This helps to explain why it took seven weeks to get my 2008 Dakota repaired for an exhaust manifold gasket and rear pinion seal. I have the lifetime powertrain warranty that was offered in 2008 and I can only presume that they are using the same offices to gain approvals. I had dropped my truck off on April 21st 2023… Read more

You got 3 Bauhaus doo-dads on top and a couple down market Transmorphers insignia on the bottom. Yeesh. Read more

The entire Kia/Hyundai line. They went from normal ugly generic boxyness to cars that really look good. Might be made cheap, but they still look good.  Read more

The new Chevy Trax update caught me off guard. The previous gen has been one of the ugliest cars available for a while and then the 2024 comes out and it’s almost attractive. That is a huge swing between generations. Read more

The Lincoln Mark VIII. The Mark VII was a good looking car, very 80s in it’s presentation with composite headlights, mostly linear styling with a few rounded corners. While it was still a handsome car, it was looking a little long in the tooth when it was finally replaced with the Mark VIII.

Ford Taurus. You know which one.  Read more

The 2024 Prius, after years of what were seemingly intentionally boring, inoffensive updates, is quite possibly the most striking sedan on the road today.  Read more

The transition from the 9th to 10th generation Civic. It went from being a good but, let’s be honest, pretty homely and anonymous car, to...a lot of things going on. Maybe not quite as radical a departure as the Santa Fe, but enough that it got people talking (especially in the Type R guise, which Jeremy Clarkson had…

The Hyundai Sonata/Kia Optima glow up? If you remember what the first and second gen looked like, they had a tremendous glow up in the later years that helped to reshape the company image and position them as a true competition to the Japanese automakers.  Read more

In 2015 I went car shopping for a Tahoe for my wife. The dealership is owned by family friends, so I met my buddy and we drove around the lot for a bit. He asked if I’d looked at the Impalas and I lauuughed and laughed. I had no idea they turned it into a pretty badass 4 door Camaro. That disappointing lump of Lumina…

when a new mustang came out and it was a crossover EV...... Read more

NSX. First one had a timeless design. The second one had Acura’s beak. The second one would have been a hit if it weren’t for design and limited options. Imagine someone spending $100k and looks at this and a Porsche. They can choose their stitch color if they wanted. Acura says take this. Talk about knowing your…

2023 Prius. Read more

In recent memory, it’s gotta be the Chevy Trax. Went from a serious contender for the worst car on sale in America to what is, by all accounts a compelling, competitive, and genuinely affordable compact crossover. Read more

Renault Mégane, twice. From the reasonably normal first-gen to the highly-distictive, big-assed second generation, and then again from that to the super-bland third-generation. Read more

1984 Nissan 300ZX. After years of decline, the early 1980's 280ZX had become a parody of a 1970's boulevard cruiser. To the the Z return to a highly capable and desirable sports car overnight was a huge shock. Read more

I actually didn’t play Heat until a year after it came out (a few months after the Floyd protests) It was kind of funny how unintentionally well that plot aged. I think it’s fine to have politics/social commentary in games too, but it’s a high-risk gamble if you don’t do a good job of it. Heat played it safe by just… Read more

You should probably heed your own advice. Do some actual research and you’d know what happens when big companies merge. Read more

Vertical mergers are also bad. Stop licking the boots of your corporate masters and you’ll see that.

The fact that 40 other countries also lick corporate boot is not an argument.
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I want to get excited, but I already know the physics will be the same “brick turning on its center axis” that’s endemic to the Test Drive franchise. Read more