The manual is a little odd, with first gear being left and down. You also have to lift up on the stick to get it in reverse. It's a good "touring" drive though, it just doesn't feel right to push it hard. The M104.980 inline 6 does smoothly rev to 7000 RPM.

Even in the first-gen you could get the RS package on a 6-cylinder.

This button should obviously be removed for some drivers....

No comments about it being an automatic, please. This has been explained over and over and beaten quite to death.

Look! The screen is in the dash where it's supposed to be!

I can't wait for this trend to be over.

Depending on where you're at, some earplugs may come in handy.. I know they were at the Brickyard 400.

However the C Pillar shape is completely wrong, the window in the Protegé comes to a point.

It's $3.03 here in northern IL today. I did see as low as $2.65 in St Louis on Monday when I was returning from a 4200+ mile road trip.

Magneride is nice, while not as good, it was available starting model year 2003 on the C5 and C6 (RPO F55). Even without it, my '04 C5 rides quite well with the base (FE1) suspension. The bumps are definitely felt more in my '11 9-5.

But there is still a Fiesta I'd love to try that isn't the ST. And that's the Fiesta 1.0 Zetec S, a car we don't get in the USA. It's basically an ST with the 1.0 powertrain. I'd kill to have a car that handles like the ST but also needs to be flogged constantly in order to get up to a respectable speed. Imagine…

The R129. It's not the fastest with only 228 HP from the durable M104.981 I6 moving 4000 lbs, so much for the "SL" original meaning. It's a fairly enjoyable drive with the 5-speed non-overdrive manual. It's obvious the designers really did their homework over-engineering this car in the typical fashion for the day.…

Yet somehow my 2011 9-5 has escaped the recall craze. Or is that just because it was sold from "SAAB Automobile AB" which is no longer in business so they're not liable, even if it is a licensed GM model.

The Cobalt may have sucked, but how did it compare to the Cavalier?

But Cadillac really wants to sell you a Volt, A really upscale volt.

I'm not generally a Honda fan, but there's just something about the second generation Legend Coupe with the Type 2 and 6-speed.. It just pushes all the right buttons.

Yes, and because well, the '80s.

Still a crosstour.

Manual gearbox is standard in the US.