2x6 boards fit perf…

OK, so I question if Honda Element person has clearly never actually lived with the Honda Element. The folding seats are utterly genius and genuinely do customize the interior to fit almost anything you could want to carry.

I aced the test for the learner’s permit, not one error, and still “failed.” Why? I was living in Massachusetts but born in Puerto Rico and the state trooper administering the test said I was not a US citizen. My mother complained to his superior, who promptly gave me my permit. My dad, a lawyer, and proud Puerto…

Southern England, 1969: my mum takes her driving test. The examiner fails her, but he doesn’t give her any reason.

Good job it is only Jalopnik who has picked it up then.

Left Hand Utes was mentioned during the development of this story. However, our EIC noted that when the company was interviewed for a prior story its owner failed to provide proof that their conversions are federally legal before they ceased communications.

The problem with GM is that their stuff is so hit-or-miss. They can’t do a mid-cycle refresh to save their lives - either they fail at an actual fix of a terrible design, or they make a good design worse. I have yet to see a refresh that actually looked better than the original, whether the original design was good or…

Yes, and I agree, Peter Horbury’s soap-bar Volvos have only gotten better with age. I would argue they saved the company.

agreed, though I’d say the peak of style was around the turn of the millennium before the retro craze got out of hand. consider these three beauties, 2000s cars that had their designs frozen by the late ‘90s.

By the late 90s, it became apparent that Saturn would need an infusion of cash to develop a fuller line of vehicles than just the S series. However, GM’s board members had a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders, and it just didn’t make sense to give Saturn more money to develop unique vehicles when it was…

The mid-late 1990s, on the other hand, were actually the nadir of auto design.

Agreed. Those who said Lincolns are just rebadged Fords haven’t been in one for decades.