N: I’m usually not surprised, since there have been so many at this point.  That reminds me, I need to schedule an appointment to get the steering wheel bolt and clutch recalls done on my Fusion.

Did Ford announce a EcoBoost 4-cylinder for the F-150? I know there will be a turbo 4-cylinder Silverado/Sierra 1500 for 2019, but I wasn’t aware of Ford following suit.  Or were you referring to the Ranger?

I actually liked the XLR, especially the V. But that was a good line.

Cadillac XLR: the equivalent of a man who colors his eyebrows - classic.

Welp, auction ended with a top bid of $15,555.

Winning bid was $15,555.

Unbelievable to see one of these Civics in like-new condition. My dad bought a Civic CVCC new in ‘75, and I spent a good amount of my childhood riding around in that car in the ‘80s. His was green not yellow, and he sprung for the dealer-installed A/C. Man, this brings back a lot of memories, including the time I was…

Not to dismiss the importance of the article, but gotta love the 2002 FX4 in the headline picture.

N: I run regular 85 in my old Ranger, but premium 91 in the Fusion since it nets an additional 6 or so horsepower from the little turbo. Premium runs about 60+ cents more per gallon in my area, but I only fill up once every six weeks, so the additional cost is manageable.

The Continental will likely never be a huge volume seller, so it really comes down to how much Lincoln wants to maintain a flagship sedan (with a name tied to its glory days) in its lineup. But the Continental should remain profitable even at low volumes, unlike the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Taurus, and C-Max.

I’ve heard many conflicting rumors on the Continental, from it will die off to it will be converted to RWD on the new modular CD6 platform. The latter makes some sense since surely the Mustang will also migrate over to CD6 (after all this cost-cutting, Ford really isn’t going to keep a relatively low-volume niche…

Flex is already declared dead, and the Edge fits nicely between the compact Escape and 3-row Explorer. Plus, as someone else noted already, the Edge has just been freshened.

N: I’m pretty shocked by Ford’s move. I mean, killing off the Fiesta, Taurus, and C-Max isn’t surprising, considering they combined to sell all of 106k units in 2017, but ending the Fusion and Focus is extremely short-sighted, considering both the historic importance of the midsize and compact car markets, and how…

I went to Colorado, and ‘Stones were the standard go-to cheap beer, far more than PBR, Busch, or Natty Light.

Back in college (early 2000s) everyone I knew called Keystone “Stones.”

Somebody took Forza Horizon too seriously.

Technically, the Caa1 rating only applies to Tesla’s unsecured notes, which are junior to the company’s secured credit facility. Moody’s overall corporate family rating on Tesla is B3 (a notch higher than Caa1), which is equal to the existing B- rating from S&P.

Early 2000s, in college, working part time at a BMW dealer to offset some school expenses. We get an absolutely mint ‘96 Bronco XL, sub-50k on the clock, 302, 5-speed on trade. It was brown with lighter brown interior, bench seat, and did I mention the 5-speed? I absolutely obsessed over this thing, took it out…