Best of Oppositelock: November 7 & 8, 2013

"DasWauto" (DasWauto)
11/13/2013 at 14:00 • Filed to: Best of Oppositelock

Gathered here are the Oppositelock posts that people put a good deal of effort into writing last Thursday and Friday. It includes Toyota going RWD, automotive firsts, why Tesla needs a race team and more.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - MtrRider

Toyota, long lambasted by enthusiast press for making boring economy cars, has just announced plans to cancel the Yaris, Matrix, Corolla, Camry, Prius and Avalon and replace them with a lineup of rear wheel drive sedans and coupes. The worlds largest automaker announced the plans to completely revamp their lineup after CEO Akio Toyoda drove a GT86 at Fuji Speedway Tuesday. "The car was fun" he said. "It handles better than the others. I want all cars to be like this."

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - Jake The Skull

As the last leaves of Autumn fall, I must force myself to do my least favorite thing. I have to winterize my R6. Motorcycle love isn't common in my family. In fact, in my entire family I'm the only person that owns a bike. Same goes for many a jalop. Here on Oppo and the front page most people stray away from them. Motorcycles have a bad reputation. Mostly inherited by those that ride them. Whether it be a pack of complete douche bags on rockets or a gang of bearded breatheren, bikes tend to frighten people. Hell, they scare the shit out of me at times.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - Borsuq

A passion for cars is something the majority of us have had for most of our lives. Some say that we were born with petrol in our blood, that it's something you either have in you or you don't, but I don't think that's the whole story. I believe we were all shaped by our surroundings, the cars we were around as youngsters, how we interacted with them, and whether the time we spent with them was enjoyable. Let's try to trace the development of our interest in everything automotive through all our 'firsts'.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - Memphis Raines

Farewell to the Maxima. She was one of my best friends and seeing her hauled away felt no less sad than saying goodbye to a longtime friend. You'll notice I don't have a name for the Maxima even though I affectionately refer to her as a her. I jokingly called her Rustia but she deserved so much more than a name, less original than hipsters drinking PBR. That, much like hipsters drinking PBR was in poor taste.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - Fractal Footwork

Automotive Racing used to be about proving and testing the technology of a road car in the high stress environment of a race; those days are long gone, and now companies race more for the marketing potential than anything else. The idea of a company improving their cars through racing has been steadily dwindling, yet Tesla may be on the right foot to make a racing team race for what 'works teams' were originally meant to do, develop the road car from the race car.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - Fractal Footwork

The 80s rivalry continues... The 959 was the tech car utilizing computers and systems to achieve its unheard speed that would most certainly appease the Bill Gates of the world (and did), while the F40 was the turbocharged leviathan that planned to rip your head off with unseen performance and a the lust Ferrari hadn't made since Lamborghini showed up. Did the 959's overcomplicated geekiness and puff-the-magic-dragon-wouldn't-even-smoke-this styling keep it from the Breakfast Club, and did the F40's age old ethos of attaining performance and its bare-minimum interior stop it from being the car that brought you back to those 16 candles? Also check out !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - ZaqAtaq

I drove a Pontiac Vibe. I inherited it. I drove it for 5 years and 10 months; 107,000 miles. It crushed my soul. For the last 6 months I had this conversation with my wife every 3rd day: Me: I appreciate that the Vibe is paid off, rarely breaks down, has served me well for the past 5 years, but it's killing me. Loving Wife: Well what do you want? Me: A reliable hatchback with four doors that gets good gas mileage and is fun to drive.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - 05sonic3valve

What is Horsepower, and why do I care? Horsepower is a term used to describe an output of force where one horsepower equals 746 watts, or, in mechanical equivalents, one horsepower = 550 ft/lbs per second. The term was originally created to compare the output of a steam engine to that of horses.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - TheDailyTurismo

