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What would you drive in 1985?

Bereft of live baseball games to watch, I've turned to the good ship YouTube to watch classic games. While watching the 1985 American League Championship Series last night, several of the broadcast's commercials made its way into the original VHS recording, including those for cars. "Only 8.8% financing on a 1985 Ford Tempo!" What a deal! That got me thinking: what would I drive in 1985?  It sure wouldn't be a Tempo. Or an IROC-Z, for that matter, despite what my Photoshopped 1980s self would indicate in the picture above. I posed this question to my fellow Autobloggists. Only one could actually drive back then, I was only 2 and a few editors weren't even close to being born. Here are our choices, which were simply made with the edict of "Come on, man, be realistic."  West Coast Editor James Riswick: OK, I started this, I'll go first. I like coupes today, so I'm pretty sure I'd drive one back then. I definitely don't see myself driving some badge-engineered GM thing from 1985, and although a Honda Prelude has a certain appeal, I must admit that something European would likely be in order. A BMW maybe? No, I'm too much a contrarian for that. The answer is therefore a 1985 Saab 900 Turbo 3-Door, which is not only a coupe but a hatchback, too. If I could scrounge up enough Reagan-era bucks for the ultra-cool SPG model, that would be rad. The 900 Turbo pictured, which was for auction on Bring a Trailer a few years ago, came with plum-colored Bokhara Red, and you're damn sure I would've had me one of those. Nevermind 1985, I'd probably drive this thing today.   Associate Editor Byron Hurd: I'm going to go with the 1985.5 Ford Mustang SVO, AKA the turbocharged Fox Body that everybody remembers but nobody drives. The mid-year update to the SVO bumped the power up from 175 ponies (yeah, yeah) to 205, making it almost as powerful (on paper, anyway) as the V8-powered GT models offered in the same time frame. I chose this particular car because it's a bit of a time capsule and, simultaneously, a reminder that all things are cyclical. Here we are, 35 years later, and 2.3-liter turbocharged Mustangs are a thing again. Who would have guessed?

Alex Zanardi talks new challenge at 24 Hours of Spa with BMW

"I have overcome greater things in my life than driving at night." When considering Alex Zanardi's tumultuous life and racing career, the notion that he might be worried about racing for the first time at night seems patently absurd the moment I pose the question. But as I've discovered previously, ask Zanardi a question and his reply - even a brief one - will offer analysis. "I'm really looking forward to it," he says, before adding: "Also, it will be much cooler." Zanardi is talking about the latest installment in his racing career - the 24 Hours of Spa - where he will race a BMW Z4 GT3 alongside fellow ex-Formula 1 driver Timo Glock and DTM driver Bruno Spengler. For the second year, Zanardi is running with ROAL Motorsport, and the team has the full weight of BMW behind it as it prepares to go up against 57 other cars on the historic Belgian circuit this weekend. I first met Zanardi last year at Brands Hatch on a hot May afternoon after his one-hour Blancpain Sprint Series race. He was exhausted and downing can after can of cola but still happy to chat to fans as he cooled off. I ask why, if that was such a tough experience, he is prepared to do it for 24 hours. "It's a good question, why would I?" he ponders aloud before quickly adding: "I am confident I am as well-equipped as I can be to face such an enormous commitment." That confidence comes from three developments that have allowed him to be the first disabled driver to race the Spa 24H. Firstly, his athleticism; since Zanardi lost both his legs in the horrific CART accident at the Lausitzring in 2001, he has drawn admiration for his subsequent achievements as a racing driver and paracyclist; the Italian won two golds and a silver at the 2012 London Paralympics in handcycling. The man is seriously fit. The next major change is inside the Z4 cockpit, where he has worked with BMW engineers to adapt the braking system without hindering his able-bodied teammates; having two others sharing the car with him is a new challenge for both Zanardi and BMW. New controls, particularly the brake pedal, were designed with impressive results. "[The engineers] made my life easier quite dramatically via ergonomics, pushing the brake pedal and the footrest where I put my prosthetic feet to the side of the space that was available. "This makes everything better for me. The ratio of the brake pedal is changed.

Tesla, BMW and Nissan meeting in secret to discuss charging tech

It's interesting what's happening in the electric vehicle field. It used to be that BMW and Tesla were competitors. Then – and of course they're still competing, especially in the public mind – they were working together on ... something. Maybe. And now, the Financial Times reports that the two luxury automakers are meeting with Nissan. Again, maybe. The scuttlebutt is that the three companies are interested in working together on something to do with charging electric vehicles, potentially a global recharging standard. Currently, when it comes to fast charging, BMW uses the SAE Combo standard, Nissan uses CHAdeMO and Tesla uses its own Superchargers. The meeting was prompted by Tesla opening of all of its patents the other day, FT says. Speaking during the recent annual shareholder meeting, Musk said he was "more than happy to have other manufacturers" use Tesla's Superchargers but that, "there is no other electric car that can accept anything close to 135 kilowatts." Let's assume the technical hurdle can be overcome. With any potential patent/licensing problems out of the way, these discussions with BMW and Nissan might be revolving around this other angle that Musk mentioned: "They (other automakers) just have to contribute to the capital cost, so figure out what percentage of the time are their cars using the Supercharger network and then they can make a contribution proportionate to their customer usage of the Supercharger network." That certainly sounds like something that could take some time to figure out. News Source: Financial TimesImage Credit: Elbilforeningen / Flickr Green BMW Nissan Tesla Electric supercharger chademo sae combo