Most of you probably fondly remember our three part reviews. In part one we told you a story, part two was an objective breakdown of the car's characteristics and part three was about numbers and buyers. The problem was, the three part, three day format was awkward and required me to show up to work three days in a row. So now we're combining all three parts into one stripped down, more powerful model that puts everything you want to know about a car into a single place.

Also, some other points of note:

● A new never-before-seen rating system featuring an overall score expressed as a percentage based on the total number of stars. It's sort of like the automotive version of Rotten Tomatoes movie scoring. You'll love it. Or you'll be indifferent. Who knows? That's what makes this so exciting!

● New suitability parameters!

● New setup!

● Same silliness!

● Also, Jalopnik Reviews compare vehicles against other vehicles in its class.

You can follow along through our Jalopnik Reviews tag that's always up on the top of the main page.

My name is Sam Smith. How did I get here? Why is my brain so fried? What the hell was I doing with a garbage bag full of candy in my house yesterday, and how did I manage to go through all of it in one sitting? What does a titanic sugar crash feel like on no sleep whatsoever? More important, which YouTube videos did I watch, and were they any good?

Some answers:

1. Me: I'm a writer. Always have been, always will be, always wanted to be. By way of illustration, I have four memories of my life before the age of six. Two of them involve weird old British cars, one has me sticking a piece of chocolate-chip cookie up my nose in the back seat of a BMW 2002, and one centers around being told to "put that lousy book away and pay attention" during first-grade math. (Predictably, I cannot balance my checkbook but possess an extensive library of vintage car books.) Five years later, I discovered Peter Egan, Gay Talese, and Ayrton Senna, and my life changed forever.

2. Candy Overdose and Sleep Dep: It feels like the music of Warren Zevon, were the music of Warren Zevon wrapped around a gold brick, attached to the front of a speeding fire truck, and hosed down with the juice of a hundred lemons. Then the sugar wears off and you want to die. (The sensations are similar, but your teeth ache and the whole world smells like Lemon Pledge.) Oddly enough, a good long week of margaritas seems to accomplish the same thing.

3. The videos: Yes, the videos rocked. (Try searching for "Ari Vatanen Climb Dance," but don't do it if you've got someplace to be.)

My road here was a long and twisted one. I've done time as an Alfa Romeo mechanic, helped edit a major car magazine in southeast Michigan (Sam's talking about Automobile Magazine. — Ed.), and held an amateur racing license for most of the past decade. I live in San Francisco but grew up in the Midwest, which means that I miss driving in the snow and occasionally freak out when I can't find good barbecue. I have an unhealthy attachment to rally racing, weird old motorcycles, German film cameras, and the BMW E30 M3. I learned to drive in a car with a crash gearbox, and I love the smell of bourbon. I have a tendency to pay for things in nickels, but I hate change.

I'm happy to be here. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a nap.

Photo Credit: Andrew Yeadon/Automobile Magazine

Your vocally expressed disdain has drummed out writers; your wit has preserved editorial personality even as our front pages have become more professional; you've steered the discussions, often way off-topic; but just as often you've suggested better headlines and story angles; former commenters such as Ben Wojdyla have written themselves into paid writing jobs; and reader-tipsters have supplied many of our best stories.

Our new commenting system has even allowed those that want to go off-topic to do so and still allow the discussion on the posts seen by new readers to the site to stay inviting and relatively on-topic.

And yet we've always insisted that tips and letters to the editor are sent in by email and mediated by our editors; that discussions stay on topics that we determine; and that our writers are the only ones who can initiate stories on the site. No longer.

With the launch of Jalopnik Open Forums, we're allowing readers to post tips, spy photos or hoon of the day entries directly from a form on the front page. Readers can also initiate discussions on any topic they choose simply by including a Twitter-style hashtag in their post. Better yet — you can even create your own rooms just by coming up with a unique hashtag. It'll get an RSS feed and everything — so promote the page somewhere you like. You want a Ray Wert Is Awesome page, just make it. Similarly, you can make a Ray Wert Is Horrible page as well. And commenters can expand on a story, or rebut a post, just as now.

Starred commenters will play an even more important role — as moderators of the discussion. Your decisions to respond and promote certain comments will decide the ebb and flow of these new forum-like tag pages. So use your power well, or you may find yourself losing it.