The Lancia Delta was a little Giugiaro designed crap box that shared most of its architecture with the Fiat Ritmo and Saab 600 and would have been a totally forgettable car if not for the HF Integrale version with 6 back-to-back World Rally Championship constructor's title from 1987-1992.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - 55Buick

We have been making fun of BMW recently for model line bloat and their current vehicles lack of driving enjoyment. This is all well and good, because, well, it's true. They've exploited every possible outlet for their cars. Gran Coupe? Really? I mean, call it the 5 series or something. And don't get me started on the "Gran Turismos." Anyway, we've been asking the same questions about BMW for a while now. "Has BMW lost its way?" And "The best days of BMW are surely behind us, right?" I think that, even though BMW is (arguably) in a rut right now, they can easily turn it around. Here's why.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! - N2Skylark

I'm a major auto enthusiast. People usually come up to me at parties and play "I'll ask you about any car ever and you can tell me about it." Fun for everyone ensues. Every now and then, however, I discover that my vehicle awareness is incomplete. This shouldn't be surprising, since I was born in 1983, post DeLorean DMC-12. However, a new discovery is always a fun and fascinating thing for me.

The Best of the Rest

Bird took photos at the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Acousticaperture photographed cars at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Burglar !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . 71MGBGT !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . 03SubaruWagon !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . JCAlan !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Blackhawk !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Wolfezx !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Oldirtybootz !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . NaturallyAspirated !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . BiTurbo228 !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Paul, Man of Mustangs !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Monovich !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Liquid_Popcorn !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

As always, If I've missed something and you would like me to include it, let me know.

Fun Discussions

There were several posts that asked questions and sparked some good discussion last Thursday and Friday. Take a peek and chime in on some of them listed below:

How do you sell a unicorn car?

Show off your workstations!

Winter Tire Questions

F1 Technical on Oppo - Singapore Grand Prix

F1 Technical on Oppo - Korean Grand Prix

F1 Technical on Oppo - Italian Grand Prix

Rebuild or replace brakes - what to do, what to do

DD, Track, Burn - Tough Italians Edition

Craigslist Hunt: $45,000 Rich Country Club Golfer Dude's Car

Does Oppo know the Smart Roadster?

How Much Horsepower Is A Lot Today?

The Opposite Locker - Suggestions?

What is the Most Expensive Car on Your Craigslist?

What Color Would You Get It In: McLaren MP4-12C

Scion FR-S or Focus ST?

Whats your favorite engine name?

How would you mod a baby stroller?

DD Track Burn: "Get Off My Lawn"

My Thoughts On A Few New Cars

When you enter your car, and you turn it on, do you…

Jack Stand buying advice

Just the #tips

Gordon murray Film

This is why stance is stupid

Peugeot could return to the Dakar rally

Speedmonkey Vauxhall Adam video review

New Honda Ad Fucks With Your Mind

So, Butzi didn't design the 911?

Jaguar F-Type Coupe Production Ready Spy Shots - Speedmonkey

Brian Deegan tries to wreck Raptor at SEMA

Italian priest gives Pope Francis a 20-year-old Renault

A Campaign to Ticket Lane Hogs: Gearheads Everywhere Rejoice

End of an Era: Mercedes FF73 engine

Sir Jackie Stewart: not just A. N. Other racer

Russian Citizens Use Buckets To Protest Motorcades For The Rich

Scion Xb + Police Car Chase + Benny Hill Music = Priceless

Oops: NC Traffic Alert Warns Of ‘Women Drivers, Rain, Obama Care’

Wanna hear something truly terrible?

Korres P3 Sports car / Off Roader Hybrid

Mark Webber explains COTA Lap

Honourable Mentions

These posts have already been shared with Jalopnik directly but deserve to be mentioned again because they were first posted in Oppositelock:

This V8 RWD Focus Is A Treat From An Alternate Dimension

We've fapped to the Wrong Jag

Murphy's Law Is Wrong: Managing Safety in Motorsports

Only Kimi could get away with this

Want to participate on Oppositelock? Check out the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! as well the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to help you get started.