Reliance on blind spot sensors. I like to adjust my mirrors to not show the car (as you should--you do not need to see your door handles, just what is beside/behind you), but the current crop of cars limit the range of (small) mirror adjustment, as if to force the blind spot issue. I used to have cars with bigger…

Yeah, I should clarify that I’ve had my worst experiences with Ford dealers, but not all Ford dealers are that way. The one in the little nothing town where I went to HS was actually a really good one, too.

Because of trips to see family, I went with the Kia Niro PHEV, and have been very pleased with it, despite the fact that I have ended up needing the ICE far less than I had planned.

Why are Ford dealers the worst? Other than a couple specific used car lots, my worst experiences have been with Ford dealerships. They run the highest pressure tactics of anyone.

“drivers can’t always be relied upon to provide accurate information.” Not discounting their methods completely, but I don’t think that home power consumption assumptions make for the most accurate information. Do EV users have more tech in their house? Are they more likely to use LED lighting? Do they buy more…

Some of that comes from a tendency to make sure that cheap cars seem it, despite not being super cheap. That Chevy Spark starts at over $14k, the Rio at 16k, the Mirage at $14k, and the Versa at about $15k. And they go up quickly if you want options, some of which you pretty much can’t avoid (or, as is often the case,…

I’ve never been to Thunder Bay International Airport, but the photos here make it look bigger than some of the other border airports that are only international because of a few very short Canada-US flights.

I had a 99 Explorer XLT. Mine was green, but the same V6. If this one has not had the transmission replaced, it’s probable going to need it soon. Dodgy transmission on these. Otherwise, most of the things likely to go wrong are pretty minor. I took care of mine and the transmission was slipping when I got rid of it…

You should get that cough checked out. Might be inhaling too much exhaust. ;-)

I had kind of similar experience in a very different circumstance. I was buying a new stereo for my 1981 Chevy Citation (to replace the vertical AM radio). Free installation for anything with no real installation required, I guess, but bolting an under-dash mount for it (which they were more than happy to sell me) was…

I had much better than average luck at Kia dealerships, I guess. While my first test-drive of the Niro PHEV did involve a salesman who thought it drove the same charged as not, that dealership did look at the price I brought in from another dealer and not even try to convince me. They simply admitted they could not…

It put them on the map!

I find that dealers are more likely to be up-front about used car OTD pricing. That said, I have gotten dealers to give me a price, just not their final lowest, on a new car, then negotiated some more discounts from there. But I have never gotten the best price without going in. And they usually do not want to send me…

I just bought a Kia Niro PHEV, and they certainly had to slice out the fat to get my business. They ended up finally leaving in a 3-year key replacement and locksmith service agreement, but taking out the $500 charge for it. Seemed a little fishy to me that they gave it to me when I told them I didn’t even want it.

Team Mystic seemed the most rational. And the long coat certainly doesn’t hurt.