**The Challenges of Importing Cars to the United States**

When it comes to importing cars to the United States, there are several factors to consider that can make the process expensive and complex. One of the main challenges is crash testing, which requires vehicles to be extensively tested for safety features before they can be approved for sale in the US market. Additionally, vehicles sold in Canada may require costly modifications to meet US safety standards, such as converting speedometers or changing lights.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are two of the agencies that regulate car imports to the US. While some cars can be imported without major changes, others may require significant modifications to meet US safety and emissions standards. This is why manufacturers often have different versions of a car for sale in Canada versus the US.

For example, Canada tends to have more favorable market conditions than the US, which can lead to differences in customer preferences and vehicle offerings. As a result, some cars that are popular in Canada may not be available or may require modifications to meet US standards. This is why it's essential for buyers to research the specific requirements for importing a car into the US.

**Gabe's Background and Experience**

When it comes to talking about cars, Gabe has a rich background and experience that he loves to share with his audience. As an engineer, Gabe has worked extensively on various projects, including stress analysis and heat transfer. He's also had experience with motorcycles, owning a Triumph motorcycle in the past.

Gabe's love of cars is evident in his work, which often involves analyzing data from vehicle simulations and testing. His background in engineering has given him a unique perspective on car design and performance, allowing him to provide insightful commentary on various automotive topics. From discussing safety features to analyzing performance data, Gabe brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation.

**The Computer Over One Shoulder**

One of the most iconic moments from an interview with Gabe was when he revealed the computer perched over one shoulder. This Apple IIc laptop has become a symbol of Gabe's early days as a tech enthusiast and programmer. He's fondly recalling the machine's LCD screen, which could be upgraded later in its life cycle.

The computer also holds sentimental value for Gabe, who has shared stories about his mother's teaching career based on this very same machine. His love for technology and engineering is evident in the way he talks about the Apple IIc, highlighting its significance in shaping his interests and profession.

**Ryan's Living Room Conference Room**

When Ryan mentioned that he misses working from the office, Gabe couldn't help but chuckle at the revelation. It turned out that Ryan had actually created a full-scale replica of an office conference room in his living room! The green paintings and drop ceiling were all meticulously color-matched to recreate the exact ambiance of the original.

This surprising confession led to a lively discussion about the importance of workspaces and the challenges of working from home. While some people thrive in this environment, others find it difficult to replicate the sense of community and focus that comes with working in an office setting.

**Conclusion**

Talking Cars is more than just a podcast – it's a conversation about cars, technology, and culture. With Gabe and Ryan at the helm, we're treated to in-depth discussions on various topics, from car buying and safety regulations to engineering marvels and nostalgic computing experiences. Whether you're an automotive enthusiast or just curious about the world of tech and innovation, this podcast has something for everyone.

For more information on safe car buying during COVID-19 or to explore our series of articles on cars and technology, head over to cr.org. Don't forget to follow us on social media and send your questions to talkingcars@icloud.com. We'll be back with more conversation and insights in the next episode!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis week we give our first impressions of the 2021 bmw 4 series next on talking cars hey welcome back i'm keith barry i'm ryan pezelkowski i'm gabe shanhart and uh we're we're back talking cars and uh on to the car that we drove this week a car that's available now uh we were lucky enough to rent from from bmw a 2021 bmw m440i x drive it's a mouthful but it's the new four series it's the coupe version of the three series um ours was equipped with the 382 horsepower 3-liter turbocharged 6-cylinder engine the 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive the starting msrp for the 4 series is about 58 500 ours had a ton of options some of which really uh transformed the car uh and it was just over 70 000 which which sounds like a lot of money but considering what it is gabe what what what is this car so it's the second generation that uh the car the the three series coupe is is called uh the four series and uh this time around they uh distinguish it uh more it's lower it's wider than the three series it has this controversial grill that i for one happen to like it uh i might be a minority opinion here but uh i think it's uh it's kind of uh yeah it just has a statement i'm i'm a bmw and i'm proud of it and um it also uh gives uh bystanders uh an immediate recognition oh it's a four series um now i think this car is uh fantastic uh and i am not a fan of coupes normally because i think they're just so impractical and there's always going to be a need for the rear seat or something and it's just too inconvenient but the four series is makes it uh more palatable you know they have a presenter for the seat belt as soon as you close the door every detail is so well thought out in that car and the way it the car drives just uh just fantastic i mean it just had such a wide repertoire it can be a a comfortable refined cruiser and it