Re: Oil Change for cheaper?
I can't really say that the Crossfire is any easier or harder to change than any other cars. The o-rings on the oil filter cap are a bigger pain in the but than the o-ring on the Porsche Boxster's oil cap. More of them, and smaller.
The Altima was pretty easy, but required a bit of aluminum foil around the right frame rail to prevent the oil from getting on it when removing the oil filter, but you didn't have to remove a huge splash shield to get to the oil drain bolt right from the beginning.
My old Supercharged '92 Buick Park Avenue was easier than the Altima, as the oil filter was out in space, and didn't require wrapping the frame rail with aluminum foil. But, sucking the supercharger oil out and then refilling was a pain in the butt.
My '81 Pontiac Grand Prix with the Buick V-6 was probably the easiest of all my cars. Didn't even need to lift the car to slide a drain pan under it, and drain it down.
Changing the #6 spark plug, on the other hand, always left a mark.
I'm a couple hundred miles away from the first oil change on my '11 RX-8, so I don't have an idea about that one yet, but I do know that there's a cover for the area that contains the spin on oil filter. Its open in the area to get the drain plug, but you have to pull the cover to get the oil filter. That doesn't really make sense to me...
Toyota improved the oil filter location on the '97 Corolla in comparison to the previous generation engine in the '96 Prism. No longer a side mount oil filter in a location that's a potential burn hazard.
An oil and filter change on an '01 PT Cruiser is a pain in the butt, however.
Of course, that's probably partially because of the front license plate frame with sharp pointy spike on it that ALWAYS get me every time I walk by the car, or do anything to it.
BC.