Oh, I know the origins of the word and the correct pronunciation (I looked both of them up way back when to verify how to say it and what it meant). I had to laugh at VW's naive belief that most people would ultimately pronounce it that way, however.

When asked for a comment, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick replied, "Pimpin' ain't easy. But it's a little easier behind the wheel of a city-leased Navigator. Oh, and get the city to lease one for your wife while you're at it."

And before these arrived in VW showrooms, we salespeople were instructed by VW's powers that be that the correct pronunciation was "Twa-reg." How many people do you suppose ever called it anything but a "Tour-reg"?

The fastbacks have grown on me over the years, but I'm still having a hard time getting over my first impression of them. Some 24 or 25 years ago, when I was just starting high school, a friend called me to tell me that his older brother just bought an old Mustang and I should come over and check it out. Being a…

I don't love the Mustang II, but I'm more than willing to defend it as a better car than the grotesque '71-'73 Mustang. Certainly it was much truer to the original Mustang roots and represented a definite and needed step away from the bloated "personal luxury coupe" that the original Mustang had become.

Indeed. Just look at the way 680 curves there as it branches off from I-80. Spectacular!

The Mustang II takes a lot of stick and most of it is undeserved, considering what the Mustang had morphed into. The '71-'73 Mustang was grossly oversized and overweight. By '73, it was also pretty underpowered. The same 140-hp 302 that was available in the '73 Mustang resurfaced in '75 in the much smaller and…

Not spotted by police: Paul Bland in the back seat with an iron skillet.

While nothing terribly exotic, the Chevette *did* have a double-wishbone front suspension, which was a better option than some others GM had at its disposal. Of course, some cars are better than the sum of their parts and some are worse. The early Fieros may not have been worse, but they certainly weren't better.

Well, I shouldn't be one to throw stones when it comes to cars like the Biturbo, given what some of my automotive likes are, but I can also recognize that many of the cars I like are not sexy. Perfect example: Volvo 240 wagon. I love it for its character, its functionality, and yes, its style. But I don't delude…

I'm not sure what to make of many of the answers today. I see a fair number of unsexy crap cars (a Chevy Lumina is sexy? Really? A Suzuki Reno? It may be good looking for an econobox, but it's nowhere near "sexy." And sorry, a Biturbo may wear the Maser badge, but sexy it ain't!). I also see a fair number of sexy…

What's crap about the 944? Consistently rated in the '80s as one of the best handling cars at any price, good looks, and no major rust or reliability issues.

Remember, the Fiero was initially pitched as a "commuter" car (small, fuel efficient, etc) rather than a sporty car. I still don't know how they managed to slip that one past the bean counters, but they did. It's too bad they had to resort to Citation mechanicals dropped in the back end, because it was a pretty…

While there is certainly other vintage iron in this price range that would be appealing, I think this is a case of "different strokes for different folks". I really like old TRs. It's kind of in my blood (dad owned a TR4, uncle owned a TR4, a Stag, and a slew of other English oddities, and I've owned a TR6, a couple…

"That kind of cheddah will buy you a pretty nice Boxster S or other modern sportster with similar performance. And don't even start with the talk about V8 Miatas at half that much."

I stand corrected. I know there weren't a ton of them; maybe it just seemed like it because I was briefly looking for one after I sold my 1st-gen SHO and they were relatively plentiful compared to the 1st-gen. Ultimately, the lack of a manual transmission and the seemingly common engine issues put me off them.

You seem to be the exception, then. Around here, every V8 SHO I see for sale seems to have a "bad engine".

I had a 1st-gen SHO, so I can vouch for it being a pretty damned good car, although they are getting a bit on in years now. But no college kid should own a V8-powered SHO unless the point of owning it is to get more exercise walking (or biking) to class. The V8 is not what you'd call reliable.

1976 VW Bus, chrome yellow with brown leatherette interior (actual Bus not pictured, but this is as close as I could find) . My parents bought it new at Autobahn Motors in Bloomfield Hills from an old German saleman named Manfred. I was 4 years old at the time and even though my parents owned "cooler" cars when I…