This is a very good point, and I think it’s what Ford is betting on. The average vehicle age in the US is now about 12 years, the oldest it’s ever been. There’s nothing wrong with picking up a 3-4 year old CPO vehicle and if you plan on keeping it for a while, you’ll easily get 100-150k worth of mileage out of it if…

I always understood that the “chicken tax” only applied to commercial vehicles though, not passenger vehicles. For instance, when Ford used to build the Transit Connect in Turkey, they shipped them to the States as a passenger van then had them converted for commercial duty once they cleared the port.

So here’s a thought I had... small cars and sedans aren’t terribly profitable because it was historically the largest segment of the market and virtually every automaker had a competitive product, so to increase sales there were always deals attached. Lots of cash incentives, low APR financing, crazy lease deals, etc.

Coincidentally, MiL could be an abbreviation for Mother in Law or Malfunction indicator Light... Maybe your constant emissions problems were the work of forces greater than yourself, like fate or something.

Glad the Fusion will be around for a few more years, it’s a genuinely good car (and also probably the quietest vehicle I’ve ever ridden in). I suspected they wouldn’t axe it right away, especially since it just got another facelift and Ford has a tendency to stretch out a model’s lifespan to ten years or more if it…

Would you have not bought a car for her if there were no new Fiesta available, or would you have simply looked at CPO stuff on the lot in the $13-15 range? I think they’re counting on more people shopping CPO/used for entry level offerings... especially since cars last longer than they ever have. A 3-4 year old car…

Re: 3rd point - I get that investors want every product Ford offers to stand on its own two legs and turn a profit, but I think they’re missing the bigger picture. Small, entry-level cars get people into the brand and don’t need to be profitable themselves to create value for the organization.

The new Altima is going to be available with AWD also. Lots of people here like to shit on Nissan, but the Altima is very good at being a comfortable, practical car. Also, the new one looks pretty good in my opinion...

Most police departments in my area have been using the Interceptor Utility (Explorer) instead of the Taurus version. So even the police are choosing SUV over sedan. I imagine the taller seating position helps them spot more baddies...

1st Gear: Hypothetically, if Bosch’s claim is true that their magic diesel system requires no additional hardware, would it be possible for them to apply this technology to all of the VW models that had to be recalled/modified so that they’re not just back “in spec” but actually better than they would have been…

Excellent! Thanks for the great info!

Damn shame... the Fusion is a great car and still looks good despite being a 6 or 7 year old design.

Good to know! I have an electronic parking brake in my car but haven’t had the courage/desire to activate it when I wasn’t parked... but I think that really just reinforces my point. If it was truly just meant for parking, they could easily program it so it didn’t work above 5 mph...

You’re welcome! You have the general idea down, but tons of people are mistaken about the “weight” part of it. The oil weighs the same, it’s just thicker/thinner (more or less viscous). A multi-viscosity oil like 10W30 is actually a 10-grade oil that’s been modified to act like a 30-grade at operating temperature.

False. Should your hydraulic brake system fail, it is a cable-operated emergency backup to allow you to bring the car down a stop safely. Also, many states require a vehicle with a console-mounted brake lever be used for driving tests, and it’s not so the instructor/registry officer can make sure it’s “parked…

I’ve been on it, but haven’t had the pleasure of merging onto it from one of those exits. Sounds terrible!

How about people that ride the outside lane of a rotary/roundabout when the exit they want is 3/4 of the way around?

Oh man... so much of this.

Pets on the lap has to be one of the worst. How is that legal?? I don’t think people should text and drive, but you can’t tell me that texting and driving is somehow more dangerous than having a living thing crawl all over you and your arms while you’re trying to steer.

No, he means rear fog lights. Usually only see them on European cars, notably Volvo and sometimes Mercedes. It’s essentially a tail light that’s on at brake light intensity, or more, and it’s usually only on one side to really piss off people that like symmetry.