BMW Drive for Team Canada

Imagine my shock waking up to a torrential downpour – after a month of dry, sunny weather – on the morning of BMW's track driving event...

Remember how everybody was always excited to have school cancelled due to bad weather? Try telling your fourth-grade self that one day, you wouldn't want that to happen.

With no cancellation notice in my inbox, I sailed drove to the event. Walking from my car to registration already got my shoes soaked – but no matter, I was about to go indoors.

Review: 2013 VW Jetta Turbo Hybrid

After having tried Ford's hybrid models, I've concluded that regular hybrids are compromises, different from conventional cars in all the wrong ways.

Plug-in hybrids, though, surprised me in that they actually drove well. So when I was given the keys to a VW Jetta Turbo Hybrid – which isn't a plug-in – I fully expected bad history to repeat itself.

However, taking this Jetta through an autocross course revealed that the world's gasoline-electrics have another surprise up their collective sleeve...

Review: 2014 Jeep Patriot 4x4

The diamond-water paradox (or, the paradox of value) challenges how something essential to survival like water is much, much cheaper than something decorative, like diamonds.

This thought is rooted in the economic theory of value, specifically value in use: something that's more useful overall should therefore command a higher price than something that's less so.

Making it official

I realized that I completely forgot to tell an amusing chunk of the Fića's arrival story! Let's hit the rewind button and return to December 2010, when the Fića's ship had just docked...

Until you jump through the hoops do all the necessary paperwork, the Queen actually owns what's in your shipping container as soon as it touches Canadian soil!

However, no progress could be made before customs did an inspection of my car and its container. This being the government, the moment they decide to do the inspection is as predictable as a coked-up squirrel...

Nothing new

Well, not exactly. The part above is brand-new, but the ensuing story is the ghost of Christmas past experiences...

It seemed too optimistic to expect that the existing column stalk assembly could be repaired. The sixth time is most definitely not a charm...

At this point, it's also impossible to continue the repairs without a working assembly.

Naturally, I went online to the usual place and ordered a new one that's compatible with my generation of Fića. It was in my hands a week later, as promised. So far, so good, then? Nothing like what's befallen my Fića and I time and time again?

Well, that's what I thought – until I opened the box.

Review: 2013 Subaru Forester 2.5X Touring

The art of rational decision-making is theoretically simple.

One puts their priorities in order, and evaluates candidates based on how well said priorities (and how many of them) are satisfied. The chosen candidate scored the best.

This adheres to rational choice theory: wanting more rather than less of something.