Don’t forget the expansion tank. As one of my more spectacular failures, it pretty much had the same effect as the side of your radiator bursting off; instantly dumped all of my coolant. The system performed really well when it worked, my temp never moved even when in sitting traffic in the desert with full AC, but…

I always felt they took some design/aerodynamic cues from the 1st gen Insight, a car that was more popular and efficient than Toyota’s original Prius sedan.

Would make more sense if it was just the holes by themselves, without a screw put in and with the hole not aligned up to any other threaded hole. I know some mechanics use them exactly for the purpose you described, but it seems to be more common that they’re used for keeping the disc on than to assist on taking them…

Had to change the brakes on my GF’s ‘08 TSX, figured it couldn’t take much more than an hour tops. I was able to get a full pad & disc job time down to just under half an hour on my old E36 and the TSX with its identical brake setup was even newer, so how bad could it be? Little did I know each disc had 2 completely…

IMO every recent SL has just looked like a facelifted R230. To me, the R230 was the last decent looking SL simply because it was the last SL with a distinct, singular design. Not the prettiest SL, but certainly better looking than anything else that has followed.

Until they drop these taillights, the SL will never look great. They looked fine on the original R230 with the round, curvy lines everywhere, but since 2009, it’s just looked like MB slapped on a Nissan rear.

If you’re concerned about gas consumption, look at it this way: It’s still a lot better than many trucks & SUV’s. Land Cruisers, G Wagons, Land Rovers... these are some vehicles whose owners would love to get the type of mileage an S600 owner has to “suffer” with, especially on long-distance cruises. And none of those…

I used to be pretty “meh” about the W220’s mostly because I was such a fan of the later year E38’s (2000-2001 740i w/Sport Package thank you) but over the years I’ve grown to really appreciate the W220, especially the V12 models. One local example in particular that always manages to grab my attention is a wild but…

Aw come on Nissan, you even had to use the same yellow/grey color scheme?

Having a faulty product and having a drop in your product’s brand value are two different issues. The reason why this class action could be successful is because those product owners were intentionally deceived directly by VW themselves. The product they own was defected by the manufacturer, so the fault is clear and…

Gotta disagree with the R129. Yeah it wasn’t a looker right off the bat, but towards the end of its run it really cleaned up really nicely. IMO, it ended up being one of the most handsome cars Mercedes has put out.

Kinda feel it applies to all full-size diesels. Thanks to many of their owners (grew up in a pretty conservative suburb), I used to hate all of them until the day I started using one for work. Bone-stock 2500HD w/manual, it gave me a huge appreciation for these vehicles. For what they’re built for, they are undeniably…

*post E46

Can they deliver to Chicago?

Holy crap that’s bad! Was not aware these had such serious rust issues. Admittedly my experience with both is very limited and with the factory diesel + 4x4 combo, the Sprinter just seemed like the go-to option.

I can understand selling cars and not knowing how to drive stick and not quite understanding which one is the clutch pedal. Manuals are relatively rare, becoming more of a niche market with each passing year. Such a skill would be nearly valueless at places like a Mercedes Benz dealership. Even at dealers that offer…

Sorry, but unless it needs to tow a heavy load or have the folks at Quigley give it the once over, Sprinter > Transit every time.

That’s because the ES now has a longer wheelbase that’s identical to the Avalon’s. Generally speaking though, all 3 cars (and some CUV’s) share the same platform. But hey, unlike previous gens, the ES now looks unique both inside and out.

That’s a bit unfair to include Lexus in there. They are by all accounts the most successful “new” luxury brand and one of the key reasons is that they, unlike Acura & to a lesser degree Infiniti, managed to create an identity that’s clearly distinct from their parent company Toyota. Sure mechanically speaking they…

Many track oriented cars have some negative camber dialed in so that they have a more optimal contact patch when under load, when it matters. It also plays a role managing over/understeer, which is why track oriented RWD cars tend to have more camber up front and the FWD cars tend to have more camber in the rear.