Any commenter will also find they're getting some fun added features — like the ability to see comment response notifications at the top of the front page and easier login up top of the page.

All our readers will see something else pretty cool. Slide down to the bottom of the front page and click the next button. Rather than a page view-maximizing new page, you'll see something more "refreshing." Go ahead and try it for yourself.

We'll of course expect there to be problems over the next few hours. Why don't you use the #cotomersevis page to let us know about them.

Other than that, we've no idea what uses people will make of these forums — or what they'll create. But we suspect that many of them will be mischievous. And that's fine — because we like mischief too.

Here's the particulars, folks: We're joining Noir Leather, a shop riding the edge of fashion and fetish in Royal Oak, for a "free" car wash mated to a Jalopnik meetup. At the show car wash there will be lovely ladies outfitted in Noir's latest swimwear and getting your car all sudsy with proper Turtle Wax washing condiments, wash mitts and towels, so no worries about half-assed washing methods. It's a free wash, part of Noir's summer sidewalk shows, though tips will be greatly appreciated as proceeds go to the models doing the washing. There will be a couple bands, too, starting at 8 p.m., so if you want a little entertainment to go with your car wash, plan accordingly. Anyway, here's the details:

What: Bikini Car Wash
When: Wednesday, August 19th at 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., followed by a live performance on our sidewalk from local bands at 8pm and 8:30pm
Where: Noir Leather, located in Royal Oak Michigan on the corner of Center and W. 4th Street (the wash will be done on Center Street)

Noir's Contact info:
124 W. 4th Street
Royal Oak, Mi 48220
248-541-3979

Over the past two years I've been running the show here at Jalopnik, we've seen traffic more than double, a gas crisis come and go and not one, but two automakers go bankrupt. All the while, I've been looking for the right person to help me continue to make this site the best auto culture and news outlet the world's ever seen. Although I realized John would be perfect for the job from the start, it took some convincing, cajoling and promises of cars (accomplished through his occasional contributions to the site) to pry John away from the comfort of The Onion.

John was one of The Onion's very first writers, first contributing to the award-winning satire publication during its humble Wisconsin campus-weekly incarnation in 1991, a fact of which he is extremely proud, while driving a 1964 Volkswagen Beetle, of which he now acknowledges, he is not.

Since then he has served as an Onion staff writer, head writer, and assistant editor, was the paper's first daily-features editor and founded the Onion Sports section — of which he is now the editor — all while driving a BMW 2002, a Ford F150, three Mazda Miatas, half a dozen motorcycles and for reasons passing all understanding, a Volkswagen Golf.

John's tenure at the Onion coincides with, and may or may not be a factor in, the paper winning a number of Webby awards, a Car and Driver "Ten Best Winners And Losers" citation (in the "Winners" category), and the Thurber Prize for American Humor. John currently lives in Brooklyn, where he drives anything anyone lets him.

But John's not been content to merely make things up about sports for a living. He's also a lover of all the realms we love here at Jalopnik. From planes, to space travel, to the future and even the days of future past, John understands the cult of cars is more than just about what you drive to work — it's about transporting oneself from the present to the future.

John will be finishing up his assignments at The Onion on August 10th, just in time to join us for our annual coverage of the Woodward Dream Cruise. Please join me as we bring John further into the Jalopnik-verse and welcome him into his new role.

It's been a source of pride for all of us here at Jalopnik that we're known as the place for smart, witty and even thought-provoking car culture-obsessed content. For a long time our comments were of the same caliber. Lately, however, thanks to a 93% growth in readership over the past year, things have gotten a tad juvenile in the comments. Not all of them, but it's clear that, for many, the comments have become less about adding to the story than about the off-topic, the trolling and the inane chattering. Consequently we've found here's two different types of commenters — the type that want to add relevant content to the stories and the kind looking for a social atmosphere to talk to friends, talk about life and in general, just talk. Unfortunately, the second kind is beginning to out-pace the first. No longer. We're aiming to make both easier with our new commenting system. Let's call it Jalopnik Commenting 2.0.

