My first car was an 85 Grand Am. It was only eight years old when I bought it and I was constantly replacing alternators, starters, etc while fighting the headliner with a staple gun that I kept in the car. By 95,000 miles the iron duke inline 4 was burning a quart of oil for every tank of gas. Traded it in for an 85…

Modern turbo’s have come a long way, even compared to the Mazdaspeed 3 from 10-15 years ago.  With smaller turbos, twin scroll technology, etc they build torque in a very smooth and linear fashion. I had an MK7 GTI and now have a BMW wagon with the 2.0T and neither are “frantic”. I have owned a few high revving Honda…

I wasn’t arguing that they will flip quickly, just that they have the tech developed with hybrids to go that direction quickly if they choose too. I agree that their hybrids are excellent.

Interesting cars do not necessarily sell.  The best selling cars in the world are the Corolla, Civic, Golf, Rav 4 and CRV.    The ugly Prius sells like hot cakes.   

With Toyota’s development of plug in hybrid power trains, they could flip to electric very quickly.... especially since that is a more simplified drivetrain compared to hybrid. 

Mufflers only prevent noise pollution.  The catalytic converter and emissions controls on the engine helps emissions.  

Nice.  I traded my 85 Civic Si for a new GS-R when I graduated from college and got my first real job.   I would argue that the MK7 GTI is more the spiritual successor to those 80’s Honda hatchbacks than the current Civic.   They were cleanly styled, boxy and practical, with great ergonomics, just like modern VW.   I…

Yeah, mine is an F31. With a light tune, more space and AWD it is a better all rounder than the VW, but you really feel the extra 700-800 lbs. The GTI was just more fun to drive around town.

I traded my MK7 GTI for a 328i wagon at 70k miles.  The VW ran like a top.     Great cars.   The BMW isn’t as fun.   A lot of the guys on the forums with issues also have heavy mods and tunes.   

Owned an MK7 GTI for a few years and frequented those forums. Amazing how many people who had problems also had tunes on their car. Everybody pretends that their Stage whatever tune is “reliable” and somehow doesn’t increase heat and stress.

Your wrong. I drove aN MK7 GTI for three years, with a wife, small dog and two pre teen kids. My wife had a smaller car so the GTI was the family car. Back seat space is fine. We took it on a 2000 mile family vacation. I would spend 5 minutes putting my Yakima cargo box on the roof for road trips which doubled…

Just because truck buyers don’t buy the Ridgeline, doesn’t mean it isn’t a great truck. It isn’t about journalist group think... popular stuff is often mediocre. Americans love identical houses with crappy tan vinyl siding and eating McDonalds. Just because things are popular or sell well, doesn’t make them great.

Agreed, but he would still be smart to get out of it at the loss.  Being upside down on a 5 year old Miata and then leasing a new Gladiator that you cannot afford is INSANE.  

Yeah, being financially insecure and thinking you need a $55k Jeep and a Miata as a third fun car is financial insanity... but unfortunately par for the course for many Americans as debt is unfortunately our way.  

Well said. I have payed cash for several recent lightly used cars and then invest the money that we would have used for payments. We definitely don’t dump our entire savings into said care purchase, just a small percentage and sleep far better driving something that is paid off.

Agreed. Drive a 328i wagon now with AWD and 300 hp and my GSR that I bought new in 99 was the most fun I have had in a car. My previous car was a 2015 GTI.

I’m curious if the bulk of your cars were lightly used or older German cars.  I have had good luck with lightly used German cars.   My current BMW is 6 years old and has 75000 miles and has had no issues.   I always assume Jalops who complain about them are buying 10-15 year old high mileage versions.  

Ignore the used BMW hate around here.   Jalop readers base their knowledge on that 15 year old beat up M3 their buddy bought.   Lightly used BMW’s are fine.  

Great comments. People also need to understand that this is a ban on sales of new ICE cars, not a ban on the cars from the roads. California buyers purchase around 900,000 cars per year.  California has around 15 million registered automobiles in the state, so by this rate it might take 15+ years before most of the…

Don’t most electric cars/chargers allow you to schedule when the charging takes place? You can plug it in when you get home, but the charging can start later to take advantage of off-peak hours? If you have a level 2 charger, it likely only takes a few hours to top off anyway since most people don’t drive 200…