Not A Car Guy

  Thanks to a friend of a friend (thanks, Rich!), I got to take a 2024 Lexus LC500 out for a drive. I've long been enamored by the LC500, which has been largely unchanged since its launch in 2018. It's almost certainly the last naturally aspirated V8 coupe that we will ever see from Japan. Car critics almost universally love this car, even as they admit that it doesn't win on specs against its competitors (see this recent LC500 vs. Porsche 911 comparison from Throttle House). A significant part of that adoration stems from the incredible V8 noises that this car makes when you put the pedal down.    But that's not what impressed me most about this car. Here are my takeaways, more or less in order of importance: That blue! Lexus doesn't have many truly amazing colors, but this blue is certainly one of them. Hovering right between electric blue and indigo, this is one impressive factory paint job. I also quite like the stock wheels. And it's a gorgeous car, even b...

Thanks to a trusting friend, I got to spend four hours behind the wheel of the 2025 Corvette Stingray. The Corvette has been an American automotive icon for nearly 75 years—often regarded as the blue-collar dream machine that many finally afford only after retirement. Now in its eighth generation (aka C8), this Corvette marks the first-ever mid-engined version, though the classic V8 heart remains intact. Car wags agree that this Corvette represents one of the greatest bargains in sports cars today, serving up performance you’d typically pay double for from European badges. That still means that these start in the high $60k range, and the trim package here is really in the mid-$70k range. (Super high-end variants go up into six figures, but it's hard to imagine that you could need any more performance for street driving.) Visually, this might be the only American car that consistently tricks me into mistaking it for a Ferrari or Lamborghini—particularly in blazing orange, which is ...

  I borrowed a 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge for a few hours (thanks Rob!), which I used to drive from San Francisco to Sonoma and back. Overall, I really liked it -- comfortable, easy to drive, excellent audio system, and plenty of power (perhaps too much, see below). It also has the advantage of actually fitting in our garage (made possible by power folding wing mirrors), which is something that neither the Tesla Model Y nor the Ford Mach-e can say.  Here are some impressions, in no particular order:  It feels like a regular car.  Some EVs (see, e.g., Tesla) seem committed to making the EV experience feel very different from regular ICE cars, leaning into huge screens and new interface conventions. This Volvo is not like that. It all feels very familiar. There's a screen, but there's also the familiar window buttons, steering wheel buttons (real buttons, not touch/swipe, thank god), buttons for defrost. Nor have they departed from familiar digital dash cluster design (s...

  Thanks to a friend's generosity and indulgence, I got to drive a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-e EV to Bend, Oregon and back. Two days, 1000 miles. It turned out to be a great drive, with perfect (if cold) weather and a great chance to listen to a bunch of new music unearthed for me by "best of 2022" lists.  The trip taught me a lot about the current reality of EV road trips. In short, the charging infrastructure today is janky AF. I had to juggle a gaggle of apps (A Better Route Planner, Electrify America, ChargePoint, as well as the Ford Pass app for the car) in order to figure out where I could charge *and* whether those chargers actually worked as advertised. It's hard to imagine having to vet my gas stations the way I'd vet an expensive restaurant, but that's what's needed for EV charging stations. I stopped at 5 different ones, and at none were all the chargers working. Some would charge, but only slowly. Others would charge for a few minutes, then quit m...

  Thanks to the kindness of a friend, I was able to take this 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range for a 240 mile drive, almost entirely on the highways to and from Roseville. This is my second car borrowed for this four-hour drive (the first being a 2013 Porsche Panamera GTS ). Overall verdict? The Tesla 3 is a great car, and I enjoyed my time with it. It feels like the future; it makes everything else feel dated by comparison.  But I'm going to start with the two reasons it's not for me.  First, the driver's footwell is just a tiny bit too narrow on the left side. Yes, I know, that's a weird complaint, but after two hours, my left knee was complaining because my foot couldn't turn out as much as it likes. These are the idiosyncratic things you only figure out when you've had some time in a vehicle.  Second, the rear blind spots are surprisingly big, such that I never got fully comfortable changing lanes (especially after dark). Like many modern cars, the C pillars in...

