Cars: Search & Destroy

The mini is fairly quick in standard form, 10.9s to 60mph which is no slouch and the Copper S version is 7.9s to 60mph, which is pocket rocket territory.

My pick of the golf is the GT TDI. Good acceleration. good fuel economy. the 4Motion version would be good if you could afford it. The S TDI is a good seond option.

And besides most cars have the ability to accelerate far faster than people do accelerate.

Well, I doubt that late-60s vehicles are much safer than today's SUVs, but maybe this horse has been beaten enough.

I have a '66 Barracuda (not running now), and I really wouldn't want to get hit in that. The gas filler tube goes through the passenger compartment because of the big fastback window, so any disruption there would likely spray gas gasoline all over the compartment.

Of course the Golf GT TDI is not available in the states, it appears. Diesel cars don't seem to be a thing in the US and performance diesels are a non-starter.

We used to have a Diesel car. It was difficult going up hills.

Is the UK all-Diesel?

I pointed out the Golf to my mom today and she confirmed my worst suspicions: "It looks like a small station wagon." :(

Maybe I should just pretend to care about the environment and get a Prius. But can't environmentally safe cars come in boxy packages?

UK is far form all diesel. They are much more popular on the continent. They get good fuel economy. It used to be the case that they were inferior performers compared with petrol equivalents but this is no longer the case. The Prius is good environmentally but the best diesels are only just behind environmentally and much cheaper to buy.

To the European eye the golf looks like a mid sized hatchback, rather than a small estate. Do you get citroen? The 3 door C4 might be right up your street.

See also BMW 1 series, Audi A3 and Mercedes C-Class compact, neither of which I like but are probably decent and at the top end of your search. Seat or Skoda (both VW brands) make it to the US?

Alfa Romeo 147?

Yes, the compact BMW's and Mercedes are the exact shape I am looking for, but I cannot afford (mentally as well as fiscally) their brands.

Unsure of the price differential in the us but mid to high end golf in the UK is approx the same price of the BMW 1 and C-class compact.

I don't think we get Citroen, but I just looked at a picture and it is too bubbly. I like boxy--no rounded edges.

I couldn't live with myself if I drove a BMW--it would be like renounding everything the 18-yr-old Mary stood for.

Then again, You Know Who drives a Beemer.

Likewise. Academically surely the C4 3 door is angular enough (5 door is rubbish).

Which European brands do you get , anyway?

You want a Hyundai Elantra.

http://www.autohaus.net/images/2497.jpg

That's not too bad Gabb.

We seem to get most of the Europeans except for the French.

We used to have a nice compact Merc circa 80s that my mom gave away a few years ago argh.

I think my problem is that I don't like the way new cars look.

Saab? Volvo?

the car guys' Elantra review is very positive, but note the poor crash rating

I couldn't drive a BMW because it's all my UVA freshman roommate ever talked about--getting the Beeeeeeemer and I would think of her every time.

Old Volvos are okay but they get a little rusty when you get them old enough to look good. New Vovos are too pedestrian. My mom's friend tried to sell me a white one 10 years ago and I nipped that in the bud.

Saab too swoopy and aspirational.

Basically, I think I want an Old Jetta. Maybe they call with Jetta Classic.

I need an extra safe car because I am an absent-minded driver.

right now I would take an old volvo 850 estate. But then, estate cars suit me.

as far as safe cars go, import yourself one renault.

of course it's no good to you when you want the dents taken out but they do do best in the crash tests

Estate cars=station wagons? Ohhh no. The reason Renault's are safe is bc they don't run long enough to leave the driveway.

The Volvo S40 isn't too bad. And according to their website, it has "superfly styling."

Ed and Mary are talking past each other here, I think. Ed -- the US has German and Scandanavian brands, and some of the Saabs in the States are just rebadged Subarus -- none of the Fiat group (except Ferrari), nothing from the VW family except Audi and VW, no Peugeot or Citroen, no Renault except that there are some Nissan models that share some Renault components, the smaller VWs, MBs, and BMWs aren't available. Given the US obsession with driving vehicles that are basically miniature big rigs, you think there'd be a lot of diesels, but diesel fuel quality and availability are much lower in the States than in Europe so no go.

Mary: there's absolutely no comparison between the quality of today's Renaults and the ones from the 70s and 80s. New French cars are better made today than most new American cars -- it's the same with the Itlians. You should also consider a used C-class Mercedes -- they're terrific cars, and much less expensive than you'd imagine.

I saw a rover 75 in what appeared to be really good condition for 3500 quid yesterday. I guess the value of these machines is going to drop a lot. I do quite fancy one (the estate car/stn wgn version) i must admit.

