The Tacoma was probably the first time I’ve driven a stick and didn’t think it was fun. That includes the diesel Hiace I drove for 6 months, and a RHD diesel Qashqai. Maybe I’m just getting old.

Considering how lethargic the V6 already feels, I can’t imagine the 4-cyl is even acceptable. When it comes to the transmission though, I’ve driven the Tacoma with the stick and for whatever reason the parts just don’t seem to get along very well.

A little over a year ago I bought a car that had been smoked in, probably quite a bit, which the seller managed to hide really well. It was spotless, and I didn’t start to smell it until a week or so after I got it home. Might have been suffering from allergies when I test drove it.  I scrubbed the interior from top…

This is the type of thing that will probably keep me out of Fords in the future, unless it’s a lease where I know I won’t be fixing things.  Every time I have to fix something on my Expedition (and things go bad much earlier than any Honda, Toyota, or Nissan product I’ve owned) I find myself cursing the engineers who…

3rd gear: The Chinese have a lot more choices in EVs than the US or Europe, and many of the domestics are a lot snazzier than the VWs. I’m not surprised the ID4 isn’t doing well, but I am surprised VW didn’t see that coming.

I’m with you. I have a 115" screen home theater with a decent sound system at home. It’s great for movies, sports, video games, etc.

Not a fan of clips either, but not all clips are created equally. I can take panels off my BMW or Toyota and replace them multiple times without breaking a single clip. My Ford, however, was clearly meant to only be assembled once. Not only do clips break, sometimes the legs they attach to on the panels do in a way…

I love those flashlights. Fun fact - they don’t hold up well to brake fluid. 

Stellantis is in dire need of a new gas or gas hybrid powertrain. I love my Ram 1500 in almost every way, but the fuel economy is just laughable. I knew what it was going to be and bought it anyway because the rest of the truck is so great, but it’s the one thing that would get me to consider a Ford or the new Tundra…

I replaced the front struts on my wife’s ride a while back, and used a pair of vise grips to hold the end of a ball joint so I could loosen the nut. Apparently I forgot to remove them when I was done, because the mechanic mentioned them being there when she took it for an oil change a couple of months later. He didn’t…

Had a 2001 Sequoia, bought with about 50k miles. We drove it to 160k, and I started to worry about reliability since it was my wife’s daily and our road trip ride. Replaced it with a QX56, and sold it to my wife’s cousin for I think $6k almost 9 years ago. They’ve had it since then, and it’s been mostly trouble-free…

Um, how am I supposed to drive with one hand on the top of the wheel in a gangster lean if there’s no top of the wheel? No thanks.

While I can admit they’re a little cumbersome to park in urban areas, even my grandpa’s Lincolns weren’t as quiet, smooth, and comfortable on the highway as my Expedition EL or my Ram 1500. Suburban parking isn’t really an issue - maybe I walk 50 extra feet if I want to park in an easy spot and I back in more often…

Ram has an active air dam.

I love nearly everything about my Ram 1500, but I would be totally fine if they lowered the hoodline for better visibility and fuel economy. I don’t feel like I have a problem now, and even my 5'1" daughters seem to drive it just fine, but it could be better and I wouldn’t feel like any less of a man.

This. Even with great service, loaners, and snacks; the sheer inconvenience of taking my 2012 328i in for warranty work and recalls every couple of months was enough to make me buy an Acura the next time. They showed me though - new transmission within a month after I got my off-lease TLX. At least that was the only…

When I was in college and my CEL came on, I had a parts store pull the code, confirmed it wasn’t catastrophic (O2 sensor), and fixed it with black electrical tape like every broke person should do until I had a little extra money and somewhere to work on it.  These are important experiences in college.

First Gear: Truck-driving conservative here. Most of my friends and neighbors are also truck-driving conservatives. At least 1/2 of us, myself included, also own EVs and think they’re pretty great. FWIW, we’re also mostly vaccinated, at least in part because we like to travel. Anyway, the idea that conservatives for…

My daily is a full-size crew cab 1/2 ton.  This wouldn’t get me out of that now, but when I was in college and then as a young dad/homeowner I would have loved a Maverick.  All that utility with budget-friendly MPG, and at such a great price.  It’s a manageable size for apartment or street parking too.  I hope they…

I want an X1/9. My dad had one was I was probably 5 or so, and it was the coolest car on our street for sure. Made a lasting impression on me - I still have a deep love for open-top cars.