can be a perfect track tool yeah so i i mean i i drove this thing on on a road trip i went about 250 miles back and forth to you know i had the car for the weekend i figured might as well drive it so i dropped something off on the on the doorstep of uh of uh some elderly relatives who were quarantining uh and it was there and back it was it was just awesome i mean it drove for me it drove like a grand tour i put it in comfort mode and you know cars have these modes and and sometimes it just sort of changes the shift points or it just you know it just does a couple of small tweaks to the engine management software this this really changed the entire car when you put it in sport plus versus when you put it in comfort mode i i just cruised and i could have driven la and back uh totally comfortably but ryan you spent i think you spent probably you probably put 250 miles on it on the track right and you had a whole other side of this car you unleashed right i wish the tires would have lasted that long um so yeah when i drove it i actually when i got into it the very first thing i did was take it on the track uh just because of the timing and when i had a chance to do that and my my goodness is this thing fun you know you you guys touched on the fact that it's you know very docile and comfortable on the street this thing transforms um into a a wonderful wonderful track toy i mean it's it you know you can set the you know set into sport uh the sport modes uh you know i turned off the stability control for on the track just so i could really um you know explore its limits it would it was just wonderful um you know tons of power the shift the transmission in that car is reads your brain um it knows exactly what to do when to do it and it does it perfectly and and then just dynamically that it's well balanced it's this car slides without biting your head off it um you know you you can put it anywhere you want every corner just does what you are envisioning it makes you feel like a a race car driver this thing reminded me excuse me reminded me of a a little a bigger supra toyota supra right this thing has that kind of um pointiness you know tons of grip the steering is phenomenal just unbelievable then i got i pulled out of the track you know put it back in the comfort mode and i drove i put about 250 miles on it on the street and it was just unbelievable it's so comfortable it's quiet it's you know there's a little bit of road noises from the summer tires and it's you know it's a little bit there's a little firm edge um you know ride wise but it's still totally comfortable the seats are amazing it truly does it all and you know you talked about it being seven almost seventy thousand dollars yeah that's a that's a lot of money right but you'd be hard-pressed to find another car that does both things this well for that kind of money i don't know if i can think of a car that does it yeah you'd have to buy two cars 70 000 is a bargain let me second that powertrain i mean if this isn't the best engine transmission combination on the planet then it's pretty darn close to it and just such a smooth and and poignant and uh and civilized and spirited kind of powertrain it's just a delight and uh and also um just living with this car i mean the infotainment system and the the fit and finish everything it just completely eliminates the need to buy a coupe for you know six figure i mean even bmw's own eight series i think is uh is just too frivolous this car does it all you could get a z4 and an 8 series and it would do what this car already does i mean i know you mentioned the powertrain but also i think a lot of it is down to that um uh the adaptive suspension which is an option on this car which is why i said it's it's worth maybe spending a little more money for for that uh and i i found that that really was part of the transformation right right yeah it's yeah it's not it's not gimmicky i mean it's real it's real the car it transforms the car you know sometimes you have these modes in there not that they're gimmicky they're just not that effective right i mean you don't almost bother with uh playing with them but in a car like this this car it it transforms it i mean it truly can be a little bit of a track toy and can truly be a cruiser or a grand tour like you said mean i'm not a like gabe's mentioned i'm not a huge coop fan anymore maybe i'm just getting older i had a 1998 328is it was a coupe and i was 20 years old i'm 34 now not that i'm old but the practicality of having four doors makes more a lot more sense to me i think gabe mentioned this at one time it's kind of an emotional buy you know you're you're you're looking for that um that's sort of a symbol and this car the car has that i mean that grill um it hasn't grown on me fully yet but that grill is really a statement um it's just a it's a hot car it really is yeah and and also gabe they have done some bmw did kind of tweak this car in ways that you can't get from getting the same engine and transmission in the three series uh in in the with the m340 right yeah we've said it before they really uh wanted to distinguish the four uh from the three and uh so it has more horsepower and it uh comes with the the car is is the suspension is set up differently i mean it's a i would say that uh it's just a very nice uh balance it's uh not doesn't beat you up it's not never too stiff but it's just tight gives you that high speed stability and that confident feeling the one thing that i would probably uh criticize a bit is i could use more steering feel in that car yeah i'm yeah on on comfort mode is as as well it's sort of uh that that was noticeable that i would criticize uh and this is sort of inherent to the the coupe issue the rear seat really is uh vestigial it's not like uh a toyota 86 uh where you know you can't have legs back there but um the headroom is kind of non-existent um you know i'm i'm 510 and i you know it was sort of like this the whole time that i was i tried sitting back there