The refresh did wonders to the back end. It was desperately needed but well executed.

I like to use the Fiesta ST as an example of cars with torsion axles that are amazingly fun to drive. It is possible, and with the added benefits you mentioned, I could totally see why Mazda did what they did. 

Yeah. Manuals aren’t about speed, they’re about experience and 270 hp/310 ft lb is enough to have a great time. Especially with roof and doors off. 

I think this part of the car hasn’t got enough attention (but I think it will when people actually get to sit in it). The fact that the roll bars aren’t in the middle of the passenger space. Instead, they’re behind the passengers, giving the cabin a much bigger, open feeling. It’s super neat. I got to sit in a buck…

I’m totally ok with it. 270 HP and 310 ft-lbs is totally fine with that crawler gear. Could be a fun momentum car in dirt. Also, the fact that you can get the transmission in multiple trim levels and packages is nice too.

I never thought I’d be proud of BOLTS but here I am. Go figure. I’m really excited to get in a driveable car. I got to sit in bucks last year, but nothing with a drivetrain in it. I can’t wait. 

So I got to work on the Bronco for just a few months to help it get past a couple of milestones. I mostly just followed up and helped with parts that were behind, but one thing I got to spend a surprising amount of time working on were the BRONCO branded bolts. They’re scattered all around the interior and I’m glad…

It really is a super fun car. The later models were definitely a little better built, but ya, you’d have to except some niggles here and there to own the car. It’s a hoot to drive though. 

I’m just proud of him for taking his love of that car into weaseling his way into one of their commercials

Just imagine, if the media didn’t make a big deal about OJ’s birthday (which I promise you, was unintentional. That’s giving us WAAAAYYY too much credit), we’d be seeing the Bronco TODAY. Now we have to wait until Monday...

Go figure. I think even until they died, the FiST had a good buyer base, so they never really went on sale much.

I have the vinyl seats in my 18MY 3 and honestly love them. They’re the same shape as the GT, just different surface. My old roommate has the cloth seats, and although they’re more durable than the older seats, they aren’t quite as nice feeling as my old 2010 Mazda6's cloth seats.

Exactly! Looking at the (albeit few) sales of manual cars in the US, it comes down to basically 4 categories: cheap performance (GT86, Mustang, Camaro, etc...), Off Roader (Wrangler, Tacoma), base model (the fastest shrinking of all the groups), and Hot Hatch/sedan (The WRX really is a just a hot hatch without a hatch)…

Yeah as I was looking through this I kept feeling like non of these cars, except for the GTI are competitors. The 1 series, A3, A Class, or even the Acuras, are what Mazda is shooting for. We’ll see how it plays out. I hope it goes well for them. I love my 18MY manual 3 and want to see the company succeed. 

I don’t think so, because if you’re going a normal speed, you can see the texture of the salt moving below. It just feels a bit slower. Plus, the drive-able area is relatively narrow most years. If you venture too far away from the main area, you may get stuck.

You’re actually the first person I’ve heard say that. Everyone says the Abarth has the best sound, but I’ve always heard the Fiesta is the more playful and dynamic... I guess I’ll have to find someone with a working Abarth and try myself ;)

It’s nothing compared to say the automatic versions, but there are a lot of small and not so small things. For someone who likes to work on their car, it’s probably not a big deal. For my brother, who hasn’t lifted a wrench in literal years, it’s really annoying.

From the few preproductions I’ve seen and sat in around the Ford Campus (before lockdown and everything), the quality seems more on par with an Edge or something similar. Plus a lot more money is being thrown at it, with more higher up eyes on it, so I think it will be at least on par for Ford compared to the Focus…

Serious question: