Drew Dowdell

Chinese Smart Car Copy Outrages DaimlerChrysler Chinese company CMEC has begun production of a new two-seat city car that appears for all the world like DaimlerChrysler offshoot Smart's six-year-old Fortwo. And its appearance has DaimlerChrysler executives hopping mad. Even the name of the Chinese car is daringly close to that of the original: Electric City Smart. Smart's original two-seater was christened the City Coupe before adopting the name Fortwo in 2004. Aesthetically, there's not much separating the two cars. Only the door handles, exterior mirrors and fuel tank of the CMEC-produced car display any discernible change from the original Smart design.

Camry glitch In four-cylinder Camrys, the software allegedly learns the driver's style, and those drivers with a frugal right foot get less response over time. Sudden demands for power – like a quick shift into the passing lane – can confuse the system and leave drivers with less power than they need.

Civic Si = 139ft/lbs. @ 6100 MazdaSpeed 3 = 280ft/lbs. @ 3000 RPM Volkswagen GTI = 207ft/lbs. @ 1800 RPM Interesting comparisons 3.8 litre Regal GS = 280ft/lbs. @ 3600 RPM 3.6 litre Cadillac CTS = 252ft/lbs. @ 3100 RPM 2.5 litre Subaru WRX = 235ft/lbs. @ 3600 RPM 6000+ RPM to get to peak torque? That's the reason you have to drive the snot out of the Si to get anywhere while all the others can turn a more leisurely RPM and still feel fast.

The point you're missing is that 128 or 256 would be just fine for Windows 98/ME, but insufficient for Windows XP.... which is what would come with your laptop. you also don't want to get something that won't be able to run the next version of Windows. Those desktops I pointed out will do fairly well with Windows Vista when the time comes.

bet mom is pissed when she has to change the tires with each fillup

Well built, reliable, fuel efficent, comfortable and more premium looking than an Accord or Camry. *shrug*

I think my biggest <obvious> swing was my utter disgust at the Avalanche when it first came out. I was a huge SUV hatre. Later, I became interested in them for their unique versitility, then once I suddenly needed a truck, I looked at them closely and found them downright attractive. Now, I own one. The Lucerne has grown on me a lot. I think when I first saw it, I called it a Mercury Sable-Pheaton. That comment is probably on this board somewhere. These days, I wouldn't say no to one.

I used to think that the '06 Camry was an '06 Hyundai Sonata that was beaten with an ugly stick. Now I think that the '06 Camry is an '05 Mazda 6 that was beaten with an ugly stick. what.... it's an improvement in opinion... isn't it?

you can boot any Intel Mac into Windows XP and game from there. you get the best of both worlds.

Macbooks and MacMini Duos are far superior to the G5. As far as everything else, all the DVD and graphics stuff can be done on the mac <some say with superior performance>, and with a MacBook or Mac Mini Duo, you can also boot into Windows XP natively.... so you can game. As far as versitility, you can't beat the intel based Macs right now. The Macbooks also price out cheaper than an equivilantly equiped IBM, Dell, or Toshiba.

DOHC does not automatically make an engine great and pushrods do not automatically make an engine suck. Examples? Ford 3.0 litre DOHC, just about any mitsubishi sourced Chrysler V6, S/C 3800 <you'll poo poo this, but it's performance numbers are *still* on par with the "modern" V6s>. I have in fact seen "Steering wheel too thick" and "Cruise on the stalk" in the 'Lows' column for GM cars. I want to know how either of those are quality issues. I want to know why parts of the dash that you never touch unless cleaning have to be Serta soft to be considered high quality. The 4-speed, 5-speed, 6-speed is mostly a penis waving contest. In most applications, you'd never notice the difference. I have a both a 4-speed and 5speed and they both work equally fine. The one I love most is the 3-spoke steering wheel "being sportier" and gaining a car points with the car-rags.

Chas's iBook is about 3 years old and still runs just fine.

as do just about any modern processors

Dollar for dollar, Macbooks out perform PCs

"waaaay too generic of a comparison." the new MacBooks are generally faster than an equally priced PC Laptop

Is that lower bumper thingy just glued on? It doesn't look integrated at all.

The steering wheel will be too thick, or too great in diameter, or have a 4-spokes instead of the car-rag demanded 3 <while ignoring the 4-spokes on the CamCord>, or the cruise will be on the turn signal stalk, or the plastic material under the seats that covers the seat track ends will be "low rent", or the styling will be "derivative or uninspired" while ignoring the buck tooth on the Accord and the monkey nose on the camry, or they'll compair a base model Malibu with an Ecotec to a Camry SE V6 "because that's all Toyota had available for testing", or.....

I think the Si is proof that people focus too much on horsepower and generally ignore torque. Sure the Si has a great horsepower to displacement ratio, but so does my weedwacker. Unfortunately for my neighbors, I have to rev the hell out of my weedwacker to get any use out of it.

Naturally, different transmissions sap different amounts of power. I couldn't seem to find it in the article, but doesn't the GTI have a DSG transmission?

Ack! Even worse. Laptops have inherently slower hard drives and bus speeds. That dog of a Celeron desktop becomes a boat anchor of a laptop.

1. install iTunes 2. open iTunes and connect iPod for the first time 3. grab the CDs you want to be able to play on your iPod 4. make sure computer is signed onto the net 5. insert CD into CD-Rom drive* 6. Click the "import" button in the upper right corner of iTunes 7. Repeat with each CD. *Non-professional CDs will not import track names. Only shrink wrapped CDs will import track names.

you think a Millenia is a stylish car.... by that measure, Fly is gayer than you.

Think about it. Lots of old people buy Honda Accords.... why wouldn't they also consider a DTS? You buy an Accord because you have to, but you buy a DTS because you want to.

Dude, forget the Dell. Substantially better deal $499.00 AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3200+ 160GB SATA 7200RPM hard drive 512MB RAM DVD±RW 9-in-1 USB flash card reader - for your digi-cam Substantially better deal number 2 $439.00 AMD's Athlon 64 3500+ 200GB, 7200 RPM hard drive 512MB ram DVD±RW Dual Layer Internal Flash Media Reader Both of these machines have their pluses and minuses over each other, but either one you go with will be a better buy than the Dell. Both of these machines are Microsoft Vista capable where as the Dell won't be.