I just really like that purple color.

It makes sense on an air-cooled engine due to thermal expansion, but these are water-cooled, so I would have to guess the wider valve angles and better spark location work better at high altitudes with the less dense air enough that the extra weight isn’t a problem and the cam profiles on OHC designs can be optimized…

Oh, come on, cut him a break—he was “remorseful”!

Good point. They should be pointing them rearward anyway to get some thrust benefit from the exhaust.

How many feet of full throttle use will it travel before blowing the transmission?

I don’t get this, either. They were only competitive at a discount and I still wouldn’t buy one. For around the same price? Forget it. It has nothing to do with the nameplate, either, it’s from checking out how they’re designed and built and the types of recalls they’ve had. I’ve been hearing “this isn’t the same…

@%$^ Kinja!

Anyway, I imagine you’re talking about the EJ25? That never should have been that large. It was designed in the ‘80s for a smaller max displacement in lighter vehicles. Due to the boxer engine, the only way to get to 2.5 on that block was to make the bores too large. This one is the FB, which has a smaller…

Love the wheels! Reminds me of a modernized version of my ‘84 wagon.

From 2 Datsun Zs, 3 very reliable (old) Subarus and a Mazda3, the 2012 and 2016 Focus SE and ST have been about tied for my most reliable cars by a solid margin. Toyota-level reliable, beating out family and friend Hondas in that department, with excellent rust protection (looking side-eyed at all my previous makes) an…

That last part is why this die hard Subaru fan died. They just make less reliable Toyotas now.

It’s not necessarily 0-60, it’s how it gets there. I haven’t driven a Crosstrek, but I did drive a KIA Rio. On paper, it did 0-60 around 9 seconds, but it was possibly the most dangerously underpowered POS I’ve ever driven and that’s counting malaise era cars and used up vehicles on their way to the junk yard. I…

Cheaper than paying for his college!

The kind of sad old men who waste garage space with them in a Carcoon erroneously thinking they’ll be worth a fortune when all the rest were bought by the same guys and preserved in pretty much the same manner. Finally, after decades, they need money to fund treatments for their ailing health or they die and their…

The kind of sad old men who waste garage space with them in a Carcoon erroneously thinking they’ll be worth a fortune when all the rest were bought by the same guys and preserved in pretty much the same manner. Finally, after decades, they need money to fund treatments for their ailing health or they die and their…

The good thing about the Boston market is that, if you can get in, it is pretty stable. We bought our last house just before the peak and the 2008 crash. We were a little underwater for about 2 years (no money down), but then we weren’t. Three years ago, we sold it on the first open house for what we thought the new…

That’s what I would do if I had rental properties. If/when things calm down in a few years, buy new rentals at the relatively depressed prices, if desired, and keep the change.

Because it isn’t just a targa, it’s a 3-position roof: closed, targa, convertible. When it goes into full convertible mode, the back of the roof rotates down into the bodywork, hence the name.

While I’m usually a big fan of Gandini’s work and weirdo cars, the build quality of these matches the Mustang-based kit car looks. Maybe for a grand or two more than a contemporary mustang for oddity’s sake and the roof.

Steering wheel came like that. There’s leather paint and it works well. Why they didn’t at least use…

Assuming it’s an updated electronic version of their old system (which I’d bet it is), yes. On the old system, the clutch fork was connected to the brake MC which had, IIRC, a simple valve that sensed when the car was at an incline over a set number of degrees to trigger the Hill Holder function. When on an incline…

Although, I do like a handbrake because I prefer mechanical controls, wouldn’t it be easier to heel and toe?