Thanks to my friend, Chris, I took this 2013 Porsche Panamera GTS for a 240 mile drive, to and from Roseville, almost entirely on the very boring I-80. This kind of highway driving is *exactly* where this German "executive luxury performance sedan" excels.  Let's start with the most polarizing aspect of the Panamera: when it came out, everyone hated how it looked. At the time, I thought it was trying too hard to look like a stretched out 911. Ten years on, I actually kind of like how it looks. Think of it as a Porsche hatchback, and it suddenly makes sense. It presaged the look now made ubiquitous by the Tesla Model S, but with more personality. And compared to the new BMWs, it's positively beautiful. Funny how our impressions change with time.  tl;dr: fast, comfortable, quiet. Despite the big V8 engine in front, this car is a quiet highway cruiser. Turns out, having a quiet interior also really makes the stereo sound a lot better (certainly better than the similar Bo...

Thanks to Turo, I was able to rent this 2015 Jaguar F-Type Coupe on a short midweek trip to Los Angeles (only $75/day!). It's the 340hp, 6-cylinder supercharged base model, with the 8-speed ZF automatic transmission. Coming in around $62k new, this one has already seen nearly 58k miles and some minor wear, given its "bought for renting out on Turo" life (the owner has a half dozen cars on Turo). Turning up the subwoofer revealed some annoying interior rattles, so I preferred the engine noise to the stereo for entertainment. I ended up not having much time to drive it, other than to and from the airport and a bit in Highland Park. My chief impressions were: It's a great looking car, and the coupe is better looking than the convertible, in my humble opinion. But you are completely at the mercy of the mirrors to see into the blind spots, which is a little daunting for those of us who still look over our shoulders when changing lanes; The automatic transmission i...

The tl;dr? Yes, it's as good as every car critic says. In fact, it's hard to think of anything to say about this car that hasn't already been said by dozens of car reviewers. Yes, it's brilliant. Thanks to Turo, I spent a weekend with this 2017 "ND" Miata (Mazda's fourth generation of the most popular sports car in history, NA, NB, NC, ND, get it?) in "soul red" and "grand touring" trim (that's the most feature-loaded trim package, above "base" and "club"). You can see the listing for the car here , and its owner, Rob, was an excellent Turo member to rent from. I drove it from Sunnyvale to Carmel and back over the course of three days. Primary impressions: (1) while I have nothing against turbocharged cars, the Miata makes the most of the linear throttle response from its naturally aspirated engine; (2) the steering was very good, if a little twitchy; (3) I still hate where they put the controller for the e...

I've been remiss in keeping this up-to-date with the various interesting cars I've managed to rent while on short trips. 2018 Ford Mustang Convertible 2018 Ford Mustang Convertible This one I rented from National Car Rental for a weekend in Sarasota, Florida. As befits a rental fleet car, this featured the 4-cylinder Ecoboost turbo engine, not the mighty V8 that makes the big noise and scares people at cars & coffee . But it did have the "premium" options package. Here's what I had to say about it: "I was amazed how much I liked it. Very quiet for a convertible with the top up, reasonably fast and responsive (in Sport+ mode), good visibility, interior both nice and roomy, competent entertainment system (Ford Sync) that actually sounded good, good sized trunk. I liked driving it a lot more than the new Audi A4. It's a bit big for city parking, but I never thought I would hear myself say "I could be totally happy with a Mustang as my daily...

