smart
Mercedes Streeter
smart
Staff Writer at Jalopnik, learning pilot and does bus stuff. Smart Fortwo (x4), Honda Beat, Suzuki Every, VW Touareg V10, Passat TDI, Jetta TDI, Audi TT, Buell Lightning, Triumph Tiger, Genuine Stella

Really, this is a list of red flags for expensive cars. If you buy almost nothing but shitboxes like I do, it’s a list of what every other ad is going to look like. Read more

To anyone scratching their head here, Destination trailers tend to be huge, often have upper decks, and often have residential appliances. They try to bridge the gap between a more portable travel trailer and the less portable park model. Read more

Well, it’s not that complex in reality. Its real model name is Wildwood Grand Lodge 42 Veranda. Wildwood and Salem are actually two different product lines, not the name of a single trailer. Weirdly, Forest River is really bad at articulating that, so I see how Logan copied it. Read more

That sideshow also featured a 2008 to 2010 Smart Fortwo Passion Coupe. I’m now picturing someone trying to take a Smart to a takeover and I can’t stop laughing. Read more

I wouldn’t even touch a single vehicle that was driven by the transphobic douchebag that is StreetSpeed717. I don’t care how cool this ‘Vette is. Read more

I really want to buy a Th!nk City EV. They’re cheap, weird, and feed my DIY spirit. Read more

Nope. Smart fixed the issue itself in 2014 (globally, 2016 for the U.S.) by ditching that stupid transmission for a choice of DCT or an actual five speed manual. Read more

Depends on the vehicle. For example, I know Smart had a rental specific version of the Fortwo. Here’s how you identify one: Read more

I fly United regularly. While you are correct that most airlines are removing screens, United is trying to stand out by putting more screens in. They even have Bluetooth and flight attendants hand out headphones. Read more

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Sam missed one thing. The big reason the legacy carriers are still making money has to do with the fact that they’re constantly shoving credit cards in your face. Take that away and they’d be burning cash just like the low cost carriers.

I have a nightmare hypothetical for you. It’s November and the Democrats decide to drop out of the race. Look, I’m just being silly here, don’t take it seriously. Anyway, you have a choice: RFK Jr. or Trump. Who do you vote for? In this case...uh...there’s a guy holding C4 to your head so you have to choose. Read more

I loved my Smart so much I named myself after its parent company. Ok, I guess I named myself after the lady that the company was named after, but you get my point. Still have five of them in my fleet today, including a rare (for the U.S.) diesel. Read more

To be clear here, Harley used to be ballsy enough to celebrate Pride, but not since the changes presumably made by Zeitz. This was four years ago!

It’s noteworthy that Harley isn’t even that “woke.” Is is true that the Human Rights Campaign rated Harley 90/100, but that was in 2019. It’s been downhill ever since Jochen Zeitz took over. As of current, the HRC rates Harley-Davidson 45/100. Fox News currently has a better rating than Harley does, which is wild. Read more

But a Mercedes 240D on the road commands respect and admiration from people...
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Another fun fact about the Honda CR-Z: It had an embarrassing payload of just 400 pounds. The average American man is roughly 200 pounds today. Yeah, this car can barely handle just two dudes, provided they didn’t have lunch and have nothing to bring with them for the ride. Read more

If you think that was “dangerously slow” (a U.S. spec 451 hit 60 in about 11-12 seconds), you’ve never driven a truly slow car. My old Mercedes 240D hit 60 in 23 seconds, and it had the “faster” manual transmission. Now THAT is actually slow. Read more

Second generation Dodge Grand Caravan. Handled like a boat, fuel gauge always left the chat halfway through a tank, and it caught on fire after some light off-roading. 0/10 will not drive again. Read more

In fairness, the buyback was voluntary. Some people decided to keep their Solos while most turned them in. The problem is that the issue that triggered the buyback can brick the Solo while it’s moving and there isn’t a fix. Obviously, that’s dangerous enough that ElectraMeccanica would rather just destroy them then Read more