Isn't the first time an ambitious lower-tier car company did this. The (apocryphal?) story is Isuzu adopted Guigario's 2nd gen Scirocco design almost line for line (wheelbase different to accomodate T-car wheelbase) inside and out for the first generation Impulse when VW decided to take it's designs in house in the 80s. ... View more

A question about running a separate transmission cooler in series - should you run the fluid through the radiator cooler first and then the air-to-fluid cooler, or the other way around? My guess is that if you're worried about transmission temperature, you should do the first; if not, then the second. ... View more

I drive a Lutzmobile - '12 Cruze. A very good car for what it desires to be. He really should have been the CEO of *any* car company based on what he was able to do as a VP everywhere he worked. ... View more

"What if Ronin were about jailbreaking Amanda Knox?" ... View more

Keeping the stick out of more affordable and/or attractive trims is unconscionable. I'm looking at you too, Mazda. The 3 sedan needs a 3-pedal option. ... View more

The Piazza/Impulse statement is incorrect. The US market Impulse had the "Tuned by lotus" suspension as well. My '88 certainly did. ... View more

This is so spot on for the buff books back then (those numbers were *good* for nearly *any* car back in that day) it's eerie. A 220 horse "Hellcat?" Yeah, 1987. Malaise hadn't really left yet. We were celebrating 225 Horse V8 Mustangs and Camaros as a new vanguard of performance that year. The GNX 276hp was almost inconceivable by itself, and only available that year. ... View more

There are two things that make me to my spine uncomfortable - going on podium and teaching; and selling cars. Both give me an existential dread. I don't know how you did it, but I recognize it made you the man and writer you are today. ... View more

I recall the 90s Caprices (and their fellow b-bodies) were also known as "Whales" and the 94-96 Impala SS was the pinnacle of the form. I remember the ads - "Lord Vader, your car is ready." ... View more

My understanding is that the fundamental drivability issue is that turbines aren't particularly responsive to throttle changes, and that isn't just annoying but a potential safety (accident avoidance, merging, etc.) problem. It could be an efficient and more drivable proposition in a hybrid, maybe? ... View more

Cars that are worth tens of millions of dollars almost literally cannot be totaled, even if it takes $100K or more to fix it. Why not let them get their exercise? ... View more

Occasionally putting a tender (with "desulfating") on my (now) 5 year old battery has actually improved it's performance. The once-a-year safety inspection in my state means the garage gets to "remind" you of things you might need. One year, they warned the battery was going bad. I said I would replace it once it dies. The next year the battery was in a much better state and they didn't have to remind me of anything. ... View more

GM should have never dropped Hummer, and it was obvious even at the time. I know, I know, conditions (ideological) of the bailout forced it, but Jeep was still printing money (as was Hummer, TBH) so it was money foregone for little good reason. ... View more

I have owned both those Accord generations (and the one in between) and the difference is *incredible* although the jump was at the pop-up headlight generation - and America was asleep at the wheel. Which was also broadcast in *all* the magazines at the time. ... View more

They *could* go back to the original formula - *stock* cars - factory bodies, suspension and motors. It would certainly slow things down, for a while, and it would require manufacturer involvement to make the cars faster. ... View more

Well played. ... View more

The Fiero was the one car that excited the 14 year old me, yet I have never owned one. That it's now old enough to need serious restoration efforts probably means I will never own one. ... View more

Mine for newer but now older cars is 1996 or newer, for OBDII and factory R-134. ... View more

I am 100% in agreement about cloth interiors. We purchased a 2017 RAV4 Hybrid XLE instead of a higher trim precisely because that was the only trim that had cloth. Heated seats, too, so you *can* have both. We did this because of the awful leather seats in our 2006 Honda Pilot, an otherwise still typical Honda vehicle even if a bit garish compared to my 80s/90s Accords. It was quite a surprise to see compared to my friend's 1995 Prelude, which leather seats were exceedingly nice and supple when new. People will absolutely go for cloth if offered, dealers need to be made aware of that. ... View more

That is really well done, even if it wasn't a Ferrari.   "Been there, done that." Heh. ... View more

Ah. A story of Curvy McLegaBriefs. ... View more

So this is the last car JFK got out of. ... View more

The best fake car character was Joe Isuzu. Fite me. ... View more

David Burge (@iowahawkblog on twitter) does a Car ID service on weekends. Just tweet your picture with the hashtag #DavesCarIDService and he'll get to it. His specialty is prewar, but will ID anything. ... View more