I agree, but you almost have to include the ‘89 SHO (and to a lesser extent the original ‘86 Taurus) in an overall movement by Ford not limited to just the MN12 SC/XR-7. All these cars demonstrated a previously unseen ability by an American automaker to create European luxury sport-sedan-like driving experiences from…

Your thought process is spot on, but the terminology is a bit off. Demand for gasoline is considered to be highly price inelastic, not elastic, especially in the short run.

Smuggler’s Run

BMW Z8. Great looking, and with the sublime S62 V8 from the M5. Hell, it was even Bond’s car. But the completed package was missing ... something.

Goodyear actually still makes quite a few passenger car and light truck tires in the US as well. The Wrangler SilentArmors on my Ranger, Eagle LS2s on my Fusion, and Integritys on my wife’s Civic are all US made.

MKZ = Zephyr

Re: 1st gear

Careful, trying to understand anti-vaxxers logic is how aneurysms happen.

This is a model, right? I see what you’re doing, this is box art of a 1/24 scale Tamiya kit that you’re trying to pass off as the actual car.

I’m well under 55 and a college graduate and would absolutely consider a CTS or ATS over their respective German competition. It would really come down to Cadi vs. Jag, to be honest.

A rented boat.

My wife. She says I drive too fast, don’t leave enough space, don’t see the car in front braking, honks the horn when she thinks I should have, and complains about the music I listen to, but insists I drive whenever we go anywhere. She hates driving and being in the car, and complains after the first half hour or so.…

Well done, sir!

Wait, kids don’t go in the trunk? Then why does my car have one of these?

Although I’m not enthralled with the exterior styling (a four door version of the MKR concept with rear suicide doors would’ve been the way to go in my humble opinion), Lincoln needs to build this car. Every other luxury marque is doing its own German impression, and rather than dump bucket loads of money trying to…

Good thing Ford didn’t go with this early Taurus concept.

I traded a very tired 15 year old Escort that I maybe, maybe could've sold for $1800 privately, but I really wasn't excited about dealing with the types of buyers in the market for a sub $2k car. The dealer offered me $1000 but Ford kicked in an additional $1500 trade-in incentive, totaling a $2500 offer I really…

Don't forget about the 40 and 60 series Starlets from the late 70s/early 80s.

Like others have suggested, Clarkson, along with Hammond and May (and Andy Wilman), should form a new show on a platform that will give him the wide berth he needs, say Netflix or HBO. Here are my unique suggestions to add to the common thread: