Here's what I saw when shopping between Nissan and Toyota, both are 2WD 4-door V6 automatics.

While I was out of the country, I thought my bill was getting paid through an allotment, but it wasn't. It would go 30/60/90 days past due and then AAFES would grab the three or four payments out of my pay. It wasn't a lot of money, but I didn't realize what was happening until I checked my credit report... Ouch! …

How is that not what I said?

Bad credit can haunt you long after you've turned your financial situation around. I have mediocre credit (formally bad), but I have a good income/savings, and I pay all my bills. I still buy new cars, the interest rate is lower than a used car, and even though the interest rate I pay is a lot higher than what…

They attach a 19% interest rate to it, that's how.

I paid my Star Card late a couple years ago, while I was TDY in Poland... late payments are a PITA.

I had a near-collision once while passing a semi in my friends CRX. At the time, I drove a '91 CRX SI with a B18A1 swap... not a slow car, especially with a close-ratio GSR gearbox. My friends CRX was a '90 HF model... a very slow car, with extremely tall gears. I forgot what I was driving when I pulled out to…

Here is a 2WD Taco I4 at my local Toyota place...

NAPS does 60 down Martintown, but god forbid you don't ride your brakes down the hill and hit 47mph...

I hate the Toyota configurator, I just picked the cheapest 4x4 6-speed DC, the base price was pretty equal to a Frontier SV 6-speed 4x4... but the SV has more standard gear than a base Taco V6 6-speed. The Pro4x used to have a 6-speed option, I guess they dropped it, I have an SV.

Except they'll do it after a hard-to-see drop from a 45, on a wide-open road.

My local police are some of the most aggressive drivers in town, but they'll set up a hidden speed trap to catch people doing 45 in a 40. They used to do illegal checkpoints at the exit ramp from the interstate, but I haven't seen one in years.

I saw a new Durango the other day, I think they're switching to an all-SUV fleet once the Crown Vic's are retired. All the local police are 1st responders for police/fire/medical emergencies, so they have to carry A LOT of gear. They all drive like douchecanoes in the SUVs though, which would be funny if they didn't…

Not only can you get a (more powerful) Frontier with a manual, but also much less expensive than the Taco equivalent.

My local police still rock the Crown Vic, they do have a few Chargers and Tahoes though... not very brand loyal are they?

I looked at Tacos before buying my Frontier, and I felt I was getting a lot more truck for my money with Nissan. The Nissan makes about 15 more horsepower and 30lb-ft more than the Taco, while getting nearly identical fuel economy.

That's why I got a Frontier! Well equipped V6 crew cab for $26k, I looked at full size trucks but I couldn't justify the extra cost and worse fuel economy. My Frontier can tow 6300lbs, seat 5, and get 22mpg highway.

They're rated at 21mpg highway, which is 1mpg less than the (more powerful) Frontier 4.0 V6.

The Tacoma and the Frontier both have 4.0 V6s, and they both get similar mileage (21/22hwy). But you can buy a V6 Frontier for less than $24k... good luck finding a new Taco V6 for under $30k. The only Tacos I found that were comparable in price to the Frontier were 4 years old with 50k miles.

My mother in law has an '08 Rav4 with a 269hp 3.5 V6... I don't see why they can't update the 4.0 to have 280ish. At least it would be competitive with the Colorado then, and with 261hp it would match the (aging) Frontier 4.0.