If you plug in the Countryman regularly and have a relatively short commute you can boost average mileage above 40.

It is frustrating. Of the four EVs from Korea, three are mildly to moderately ugly—Kona, Soul, Niro—and the one decent-looking ride, the Ioniq, has half the range of the others and isn’t really much cheaper.

I like the idea. The market is desperate for cheap CUVs, but I’m skeptical about the flexibility of the Mirage platform. It was designed to be as light as possible, so it will likely never get AWD or even a larger engine. They could dress it up a little, like Chevy did with the Spark Activ. Which, come to think of it,…

That’s the Outlander Sport function I guess, but it’s really based on the old GS platform. The Outlander Sports (aka RVR) is more related to the Dodge Journey than the much smaller Mirage.

Yup. Along with the more common CJ-5s these were usually plow rigs in upper New England where I grew up. The FJs were clearly better built but lost the battle with corrosion even quicker than the Jeeps.

Good point, CPO cars get the transfer. That’s powertrain only, everything else on the car is 5-year/60K and Hyundai doesn’t offer an extension on that as far as I know.

The Veloster’s warranty is not as long on resale. And the Mk7 is a more polished driver than the last-gen Veloster. The suspension design is econo-car cheap; I haven’t driven the turbo version but it’s supposed to have a pretty harsh ride to go with quick handling. Also, the GTI’s engine easily outguns the Veloster.

Unfortunately, this was the last year of the XK generation that started in ‘97, so it’s got the same wretched interior. Even the X-type had a far better steering wheel. And, yeah, those aluminum pedals are original.

The torque was rated at 237 ft-lb net. I don’t know of any NA four-bangers from today that match that. 302 cu in is still a lot of displacement. Even at a low compression ratio it will make a lot of torque.

I think it’s mainly the Caddy’s RWD architecture that eats into its space, especially in the front-seat area and trunk. The 2's Mini-derived packaging is less conducive to good steering and handling, but it’s much more space efficient.

Yeah, I have a feeling 2-series buyers will mostly be those wanting a BMW but are unable to afford a 3-series with any options at all. BMW’s cancellation of the 320i pretty much guaranteed there would a space for this 2-series to fill.

I think BMW became aware it didn’t have any CLA/A-class competitors but couldn’t sell a sedan under the MINI brand. I always thought it was odd that BMW was selling not one but two MINI-derived crossovers that sort of compete with its own MINI Countryman.

The Z4 and Z8 were concurrent for the 2003-2004 model years. But then you’d have to also include the X3, which appeared for MY2003.

Mercedes could easily sell the All-Terrain version of its E-class estate here but for whatever doesn’t do that either. I’m just guessing, but it could be the dealers. Yes, they could probably make a regular Avant available, but that’s just extra hassle for dealerships and Audi for what would probably be a few hundred…

No, you’re right, Volvo has sold very few V60s this year. The S60 sells far better.

Not sure what that says still, but Panteras were sold out of Lincoln-Mercury dealerships. Lincoln is around.

Before the salary cap a repeat SB winner usually appeared twice a decade. But it hasn’t happened since 2003-4. So maybe it’s not a problem.

I’m not sure how the Mercury connection is a demerit. Cobras were sold at Ford dealerships. Mercedes-Benz 300SLs were sold at Studebaker-Packard dealerships. It doesn’t make them not worth tons of money.

That’s interesting, I hadn’t realized that was the case with the A/C unit. I wasn’t surprised to not see a Delco compressor in either of my 9-3s, but I did have to replace one. I basically assume everything electrical in those cars is not GM—Saab stayed true to its Trionic system to the bitter end.

Mild counterpoint: They’d have been bought by somebody... if it had been Ford, VW, BMW or other they might still exist as a brand. Here’s a partial list of marques that would no longer exist without overlords: Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mini, Lamborghini, Volvo, Lotus, etc., etc.