So here you are, let us say, heading west toward the Caldecott at the end of a July afternoon. The geography, what with the hills rising on either side, pretty much requires you to focus on the thing that is about to happen in front of you — you can see it coming, and sometimes from quite a distance, depending on how bad the backup is. The trick about the Caldecott is that although each bore is two lanes wide, the middle bore switches direction, by means of signage and mechanically raised cone separators, contingent on the flow of the main morning and evening commute. So if you’re driving out of the suburbs toward Oakland at the end of the day, the cars coming the opposite way take that middle bore, which means your side of 24 is being coned off into the one remaining bore on the right — a four-lane to a two-lane funnel.

This is the point at which the North American driving populace, as you know, cleaves into two camps.

See also, for the transportation wonks, "The" Freeway in Southern California, which speculates on the origins of the regional practice of prepending "the" when referring to numbered freeways.

The Urge to Merge: Making it in the Battle for a Lane

With each effortless run up its 7,000-r.p.m. scale, this bonbon for urbanites reminded me why BMW gets away with its high ticket prices.

Less, Yes, but Not by a Lot

Since people seemed to like the Akira motorcycle, I thought I'd mention the Mach 5 on display at the New York Auto Show.

Also appearing on the show floor are some unique vehicles that first came to life on-screen, including the Mach 5, a prop car from the upcoming "Speed Racer" film.

Flash in the Pan

Alex Roy has a crazy dream: to beat the legendary Cannonball Run record by crossing the country in under 32 hours and 7 minutes. Floor it!

Following up on the Quake City Madcaps ... though with perhaps less noble goals ...

The Pedal-to-the-Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory

It's just before noon on a Thursday morning as I saunter down pit row at Daytona International Speedway and slide into the supportive sport bucket seat of a 2008 Porsche 911 GT2. I fiddle a bit with the seat and steering column adjustments until I'm comfortable, then double-check that my seatbelt is secured. It's hot and humid, but that's not why I'm perspiring - this cold sweat is a sign that my body's survival instincts are on edge, and for good reason. Fortunately, I've received personalized instruction from a quartet of legendary drivers and a complete technical briefing courtesy of Porsche Motorsports engineers, and there's little left to be learned without actually driving the car. I depress the heavily-weighted clutch pedal, muscle the short-throw shifter into 1st gear, bring the revs up, and...

Pinch Us: Autoblog drives the 2008 Porsche GT2 - Autoblog

Another way to read the report, to be released Tuesday, is that E-Class drivers tend to drive more carefully than Blazer drivers.

I have always felt strongly that this was the case with these kinds of studies. I am glad to see it getting some press. There is a strong self-selection bias at work in any use of real-world data on vehicle safety.

Of course, from the perspective of the insurer, in the aggregate, the difference is immaterial, but on an individual level, it can be unfair to some drivers.

Is the Car Unsafe, or the Driver?

The government of Abu Dhabi, one of the seven states in the United Arab Emirates, owns 18.2 percent of Volkswagen.

Behind VW's Wheel, With Brick Walls Ahead