My first new car was a ‘75 Gremlin, with steel bumbers on shock absorbers plus solid rubber bumpers that stuck out another 4”. Not the most aesthetically pleasing solution, but it was both stout and effective . . .

Three words: Too. Many. Lawyers!

Full-size diesel van!

The biggest problem I see with the whole genre is that you look like you’re on a riding lawnmower cruising down the highway (at least from the front) . . .

This is also a head banger (for taller people) if that’s as far as they open . . .

Go for bullet-proof American sedans - I’d look for something with GM’s 3800 v-6, a mainstay with Buick up thru 2008, also found in older Chevies, Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles. Buy ‘em cheap, run ‘em into the ground, repeat: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_…

Damn, that’s ugly! Getting into Edsel territory - different ain’t neccessarily better . . .

I’m always leery about using something for something it wasn’t designed for, whether it’s louvers or the CD slot. While the concept is good (simplicity), if it does break, it’s either expensive to fix or you just end up living with it, broken, for however long you have the vehicle.

You can get the manual or AWD, but not both, on either NISMO model . . .

Classic statistics - I-25 in Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico doesn’t change much, physically, yet the stats jump from high to low, then back up to high, as you cross the various borders. Either Colorado is way under-reporting / under-enforcing DUI’s or a higher urban population is skewing the data when it’s crunched,…

The same applies to pickup trucks, only times ten!

If they had kept the basic single cab, 2WD model, then a 4 banger starts to make sense (I have an ‘09, it has plenty of power for daily commuting, while delivering 24 mpg), but since the only options, now, are the extended cab and the crew cab, and most buyers spring for 4wd, that 3,200 lb curb weight (that I have)…

Gremlin. Pacer. Aztec. Murano Cross Cabriolet. smart fortwo. Juke. Cube.

Good job by the flight crew, getting safely on the ground. But whose (bad) idea was it to fly through a thunderhead on the high plains - that’s where monster hail is born!

NASCAR @ Bristol!

NASCAR@Bristol!

A sedan makes sense if your spouse is a packrat, and insists on driving around “junk in the trunk” - out of sight, out of mind and less chance of being broken into . . .

Similar to the way I learned, back in the ‘70’s. Had to rent something cheap, ended up in a VW Beetle, and learned quickly - just do it!

Biggest problem I see is no bed - check out the sun shining thru in the 2nd photo!

It would make a great vehicle for all those contract carriers working the rural routes for the USPS in the hinterlands of Amurica!