You’re exactly correct in your first and second paragraphs. The Focus, Fiesta, and Fusion were good cars and I was specifically referring to the manuals when I said, “The Focus and Fiesta were pretty good cars, even in the pedestrian trims if you configured them correctly.” (emphasis added)

If you want to go back >20…

That’s pretty wild, and selfless of the father.

YES. And is the Captiva still a thing or did the Trax replace that? My comment was about the Ecosport, for the same reason you brought up the Trax.

The GM vans actually fill a very needed space. Their payload and towing capacities are unparalleled in the segment. They’re also incredibly reliable, but when they do break they are easy to work on, and parts availability is very high.

I’m a hot air balloonist (hobby, not work) and many of my fellow ballooners use…

The Ford Ecosport. How in the name of internal combustion does that vehicle exist? It’s awkward looking and small inside, and you can buy a more spacious vehicle that gets better fuel economy. Whenever I see one, I judge the owner for making such a poor choice.

Same goes for the Fiat 500x, but at least they’re somewhat …

On what grounds do you say that? The Focus and Fiesta were pretty good cars, even in the pedestrian trims if you configured them correctly. The Fusion was also a handsome vehicle with excellent road manners. I will concede that the Ecosport is a complete travesty and an embarrassment to the automotive industry.

Neutral: I’m not sure what you classify as “lately” but we have purchased two cars in the last year. Having a second kid will do that... Last August we needed to replace my wife’s Camry so we could have one vehicle that fits all four of us. A Camry is obviously capable of transporting four humans, but when two are in…

I hope that’s the case! I’ll gladly order a new car and pay sticker, if sticker is a competitive price, relative to what consumers have actually paid in the past.
The big 3 have sold untold millions of pickups with high four and low five figure incentives. Would people just pay sticker and make their purchases sooner…

Indeed this is true, but too much of a shift toward a build to order model would eventually mean the end of those five-figure incentives on full size pickups and SUV’s.

IDK why... the sales model of dealers having a 90 day supply on their lots has largely worked out for consumers. Back in normal times, if you weren’t getting $13k off sticker price on a new pickup, you were an idiot and hadn’t even tried.

You wanna pay full sticker for everything? Cause I have new for you, and it’s…

Nice example, but commanding the absolute tippy top of the market would necessitate a numbers matching car. Some people wax poetic about the E36 M3, typically people who have never been behind the wheel. They’re not quick, they’re not fast, and they don’t handle or ride as nice as the E46. 

Great picks! Also need a Raptor, V12 s-class coupe, Cayenne, a gated Gallardo or gated F430 or gated R8, a Citroen DS, 8'bed F-150, C2 ‘vette, & a Honda Odyssey Touring Elite

For $50mm I would much rather build/buy a private estate in Palm Beach. Something with like 14 garage spaces, a lift, and an alignment rack. Heck, for a cool million I could afford a complete set of Snap-on tools!
“Why only 14 garage spaces?”
Because I’ve narrowed down the list of cars that I genuinely want to 14. There…

That’s false. The vast majority of insurance companies pay out slightly more in claims than they collect in premiums. They make money by investing the premiums.

What in the name of high school football are you talking about? Nothing in this matter has anything to do with how Texans vote or who governs the state. It’s a matter of a business denying liability when they obviously are liable, and state law says as much.

I played the hell out of NFS III Hot Pursuit and loved this car at the time. As a young man of like... 11 years old, it looked good to me. Now I think it is fugly.

Imagine being such a pissy pants bitch that you write an entire article about how you don’t like what other people are doing with their summer vacation. 

My brother in law is one example. He’s 29, makes good money, and doesn’t give a crap about cars. He drives a stripper model Nissan Versa, something like a 2015. Manual trans, locks, windows, no cruise. But it has A/C and bluetooth for music. He paid cash for it (used) and will probably drive it until the wheels fall…

Neutral: There are plenty of business travelers like myself, who drive more Nissans than we want to think about, in these comments. I’ve driven the Maxima and frankly I think it is a good car. It is powerful, satisfying to drive, and has properly comfortable seats. The electronics and their corresponding controls are…

This is peak “I know what I have”