We went from the Impreza to the Forester, mainly because of the slightly larger engine and the 6 speed manual. The Impreza was reeeeeaaaally hard to keep up to speed in the mountains and the 5 speed had a huge gap between 3rd and 4th. Meaning, whilst climbing up a pass we had to choose between revving high in third…

Details! my second car was a 1969 Mach 1, 351W. Very stock, with the original centercap hubcaps and chrome trimring wheels. New red paint, but kind of a half-assed job. Loud...so loud If it would have had a radio I couldn’t have heard it anyway. No power steering, and with that big 5.8L engine parallel parking was…

That reminded me of one of my bigger regrets. A friend had somehow acquired a garaged, one owner 1978 280z 2+2 with 58,000 original miles. He said he’d take $2500 for it. My wife told me to say “no”, and for whatever reason I respected her opinion and didn’t buy the car. This still hurts.

Don’t sell the Mach1! Don’t sell the Scirrocco Sidewinder! Don’t buy the Jetta!

I have only seen Alfas from a distance, thus every experience with them has been magical.

Yeah, the seats. I miss those seats.

You caught me with the “these days the cool cars are American” loophole in my logic. I drove my buddy’s FoST and thought was pretty close to perfect. The next day the entire electrical system shorted out (+/- 50 miles total on the odometer) and was in the shop for the next two months. He got his $ back using the…

I love rental cars because they make me appreciate what I have. My boss once told me he’d never be caught dead in a PT Cruiser. I remembered this when a couple months later he sent me ahead to a conference in Los Angeles saying he’d be there in a couple of days an I should rent a car big enough for both of us and…

Volvo...I can’t decide if I love Volvo or hate Volvo. I don’t like big cars, and I can’t see spending as much as they’re asking for any of their cars. That said, I love their entire 60 series. Some of the best looking cars on the road, especially the V60. We had an XC70 for a number of years and after tiring of the…

I can’t think of one single brand I’m actually excited about. I’d like to say VW, but they’re weasels. I’d like to say Mini, but I’ve heard too many stories about their reliability to seriously consider one. Subaru? yawn. Fiat? nearly, so keep trying. BMW? Big fat cars that cost a lot. Nissan? I’m not even…

Here’s my mantra: Yes, I have a GTI. It cost the same as a Camry. It gets the same mileage as a Camry. It seats the same number of people as a Camry. It’s NOT a Camry.

I had an ‘85 and I miss that car. When I got it I asked my mechanic how many miles I could expect to get out of the engine. He said “nobody knows, the engine, transmission, and suspension will be around long after everything else falls apart. True to form, mine was solid except for the dashboard being held in by…

Yes! I like you!

going over a deal on a new Element a few years back the sales guy asked “how much profit do you feel is reasonable for us to make”. I said “I don’t really need the car and there are ten thousand other cars for sale in this town, so let’s start with none”. He got up and went to help another customer. To this day I’m…

There was a dealer where I grew up that had one on the lot, in orange. They used to keep the doors open on it to attract gawkers like me. I remember telling dad to slow down each time we passed. I’m with you on the NP, I don’t think even the new ones could be considered “mint”, so you fix the doors and the ignition…

I LOVE that Fiat came back to the US. I LOVE that Fiat introduced something “Mini-Cooper-ish” with the 500, and then the Abarth, and THEN the big 500 with four doors, AND THEN all wheel drive! But I ain’t gonna get one. At some point someone at Fiat said “Eh...good enough”. Come on, Fiat...If FIAT can introduce…

Every one of these questions has the same answer:

I was told they conditioned the leather with bees wax. This may not be true if you’ve got cloth seats.

I put a new radio in my van, but there was a quirk with the AM/FM button, and the radio kept defaulting to AM. Because I never listen to the radio I didn’t really care, but it bugged me enough that every morning I’d monkey with the radio until I realized that AM station was the FUCKING TIME.

Should I use soap to wash my eyes?