There is no visible body requirement in MA law. At all. Only frame and unibody integrity.

Quarter rust != rust perforation

Sorry, if there are literal holes in the side of the vehicle, it should be failed. I don't think you're making it up, I think your definition of cosmetic damage is a tad optimistic. But no, you can't be failed for the types of dents being talked about in the article.

MA resident here. Long story short...no. First, that rule is completely at the discretion of the inspector, so most cars with even ludicrous rust find a station that will pass them. Second, rust perforation is a bit more than "cosmetic damage"...you can't be failed for having dents unless the dent prevents a door from…

From what I understood, the second time he blew the turbo it was preceded by a pretty bad overboost. Still, this is all secondhand, I was about 3 when he sold the car. The car he had before it was a Saab, so you can imagine the trials it put him through for him to remember it so poorly.

Wow, I feel lucky. My cars:

My father owned one, and though I was too young to get any sort of full list, the car did blow two turbos, and crack the block straight down the middle between #2 and #3. From what I understand, he bought it new and got rid of it after about five years. Replaced it with a 1991 Celica, which my parents still have, 24…

I'm 27, and am at least slightly surprised we're that close in age.

The MA green plates are also the only way to get around the state's front plate law. I kind of wish we could have kept the green plate on my old Celica, but since it was registered to my Dad it wouldn't have mattered.

If you look at the heat rates for average large-scale power plants, they operate between 40-50% efficiency. Add in natural gas peakers which are required for ramping (and are less efficient), you're still 35%+ among the fossil fuel plants. Nuclear is less, but it produces no atmospheric pollutants so the efficiency of…

Cox Media doesn't own Carfax. Carfax is a subsidiary of Polk, which was recently acquired by an information services company called IHS.

Unless Cobb recommends otherwise, just run the stock plugs from your manual. Cars that are going to see a benefit from colder plugs are typically ones where the charge temperature is going to change dramatically due to tuning...i.e. non-intercooled cars. A GM L67 car is going to want colder plugs after even mild…

The answer to these questions is "read the docket", in most cases. The R33 docket is the infamous Motorex docket...if you read into the changes Motorex made to the cars, you'll see that getting one in is still quite expensive, but because Motorex already did it, you can indeed import a Skyline if you then make all the…

It does require demand, but with the absence of substitutes the seller can set whatever price he wants- especially if there's no pressure to sell. Fewer people would be willing to buy at this price...but it's in the seller's best interest to set the price high enough so that exactly one person would be willing to pay.…

I know what you mean, but one of the principles of microeconomics is that rarity (scarcity, technically) is literally exactly what implies value.

Hmmm, lame. That being said, it's actually legal to import 06-07 JDM Foresters, and 95-98 Legacies have an import eligibility docket being processed as well. So looks like you should just get that 07 Forester STi.

I would like to know the registration situation...since the SF Forester was sold in the US, one assumes that it is possible to import one newer than 25 years, even if there are still hoops to jump through.

Admittedly I was concerned about my car because it's one of only a few that could run lean and die if you put a CAI on it without a tune.

Count me in the column of wing/spoiler pedant.

The STI's spoiler doesn't add any practical downforce, it isn't a wing. What it does do is spoil the airflow off the roof to reduce drag. It has to be mounted that high in order to have any impact on the airflow, anything closer to the trunk would just be stuck in a low pressure pocket and not do anything.