I was stuck with a rental Dodge Caliber to drive from Wisconsin to Virginia and back once— that car made me really appreciate my mom’s 1975 Pontaic Astre.   To this day, I’m convinced that driving a Dodge Caliber is the ONLY way to make anyone appreciate a Pontiac Astre.

The biggest problem with the Blazer was always that the Tracker (Geo or Chevy version—-or Suzuki equivalent) was always more reliable, drove better on road, was more capable off road, and regardless of trumped-up CR claims, turned out to be significantly safer, despite being notably cheaper and getting better mileage.

I know more than one person tolerating an ancient off-road vehicle simply because they want something smaller than a 4Runner and despise Chrysler products (regardless of which Chrysler manifestation). If this vehicle were available in the U.S., it would grant a well-earned and overdue retirement to lots of rusty…

4-wheel motivation, space and comfort for road tripping, looks good next to a ‘vette—-I have your answer: Jeep Wagoneer

Not so long ago, we used to roll out plans on the truck hood to review them with a crew or a subcontractor—then trucks managed to get ridiculously tall (while at the same time losing ground clearance). Over the last 10 years or so, field plans are near-universally rolled out across an open tailgate.

The single greatest use, nay, the PURPOSE of the single cab pickup is to get us philosopher types the hell away from children, spouses, friends, and neighbors so we can think and work.  The passenger side floor should be filled level with the seat bottom with logging chains, and the passenger seat should allow seating…

I’d buy a single cab Taco, Ranger, Colorado, or Canyon if I could get a SINGLE CAB 4x4 with all the off road goodies, but nobody will make me such a thing.   I’m going to buy a 2-door Wrangler before they go the way of the dodo.

Suzuki reliability gets a bad rap for all the re-badged Daewoos they sold, but if you stick to the actual Suzuki-built vehicles, they are amazingly durable and reliable.

A dashboard that isn’t designed to impress a 15-year-old boy (the last Ford I looked at), nor to operate a Gemini spacecraft in orbit (the last Buick I looked at).