Boy this was a boring week. Not a single automotive event worth mentio... Ah, wait, the NIO EP9 smashed the Nurburgring lap record for production. Mighty impressive given that the benchmark was about eight years old, but there's a bit of a problem. The NIO EP9 isn't a production car. I know I'm old and my memory isn't as good as it used to be, but can you provide me a link from where I can order this car? You can't! Because this thing isn't for sale.

Sure, NIO says that six examples have already been sold to company investors and that 10 more cars are underway for the general public, but that's not much really. Maybe this contest over who has the bigger pecker on the 'Ring should have some additional rules. It's enough that automakers like Nissan make special tweaks to their cars for these benchmarks, and we don't need extremely limited runs validated as production models at the track. If it continues like this, carmakers will need to make just the one car to be considered a production vehicle soon. And it's stupid!

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Vegans Are Hypocrites

So, I read this article in which Bentley explains how it's considering alternative materials to use instead of leather. Because vegans don't want leather in their cars. It's nice and all that Bentley is taking requests -- that's what a luxury automaker should do -- by I'm sick and tired of vegans acting like they're saving the planet. First of all, the planet doesn't need to be saved. Once it's had enough of people, it will simply find a way to shake us off like fleas. Second, it's funny how vegans pretend to save the animals by not eating their meat or using their hide, while at the same time using products that either have a massively polluting manufacturing system or are being made by poor people with crappy pay in India, China or other Asian countries. Seriously now, stop pretending you care.

More Proof that the BMW M8 will Suck

Remember my rant from last week? Well, BMW just unveiled some of the specs for the upcoming M5 and it's using all-wheel-drive now. So, on top of not having a manual transmission, it won't have rear-wheel-drive either. Okay, okay, AWD is optional, but I have a feeling that the RWD model won't make it Stateside. And, even if it does, BMW will promote some BS about how the M8 is so premium and special that it needs all-wheel-drive. So, it will have the performance it deserves, but will lack the main two features that makes a classic BMW M desirable: three pedals and rear-wheel-drive. Good luck with that...

The Engine Is Supposed to Be in the Rear!

I don't think I've told you how much I love rear-engined cars, but this article here reminded me of that. I'm actually a bit annoyed that the design isn't more popular these days, especially with Porsche having already proven that the design doesn't have to have oversteer and cooling issues. Now I can also get a Smart or a Renault Twingo, but I'm more into the Chevrolet Corvair and Alpine A110 stuff. I'd kill for a Yenko Corvair or even a Corvair-based Fitch Sprint (look that one up, it's totally worth it) as much as I'd kill for some modern automaker to make a proper rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car. But, I'm obviously asking too much because today's drivers are too sensitive to handle oversteer.

Buy a Cruze, Save Some Cash

If you need more proof that you don't have to buy a crossover to get extra passenger and trunk room, here's an interesting article about the Chevrolet Cruze. Yup, the Cruze, a hatchback that outguns crossovers like the Chevrolet Trax, Toyota C-HR, and Mazda CX-3. No kidding; it's that good! So, you still need the ride height? What ride height, these crossovers don't ride so high to begin with.