Yeah, I worked in automotive interior supply back then, they did really step up their interiors with refreshes around that time. Who knew that 7 years later, many of those interiors would still be the exact same!

That was an odd setup back there. The general public will eat it up, but it was really strange to see that much space dedicated to those cars. #DrivePartyRepeat, yo.

Love it. Good stuff. 

Yeah, they’re in great shape, until suddenly they’re not. My brother once gave me a set of spare tires he had laying around that were a perfect fit for a cheap car I had bought that needed new tires. They had been sitting in his garage attic for years, looked good, had lots of tread left. I got them installed, they…

Yeah, they’re in great shape, until suddenly they’re not. My brother once gave me a set of spare tires he had laying around that were a perfect fit for a cheap car I had bought that needed new tires. They had been sitting in his garage attic for years, looked good, had lots of tread left. I got them installed, they…

My 62 Corvette is still on tires that my dad installed around 1981. The last time I drove it more than a few miles was 2015 I think. I should probably replace those whenever I find the time & cash to get it out of storage. At this rate, they’ll be 40 year old tires when I do.

Ha. Hi Jake. Yeah our cars do suck. Still love mine to death though.

It seems the Grand Am was more about being solid and dependable. How exciting.

40 here, I’m gonna guess the overall average is around ~33? Wish there was some data to review. 

Sadly I do.

Amusingly my Mazda was actually built at the Ford plant in Flat Rock, Michigan (home of the Mustang) and the platform-mate Fusion is built in Hermosillo, Mexico.

LOL wasn’t exactly my reaction upon learning about the frequent failures right after buying our first Subaru. Nor was it my wife’s reaction when I told her a week after buying it for her that I had to take the engine out. Ah well, I had it back on the road in a few weeks for the cost of gaskets and my time. Probably…

Well duh. Wagons get it done.

Michigan is far from being fiscally perfect, but it’s a big improvement over IL. Plus we liked the idea of living in a state that offers more than Chicago and corn fields.

Ours was a 2003 with 156k on it. Had I known better we probably wouldn’t have bought it, but it all worked out since I’m handy and have a friend with a machine shop.

And a Mazda and a Fiat. Quite the combo. 

Indeed. The only real shortcoming was the back seat. It was both cramped for leg room and the seat bottom was too low. At the time of owning the Forester we also had a Pontiac Vibe which was smaller overall, but the back seat felt like a limo compared to the Forester. 

Upon buying our 2004 MPV in early 2012 as my wife’s primary ride, I had these 2 cars to choose from for myself:

I think the Forester peaked in the 2nd gen, but the first was certainly admirable. Good choice of machine to give props to.

Yeah the front end of the last one was plain terrible. I really can’t stand any car that has a “look how far we can stretch the headlights up the hood/fenders” design. Thankfully that trend seems to be mostly done.