It's the day after the Fourth of July and we're all dragging a bit. So, what do you do to counteract the post-fireworks malaise?

I will be leaving in a few minutes to head to downtown Chicago to work on our coverage of NASCAR's Grant Park 220 race. So, with that in mind, I have a question for you.

About a week and a half ago, we asked you how the automotive media influences your car-buying process. Now we're going to ask you about J.D. Power, specifically.

Scanning the news today, I came across a story about Infiniti's plans to unveil four new models, and while this could've been a standard news post, I decided it also worked as a QOTD.

We reported yesterday on how Oregon is finally allowing drivers to use self-serve gas pumps.

Autoblog reports via Autocar that no one should expect the Volkswagen Beetle (or Scirocco) to ever return.

With Washington State dethroning California as the state with the highest gas prices, I am wondering -- what are you seeing near you?

Cars.com's American-Made Index list for this year is out and it's getting buzz this week. We covered part of it the other day.

Yours truly also said through a Zoom briefing on the list.

We reported on auto-loan delinquencies yesterday since they're at a record high, though subprime loans are the biggest cause for concern.

After last week's story on how Consumer Reports slapped the "avoid" label on the popular Ford F-150, I was going to ask you how much CR shapes your purchase decisions. The magazine is popular, and I know a lot of people, both car enthusiasts and not, who trust it.

Yet sometimes CR says not to buy a car and it sells well. Or vice versa.

After some reflection, I figured opening this QOTD to the larger automotive press would generate a more robust discussion.

I was channel-surfing the other night and came across the final Back to the Future movie. Now, like any child of the '80s, I like DeLoreans -- though I prefer the original to the time-machine converted since they look cleaner -- but I really, really love the Toyota pickup Marty dreams about. The same one he gets after he returns from the Old Wet.

The Volkswagen Arteon is dead. Long live the Arteon.

We've all heard about a section of I-95 collapsing due to a fire in Philadelphia this weekend.

Now I am thinking about infrastructure.

We've reported on Ford and GM reaching agreements to use Tesla's EV charging standard.

So the obvious question is -- who's next?

We reported yesterday that the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado might come to the United States.

So, naturally, the question is ... should it?

Here's a weird one -- a wealthy Finnish man is paying an almost $130,000 fine for speeding 20 mph over the limit. That's because that country bases its speeding fines based on the offender's income.

Last week we brought you the news that Texas is fixin' to possibly eliminate state inspections of non-commercial vehicles.

I was out of the office dealing with some routine medical stuff last week (I'm fine) so I mostly followed the unveiling of the Volkswagen Buzz via our TTAC story and social-media posts.

About halfway through Sunday's Indianapolis 500, I looked at the clock and thought "this thing will be over soon. I am going to have more free time today than I expected." How wrong I was.

We told you the other day about a Toyota owner who is upset a damaged engine won't be covered under warranty after he drove his car on the track.

We've also covered an issue in which Ford Bronco owners complain that a factory feature has damaged their vehicles after off-road use -- and that Ford is denying warranty claims.

With the exception of the Jeep 4xes that have hit the market in recent years, Stellantis has seemed behind the curve when it comes to electrification. Sure, the Dodge Hornet offers a PHEV powertrain, as does the Alfa Romeo Tonale. And the Dodge Daytona concept previews an EV shift.

On the other hand, Chrysler is hitting the reset button on its EV plans. The Airflow concept won't be the company's first EV.

A chief scientist at Toyota has said that forcing people to buy EVs could actually make them want to keep their internal-combustion engine vehicles longer.

We mentioned yesterday that Tesla is going to advertise more. But does the company really need to?

Ford is scaling back in China. Yet, at the same time, General Motors' Buick brand survived the brand purges in 2008-2009 in part because of its success in China.

So, what is the best way for non-Chinese makes to succeed in that market?

We posted yesterday about the aging vehicle fleet. Now I want to know -- how old is your personal fleet?

We didn't snag an invite to the Vinfast VF8 first drive, but I did read some reviews over the end of last week and during the weekend. They were some of the harshest reviews I've ever read.

I promise that today's QOTD is (likely) the last one I do based on my international travel last week.

It's also something that was already on my mind long before I booked this vacation since I am an American working for a Canadian company.

Yup, we're gonna talk about the metric system.

As I noted yesterday, I was spotting a lot of unusual (to us) vehicles while I was out of the country on vacation last week.

So, naturally, I wanted to ask you about forbidden fruit and what cars you'd bring here if you could. But there's a twist.

I was on vacation over the past 9-ish days -- don't ask me the exact number, since there was a lot of time-zone crossing and I don't want to do the math. I was in Tanzania, and while the focus of the trip was spotting animals in the Serengeti, I also was doing some serious car spotting during the time we spent nearer the large cities.

We know that local news loves to do service journalism, and last month, KSAT in San Antonio published a piece about five ways to save on car insurance.

Years ago, teenage me was leafing through an issue of Car and Driver that was already a bit old when I happened upon one of those rare magazine/newspaper columns that changes your life, or at least how you see things.

