Keith writes:

Hello Sajeev,

My conundrum is as follows: I am a graduate student with another 1.5 years left of school. I commute at least 200-300 miles a week living in rural Maine (so a car is a must for me). My ride for the last 4 years has been a 2002 Mazda Protege5 with manual transmission. Bought in August 2007 with 69,000 miles, now at 143,000 miles. The car has never outright let me down and I love the balance between fuel efficiency, utility of the hatch, and fun to driver factor. What I don’t love is that it keeps rusting away. I have had minor rust repairs performed in the past to get it to keep passing inspections – the rear wheel wells, the floor beneath the rear seats. The rust around the windshield became bad enough that it started to let a little rain water in (though me and a tube of silicone quickly “cured” that). This car is by no means cosmetically perfect anymore, but it still drives great and has been kept up mechanically. Again, grad student – I feel like I am supposed to have a beat up looking car. (Read More…)

TTAC commentator Jerszy writes:

Dear Sajeev;

Hopefully you & your fantastic community can help me here.

I recently purchased a 2002 Dodge Dakota Sport 4X4 (3.9 V6, 67k, Auto).

I bought it to replace my 2002 Cougar Sport Package (2.5 V6, 64K, Manual, speed-limited to 139mph) which as you know is not a good suburban truck and can’t really haul things. The Cougar was a fun car, very agile and could haul me around town and being a kitty-car it really did purr. Unfortunately it had to live outside in the rusty north for the last 6 years and was starting to age rapidly. Since I live in a “snow belt” (avg. snowfall ~120 inches a year) it had to be 4 wheel drive.

Now the Dakota is a definitely a truck. Almost as big as the ‘76 Silverado I had 30 years ago and just as four-wheelie as the ‘84 Toyota 4X4 truck I replaced it with. (That Toyota rusted, rusted, rusted so much I had to fabricate a wooden bed for it in 1987!) (Read More…)

Brian writes:

Hi Sajeev,

Love reading TTAC – thanks for all the entertainment. Responding to your request for more stupid questions, I have one ripe for pontification.

I am a (male) small business owner with two small children and I’m looking for a new vehicle. I’m a big guy and with all the stuff kids have, I can’t get something too small. Nevertheless, in my search I’ve been toying lately with this question: What makes a car “manly/masculine” or “girly/feminine”? I understand that a two ton hunk of metal cannot in itself take on gender-specific characteristics, but there are definitely cars that women tend to call “cute” and cars that men tend to look at as “awesome”. Can anyone really look me in the eye and tell me that a VW Jetta or a small SUV strikes them as “manly”?

But picking such a car before hearing the reactions almost seems counter-intuitive. At first glance you may think that mustang coupes would be “manly”, but lately it seems that more women are buying them than men. SUVs are supposed to be big and tough, but more women use them for carpool duty than for off-road or towing duty. Same problem with trucks these days or, for that matter, just about any other segment. All the online lists of “manly” cars seem to detail special trims of expensive, ostentatious, or otherwise impractical vehicles with twice the horsepower I need. Below the 50k mark, are there any “manly” somewhat normal family-capable cars out there? Does a car have to have some exclusivity to it (i.e. either by price, customization, or a limited edition)? Is it a matter of power/engine/trim (i.e. Audi A4 vs. S4)? Color choice (interior/exterior)? Does size REALLY matter?

Are there elements of car design that tend to appeal more to men than women (or vice versa)?

I know, the answer can largely be in the eye of the beholder, and I’m interested in your opinion. Call me shallow, but I covet the envious stares of others on the road.
(Read More…)

It’s funny how a college professor goes from cool to angry in a split second.  Case in point: my first transportation design class at CCS.  People showed off their designs as per usual, but one day I opened my big mouth. I mentioned that a classmate’s rendering sported wheels that looked like the Star of David. He seemed completely clueless about what he did. But I just had to “keep it real.” Oh boy, was that ever a mistake!

A design school that caters to the big automakers, staffed with adjunct professors who work in the business…well, they know better than some punk design student.  My wrist was (kinda) slapped, and everyone was warned to not include religious symbolism in their products.  Because everyone in this business wants to sell their product to anyone with green money.  Nobody gives a crap as long as you can “splash the cash.”

Stop reading if you believe TTAC has no business discussing religion.

(Read More…)

Anonymous (no, it’s not Sajeev) writes:

Hi Sajeev and Steve,

I’m toying with the idea of selling my 2009 Honda Fit with an unethical 5-speed manual and trading down to a Panther, a VX10 Camry (in wagon form if I can find a decent one), or a B-body bubble wagon if I had my way. My wife and I have 1 young son and another may be on the way soon. The Fit currently fits (get it? I’m here all night) all of our junk and I love its gas mileage, handling, and low cost of ownership. Its also fully paid for. My wife and I completed advanced degrees in 09, and through a combination of black magic and hard work, we both have good jobs. For the excellent B&B financial advisers, we’re down to $35k of student loans and have a good nest egg stashed away. Free cash flow generally goes to savings and paying down student loans. Our other car is a 2011 Caravan purchased new in part due to its Baruthian driving qualities and crazy prices for used Ody-enna vans. We bought the van sooner than anticipated due to some internal family car shuffling and are very happy with it. We owe $16k on the van, so we’re not under water, and at 2.3% interest, the loan is essentially free money and far less than the 6.8% on the student loans.

