While the “Nova” naming issues might have been a myth, GM choosing to sell the Buick Lacrosse in Canada as the Allure, because “la crosse” is French Canadian slang for masturbation, is not a myth. Eventually, they did change the name to Lacrosse. This was openly admitted by GM of Canada.

Nothing outruns a Motorolla.

They can’t call it the K5 anymore.

Toyota likes to use names related to crowns and royalty:

Corolla - Latin for “small crown”

Camry - from the Japanese word kanmuri meaning “crown”

Corona - Latin for “crown”

Crown - English for “crown”

Avalon - Arthurian legend

Celica - from the Latin caelicus meaning “heavenly” or “celestial”

Dodge and Jeep leaned heavily into “manly” naming in the early aughts. Witness vehicles with names like Magnum, Caliber, Patriot, etc.

The concept vehicles were worse. There was one called the Firepower! That exclamation point was part of the name.

Still to this day, there are far too many people who think that cop cars are faster than their stock counterparts. Including actual cops.

“It’s chipped, it can do like 200 mph”

“So you’re telling me a vehicle that starts at 2 tons dry, with 1,000 extra pounds of gear, ballistic protection, and heavy-duty upgrades,…

I had a Sable wagon. Well, a Sable wagon with a Ford Taurus grafted on to the front end due to an accident. A Saurus wagon, if you will. It was a pretty good car, despite slowness and alignment issues from its Frankenstein construction.

I rented a Kicks like two years ago and it’s just a tall Sentra. Which is to say, a very dull car. Like, I don’t remember anything about it except that it was missing...something. Like some feature and I remember thinking, “huh, you’d think it would have that standard”, but it was so unimportant that I forgot what it…

Had a ‘93 ES with the 2.5. Probably would have lasted me longer if I wasn’t a dumb teenager. I liked the “it looks like a Fox-body Mustang if you squint” styling and the hidden hatch.

Ford’s “official” reasoning is soot buildup. At least that’s what they told Car & Driver:

Apparently it’s to prevent soot buildup on the shiny tips. DI engines create a lot of soot, and lots of vehicles that have them have chrome or silver tips - both real and fake - that are now permanently blackened.

This is another truck I’ve been lusting after on Craigslist, but unfortunately they’ve all rusted and returned back to the earth

You mention “having a guy”. That’s gold when you have a person or a shop that can do reliable work for you at a fair price. My grandpa had “a guy” who did all of his work, and that’s where I took my first vehicles. Which was amazing, since I drove unreliable cars for a long time. The guy even taught me how to do my…

I mean that's basically what the Venza is. At least the basic Camry is still selling well enough...and Toyota is smart enough...to not kill off the sedan.

I was talking about the difference between getting baby gear a Cruze hatchback, compared to my previous experience getting the same gear in a 2011 Focus and a 1998 Corolla.

Why would you bring up your difficulty in choosing between a 911 and a Prelude other than to humblebrag?

Besides, yards are over-rated. I have a tiny house, but a big-ass yard. Most of that yard, however, is hillside, and I do well just to keep it mowed. I don’t even bother with worrying about weeds and all that - it’s maybe 50% actual grass, 50% clover/violets/random foliage. But I’m on the outskirts of a rural small…

You can get a three-bedroom house around 1,000 sq. ft. I know because I live in one.

Also, totally agree with your point. Going from a Highlander to a Camry isn’t much of a pivot unless you really needed that third row.

Compact sedans don’t baby as well as they used to. My wife’s Cruze hatch has 10 airbags and all that, which is nice, because precious cargo and all that. But speaking of cargo, it eats a surprisingly small amount of stuff, especially with the infant protection pod in place.

I researched strollers and got a…

A lot of people on this site seem to underestimate how much “peace of mind” is worth to a lot of people, especially if you don’t have the knowledge or means to do your own wrenching.

The three years of having a bumper-to-bumper warranty on my car while I focused on raising a baby? Worth every penny.

Bingo.

Toyota and Honda have consistently made the most great cars for everyone.

Yes, Porsche and Ferrari have made many great cars. But they’re mostly only great for rich enthusiasts.

Ford and GM have made many great cars. But they’ve also made just as many really terrible cars.

Now try to think of the worst Toyotas. Or…