#PerformanceDriving

When you think of performance Mitsubishis, the Outlander PHEV is almost certainly not what comes to mind. Each time I drive one I’m surprised at how good it is, specifically its handling. A seven-passenger PHEV crossover shouldn’t handle this well. I’d previously driven it on closed tarmac and dirt courses. Each time I’d leave both the autocross and track and think—why is this so fun? It shouldn’t be this fun.

I head to Los Angeles today for a press drive that will include some autocrossing.

I, personally, am not a fast autocrosser. Sometimes I'm a bit too conservative, strategy-wise, and other times I push a little harder but I don't balance the car well enough to walk the fine line between being aggressive and sliding off course and killing cones -- and thus, one's time.

Still, I enjoy it.

While Audi, Mercedes-AMG, and other luxury automakers hold performance driving programs at various race tracks across the U.S. and abroad, years ago Porsche decided to take a different tack. Now operating in seven different locations around the world, its Porsche Experience Centers are basically automotive playgrounds that showcase the brand’s performance heritage and contemporary racing efforts while also providing a facility for customers to build out custom specifications in the Personal Design Studio. The most interesting feature of the PECs, though, is the Driver Development Tracks. These purpose-built proving grounds allow drivers to put the capabilities of Porsche’s various vehicles to the test – whether that’s the at-limit handling of a Cayman or the off-road prowess of a Cayenne.

On Friday’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” the titular host said something pretty dumb about cars, driving, and the stunt driving seen in car chase movies that have graced movie screens for ages.

It’s not the most galactically stupid thing he’s said this year – that award goes to use his use of a racial slur while interviewing a sitting U.S. senator – but it was so off the mark that I felt compelled to rant.

In the interest of disclosure, I generally like Bill Maher. I don’t watch every week, but I catch the show when I can. Politically I agree with him on some things and not others (we’ll leave it at that), but as a TV host I find him to be relatively funny and smart, and I applaud his willingness to invite folks from all political stripes onto his show.

However, he can be smarmy, and occasionally I wonder if his staff has fact-checked something he’s prattling on about. And sometimes he just goes off the rails.