Here’s my dilemma: I bought the Fit new because used car prices were obscene and I expected it to hold its value well. It has – I’ve seen similar examples listed at Carmax for damn near what I paid 4 years ago. I’m venturing I could unload it for about $13k private party and eat a $2.5-3k depreciation loss, making it the best performing asset I own. With fuel-efficient used car values still artificially high, I’m leaning towards selling it during a bubble rather than drive it till the wheels fall off.

I grew up driving a 1994 Crown Vic with a landau top that I adored but had to part ways with due to a relative needing a car (I didn’t buy it so it wasn’t my call). Last I heard, it had 240k on the clock and was still going strong. Given my first hand experience with the big cat combined with the obscenely cheap prices these things command on the used car market, I am thinking about buying a loved Grand Marquis in the 3-6k range if I can find the right one, pocketing $7-10k, and handing it over to Aunt Sallie Mae (no Vic’s unless they have landau tops – I hate asking “is that a cop?”).

The MGM and its superior highway ride would be a better long term vehicle as our family expands, but would burn a lot more gas than the Fit – I figure an extra $1000 in gas per year. I always coveted my friend’s VX10 Camry and have seen some good examples go for little money in these parts, including two immaculate and rare wagons. This would be better on gas, but not as luxurious as the MGM. Also, for the same money, the MGM would be 7-10 years newer. If I had my way, a B-Body wagon would be my personal pick, but parts and reliability are iffy. Such a car also may cause some “unpleasantness” at home.

Crazy-ist of crazy ideas would be to sell the van to replace with an MGM, but I’d eat a larger depreciation loss and that may cause issues at home. We also already toyed with getting an MGM when we purchased the van and putting extra money towards student loans, but we determined a van would be the best long-term solution.

I haven’t done the math in a while, but factoring in the extra compound interest if we don’t make a big lump sum payment vs a lump sum payment but a theoretical $80-100/mo drop in extra payments due to increased gas cost nets out to a mild present value win for selling the Fit all else being equal. That’s on a spreadsheet, though, and we’re on track to kill the student loans in the next few years without the lump-sum payment.

Has parenthood caused me to lust for the forbidden Panther fruit, or is this actually a good idea? (Read More…)

Dave writes:

Sajeev,
I’m a sales rep for a corporate auto supplier in the Detroit area. I currently drive a 2008 Dodge Magnum SXT that I put around 5000 kms per month and currently has 165000kms. Bought it as a lease back with 30000kms in 2009 and it’s completely paid off.

My question is – Do I drive the Magnum for another year, putting the mileage up over 200000 and far reduce the residual value or do I trade it in on a low mileage Explorer, Flex, or Durango and start the process over again getting more cash value for the Mag. There’s no real reason to dump the Magnum – It’s in fantastic shape and aside from regular maintenance and some front end suspension work, hasn’t emptied my pockets.

Just looking for another point of view and some insight into what the residual value over time and mileage looks like for the situation.

Thanks,
Dave (Read More…)

One thing I heard over and over in the Transportation Design biz is how the real world of car design is nothing like what you learn in school.  It’s probably the same for any Industrial Designer or anyone in the creative arts, but to a lesser extent.  We are passionate about cars.  To wit: my former CCS classmate Mike Chan is taking his education and automotive (okay, motorcycle) design experience to launch his own design: the Chrono Case. Do me a solid and check out the man’s hard work, and maybe consider participating in the Indiegogo funding thing. Why?

Because we all need to save designers from creating design nightmares such as the VW Routan. The weatherstripping is reason enough to become a design entrepreneur à la Mike Chan.  From one CCS person to another, best of luck to you, Mike. (Read More…)

JP writes:

Hi Sajeev,

I though myself out of asking this question, then your asked for more questions, so…What’s the best way to sell a beat-up 2002 Hyundai “Satan Fe” without feeling guilty about it?

Not so long ago, I married into a family with an irrational preference for Hyundais. In order of purchase (all new): 2002 Santa Fe 2.7L AWD, 2003 Santa Fe 3.3L FWD, 2006 Santa Fe 3.3L FWD, 2009 Azera, 2011 Tucson. All bought with about as much consideration as I put into buying shoes. The upside: hand-me-downs. (Read More…)

History repeats itself.  I repeat, History repeats…well, you see my point.  Which was probably one of the reasons why my creations in Car Design College were universally panned as being “too retro”, among other things. It was a similar fate given to Lenny Kravitz, except he was very talented in his form of artistic expression.  And while you can’t “sell” most design studios on the power of history, I present to you the latest Nash/AMC Rambler.

