Point taken. Ok - maybe it's not done out of a feeling of superiority, but I still don't buy it. If you're going to have a capitalist system based on competition, there will be winners and losers. You have to make accomodations for the losers, or a huge chunk of the population will be living in the street. There's…

No, you're speaking past the point. My amazement (amusement, really) at the situation isn't political at all. I just don't believe for a second that after 10 years at a full time job, he couldn't have saved the money to get his fucking car fixed or bought another one. That's all.

I like your bike idea. I agree - too much WTF about this story.

"When Robertson's story popped up last Sunday, it was a fascinating read. But it also made people wonder, why hasn't anyone helped get this man a car?"

Well, the timing belt was changed on time, so that wasn't a concern for me, but the DIC situation was frustrating. At least it doesn't sludge like the 4's from that same time.

Yeah - You're right. Mine was an 02', the last of the 1st generation and in a lot of ways that was good b/c they had worked a lot of the gen1 kinks out. 04 would have been the second year of gen2. I'm sure they don't have the same DIC problems that the 3.0 v6 had.

Yup.

Thanks, appreciate the info. I'll check the diaphragm.

They're expensive to maintain if you do wrench yourself.

TPW_RULES: I got caught up in talking about headlight issue.....did you say vacuum line to the brake pump? Real-life help request: Did it make a fairly loud - loud enough to hear from inside w/windows closed - hissing/whistling noise that changed as you applied the brake? Because mine is doing that, and I've been…

I'm not sure. I bought the car with close to 50k on it and one of them was a little dimmer than the other. I thought it would go out first, but then the other just started flickering, then finally gave out. This was diagnosed as being the computer module. I replaced that, and within a week, the dim headlight went…

"Saabs, in particular, are at the top of this practicality pyramid, with ... reliability that would make a Wrangler collapse under its own weight."

Oh Opel! We had one of your original hot hatches when I was a kid:

Flying cars, people. Flying cars.

Cool.

A8 (assuming that the POS is running) won't leave you at the light? What's your daily driver?

Then I guess you'll never have a negative thought about the over-privileged teenager that just left you at the light in his A8.

Has he given up being an "undergound" shill for Uber yet? Because if he hasn't, then who cares about him?

I like a good fake; I've had a fake swiss watch for years, and get lots of compliments on it. The thing is, you don't pay good Timex money for a fake rolex. You pay like $20-$40, not a couple of hundred. Same principal applies here. I can buy a hell of a used *insert name of your favorite used car here* for 25k. …

There's kind of a false argument going on there, isn't there. You are right to draw the distinction between R&D and safety testing and regulation; the article was a little ambiguous about the whole thing. The way I read it, the state wants to have certain minimum-standards testing that they haven't yet defined, and…