@rigidjunkie: Exactly. And unlike other common fleet cars - say, the Camry or Impala - the Charger is relatively fun to drive and appeals to younger buyers as well, further skewing its statistics upward.

@Fat Tire: No, you're just a pussy.

@87CapriceEstate The Next Generation: My suspicion is that if you wouldn't consider buying a $41,000-before-rebates, "230-MPG" Volt, you wouldn't be any more likely to buy a $35,000-before-rebates, "250-MPG" Volt with far fewer creature comforts, either, especially if they cut back on overall interior quality in the…

@WindowsBreakerG4: And fixes it good. I think the 745's keeping its AW71L, but the 244's AW70 is starting to seem a bit weak on hard launches - slipping noisily - so it'll eventually get replaced...

1990 Bronco II (red/white/red two-tone, automatic, manual hubs), 1995 Contour GL (Tobago Green, five-speed, alloys, tape deck, otherwise base-model), 2001 New Beetle (Vortex Blue, 1.8T/five-speed).

@MushyHeirloom: ...and yes, outside of those Mustang rims - which would be fine for snow tyres, if you actually drove this thing in the winter - it's damn close to how I'd modify the car. I feel bad voting Crack Pipe; if it was mechanically sorted and didn't have a faint whiff of half-assedness, I'd vote Nice Price in…

I'll have to agree with the certainly-if-it-was-three-grand crowd on this one - it's a solid car, its limitations are simple enough, but I couldn't justify a five-grand car that needed work - and a heater. That price is just too high.

Pull off the hubcaps and put it in a museum.

Well, I probably wasn't going to buy one new anyway, but now I'm even less likely to do so. Maybe I'll just wait until I'm middle-aged, then import it as a Subaru.

@area_educator's Saturn SC2 needs a Northstar V8 more than it needs a back seat: I never realised that we didn't get the N/A five-banger. Yes, a T5 is a respectable car, especially compared to the N/A 244 I usually drive.

@facelessnumber: The Pentastar was universal, but the badging obviously wasn't.

@RLJ676-LS3 Commuter Car - for the environment: Indeed, it wasn't entirely fair. Cobalts, Aveos and Impalas may be notoriously poured straight into the rental channel in enormous quantity, but many of those are white or champagne, not silver. And the Cobalt and Aveo are often painted in a bright 'real colour' if sold…

For twelve, it'd be sweet. For fourteen, it'd probably be fair. Seventeen just seems high, although this is the first time I've ever looked at larger-than-18" wheels on a car built before Clinton's administration and actually liked them.

@Mack41: Ahh, those most likely weren't Ferrari badges, they were prancing-moose decals. Dave Barton makes 'em. If the Volvo in question is actually fairly quick (a C30 may or may not be), it's a clever addition; if not, well, it's not.

@87CapriceEstate The Next Generation: It's the same van aside from the grille. Really, it is, I promise.

Isn't the point of a test drive being able to knock on the dash, slam the door, and judge the steering and brake response?

@64deville: A unitrailer filled with foam peanuts and helium balloons?

@scoop.and.slam: This response is excellent. Seriously excellent.

@Carnac, The Magnificent: I've seen a Volvo with a gun rack. Hell, I've considered a gun rack for mine.

Well, that's strange. I thought I was reading Jalopnik. Was there originally a car in this article before someone stole it?