Ooooo - my own hate mail!

Lesley wrote: One of them just told me to "keep my stereotypes to myself".

Yep. Some people just don't have a funnybone.

I loved the article. Well done! But, dammit. Now I want a Abarth. Can someone give me the quick details? When did they become available? Anything to look for or to avoid? How much is one going to cost me?

Lesley...this is your fault!

In reply to Lesley:

Derpers gonna derp.

Derp indeed! One commenter claimed he "gave reading you story after two paragraphs" and another said "while I usually don't mind reading your story, this one is better suited to TMZ.

It's been available for a while (the Abarth). I drove it on the track last year, fun, but torque steer. And it's a bit dramatic while braking hard.

All I have to say is, if you disturb the E36 M3, I don't know what else you expect.

I constantly write to journalists whose viewpoints or articles I don't agree with (and usually receive replies).

In fact, someone who I consider a good acquaintance of mine was by me originally stating "who the F*&K is Dean Campbell?" followed by a long diatribe about his article that I very strongly disagreed with.

when did cars start having sex, let alone same-sex sex?

lol... and you missed what I feel could be an important but likely obvious addition to this yabbos discription... I doubt it was just a white-brimmed cap... but a white-flat-brimmed cap...

anyway... enjoyed the read... but I doubt you'd be doing this for a living if if wasn't so well written

Ah, but see, I'm old and totally missed whether the bill was flat or not. What does that signify, anyway?

Yah, HiTempguy - just like building cars... if you don't push the boundaries, you end up with middle of the road. Nothing wrong with that, but it does tend to get boring.

Lesley wrote: Ah, but see, I'm old and totally missed whether the bill was flat or not. What does that signify, anyway?

Yuppies/hipsters/douchebags/fanbois/wtf ever you want to call them

All things considered, the criticism is pretty tame, almost passive-aggressive. Honestly, the things people find to complain about is well beyond my understanding.

That said, fun article. After a lifetime of car mag whoring, I'd much rather read something like that than yet another by-the-numbers description.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks guys - that's my opinion too. There are plenty of specs & numbers pieces out there, I find those mind-numbing to write.

Lesley wrote: Thanks guys - that's my opinion too. There are plenty of specs & numbers pieces out there, I find those mind-numbing to write.

"Here's the press release"

At least you'd still get the pretty hair comments...

I could kinda-sorta see the stick comment as ruffling some feathers, but overall I thought it was a great review.

Bet they'd absolutely have a conniption if they got the "See you next Tuesday" reference...

Excellent piece. The use of the drag queens was sheer brilliance, but I guess you have to have a sense of humor to get that.

Lesley wrote: It's been available for a while (the Abarth). I drove it on the track last year, fun, but torque steer. And it's a bit dramatic while braking hard.

I've had two or three people tell me 500 Abarth + sticky tires + hard braking in a turn = One guy actually rolled the car.

In reply to Curmudgeon:

Not surprised. First time I hard-braked was a bit of a sphincter-clencher.

Lesley wrote: Yah, probably. The one guy hates on everything I do: was appalled by the mention of my RAF pilot father in a german car story, hated my piece on Le Mans, since the race has gone downhill since the 70s and the cars are all ugly now...

I think every 'net community has one of those. I quit the message boards at Classmates 15yrs ago when the "resident whiner" there said something snarky about my profession. I asked if we could take the conversation to e-mail (or even another forum) so that we didn't screw up the board for everyone, and she went on a three day diatribe about how I was threatening her freedom of speech. And she had graduated years before my class, none of us even knew her!

As far as the article itself goes, I thought it was hilarious.

How dare you try to write a review where you inject a healthy dose of humor poking fun at the stereotypical the culture and lifestyle aspect of driving a car! Don't you know that real auto journalists only talk about things like "dynamic road-hugging torques"? That is what makes a car review interesting and memorable.

I thought it was a great article.

I think the biggest risk was referring to the drag queens as "substantial." People been killed for less.

Beer Baron wrote: How dare you try to write a review where you inject a healthy dose of humor poking fun at the stereotypical the culture and lifestyle aspect of driving a car! Don't you know that real auto journalists only talk about things like "dynamic road-hugging torques"? That is what makes a car review interesting and memorable.

Oh noooo, real auto journalists are all secretly race car drivers just waiting to be scouted. The rest of us don't know anything and have no right having an opinion on driving.

Personally... I think it helps if you can write as well.

I thought it was a great article, don't mind the haters!

I had a similar experience with a group of mouthbreathers in a big Chevy pickup at a light, when I owned my supercharged '95 Miata.

Didn't handle it with nearly the the grace you did, though. But hopefully they learned a lesson about power-to-weight ratios, and in physics when they tried to give pursuit down a back country road.

Oh, good job! I love when that happens.

That was funny. I think it was amusing anf after reading a few kf the comments to each thier own. Great work and to add, great hair.......hahahahahhahaha

I enjoyed the article. Thanks for helping to drag car culture just a little bit closer to civilization.