What have you learned in your old age that you feel should be taught to high school students?

I'm on my third and like them. The first, a 2007, died an untimely death at the hands of a kid with a 4WD mounted snow plow in 201. I was only a mile and a half from home and could drive it back but it was totalled.

When I took the 2011 in for an airbag replacement after a year or two of nagging in 2020 I saw a leftover 2018 hatch. That was the last year for that configuration and the price was right so I bought it. The Yaris sedans that year were actually Mazda2's and the hatch was scheduled to become a Mazda3 5 door. That's at least two more doors than I need.

The rural roads in Montana are 70 or 80 mph and it handles them well. I may have to drop a gear for some passes but it climbs them at the limit. I see them as the heir of the original Minis, a little econobox with heart, unlike the new Mini Coopers which aren't econoboxes. by any stretch. I got to play around with a Mini on Hwy 1 down through Big Sur. Miraculously there wasn't any traffic so we could play. There's a reason they use them for club racing in Japan.

I was sniffing around when I ran into the 2018 and the Challenger was on the short list. Like I said, I don't need a lot of doors. Of the three it's got the most cargo area. Besides, I've owned a Mustang and a Camaro.

The Toyota dealer had an 86 but I thought that would be just a little too old age crazy. Nice car though.

Both my rear seats were folded down the day I drove the car home. The headrests are in the shed. I can't remember the last time I carried a passenger.

I thought they were stupid but the rear view camera can be useful if for nothing else than making sure the cat isn't sleeping in the driveway. The problem is hatchbacks are grime magnets and that includes the camera lens.

My vacuum controlled climate on the '89 Oldsmobile has been stuck on defroster since I bought it. Makes for cold feet in the wintertime. I couldn't find the vacuum leak, but maybe I didn't search hard enough.

Good idea. If there is one periodic maintenance thing that never happens it's lubing the swingarm pivot pin. Driving them out is a 5 pound hammer and brass drift procedure. I don't know why they all don't have Zerks.

I've got one for the F150 but I bought it when I bought the truck in '86. I didn't realize they didn't do cars anymore. When I bought the Sportster manual it was a real book so I was disappointed when I bought the DR650 manual and it was a shrink wrapped pile of loose pages, bring your own binder. It wasn't cheap either.

Given that, I found the V-Strom manual online as a free download that may or may not have been in violation of something.

Ah, beam wipers. That's my favorite comedy routine. Walk into a parts store and ask for a wiper for a 2018 Yaris hatchback. After consulting the book the clerk asks 'Which one?' and I answer 'There's only one.' 'No, there are two!' 'The damn car is out in front. Want to count them?'

CostCo just had a sale on Michelin wipers so I bought 2 28" blades. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be so limp when you lift them off the windshield but it does work.

To defend the parts guy, Yaris's before 2018 had two wipers.

it's slowly getting better but in Montana off the I90 or I15 corridor you can use your cell phone to play Angry Birds while you wait for somebody to wander along.

I do my own coverage mapping. Play Jango on the radio via bluetooth; when the music stops, so did the cell phone network.

If you keep a car long enough ALL the vacuum lines will rot out.

I can't remember why I took it apart. I wouldn't have done it just to add the Zerk.

I'll never tell, and neither will the Pirates. I've downloaded some free manuals from Toyota, but nothing too technical. OTOH, I'm not willing to do anything complicated any more so the do-it-yourself

I was really happy with some Tripl-Edge wipers a long time ago. Now you have to mail-order them and they're pretty expensive. I just bought whatever Walmart had last year -- either Rain-X or Michelin, I can't remember.

I swear, wipers used to clear the windows a LOT better 20 years ago.

I did the timing belt on the '72 Vauxhall HC on the side of the road in about 20 minutes - not counting the time waiting for a friend of a friend to drive 50+ miles from Sydney NS to bring me the belt - which thankfully the GM dealer had hanging on a nail in the parts department with NO IDEA what it fit - and walking back the road I picked up the 3 inch long section of the old belt with the part number on it -- Likely the only one east of Montreal and possibly east of Toronto - - - -

The one liter non-turbo automatis "zero to sixty in - - where's the calender??

The turbo sprint was a LOT more fun (5 speed only IIRC.) - and the 4 cyls were a lot more "civilized" - less "Buzz" The problem up here is the front unibody frames rusted away in about 3 or 4 years - - - unless you soaked the heck out of them with oil every fall and pressure washed them every spring.

On a "Garbage Machine" it's just as likely it was a broken actuator or screwed up control unit. (AKA Garageman's Misery"

I was surprised to find that I like it. I'd certainly pay to replace its little battery since I probably already have one. Unless the guy who made the keys replaced my battery without telling me (unlikely) it's been working happily since June 2016.

My friend has a Lexus -- it opens up when you approach the car. You have to push something to lock it, though, so you still have to find the key in your purse. Only half the nuisance.

Ah, I'm just not used to the new car features. I'm not sure that I've owned another car with a button remote unlock; used to the key. I've noticed that it you hit the auto door locks, and the driver's door is open (but the key is in the ignition), the door locks immediately pop back unlocked. That's a smart idea. Also, if you use the key to unlock the passenger door, it unlocks all of the doors at once.

Haha, that's the next guy's problem. I've had it for 2 years, and that's a long time for me to own a car. It'll be moving on soon.

I used to read Consumer Reports at the library for stuff I know nothing about like digital cameras. Then I noticed if they were reviewing a car in the same price range as a Civic, they recommended a Civic. For a less expensive car they would recommend a used Civic. For luxury cars they would recommend 2 Civics. I concluded Civics were the same bet and all CR was concerned about was middle of the road, plain vanilla, safe bets.

There's something to be said for climate control systems with two push-pull cables, one going to a valve in the heater hose, and one going to a deflector.

Back in the infancy of the 'automatic' chokes there were kits to replace them with a manual choke that I used a couple of times.

Bastard.

My guess is if you order Pittsburgh from Amazon, Harbor Fright is the actual vendor. I know I ordered a wheel for my generator from Amazon and Briggs and Stratton actually filled that order. Amazon was just the broker.

Buying cheap tools for your car or boat is silly. If you only have one chance to get going, why would you trust a cheap tool that might break or round off a bolt head when you need it most?

Yeah, but not 70 years ago :) I had a '51 Chevy with vacuum powered wipers. The heart of Troy NY lies along the Hudson at sea level, but the rest of it is on the slope of a steep escarpment leading up to the surrounding plateau. If it was raining or snowing you were flying blind until you got up the hill.

The Toyota does that unlock thing if the key is still in the ignition. Nice feature. Unlocking the hatch if you twist twice is nice too. Hatchbacks collect grime and I've had problems with the lock getting sticky.

The only remote entry car I've driven was a rental. The car got pissed off when I used the key to unlock the door so there I was trying to figure out how to shut it up. I really don't like walking through a parking lot and have some random car blow its horn to greet its owner.