I mean Nissan Leaf.  You’ll have to forgive me for seeing the similarity between the two, in spirit, historical context and on the Vellum. (Read More…)

TTAC reader LeMansteve writes:

Hi Sajeev,

It’s convenient you just posted your plea for emails because I have been letting one brew for a while now. I have been following TTAC for about a year now. I’ve been conflicted on a classic question for quite a while now and thought I would open it up to you and the TTAC readers. Here is my situation:

My daily driver is a 2004 330i sedan (6-speed stick, of course). My commute is long and the car is going to reach 110k soon. For my daily commute, I have 2 routes to choose from. (Read More…)

Rémi writes:

Might be weak, but since you’re asking for questions, here’s mine.

Just got a 2011 BMW 335d late last year (Diesel FTW!), love the car and torque so far and getting 35 mpg with it, but I am a bit afraid of the long term reliability of this extra complicated German engineering marvel. BMW is offering an extended warranty from 4 years/50K miles to 6 years/100K miles for about $2500. I am guessing they think they would come out ahead statistically, which would lead me to not pay for the extension, but I’d hate to be the statistical anomaly given the price of parts and labor…

Hope this helps, and looking forward for the answer! (Read More…)

Hi Sajeev,

You asked for some emails, so here’s one from me. It may not be Piston Slap worthy, but it’s got me confused. Here’s my problem:

I have a 1998 Nissan Frontier. 150k miles, 2.4l four banger. It threw a Service Engine light on me the other day. The code is a P0301, i.e. cylinder #1 misfire. Figuring it was a spark plug issue, and since I was about due for a tune up anyway, I replace the plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor. I cleared the code with my scanner, and….it came right back. I did a little creeping on the Nissan forums, and the consensus seems to be that this results from clogged EGR passages. So this past weekend I decided to clean them. I was lead to believe that this would be a cake walk. All that was required was to remove the set screws between the intake runners, spray some carb cleaner in there and scrub them out. Easier said than done. Removing the screws was not too bad, but putting them back in after cleaning was nigh impossible. 5 hours and sawed off 8mm Allen wrench later, I had the plugs back in. My truck ran great! For 20 minutes. Then the code came back. Now I’m pretty much flummoxed. The way I see it, my options are:

1. Remove the air cleaner assembly and manifold screws again and try cleaning them more thoroughly with a pipe brush and more carb cleaner
2. Try something like Seafoam through a vacuum hose. I am reluctant to do this as I’m not 100% sure which hose to use and opinions on Seafoam are mixed
3. Take my vehicle to a mechanic for a more professional diagnosis. I do have access to a reputable independent mechanic who specializes in Nissans and Toyotas

So, what do the B&B think? Anyone else had this problem with a Nissan KA24DE 4 cylinder?

Thanks for your help. (Read More…)

It happened. TTAC finally has their very own Ford Sierra.

(Read More…)

TTAC commentator hidrotule2001 writes,

Sajeev,

I’ve got an intermittent, befuddling problem with the manual transmission in my 2011 Ford Fiesta:  The shifter will periodically refuse to move into 4th gear.

This usually happens 10-15 minutes after the car is started, and mostly during warm weather (but I’ve never been able to consistently reproduce the behavior).  When i say it refuses to move into 4th gear, I mean with the clutch fully engaged (peddle to the floor) attempting to move the shifter into 4th position feels like trying to shift into 1st gear when going 60 miles an hour; like there is some sort of synchro problem.

Moving the shifter back to the neutral position and trying again doesn’t change the behavior (the shifter never gets far out of the neutral position to begin with).  Down-shifting to 3rd, and then trying to shift again does get rid of the problem (at least so far), which is why I haven’t been able to demonstrate it to the dealer.

The car is 100% stock, and only has 10.5k miles on it.  I’ve done some searching on various forums and the closest I’ve found is a couple of posts on Mustang forums with similar issues where the transmission fluid was low, but I’ve had that checked and everything is within spec.

Any ideas on what might be causing this?  The problem is an annoyance right now, but I wonder if it might indicate an underlying issue that could get worse as time goes on… (Read More…)

“MR2turbo4evr”, today is your lucky day: you suggested that someone would appreciate my critiques on Lincoln products, and maybe you are right.  But this self-proclaimed Lincoln-Mercury fanboi was pissed when his favorite version of Ford’s CD3 platform, the Mercury Milan, bit the dust.  But I digress: what to do when you are a designer tasked with making every Lincoln look like the MKR concept, even if that ridiculous grille maybe (MAYBE) works on a sedan with Town Car levels of decadent proportioning, and no other Lincoln?

If you worked on the 2010-2012 MKZ, I suspect you bit your tongue, did your job, cashed your paycheck and told your family how much they meant to you. This applies to the MKZ more than the re-skin of the MKS, MKX and the all-new MKT.  Or maybe working on such a half-hearted design isn’t so bad for a car designer, because job satisfaction is a relative term. That’s where fanbois who’ve lost their way get lost in their own thoughts. (Read More…)