It’s not a lack of self-awareness; it’s a lack of consideration and a veneration of the DGAF asshole attitude. Which is why I don’t plan to have a Harley for my 2/3 life crisis.

I think people are looking at this in too limited a way. Circa 2035, you’ll probably tell your electronic assistant to “call me a ...” and what you say next will depend on your needs. Single direct-to-work and don’t want to talk to anyone? You call the modern version of a hansom. Need transport for a family? You call…

As amusing as the comments are, I can understand why Subaru would want to distance themselves from this “fornicatory” special edition. A simple statement that this wasn’t a factory-sponsored edition would have been sufficient though. Having said that, using “fuck” as verb, adverb, adjective, gerund phrase, etc., is…

Thanks for the wagon picture; now Holiday Road will be stuck in my head all afternoon.

Not that this guy covered himself in glory, but wasn't the previous CEO the one responsible for this mess?

E46 BMW’s too.

1980's wankel 12A: oily, carbureted, hand-choked, but runs forever

As a home mechanic that started out as a poor student, the YouTube videos were a huge help. This was well before I could afford the $100 official manuals, and the Haynes manuals always seem to leave out critical information.

This. I’ve had a number of BMW’s, and they are fun, stylish, good handling vehicles. But you have to be willing to redo the entire cooling system (vendors sell a kit), and deal with reoccurring window regulator failures. Not to mention  more leaks than a 1960's MGB. Oil filter housing and valve cover and oil separator,…

I’ll give this conditional NP if there is no rust from the battery venting along the drivers rocker; take a look right below the brake booster. The carb ducting is a non-issue; only a fool would risk this car’s body in winter. I loved my ‘02; points, Solex carb and floppy shifting notwithstanding. It was solid and fun,…

Bingo. If you want to drive quality and reliability into a product, put a long warranty on it. Then the warranty costs become front and center to management, and reliability gets driven into the design.

I watched the video through.  Having had an E46, he’s on point.  Now, he sounds a little pissed about the whole thing, and he does at the end say that when everything is working  it’s a wonderful car (which is true).  

Yeah, the thermostats fail open on these engines, which is nice, but the cooling fans fail always, and there’s no alarm. If you aren’t watching the gauge in time to shut it down, you’re screwed. People tend to let E46's go about 185k, and a lot of the ads say “needs thermostat” (sure it does). Having said that, if you…

I’d heard, but I thought he post-dated the cost cutting

RE: 5th gear. Something that annoys me about all the articles regarding Boeing, and for that matter, other articles on corporate malfeasance: No one names names.

I’m guessing your version of a project car doesn’t include electronics modules that are unreplaceable and can only be accessed by dealership computers. Trust me, you do not want a MB with a compromised computer system;no level of mechanical aptitude is sufficient. No need to ask how I know these cars.

Mercedes of that era have a series of SAM’s, (signal aquisition modules) which are little signal-directing computers. Most are either NLA, obscenely expensive, or only available as untested units from eBay. As MB made these from spun glass and Christmas ornaments, any kind of damage will render the entire network…

I think a whole lot less hostility on both sides would be helpful. As a seller, i take the 60% as an opening in the game and counter. The bottom feeders fall out immediately. If they’re not an asshole we can do a deal. If I don’t want to negotiate, I do my due diligence and state “firm” and stick to it without getting…

I think a whole lot less hostility on both sides would be helpful. As a seller, i take the 60% as an opening in the game and counter. The bottom feeders fall out immediately. If they’re not an asshole we can do a deal. If I don’t want to negotiate, I do my due diligence and state “firm” and stick to it without getting…

Inspections are a real sore spot for me. If you went to your doctor and he just walked around you and looked, vs. listening to your heart and taking blood pressure, you’d be balking at the bill. But most inspections don’t check compression or oil pressure, the two things that will cost you the most money to fix. I…