i'm sure ryan you probably wouldn't be able to fit i i honestly didn't try yeah but i'd say that even the two-door coupe aspects of the car are pretty well done uh compare that to a mustang or or a dodge challenger uh you uh you flip the passenger seat forward and it powers slides gives you that path the seat belt is never in the way it's very well thought out yeah so if you want to read uh the the rest of our full impressions of it including uh a lot more praise uh you can head over to cr.org and and read our first impressions unfortunately that's about all we're going to say about this because we're not buying one right gabe no we're not uh usually we don't uh buy these very specialized kind of cars it's a you know it's basically still a coupe version of the three series so if you read what we say about three series read the first drive uh that is quite comprehensive uh thanks to what you wrote keith so i think you're in good shape yeah we don't want to be uh party to any family disagreements where someone comes out with but consumer reports says that it's it's a practical choice it's like buying two cars for the price of one uh so you can't you can't put that on us uh but on cars uh that we aren't buying to helping people buy cars we're going to get your questions in a minute but first i just want to take a brief moment to remind you that that consumer reports is a non-profit that means that all that we do including this podcast is possible through memberships and and donations uh from folks like yourselves who are watching and listening uh any amount helps so if you are able to contribute uh especially at this time of year where people are making contributions and and thinking about those those donations please visit cr.org give talking cars that's cr.org give talking cars and you'll find more information and thanks to all of you who do contribute because it helps us do things like go out and purchase our own vehicles rather than relying on manufacturers to to give them to us and go out and rent vehicles and pay manufacturers back uh for the those tires uh the tire tread that we used and left behind on our track so uh for that and for all other important things that we do thanks so much for your donations and gifts so on to your questions uh which you've sent to talking cars at icloud.com uh and please keep them coming keep video questions coming we we love those show us uh what your background looks like uh our first question is from nicole from new york city who says i'm a city dweller and i've always wanted to own a car but it's never practical or affordable for where i live my parents are in new jersey and my partner lives in baltimore so whenever i would visit them i would rent a car the only car i've ever owned was a 1987 saab turbo three-door hatch boy did i love that car i can see why however during covid this is much less comfortable i'm looking at the audi q3 or volvo xc40 but not comfortable with taking a test drive beforehand am i insane not to test drive and which car would you choose uh gabe i'm just going to throw that to you since you're our sort of car buying expert uh here test drives during a time of covid i i don't want to be in a car with anyone who isn't in my immediate household uh what do you what do you think and and what are we doing absolutely but uh nicole i'd hate to uh see you uh lay down forty thousand dollars on a car that you haven't test driven so i think uh and plus the the two options that you're presenting the q3 and xc40 are we do recommend the xc40 but i think you should try it out and see that double tap shifter to reverse or drive is kind of uh peculiar and uh might be a deal breaker for some now uh when you go to the dealer uh you wanna make sure that you drive the car alone without anybody uh sharing the same breathing space with you so uh you're gonna have to uh uh talk the dealer into it uh but uh you know they they may be uh accommodating enough uh to uh not lose lose the sale so i think uh i mean personally now i uh prefer the uh the audi q3 as a drive i mean it uh in terms of road test uh it uh scores higher than the volvo but the volvo is recommended the audi isn't because of its reliability yeah gabe i'm going to agree with you that in the q3 one of the last things i did before stuff got locked down um just when we were hearing of you know rumblings of something something strange happening in other parts of the world i i i took a q3 to new york city for uh for a whole weekend i spent spent a lot of time with ours and it was easy to park uh i drove it all over you know i drove it to the airports drove it to newark it was it was i basically did exactly what it sounds like you're gonna do with it and it was awesome for it it was it was a really great car it was great in the city and then it was great getting out of the city but you know don't take our word for it call the dealership and if there's anything the dealer says or does that makes you uncomfortable in terms of a test drive and saying well we need to send someone in the car walk away don't let your safety be at risk just because a dealer wants to be a little pushy about about selling a car to you i mean i i'm dealing with a dealership right now and i called them ahead of time to ask can we do these things entirely contactless can we be outside when i sign something can i hand you my license outdoors and then will you let me drive the vehicle and you know bring your own sanitizing supplies keep your mask on open the windows and you're driving when you're alone um obviously you'll have to take our word for cabin and wind noise if that's the case but but you know drive drive it drive it i'd say ryan what's your absolutely um i'm q3 all day uh that's a wonderful little car go drive it and like gabe said it um and keith you know mentioned it's not going to be easy and covid but you know bring your own wipes and sanitizer and do whatever you have to do but that's a lot of money um to put down on something you don't know about