Almost 60 years ago, I met a man whose last name was Nitschke. He had a formula for figuring out when to buy a new car, based on a unit that he modestly called a “Nitschke.” The Nitschke was equal to one month’s payment on the loan he would have to take out in order to buy a new car. When his repair costs averaged…

IIRC, the first reference to “road hugging weight” that I read was in a Ford ad in the early 1960s. It may have been in the same ad (1961?) in which Tennessee Ernie Ford bragged about the elimination of the “knee knocking dogleg.”

What about British Racing Green?

“Both types are generally wrapped in a corn husk...”

“...(Y)et it fails to articulate exactly why this would be beneficial to do so, other than having the freedom of no car payment.”

“...(H)eadlampy...”

A new Toyota Avalon, hybrid or V6, is worth a look.

“What it looks like is that they put the car up on stands, took the left side hubs off, and just parked two wheels on that side.”

“Two years in, we can’t deny the impact the pandemic continues to have on everyone’s life, and the vaccine is the best bet for minimizing that impact”

The article that is linked to “...general consensus...” appears to make it clear that there is no consensus on this issue as the methods it lists to determine car affordability give payment amounts ranging fro $348 to $535 for the same income.

Due to the uncertainty caused by the COVID pandemic, I am going to start with a modest resolution. I am going to the DC Auto Show later this month. I recently checked their website and it is still on, but nowadays you can’t be sure something will happen until it happens.

“Personally, I think the traditional auto show as we know it is dead...”

This is an interesting subject, raising lots of issues. In addition to the environmental, safety, etc., concerns that arise with any infrastructure project of this size, this is a part of the world that might be considered politically volatile, e.g., the sanctions mentioned above.

IIRC, Hodaka also had the Dirt Squirt and the Thunder Dog.

You have a hole in your soul. :)

“Now I challenge you to name a single car from Britain that is cooler than this from any brand”

My first car was a 1960 VW Beetle, passed down from my parents in 1964. It was the basic model, not even a radio. It did have 36 horsepower, whether you needed them or not. It was special to me because it was my first car, but at the time it was not usually onsidered a special car in any way.

How many of Jason’s vehicles are in the “other” category?

Sidecars are a hoot. I recommend that anyone who has a motor cycle license and gets the chance to do so, takes a sidecar training course.

As much as I like David Tracy, I even met him once, I seldom agree with him on these car purchase recommendations. He nailed this one, however, I have a relative who owns a Forester XT that she drove, in snowy rural New England, for years after it needed a case of the swaps because she liked the combination of manual…