You go farther on ugly than I do. The teens is definitely the worst decade for automotive styling. And SUVs have been particularly ugly. The '90s had a few good looking cars (Caprice, first gen Saturn SL, Integras, various others). Even the '00s had some OK cars, especially the first half of the '00s. As you say, EVs have mostly been ugly, or even Fugly. The Teslas are among the fugliest. But a few of the new ones--the Lucid Air for ex--look pretty nice. I just find mechanical things have character, and electronic things--including electric motors--don't. I like ICE. ... View more

Great article Rob! My longest driving day ever, in time spent and likely in miles, was probably the 800 miles at 50mph, Iowa to Pennsylvania, on my way from Stanford to Boston, in my 9 year old '62 Falcon, that had hit 100k in Lovelock, Nevada, and had the kind of power where you floor it and it feels like another person started pushing. I think I stopped about three times that day, for gas, food, and bathroom each time. A bit later that summer, I was driving in France, and I was amazed at how--because of the traffic and the French driving--it took three hours for the back of my shirt to soak through--something that didn't even begin to happen crossing the country in 1971, when the US population was probably less than 2/3 what it is now. ... View more

I'm skeptical both about anything Musk says (including Teslas will have level 4 autonomy next year) and that autonomous cars will exist in the next several decades. And that's fine with me. Autonomous cars, should they arrive, will be just another way for Silicon Valley to make money off of people and our habits. I have my doubts that they will be nearly as safe as projected. And driving is my favorite activity. I'd hate to see it end. ... View more

And another thing that hurts it is the ugly face. I wouldn't want to have to look at one of them in my driveway. ... View more

The Chevy men think all of your statistics that even hint at superiority of Mustangs are full of dung! They also say Corvettes are far more popular than Mustangs in all but five states--those five states happening to be the states with the smallest populations, most notably Wyoming and Alaska! And that Corvettes are far more popular, especially in California, Texas, Florida, and New York!. But the Ford men say your stats on average value of mustang vs camaro must have come out of the same swamp as the mosquitos that carry malaria! Or maybe one of those effluent swamps from the Pork Producers! Average values of Mustangs are at least $147,989 while average values of Camaros are the square root of negative one! But the Chevy men say that just shows how stupid the Ford men are, and how stupid the Fords are. But the Ford men say the chevy men don't even know what an imaginary number IS! How stupid is that? The only thing the Ford men and the Chevy men agree on: they all like bourbon! ... View more

I LOVE ICE. And I don't particularly enjoy driving EVs. However, in the last 4-5 years **Seattle, a place where I have never felt an uncomfortably warm summer temperature had temps of 108 degrees two summers ago. Parts of Canada saw 117 degrees. **Paris, a city I lived in many years ago, has, or had a climate like Seattle's. And it never got uncomfortably hot in France. In the last decade, there have been heat waves where a few tens of thousands have died. And Paris has hot summers. **there have been rains leaving water four feet deep in Texas. **Virtually all the glaciers in the world are less than half the size they were two generations ago. **Oregon, which has been a cool, wet state, has now had wildfires like California's. And California's wildlfires have gotten a lot worse. **Lake Powell, the largest artificial reservoir, fed by the Colorado River, is down to 1/3 capacity. **A town in Utah has banned construction of new homes because of lack of water. I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the idea. ... View more

Norway has huge incentives for people to drive EVs: https://cleantechnica.com/2020/01/28/the-incentives-stimulating-norways-electric-vehicle-success/ ... View more

I was 10 or 11 when this thing came out. Neighbors, with a daughter I had a crush on bought one. I thought the vista roof windows were really cool. But my parents were hanging onto the geriatric '57 Chevy wagon, and they viewed cars as transportation machines rather than status symbols, although the Chevy was somewhat beloved for having transported us twice between Boston and Seattle. ... View more

Thanks Rob. This was wonderfully explanatory, and a lot of fun. We H. sapiens thrive on belonging to groups of people who share an interest. But you're making me wish I'd bought Leon Kirchner's 2002, and gotten to know you back then. They WANTED to sell it to me, and offered it to me for what I think was probably in excellent price even back in the early '00s, $1,500 if I remember correctly. But I hadn't caught the bug. Didn't even know back then that I was going to find myself craving a Peugeot 404 wagon. Drive fun! ... View more