him you've never driven so um i think that's the test drive is important um but for me i would say the q3 that's a great little car so be safe um enjoy your shopping experience and and and stay distanced so good luck our next question comes from charles from lasalle ontario who says both my cars have run flat tires which i believe are made to be stiffer than a regular tire considering this is a run flat winter tire less effective than a regular winter tire i believe a regular winter tire is made of a softer compound to help in colder temperatures ryan i'm just going to throw that one right to you and run flat winter tires it's not a phrase i've heard before they do exist there's not a lot of them but they do exist um you know there's some manufacturers like bmw where you don't have a choice they come with run flat tires and there's no room for a spare so to answer his question the answer is no the tires he's correct the tires are built um structurally to be stiffer the side walls are actually have some structure in them as opposed to a traditional tire to actually help them hold the wheel up off the road um if it should lose air you know the air when you if you fill a tire air is what's holding um you know the tire up off the road the you know the rim up off the road otherwise you'd ruin the you know ruin the tire and ruin the wheel it is the tire is stiffer but it's not the actual compound um that's touching the road so and a winter tire has a soft pliable compound that remains soft and pliable in really cold temperatures and then it has a lot of little sipes little slits in the tread to help bite ice and snow the run flat winter tire is going to have that same thing that layer of rubber that's that's actually meeting the road is still the same type of rubber that's not a traditional winter tire it's just the structure of the tire the run flat tire that has the stiffness to it it's the sidewall that's keeping it up so don't be afraid of them they're not going to be cheap probably because there's not a lot of them out there you know it's it's just one of those things but don't be afraid of them good advice i'm keeping it moving our next question is from peter from albuquerque who says i like to keep up with automotive trends and different vehicles from other parts of the world what frustrates me is that so many of the cars i like are not available in the us such as the toyota chr hybrid and the kia forte five canada's had the kia for almost 18 months and america hasn't seen it yet is there any way for me to order these vehicles from a domestic side and have one brought over well peter you and me both uh there are a lot of vehicles out there that i wish that i could i could purchase uh but i cannot uh and that is because of a a rule uh actually a series of rules and regulations about importing vehicles basically in the 1980s uh people were able to sort of make gray market imports there were companies that would you know convert the speedometer change a couple of things and get cars from the rest of the world to the united states the problem was is that that meant uh bad news for the dealers of those vehicles in the u.s and a bunch of automakers and and most notably mercedes lobbied uh for some changes to be made and what resulted with something that's commonly referred to as the 25-year rule that you can import anything as long as it's 25 years old other than that uh you would have to go through such a a a an expensive process of everything from crash testing to conversion uh that it would it would cost you many many millions of dollars to bring over one of those vehicles and not to mention you know that's not just the national highway traffic safety administration there's also epa rules there are some cars that are available in canada that can be imported to the united states and there's a list actually on the department of transportation's website even those require um some costly changes including switching over the speedometer um changing the lights changing some things involving child safety they're just you know rules aren't harmonized internationally so canada in the u.s even though the same cars are sold here and there for most of the time uh they can't just be brought over so look into that especially those vehicles that are only sold in canada and believe me i you know i was interested in a fun little nissan micra to drive around and they sell it there they don't sell it here uh gabe why is it that sometimes there are cars that are sold in canada but but not the us i mean they're basically basically very similar markets yeah there are different uh customer preferences in different markets and uh and different uh profit margins and different volumes so manufacturers have different uh considerations uh canada tends to be uh somewhere between uh the us and europe so uh they're more uh accepting of hatchbacks for instance and uh and not uh so strictly a sedan market as uh the us and some other markets are so uh yeah i mean in general you you you see uh it's it's a matter of geography and uh you see that uh you know uh manufacturers will equip uh the same version of a car with a cvt for instance a continuously variable automatic transmission some markets and uh and a regular transmission in other markets depending on customers expectations and preferences and one last question from tom from dunbarton new hampshire uh does gabe ever open his college textbooks we need a clear picture so we can see each one and what is the story of the one used book gabe uh what's your your background is we get to see in people's houses now what's uh what's your background there what do you know i mean these engineering books are the most uh fascinating tantalizing uh books you've ever seen particularly stress analysis and heat transfer yeah but uh you know every now and then uh when i get nostalgic about uh cars i owned in the past i leave through the gti book or the uh motorcycle book i bet you never knew that i had a triumph motorcycle i didn't