As I remarked above, rust hasn’t been a problem (at least yet) on my 2012 Mazda 3, and it’s been down a lot of salted roads.

If it helps, I have a 2012 Mazda3 with 80,000 miles and live in a Great Lakes snowbelt area where roads are heavily salted nearly half the year. Rust was a major concern when buying this car, but so far there aren’t any signs of it. Hopefully Mazda figured out its rust problem, as older Mazdas haven’t fared so well…

In grad school I tutored several English as a Second Language students. It was a fantastic experience, and I became friends with several of them, particularly one from Taiwan. This guy was generally brilliant, an officer in the reserves, and showed me photos of his heavily modified car back in Taiwan and told me…

It may be tough to remember anything other than the flying balls o’ death and Tall Man in Phantasm, but it had a ‘71 ‘Cuda.

I had one, it was even my first manual. For all its faults it was the one car in which no one tailgated me.

That is groovetastic. I have a new life goal.

If it helps, “affect” is usually a verb, while “effect” is usually a noun.  So you can be affected by something, and you can feel an effect. 

Excellent point. My first thought is that the person or people who owned that car missed out on a great deal of fun by not driving it. I suspect the new owner won’t drive it much, either. Granted, even more fun cars may have been available or there were other circumstances.

The first car I clearly remember is the Dodge Super Bee my parents owned. Bright yellow, adorned with cartoon bees, and an angry “face,” it could have emerged from Saturday morning cartoons. Some of my earliest memories are of that car and watching the landscape go by from within it. Mostly, though, was its sound, a…

The first versions of the Ford Taurus SHO. It had a Yamaha-built 220hp six cylinder engine mated to a Mazda-built five speed manual transmission. It was also fairly stealthy, looking like a standard late 80s-early 90s sedan.

Thanks. You’ve got to dig Monk.  Or as he said, “You’ve got to dig it to dig it, you dig?”

Dude. Check it. Check it. My cars don’t need tailpipes, but we’re gonna put them in. Know why? Reefer. Exhaust. Yeah, man. You know how cool that would be? No more road rage. Everyone feeling groovy. See. ... Pick up a little fine supply of ganja at our charging stations, put it in a little receptacle, and cruise…

Well, the main reason I don’t golf is it’s a lot more expensive and less enjoyable to me than spending a nice day hiking, not because I can’t go without a cheeseburger for a couple of hours.

A local dealer’s shady tactics and my inability to get a straight answer from them is the main reason I’ve never owned a Subaru. I’ve been tempted, especially as I live in a place that gets a lot of snow, but I’ll no longer consider buying from this dealer network.

I was sixteen, had just gotten my license, when I rolled into a car driven by a middle-aged woman and passenger as a light turned green. It’s kind of a blur how it happened and memory’s played tricks with various scenarios, including being backed into. I’m fairly certain it was my fault, however.

Thanks for writing about these people and their cars. I’ve seen a few restorations like these—even a Chevette, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen it—admire the owners and wonder about their thinking. In that regard I’d be interested in reading a more in depth interview with some of them.

You could write a short story about an automotive journalist who tries to search for the words for a favorite automotive brand, hears “BMW” emerge from her or his mouth, while internally screaming “No?! Why did I say that?!” and delves into a deep sci-fi-style conspiracy. There has to be a scene with shaking hands at…

This is likely an obvious, somewhat boring answer, but a Mazda 3 hatch. Getting one without a sunroof should provide plenty of headroom. It’ll have enough space in the back for a bike (with the back seat down). It’s a comfortable place to be for a couple hours a day (although I gather some recent ones have …

When I was in my early 20s I had a turquoise car and was somewhat embarrassed while driving it in a funeral procession. Now that I’m older I have a black car (albeit one with a big grin) and am somewhat troubled it could fit in a funeral procession.

I want to know the story of the Beetle. Is it in a hotel parking lot because someone is driving it on a long trip? If so, I think this person is awesome.