Anything that would be far outside the reach of your average middle-aged full time worker. Your 16-year old Oaklyn, Kaylee, River, Jaxxon (or whatever) do not need or deserve a new and expensive vehicle. Teach your kids the value of having earned something before they turn into shitty adults.

This, right here. Removable top and doors, short & narrow wheelbase with a high COG even if un-lifted, usually fitted with A/T or mud tires that deliver horrible traction on pavement, poor crash and rollover scores across the board, and the famous death wobble that no inexperienced driver will be able to mitigate or…

These are all great points and ideally how it should work. However, the sad truth is that dealer support from Mazda NA has been absolute garbage since the rotary was introduced here in the early 70's. Mazda techs in North America were seldom, if ever, trained to replace apex seals, which really isn’t all that bad…

100% agreed. With a little more oomph and A LOT more predictable reliability, the RX8 could have easily approached S2000 (or I dare say NSX) levels of greatness. Such a fantastic car to drive, but ultimately let down by the Achilles heel that is the RENESIS. I had a wonderful and relatively trouble-free experience…

Ah yes, the “Country Turn” - often demonstrated by those who live in sparsely populated areas and view lane dividers as mere suggestions, or those with more truck than they can handle. 

I’ve usually found Washington and Oregon to be generally courteous towards pedestrians, but I agree that any pedestrian trying to force right of way is taking a huge risk. I am curious though, have they really cracked down on drivers who fail to yield in these situations with a citation campaign or something ? I’m in…

Louisville Kentucky checking in. We have an uncodified but largely accepted rule about waiting a couple of seconds after a light turns green before proceeding through a busy intersection, allowing time to look both ways and make sure everyone is finished running the red light without getting T-boned.

Had to think about this, since my dad made a lot of questionable choices, but I’m nominating the ‘82 bustleback Cadillac Seville that my parents bought as their first “nice” new car. The perfect combination of grotesque early 80's baroque maximalism and American malaise. At least they skipped on the “continental”…

Can you imagine? Being in the market for a car that has no livable purpose aside from being notably fun and choosing beige? Sure, neutral tones and soft earthy colors are on trend for 2022, but this goes together as well as toothpaste and orange juice.

NP for somebody, just not me. It looks enough like a Volvo S70 or 850 that I’d rather take either Volvo and not worry about parts availability, the “quirks” of older Alphas, or jumping through the hoops of getting this thing certified and registered. Make either Volvo an “R” and it isn’t even close.

Reluctant NP. Only because I love these things but hate how much they’ve moved up in price. This was once my dream car. I had never seen or even heard of the Pantera and its Ford/Lincoln connection until attending college in the late 90's. While there, I would see one parked in the cheapest surface lot every day, just…

Final generation Saab 9-5. Despite its GM parts bin roots, I still think this is one of the best looking sedans from the mid 2000's to present. Shame this was launched when Saab was circling the drain and heading towards insolvency. Wish I had the foresight to grab one when Saab dealers were dumping inventory at fire…

My in-laws had one of these, exactly like the one you posted. Being a complete Mazda nerd, I geeked out after seeing it and knew I found the right set of future in-laws. Never got to drive it though, since it was totaled by a hail storm not long after. They bought it new, had it for 10+ years, and still rave about…

The Mitsubishi Raider! I owned one for a couple of years when I was searching for a cheap hauler to help with renovating our house. Not something I would have bought new, but it was an honest little truck and had the “charm” of feeling like the work trucks I drove growing up on a farm. 2WD, 6 on the floor, and a noisy…

No dice. The dice should be removed from the table and never allowed to reenter play. Aside being an unusual design, the W8 is in no way remarkable enough to deal with the inevitable headaches and repair costs. Any B5 Passat is a mix of unique and expensive problems, and the W8 motor doesn’t push the needle far enough…

The previous generation Volvo S60 (2011-2017) appears to be sitting in a sweet-spot on the used market. While not as sexy as the newer SPA platform, you can find plenty of them with low miles priced in the mid-teens depending on trim and options.

I tend to avoid recommending vehicles that I don’t have experience with, so how about a Volvo C30? It might take a little searching, but Gabe should be able to find one with a 6-MT while staying within budget. If they enjoyed the Abarth (apart from the reliability) the C30 could be a nice upgrade while also being far…

NP. Second-hand RX8's are cheap enough to be viewed as disposable wear items. The early clutch replacement raises some questions, but the note about replacing the stock ignition coils with the BHR kit indicates the owner at least understands one of the major issues leading to engine failure and has taken preventative…

Very reliable and not at all expensive to maintain. By this point, the ubiquitous T5 had already earned its reputation for being mostly bulletproof. Aside from regular maintenance, my 2011 has been a bastion of reliability. The 2008 -2010 (pre-facelift) models had a few teething problems compared to the 2011-2013…

Does the fender cladding provide a +5 drift bonus compared to red RallyArmor mud flaps? Asking for a bro.