All of the “Former(s)“ in the titles are largely what have made me come back less and less to jalopnik. That and all the ads and lists.

Yeah, it is hilarious how poor their city mileage is. Our family has an old 05 grand caravan with the 3.8 that is averaging ~16 across 10k miles of town and highway mix. Meanwhile our TJ that is lifted and on 31" BFGs is averaging ~15 through mainly city and dune use.

Worked at a primarily Cooper shop for 4 years, but never put any on my vehicle. CS4/5 and evolutions wear like crazy, though drive nicely as they do it. For my money everytime it’s very hard to beat a Hankook. As a tech as well, hard to beat, mount nice, balance nice, and wear nicely.

Probably the one I’m most excited about is a Raspberry Pi 4 8gb model. Quite excited to tinker with linux on a device that I don’t have to worry about having some downtime since it won’t be a main device. 

I saw one of these this morn in that exact colorway, and in a way, I’ve always kind of enjoyed them as odd as they are.

Can confirm after being a tech in a rust belt state, these are amazing for getting stuck screws out. Good recommendation. 

I ran winters back when I had a T&C, but now I just have all-weathers on my Matrix (Nokian WRG4) since I spend most of my winter is southern Ohio. I did manage to convince the parents to get winter tires after they’d never used them previously even after living in MI for >20 years, and what a difference. They even…

2nd Gear - one actually should care, because higher costs = higher prices, even if cutting into margin. This is both poor for the consumer and the company. Higher prices with lower margins = less sales, less money at the corporate level for more niche vehicles, cost cutting in other areas to make up margin, etc. It is…

I’m (thankfully) avoiding any kind of wrenching this weekend following a bunch of general maintenance. My day job for summers is working as an auto tech too, so I get plenty enough. Being a (lower level) tech, I’m generally comfortable with most things, and thus my long term project is trying to convince the old man…

I’ve (similarly) really enjoyed the idea of a Mirage ever since they’ve come out. They just seem like basic, honest cars. But what can I say, I also wanted a Geo Metro with the 3 cylinder and a stick. Instead I’m living in the true luxury of a 5-speed Matrix S.

The difference is no one cares about the Blazer name, beyond a select, small group. GM went with printing money by high prices, low initial investment, and mass market appeal, where Ford will be printing money through massive upfront investment. GM could not pull off a Wrangler competitor in the way that Ford (it…

I live in an area where we can drive on the dunes and having a manual (Jeep TJ 4.0 5speed) definitely makes for more sure climbs. Just being able to hammer down and claw to the top, where friends with an automatic (4.0 TJ w 4speed) its kind of a crapshoot due to the auto upshifting mid-hill unless locked into first.

It definitely is much more tempting living in an area that’s basically wide open and patrolled only by sheriffs, but I’ve been able to keep a cap on it. Though I have noticed basically everyone is so much worse at driving, due to there being so many less people on the road. Had multiple people about pull out in front…

The problem with an extremely high gas tax is those on the poorer side of society are the ones who get hammered by it since they own older, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

I think the difference between this and the GT is that the V6 in the GT is perceived to be (and is to an extent) the same engine as shared with commoner vehicles like pickups. This V6 being developed entirely for high performance applications could be a different experience. Also, the GT just sounds bad, so we’ll see…

After riding around our neighborhood for the past week or so on a CRF50 and a minibike with an 80cc harbor freight motor, I’d love to get something like this just to make puttering around a little less sketchy. These things are sweet.

The newer Pacificas I’ve driven are pretty fun (in the short amount I’ve driven them). They’re just shockingly quick with the Pentastar, but that is still true of any of the other v6 minivans. 

I’m also 6'3" and extremely leggy, and I agree, you just get used to the discomfort. Nothing really materially impacts it, like seat reclining. I flew Chicago to Tokyo only leaving my seat once or twice (due to being on the window seat) and it was definitely an uncomfortable experience, but nonetheless not one that…

I bought a used manual so I mean that’s not doing the same thing, but doing my part to keep my own skills sharp. Most of my driving is country roads and highway so there is not much downside to having a stick for me, but that may change this summer depending on what city I land in.

Our family inherited a ‘00 CE with the 2.2l when our great grandparents died a few years ago and that thing has been immaculate. We’ve put ~60,000 miles on it with the only non-wear item being a radiator. It’s currently at around 200,000 miles and still drives pristinely, turning back great gas mileage with an insane…