You'd still be on the hook for full value of the car.

Out of curiosity, what did you do to get "busted"?

I find it most useful when accelerating onto the highway - 1-2-3-3OD then right to 4OD, skipping 4. But I have a relatively high-strung 1296cc dual-carb engine that revs, not a 1500.

You'd be pretty hard pressed to break the OD on a Spitfire, given it is the same unit used on the enormously larger, heavier, and more powerful Volvo 240. Mine has never given a bit of trouble in the 20 years I have owned my Spitfire. Then again, build quality on new Spitfires was a bit lacking... They probably forgot…

There's very little difference in gearing between 3 OD and 4th. I have one too. I wish you could use the OD in 2nd, the gap between 2nd and 3rd is HUGE.

Not all. The late cars had a conventional 5spd. The early 740/760 also had the Laycock deNormanville overdrive as well. As does my Triumph Spitfire, though on the Triumph you can use overdrive in both 3rd and 4th gears.

I find I can just about fill all of my automotive needs with four cars - well, three cars and a British SUV. No way can one vehicle do it all.

People got way over-excited by the unprecedented run up in house prices. And people had and still have a tendency to buy WAY more house than they actually need. Always fun to watch the house porn channel (HGTV) and see what people on the various buying shows turn up their noses at. Always amuses me to see a young…

Depends entirely on where you live, and what you buy for a house, and whether you can take full advantage of the tax deductions. Where I live, rents are insane today. I used to have a nice little 2br apartment in the best part of town back in the late 90's. Cost $600/mo, plus some utilities. Today that same apartment…

Newish cars generally do have enough brakes to lock the tires (up to a point) as long as the brakes are cold. An awful lot of them do not have that ability once the brakes get good and hot. I boiled the brakes on a rented Grand Am in the Black Hills of SD once (in a fit of relatively youthful exuberance), I would…

Dunno, but I wish I had enough money to find out! Like they say, money can't buy happiness, but you can have an awful lot of fun trying. That particular family seemed pretty darned happy from my outsider perspective. We were friendly, but not close friends, he was a year behind me in school.

People point and wave at my Triumph Spitfire. I suspect you would attract even MORE attention in a Countach.

I agree completely - it's sexy, but it isn't THAT much sexier than an M4, and I think it is more than a bit overdone. The Countach is in a whole different universe, especially the early cars before all the tacky 80s aero addons. The i8s drivetrain is very interesting, but it isn't sexy. A V12 with a sextet of Weber…

I have to think to be that far underwater on a Sonic, some negative equity had to be rolled into the loan. Or they are in a state with REALLY high sales taxes and such.

Like you, I did not buy my first new car until I was 31, and it was sold once my employer stopped subsidizing it (I made a profit overall). I bought a modest house (with a 2700sq/ft garage) , in a cheap area, and still very happily live in it. I bought $5K used cars and fixed them myself for many years. I did not buy…

You obviously have never driven my '74 Triumph Spitfire. The original ABS!

When I was in high school, back when dirt was new, there was a kid in my class from a FABULOUSLY wealthy family whose Dad had a 328. Kid drove it to school all the time. This is when that car was brand new, and they cost real serious money back in those days too. It was just a car to them, one among about a dozen in…

I decided some time ago I am too old and too fat to cross oceans in coach. Luckily, I fly for work constantly so I can go first class domestically 98% of the time on free upgrades, and use miles to do it internationally for nearly free. I just did PWM-PHL-STL-PHX-SJC-PHX-PHL-PWM in <48hrs over the weekend for work,…

Awesome... I don't suppose this is the same Asian airline whose crack pilots couldn't quite stick the landing of a 777 on a bright sunny day? Plus the modern style thrust reversers are supposedly a lot less effective than the old clamshell buckets. Did it even WORK??

Doesn't really matter. Shipping is shipping. The cross ocean is probably cheaper than the truck from the port to ME, when you are doing it a whole shipload at a time, especially given the low capacity enclosed trucks BMW uses. You still pay it if you pick up an X3 at the PDC, when it was built around the corner. When…