and points, can’t forget points....

A friend of mine in high school took his driver’s license exam in one of these.  He parallel parked it.  He was a god.

Mine was a cracked head that only lost coolant under certain conditions; you could idle it all day w/o problems.  Eventually the car ate a spark plug, probably due to a failing rod bearing, so it was a moot point...

Yep.  There’s a reason ECS sells BMW cooling system kits.   BMW is great at putting plastic parts all over the place that fail in five years.  Kind of like owning a Land Rover Disco, you just know that at 100k it’s time for head gaskets as a PM item.

You’ve laid out what is probably the most intractable problem of our times. It doesn’t get much press, as it’s background to most people, but every large city faces the same problems.

Mazda has gotten heavily burned on warranty, especially the Renesis engine. Unfortunately, the older more well-off people who can afford a MSP will buy something else, and the younger crowd can’t afford the entry price of new

If you have a Miata, that’s the default anyway, as it can be “lost” 20 feet away, when parked between two CUV’s

Actually, it works great with hardware, IF you fail fast and fix during the Development phase.  But the normal situation that the execs heading the project, who have never done development, come up with a schedule that assumes everything going right.  And there’s hell to pay if a test fails and a design has to be…

If you check Craigslist, you’ll find multiple Cherokee’s for sale with mid 200's in mileage, or more, on the original engine. The XJ’s, IIRC, had some issues with heads and head gaskets, but overall the engines usually outlast the bodies.

+several. I’ve never been able to explain to my wife why the cheap sh*tboxes are more interesting to me than a newer reliable car. Where’s the fun in that? There’s a great deal of satisfaction of knowing a machine inside and out, and bringing a real sh*tbox back to daily-driver status (or at least reducing the…

Would I pay this much for this car? Nope. But someone will. If you’re a follower of Craigslist and/or Facebook Marketplace, the asking prices for cars of this era, that have any kind of sporting character, is going nuts.   

The “not responsible for objects thrown from road” CYA on gravel trucks.  My personal favorite.  I’ve lost two windshields to gravel trucks; the small stuff on the road usually isn’t large enough to do in the windshield.   So, a crack along the bottom is more of a “when I get to it thing” and a lot of people don’t…

A friend of mine in high school had one of these, but a Cobra (not King) with, I swear, a v6. Black with gold decals, the obligatory louvers, and turned aluminum accents on the dash. (cue the music from Yes or Earth, Wind, and Fire)

It’s a typical cycle. Car manufacturer makes cars customers like, and make money. Eventually they decide they aren’t making enough money, and start squeezing suppliers. Suppliers make cheaper parts and cut corners, reliability drops off a cliff, and customers no longer like the cars. Sales fall, and eventually company…

You see these at saabnet.com or on Craigslist from time to time, usually grounded in a yard or buried under junk in a garage. They rank up there with Spitfires for that.  The pans are very rust prone, so the projects usually go nowhere. At least they aren't being bought up for v8 conversions

On the wall of my cube I have a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson regarding beauty:

You bought a car from Facebook Marketplace, and it was as described. And the owner wasn’t a lying piece of “work”. And you drove a substantial distance to get the car, and wasn’t disappointed.

That’s because you’re a Jalop.  

As a long time cyclist, the inconsiderate behavior of some other riders drives me nuts. I was once on a two-lane country road in a line of riders, and one rider decided they were going to ride in the center of the lane, “because it’s legal.” A passing semi disabused them of the notion that “legal” and “smart” were the…

Ah, the headlight bulbs.  I had the experience of honestly considering whether to sell a Mazda, based on the pain of what should have been quick and simple.