I've had both. It is true that the Bentley manual contains far more "hard" information, but the Muir book will get you through most of the same repairs and is much, much more entertaining to read (okay, that's a gimme, because the Bentley books, while informative, could never be called entertaining).

"How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" is the greatest repair manual ever written. Every car guy or gal should read it even if they will never own an air-cooled VW. Muir and friends really "got" what DIY car repair should be about and managed to put it down on paper. It should never be reduced to an e-book (the…

This is globally, but even more pronounced in America. I'm not sure about the newer, FWD Volvos, but when Volvo wanted to put diesels in their RWD cars, they bought inline-six light-truck engines from VW in normally aspirated and turbo'd form. They were never a volume seller when new and were pretty fragile by…

"Gone are the fusty old diesel bricks."

410-hp, SBC-powered '78 Volvo 240 wagon. Although tubbing the thing might have ruined several of the numerous smuggling compartments located in a stock 245.

You win

I reckon your aunt's Venture was in dire need of maintenance. My stepmom used to drive a Pontiac Transport, and while it wasn't an outstanding vehicle to drive, there was no noticeable dead spot in the steering.

Most of the cars I've driven have not been particularly surprising to me because I knew enough about them beforehand to know what to expect. One car that did surprise me, though, was the Oldsmobile Intrigue. I was working at a Buick/VW dealer at the time, and most of my personal vehicles to that point (and since…

Whenever I see or hear about Falstaff, I think about this ad. After all these years, I still don't know whether to love it or hate it.

One of the first things they taught us at my first racing school was to pull your arms to your chest when you knew a crash was imminent. Not only does it keep your hands and arms inside the car, but if you keep your hands on the wheel during a big shunt, you could lose a few fingers or worse.

I wish the underside of the Vibe looked like that. It looks a lot like my long-lost '72 Pontiac Ventura, which was easy to work on and fun to hoon.

Don't get me wrong, I like Falcons, so that one is very exciting! But as a major wagon aficionado (unsure how many I've owned, but there have been a lot), I can't quite bring myself to call it a wagon.

It could have been, but they forgot to put in enough windows to make it a wagon. I suspect it also lacks rear seats. So it might be the greatest delivery vehicle in the world, but it ain't the greatest wagon.

A first-gen Mustang shooting brake could've been cool. Really—see the Intermeccanica-built Mustang (pictured). $10K for a Mustang like that is NP all day.

Luckily, truth is an absolute defense to a libel claim, and opinions are protected speech.

It's this kind of thing that makes me want to watch Kia commercials.

Is he selling the stick that's been up his ass for the last 25 years?

Going up to 11 is what wankels are all about!

You read my mind. The compact wankel is an easy fit in many an engine bay, but its revvy nature and lack of torque are exactly the opposite of what you want in an off-roader. Granted, given the sub box in the back, I'm sure this thing never gets further off the road than the beach, but still—why the wankel?

This. Thank you.