Fourth best? It’s competitors were the Boxster, SLK, and TT. If anything it’s the best option of those four. Who was cross shopping a Z4 with a Miata? The 350Z? I suppose, but they were two different cars at different price points for different buyers.

The original owners lease them anyways, once the warranty expires, it’s down to the wannabe rich second and third owners to worry about catastrophic failure. I’d rather have a Range Rover over an Escalade any day, though.

I hate everything about this rig. It’s too big and heavy on and off road, while also being incredibly inefficient and wasteful. Feels just like 2002 all over again.

These are the types of cars that younger me would scoff at, but I had a rental 300 (V6, but who cares) and a Cadillac DTS (remember those?). They were just so gosh dang comfortable, but I live in an urban area, and the 300 felt about 20% too big for New England city streets. The DTS didn’t, probably because it was…

For only $1,200, I bought an 11 year old Saab 9000 off eBay in 2003. That’s about $1,850 today. Non-driveable scrap is listed for that these days.

The newest ones are just turning 5 years old now, but this was the first thing that came to mind when he said fuel efficient and capacious. You can definitely get a high spec 2017 Prius V ‘Five’ for $25k.

Fair enough, I commute on 3/93 and see way more GLAs and C-Classes. I can absolutely picture A220s parked on sidestreets in front of triple deckers next to 20 year old clapped out E46s.

I don’t think I’ve seen a single A220 or A35 up here around Boston. The CLA250 and CLA35/45 makes way more sense anyways. What’s a couple grand spread out over a lease anyways?

Yeah, the difference from 2002 to 2006 Top Gear is really evident. They went from a car show that was entertaining to an entertainment show with cars. It was a global phenomenon, and rightly so, but I only ended up watching the lap tests and cheap car challenges. Everything else was just fluff.

I don’t remember the last car show that I watched, bc I pretty much just watch YouTube vids. For me it comes down to the host. Some people just have no business being in front of a camera. There are two extremes, over the top presenting and dull as dishwater reading off a script.

I don’t remember the last car show that I watched, bc I pretty much just watch YouTube vids. For me it comes down to the host. Some people just have no business being in front of a camera. There are two extremes, over the top presenting and dull as dishwater reading off a script.

I generally dislike cars that take up too much space, are hard to see out of, and impossible to parallel park.

People who buy these aren’t “car people”. This is for lotto winning trash. It’s the same crowd who bought the H2 20 years ago because they thought it’d get them points at the country club. They just want to make a statement and tell the world they can afford to burn fuel for the sake of burning fuel.

They must think that if the interior’s all black, and not triple tone leather on the seats/dash/console, then it’s a crappy interior.

There’s a reason there are so many Land Cruisers and LXs around the leafy well off Boston suburbs, and Cape Cod villages. These buyers don’t want a Range Rover or one of the Germans. They want something that’ll still be working in tip top shape when their grandchild who isn’t even born yet drives it in 25 years.

Upgrades aside, is an 11 year old Jag XJ with over 112k worth $17,500? Did a quick Autotrader search of 500mi around LA, and 10 2011 XJs came up. Sorting by mileage, the highest mileage one had 103k and was listed for $18k, then 83k for $17k. And those are both dealers prices, not private party.

The Thunderbird model itself was weird. It went from a 2-door roadster, to a big four seat convertible, to a sedan with suicide doors, to a MASSIVE Lincoln Continental Mark clone all within ~15 years.

Oh my gaawwwddd! I remember the Cadillac Eldorado and thinking what a random choice that was of ALL the cars to include!

$30k for a 15 year old Mercedes? No thanks. I know the W212 came out for 2010, but still. 

My Mini is technically called a John Cooper Works, and not a Cooper. The standard 3-door is actually a Hatch, but nobody calls it that. So I end up saying it’s a Cooper John Cooper Works.