Your family replaced the transmission ... and engine ... in one of those? Wow - that’s loyalty.

Mazda automatics in the 626 and 929 series seemed to be biodegradable. By the time the late 90s rolled around the few remaining specimens you would see in parking lots were inevitably standard shift models. The automatics just vanished.

A colleague of mine bought one of these when it was a “what’s this doing still on our lot” year end sale. It was a really nice car, but as with all early 90s Mazdas it seems, the automatic transmission was a weak spot and gave out about 3-4 years into the car’s life.

Condo boards are a big enough pain here, but it seems like HOA’s in the US have become something akin to a law unto themselves. Not only is this unforgivably stupid, it’s beyond ridiculous.

In Canada (or at least on the prairies where I live), that’s not a problem until late May.

I’ve had Nokians in the past on my cars, and for the winter conditions that we get here, they’re ideal. When I bought my Mazda, Nokian simply didn’t have an appropriate size winter available for the car.

Based on what I see of people driving Brodozer pickups around here, you’ve got that one right.

Re 1st Gear: I wonder if FCA is experiencing a temporary “bump” in share prices from the recent tax changes? (although the share volume change is interesting considering competitors aren’t seemingly having similar bounces) ... or are some long time shareholders taking advantage of a temporary bump to sell at a…

A few thoughts:

For the few years that these cars sold here in Canada, the little Nivas proved to be remarkably durable. Where the Lada sedans pretty much fell apart after a couple of years, the Nivas seemed to last much better. (as in I still see the odd one rolling around - although they have gotten quite scarce)

I’d consider it pretty seriously. This one looks to be in good shape all around.

No question, there are other considerations in the mix. Most of them are largely subjective.

In a lease situation, you don’t “own” the vehicle (you’re basically renting the use of it), so the interest cost of whatever loan is supporting it is buried in your lease payment in much the same way that the property taxes on a home rental are buried in the rent. It may not be visible to you, but it’s still there.

I remain a big fan of standard analog sweeps for instrumentation. I don’t have to _read_ them, I can just look at the angle of the needle and know whether I’m at the right place.

Depends on whether you keep the car past the term of the loan.

There’s a significant difference between men’s and women’s fashion. Winter is one of those times where women’s fashion tends not to be as warm as that available to men - especially when it is more “formal”.

I agree with you that the student loan model we have today is badly broken (and it’s very similar in Canada - although perhaps not quite as punitive as I’ve seen in the US).

I could go on quite a rant about this. (and I will)

Yeah - but by then, it was well known how easy it was to jack early 90s Honda products.

These came out when I was a teenager. I remember seeing one on display and _really_ liking it. It was both good looking and the modular concept really appealed to me. Even today, I look back on those and wonder why I never bought one (besides being too broke to afford it)