Letters posted here are associated with the following Salon Premium Member:

Farhad Manjoo

Published Letters: 206
Editor's Choice: 55

Thursday, July 3, 2008 01:27 PM

@oldefortran, umwelt of the Smart

Hehe, you rail against "shallow analysis," but then point to this? You're a funny guy.

http://www.topgear.com/blogs/drives/016-smart-fortwo/

For every occasion that you squeeze into a tiny gap or revel in the reverse sexual psychology that a tiny three-cylinder engine affords you, there are a dozen times when you want a six-cylinder manual penis extension with a proper boot and a wheelbase that's long enough to cope with a speed bump.

Enter the second generation Smart. Bigger (but not by too much), safer, quicker, smoother. So they say anyhoo, and on the whole they're right.

It feels spacious, it feels faster, the transmission has improved (a bit), and there's a full 70-litres more boot back there. Daimler Chrysler is a tad skint these days, so it's tricky to keep niche brands afloat.

Someone's done sterling work here however, maturing the ForTwo without ageing it. Interior quality is far more impressive, as is the high-speed ride. I like this car more than ever.

But I'm still not sure I could live with one.

Thursday, July 3, 2008 02:30 PM

@marcparis, metric

Because 1 KB is 1024 bytes, and so on. Thus 12 TB = 12288 GB.

Thursday, July 3, 2008 04:40 PM

@James, they are going to the "source"

They're suing Google for copyright infringement.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 12:55 PM

@Xrandadu Hutman

Yes, I'm leaving. Friday is my last day. I'll post an announcement here on Friday.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 01:43 PM

@Monkey, Yes

It was something you said.

Monday, July 21, 2008 06:24 PM

@monkey

No, just dropping in.

Most Active Letters Threads

738

The commendably missing element from Obama's speech

There was no pretense that human rights is our goal, or the likely outcome, in escalating the war
688

Obama's exceedingly familiar justifications for escalation

The "new" approach to Afghanistan touted by White House officials seems quite old
353

America's regression

It's almost impossible to find a nation with as many torture advocates as the U.S. has.
329

Yes, it's Obama's war now

An uninspiring speech sells a dubious policy, but progressives who feel betrayed have only themselves to blame
210

The poster boy for progressive self-delusion

Read Hayden's 2008 Obama endorsement to remember the way the left sold our centrist president to itself

View all »

Letters Help

Currently in Salon