know that's awesome i didn't know that we've gotten a lot of questions no i don't want to just pick on you gabe but i've gotten a lot of questions about two things in my background the first is the computer over one of my shoulders and my image is mirrored so i don't know if it's my left or my anyhow the computer over my shoulder and uh that's an apple 2c uh we had some guesses as commodore 64 2e that's a 2c and that one that's the one with a little handle on it it was actually one of the first computers you can get an lcd screen for but my family didn't uh didn't spring for that back in the 80s but my my mother had a whole teaching career that was based on that based on that computer um and then on the other shoulder the machine learning machine feeling poster is is from an exhibit called archaeology of another possible future by an artist by the name of liz glynn and she exhibited that at mass moca which is a tremendous museum in north adams massachusetts so look that up there's a bunch of information about about it online and there's there's a lot of interesting interpretations of factories and how how how things are made ryan your your room looks suspiciously like a conference room that i'm familiar with yeah so i had some uh internet issues um at home this morning unfortunately so i snuck up here to work and uh i'm hiding in one of the conference rooms so it's a little bit duller than that closet that i uh normally um report from but what ryan's not telling you is that he misses being in the office so much that he's actually made a full-scale replica in his living room so the green paintings and everything it's all color matched he worked with facilities he put in the drop ceiling the drop ceiling was a real pain yeah we're really trying to get help for him but uh anyhow if you have questions for us send them to talking cars at icloud.com uh and to read more about that four series uh or anything else we've talked about today including safe car buying during covid head over to cr.org thanks for joining us and we'll talk cars again next week youthis week we give our first impressions of the 2021 bmw 4 series next on talking cars hey welcome back i'm keith barry i'm ryan pezelkowski i'm gabe shanhart and uh we're we're back talking cars and uh on to the car that we drove this week a car that's available now uh we were lucky enough to rent from from bmw a 2021 bmw m440i x drive it's a mouthful but it's the new four series it's the coupe version of the three series um ours was equipped with the 382 horsepower 3-liter turbocharged 6-cylinder engine the 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive the starting msrp for the 4 series is about 58 500 ours had a ton of options some of which really uh transformed the car uh and it was just over 70 000 which which sounds like a lot of money but considering what it is gabe what what what is this car so it's the second generation that uh the car the the three series coupe is is called uh the four series and uh this time around they uh distinguish it uh more it's lower it's wider than the three series it has this controversial grill that i for one happen to like it uh i might be a minority opinion here but uh i think it's uh it's kind of uh yeah it just has a statement i'm i'm a bmw and i'm proud of it and um it also uh gives uh bystanders uh an immediate recognition oh it's a four series um now i think this car is uh fantastic uh and i am not a fan of coupes normally because i think they're just so impractical and there's always going to be a need for the rear seat or something and it's just too inconvenient but the four series is makes it uh more palatable you know they have a presenter for the seat belt as soon as you close the door every detail is so well thought out in that car and the way it the car drives just uh just fantastic i mean it just had such a wide repertoire it can be a a comfortable refined cruiser and it can be a perfect track tool yeah so i i mean i i drove this thing on on a road trip i went about 250 miles back and forth to you know i had the car for the weekend i figured might as well drive it so i dropped something off on the on the doorstep of uh of uh some elderly relatives who were quarantining uh and it was there and back it was it was just awesome i mean it drove for me it drove like a grand tour i put it in comfort mode and you know cars have these modes and and sometimes it just sort of changes the shift points or it just you know it just does a couple of small tweaks to the engine management software this this really changed the entire car when you put it in sport plus versus when you put it in comfort mode i i just cruised and i could have driven la and back uh totally comfortably but ryan you spent i think you spent probably you probably put 250 miles on it on the track right and you had a whole other side of this car you unleashed right i wish the tires would have lasted that long um so yeah when i drove it i actually when i got into it the very first thing i did was take it on the track uh just because of the timing and when i had a chance to do that and my my goodness is this thing fun you know you you guys touched on the fact that it's you know very docile and comfortable on the street this thing transforms um into a a wonderful wonderful track toy i mean it's it you know you can set the you know set into sport uh the sport modes uh you know i turned off the stability control for on the track just so i could really um you know explore its limits it would it was just wonderful um you know tons of power the shift the transmission in that car is reads your brain um it knows exactly what to do when to do it and it does it perfectly and and then just dynamically that it's well balanced it's this car slides without biting your head off it um you know you you can put it anywhere you want every corner just does what you are envisioning it makes you feel like a a race car driver this thing reminded me excuse me reminded me of a a little a bigger