One of my favorites is a Maine plate, TITSOUT. Here's the story: https://theintercept.com/2021/07/04/milf-mobile-maine-free-speech/ ... View more

the Pininfarina BMC 1100/1800 Berlina Aerodinamica resembles certain Citroens that I'm pretty sure (but not positive) post-dated it. My favorites among this batch are the Testudo and the Mustang I. ... View more

I give it a D+ for styling. The rest of this vehicle looks fine, but the face is a flop. Part of the problem is that the squinty headlights with that connecter chrome going across the face, making the front look like the back, and you don't put squinty headlights on something that's supposed to invoke the distant past--they've got to be round!--and part of the problem is that stupid cross-hatching where the bumper used to go. From the front, it's not a microbus. Cue the bronx cheer. ... View more

I get that we're almost certainly going to have to put an end carbon emissions. And I get that schemes for pulling carbon out of the air may never be financially practical. Heck, I learned about global warming back in '75, in a class at UC Berkeley given by John Holdren, a terrific professor who later became Pres O's Science Advisor. I've driven a Model S, and while it certainly is a tour de force in terms of the acceleration and cornering, but it had no soul, and I think that's probably true of all hyper-powerful EVs. Mechanical things have soul; electronic things don't. You HAD to give the Tesla-swapped S197 Mustang a go. That's part of your job. I'll pass. After I drove the Model S, I was quite happy to get back into my Civic (stick). It's light and agile, and the engine may not sound like Mozart, but it IS Salieri to a Boxster's Mozart. I'm not young anymore, but I hope to be able to drive ICE until I check out. ... View more

Thanks for bringing some perspective, Sajeev. Let's toss out the marketers' ridiculous appellation, "crossover utility vehicle," and just call the damn things cars! Once they get rid of "CUV," maybe the styling will improve. Most of them are SO UGLY! ... View more

Terrific article! Thanks Kyle Smith! ... View more

Would you put junk in your gas tank? I've long been religious about getting top tier gasoline for my car. I'm the same way about my body. I'm much more interested in preserving my ability to drive into my 80s and 90s than in eating junk food, or even good ice cream. ... View more

It's true baby carrots way better than M&Ms and fritos. But definitely inferior to intact carrots. The outer part of carrots that's tossed in producing baby carrots is "much more nutritious than the inner core that remains," according to Eating on the Wild Side, by Jo Robinson, a book that investigated the nutrition levels of fruits and vegetables. "The greatest concentration of nutrients is in the skin and the tissue right below it. This makes sense, because the outer layers of a plant are its first line of defense against UV rays, mold, grazing animals, insects, fungus, and disease. The more phytonutrients inthose outermost layers, the better it can defend itself. When you whittle away those outer layers, you remove one third of its phytonutrients." Cutting large carrots into snackable chunks is much better provided you don't remove the outer layers. ... View more

I noted a lot of people recommended M&Ms. Fun fact: the peanut M&M was invented by Ray Vernon, a Harvard economist who worked at Mars for two years during the 1950s. ... View more

It turns out that baby carrots are not particularly healthy. Even regular carrots are not as healthy as I would have thought, although they're not bad. But if you want healthy, they're distinctly superior to baby carrots. (See: Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health, by Jo Robinson, for details on the health aspects of different fruits and vegetables, as well as a lot of history of human manipulation of types and varieties.) ... View more

Good coffee is my favorite. I'd give up any ten food items before I'd give up coffee. A really good espresso cortado makes a road trip even more special. As for eats, almonds, other nuts, strawberries, apples are good. On looong road trips, like the 450 miles I do at least once a year between my home in Boston and my siblings and some friends in the DC metro area, I always bring a bag of carrots. If I get tired, which sometimes happens on those trips, crunching on carrots wakes me up. And if it doesn't wake me up, I know it's time to get off the road and nap. ... View more

