Section

Ownership

What happens after the keys. Running costs, maintenance, protection and the decisions that arrive in year two.

Twenty-one and twenty-five, the two clocks an imported car has to clear
Guides

The 25-year import rule is actually two rules

One clock is the safety standards' and runs 25 years. The other is the EPA's, runs 21, and writes its arithmetic into the form. …

Mario Bailey · 7 Sep

A Bayside Blue Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R from behind, its Montana plate marked PERM for permanent registration.
Guides

What is going on with all the Montana plates?

Montana charges no sales tax, and a car eleven years old or older can be registered there permanently. That is most of the answer. …

Mario Bailey · 7 Sep

Two 911s with their front hoods raised at Porsches & Pups, a dog sitting in each.
Culture

At Porsches & Pups, the frunk is a dog bed

A November 2024 morning at a detailing shop in Sterling, Virginia, where the 911s parked with their hoods up and the point of the …

Mario Bailey · 7 Sep

Corvettes lined up at the Orlando stop on the 2026 Motivation Rally.
Events

Second Motivation Rally runs Atlanta to Miami over five days

The 2026 edition ran 27 to 31 August through Tampa, Orlando and Miami, with a day trip to the Florida Keys and a format …

Mario Bailey · 7 Sep

A Driven Life cover card. Large type reading Taxed on the full price, over a dark road graphic.
Guides

The trade-in tax credit your state might not give you

In most states a trade-in lowers the price the sales tax is calculated on. California and Virginia tax the full price anyway, and both …

Mario Bailey · 5 Sep

A Driven Life cover card. Large type reading Cold start, over a dark road graphic.
Guides

What to check before buying a used enthusiast car

The order matters as much as the list. Paperwork before travel, a cold start before a test drive, and an independent inspection before any …

Mario Bailey · 3 Sep

A Driven Life cover card. Large type reading Eight to eleven, over a dark road graphic.
Culture

How to run a car meet people come back to

The venue decides the meet, the exit decides whether there is another one, and both get settled before a date is announced.

Mario Bailey · 30 Aug

A Driven Life cover card. Large type reading Three different jobs, over a dark road graphic.
Ownership

Paint protection film, ceramic coating and vinyl: what each one actually does

Three products, three different jobs, routinely sold as if they were one. Only one of them stops a stone chip.

Mario Bailey · 26 Aug

A Driven Life cover card. Large type reading +$1,124.33, over a dark road graphic.
Guides

Forty-eight months or sixty: what the extra year really costs

The longer loan advertises the lower rate. On the Federal Reserve's own May 2026 averages it still costs $1,124 more, and the arithmetic takes …

Mario Bailey · 21 Aug

A Driven Life cover card. Large type reading $119.87 a month, over a dark road graphic.
Ownership

Insurance is the second payment

The national average premium is $119.87 a month. Which car is on the policy moves that further than the state does, and it is …

Mario Bailey · 17 Aug

A Driven Life cover card. Large type reading $384.94 a month, over a dark road graphic.
Ownership

What a car costs a month after the payment

Insurance, fuel, maintenance and registration come to roughly $385 a month on national figures, before a single loan payment. Here is where each number …

Mario Bailey · 12 Aug