So, I don’t disagree with you. BUT the article is about winter beaters, and definitely frames it as buying a car specifically for winter use so you don’t screw up your “good” car, so I figure this article is about the right way to get around in winter and not mess up your good car, and a bus is easily the most cost…

Oh agreed. But the article is about winter beaters, and definitely frames it as buying a car specifically for winter use so you don’t screw up your “good” car, so I figure this article is about the right way to get around in winter and not mess up your good car, and a bus is easily the most cost effective way to do…

To be fair, no one in seattle knows how to handle even the slightest bit of snow and ice. Also, seattle is a LOT steeper than you’d think. The year I spent there was an eye opener on what steep streets actually were. 

Oooooof that sucks. Pre-covid, Madison, WI’s busses actually did pretty well in the snow- they’d be slower but not too bad. We also have bike paths that often get plowed before the streets- if you can make it to the bike path, things get easy. Assuming you can get that far :)

I mean, yeah, that’s not good... though let’s be honest, at -30c ANY beater (and many non-beaters) are gonna be a pretty dangerous proposition.

I mean, the same could be said for any cheap beater.

Regular tires on 2wd+traction control are better than AWD without traction control.

The best cheap beater of all is a city bus. Just take the bus. Yes it’s slow but you don’t have to drive in the ice and snow. Take advantage of the resources you’ve got.

In the short run it would suck. In the long run it would stimulate public transit, which would be a huge gain for everyone. 

We all think we want that car that’s going to make driving fun, not realizing that 95% of our driving is not fun in a way that’s completely out of our control.

For years, I gave a shit what the other “enthusiasts” thought. That lead me to buy cars that honestly... weren’t actually great for me. Oh they were enthusiast approved, brown manual wagons and all that, but... they sucked for me.

Using a piece of pipe insulation between the seat and the center console to stop pens, pencils, iphones, receipts, bottle caps, keys, french fries and ketchup packets from falling in-between the seat and the console. Black pipe insulation, already split , cut a slit for the seatbelt and bam, you’ll wonder why you…

But c’mon, I’ve got a not uncomplicated Marmot tent that I can set up in like 5 minutes and then inflate the air matress in like 3 minutes and done.

to be fair, if you live east of the mississippi, your RTT view is gonna be a parking lot at the state forest campground. 

130 pounds and that big is not easy to move. You end up with good intentions but end up just leaving it up because it’s easier.

I think the other issues worth mentioning are, do you ever have to get up and pee in the middle of the night? A ladder doesn’t make that easier. And then, how badly does having 130 pounds way up on top of your roof affect it’s normal handling? I mean, I haul canoes around and they weigh 70-80 pounds sometimes, but…

My last 3 cars have all had right around 180hp. A 2003 Impreza outback sport, a 2013 VW sportwagen and a 2017 Subaru outback. At no time in any of these vehicles did I ever think, “man, I wish I had more power so I could...” I use ellipses here because I honestly can’t think of what I would need double the HP I’ve got…

Which, for most drivers, is just fine. And since the folks who don’t care about road feel make up about 99% of the car buying market, get used to it. 

100%. All I know is my modern car with all its fancy electronics and motors and all the wee little actuators and whatnot really doesn’t fail very often, unlike the cars I grew up with, which were aggressively simple and seemed to fail weekly.

Right, so the last wagon maker I can afford. Also never owning another european car.