It’s definitely exaggerated for comedic effect but much closer than the other way around. All those bits you mentioned are wear items and easy to replace. Engine or trans replacements are much more likely to permanently kill a car than a bad tire.

That’s where I’m hoping 3D printing will come in handy. Low volume, complex shapes and non load bearing (beyond fastening in place) are a perfect fit. I’ve got a 3D scanner at work that I would love to go to town on old cosmetic items and headlights, for the opaque parts anyway.

So a Challenger? The Mustang is pretty good size now too, maybe not quite full size but bigger than those old Montes. They did do that with the Chevy SS in 4door form and no one wanted those even l, I doubt a coupe could do any better.

In the same vein, I'd like the Corvair to call me back as a lightweight 2+2. I know the Camaro fills that space now but thats getting axed anyway and Corvaira are cooler anyway. Who wouldn't want an American 911.

I’ve had the same decision to make, now having a 4 yo and a 10 month old. Oh and a house I moved in to about 2 years ago.

It’s a 128i not 125i. I’m sure a lot of people never thought the E30s would never be classics either, and yet prices have been going up steadily. Hell, CRXs are going up in price, as are Miata, MR2s, and a whole bunch of other previously very cheap sports cars. It wasn’t long ago the 914s were passed off as VWs that…

Once the bearing goes the engine tends to be a total loss. Metal shavings go everywhere, unless it’s caught very early it’s not an engine I would bother to rebuild for my car.

Ramsey’s advice is pretty simplistic and shallow, but for the vast majority of Americans that’s what they need. You can’t dig too deep in to the details and still apply it to everyone. I mean have seen what's going on right now? A person can be smart but people in general are dumb as a box of rocks.

it’s a $4k car that likely will be a future classic, and one of the best options for small rwd, relatively reliable, fun. NA Miatas are going for more and offer a lot less...

Idk, 100k miles doesn’t seem terrible to me. Sure it wasn’t babied but I don’t expect a car like this, at this price point to have been.

The engine in the Mazda does provide a butt load more torque so it may present itself differently.

And all those cars have lost the plot too. They’re not really enthusiast’s cars anymore. They’re being sold to a group of people who want to be faster, or have numbers to brag to friends about, not cars that are actually fun. The 911 is a GT car now, not a sports car. Unfortunately it makes sense from a marketing…

A convertible 2nd gen is on my short list of project cars.

congrats on your anecdote. You, a single data point, doesn’t refute the vast numbers of people using these just fine in other countries. No one is looking to replace an F350 with an electric truck anytime soon.

At least it’s a problem that solves itself, albeit very slowly for my taste...

See, you’re using trucks as actual trucks. It’s well known that 90% (wild guess) of trucks sold are treated like luxury cars, only to be used to get groceries and mock the lesser that can’t afford a $60k penis enhancement.

Your gonna want a rebuilt motor, otherwise the same thing could happen as soon as your done swapping them.

New tech and innovation almost always start up market. That shouldn’t be surprising. Touch screens on computers and phones, now foldable screens, OLEDs, even LEDs compared to LCD, etc... the list is very long. You don’t typically offer the best and the greatest on a low level product until production costs and…

predicting the flaws is a courtesy to temper expectations. I can’t remember the last GM car that didn’t have at least one glaring flaw that kept it from being truly great short of the Vette.

for the time that was really a good looking concept. It was 2007.