One of my old high school teachers was a car salesman before he went into education. He gave us a lesson on dealership tricks one day and simply told us, don’t pay more than 85% of sticker before September 1 of the model year, don’t pay more than 80% of sticker after September 1, never buy any of the extra stuff in…

Sooo, it’s already had the engine and clutch rebuilt, decent paint, and is a smidge over double what David Tracy paid for his, not counting airfare, hotels, parts, and tools to get that wreck back from Colorado, or his wounded friendship with his best “wrenching” buddy? My good man, are you trolling Mr. Tracy?

So, Kia hates the Midwest too? I could literally do 100% of my daily driving with this and still be able to drive almost anywhere in my state before needing to charge.

Honestly, the XLR crowd has enough of an axe to grind on many things with these cars, the tailights are the least of their problems. The convertible top mechanism is almost completely unservicable and they have a RWD Northstar engine. I’d be willing to bet that Eckler’s or Mid America Corvette has a vendor on the line…

They’ll fix the planes within the next 18 months and the line will start back up as usual. The DC-10 proved that literally nobody cares about the make and model of the airliners they are flying, even with a high body count.

Neutral: As soon as Elon announced the payload and towing capability, I knew this was a 3/4 ton truck. But I really don’t feel sorry for Ford because they’ve been touting the F-150 as a competitor to 3/4 ton trucks ever since they announced the 12,500 lb. tow rating, and they also featured a prototype electric F-150…

1. Car Phone *check*

Interesting. GM did this exact same strategy...right before they went bankrupt. Ford’s problem is that they don’t have any affordable cars in the pipeline in the largest new vehicle market in the world. If they start decontenting what they have left, consumers will just flock to Kia and Hyundai so they can get Car…

So they basically removed everything that made the SLX/Trooper a legit, off-road capable SUV in the name of “handling”?

My parents almost bought me a turquoise Beretta Indy in 1995 for $4,000 for my 16th birthday. My Mom’s credit union would not approve the loan, even with $1,000 down.

Daytona Days: The Comeback of Ricky Bobby

Neutral: It’s basic economics and infrastructure. From an economic standpoint, consumers are keeping their vehicles longer than ever. If the average vehicle age is seven years, that means the fleet isn’t turning over as much as it used to.

Cien became the XLR. They had zero product development money in 2002, so they combined the Art and Science design language with the C6 chassis and Northstar V8. It was arguably a better car than the base C6 and had more in common with the C4 ZR1 with the derivative Northstar.

The problem is that modern assembly lines and vehicle designs are set up for efficiency in assembly. Assembly is the #1 cost in manufacturing a vehicle. If you can push more cars out the door than your competitors, you win. Ford has this locked down with the F-150, and it’s why Tesla was going through “production…

I am impressed by your setup and power supply, but now you need to take the vehicle to a professional and have them properly rewire it. Your main fuses are too far from the battery bank. The mains should be fused preferably right on or next to the positive terminals. You should also have fuses on the negative…

GM has sold more than 55,000 Bolts. Ford has yet to even release the Mach-E for sale. Tell me again why GM should care?

5th gear: I’m pretty sure inpatient rehab is 100% covered for workers and dependents through Ford’s comprehensive health insurance program, at a cost of 3% to the worker. The $250k is probably largely an internal “awareness” program and will be used to produce materials to draw worker’s attention to addiction…

The best “hidden” door handles were on the Chevy Beretta and first-gen W-body coupes.

Shame on the UAW for keeping GM from giving Saturn any development money to introduce a midsize sedan until 1999 and an SUV until 2002. They considered the Spring Hill Assembly workers scabs for having a collaborative contract with management. I’m still driving my wife’s 2007 Ion QC. It looks and drives better than…

Literally everything about this story made me smile and my day. Thank you for sharing it.