Frisky Dingo

With an all-new Passat right around the corner riding on MQB, this is not only surprising, this is a good move. Passat sales have been dropping sharply. This culls the lineup to 2 nice trims that will be attractive to buyers.

C7 changes things completely. 7MT Z51, swap the front grille for a Z06 piece, add the front and side splitters, lower it 1.5 inches, and done.

@ykX For the money, none of the 3 cars would be on my radar in real life. That said, if I HAD to choose one of the 3, I'd go with a new 2019 Miata. The power bump really saves. Beyond that, it looks great and has a handling balance/sweetness and tactility that neither of the other 2 could ever dream of matching. 35K is C6 Grandsport money, and even higher mileage Z06 if you look hard enough, any reason to go base? Aside from that, I'd pass straight over all of these and find the nicest manual RWD 997 Coupe I could get.

Wow, surprised to see the Atlas get the nod. While not an enthusiast vehicle, it nails the mission statement buyers in this segment demand. If they just gave us the same turbo-V6 it gets in China, the thing would be near perfect. The old N/A VR6 has just reached the end of it's lifespan.

Great looking little ride. A marked improvement over the current model.

Cool cars, but come on, this brand doesn't have a creative or innovative bone left in its body.

A joke, and a disgrace to the Blazer nameplate.

For the most part. He does buy some super exclusive/ultra high end cars that he keeps. For instance, he has an older (05-06) Ford GT, an 05 Porsche Carrera GT, an older SL65 AMG Black Series, a Porshce 918, an 08 Veyron, and a new Chiron.

Ah, yes, how silly of me. That just added to the suspense though, right? As the picture shows, it was a 570S. With Track Pkg, ultra lightweight forged wheels, and a bunch of other pricey options. MSRP new as 212K. Thanks! I try to put a little effort into them. Just all dependent on the car, I guess.

Very good looking.

Well guys, it happened. I never thought it would, but I drove a car that may be technically perfect. You can stop reading here if you want, or go further for me to explain why. I'm pretty sure I have spoken of our one particular client from whom we get regularly get a lot of very high end cars from. Last Friday upon arriving at work, I was simply told to "...get in, we're going to pick up some of Tommy's cars." I don't need anymore of an invite than that. Typically, we pick his cars up from one of two locations- from a parking garage underneath one of his friend's restaurants that is nearby, or from a shop about 10 miles away where he has his cars detailed. This time we were picking them up from his newly acquired warehouse out by our regional airport about 15 miles away. I was told on the way we were getting a few Hellcats, an AMG, a McLaren, and I pretty much stopped listening there. Just as well, as it turns out the rest of the cars were a built Wrangler, an Aston Martin Vanquish, and a new NSX. We get there, I walk up to this gorgeous little escape pod-looking thing of swoops, curves, and vents and relish in it for a moment. This ought to be good. Anything with scissor doors had better be. It's as if the car is already making a little more of a claim than your 'average' 200K sports car. I get in, rather easily I might add, and fire it up. Sounds good. Not amazing, but really good. A little loud, a fair bit of mechanical chattering. I embarrassingly spend the next 5 minutes trying to figure out how to adjust the power seat- it's in a really weird place- and then start looking for what I call the 'fun control' settings. You know, the ones that adjust suspension, power delivery, throttle response, etc. I put them each- 'Powertrain' and 'Chassis'- in Sport, the next to most aggressive setting. And then I set off. And almost immediately have my mind completely blown. This car sparked an instant connection that I have never before experienced in a car. It sounds silly to say, but it was more akin to donning a suit that endows one with superhuman abilities than getting in an automobile and driving. The thing that I most quickly noticed was that the weight, feel, and response of all the controls were exactly as I would want them, and they were all in perfect harmony. By that I mean, if I could conceptualize in my mind what would be a perfect-to-me user interface in terms of steering, throttle, brakes, suspension, and gearbox feel, control, and precision, this car physically embodied it. It was together staggering and something I hadn't quite thought possible. It instantly wanted you to take control and impose your will on the road ahead. Such was the otherworldly melding of the machine with the man that it almost felt as if the car did what you thought, before you even gave the command. The steering, pedals, and suspension are all so free of slop the car feels telepathic, as if every layer of isolation between you and the input and following response were evaporated. I constantly found myself waiting for openings large enough to downshift a few gears, and catapult myself into oblivion with its relentless acceleration. Relative to the amount of power the car has, or at least, is rated at, I have never driven a quicker car. It makes a Hellcat, or GT3, or 458 Italia feel positively slow in comparison. It piles on speed so quickly the poor digital speedometer can hardly keep up. In lower gears, the far right place is a blur of unreadable white figures, the left place climbing as quickly as your average sedan's right under full throttle. In gear pulls from about 3K rpm or so trigger a delightful audible spool of the turbos followed by a fluttering of wastegates when you lift. The forced induction here is an added depth of aural pleasure rather than a penalty. Taking the car through a series of bends is an exercise of making singular, clean, precise, slight movements, the car flowing through your intended direction changes with astounding obedience and control. Mid corner bumps are soaked up and shrugged off in one movement. The car just goes where you point it, immediately and faithfully. Though the car's grip far surpasses your ability- or bravery- it makes you feel as if you are a critical component of the car's actions. I know McLaren has been criticized for some of their older cars feeling clinical or computerized. This car is not that. It feels blissfully pure, simple, and intuitive. It operates with such a level of precision and control as to completely embarrass most Ferraris, Porsches, and Lamborghinis. It makes 570 hp and its eye-widening acceleration feel completely normal. It feels no more extreme than a 200 hp Camry. And I mean that in the best way possible. It is inviting, offering thrills that are easily attained. But it also has such a high performance envelope, it will constantly reward you for working ever so slightly up towards them. Is it prefect? I'm not sure. On the one hand, I don't know if anything can be. On the other, I don't know that I could really point out any flaws or kinks. I suppose if I really wanted to nitpick I could say it doesn't sound as good as a Huracan. Or that some of the interior controls and features were not the most user friendly in the world- ahem, power seats, ahem. But those don't really have an impact on how the car drives. So, in summary, perhaps I can leave it at saying this is the closest to perfect driving car I've ever been in. That's still quite some praise to bestow on a car, no? I can't get my phone to format the pictures correctly when I email them, so here is a car that is spec'd identically to the one I drove, wheels and all-

I'm fortunate enough that the dealership where I work has allowed me the opportunity to drive the vast majority of newer cars that I've longed for. Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches, Astons, etc, etc. The one car that I just wish to drive more than anything is definitely a Porsche Carrera GT. It's my favorite car ever made, and there is nothing left like it on the market.

Hmmm.....this is interesting. And enticing.

Overall, I like it, but they could have done better.

Yes. All these sensationalized pieces and article titles are getting out of control. Nobody in their right would think that the actual goal here is to ban German cars. It's to merely level the playing field in regards to taxes as you pointed out.