If you hate scraping, by all means use something that means you don't have to. Easy? I dunno. It was -33F in my town on Thursday, and mostly negative temps forecast all this week. 2-3 minutes of defroster, coupled with literally 20-30 seconds or less of scraping is plenty for prepping even on the coldest morning.

At idle, the typical 4-cylinder engine burns 0.01L/min, or maybe 0.02L/min in extreme cold. So you're saving pennies, even at 8USD. The benefits of letting a frigid car warm up to operating temperature have been well covered here recently, and could easily offset the fuel being burned at idle.

The tough part to determine is average person. Drivers in the 19-aughts were wealthy and elite white Europeans and Americans. If you count them, then you could argue for that decade. At least one Darracq and several Benzes were making more than 200 hp in that decade.

I looked closely at one of these recently but we went with an almost new Saab at similar money. This is a good choice, and so is the E46 wagon, which has a pre-xDrive system. The only caveat when comparing this to an E30 is weight: the E91 is about 800 lbs heftier than even the heaviest E30. The E91 is still a lot…

Good point about aircraft businesses, but Hispano-Suiza and Lorraine-Dietrich both made high-end automobiles for many years before the war started. The aircraft industry was a side business that became a big deal for Hispano-Suiza, but . However, Voisin (purely aviation) and Salmson (compressors and pumps, and later…

Maybe a 7/9 scale NSU TT? The NSU was quite a bit longer. Even the Hillman Imp, which I thought might have been around the same size, was larger and heavier than the Suzuki.

I was really surprised, too, but that generation of Sonata (EF) was designed in the mid-90s. It wasn't really until the 2005 Sonata that Hyundai was really competing, feature- and safety-wise. Lower-trim models of cars like the Rio, Aveo, Accent, Versa and maybe others, didn't have ABS right up until 2011.

I'm pretty sure ABS was optional for this generation of Sonata, depending on trim level. But it could easily have been a failed ABS/TCS module as well.

Interesting retro-fit. Certainly not stock since I've driven several Syncro Quantums and have never seen one with a front locker. As for "best", the quattro I system (which is what all Syncro Quantums were given from the factory) is very, very good. But without a front locker it's not perfect, and the viscous coupler…

I agree, but the Mirage is priced too high. If it started at 11 or 12K I could see the sense. But starting at $13K ($15K in ES trim) puts it against cars like the Yaris, Versa Note, Accent, etc., and the Mirage loses out in all ways except fuel mileage. It's an oxcart compared to a good car like the Mazda2.

I take your word for it. Prices started out under $30K (maybe some dealer markups sent it over 30 on loaded models), but quickly climbed. 1995-1997 models were markedly more expensive.

Uhhhhh, no. Adjusted for inflation. The price of the SVX with touring packaging, in 1992, was around $28K. If he did actually pay $42K, he was comprehensively hosed.

The $40K figure was given in today's dollars. The MSRP on the SVX in 1992 was under $25K, topping out at $28K or so. I think that's well below what BMW was charging for its 3-series at the time, let alone the pricier M3. Of course, the economy tanked around that time, sending the yen into a tailspin that drove prices…

The PCV system was redesigned for 2004+ 9-5s. The featured listing is a good one. My 9-3 with the B205R had the same potential issue, but it went over 200K without issue thanks to full-syn oil, 5,000-mile changes at a Saab garage, and plenty of WOT to help burn the sledge.

Great post, especially, calling out the BS on rum, but leaving out dry vermouth? It's pretty much the only thing to use with a "classic" martini so I would never consider omitting from my cabinet. As for Antica, that's great if you're loaded and drink through an entire bottle in 1-2 months before it goes bad.…

The gearing will likely keep highway mileage around 35 or less. "City" mileage should be the biggest improvement.

My bad. I confused the Canadian-market 313 A-engine, which Bristol originally used on the 407, with a variety of hemi. The 407 was later made with the 318. I concur on the RB, it probably wouldn't clear the bonnet.

Bristol used the hemi for many years on the 400-series cars. Rumor has it Trident used a hemi in some of its Clipper cars (the early cars have a 289 Ford). If you go back to the '50s some Allard J2s ran Chrysler hemis.

I believe Marcos used a BRM-Repco in its Mantis prototype as well.

Agreed, and good point about Porsche. Early 911 prices have been dragged well beyond their performance and rarity envelope.