Do you get the "SAABaru" in the states, then? IE the impreza wrx w/the saab-styled front end. I don't think they imported them into the uk.

No,I'm pretty sure not. I found this picture though, of the next Saab/Subaru xover vehicle.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/images/gallery/tmb/7879_image.jpg

Sickening really!

My mom has a Merc so that's what I drive when she let's me, but for me own car I need something more proletarian, with a dash of nice design. Something that says woman of the people, who just happens to appreciate design.

Mary, just go get a Golf already! You'll love it!

Okay! Do you recommend leasing or buying?

Sorry, Tombot, but the 9-2X is a re-badged Impreza, and the 9-7X is a re-badged Chevy Blazer or some other US SUV -- and both are on sale in the States.

I usually lease, but that's only because it's easier for me. Buying will always be cheaper in the long run.

Edmunds is a great resource for these kinds of questions:
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/

The mexican made VWs are prone to problems, according to what I've heard. Get the Mazda 3 noted above. (It's predecessor, the Protege5, won some mags best hatchback competion a couple years ago.)

I realized I also have a convertible Mercedes coupe in my garage--my mom is storing it for a friend. Perhaps this friend wouldn't mind if I adopted this as my car.

Does this '98 Beetle for ~$6000 look like a good deal?

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/69707519.html

Here is a car for Ally to learn to drive on

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/car/69572306.html

I don't like cars but I like this one:

http://www.bestjapancar.com/NISSANS/FGFR.JPG

if I had enough money to buy one and put an electric engine in it and park it offstreet, I may consider it, but I guess not.

That's cute, RJG. I didn't realize you were such a Japanophile!

I've gone off VW for now. I've done my consumer research and I didn't realize that they were not the best for maintenance/repair. I am surprized bc I thought VW stood for safety and longevity and all that good stuff. The Passat did get good ratings, but fuck a Passat.

I like the Hyundai Elantra--it's a cutie. However, without an acceptable safetly rating I don't think it is the car for me. Love the colors though--it feels quite fresh.

Seems in my compact range--Toyota and Honda have the best reps, for safety and reliability. This is important bc I have no money and I would be very sad if I had a car and it broke down and I had to spend a ton of money to fix it. Of course, cars are prone to break down, but I would rather have the least prone to break down car of the bunch.

Cars are so expensive! I don't know how anyone affords one!

So I am thinking of Civic or Corolla, or Prius or Civic hybrid. Civic is the smaller one, right? I mix it up with Accord.

I'm thinking red might not be the best color to get in this instance. Red is for drawing attention to a car, but when you are driving a mainstream, run of the mill car, maybe you don't want to draw attention? Maybe a nice silver . . . .? Fade into the background . . . .

how about a nice British Racing Green?

http://www.nw-autopage.com/lg_pics/0010241.jpg

The Civic is smaller than the Prius.

I'm really not looking forward to replacing my car when it finally expires...I'd rather not deal with them at all, but that's not very realistic given where I live.

haha, I didn't think I was such a japanophile!

ever since saab was bought by gm they've sucked hairy donkey balls.

Seriously, I had no idea how much these things cost. Of course I knew the base prices, but I didn't realize that if you didn't put all that money down, buying on the installment plan or leasing would average ~200/month on the economical side. More for a nice/r car. And that's not counting gas, repairs, insurance, tax (in VA there is a mysterious car tax wot I have heard referred to. Oh, and tickets, both of the speeding and parking nature. Then it seems by the time people pay their car off, they trade it in and buy a new one. What brave new world is this?

Hmm. I think if you subtract the amount of money you are saving in automobilism, NYC is really not that expensive to rent. A space to live, not the whole city. I guess I knew this in the abstract but I am just feeling the crushing weight of it now. Plus, I don't like to go out on the road with all of the crazies.

PS: Nicole if you have any advice for me on the librarian thread I would appreciate it. For instance, which type of vehicle best suits a woman of letters.

RJG: First a camera that can only be purchased in JP, than a similarly Nipponise car. Get with the times, dude, it all about Korean these days. Can you pass the kimchee?

oh, yeah, I forgot about the camera!

I got that, in the end, from austria.

: )

PS to Gabb: British racing green best suits British racing cars, not the bland, economical car of my future.

And to RJG: Perhaps you can get this J-car from Austria, too?

Do we have any Gen Y-ers here? How does they feel about the Scion.

Sorry Mary, I didn't see that thread. If I don't reply tonight I probably will have a chance tomorrow morning.