I need advice on a car!

[spike]

GO ELECTRIC! It will save you in the long run trust me.

[Sir Clinksalot]

I loves my Scion xA (not the shortbus xB). Her name is Nemesis Prime. I don't know why she has a boy name. Other cars bow down to her superior turn radius.

 

(just thought I'd toss something out of my bag of random)

[crispy]

GO ELECTRIC! It will save you in the long run trust me.

 

 

I think waiting for a bit for the Fuel Cell technology is a smart thing to do, I also think the hybrids are a good idea, but what they charge you extra for the car will take more than five years worth of gas to make up the diffrence, so for me, a small car with a good 4-cylinder that gets good MPG is the way to go.

 

I think GM has a winner, as long as they don't blow it, like they usually do, with the fuell cell platform, allowing you to lease the platform, then attach any type of body to it, then coming in every few years and changing just the upper shell, so you could go from a Sedan, to a SUV. Its a great idea, lets just hope they pull it off

 

I checked into the new small american cars, and it seems Chevrolet actually did a VERY good job on the Cobalt, it has a completly redisgned 4 cylinder and the interior has been described as High quality, WHAT!!??? in a chevy, no way. It get 34MPG, with 145hp, and has a GREAT crash test results, a top pick of the Insurance Institute for the frontal offset test, and for the side, if you get the side cutain airbags, (which I reccomend HIGHLY) it gets some of the highest ratings ever on a small car.

 

If you want to go with performance, get the Cobalt SS. It has a supercharger, which is less troublesome, and cheaper to fix(generally speaking) than a turbo, has 205hp, and does 0-60 in 6.1 sec, not as fast as the Dodge Neon SRT-4, but much more refined, with better handling.

 

BTW, I really do love cars, if you can't tell

 

here's a pic of the Cobalt SS

 

[stew560]

I hope the Cobolt SS has a much better interior than the base model. My friend had one for a rental and it had way to many rattles for a car that had less than 1000 miles on it. Plus all of the interior quality was nothing more than an updated cavalier. It really wasn't all that great.

 

As for a supercharger being more reliable than a turbo...I think it's 6/half dozen. A supercharger is belt driven which eliminates turbo lag, but has it's own set of problems using a belt, plus you are sapping power from the engine to drive the engine harder, whereas a turbo is exhaust driven, which brings in lag, but you don't have to worry about belts. Both have moving pieces that can break. I will take a bigger, naturally aspirated engine over either anyday. (Gas mileage and all!)

[crispy]

I have not even been near a Cobalt, so I'm just repeating what has been said in some of the reviews I have read.

 

I also perfer non turbo'd or supercharged engines

 

2005 Chevy Corvette, 400hp an 28mpg on the freeway.

 

Also I have has some friends with turbo's and when they go out, yikes lots of $$$$, I had heard that superchargers, or actually we could just call them blowers, are a bit more reliable, and cheaper to fix, that is what I was told

 

I will check out the cobalt very soon, but have to work up the will power to not punch the car saleman in the face when he says "why don't you come inside so we can see what we can do for you today", after I've told him multiple times I'm just looking

 

I wish Saturn made cars worth caring about, because I love the way they run the dealerships.

 

In reality I personally am looking for a replacement for both our SUV, a 1995 honda passport, and my little kia, we will probably keep the kia untill it croaks

 

I am looking at the PT Cruiser because you can remove the seats, like a minivan, and have all that room, and it gets 29mpg, I'm not to concerned with the power, as I don't usually drive fast, and the car would be used for trips.

 

As for reliability, I have had a TON of luck with my crappy little Kia, and thats what I bought it for, I have friends who have stopped buying american, because there are problems with the cars, and the dealerships don't fix it, or give you the run around.

 

I'm very leery of all american small cars, but the PT Cruiser did get a best buy from Consumer guide, I still don't know, and it takes me some time to make up my mind

 

I will not be buying a cobalt, or any other GM product, well except if I had the money for a Vette, or a nice full size truck

[pvcoasterguy]

Even though I can't drive yet, (this summer I will,) I've been looking at cars for awhile. My dad wants a new one, so we go around lots on Sundays after church... pretty fun.

 

If you're going new,

- Toyota Prius. 60 MPG. Pretty sharp looking also; has pretty good acceleration for a hybrid. Will pay off in the future.

 

- Hyundai Elentra/Accent. The new ones are the ones with the best gas milage; the old ones don't have good milage. Anyways, they're pretty darn nice, and cheap.

 

- Mazda 3. Small, but cool looking. Okay gas milage (I think about 35?).

 

- Honda cars. Good, reliable, efficient. Enough said.

[stew560]

Hybrids are a great idea if you want to save money on gas, but what is still unknown is the repair costs for the cars. Also, keep in mind that there have been reports that the batteries will need to be replaced after 100k miles at a cost of several thousand dollars. Plus you know you aren't taking this thing in to your "buddy who is a mechanic" when the "regenerative braking system" starts to have problems. Also, resale values are holding pretty well right now, but how will they be down the line?

 

Hybrids are great, and I do like the styling of the Prius (my wife hates it), plus the newer ones that look no different is the way to go (Accord, Civic, Escape). But until we see the full lifetime costs of Hybrids, I'll stay away...

[FlyingScooter]

Bring back the Yugo!

just kidding....

They did make nice street legal golf carts, though.

Nothing quite like the power of 37 geriatric horses with the sound of a WW1 misfiring byplane.