I was browsing Jalopnik and saw this article there linked from Kotaku:

Clicky.

I think it looks great! I don't have an Elite controller (yet!), but when I get one, I hope they make a thumbstick like that available. Looks like it would be great for Forza!

That thing is gorgeous. Paddle-shifting would also be pretty cool, so good call on the Elite controller as template.

- No text -

Wow! That looks really good.

- No text -

- No text -

I was browsing Jalopnik and saw this article there linked from Kotaku:

Clicky.

I think it looks great! I don't have an Elite controller (yet!), but when I get one, I hope they make a thumbstick like that available. Looks like it would be great for Forza!

Toyota is a comparable contrast to Ford, if we were to look at the quality of the consoles. ;)

(insert snide remark about a fire starting in your hands)

Tesla pushed an OTA update that increase the height of the suspension so the batteries would stay farther away from the ground (thus reducing the risk of puncture) while their engineers figured out a permanent solution.

If that isn't freaking kick-ass, I don't know what is.

Toyota is a comparable contrast to Ford, if we were to look at the quality of the consoles. ;)

If you're stuck in 1993.

You know, for DBO?

Toyota is a comparable contrast to Ford, if we were to look at the quality of the consoles. ;)

If you're stuck in 1993.

Heh, I was going to tell him he's right, the Xbox is way better (cooler and more fun, less pedestrian, etc.) than the PS4.

:)

…and still has a stake in the company.

I'm sure they totally handle the same, too. ;-)

GF has a white Fiesta hatchback that has that bodytype. Gorgeous little car. Too bad I despise the Ford gearbox.

GF has a white Fiesta hatchback that has that bodytype. Gorgeous little car. Too bad I despise the Ford gearbox.

That auto, I assume? My buddy has the Fiesta ST with the manual (the only thing that car comes with, I think), and it's a great transmission. That car is one of the most fun things I've ever driven. It's not fast, but it's impossible to drive on a curvy road without grinning like an idiot.

They've been using that Aston grill for five years or so now, though. The rest of the car didn't get as good looking until really recently.

I'm admittedly a Ford fan boy; I bought a 2002 Mustang GT when I graduated highschool nine years ago, and it has been my daily driver since then, and I'll never get rid of it. But even so, anyone that thinks Ford still makes crappy cars needs to take another look. They are probably the best American car company right now (although all of them have gotten a lot better, except for may Chrysler which is making a bunch of bullshit now that they're owned by Fiat), and they have very nice, very competitive cars in every segment.

The Fiesta is a great little car. The Fusion is a great sedan, the F-150 Ecoboost is the best truck on the market right now, etc, etc. And that's to say nothing of the brand new Mustang, which is the best that car has ever been. It is now a legitimate sports car, and not just a high horsepower brick. They targeted the Porsche 911 performance when designing it, and from what I've experienced with it, they nailed it. It's as close as they can get while keeping the car at sub $50k. And if you've got a couple hundred grand laying around, you can grab the new Cobra Jet which runs low 8 second quarter miles from the factory, or wait a few years and get a new GT, which will probably be incredible judging by the last iteration.

Oh, and they can design the hell out of an Xbox controller. :)

That auto, I assume? My buddy has the Fiesta ST with the manual (the only thing that car comes with, I think), and it's a great transmission. That car is one of the most fun things I've ever driven. It's not fast, but it's impossible to drive on a curvy road without grinning like an idiot.

Nope. Manual too. I got used to soft European shifts so the hard/short travel of both the clutch and the actual stick sucks. Can't deny it feels damn great on the road, though. Stable as hell and boy can she run.

They've been using that Aston grill for five years or so now, though. The rest of the car didn't get as good looking until really recently.

Not down here, they haven't. Glad we finally got it, though. :)

I'm admittedly a Ford fan boy; I bought a 2002 Mustang GT when I graduated highschool nine years ago, and it has been my daily driver since then, and I'll never get rid of it. But even so, anyone that thinks Ford still makes crappy cars needs to take another look. They are probably the best American car company right now (although all of them have gotten a lot better, except for may Chrysler which is making a bunch of bullshit now that they're owned by Fiat), and they have very nice, very competitive cars in every segment.

Pretty much, yeah. Considering up to very recently, Fiat and VW entry-level cars had the majority of the market down here, the new affordable Ford and KIA cars are breath of fresh air.

Oh, and they can design the hell out of an Xbox controller. :)

+1

Nope. Manual too. I got used to soft European shifts so the hard/short travel of both the clutch and the actual stick sucks. Can't deny it feels damn great on the road, though. Stable as hell and boy can she run.

What sort of manual things have you driven before? Just curious. I guess I can see where you're coming from, I think. The Fiesta ST that I've driven a few times was great, but granted I was driving it through the hills around Napa Valley in California, and it was great for just slamming through the gears in that environment. I'm sure it wouldn't feel as good on a daily basis through town.

Not down here, they haven't. Glad we finally got it, though. :)

I'm glad Ford is starting to be more forward-thinking globally. I'm eager to see where global sales for the Mustang end up. On the other side of the coin, the United States is finally getting a Focus RS next year.