Wonderful story. Reminded me of last Sunday, powering up the Berkshires, the road having been emptied of other cars by the previous night's snow. Someday I'll do the Tail of the Dragon. ... View more

I can imagine those boxy little Hyundais attracting a bit of attention at Hershey somewhere in the future, although they might be lost among the late '80s Camrys the early '90s Civics, and the Neons. But that soulless blue thing on the cover photo--no way. It looks like any other '10s car, which is to say, a mess of dissonant squiggles. ... View more

They are very unreliable according to the latest Consumer Reports. ... View more

I've never had any Hot Wheels either, and I very much doubt I ever will. My oldest toy car that's in half decent condition is a Corgi '59 Chevy that I bought new, at Miss Cannon's toy shop in Harvard Square, when I was six. And I have a bunch more, mostly from before 1964, but a few which I acquired post-millennium, including a Boxster, which I got at a local Porsche dealer, for $26, and a couple of Peugeot 404s, one of which may have been my first eBay purchase, both of which were shipped from France, and a Trabant, which my sister-in-law brought me from Berlin. ... View more

I gotta walk this back a bit. Some commenter's enthusiasm for the first iteration of C3 compelled me to check out photos, and it is a good looking car, or maybe their enthusiasm being infectious. Looking at those photos, I could feel power and great handling in my mirror neurons. But I still think the Z3 is a better and more interesting looking car. ... View more

Your enthusiasm is so infectious that I had to take another look--at the 68-72 C3, and I've revised my opinion, at least about that particular iteration of the C3. It IS a great looking car. Drive fun! ... View more

Rob, You got seduced in large part because the photographer got a perfect angle for that car. And, yes, the hip stripes add to that. I really like that photo. A lot. But I've seen enough of those things go by without lusting to know that your reaction is mostly in the photography. As for Bangle and the Z3, Bangle is a master IMO--BMWs haven't been so compelling since--and while that badge does not belong in the fender crease, the Z3 is still a beautiful car--from many angles. I've taken my share of shots of them. If that white one is especially beautiful, I'll concede that the stripes add something, but I think white is often simply a terrific color for a car. My first generation Saturn SL2 was white, and as first gens aged, the white ones remained beautiful, while the ones in different colors did not. Never took a photo of a C3. It just didn't tempt me. (Although now I might try it to see if I can make it look as good as that one.) All the best, --David ... View more

It's darling! I'm very fussy about automotive (and other) aesthetics. This thing's a perfect 10! ... View more

I love the Britishisms! "Motor spirit cans!" "...boot sales and auto jumbles..." "Oil pourers!" And one of my favorites that didn't appear here: dust bin lorries! Long live the Mother Country! ... View more

I didn't know that the styling was the same from '58-'63, but I thought the '59 was a wonderful piece of styling, the sort of car you could imagine coming from hypothetical stylists of the Italian renaissance. ... View more

Jim Byers, who brought jazz to the Kennedy Center, had a beautiful '59, and then later, a '67. https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/02/capsule-review-196-chrysler-imperial/ ... View more

Keep on driving! And drive fun! ... View more

The trouble is the post millennium cars from any particular maker have nothing in common with the cars of the '60s, or often even the cars of the '90s. I retain particular affection for '60s GM, and while I have not so much for the '70s and '80s, the '90s GM--the Caprice in particular, captured something of the old spirit. Today's Chevrolets have completely lost it. ... View more

So many character lines that that element looks like it was scribbled by a fourth grader on most teens cars. ... View more

I think those small side windows are ugly, and they sure don't help visibility. I suspect they're a reaction to safety regs, but with the lousy visibility, they may hurt safety as much as help it. ... View more

Great article. "Go crazy, adding lines that go nowhere and serve no purpose and the bodywork looks like it’s gone ten rounds street parking in New York before leaving the showroom." This sums up the problem with so many cars from the '10s--the worst decade for automotive aesthetics ever. And I would include the Lexus shown at the top of the article in this category. ... View more

Funny--more foreign cars being exported than US cars. And all the most common US exports except the Mustang are Chevies. ... View more

