Autonomous vehicle technology has a lot of development to undergo still. The fact this accident happened does not surprise me - in many respects, I feel it was inevitable, primarily a function of the development of a new technology.

Not the point at all, dude.

Re: Crosstour

1st Gear: Presumably this Apple/VW project will be somewhat better engineered than the Apple /// shown in the headline ...

Yes ... and the test unit of that generation I drove was showing signs of automatic transmission problems the same as my ex’s ‘87 626 did just before it committed suicide.

Yes, it’s an older model. The newer platform may or may not have addressed the issues affecting longevity. It’s certainly a very nice car, but look around at how many 2nd generation 6s are still on the road.

Ford and Mazda have long histories of sharing designs - I’m quite aware of it. Mazda’s long term reliability may or may not have improved since Ford divested.

Keep an eye on it. 4-5 years is right around the time I started to notice problems surfacing.

Having just owned a 2010 Mazda 6 since 2011 (I bought it new, there were a few left on the lot at good prices), I’d say this is a “lease, don’t buy” vehicle at the moment.

Nope - this was a first generation unit, bought new.

Well ... it does establish that I’m Canadian, doesn’t it?

Interesting. 80/81 seemed to be about the point where Toyota, Honda and Nissan started to figure out how to treat the metal so it didn’t vanish in the first five years.

The Vibe isn’t a bad car per se. As you point out, it’s basically a rebadged Toyota Matrix.

Whoops - my bad. I misread.

Interesting. I see plenty of 10-15 year old Subarus here in pretty good shape. NE Idaho, you say? That puts you on the west (wet) side of the continental divide, I think. I wonder if that has something to do with things?

This is incredibly variable across the country. It depends heavily on where you live. Yes, there are some real shitheaps around. Things like winters will do that to cars - especially if they aren’t well cared for.

So, you want something:

_Exactly_ - thank you for saying what I’ve basically been arguing for ages.

I don’t have a big problem with this one. While it’s “somebody else’s project”, the fundamentals of this one don’t bother me:

1) I am not in the least bit surprised by this widget.