I think cars like the ND Miata show it’s possible, even in today’s era and regulatory regime. But the cars manufacturers do make sell a lot more. And that’s pretty much why the market looks like it does: the cars on the market are what most people want.

“Never mind, forget I asked” is about the best possible result from being asked for a car recommendation. Not only will you not get blamed for the answer, people will stop asking you annoying questions.

Actually, some Model S owners have reported replacing the motor five times in two years... There are serious mechanical issues.

Since said bumpers are solidly attached to the frame with no crumple zones, the force will either eject you from your vehicle, roll the vehicle over, or cause massive internal trauma when transferred directly to your body. Kind of explains why solid bumpers aren’t equipped on any modern vehicles from the factory for…

I bought a Crescent branded set at Costco that was similar in size to the Pep Boys set, but a bit more expensive and significantly higher quality (like, surprisingly good for Costco). They took everything I threw at them until the entire toolbox was swiped from the shared basement of my apartment. That was a sad day.

Even better with three or four, but you have to be really careful about those matchmaking settings...even if the hardware can technically support more in one instance most of the players aren’t willing to go beyond the default two-player game.

The only, only thing preventing me from settling on a Fiesta ST as my next car is knowing how easily I can put 1-2 bicycles in the back with the seats folded down. Otherwise, I’m 100% sold that this will be my next car.

It was the budget exotic cars episode...the best part was that Clarkson, who had a Maserati Merak, had it dyno at somewhere around 90hp.

AT&T obscures the ability to jump off of the contract rates on their website, but the option is there and well worth it. At the end of my contract I switched from a plan with 2GB of data, unlimited texts and 400 voice minutes to an off-contract plan with the same amount of data but unlimited voice and texts, and my…

Long-term ownership surveys show that an average car has well below one problem per car at the three year mark these days. Even with a Land Rover you’re likely to make it to three years and have something go wrong only once or twice...it’s still statistically the least reliable make of car on the road in the US. The…

I just upgraded my graphics card for the first time in four years, and even that was mostly vanity and having some money to burn. I don’t quite see this “arms race” you speak of, I’ve never had to hold off on a game purchase for fear my computer wouldn’t run it, and other than RAM it was untouched since 2011. I also…

Mine’s a 2007. It has the 2.5, but the TD04 tune didn’t have the open-loop/closed-loop crossover that caused the stock VF cars (08+ STIs and 10+ WRXs) to go lean...now, the TD04 tended to blow up under higher-than-stock boost pressures, but when mine started to I caught it early enough to drive the car to my tuner and…

It does apparently ride on a different platform (the new WRX is the VA, the Impreza is the GJ) but that platform is still derived from the Impreza. From what I’m reading the structural differences are similar to those made to the GR/GV Imprezas (new fender and front end treatments, similar/same greenhouses), but I’d…

The turbo EJs haven’t really had a problem with head gaskets, mine included. The car has 155,000+ miles on it, and only thing I’ve had to do besides maintenance was replace a failed turbo around 110k, replace a blown strut, and do a few bits of “mod maintenance” which I won’t count against the car. My tuner has told…

It certainly is, and the better gas mileage and refinement keeps it on my list. That said, I have 25,000 miles until my WRX wagon needs its third timing belt, so I’m not in a rush to upgrade if the car I truly want doesn’t exist yet.

The 04-05s had the best transmission/final drive combo for transmission longevity (though the 06-07 final drive, while putting more stress on the transmission, was much nicer on the highway and gets better gas mileage), and the 2.0 seems to be just generally more reliable than the 2.5 was. That all being said, I…

The worst are actually the short buses...maybe one or two of the dozen most popular cutaway manufacturers make something structurally decent. And they do not age well.

I’m in an 07 currently, and the GDs are simply better cars than the GRs are. With the turbo I have on my car currently, I’d need around 5-7 grand to modify a GR into being better than my current car, and it would still lose 15 cubic feet of cargo space. Reliability isn’t great either...at the very least they stopped…

On one hand, emissions equipment was actually mandated on school buses in 2011. On the other hand, it’s been like a second coming of the Malaise Era with the crap they’ve been trying to pull to make the old engines compliant. Navistar (IC Bus) was the worst...at least Cummins sighed and went straight to a DEF-based…

I’m in the market for a new car and honestly, if there was a WRX hatch my life would be so much easier. Also, I’d be able to get one of those nifty owner badges telling everyone it’s my second Subaru...alas.