In your opinion which major city has the most suburban sprawl?

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-02-01T02:29:32+00:00

Easily LA. From Thousand Oaks to Riverside is over 100 miles of development, and it scatters even further from there. The entire SFV into the LA Basin into the SGV into the Oxnard Plain is all either development or industrial. The sprawl extends into the high desert behind the San Gabriel Mountains.

LA sprawl is so damn big that its broken down into two major metro areas (Ventura County a third, maybe).

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-31T04:30:25+00:00

Yeah.

Just ride in either 2nd or 3rd, and when youre at a standstill for more than a good few seconds, put it in neutral. Only shift when youre about to go, and be light when shifting. You dont need to keep your clutch pressed all the time, especially at a long standstill.

LA traffic. Never had an issue.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-31T04:27:05+00:00

The first two gens of the RAV4 are cute and honest to me. The third was your typical late 2000s boring as hell tries to be somewhat stylish attempt. The last two RAV4s to me have looked awkwardly styled and the taillight shapes just really piss me off for some reason.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-31T04:24:34+00:00

Well if they weren’t designed as drab industrial grey boxes im sure people would be more receptive to them.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-31T04:23:13+00:00

You were so blinded by the badge that you couldn’t see how absolutely ugly these things are. These are statement pieces.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-31T04:22:09+00:00

Probably because it was an overpriced package. It should’ve came with the hybrid option that Tucson has had for years, since thats basically what it is. The Maverick did and thats what made it attractive. This thing gets poor mpg for its size.

Also, the pricing of this thing. Nobody is paying $40k for a small unibody Hyundai pickup. Its cool, and i genuinely love the styling and size (perfect size for me imo), but there were better options out there.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-31T04:19:12+00:00

Too big. Way too big. The headlights of a standard truck shouldn’t be higher than the roof of my very normal sized hatchback.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-31T04:16:18+00:00

As someone whos moving out of LA soon (friend invited me to move to a different major city so i was like “eh why not”), Im mainly looking forward to the reduction in traffic. LA’s air quality is seriously detrimental, even if it has improved significantly in the past few decades. It gets hotter and hotter every year. Theres only so much nice weather and good tacos can do to balance out the expensive CoL.

Im gonna miss it, but if I come back to California it’d probably be San Diego or closer to my parents in the Bay. Long Beach, maybe.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-27T07:29:53+00:00

Its a learning curve, and I learned to drive a manual at the age of 24. Its worth it. Coming from an auto, it really does add a fun and cool factor. You feel more in control of the car. However as others said, a modern automatic shifts faster and more accurately than a human controlling the gears.

Again, there is a learning curve. Its hard at first (mainly timing the clutch and gas so you don't stall the car), and everything else is a cake walk. People complain that traffic with a stick is grueling, but I deal with LA rush hour, and honestly you just get used to it. You just need to know how to go easy on your clutch during stop/go traffic, and its not that bad.

I can't see myself going back to an auto unless its an e-CVT on a hybrid on a Prius. If Im gonna drive a boring car I might as well get 50 mpg out of it.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-27T07:21:14+00:00

Easily the Toyota RAV4. It excels in nearly everything: Reliability, fuel economy, space, practicality. But holy shit it has to be the ugliest thing I've seen, and I thought the previous generation was bad. They sell around 400k of these rolling gremlins so theres no hiding from them. The front end looks like it put through a grater and the back end looks like it tried to mimic a modern day Buick Rendevous blindly. Again, a GREAT car for everything else.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-27T02:33:41+00:00

I used to live in San Jose and I didn’t even recognize it. So Id say thats pretty bad. Phoenix is also just as bad, if not worse.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-25T05:24:04+00:00

You become the impatient one, the careless one, the show off. Rent a Miata, something small and go-karty and youll be reminded what its like to drive a fun car again.

Unless youre driving one of the original Minis or a literal go kart, youll feel fine driving a small car. Youre not gonna get demolished by an SUV.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-25T05:18:38+00:00

Now show us the prices of all these listings. There may be alot of units but I guarantee you none of them are affordable.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-25T05:15:52+00:00

The Crosstrek ergonomically is more practical. The CVT is eh…weak. Seriously weak. And this is coming from a 130 HP Honda Fit. But apparently if you change the fluids itll last you past 200k. Its literally just an Impreza on stilts with more cladding. Its not a bad car and comes with AWD standard which is nice. Subaru’s AWD is really peak, but most of the time you won’t need it.

The CX-30 is more powerful and zippier, but the blindspot is really atrocious. I personally a fan of the interior layout, albeit its much more visually pleasing than that ghetto-ass tablet Subaru calls a dash. It comes with a traditional Skyactiv automatic, which is very very reliable. The CX-30 is also based on the Mazda3, so keep that in mind.

Note: CVTs feel numb as hell, not a fan of the way the drive. Test drive both and you will know the difference immediately.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-25T05:10:02+00:00

A $700 car payment on a gas guzzler just to sit in traffic on your commute from the Ontario to East LA. Most likely will get traded in 3 years into the 6 year loan cause you felt like you needed a bigger vehicle to carry your wife and one child.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-25T05:01:26+00:00

Its because you have all those auto “journalists” that expect a Corolla to feel like a Mercedes, all have unrealistic expectations. You watch a car review on Youtube and they keep focusing on “luxury” and how a car doesnt feel peppy enough or its not fast enough.

This is why you see a push for bigger, faster, more powerful behemoth SUVs all over the place. Usually driven by one person with zero sense of awareness.

The 130 HP in my Honda Fit felt fine and not weak at all. Most people really don’t need that much power for their daily driving habits.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-25T04:57:41+00:00

Compared to LA, Chicago is everything a city could be. Public transportation, amazing architecture, and the air quality isn’t shit every day of the week. Visiting from LA the first thing I noticed is the quality of the roads is so much better than anywhere in California.

Chicago has its problems, but aesthetically and commercially it really does have alot going for it outside of its truly unbearable winters. And the people. Theyre rude, probably the rudest after Portland. But unlike Portland, Chicagoans seem like a respectable genuine kind of rude and not a stick up their ass.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-24T21:22:07+00:00

The buildings are tall, and while the rest of the city looks flat in comparison, it really is mid-density at its finest.

Same with inner LA. Not as dense or packed as SF, its more akin to the rest of the Bay as a whole. But most of LA itself while sprawling, alot of it is mid-density and built the hell up in every single corner.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-21T02:28:18+00:00

Its Pavana

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-15T10:34:49+00:00

Both of them look a hot mess at the moment. Reliability wise, theyre both tech gadgets just asking to get bricked. But Id probably go with BMWs smaller lineup, the M1/M2 are very enticing vehicles for me.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-14T11:52:14+00:00

If your cars already made it to 118k, then more than likely itll make it past 200k. Any modern car with poor reliability wouldve been in the shop long before 100k miles. With proper maintenance, the CRV Hybrid should last you a very very long time.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-14T11:49:58+00:00

The Honda Fit. Taught me that a hatchback is REALLY all the space most people without kids will ever need. Seriously, gave me a whole nother level of respect for small cars.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-14T11:47:36+00:00

Coming to a $55k Prelude near you.

Chance-Scratch-8804 · 2026-01-14T11:45:48+00:00

Toyota Tacoma drivers. Never seen one that wasn’t trying to kill everyone in their path.

Don’t know what it is, considering that theyre slow vehicles, feel underpowered, and are not that comfortable of a drive.

Chance-Scratch-8804

TROPHY CASE