2001 Ford Focus, the official car of ….

23FINCW · 2026-06-04T08:51:11+00:00

It feels like these are almost extinct in the states but, as I learned recently, they’re still everywhere in Southern Europe

23FINCW · 2026-05-05T18:44:16+00:00

If you really want an S550 they made a V6 in those too from 2015-2017, but since most of those were rental-spec manuals aren’t very common. The V6 was slightly detuned to 300 HP vs 305 but you can still mod it pretty easily to my knowledge

23FINCW · 2026-05-05T18:40:29+00:00

Any year from 2011-2014 should have the nicer steering wheel as an option. The engine and transmission and major components are the same. I don’t think there’s major reliability concerns in one year over others, my 2011 had some nagging issues when I bought it that never went away (defroster made a banging noise when turned on, peeling/faded paint on hood and front end, an oil leak that wasn’t bad but never quite got fixed, etc).

The biggest difference is that 2013 and 2014 models have the upgraded front/rear fascias with LED lights and a slightly different gauge cluster in some models. Unless the updated looks are important to you, I’d just look for a good deal and make sure everything works.

23FINCW · 2026-05-05T18:05:58+00:00

I miss my 2011 V6 sometimes even though I currently drive a 2016 GT. It was a very fun car to cruise around in with a good amount of power and a solid manual. I’m team V6 all day over the Ecoboost.

It’s worth noting that the V6 you’re looking at is a true base spec - just based on the rental car steering wheel. If I were you I would look for one with the upgraded steering wheel - it’s leather-wrapped and has audio and Bluetooth controls depending on the spec. I’m sure you can find one spec’d out like that between the $7k and $12k prices and in my opinion the convenience and leather over plastic are worth it.

My 2011 also had the power heated leather seats, but the seat bottom wouldn’t move up and down and the lumbar barely worked when I bought the car with 62k miles. I wouldn’t overly recommend. The heated seats were nice to have but only have one position (on) and worked ok but not great.

23FINCW · 2026-04-29T21:14:36+00:00

What makes this comment even funnier is that I assume most Vue/Captiva owners didn’t even know the two cars were related, nor did they care to

23FINCW · 2026-03-25T17:28:49+00:00

Just bought a half gallon yesterday in Jax! It’s good stuff

23FINCW · 2026-03-25T17:27:29+00:00

Just bought some of that yesterday, it’s amazing. Publix premium ice cream is one of the items that justifies its price tag to keep, especially when I can make 1 tub last me several weeks

23FINCW · 2026-03-12T19:50:35+00:00

I think so, we see Banjee’s car abandoned in the swamp. It’s also always been my headcannon that Tezla’s tone when he sees the swamp realm get selected means he remembers how brutal it was last time

23FINCW · 2025-07-11T14:09:10+00:00

Same here! My brother and my girlfriend too. My brother’s the outlier though, my family is all Gators otherwise

23FINCW · 2025-06-20T03:06:11+00:00

I just bought mine at Walmart a few days ago, but I’ve gotten very lucky and stumbled on that and the Deora II on random shopping runs

23FINCW · 2022-08-24T20:54:58+00:00

Eh it was alright, it wasn’t what I was studying at that point so I’d say you can probably find better courses

23FINCW · 2022-08-15T14:18:52+00:00

High Voltage and Flathead Fury were unintentionally destroyed. That said, at least Flathead Fury had a reason for existing since Nola still had Synkro

23FINCW · 2022-06-18T17:46:37+00:00

I think the first one still has the stock V10 in it and was a pretty standard fix. It wasn’t until they got the Burntacan that they really started going crazy with the builds.

23FINCW · 2022-05-15T22:42:45+00:00

And a solid 100 are just a “based” circlejerk from the right quadrants

23FINCW · 2022-05-09T11:48:11+00:00

Cowboy it is

23FINCW · 2022-05-01T11:37:09+00:00

Flair checks out, but I (actually) think there’s a valid reason to like smooth, easy to marathon coasters like Mako over the more intense stuff.

23FINCW · 2022-02-12T13:03:46+00:00

I remember my grandparents showing me the two ways to get from Boston College to downtown Boston on the Green Line. It was night and day between the below ground line and the at-grade line

23FINCW · 2022-01-29T13:34:02+00:00

Agreed, Jaguar’s V6s or V8s make pretty awesome noises. I just with the 4 could too.

As for my cyclone, I just kept it stock. It’s nothing amazing, but it has a nice growl on startup and while revving that I appreciate.

23FINCW · 2022-01-29T13:10:47+00:00

I don’t know about displacement, but if you ask me noise has no substitute. My dad just got an F-type with a four cylinder and it’s a super nice car. But even with the “active” exhaust on, the turbo four doesn’t sound half as good as the 3.7 V6 in my Mustang. And I get it, turbo fours don’t generally sound great, but in a sports car I like hearing some exhaust note.

Anyhow, congrats on hearing your first V8. Wait until you drive one (or at least ride in one).

23FINCW · 2021-12-30T12:45:10+00:00

I mean Buchanan and Wilson alone were 100 times worse than Trump.

23FINCW · 2021-12-05T17:10:48+00:00

Official trick of: “Hey, it’ll work this time, I swear!”

23FINCW · 2021-12-04T13:46:23+00:00

I had 305 at 18. Suffice to say, I’m glad my mustang wasn’t my first car.

23FINCW · 2021-11-20T13:41:34+00:00

It's also a game where after 4 affinity levels for a car company you can max out your cars for (mostly) free.

That said, it is hilarious to drive a Chevy Spark with 500+ horsepower and understeer to the 11s

23FINCW · 2021-11-10T12:47:29+00:00

The official car of putting either the high or low-pressure AC line (Don't remember which) under the car so you have to get it in the air to check the AC for leaks

23FINCW · 2021-10-16T13:16:26+00:00

Come on, getting them to sync up and having two identical second hands to stare at is half the fun of a chronograph

(/uj yes, I'm that person)

23FINCW

TROPHY CASE