Piston Slap: Branded Title = Scarlet Letter?

Darrick writes:

Hey Sajeev,

First of all, I want to say that I enjoy your articles and your love of Panther and Fox body Fords. (Woot! —SM)

I’m writing to you about my 2005 Ford Focus SE ZX4 in the hope that you may give me some guidance.

I moved to the east coast (southeastern Virginia) from the Midwest in 2008. A year later, I received a brutal lesson in what coastal flooding can do to a neighborhood and when said flooding finds its way into a vehicle. My Focus sustained $3,500 in damages, and nearly all that amount was due to airbag and seatbelt system damage. I had insurance, so I was only out of my $100 deductible, but the damage cost was such that I now have a branded title due to flood damage.

Read more
Hammer Time: Good Works

Most folks will tell you how great they are. It’s not an evil thing. Just a gut reaction to personal insecurities. The great men… let others do their talking. Evil souls will pay someone for the pontificating privileges (and turn on them after the fact). However the greatest of men… tells no one of their good deeds. You don’t need faith or even a financial perk to ‘pay it forward’ and help out folks in need. With that in mind let me tell you about one of the many great men you’ve never met.

His name is George. Not a famous George like a Steinbrenner or a Stephanopoulos. Not even a Bailey or a Jetson. George is an everyday guy. Like most of us here he is also a bit of a goofball. George spends his work days designing all sorts of logos and emblems for off-beat brands. If there is a cultural creative somewhere in his neck of the woods chances are they would benefit from his talents. Unfortunately one of his in-law’s died from lung cancer a few years back. It was a soul bending, brutal and sickening experience. So he has over the years donated two vehicles towards the American Lung Association. Both Toyotas. Both of which do very well in dealer auctions that focus on overseas markets. Here’s his story. Enjoy!

Read more
  • Bryan The simple fact that the Honda has a CVT & the Toyota doesn't was more than enough for me to pick the Toyota for both of my daughters.
  • Theflyersfan This wagon was a survivor! These and the Benzes of that era were the take it out back and shoot it (or until you needed a part that was worth more than the car) to get rid of it. But I don't think there will be Junkyard Finds with Volvos or Benzes from this era with 900,000 miles on them. Not with everything tied to touchscreens and components tied to one system. When these screens and the computers that run them flake out, that might be the end of the car. And is any automaker going to provide system boards, memory modules, graphics cards, etc., for the central touchscreens that controls the entire car? Don't know. The aftermarket might, but it won't be cheap.
  • Jbltg First and only Volvo I have ever seen with a red interior!
  • Zerofoo Henrik Fisker is a very talented designer - the Fisker Karma is still one of the best looking cars ever made (in my opinion).Maybe car designers should stick to designing cars and not running car companies.
  • TheMrFreeze Techron actually works...I've personally seen Techron solve a fuel-related issue in one of my vehicles and have been using it for the last 20 years as a result. Add a bottle to the tank every time I do an oil change, have never had fuel delivery issues since.