Solar and wind efficiency has skyrocketed in the last few years. ... View more

I'm with you on most of what you say, but for me at least, road trips via electrics won't be possible until fast recharging stations are common in the boonies as well as on the interstates. ... View more

I think it was Consumer Reports that did a comparison of total CO2 costs of BEV vs ICE. Somewhat more CO2 is used in the mfg of BEV, but the average BEV gets even with ICE after an extra 10,000-20,000 miles on CO2 emissions, and after that the BEV is superior. I say that as somewhat who plans to drive ICE for as long as I can into the future. My Civic's engine may not sound like Mozart, but it IS Salieri to the Boxster's Mozart. ... View more

Back in the early '70s, when my parents taught at Tufts, and I was studying there, I'd borrowed my father's car, a '68 Falcon wagon, and I was driving it on the campus. One of my friends came up to me as I was stopped at an intersection. "Is that the Dave-mobile?" he said, his voice conveying respect for the implied fact that I had a car. No, I said, it's my father's. "You mean the Chairman of the Economics Department drives around in THAT?!!" his tone having completely changed, and now suggesting that he'd ended his sentence with the definite article in order to avoid saying "POS". Like a lot of academics, my father had no use for status symbols. At that time, a lot of academics drove Plymouth Valiants, which had a reputation for lasting (my parents had one, for which they'd relied on my judgment when they purchased it). ... View more

Happy Independence Day. And down with the British! ... View more

The writer ("author" applies to books, not articles) is Sam Smith. Trahan is the photographer. ... View more

Princess Ann had a corgi or a Robin? ... View more

Great article. But I would have liked to see some mention of Paul MacReady, the founder of Aerovironment (mentioned in the article), who was the brains behind the Impact. (He also was the brains behind the pedal powered airplane that won a major prize for being the first such aircraft to cross the English Channel. I wish that after they decided to end production, GM had made the Impact into an ICE-powered economy/sports car. (But I don't know what the practicalities, or lack thereof would have been.) It's a beautiful car. Finally, the beautiful rear view photo of the Impact reminds me of my family of origin's 1950 Studebaker. (Note: I said "reminds me of" and not "looks like".) ... View more

To be even more precise, the first Corvette rolled off the line on this day--June 30th--1953. ... View more

I love the Brick Volvos. My father's last car was a '95 940, which I wish I'd kept after he died. Beautiful car, not much power, but a silky smooth engine. But I didn't appreciate these cars nearly as much in late summer, 1973 as I do now. Back then, I drove a 140 wagon Boston to Palo Alto for a Stanford professor (don't remember the year). The car was loaded to the gills with possessions that were fitted inside like the pieces of a 3D puzzle. In late Nebraska or early Wyoming, I noticed that one of the rear tires had begun to leak air. I put some more in and tried to tell myself it was my imagination, but several hours later, it was obvious. I stopped at a gas station in Rawlins to get the tire fixed, as I had no desire to mess with the luggage. The guy who owned the place made some comments about German cars, and after correcting him several times I gave up. Not having a Volvo jack, he went through contortions to jack the thing without inflicting damage. Once the tire was fixed, he admonished me that next time I crossed the country, I should be driving a Cadillac, and stop in his gas station to get the gas tank filled. But that was the last time I drove across the country (the next year I took the train, and the year after that I rode my bicycle). I'm hoping to drive cross-country again next year, in my Civic, but I plan to be taking the back roads. ... View more

Diamonds to boost the albedo is an interesting idea if it could be cost effective. I have no idea what the answer to that is. I also don't know how large scale floating islands would affect ocean life--on which we depend for our own sustenance, and which is also sequestered carbon. ... View more

That said, I'm planning to keep driving my ICE for the rest of my life, or until it becomes too inconvenient to find gas on road trips. To me, mechanical things have soul, electronic things don't. ... View more

420 x 420 sq miles would give us much more than we need. Go here for the big picture tinyurl.com/CheapSolar420x420sqmilesworld And here to dig into the weeds https://tinyurl.com/systemthatworksbest ... View more