Come Sunday, I am blowing this pop stand for an overseas vacation. I'm skipping across the pond with one of my parents on a family journey -- though thanks to the magic of advance scheduling, you may still see my byline here and there while I'm out.

I've seen the itinerary, and it looks like I won't be driving a car from the moment I return a press car today until I am back.

That's fine -- but it got me pondering something.

I am almost certain we've asked this question, or a variation of it, relatively recently, but I want to ask it anyway in light of recent stories -- are YOU going to, or at least willing to, buy an EV any time soon?

Ford's long-awaited revitalization of the old Michigan Central train station has begun.

Today's Chevrolet Bolt news means that while the number of EVs on the market is growing overall, there aren't many EVs out there, at present, that would be considered "affordable."

We talked last week about how the Land Rover name will be retired and the models currently on sale, along with Jaguar, will become subbrands.

We've covered the Honda Civic Type R's Nurburgring time twice already because we find it pretty interesting to see what a FWD sports car can do.

That said, we also know that manufacturers love to tout the 'Ring times whenever they can.

We're wondering, do you care?

I am a big believer that cars have a feel, based on their brand. Meaning that the way materials look, feel, and even smell vary from brand to brand.

In other words, I think if you blindfolded me and sat me in any Honda made within the past 20 years, for example, and then moved me into any Toyota from the last two decades, I'd probably guess which brand car I was in (not sure I'd get the model, though).

Last night I walked past a parked older -- early Aughts -- Honda Accord, and then I heard it start up and I immediately recognized that sound, in part because I owned a '97 Accord myself.

Following our coverage of the Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid, reader feedback seemed overwhelmingly focused on the vehicle being manufactured in China. This was interesting because the article dealt exclusively with updates to the vehicle, which is technically still a product of North America.

But Ford Motor Co. has confirmed that the next-generation Nautilus will indeed be imported from China so that the Canadian facility currently responsible for U.S. volume can be transitioned into an electric-vehicle plant.

A piece of news crossed my desk concerning toymaker Playmobil striking a licensing deal with Ferrari.

Today's UCOTD got me thinking -- what now-dead '90s brands do you miss?

Yesterday we covered the proposed EPA rules and regs from the Biden administration.

Toyota has been incessantly teasing the next Tacoma -- which, despite speculation that we bought into (sorry), didn't bow in New York last week. We reported on the newest teaser just yesterday.

Earlier this week, The Washington Post published a long analysis exploring why we've become a truck nation.

I led off my Mazda CX-90 first drive with an anecdote about GPS misadventures. This annoyed some of you in the comments, but I thought it was a nice setup to preview my conclusion.

I digress.

The wild goose chase that Google Maps sent me wasn't the first time I experienced -- or heard of -- a reroute to nowhere.

Yesterday, I picked up a press car. And like so many cars these days, this one -- a Honda Pilot Trailsport -- gave me options on how I'd like my gauges to read.

The 2023 New York Auto Show is wrapping up and we're wondering -- what car was the star of the show for you?

I'm currently in New York to be arraigned...nope that's someone else. I really am in the Big Apple, though -- all so I can see some cars.

The annual Easter Jeep Safari to Moab, Utah, is almost upon us, and Jeep dropped seven concepts on us in advance of the event. Four are electrified.

Yesterday, we f eatured a Ford you can't get here.

Picture this: You're driving on a road trip. You're making good time, rocking some good tunes, enjoying the drive ... then you get sleepy. Or hungry. Or you need to take care of nature or fill the gas tank and you figure you might as well snag some sustenance or caffeine while you're stopped.

On the road this morning, I encountered a motorist who couldn't decide whether to turn left onto a side street or right into a parking lot. They eventually figured out where they needed to go (right) but not before delaying those of us behind them.

I am testing an EV this week -- one of several EVs that doesn't have AM radio.

I gotta say I miss it.

I was chatting with my ladyfriend last night and the conversation turned to famous roads, and I noted that thanks in part to this job, I've driven quite a few.

Earlier this morning I sent a Toyota Supra with a stickshift back to the press fleet.

Yesterday we noted that charging EVs in public, at least in the UK, costs more than charging EVs via home chargers.

Today, we're wondering -- how do you charge your EV?

You may have noticed one of the pictures I added to Mr. Guy's Dodge Challenger 170 story after the car's unveiling was of the vehicle being airlifted onto the Las Vegas Motor Speedway dragstrip via helicopter.

You'd have seen the whole production if you watched the Roadkill livestream.

I am once again working from a hotel room -- this time in Las Vegas -- in advance of attending a press event.

This time, I am here to see what Dodge has on hand to send off its muscle cars in style.

Today is St. Patrick's Day. I'm wearing a green t-shirt that mixes the Irish and Chicago flags together*, there's corned beef in my crock pot, and Guinness in my fridge for later. Meanwhile, Fox News auto writer Gary Gastelu has asked the most relevant question.