So, that’s an entirely fair answer. I also didn’t buy a Yaris. Twice. The thing is, neither did almost every other new car buyer in the US, for their own reasons. If the Yaris was a standout that actually provided what US buyers want, it wouldn’t be getting discontinued. But new ones compete with better, nicer used…

Side note: the Sonic is built in Michigan, the only US made car in the segment. Yes, I know the design has roots in Korea.

Did you buy a new Yaris?
Are you going to buy one now, since it’s disappearing soon?

And if the answer is no to both of those questions, why is that?

Seriously, not yanking your chain.

FWIW - My direct experience as a (high end, multiline, enthusiast) european vehicle dealer service manager (in Manhattan, L.A. and the SF East Bay area) is pretty much the opposite of what you’re saying for new vehicle buyers. Both in the first 90 days and through the full bumper to bumper warranty.

Enthusiast brands…

Nashes (and Hudsons) are pretty interesting cars in person. DeMuro would have a blast with the Quirks and Features.

The Wisconsin Auto Museum has a nice collection of Nashes, and many other interesting smaller production American cars in a nice, well though out setting. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area,…

When I was getting my automotive technology degree from GM-ASEP, their use of “gage” in every. single. factory. service. manual. was a daily annoyance, along with trying to figure out the cryptic way they put together the index at the back of each FSM - you frequently couldn’t find part you were looking for.

IIRC the federal dB test is a drive by test, from a fixed distance away from the sound meter. It doesn’t just measure the exhaust noise, it’s total noise emitted, and Harley has had a hard time passing for years with their air and oil cooled bikes, in a way that all those other manufacurers’ water cooled bikes don’t,…

Harleys have to meet the same federal max decibel sound level test as every other street legal bike sold in the US.

That’s sweet, great find! I remember reading about all these wild looking kit cars in the late 1970s and 1980s Kit Car Illustrated magazines my dad got, back in the day. The Box was a favorite, as well as the Manta Montage, Boonie Bug, Meyers Manx, and the Vandetta - a clean, double rear door back-half body conversion…

Sylvania is the brand I stock in my shop for customer use and my own cars too. But in this specific application - the front amber turn signal bulbs - they didn’t work right. Sylvania bulbs do work fine in the rear stop/taillight/turn signal combination assemblies with the bulb out monitor system though. It’s really…

Careful what you wish for -

My 2005 Ram has a “bulb out” warning on the dash. Problem is, it’s massively over sensitive. Using replacement turn signal bulbs from anywhere but the Dodge dealership results in a seizure inducing fast flickering of the “bulb out” indicator and improper turn signal flash rate and duration.…

Oh yes, Apple spellcheck has fucked things up for me more than once

Maybe! But being a Saturn corp veteran, I remember the EV1s being scrapped en masse at the end of their leases in no small part because GM didn’t want the corporate liability of supplying replacement crash and repair parts for those cars for however many more years, as they did for other regular cars sold to the…

Yah, I worked in Concord and lived in Oakland about a decade ago. FWIW, it’s worthwhile shopping around for the best deal. There can be huge discounts to be had if you’re willing to travel for the right deal. I’ve seen $12k off or more in some cases. Definitely worth doing a price ranked national search on Autotrader.…

small side note:

I’m in California, so a bit far for a test drive. :)
I like the car a lot, especially for the price. I got $9k off MSRP, paid about $28k. I’m 6' tall and can sleep comfortably in the car with the back seat folded down.

The good: the aforemetioned long cargo area, the effective AWD (I semi regularly drive through the…

I was a master tech at Saturn in the mid 1990s, and I qualified on and drove the EV1 during factory master tech training at the Spring Hill plant in 1996.

I’m a professional mechanic, and the saying around every shop I’ve owned or managed was “If you have time to do it right the second time, you could’ve done it right the first time”.

As a general rule if it’s practical and makes financial sense I only want to do a job once. If the car is solid and worth more than the…

Thanks for the clarification.
California does have a law - for used cars only: the buyer must be given the opportunity to purchase a two day return option at the time of buying the used car, at extra cost. If the buyer purchases the contract option and decides to exercise that option and return the car, the dealer can…

While that electric motor package will fit in almost anything, the battery pack may be a different story. How many batteries can you jam into an original Mini, a Honda 600 or a Honda Acty?


Also, I wonder how that engine, controller and decent size new battery pack cost would stack up against a small, modern 4 cylinder…