Help!
 

We drove a GTI sedan 6 months ago or so. Cute and very peppy, but a bit too boy racer for my tastes at this point. Let me assure you that I could feel every bump and groove in the road when we headed out on the 10 with it.

I am a fan of the Beetle, the new Rabbit and the Jetta (GLI?), however. They are unlikely to draw me away from my current-future car,* the A3, though.


*currently the car I want in the future

Help!
 

That one is so ugly... and I'm unlikely to buy a VW when I could just get another Audi instead.

Help!
 

Now that I think about it, maybe the GTI's come only in coupes? If that is the case, we test drove a coupe. I did like the Jetta we test drove.

Continuing on this tangent, I will mention that if anyone is thinking of leasing a VW, look at the lease comparables on Audis and BMWs too, because the residual value thing is a killer on VWs and it made the Jetta price out at about the same per month as a low-end 3 series. (not at the same as the macked out top end 3 series that Mr. Man decided on, however.)

Help!
 

I think I may have seen Mr. Man on the 405; was the BMW 3 equipped with a stripper pole?

Help!
 

I kn ow I am fighting the hypo, but u can buy the Subaru legacy turbos for less than 30k, sedan or wagon.

Fast like Borat on wedding night.

The Mighty Skyline
 

"It's so fast that even a dead man will scream."
 

And finally...
 

The next-gen GT-R, no longer a Skyline, but now available in the US.

Sweet, sweet music...
 

nickel and dimes
 

Left work today, and get in my car (Jeep GC). A low pressure light is on, which I attribute to cold temps. By the time I get out of the parking garage I'm thinking I better check the tire. It's 100% flat.

I get out the tinker toy jack kit DC has selected for me (oh. first I call "roadside asistance" - don't get me started). There are 3 links tied to the jack. The jack has a 2 inch surface to lift the axle.

Get the car up, and get the old tire off. Putting on the new one, trying to align the bolts and holes, the jack fails.

I get a service truck out and the guy had a universal jack. He tells me he bought one from Sears. I need one. The OEM shit is nonsense (none of my clients make jacks). In fact figuring the jack out probably cost way more at my rate than buying a jack.

Anyone have good jack advice?

Help!
 

Saabs hold up well in crashes too. Saw one on the side of the NJ turnpike yesterday. Rear-ended by a Camry (totalled) with just a bit of bumper damage.

Looked like no injuries in either car.

nickel and dimes
 

A lot of people don't check this board regularly. You might get a better response on the FB.

nickel and dimes
 

Wal Mart auto section.

My BMW jack cracked like a toothpick luckily with the wheel still on. I got a Wal Mart hydraulic and it was great.

Cooper
 

So this weekend I drove a 6-speed Cooper S with the John Cooper Works upgrade. And it's a fast little mutherfucker. Took it on some cow roads in the neighborhood and could throw the car into pretty much any corner with little to no drift. Linkage is superb and the brakes are great. The road noise is dampened a lot since the first Cooper S I drove a couple of years ago. Suspension is tight, but not too tight for freeway driving over crappy California freeways.

Also drove a convertible Cooper S (without the works upgrade) with automatic and paddle shifting. Surprisingly nice shift points on full auto and amazing quick shifting available on the paddles. One of the more intuitive paddle shifting units - it's a thumb/finger shift rather than up/down shift. I was pleasantly surprised. I recommend for anyone who wants a sporty car with great transmission. Convertible has ridiculous blind spot, but otherwise very nice.

And the guy who writes the car reviews for the Chronicle is a hack.

2007 Coopers currently do not offer a JCW upgrade, but I am told that the new JCW for 2008 will bring the car up to 230hp and will be lighter and will be a turbo instead of a supercharger. Since the 2007s are 2" longer, should have a little better cruising manners and with the JCW upgrade should be a screamer.

Volvo XC60
 

Handsome new Volvo SUV concept

http://www.thecarconnection.com/imag...nails/3135.jpg

http://www.thecarconnection.com/imag...nails/3138.jpg