We're going to introduce another level — the power commenter — to the hierarchy. We used to refer to our comment environment as a club — with a velvet rope to keep the riff-raff out on the street. Well, now the club is too busy. Now we need a the equivalent of a VIP room. We'll populate the VIP room by giving special privileges to star commenters. They'll get prominence and space — as will their guests. And — we hope — it will be this salon that sets the tone of discussion.

This doesn't mean you non-starred commenters won't have their place — you will — it's just that place will be where all off-topic comments should be — off the story page. In fact, although we'll have more on it shortly, everyone will get a set of new privileges — like the ability to edit your comments for a short period of time after you've written it as well as the ability to auto-insert images and youtube videos. Yes friends, it's morning in Jalopnik America. Embrace the change.

We've even brought in long-time commenter advocate and Se7en stud Al Navarro to help explain some of the details — as an example of what we mean by "good commenters" who deserve a star and what power those starred commenters will have. Yes, that's correct, the stars are changing roles. Now they'll signify power commenters — so if you want one too, you'll have to up your commenting game. Without further ado, here's Al:

Someone's got to be Minardi

I've been a big fan of Formula One racing since the days of Piquet, Prost, Mansell, and Senna. I remember excitedly reading the race reports in the "buff books" before F1 was commonly televised here in the U.S.

I even remember what I was doing on that dark first day of May 1994. Heading out to have brunch with my parents and future in-laws to celebrate my recent engagement to the most patient woman in the world (TMPWITW, who also goes by the name Laura). As we were leaving our apartment, the race was on the TV - stopped for Ayrton's crash. I said to TMPWITW something to the effect of "He's not moving and they're not getting him out of the car. That can't be a good sign."

Years later, during the reign of Herr Schumacher, I remarked to Laura that I didn't understand why the teams of the perennial back markers even bothered to race. To which TMPWITW uttered, for the first time, the now common (at least in the my household) aphorism "Someone's got to be Minardi".

All of this is a long way of saying that, for the Jalopnik commentariat, it's time for a whole lot of you folks to embrace the role of Minardi.

You see, starting today, there will be two levels of commenters - and commenting.

The people (and not just those sporting stars) who have exhibited their wit, knowledge, general adherence to accepted rules of grammar, and overall good conduct have earned the privilege of having their comments appear front and center on the post pages.

As for the rest of you Minardians, fear not. Your comments will still be posted to the site as they have always been. What's more, there is a possibility that you could jump up to the podium if you play your cards right. (Required reading on playing said cards: "A Commenting Class on Commenting Class"; Jalopnik.com, 30 April 2008.) Because the A-list commenters have the power to promote your comments to the big dance (yes, I know I'm introducing non-car metaphors now), and even recommend you for a star.

Another carrot: Remember that even Minardi F1 itself became Scuderia Toro Rosso not so long ago. Toro Rosso was the launch pad for current F1 wunderkind Sebastian Vettel, who now runs with Dietrich Mateschitz's A-team, Red Bull Racing. And of course, there is the Brawn GP story.

It cuts both ways too, as Featured Commenters who exhibit conduct unbecoming can be demoted to Minardi. The Lewis Hamilton story, as it were. As you were.

FAQs from Gawker HQ:

What comments will display by default on the story page?

Starred commenters will appear by default in the comment thread as Featured Comments. Additionally, any comment that has been promoted by an Editor, Moderator, or Star will appear. Comments are promoted by clicking the thumbs-up icon.

How will comments display?

The most recently started thread will display on top, and earlier threads will be displayed below in reverse chronological order. Within each thread – marked off by a horizontal rule at top and bottom — replies to the first comment will be displayed in chronological order. In other words, the thread will make sense read top to bottom. If the user clicks the "See more" link at the bottom of a thread, the thread will expand to show all approved comments for that thread. If the user clicks the "Show all comments" link at the bottom of the page, the view will expand to show all approved comments for that post. This If the user scrolls to the next or previous page, the comments will again default to the collapsed, filtered view.

How can I become a starred commenter?

Starred commenters are designated by the Editors and Moderators. In the past, Stars were designated by virtue of their popularity among other commenters. That tended to favor the sociable rather than commenters who contributed information to a discussion. Now that Stars' comments are featured so heavily, we need to handpick them. And because we're also featuring the comments to which Stars respond, they must also show judgment in choosing discussions to engage in. Translation: don't respond to trolls.

I'm a Star but I can't see my comment. Why?

