Poor F150 was a hapless victim...I should go hug mine so it knows everything’s ok...

I don’t think MINI’s sales have flagged due to cheap gas...IMO it’s due to quality issues and reliability as with the rest of BMW’s lineup. I’ve owned 3 MINIs: R50, R53 and R60. The early cars were extremely overbuilt, robust, and very solid.

Yeah, I realized that after seeing a random FX here in town. But the VQ is still a POS...I’m pretty sure there was a Rogue-based Infiniti “SUV” though and can’t find it. Was pretty tiny

Last time I checked, the EX35 is actually Nissan Rogue based... Also, VQ35 is easily the worst engine Nissan had ever made with terrible long term reliability due to its plastic timing chain tensioner and several other poor quality internals... Read about it.

I’d be happier if you typed SAAB correctly as it is an acronym... Not unlike FIAT and ALFA...

Ballaban, you’re wrong on this one dude. I’m impressed this car exists in this state as most were ground into dust. One of the few Malaise Era GMs that was pretty durable.

Well, Mercedes definitely has actual build quality over BMW and something else BMW lacks: engines that don’t grenade themselves due to internal parts being made of metal, not plastic (giving stick eye to BMW)

One activates Dodge Bros mode which enables drunkenness, high speed driving around Detroit in c. 1920s automobiles, and enabling “beat the shit out of someone till almost dead” mode.

Good thing I bought the SWB F150 SuperCrew...not that I’m taking a $54K truck wheeling any time soon

The Aero X was in the works long before the Spyker fiasco. The designer, Anthony Lo, even won an award or two for the Aero

Why did you have to ruin my day with a

Torch, I think I’m far more interested in the Hillman/Sunbeam Imp pictured and it’s fantastic/legendary/all awesome Coventry Climax engine!

Guess what the F22 isn’t as expensive as... Wait for it... The F35! (And it’s less capable than the Raptor)

Dash computer?!? I had an ‘87 Golf GT in high school over 20 years ago and that is merely a digital clock. No computer involved. The 8 valve GT was actually a little faster off the line than the 16 valve GTi due to gearing by Porsche and quite a bit more rare if you can find one.

This idea isn’t so farfetched. The original Lada 2101 had pretty crisp lines when introduced in the 60s that were the equal of the FIAT 126 it was based on. By the time the 2103 through 2106 were produced, lack of maintenance and overuse of the stamping dies at the Tolyatti plant left them with wavy bodies and poor…

I swear, when I saw the picture for the story I thought you were going to say Maserati made their own version of the Studebaker Avanti

So, I read this as BMW+more “high” tech=in the shop 45% more of the time you own it

I second this entire post. Having owned a 2011 X5d, albeit the M57Y is actually pretty reliable...however, all of the accessories, exhaust filtration system, transmission and front diffs attached to that engine are the miscreants.

I am still trying to fathom the name change from FF to this idiotic name...and then they charge more for it than the FF-badged car when it’s...wait for it...the same exact car!

In my experience owning 8 examples of so-called “German perfection” over my life ranging from Volkswagen to BMW and Mercedes, the word perfection as related to German cars is dubious at best. The Mercedes (currently in the stable) is the only one that can claim to be near perfection so far...the BMW and VWs, no where…