supra toyota supra right this thing has that kind of um pointiness you know tons of grip the steering is phenomenal just unbelievable then i got i pulled out of the track you know put it back in the comfort mode and i drove i put about 250 miles on it on the street and it was just unbelievable it's so comfortable it's quiet it's you know there's a little bit of road noises from the summer tires and it's you know it's a little bit there's a little firm edge um you know ride wise but it's still totally comfortable the seats are amazing it truly does it all and you know you talked about it being seven almost seventy thousand dollars yeah that's a that's a lot of money right but you'd be hard-pressed to find another car that does both things this well for that kind of money i don't know if i can think of a car that does it yeah you'd have to buy two cars 70 000 is a bargain let me second that powertrain i mean if this isn't the best engine transmission combination on the planet then it's pretty darn close to it and just such a smooth and and poignant and uh and civilized and spirited kind of powertrain it's just a delight and uh and also um just living with this car i mean the infotainment system and the the fit and finish everything it just completely eliminates the need to buy a coupe for you know six figure i mean even bmw's own eight series i think is uh is just too frivolous this car does it all you could get a z4 and an 8 series and it would do what this car already does i mean i know you mentioned the powertrain but also i think a lot of it is down to that um uh the adaptive suspension which is an option on this car which is why i said it's it's worth maybe spending a little more money for for that uh and i i found that that really was part of the transformation right right yeah it's yeah it's not it's not gimmicky i mean it's real it's real the car it transforms the car you know sometimes you have these modes in there not that they're gimmicky they're just not that effective right i mean you don't almost bother with uh playing with them but in a car like this this car it it transforms it i mean it truly can be a little bit of a track toy and can truly be a cruiser or a grand tour like you said mean i'm not a like gabe's mentioned i'm not a huge coop fan anymore maybe i'm just getting older i had a 1998 328is it was a coupe and i was 20 years old i'm 34 now not that i'm old but the practicality of having four doors makes more a lot more sense to me i think gabe mentioned this at one time it's kind of an emotional buy you know you're you're you're looking for that um that's sort of a symbol and this car the car has that i mean that grill um it hasn't grown on me fully yet but that grill is really a statement um it's just a it's a hot car it really is yeah and and also gabe they have done some bmw did kind of tweak this car in ways that you can't get from getting the same engine and transmission in the three series uh in in the with the m340 right yeah we've said it before they really uh wanted to distinguish the four uh from the three and uh so it has more horsepower and it uh comes with the the car is is the suspension is set up differently i mean it's a i would say that uh it's just a very nice uh balance it's uh not doesn't beat you up it's not never too stiff but it's just tight gives you that high speed stability and that confident feeling the one thing that i would probably uh criticize a bit is i could use more steering feel in that car yeah i'm yeah on on comfort mode is as as well it's sort of uh that that was noticeable that i would criticize uh and this is sort of inherent to the the coupe issue the rear seat really is uh vestigial it's not like uh a toyota 86 uh where you know you can't have legs back there but um the headroom is kind of non-existent um you know i'm i'm 510 and i you know it was sort of like this the whole time that i was i tried sitting back there i'm sure ryan you probably wouldn't be able to fit i i honestly didn't try yeah but i'd say that even the two-door coupe aspects of the car are pretty well done uh compare that to a mustang or or a dodge challenger uh you uh you flip the passenger seat forward and it powers slides gives you that path the seat belt is never in the way it's very well thought out yeah so if you want to read uh the the rest of our full impressions of it including uh a lot more praise uh you can head over to cr.org and and read our first impressions unfortunately that's about all we're going to say about this because we're not buying one right gabe no we're not uh usually we don't uh buy these very specialized kind of cars it's a you know it's basically still a coupe version of the three series so if you read what we say about three series read the first drive uh that is quite comprehensive uh thanks to what you wrote keith so i think you're in good shape yeah we don't want to be uh party to any family disagreements where someone comes out with but consumer reports says that it's it's a practical choice it's like buying two cars for the price of one uh so you can't you can't put that on us uh but on cars uh that we aren't buying to helping people buy cars we're going to get your questions in a minute but first i just want to take a brief moment to remind you that that consumer reports is a non-profit that means that all that we do including this podcast is possible through memberships and and donations uh from folks like yourselves who are watching and listening uh any amount helps so if you are able to contribute uh especially at this time of year where people are making contributions and and thinking about those those donations please visit cr.org give talking cars that's cr.org give talking cars and you'll find more information and thanks to all of you who do contribute because it helps us do things like go out and purchase our own vehicles rather than relying on manufacturers to to give them to us and go out and rent vehicles and pay manufacturers back uh for the those