They went out of style before they came out....

Not surprising, with the higher and higher waistlines, smaller and smaller rear windows and sheer bulk of the now standard CUV/SUVs, backup cameras are a necessity.

As long as they keep making the fiesta and focus in europe....

They’re only reflecting the wishes of the car buying public. What does that make the public....

“the pretense of being “rugged” and “outdoorsy.””

5th gear - Hardware change? does fitting a petrol engine count?....

OK, a name to remember. The video was good too..

“No, apparently Americans only want bloated, overpriced, over-accessorized - stuff,”

how about FiRSt?

Lucky you;

You forgot ‘Murica!

Two words - Mary Whitehouse. Extreme prude and tireless campaigner for the removal of all sex and violence from any form of broadcast public media.

Could be, the bigger injected engines may have been more stressed.

Google found pics of alloy block SBCs but I got the impression they were race engines and commensurately expensive. Still I could well be wrong.

Mine was the 3.5 litre carb. I did a cam change, and the timing gears and chain ( I don’t recall them being nylon though) Also changed to SU carbs. Didn’t even take the heads off. Never had gasket problems at all.

Well, I do. The springs have to be changed too, to maintain the ride height.

A lot better than iron for sure. Can you get alloy blocks in a sensible state of tune?

The first rule of learning stick - don’t lean forward in the seat. Stay hard against the seatback, even if it means making it more upright. Much easier to let the clutch in under control.

If you can find an all alloy one then fine. The great thing about the ex buick engine was its lightness. Put an iron block V8 in the front of a classic RRover and you’ve got an understeering nightmare.

I had an earlier one with a slightly breathed on v8 and didn’t need more. But you can get a lot more out of the V8 if you do need it. That italian diesel is just crap.