I see 9 examples of one car:

My friend has an ‘18 Sentra. I’ve been tempted to race her in my ‘18 Focus EcoBoost. We’re pretty evenly matched, she has 1 more HP than me and about 20-30 pounds less weight (before the driver, so more like 120 lbs less weight), but also a CVT to my manual, and natural aspiration to my turbo.

My main complaints were lackluster driving dynamics and the cheapest interior imaginable. If my commute didn’t include about 20 miles of freeway every day, and if I could get around the snooze-inducing acceleration of the EcoSport, I might consider one. As of now, my next car will be either a Focus Active or some…

know what’d make CUVs better? Better gas mileage. Less snooze-worthy driving dynamics. Lower center of gravity so less highway instability.

Oh wait, that’s a hatchback.  You want ground clearance, go buy an SUV with a body on a frame, and that’ll have your larger cargo area and be able to tow things.  There’s nothing…

It doesn’t get that good mileage in a Focus, due to weight, but I still pull 33 driving rather spiritedly.

I bought the only manual Focus with cruise control on the dealer’s lot back in February.  It’s more fun with a manual, though.  I had to take my car to the dealer for a warranty paint issue, and they gave me an Ecosport for a week.... That was a miserable hunk of garbage to drive.

That 3cyl EcoBoost is a pretty fun engine to flog, though.

The answer is M3, but that Cosworth is super nice. Mercs have always looked a little too... stuffy? for me.

I actually really like the ‘15+ wheel design.  I can still maintain a good grip on 7 o’clock with my right hand in my lap (or on the shifter when needed) and the cruise buttons are right there where my thumb is.  The wheel itself feels meaty but not soft, and the texture is grippy but communicative.  I drove an…

the drivers’ seats in the Mitsubishi Montero/Dodge Raider have hydraulic shocks on them. They’re really comfortable off-road.

The other thing to think about with these things is relative availability. On the one hand, you have a road-legal small off-roader that’s relatively capable of taking itself where you want to go offroading, but every single example is at least 50 years old. On the other hand you have a non-road-legal brand new vehicle…

Boot Camp is a thing that exists.

or we could not do that, and smoke it instead.

FoST. The correct answer is FoST. And with Ford making monumentally stupid decisions about American car buyers, there’s never been a better time to buy one.

Maybe my Ford dealer wouldnt unplug my dash cam when they have my car for service. That’d be nice.

Freddy’s and Blake’s are drive-through fast food. The Owl and Mineshaft are both sit-down restaurants, but have the best green chile cheeseburgers in the state of NM. Word of advice, though: If you go to Madrid to the mineshaft, do *NOT* drink the water. Buy beer instead. It’s a mining town, and their aquifer contains…

Having recently made a pilgrimage to Dallas for the nearest in-n-out, I respectfully disagree. Whataburger is decent, but it’s no Freddy’s. Or Blake’s Lota. Or Owl Café. Or Mineshaft (in Madrid, NM).

all 911s look the same:

you know how used accords come into being?

Yeah, people buy new ones.

I financed 16k on a new Focus in February, and my payments are $385/mo, but partly because I have really poor credit and got a crap interest rate. The plan is to make it till August or September, then refi through my credit union at a lower rate. Then, continue making 385/mo even if my payments are lower, so the car’s…