tires uh the tire tread that we used and left behind on our track so uh for that and for all other important things that we do thanks so much for your donations and gifts so on to your questions uh which you've sent to talking cars at icloud.com uh and please keep them coming keep video questions coming we we love those show us uh what your background looks like uh our first question is from nicole from new york city who says i'm a city dweller and i've always wanted to own a car but it's never practical or affordable for where i live my parents are in new jersey and my partner lives in baltimore so whenever i would visit them i would rent a car the only car i've ever owned was a 1987 saab turbo three-door hatch boy did i love that car i can see why however during covid this is much less comfortable i'm looking at the audi q3 or volvo xc40 but not comfortable with taking a test drive beforehand am i insane not to test drive and which car would you choose uh gabe i'm just going to throw that to you since you're our sort of car buying expert uh here test drives during a time of covid i i don't want to be in a car with anyone who isn't in my immediate household uh what do you what do you think and and what are we doing absolutely but uh nicole i'd hate to uh see you uh lay down forty thousand dollars on a car that you haven't test driven so i think uh and plus the the two options that you're presenting the q3 and xc40 are we do recommend the xc40 but i think you should try it out and see that double tap shifter to reverse or drive is kind of uh peculiar and uh might be a deal breaker for some now uh when you go to the dealer uh you wanna make sure that you drive the car alone without anybody uh sharing the same breathing space with you so uh you're gonna have to uh uh talk the dealer into it uh but uh you know they they may be uh accommodating enough uh to uh not lose lose the sale so i think uh i mean personally now i uh prefer the uh the audi q3 as a drive i mean it uh in terms of road test uh it uh scores higher than the volvo but the volvo is recommended the audi isn't because of its reliability yeah gabe i'm going to agree with you that in the q3 one of the last things i did before stuff got locked down um just when we were hearing of you know rumblings of something something strange happening in other parts of the world i i i took a q3 to new york city for uh for a whole weekend i spent spent a lot of time with ours and it was easy to park uh i drove it all over you know i drove it to the airports drove it to newark it was it was i basically did exactly what it sounds like you're gonna do with it and it was awesome for it it was it was a really great car it was great in the city and then it was great getting out of the city but you know don't take our word for it call the dealership and if there's anything the dealer says or does that makes you uncomfortable in terms of a test drive and saying well we need to send someone in the car walk away don't let your safety be at risk just because a dealer wants to be a little pushy about about selling a car to you i mean i i'm dealing with a dealership right now and i called them ahead of time to ask can we do these things entirely contactless can we be outside when i sign something can i hand you my license outdoors and then will you let me drive the vehicle and you know bring your own sanitizing supplies keep your mask on open the windows and you're driving when you're alone um obviously you'll have to take our word for cabin and wind noise if that's the case but but you know drive drive it drive it i'd say ryan what's your absolutely um i'm q3 all day uh that's a wonderful little car go drive it and like gabe said it um and keith you know mentioned it's not going to be easy and covid but you know bring your own wipes and sanitizer and do whatever you have to do but that's a lot of money um to put down on something you don't know about him you've never driven so um i think that's the test drive is important um but for me i would say the q3 that's a great little car so be safe um enjoy your shopping experience and and and stay distanced so good luck our next question comes from charles from lasalle ontario who says both my cars have run flat tires which i believe are made to be stiffer than a regular tire considering this is a run flat winter tire less effective than a regular winter tire i believe a regular winter tire is made of a softer compound to help in colder temperatures ryan i'm just going to throw that one right to you and run flat winter tires it's not a phrase i've heard before they do exist there's not a lot of them but they do exist um you know there's some manufacturers like bmw where you don't have a choice they come with run flat tires and there's no room for a spare so to answer his question the answer is no the tires he's correct the tires are built um structurally to be stiffer the side walls are actually have some structure in them as opposed to a traditional tire to actually help them hold the wheel up off the road um if it should lose air you know the air when you if you fill a tire air is what's holding um you know the tire up off the road the you know the rim up off the road otherwise you'd ruin the you know ruin the tire and ruin the wheel it is the tire is stiffer but it's not the actual compound um that's touching the road so and a winter tire has a soft pliable compound that remains soft and pliable in really cold temperatures and then it has a lot of little sipes little slits in the tread to help bite ice and snow the run flat winter tire is going to have that same thing that layer of rubber that's that's actually meeting the road is still the same type of rubber that's not a traditional winter tire it's just the structure of the tire the run flat tire that has the stiffness to it it's the sidewall that's keeping it up so don't be afraid of them they're not going to be cheap probably because there's not a lot of them out there you know it's it's just one of