I suspect there’s something wrong with their methodology. My 18-y.o. Subaru still looks like new and runs better than new and is hitting 250k mi. I see 30+ year old Subarus around here all the time. One lives right around the corner from me. Maybe they only counted cars that had finally failed, so that cars that are still on the roads aren’t included? Maybe there were minimum number thresholds that the Subarus couldn’t meet on a per-model basis?
For one thing, I count at least three “2025” models that reached 250k miles
(presumably a typo, or it bled over from an affiliate link selling new ones)
Gaah, I wish I could say the same… I just got rid of a '15 XV Crosstrek (one I’d mentioned upthead, now that I’ve looked) that didn’t quite make it to 125k miles. It will probably make it to 125k, but not with me. It might’ve made it to 250k, but it needed at least $3k worth of work (on top of the $3k I put into it last year for those cam sprockets). Not sure how bad the head gasket leak was before, but it’s bad now, & (the mechanic tells me) that’s probably why the replacement cam sprockets are throwing codes now (because they live in the oil that’s now befouled with coolant; previously it was only the coolant getting befouled with oil).
But my wife had a '90 Legacy that went over 200k miles before we sold it (& it spent much of its life as a taxi, i.e. all city miles), then she had an '01 Forester that went at least 125k miles, but then the engine ate itself* (probably the head gasket feeding coolant into the oil, according to my son at least).
*(It sounded just like someone had fed it an empty aluminum can, probably the sound of the valves disintegrating. We literally coasted it to the mechanic’s, downhill from our neighborhood.)
My son’s got me actually considering getting an old Accord with 250k miles (built after they changed from timing belts to timing chains, so I wouldn’t need to worry about when the belt was last changed). He figures anything that would’ve typically gone wrong would’ve done so long before now. Otherwise I was already a bit sour on Hondas (as I mentioned at ToS along with these others). That or a newer Chevrolet Bolt. (I keep telling him I really prefer to get at least a hybrid, if not an EV. He suggests that re-using a car with an ICE might be as good or better (i.e. ecologically speaking) than buying a new hybrid or EV. But a new (even new-ish) car would necessitate me taking out a loan, & I am not optimistic about paying that off, right now. As big of a gearhead as he is, he actually thinks we should be moving to more public transit, and points out that even EV robotaxis are not taking any more cars out of the traffic.)
ETA: add’l. commentary, typo’s & add this:
Recently spotted:
No idea why this was where I saw it; that’s at least 10 miles away (& perhaps a 2 hour drive, on the right day at the right time) from DCA, & a lot further than that from BWI or IAD:
(Just occurred to me they might have been dropping off a late, or recovered, checked bag, though I figured the airlines usually contracted that out rather than doing it themselves.)
Early Camaro I saw at work (I think maybe they’d parked it there before):
(I don’t know if there’s a problem with the parking brake, or why they’ve got that chock under the wheel)
Near the mechanic who’d worked on the cam sprockets (see previous):
We had a Chevelle like this (Malibu, not an SS), until I was 7:
(EDIT: wright caption, rong photo)
While I’m much more famliar with Firebirds of that vintage ('67-'69), that looks to me like a '68 Camaro RS. Very nice. (Although the block of wood as a parking chock behind the rear tire gives me pause.)
A friend in high school totalled a Buick like that white one. He was suitably contrite.
I never even got a ride in it.
Another friend bought one decades later, and I did get to ride under that big beautiful back window.
Valid points. I think one reason the older Subarus are still out on the road here is that a new motor for an older Subaru costs less than the 60k scheduled maintenance for most modern cars.
(I’m not kidding - a replacement motor for a 2000-something Subaru is about $3k, while I’ve seen $5k quoted for scheduled maintenance on a 2018 BMW).
Maybe on a full M car or something with one of the more exotic engines (like the V10 or V12). One thing that does balance things out is BMW gives you 3 years of prepaid maintenance for free.
Regardless, there’s a reason this is a meme:
The silly superlative “Superfast” was first put out there by Ferrari. I give you the 1964 Ferrari 500 Superfast.
Awww, it’s so cute. Doncha wanna pat it on its lickle head?
For the nostalgia… yes. Matchbox.
So, anyone want to try and talk some sense into me? I’m looking at another Dune Buggy this afternoon and am worried that I might buy it. Unlike the others I’ve seen this one is allegedly running, with a newly rebuilt engine, current registration, etc. and is going for less than $5k.
Hell no.
Sorry, distinct lack of sense here today…
Good lord
The starter on my car (a 2012 Civic) died today, and I couldn’t even whack it with a hammer to try to get it going again, since Honda in their infinite wisdom hid the starter on 9th-gen Civics behind the front passenger-side wheel somewhere. If I were 12 years old I might have been able to shimmy under enough to reach something…
B-b-b-but just look at it!
It’s banana colored!
I love this meme. It’s a real engine – not 'shopped: the N63/S63. It had a pretty bad reputation with its first gen being legendarily unreliable.
This is what it looks like without all the hoses, transmission, other stuff on it:
It got better over time, but eventually got superseded by the far superior S68 engine. The only vehicle in the current lineup that still uses the x63 is 8 series (which hasn’t had any significant updates since 2018, and will be discontinued after the '26 MY).
That’s one of the irrational things pulling me towards it. I already own a red scooter and a blue car, so if I were to get that I will have achieved the full trifecta of primary colors* in my vehicle fleet!
*As long as you aren’t too pedantic on the definition of “primary colors.”No can do. Someone at work’s got me considering a V8 now.