...Which means that there's a window for an Elise replacement now, right? A slightly-quicker Miata-fighter?

Nearly a shame that it's been claimed - my 745Ti smokes like a chimney at the moment, and my money's on the turbo.

@Roberto G.: I back my Volvo 240 out of sloped parking spaces with the engine off on a fairly regular basis - it's not easy to steer when it's stopped, but once it's moving, it's not bad. And that's me, 183cm and maybe 63 kilos of me.

@Chris Havill: Yeah - the steering ratio makes it a problem. A Volvo 240 - ton and a half of car - with a factory manual steering rack is fine to drive, but a car built with power steering, with the power steering not functioning, is a bear to park, though not bad on the highway. (The power steering isn't that…

@CJinSD: The Camrys and ES350 I've experienced have basically defined 'appliance' - the sort of car where you might try to start it while it's already running, where there's just enough room, and where you might not be excited but you'll always be comfortable. Toyota knows its segment, and nails it. I haven't driven a…

@Joel Lingenfelter: Definitely. If not, it's a Mercury Villager, if the lights are vision-blurred, but I'd say Sienna.

This is the sort of car model you create for a video game without licensed cars.

@CJinSD: Jetta buyers buy them because they're VWs (except for the GLI folk), Golf/GTI/Golfwagon folks buy them because they're good, and new Passats just don't seem to be purchased at all.

1JZ isn't so much original, though I'll grant him unexpected. Gold-plated wheels belong... nowhere... ever... for any reason.

@e30 guy: Yeah, I hate cars with tiny trunk openings, though I love liftbacks, hatches, wagons, and properly-proportioned sedans. I'd consider a Focus wagon if they were offered here, but the hatch is more in my 'eh, I wouldn't mind it' category - as such, it wouldn't be until years in the future, so it wouldn't do…

I am still kicking myself for not being able to shoot one of these on the street in Dundee last year.

@maximum_sarge: Well, that's simple - 7*5/9*5/V90! RWD, too.

@Christopher Owens: There was a Turbo model earlier on, but that didn't last past... 1985, maybe? Possibly 1984. I don't recall whether they kept building the old engines after the B230F was introduced.

@ninjacoco: Lolvo!

@Electric-Sheep: It's got a small diesel engine, and it's decently roomy and practical.

@Wrathernaut: Came here to say this. The only new styling ideas anyone seems to have these days are apparently based on microwaving a marshmallow Peep and staring, transfixed, through the mesh.

Oh, man, don't show this to Murilee. It's like his A-100, but post-apocalyptically awesome - and only around $5500 plus shipping for the ambulance variant ($4150 otherwise).

@Ms. Motor: Well, I'd like two 15" studded snows and a spare Sirius rim from a Volvo 760 - that's 15x6, 25mm offset, ten spokes. Hope it's not too much to ask, but I'd like to stay on the road this winter. Merry Christmas, Santa!

@TheClap: Well, that's the way to go about it. If something fails, and you can afford to upgrade it, upgrade it. Until it fails, leave it alone. My limited budget leaves me with a loose definition of 'failure', though, which is perfectly fine when you drive a Volvo.