those things but don't be afraid of them good advice i'm keeping it moving our next question is from peter from albuquerque who says i like to keep up with automotive trends and different vehicles from other parts of the world what frustrates me is that so many of the cars i like are not available in the us such as the toyota chr hybrid and the kia forte five canada's had the kia for almost 18 months and america hasn't seen it yet is there any way for me to order these vehicles from a domestic side and have one brought over well peter you and me both uh there are a lot of vehicles out there that i wish that i could i could purchase uh but i cannot uh and that is because of a a rule uh actually a series of rules and regulations about importing vehicles basically in the 1980s uh people were able to sort of make gray market imports there were companies that would you know convert the speedometer change a couple of things and get cars from the rest of the world to the united states the problem was is that that meant uh bad news for the dealers of those vehicles in the u.s and a bunch of automakers and and most notably mercedes lobbied uh for some changes to be made and what resulted with something that's commonly referred to as the 25-year rule that you can import anything as long as it's 25 years old other than that uh you would have to go through such a a a an expensive process of everything from crash testing to conversion uh that it would it would cost you many many millions of dollars to bring over one of those vehicles and not to mention you know that's not just the national highway traffic safety administration there's also epa rules there are some cars that are available in canada that can be imported to the united states and there's a list actually on the department of transportation's website even those require um some costly changes including switching over the speedometer um changing the lights changing some things involving child safety they're just you know rules aren't harmonized internationally so canada in the u.s even though the same cars are sold here and there for most of the time uh they can't just be brought over so look into that especially those vehicles that are only sold in canada and believe me i you know i was interested in a fun little nissan micra to drive around and they sell it there they don't sell it here uh gabe why is it that sometimes there are cars that are sold in canada but but not the us i mean they're basically basically very similar markets yeah there are different uh customer preferences in different markets and uh and different uh profit margins and different volumes so manufacturers have different uh considerations uh canada tends to be uh somewhere between uh the us and europe so uh they're more uh accepting of hatchbacks for instance and uh and not uh so strictly a sedan market as uh the us and some other markets are so uh yeah i mean in general you you you see uh it's it's a matter of geography and uh you see that uh you know uh manufacturers will equip uh the same version of a car with a cvt for instance a continuously variable automatic transmission some markets and uh and a regular transmission in other markets depending on customers expectations and preferences and one last question from tom from dunbarton new hampshire uh does gabe ever open his college textbooks we need a clear picture so we can see each one and what is the story of the one used book gabe uh what's your your background is we get to see in people's houses now what's uh what's your background there what do you know i mean these engineering books are the most uh fascinating tantalizing uh books you've ever seen particularly stress analysis and heat transfer yeah but uh you know every now and then uh when i get nostalgic about uh cars i owned in the past i leave through the gti book or the uh motorcycle book i bet you never knew that i had a triumph motorcycle i didn't know that's awesome i didn't know that we've gotten a lot of questions no i don't want to just pick on you gabe but i've gotten a lot of questions about two things in my background the first is the computer over one of my shoulders and my image is mirrored so i don't know if it's my left or my anyhow the computer over my shoulder and uh that's an apple 2c uh we had some guesses as commodore 64 2e that's a 2c and that one that's the one with a little handle on it it was actually one of the first computers you can get an lcd screen for but my family didn't uh didn't spring for that back in the 80s but my my mother had a whole teaching career that was based on that based on that computer um and then on the other shoulder the machine learning machine feeling poster is is from an exhibit called archaeology of another possible future by an artist by the name of liz glynn and she exhibited that at mass moca which is a tremendous museum in north adams massachusetts so look that up there's a bunch of information about about it online and there's there's a lot of interesting interpretations of factories and how how how things are made ryan your your room looks suspiciously like a conference room that i'm familiar with yeah so i had some uh internet issues um at home this morning unfortunately so i snuck up here to work and uh i'm hiding in one of the conference rooms so it's a little bit duller than that closet that i uh normally um report from but what ryan's not telling you is that he misses being in the office so much that he's actually made a full-scale replica in his living room so the green paintings and everything it's all color matched he worked with facilities he put in the drop ceiling the drop ceiling was a real pain yeah we're really trying to get help for him but uh anyhow if you have questions for us send them to talking cars at icloud.com uh and to read more about that four series uh or anything else we've talked about today including safe car buying during covid head over to cr.org thanks for joining us and we'll talk cars again next week you\n"