It’s a lot higher here in MA, but I rarely lose power and never for long. I think the longest in my 44 years was 3 days in 1985, after Hurricane Gloria. Even the ice storm years ago that knocked down trees all over, if I lost power at all, it couldn’t have been more than a few hours.

I’m right there with you on pretty much all of that. CR and JD Power mean very little to me. 

Needs to be PHEV, though. That and I think it should have a battery range of at least 50 miles. Might be an issue of selling a damaged brand at the necessary price point for that, though.

Partly, but I think the most hate for CVTs is for being short-lived POS that regularly fail at the half life mileage of a clutch (at least one operated with some mind to longevity). If CVTs were longer lived and as efficient as they should be, even I could get used to the poor experience, but the lifespans are…

The regular early ‘80s Subarus had pods that were even more like the McLaren ones—they were stepped, flat-topped cones with lengthwise actuating bars running down them to control the headlights on one side and the wipers on the other. To activate the washers, the wiper cone was pushed inwards with the smaller step for…

I swear that’s why the new Escape doesn’t seem to be selling well (going by what I see on the roads)—looks too much like a taller Focus.

I think even the people who buy such vehicles are shunning the Ecosports as I hardly see them on the road. I see more Focus STs than those and maybe as many of the rarer Fiesta STs.

It must be true—I knew a cute, top-heavy girl in HS who drove one and she never rolled it.

Good thing there aren’t any windows as the lack of hatch would be pulling in the exhaust while driving.

Already answered above, but I’ll answer it again. These systems are REACTIVE and BLIND. All they can do is follow an algorithm, not the road, not the conditions, not whatever else might be around. IF they could operate with human eyes, anticipate upcoming conditions and direction, and had adaptive capability and…

Similar experience in hatchbacks. I think they might only really be of benefit to the 1% of vehicles that are way overpowered and/or driving on smooth, predictable racetracks in ideal conditions or clueless people who just would have crashed even worse, anyway.

That’s racetrack nonsense. I already wrote a comment in dispute. I’m concerned about shit pavement, variable friction surfaces, and avoiding/countering the actions of other people. Turning that garbage off saved at least my car. In some overpowered vehicle on a racetrack, sure, or if someone is an unskilled learner…

So, you have to drive like a hack and hope the stability system reacts the way you want it to and still look sloppy. Yeah, sounds real fun and certainly not amenable to emergency situations. I’ll say again that the biggest advantage of the Focus ST over a manual SE is being able to fully kill the goddamn stability…

Pretty sure it’s polypropylene, which is easy to weld. On a Fit, though, the tabs are probably pretty thin and it would depend on how bulky the clips they fit into are as to whether they could be welded with a bead bulky enough to hold well.

Yes—I had an ‘84 Subaru wagon that was a bit of an art car in high school and part of college. Girls with personalities loved it. They’d walk by guys in macho cars to talk to me as it was a great, nonintimidating ice breaker. My personality, OTOH, didn’t always match the expectations implied by the car. Still, it…

The police union in the US is basically a criminal organization that maintains power by buying politicians and (dwindling) public good will through lobbying and propaganda with the police as their soldiers. The rules are written in their favor. Don’t like someone? Here’s a bunch of ways you can legally fuck them over…

This is true, but there needs to be some kind of hard number or we’re relying purely on the whims of some of the worst people to rely on the whims of.

To your point, my father used to drink at least the largest bottle of Captain Morgan rum (1.75L maybe) a day and he was not only a very competent driver, but he was a…

Not a lawyer nor Springsteen fan looking to defend him (just attracted to “weird” stories as the headline suggests), but was going to post something similar about nystagmus and swaying in regards to age. Other conditions could cause either as well. And glassy eyes? These are the same guys who regularly claim to see pha…

I was afraid for you. Still am—this shit isn’t over just because Biden is in there. Evil never sleeps.

I’ve hated these things since the first time I saw one as a kid. Then I learned about them and felt completely justified. ND for free.