Most college towns involve squeezing cars into small parking spots or parallel parking on the street on a regular basis. Definitely not something easy in a Crown Vic. Not to mention idiot + RWD with no stability control in an Ohio winter is a terrible idea. The Matrix is the only reasonable answer on this list.

I used these all the time in Columbus and was sad to see the service go.

The manual transmission will probably do more for the resale than the warranty in this case. The automatic was ford’s disastrously unreliable PowerShift which has tanked the resale value for these cars.

I HAVE THE ANSWER GUYS!!! 2010-2011 LR2's had a recall of the clock spring (the gizmo that sits between the steering wheel and steering shaft and allows the electrical connection to still function when the wheel turns). When the recall was done, someone probably either forgot to reinstall the torx bolt or didn’t…

The Model 3 is now outselling the 3-series. I think it’s safe to say that they misjudged the demand...

Do you really think millennials are the ones buying 200k SUVs? This thing has boomer written all over it...

A Model 3 owner had brake pad issues at the track recently as well. Definitely seems like a systemic issue.

Its almost certainly a software issue with ABS/regenerative braking. There is lots of software at play when braking in a modern car.

The inconsistency even after the pads have cooled does lead one to believe it might be a software issue with, say, the ABS system. Still important for this kind of stuff to come out so it can be fixed, but at least a software issue (if true) is as simple as an OTA update that instantly fixes everyones cars. Say what…

There’s some really bad reporting out there on autonomous vehicles though. Just saw a Bloomberg article on self driving tech the other day that a lumped a recent Waymo vehicle crash into the bucket of autonomous failures, even though the crash happened when the vehicle was being driven manually and was not at fault in…

Also keep in mind that if you have a natural gas fired water heater then moving to an electric one (even tankless) will end up costing you more.

Also keep in mind that if you have a natural gas fired water heater then moving to an electric one (even tankless)…

Cars are engineered to last a certain amount of time then break. I guess you can insert large appliances in place of cars as well. - That one is actually true. Modern engineering techniques have gotten good enough that appliances an cars are designed to last X number of years or miles or whatever. This is why you can…

Wheel conspiracy - Any car designers here to confirm any truth to this one? Slightly more plausible IMO is that the “clean” designs are less attention grabbing and allow the new, modern, design to be the center of attention. The complicated wheels on the refresh then draw attention away from the then-stale body design.

The notion of electronics and technology being a barrier to reliability is a bit of an old misguided trope. A bit of truth, sure, but at the end of the day it’s more about engineering priorities.

I’ve found that there is something about the way I apply the brake and then lightly let off of it after coming to a complete stop that causes the car to think I’m trying to move again. So these systems result in the engine stopping and them immediately starting again (and idling the whole time I’m stopped) anytime…

Theres a couple of things going on here keeping them in business, I think:

I’d put this car a category above “meh” but it was also my first car so I may be slightly biased.

While seemingly more complicated, an electronic parking brake can simplify the design by removing the need for a mechanical cable run and freeing up space in the center console wasted by a large actuator lever, adjustment mechanism, etc. And that is aside from the benefit of being able to control the actuation via…

Only slightly off topic... I’ll never buy a Mazda again after watching them all rust away here in Ohio. My first car was a Mazda Protege with like 60k miles... parents wanted me to get something reliable (aka Japanese). That thing was such a money pit. Part after part rusted off. I had my entire exhaust drop on the…

Umm what? Last time I checked AWD doesn’t prevent hydroplaning...