What are the requirements for getting a license in Britain? Do you have to pay for driving instruction the way you do in the states? (I remember seeing Sally Hawkins in a movie called Happy Go Lucky in which she kept failing her driving test...) And what do you pay for a license? Read more

At that point in time, I was more interested in learning to drive a 2CV than I was in Le Mans. It was not exactly my mom's Oldsmobile. Read more

I give you permission to call me Micki. No formalities necessary. Also, I got back from France for my 16th birthday trip and went to driver's ed the next day. Jetlagged. But nothing was going to keep me from that golden ticket. Read more

Yes, read through the discussion on Matt's opening post on the new commenting system. There's a delightful poem in his honor. Read more

I have one nephew who's pre-med and another who is an ace drumline player in high school and I can assure you, their vernacular does not sound like this. Read more

Help us do a mini survey. Pick out 10 of your friends — make it guys AND girls so you're not just picking your kindred spirits. Who has a license? Who has a car or access to a car? Whose parents still chauffeur them? This is great info, super helpful, keep it coming. Read more

Here's something to consider: many, many schools have shown An Inconvenient Truth to students. My nephew says he saw it three times. Unless students come from car families, or someone they know likes racing, they may never get any exposure to the joy of driving. Read more

Baby steps: we'll start with Neutral and see how the discussion (besides Bernie) goes. There's no right answer. That's why we're calling it Neutral. That, and we've already got Gears and Reverses, which McBean thought up before I got here. Or was it Ray? Read more

Applause, applause! I'm going to start calling Matt McBean. Read more

A well-known chef once told me there's no excuse for cutting yourself or getting burned. People who are skilled and careful in the kitchen don't (or rarely) get hurt. It's the same here. Absolutely, accidents happen. But you can drive fast without crashing, if you're paying attention. Read more

I'm glad to know that you appreciate it. I can't take much credit, it was just beaten into me by generations of copy editors shaking their heads over my writing. Read more

I'm sure it did for the elite who road trains — people who booked the sleeper suites, sat in the bar car, etc. Why would you sit for 16 hours between New York and Chicago if you could spend two in a plane? Read more

I'm just trying to have a little fun, guys. You can blame Matt if they're too obscure — he said go for it! Read more

It's actually a joint celebration with Canada, which celebrates its national holiday on July 1. That explains why it's before July 4. I've never figured out why it's so much earlier, though. Read more

At that time, we still would have needed a roadway system for the masses. Up until deregulation in 1978, only about 15% of the American public had been on an airplane. It was incredibly expensive compared to what tickets cost today (I know everything thinks flying is expensive, but prices have come down… Read more

It's fixed. Thanks for pointing it out. Read more

I knew there was an inquisitive, resourceful Jalop reader who would take the time to figure it out. My faith was justified. Read more

Congrats from the female contingent at Jalopnik (me). I remember your first day live. Read more

Here's an update on the Ghosn item. I don't read this as a denial...more a "stop talking about it, people." Read more

Thanks, guys — I've survived two weeks! Still looking for that translation, sorry to keep you waiting. Read more