So what are we supposed to do? Set minimum sound levels for cars? Have a little ticker from the speaker on the side of the rearview mirror? Put playing cards in the wheels (as others have playfully suggested)?

The whole thing is absurd and makes me a little mad, both at the media that hype this sort of thing and the folks (and legislators) who want to make this world just one big padded playground so no one ever skins their knee again.

The opportunity for remote controlled plane dogfighting makes this very desirable. If I had kids I would totally pretend to buy this for them and then tell them they weren't responsible enough to use it.

I think this is one of those cultural things that are bound to happen with Japanese products here. Americans are sensitive, sensitive about being sensitive, and overprotective of their sensitivity. And we're fat. So of course being told we're fat is going to cause some people to get all up in arms - both those who are and those who aren't. My guess is that the Japanese would in large part just laugh it off, whether they were fat or not. If you're comfortable with yourself, and you know whether you're fat or not, you're not going to care what a game tells you.

The board game is a whole lotta fun, especially with big groups. If they can translate that on the screen, it'll be well worth $10. I'm interested to see how the multiplayer vs. multiplayer online works (team in one home against a team in another home). It sounds like it actually might add an interesting element to the game.

Those who don't know Wits & Wagers the board game should check it out.

I think Nokia is riding the trend of more and more consumers wanting to not lock-in to a two-year contract. From what I can tell, they've been trying not to get exclusive deals with carriers and instead going direct to consumers. And the more that GSM takes hold, the more people are able to do that and will have the option of just buying a phone direct from the manufacturer. I'm hoping that Nokia jumps on Verizon's new open network push as well. More open market place and less oligopoly is better for consumers all-round.

"We know it may be be work by the same artist."

Is Gizmodo's fear of being wrong so strong that it can't admit it totally miffed? Seriously, this is Fox News/National Enquirer/Endgadget level of stupid.

If Gizmodo knows that there's no copyright issue here for whatever reason, there needs to be a retraction. Full stop. Claiming that you're just repeating a rumor is not a defense.

I agree with smalleyxb122. I don't like the old Grand Cherokees much - too bloated, and they don't feel like real offroad vehicles. They were the first Soccer Mom SUV, at least that I noticed, and I've always held that against them.

I think lethal autonomous weapons ought to be banned outright, just like landmines. Even non-lethal robots that have lethal options with human intervention raise concern. We have a hard enough time distinguishing friend from foe when it's an on-site human behind the trigger: remote and robotic is just a recipe for civilian deaths and fratricide.

Wait, is it fratricide if it's a robot doing the killing?

Anyway, it's good to see so many people at a car enthusiast site, who (myself included) generally ogle cars with single-digit mileage, see this as a thinly veiled credit for oil companies and not a boon to the working man. And kudos for Obama for not pandering.

Just for the record though, to respond to the "welcome to Jalopnik" comment, I've been posting here since at least August of '06. I don't comment as much here on Jalopnik as I do at Gizmodo, but I've been CoTD on both. So I do know what I'm doing here, even if I don't have a star (oh why, lawd?) or necessarily sound like I know what I'm talking about.

Well somebody had to say it, right?

I used to be really enamored by the RX-8 but the more I read about it the more it seems like a great car except the rotary engine that seems to get so much attention. I know people love 'em, I just can't figure out why. Maybe in a couple o' years I'll pick up an RX-8 with a blown engine (from someone who forgot to put in a qt every 3k miles) and pop in a flat 6 or an electric motor. That might be a fun project.

Whatever. I'm not interested in reality. It's a sexy beast and if they can make it weigh less than 1320 lbs and less than $30k, I'm in.

No wonder people think that hybrid drivers are smug - that kind of "let them eat cake" attitude just shows how divorced they are from the reality of most of America.

@arbeck: well I never said anything about 4 kids, but while we're on the topic, what makes you think you have the moral authority to tell anyone how many kids to have? What is this, China? We don't have an overpopulation problem in the US. In fact, we have an underpopulation problem. That's why we've been letting so many immigrants into this country for so long; we need them to grow our population and keep our economy moving. Once again some smug-emitting DINK tells everyone else how to live their life, nevermind that your experience isn't universal.