My namesake the Mazda Millenia: an upscale midsize luxury sedan that competed against Mazda’s other midsize sedan all because Mazda’s planned luxury brand died on the vine.

Buyers Advice Column Entry: “Hi, I have $50,000 set aside for a vintage luxury German sedan. I am not concerned about repairs, if it is a unique-enough car. It will probably end up being silver, but it HAS to have a black leather interior if it’s silver. I think I want to have a manual. Suggestions?”

All “Estate” cars (Station Wagons to us colonials). The Acura TSX longroof was a handsome vehicle, as was the Jetta/Golf Sportwagon/Alltrack. The BMW wagons, Audi wagons, Benz wagons...etc. They all got killed in this country by bland, boring, miserable to drive, lookalike crossover/SUV things that have no personality…

The final generation Saab 9-5.

“$4500. No lowballers. I know what I ruined.”

The key here is that he surfs. So obviously a wagon is best - with enough room to throw short boards in the back, or strap long boards to the roof. You’re also going to want something that’s fairly low to the ground (trying to get a 9 ft board on an SUV is less than fun). The suggestions are good - I have a Fit that…

For a 4 door, why not a Volvo S60? A hair over $40k ($50k for the plug-in hybrid).

Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance starts at $56k. Way better chance of not being at the dealership as often

My immediate thought was a new Mazda3 Turbo in that gorgeous red color. But since Mike’s wife has doctor money to play with, why not step up to a luxury brand? Behold the Lexus IS in Ultrasonic Blue. Pair that with the red interior and you’ve got as much fun as colors can provide in a car. Reliability shouldn’t be an…

Mazda 3 sedan.

saw this in the red color the other day... in the light it looks Amazing... C40

The only real correct answer here has gotta be a full size truck.

I am sure it’s no fun inching thru stop n go traffic in a 2022 Supra, with its cabin space just a bit larger than a sleeping bag. But that is something that sucks ONLY for the driver/passenger. Modern full size trucks are shit for everyone in an urban…

When I had my BRZ, I ran into a couple with a pair of RX8s (his and hers) and their baby (!!!) at a HPDE event.

This is an absolutely insane bargain for anyone that’s seriously in the market for a RX-8. The owner clearly understands the car.

Definitely a nice price for the later S2 RX-8. Mazda made some pretty significant updates under the skin for the 2009 & later cars, including a much improved water pump to prevent high-speed cavitation and a third oil injector for better lubrication of the apex seals.

While you’re right about the Renesis being hard to live with at a certain point you have to go “well then this isn’t the car for me” instead of putting an LS in it.

There is a special place in hell for people who engine swap RX-anything with a V8. Why buy a car built on it being lightweight and then un-lightweight it and mess up the weight balance? People don’t understand and are scared of rotary engines and that’s why these didn’t sell well. The LS is a great engine, way better…

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…

I’m with you, maybe not my favorite ever but SUCH a great car let down by a shitty engine. I still want to pick another one up and do a swap.

Power wasnt the only thing the rx8 lacked. But the ability to add power. Stuck in the pergatory of being too finicky for the normal crowd, not able to take the twist the other rotary folk want, had it been designed with a turbo in mind or just more torque, this car could have enjoyed a better time in the light