My second Turo experience, this time in snowy Detroit. The owner was actually a Ford engineer in Dearborn, so this really was all in the American automotive family. The Ford Fiesta ST (aka FiST) is much beloved among car cognoscenti as a sporty-yet-practical "hot hatch." No, really, car people love this car . Basically, Ford took their basic Fiesta econobox, put a turbocharged, 200 hp, 4-cylinder in it, tuned the suspension, put in a 6-speed manual, made it look more angry, and built the world's most beloved entry level performance hatchback (yes, I know, the VW GTI is the king of this category, but it's more expensive). So, when I saw that it was available on Turo (in the 6 speed manual, of course), I figured that would be a fun weekend car in Detroit. Of course, I wasn't planning on snow. A lot of snow. Most of it melted quickly, but it was falling in big, wet flakes (and then hail) for much of the weekend. God bless the enthusiast owner, who had snow tire...

During a weekend visit to Kansas City (to eat BBQ, where Joe's was the stand-out favorite), I decided to try out Turo , which is most easily described as "Airbnb for cars." As it happens, one of the options was Aaron's 2006 Porsche Cayman S . At $69/day (sometimes it's as low as $54/day), it was easy to choose this over a generic rental car! The 2006 Cayman S was the second generation of the Boxster/Cayman platform, known as the "987" to the Porsche cognoscenti (Wikipedia details here ). It has a 3.4l six cylinder engine, mounted behind the driver/passenger and ahead of the rear wheels ("mid-engined"), mated to a 6 speed manual, and putting down 291 horsepower through the rear wheels. New, these were over $70k. Today, you can buy these in good condition for $20k-22k. So how was it? Pretty great, actually. The overall experience reminded me a lot of my 911 Turbo (but without the face-melting power). It is very well-planted, inspires confi...

This was an enlightening swap. Short summary: BMW created the "sports sedan" category, and this is a great exemplar that reminded me more than a little of my dad's 1972 BMW 2002tii. Excellent all-around transportation, plus fast, sporty, and fun. But it's not as fast and sporty as the 911 Turbo. So the 2012 BMW 135i on paper looks kind of similar to my 911 Turbo. They both have 6 cylinder turbocharged engines. They both have two doors and four seats. They are both German. They have about the same exterior dimensions. They both have red interiors. But the driving experience is totally different. The BMW is a sports sedan . Which means the car rides higher, the seating position is higher, the overall experience is "regular car, but better, faster, nicer, more fun." Great handling, great motor that revs freely and sounds great, good 6 speed gearbox, plenty of power ... but it's still a sedan, rather than a full-fledged sports car. Don't get m...

Although my 2002 911 Turbo is among the least desirable of the 911s, the non-turbo versions are the real " black sheep " of the 911 family. Porsche snobs hate the headlights (same as on the Turbo), the interior (same as the Turbo), and the water cooling (same as the Turbo). With somewhat more justification, they also carp about the rear main seal (RMS), which tends to leak, and the intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing, which can fail and destroy your engine at any moment (which is NOT the same on the Turbo, which has a different engine). But after a week in this car, I call nonsense on all that. Because this car is great. I mean it. If I were interested in long-term owning a 911, I would choose this over my Turbo. This comparison is an object lesson in how "too much car" can be less than "just the right amount of car."  So how is this car different from mine? Well, obviously it's a convertible. And that turns out to be a pretty big deal, ...

One thing about owning an interesting car is that you can swap with friends or coworkers for other interesting cars. My first swap was for my friend Todd's 1995 Miata. Now you might think I got the short end here, swapping a 13-year-old 911 Turbo for a 20-year-old, first-generation Miata (known as the "NA" Miata to Miata nerds). You would be wrong, for several reasons. First, I owned a 1997 Miata for 10 years, and I loved it. There is perhaps no more perfect car to drive under 50 miles per hour on a pretty road on a sunny day. Second, my Porsche had a bit of an "incident" that made it less fun for Todd while he had it. (More about that in a future post.) When you have a Miata, and it's sunny, you go for a drive. So, on a Saturday morning, I started my drive from Fort Funston in San Francisco, down to Pacifica, up to Skyline Boulevard, and then a stop at Alice's Restaurant for breakfast. Alice's is a regular stop for motorcycle and car enthus...