Eh. I’ve spent a lot of time in an X5M (earlier model) - it was both a lifted M5, but also gave in a little bit to comfort by being a larger SUV AND still a BMW. There’s a compromise there. It sounds like that ~might~ be closer to the X3-M - but the author didn’t drive that, so we can’t be sure. Either way, giving up…

Agreed.  It WAS a thing - but with the idiots on the roads, it stopped BEING a thing.  When I gave up commuting on it, recreation stopped not long after (wasn’t riding enough, got uncomfortable on it, had WAY too much bike for my skills as they deteriorated).  

All of my rider friends rode seriously - I was averaging 7k a year just around town - but that’s a valid point for a lot of owners.  I rode year-round as much as possible (even got caught in one snow storm - oops?).  Range is still a concern though - with barely 100 miles, it’s not hard in some states (where riding is…

One of the best things I ever did - two days AFTER I got my endorsement, I bought a beat-to-crap, mechanically sound Nighthawk 250. As a 250lb guy. I flogged the CRAP out of that bike - but it saved my skin by not getting too fast or weird for when I made the inevitable early mistakes. I put 2200 miles on that bike in…

Cost, range, the fact that people don’t tend to ride motorcycles as generic commuters as much anymore which makes these early models less tenable, at least from what my still-riding friends tell me (most have given it up over the last 5 years - too many idiots on the road).  

I have to keep reminding myself of this.  I have a 2014 that I bought in 2018 - which means it’s now 8 years old.  So yes, losing the features (same issue as Lexus currently has) was ...  annoying, but it’s an 8 year old car.  

This was one of the dumber decisions they made.  Killed them here outside of the summer toy market (or the rental car market), since we have requirements for AWD (and the altitude makes the V6 anemic as hell).  

They chased away a lot of the original, major-league writers, and as good as many of the new ones are, they don’t have the same following they used to.  Thus - here we are.  

Another data point - Wife and I, $400/mo in car insurance (1M/3M + umbrella), about $350/mo in health/vision/etc, about $300/mo in homeowners insurance (plus umbrella). Add in bits and bobs - minimum of 12k+/yr. Just to be safe walking around.

And if they have the skills and just don’t give a shit about doing it as a hobby? The obsession with “you have to have done it yourself” is annoying - I’ve got a job, hobbies beyond cars, family - I don’t have ~time~ to sit there fiddling all weekend trying to dial a tune in or swap headers anymore. It stopped being…

30% drop in the winter (give or take a nudge, in town we use a 1.3 SAE correction more often than not), more in the summer (7000ft and 100 degree weather - density altitude here being over 10k is common). :( Plus from there, I go ~up~ - not down. My favorite roads start at 8k and top out over 11.

Oh it was fun, for a bit at least - it just didn’t last for me (and again, they’re WAY down on power where I live, so that didn’t help).  I was getting bored by the end of the third test drive (BRZ).  I’d have been far more interested with Gen2 being a 200HP Turbo 4, so I’d at least still have 200HP (instead of the…

I’d personally take your money on that one - I drove them (note: owned SVT Focus, NB Miata, 350Z, and almost bought several NA, NC and ND Miatas, S2000 (twice, both of which I kick myself for), and the RSX-S in the 2.0 N/A days (which I also regret)) - I LIKE small(ish), high-revving motors. The 86 twins did nothing…

Eh...  Eh...  I’d take the GR. 

Kinda drastically underpowered in comparison there... 

You forgot the last line of that statement - “Jack of all trades, master of none, but far far better than a master of one.”  Cars are expensive, new ones especially so.  Pay hasn’t kept up with inflation for the majority of people - so if you have to have one car, a CUV tends to be a better fit for the majority of…

I suspect it’s the hate that would normally be directed at plain, boring, basic cars (eg: the 2001 Corolla, the 2002 Camry, the 200X anything toyota not the celica, the Kia whatever from the same era, and so on) that have been replaced by “Generic Crossover number 37 with whacky or location based name that sounds…

It’s true - driven both a LOT as rentals.  The Taurus had you sitting almost towards the middle of the car - tons of wasted space in that thing.  

Good friend did - sold it because it was boring, and I drove it several times. It’s slow, has mediocre handling, is generally underpowered for the weight (even with the upgraded engine), has limited creature comforts, and an economy interior. It’s a basic crossover, nothing more and nothing less. Credit to the AWD…

Driven them several times on the track - it is painfully hard to get in and out of, the seat pan is tight (if you’re small of stature, that might work for longer drives), and it’s somewhat cramped feeling. Plus, audio/etc are not... the strong point. Except the engine sound. That audio is perfect.