Brown(ish) wagon, manual, quirky car; should be a Jalop slam-dunk. But paying more than new for this time capsule is a ND for me.

I have been a regular grump in Jalop comments about EV range and charging blah blah, but damn that Kia could change my mind. Within a few blocks I have neighbors with the electric Porsche, Tesla and Kia EV6 and honestly the Kia is the best looking of the bunch.

SCCA Runoffs! Starting Friday on Youtube:

Never thought I would be nostalgic for 2-door hatchbacks and small pickups, but there it is, all in one CL ad. Still $7500 for a 36YO Nissan is ridiculous. ND

The only angle that matters is the one where it shows that my truck is bigger than my neighbor’s truck.

Automotive cooling grills are at their largest just as we are turning the corner towards full EV. Time for a re-think!

EVs as a hobby. The cars are fine, but the EV hobby/culture aspect needs to give way to mainstream availability of chargers (no, I don’t want yet another app on my phone just so I can fill up the “tank” on my EV). 

“ tens of thousands of dollars worth of maintenance and repair”

So how far did this thing go before you had to recharge it? How hard was it to find a charger when you needed it? How did that affect the road trip vs an ICE truck?

“there’s also not a lot that could go wrong”  Other than the engine, transmission, electrics, and random things like brakes, suspension parts and exhaust. And the transfer case. Honestly the modern “complicated” cars I have had seem more reliable than the older, simpler cars. Still, this presents OK, NP.

Volvo C30. Didn’t sell well new and no one looks to Volvo when they think of 2-door hatchback. These are fantastic, underappreciated gems.

Round. Porsche headlights were ordained by Odin to be round. These others are cursed.

The ‘Vette is the right answer, except our man is IN HIS TWENTIES. Come back when you are my age (62).

A pronunciation guide is included for “kjell” but not “Qvale”? Here in Minnesota Kjell is pretty common but Qvale not so. much.  As to the car: NP and I really want one...

The must-have for me is right in the question: car. I want my next car to be a CAR. Not an SUV, not a “crossover”, and sure as hell not a pickup truck. Unless I can have a wagon. Then I want that.

A quick internet search indicates this is the part that makes this car worth $5000 more than it should be. Looks to be a coolant overflow (or at least that’s where the tank is located on other examples)...

Also seems to be offered here for even more $$

Bring back all the wagons! But especially this one:

The (entire category of “compact crossover”) is a car for people who don’t care about cars. They are also wildly successful, as most people need transportation and don’t care about cars. 

The field of contenders for the title “least interesting Buick” is crowded, but this has got to be near the top (bottom) of the dreary heap. ND