America misses out on a lot of cool cars (like the RS) because they don't sell very well here. We don't have any cool wagons, either, which is a shame. The Cadillac CTS wagon was gorgeous, but they killed it after a few years because no one bought it. Americans just don't like wagons, and I suspect that Europeans wouldn't even look at it and instead stuck with buying Mercedes or Audi wagons (although I don't actually even know if Cadillac sold the wagon across the pond). I'd much rather have a CTS wagon than any SUV on the road. And while they don't technically serve the same purpose, most Americans would be better off with a wagon than a giant SUV, 99% of which never leave the pavement, but people here just won't go for it.

Pretty much, yeah. Considering up to very recently, Fiat and VW entry-level cars had the majority of the market down here, the new affordable Ford and KIA cars are breath of fresh air.

Fiat hasn't been in the States for very long, but from what little I've seen (and driven), I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. My buddy was cross shopping the 500 Abarth, and it was a fun drive, but didn't hold a candle to the Fiesta ST. And it just felt like a cheap car, where the Fiesta doesn't (with respect to the price, obviously). It had less that 500 miles on the clock and rattled and squeaked like a ten year old Wrangler. It was just awful.

My sister just bought a Wrangler (an older one), but she was looking at new Jeeps like the Renegade (which is just a bloated Fiat), and it had the same problem of just feeling like a cheap piece of crap. She bought a '99 Wrangler instead (and no one has every argued that Wranglers are particularly well built; I'm pretty sure they left the factory with squeaks and rattles), but it was still better than the Renegade in feeling like a well put together vehicle.

I haven't ever driven a KIA, although I've heard they have gotten a lot better in the last five or so years, as well. I still probably wouldn't even look at KIA if I was buying a new car, though.

What sort of manual things have you driven before? Just curious.

Mostly french cars. Since I've learned to drive, my parents have had both Peugeots and Citroens (which, coincidentally, share a lot of their parts). I have also driven a few VWs and Fiats, but they were so cheaply built I try not to compare.

Fiat hasn't been in the States for very long, but from what little I've seen (and driven), I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot pole. My buddy was cross shopping the 500 Abarth, and it was a fun drive, but didn't hold a candle to the Fiesta ST. And it just felt like a cheap car, where the Fiesta doesn't (with respect to the price, obviously). It had less that 500 miles on the clock and rattled and squeaked like a ten year old Wrangler. It was just awful.

Heh, the 500 (not even the Abarth 500), is sold as high-end here. You wouldn't believe what Fiat's entry-level car is. I'm pretty sure it is more dangerous to drive one of those than be run-over by a Volvo.

I haven't ever driven a KIA, although I've heard they have gotten a lot better in the last five or so years, as well. I still probably wouldn't even look at KIA if I was buying a new car, though.

You see, we don't have a national automotive industry (much less a solid one like yours). The cars that are built here are, in the vast majority of the cases, adaptations on foreign designs. That paired with the push for profit margins and abusive taxes makes for some very poor quality cars. KIA was one of the very first auto makers to sell good quality cars for competitive prices. You could buy a barebones VW Gol or a kitted-out KIA i30 for the same amount of cash. If you manage to dissuade your inner prejudice against Asian cars, suddenly you have a very obvious choice.

Heh, the 500 (not even the Abarth 500), is sold as high-end here. You wouldn't believe what Fiat's entry-level car is. I'm pretty sure it is more dangerous to drive one of those than be run-over by a Volvo.

The Abarth 500 is sold as high-end, here, coming in at around $26,000, which is stupid money for what that car offers, in my opinion. That's used C6 Corvette money, or SN197 style Shelby GT500 money, so what sort of drugs would I have to be on to buy a Fiat over either of those?

I haven't ever driven a KIA, although I've heard they have gotten a lot better in the last five or so years, as well. I still probably wouldn't even look at KIA if I was buying a new car, though.

You see, we don't have a national automotive industry (much less a solid one like yours). The cars that are built here are, in the vast majority of the cases, adaptations on foreign designs. That paired with the push for profit margins and abusive taxes makes for some very poor quality cars. KIA was one of the very first auto makers to sell good quality cars for competitive prices. You could buy a barebones VW Gol or a kitted-out KIA i30 for the same amount of cash. If you manage to dissuade your inner prejudice against Asian cars, suddenly you have a very obvious choice.

I can understand that, and I don't have anything against Kia personally; they just don't make a car I'd be interested in buying.

Although, as seen above, I don't really think about car buying like a lot of people. When you can buy bare bones brand new cars for $20,000, I start looking at what I can buy used for half that, and it's usually something a lot more fun! I'd sooner spend $20,000 on a 2003 Mustang Cobra than the same amount of money for a Fiat (or even the Fiesta ST). Granted, I'm still a single guy in my late 20s, so I don't have to worry about trying to stuff kids in it or anything like that. I'm also still daily driving a car I bought almost ten years now, which is pretty rare here.

A classic case of rent a car, oh shit it's a manual. I said I'd learn to drive one. Worked out fine. Luckily the Italians are such awful drivers nobody noticed, but I was in the mountains so it was rough. Turned out all right.

My next one was a Peugot 107 I rented to drive to the top of a mountain using back roads in Spain. Absolutely annihilated the front end of that thing. Good times.

They both felt like I was pushing a stick through gelatin filled with sand. What's a good one like?