When the first generation Bauhaus inspired Audi TT was introduced I had the impression that it was supposed to be a new VW Karman Ghia but the Audi stylists got to it first.

Eh, I’m not blaming Biden for Hunter so I’m not blaming Boebert for her son. Plenty of other things to blame/mock her for. Sometimes kids turn out shitty no matter what you do so without very clear evidence that they fucked up the kid I’m reluctant to blame parents for the acts of adult children.

Good observations—I think you’re right on all points.

Not out loud.

I expect this won’t be a popular opinion, but I think the Audi TT Mk1 was the high point of the model for visual style. The Mk2 and Mk3 were okay, but the designers seemed to be saying, “Let’s make the car look more generic.”

That’s two of the same car.

The Mazda is an automatic and the E30 is manual. I was once a manual transmission or die disciple, but even in NC there’s heavy stop-go traffic on the daily commute where I am, so I decided that an auto was the best way to go and I haven’t regretted that decision. Things change and since 2020 I’ve been working from…

Here’s my current two-car solution, and I love it:

those can both def be bought for under 100k together.  good job reading and understanding the assignment. 

My 2001 Altima has these. Not many others besides myself that I’ve shown them to think they’re cool...

Counterpoint: I don’t want a glossy finish on my car. Ever.

Deeply biased here because I love the old import wagons from the late 70’s and early 80’s. So I kinda love it. And since I haven’t seen anything in this condition in decades, I’m pretty ok with the price too. NP.

That was a Nissan thing back then. It wasn’t just Infiniti. Other models like the Xterra, Frontier, Sentra, Alima and others had them.

As far as I remember, the white face gauges that went to black with white lettering was a Nissan thing in the 90s-00s. Typically reserved for the sportiest trims in the range, they were on the Maxima SE, Sentra SE-R, Altima SE, etc. If my memory serves me correctly (cuz it has been a while), Nissan referred them as…

Sure it is, you know, for all those kids that grew up wanting a Daihatsu wagon, but couldn’t quite afford one.

The Q45 from 1990-93, I believe.

Being that the early 90's sometime feel like a fever dream and there are large parts of it I can’t be sure if they actually happened or I just think they happened, please take this comment with a grain of salt - but I think...*think* that nay have been a Lexus. Afriend’s Dad had one and Im almost positive I noticed…

Your memory isn’t fooling you.

The 3rd generation Maxima SE had gauges like you’re describing.  That’s the only one that comes to mind, though.

The Lamborghini Diablo headlights were so cool that Nissan ripped them off for the 300ZX.