Pressure is on from wife, I want to stay with RWD manual 5 or 6 spd. and have been thinking about a BMW wagon since they are RWD. Like to hear some opinions as to why or why not? Or something else?

My '87 just passed 1,000,000 kilometers or 630,000 miles. Still a good car that has never been on the "hook" although a few roadside repairs occurred (by me)

Thanks
Tom

Ford F-150 with the EcoBoost V6. I drove one a few weeks ago and was very impressed. Mid-20's fuel economy on the highway. When you open it up and the turbos kick in (one turbo for each bank of cylinders), it makes something like 365 horsepower and an equally impressive amount of torque. This from a 2.7L engine. Long term reliability would concern me, but there is a video on youtube of Ford "torture testing" one of these engines to simulate 150,000 miles of wear, then tearing it down and measuring clearances on the inside of the motor. Everything was still in spec.

I also liked the driving position. The truck is comfortable and rides more like a passenger car than a pickup. Standard bed is 6' with an 8' option available. Put a camper shell on it and you've got the best of both worlds.

Something to consider...

Tom,

BMW and Mercedes are the only two Europa-owned car makers making rear RWD. And their durable manual transmissions are still available. A nice set-up behind a BMW 3.3 liter or so I-6.

I'm unsure if a REAL RWD model would include a form of AWD for front wheel power on any make. I'm probably wrong.

An AWD model is one that is usually FWD with the AWD system tacked onto it. All typical auto makers make this cheaper platform like VW, Audi, and so forth. Volvo is now wholly FWD/AWD. Even the "new" Volvo 90 series, touted as a continuance of the 900/940/960/90 series ending in 1998, will be the same FWD/AWD. Not RWD like the real 900/940/960/V&S 90 up to 1998.

You have the recent and fascist-appearing modern American muscle cars. Many of these are RWD. You can get a manual transmission mated to a V8.

Lexus used to be RWD through the 90s. I'm unsure. Doubtful you'll get a manual transmission yet maybe safe airbags, now.

Though may I point out that you please search for articles and threads on keeping the Volvo 240 in spite of the wife not wanting one, or, convincing teh wife you want another RWD Volvo and so forth.

So maybe you want to keep your 1988 Volvo 240 (sedan or wagon)?

You can use the search feature here to find such threads, and they are quite numerous, or use google and add the brickboard.com domain.

Thanks,

Duffed.

First of all it's not wife or Volvo and as I stated it's a '87 745 that I've owned for 18 years. I have done all the maintenance with a huge thanks to the Brickboard. Prior to this I owned a 245 and a 122.

The 745 has wiring issues (I've relaced several harnesses) and severe frame (unibody)damage. I personally put 500,000 Miles on it.

I only want to stay with a wagon with manual shift and thought some brickboarders might have experience with 3 or 5 series.

BMW's AWD (aka X- drive) is essentially RWD with what I would call a PTO on the rear of the transmission which supplies power to the front differential. Similar to Jeep.

I probably can't afford a ten year old 3 or 5 series but 15 years old might be pushing it.

Thanks for the response!

I have no recent Teutonic (German) Auto experience, at least in the 21st century.

You may want to ask this same question of the Volvo boards in the UK and Europa.

The problem is for modern BMW and Mercedes is they are not meant for repair by owner. The ECU systems are wholly encrypted I've read, yet am not sure, so you can't even scan the OBD on modern Mercedes and BMW and some VW/AUDI/Porsche.

I'd avoid modern VW. The build quality continues to plummet since building in North America.

Your only other option is eBay and searching craigslist, the brickboard.com CLASSADS on the front page, the turbobricks.com ongoing thread for orphaned Volvos for sale.

I in no way am enamored with the bling-bling, hoop-d, cheap build, and gadget-rich BS of the modern global auto industry.

I'll never be able to afford a BMW or Mercedes, and if I could, I'd not.

Oh well.

Good luck.

Duffed.