Speed has been dying a slow death and Murdoch buying it and turning it into the Nascar channel all but sealed its fate. Is it the same as Velocity channel or different?  I can't keep track anymore.

The German challenge was awesome when they flew over w/ Spitfires!

Indeed. After seeing James' face when Clarkson said "you can't just go on about the war" you knew they were going to do something special. The "WE1" post code at the end of the show was also funny.

Supposedly based on the FWD CLA.  If the AMG A45 will have AWD like the AMG version of the CLA is said will be, then that's a good start.  Despite supposedly improved reliability in recent Mercs, I'd be hard pressed to believe it could be carried over into their entry level model.  The German labor model and Euro doesn't really allow for quality at a bargain price.  I doubt it'll be comfortable either.  I do like the looks of it and the CLA especially for the entry price.  I would still only feel comfortable owning a Merc diesel, just too many blown engines in the past, especially AMG.  I've seen where and how they assemble them, not an impressive sight to see for me. 

God damned Deka AGM battery died again.  Cons of having too many cars and not enough battery tenders coupled w/ ridiculous parasitic losses from the onboard electronics and the security system.  Seems to be worse if I run w/ headlights during the day meaning I need to check the voltage drop on my alternator with the lights on.  Just gonna get a larger Ah battery rather than saving weight for the Subie.  Was thinking maybe trying out some of these new LiPO4s for the MR-S and dropping that Deka in the Subie but the LiPO4s seem to not like the auto desulfation on my tenders. Would drop the weight from 13lbs to 2-3lbs though....