I feel like these days David is naming holy grails more often than roman catholics name saints, and that’s impressive.

Since 1990, what good, cheap car have American manufacturers built? How did they compare to their Japanese counterparts?

You can almost certainly fly to Seattle, rent a U-Haul and trailer, and drive back to MI for half of what you paid for the Lexus, plus you’re only buying 1/2 as much fuel (2,400 miles vs. 4,800), and spend half as many days driving I-90 across America’s ice box.

David, if you ever make it down to Florence, Y’all you can drive my unicorn of an F-150 I just bought sight unseen and drove back from North Carolina.

this is why I like Tesla’s selling model. Here is the car, here is the price, we can even ship it to your driveway.  Now would I buy a Tesla, no. 

And unless it’s sneaking up on you, I think we can all agree quieter garbage trucks are a good thing.  Getting rid of squealing brakes on them would be nice too, but electric trucks generally--good thing. 

Aren’t hearses the obvious choice for electrification?

Yep, once it’s been proven that EVs cost less and can for fill the same role, then the accountant and corporate bonuses for reducing costs will force the issue.

I’ve always wanted a Panda.

To be fair, the Landcruiser is as comparable to the average modern SUV as a howitzer is to a rubber band gun.

I had a 2002 Mazda Protege for ten years that never once saw the inside of a service shop aside from oil and tire changes, and a 2008 CX-7 that for six years had the same reliability except for once needing warped rotors replaced. My experience somehow foolishly convinced me that modern cars always just work without…

If I may interrupt all this fuckin Truck and SUV talk for a second...

Maybe with the delays they may actually get them sorted out better than a few of their recent product launches, big maybe.

None. Because I don’t like trucks and SUV.

Manufacturers can’t publish prices that end users can find, because they sell primarily through dealers and distributors. That’s why MSRP is a thing. If the manufacturer publishes a price other than MSRP, the dealer will get pissed and drop the manufacturer. It’s a bullshit system where the middleman - ostensibly…

Wait ‘til you see the 4-series!

My previously held opinion (of them being hard to find a good mechanic for) was formed in the 80's - on a 70's vehicle. I assume with advances in tech, I can drop that caution. But I have a Honda, so I may not need another car before I retire. God, what a great concept.

Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for snow tires. People sell them all the time, and a deal can usually be had.

Having grown up in Ohio - and driven a bunch of other places...

Sounds simple, but make sure your windshield washer fluid is rated for the appropriate (low) temperature you will be in. Especially if say, you were returning to Virginia from Ohio after the holidays. And you were driving on the PA Turnpike in 10 degree temperatures. And the Virginia quickie lube shop filled the…