I did 14 hours from NYC to Japan and back in coach on JAL. My company was too cheap for any type of upgrade. JAL is definitely built for slender Japanese, not husky 225 lb Americans. The seats have less room than normal coach.  The way back was with a bulkhead behind me so my seat did not recline AT ALL. Despite the…

Red always looks better on a properly shippy ship.
My new boat came with a light blue bottom. I had it repainted to red. Looks much better with the white and blue hull.

Real-life, non-lazy uses for drive-thrus.

Yeah, I don’t know. With my wife’s blessing, we just bought a rather expensive new boat. She wanted to keep the old one but we traded it in. A week later she was trying to convince our son that he wanted a 12-13 foot rigid-hull inflatable so he could tool around with his friends. And she keeps pestering me to get a…

A Militem steering wheel emblem: ensuring shrapnel in a front-end collision, juuuuust in case FCA didn’t use a Takata airbag.

Same with Scranton / Wilkes-Barre. Parking can be miserable at best in the narrow, hilly parts of Wilkes-Barre. Lord help you if you take someone’s parking spot after they have shoveled the snow out of it.

Classic example of a “bro-dozer”. 

I do wonder why so much dash space was wasted with a row of numbered radio preset buttons. When was the last time you used those? I don’t think I have at all, this decade.

I’ve thought for years that garbage trucks and school busses were the best two types of vehicles that should be converted to hybrid electric. They stop often, and could use the torque of electric engines to get moving without having a cloud of diesel smoke.  

Perhaps you could use a better financial advisor? I’m actually doing much better than 10%. My 401k alone has 15% 10 year average return.

Subaru Ascent was in the top 2 choices for my recent purchase along with a Honda Pilot. The Ascent is a really nice vehicle. The interior design of the dash was a bit too avant-guard for my wife though, with it’s kind of strange wrap-around lip/shelf. It drives very nicely though. The Honda is just a bit more…

This is why I drove 4 hours each way to to a dealership to purchase the only red Honda Pilot Elite on the east coast. Yes, it’s still a Honda Pilot, but it’s the vehicle that worked for my family. At least it’s not the same black / white / gray that EVERYONE else has.

Sometimes it depends on how cheap it is to use someone else’s money via financing. My financial advisor always suggests (for me) to borrow money when it’s cheap vs. taking money out of the investment market.

I recently purchased a new Honda Pilot. I hate having a car loan and COULD have purchased it for all cash. But…

Just because the Liberty was unibody (like the XJ) and had an independent front suspension doesn’t mean it sucked (at least the first gen models). Yes, the die-hard Jeep community cringed when it was introduced, but it had way more capability than something like a Patriot. I think many have come around to the…

TBH, it was more of “what a cute car, I love the little flower vase, he’s in touch with his emotions” vs. “wow, how powerful and manly, let me throw myself at it’s owner”. Probably kind of reverse psychology in a way.  I’ve always liked things that a little off-beat.  

We considered looking at the Telluride also.  My mechanic did not recommend it for our situation because we buy and hold our cars for 10+ years.  His opinion is that the Korean cars have made great strides, but smallish things start to go around 70-80K miles, where that doesn’t typically happen with Honda, Toyota, or…

In 1998 I was shopping for my first new car. I very much wanted a Avenger because it was affordable, I thought it was sporty, and it might impress some ladies. I also was considering the New Beetle. My dad convinced me that the Avenger was probably not a very good car / value. I got a New Beetle in black with a…

We’re currently shopping to replace a 2011 Acadia and have looked at the 2019 Highlander. So far we’ve found it has much less cargo space vs. Ascent and Pilot. Since we do transport adults in the 3rd row seat on occasion, I tried it and found the headroom lacking. At 5' 10", my head was hitting the roof. The front 2…

We use a hitch just for the bike carrier.  And occasionally pull out some bushes.  

My dad loved these cars. He had 4: a diesel wagon, a gas wagon, and 2 diesel sedans. The wagons had phenomenal room and comfort. Dad liked to move stuff on the (then) new property, so it became a workhorse that I started to drive at age 11. Hauling rocks, towing felled trees, the usual.