Even a Star can be off-topic sometimes. Moderators – rather than applying the rather extreme sanction of banning – can now demote an individual comment. So that's why you can't see it among featured comments. Try clicking on "Show all comments."

We're always looking for a few good car-obsessive folks, and today even more-so. If we were hiring, we'd be looking for someone with quality writing bona fides, ability to take good photos and some serious photoshop skills — along with speed, smarts and ability to accept high levels of responsibility — for part-time work that may lead to a full-time position depending on how talented the candidate is.

We'd probably prefer someone located in Metro Detroit or sunny SoCal, but we're flexible.

If you're interested and think you've got the chops to fit the bill, e-mail your resume, links to relevant writing samples, p-shop and photo work to me with the subject line of "Resume." If you don't have that kind of stuff online, and can't figure out how to e-mail me — well, that may not be the best first impression. Just sayin'...

We'll have a half-day today with content running through until around 3:00 PM EST today, live race coverage from LeMons Reno and the Indy 500 all weekend and a very light day of action on Monday. On Tuesday we'll resume our normal schedule of bringing you the best of the automotive universe.

Oh, yeah, and I'll be out all of next week, so address any issues, concerns or, you know, complaints to Matt. He's looking forward to it.

Part of the documentary features Matt playing Kinky during debate prep for the Democratic candidate Chris Bell. It's supposed to be a funny part of the film. Full details below:

*World Premiere*
Along Came Kinky...Texas Jewboy for Governor, a documentary covering Kinky Friedman's 2006 gubernatorial campaign, will premiere at SXSW 2009 on Thursday March 19th, 7:30 pm at the famous Paramount Theatre in downtown Austin, TX. Come watch the world premiere with Kinky!

Screening is open to the public! Though seating is initially opened up to SXSW Film Badge and Pass holders, $10 individual screening tickets will go on sale the evening of the screening at the Paramount Box Office. For more information, visit http://sxsw.com/.

Photo Credit: Kasiaeryn

I've got a print of Gran Torino Alameda hanging in my kitchen, so it was pretty exciting to discover that I live just 5 blocks from the Bechtle Gran Torino House (which is on the same block as one of my all-time favorite DOTS cars: the 1969 AMC Ambassador SST Wagon). It wasn't so hard to find the place, mostly because Bechtle didn't change the street address when he painted it but also because the house hasn't changed much in the 35 years that have gone by. The neighbor's hedges are taller and the garage door is a different color, but park a '72 woody Gran Torino wagon in the driveway and you really wouldn't be able to tell the difference between now and 1974.

But change does happen. It's been just over two years since my first Jalopnik post, and our readership has increased dramatically since then. Unfortunately, the Financiapocalypse means that belts must be tightened, even as we do everything in our power to keep our readers addicted to mainlining that good unstepped-on Jalopnik dope. That means that it no longer makes economic sense to have me write for the site every day. However, Señor Wert and the Gawker Overlords recognize that plenty of our stalkers devoted readers enjoy reading my posts (for reasons we're probably better off not exploring), and I want to keep writing them, so we've worked out a new arrangement that involves a promotion for me: I'll be the new Weekend Editor, starting now, and I'll continue to do stuff like Project Car Hell, Down On The Street, and so on; maybe not as frequently as I once did, but I'll work to make those weekend posts the concentrated essence of… well, whatever the hell it is that I do here.

So, while I'll miss having a significant weekday presence on the site, I plan to jack up the quality level for y'all; think fewer, but better Murilee Martin posts. You'll get more senseless junkyard projects, such as the Junkyard Boogaloo Turbo Boombox, Ozzy Osbourne Acceleration Warning Horn, and Wanky The Safety Cat. You'll get more tales of my personal Hell Projects, such as the art-car-turned-drag-racer '65 Impala in the photo above, and I'll do my best to belt out the occasional foaming-at-the-mouth tirade well-reasoned essay on car-related topics. I'll get to more of those great Down On The Street Bonus Edition photos that keep coming in from around the globe, and of course the 24 Hours Of LeMons coverage will keep coming. Nice Price Or Crack Pipe will continue on a near-daily basis, once we brass-knuckle persuade one of my colleagues into accepting a taste of the riding crop those duties. Different, yet the same!