AT Tires R Pod 171

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   The Pinto I had was a manual transmission. I never had any problems with it and while it couldn't keep up with my brother's Mercury Cyclone, it was still world better than the Corvair's 2 speed transmission. I do know that VW had the same swing axle issue. As I said, I did not understand what had happened until I read Nader's book. I think that the extra weight of the 6 vs. 4 cylinder engine and the extra length behind the rear wheels in the Corvair made it even more vulnerable when compared with the Beetle. Both were better off when GM and VW eliminated the swing axle.
As for the Honda CVCC wagon, the transmission never gave me problems (manual). The clutch cable, OTOH was something else. I had to replace it (think super heavy duty bicycle brake cable). There were other problems such as a float in the carburetor that sank. The Honda dealer wanted to replace the carburetor. I found a mechanic who rebuilt it for a price I could afford. Later, the head gasket needed to be replaced and CV joints also. Still, I drove it for about 75,000 miles and then my brother drove it for many more. It was really a good little car.

Dodge Omni was my next one. We bought it from my Father in Law. and the Army shipped it to Germany for us. We drove it for about 5-1/2 years there and sold it to another Soldier when we came back. Then we had a Chevy Lumina APV. I liked the composite body that didn't dent when car doors hit it and didn't rust. I think I was on the third brake booster when we sold it. The driver's seat elevating mechanism also broke. That got shipped to Hawaii and was left there.

Then we got a Ford (out of) Focus. It must have been a Monday or Friday vehicle. We sold it when we had it into the shop for the seventh time for the airbag system. It would show the light that the passenger airbag was disabled when my wife was in the passenger seat. They replaced just about everything in that system but the airbag. It also needed a new transmission during the time we owned it.

Then was the 2009 Escape. It was okay but it convinced me that I don't like sun/moon roofs. It was otherwise okay, but we sold it and bought a 2016 Escape with the 2l Ecoboost engine when we got the RPod. I thought we were  going to be getting a Casita, but turned out I got scammed. All's well that ends well. I am sure we are happier with the RPod than we would have been with the much smaller Casita.

The accident with the icy road in Wyoming is why we now have the Frontier. I liked the Escape's Ecoboost, but the tiny gas tank meant a stop about every 100 miles to fill up with premium. The Frontier doesn't do so well at high altitude, but it does not need premium gas.