Seriously, what’s up with those anti-EV takes? The Ford F-150 is all aluminum and has been since 2015. The Lightning might use 200 pounds more than the average “car”, but so does every other F-150.

The problem is that most engine bays are so darn cramped these days that you can’t get the bottle positioned to do this without having some really long funnel. Sure, with the long funnel you can get it not to splash all over the place, but now you have a long, oily funnel in one hand and a quart of oil in the other,…

Agreed - it’s really dumb as the very best reason to have a Suburban is if you need to haul a lot of people AND a lot of stuff AND a big trailer of some kind. They do that far better than a pickup can, while keeping your stuff secure and dry.

I had a V6 Contour as well, a burgundy 5-speed with the same wheels as the car in the picture. It was a good size, not too big, not too small. Engine was revvy and handling was great. Pretty sure mine didn’t have traction control but it got me through 10 winters and can’t remember it ever getting stuck.

I had a ‘99 SVT Contour - no traction control, but I put a Quaife gear-type LSD up front. That low front bumper used to plow all of the roads on my way to work in the mornings.

I don’t know how it is in Connecticut, but my least favorite stretch of I-95 is between DC and Fredericksburg. It’s brutal.

Yet another reason that I drive a 18 year old Acura that I paid off 15 years ago.

when i was in school my teachers made me do math by hand because i wouldn’t have a calculator with me all the time when i was grown up.

Any niche, limited supply, performance-oriented, desirable/rare or non-appliance vehicle available only through a dealership.

Small correction:  The newspaper’s name is the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, or the Post-Dispatch.  Post is part of the official name.

Hyundai Theta engine has entered the chat...

I wonder how many folks who leased shortly before Covid found themselves with a relatively cheap buyout in the last 12 months and just decided to buy the car outright. My parents were in that boat with a 3 year old Q5 that had like 12k miles on it. The pre-determined buyout price made it a steal.

Counterpoint: Gliders. Revamped semi’s with rebuilt older engines without all of the electronics and emissions controls that get away with it simply because they are only required to have emissions equipment required when the block was built even though pretty much everything but the block and heads are new.

Great write up. Kudos on not being afraid to speak truth to power.

I am hopeful that the “look at me, I can accelerate fast” way of measuring performance will be a thing of the past and performance be moved to more than that.

This isn’t a reliability list. This is a willingness to repair list. Reliability factors into some of that willingness. But that Suburban is going to need a lot more to get to 200K than some other options here.

Basically any of the Subarus besides the WRX and BR-Z.

Can someone lend me your electron microscope? I can’t find my violin.

Of course, an electric MR2 would make the prelude irrelevant

As a Mk VII Fiesta owner myself, yes Ford did dug their own grave by keep offering that dry clutch DSP6 transmission knowing it’s flawed from the get go. did you guys in the US didn’t get the conventional 4 speed automatic ? anyway I love my 1.6 NA Fiesta with good old 5 speed manual, still my fun reliable daily till…