Neutral

Special guest _DavidSmith joins us as we recount our experience at the 2-day BMW M Performance Driving School.

• Overview video.
• Casey's gardening adventure.
• Laura's hot lap.

In the final episode of Neutral:

• Casey and Marco drag John through the story of their European Delivery vacation picking up Marco's M5.
• BMW Welt, the BMW Museum, and the factory tour.
• Driving on the autobahn.
• Finding and driving the Nürburgring.
• German drivers, food, culture, and hospitality.

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In this episode:

• The upcoming Automatic smartphone app as a replacement for expensive built-in options.
• Why car makers' custom media and navigation systems are so clunky and why we have such low expectations for it.
• Software defines much of the experience of modern cars.
• What car maker will be first to make a truly major advance in software quality?
• What we think of Mini.
• Targeting young buyers.

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In this episode:

• The LaFerrari and hybrid supercars.
• Cars' increasing complexity as technology gets applied.
• Becoming accustomed to the turbocharged feel.
• How much electric vehicles need to overcome gasoline's convenience.
• How quickly we can expect electric-vehicle range to increase.
• Aspirational SUVs.
• If we had infinite money, what car would we buy?
• Renting supercars.

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In this episode:

• Octane ratings and myths.
• What optional equipment should you get or avoid on a car?
• Parking-distance sensors vs. backup cameras.
• Mysteriously sized mechanics and car-wash drivers.
• Satellite radio, HD Radio, and premium sound systems.
• OEM navigation systems vs. aftermarket options.
• More on the BMW 3-series GT.

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In this episode:

• Top Gear presenter metaphors.
• Back-in parking FU.
• Why John likes Hondas so much.
• Visibility and a lower-back-friendly seating position.
• Our three most boring Ferrari stories.
• Fond memories of ancient and less-ancient Volvos.
• Designing for safety.
• LED daytime running lights as tacky "eyeliner", our modern Altezza-like design fad.
• Casey says "braaaands."
• How Audi, BMW, and Mercedes compete.
• Toyota and Scion.

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In this episode:

• Three geeks try to define "hipster"
• The stress of owning vs. leasing
• The first scratch
• Weirdest car repairs
• Synthetic oil
• Keeping fuel and repair records
• Buying and selling cars privately

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In this episode:

• The safety of voice-recognition interfaces
• Driving etiquette: turn signals, merging, tailgating
• The hand-wave and the finger
• Backing into parking spots
• Driver prediction and accident avoidance
• Our past traffic violations

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In this episode:

• Project cars.
• The many problems with having multiple cars.
• Marco's next-car decision.
• Ogling a showroom's Audi R8 from behind its velvet rope.
• Test-driving the BMW M5 back-to-back with a 550i xDrive.
• The odd new BMW 3-series GT (F34) compared to the Honda Crosstour and the Audi A7.
• Americans' incredible efforts to avoid buying minivans and wagons.
• Battery lifetimes and disposal for hybrids and electric vehicles.
• John Siracusa's review of the Tesla Model S after an extended test-ride.
• A proposal to require electric vehicles to emit fake engine sounds at low speeds for pedestrian safety.

And a bonus "secret track" after the episode's official end at 1:31:40.

Sponsored by Squarespace: Use code NEUTRAL2 at checkout for 10% off.

In this episode:

• Control interfaces for media and navigation systems, including BMW's iDrive knob (of course), touchscreens including the Tesla Model S's giant one, and Lexus' weird new "Remote Touch" control.
• Balancing on-screen controls and dedicated buttons.
• Our great (or horrible) future of dynamic, all-software dashboard dials.
• Gambling with the "Premium Sedan" rental-car category.
• Casey's newfound fame.
• Personal value judgments.
• FU on white cars in hot climates and DCT nitpicks.

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