New car?

[Justin Kirchhoff]

Well it's coming that time to buy a new car. I'm really itching for the Toyota Prius. I've thought about it and this seems like the car for me. It's a hatchback hybrid so I can fit my camera cases in it, and it gets around 46mpg!

My Subaru Impreza is dying slowly. It's coming around to 10 years since it's been made (I bought it used and I LOVE the car) but I don't want to put anymore money it to it.

I'll probably keep the RS as my project car and rally race it in the future.

You think the Prius is a good choice for vehicle? (I travel 50 miles round trip to and from work, plus it'd be great for going on location with RED stuff.)

[Evin Grant]

I'd recommend looking into the new "Blue tech" Deisels like the 2008 TDI Jetta.

http://www.caranddriver.com/previews/12424/first-drive-2008-volkswagen-jetta-tdi.html

[Petr Dvorak]

I like TDi Passat variant

[donatello b]

we have a 2007 Prius ( touring model- has bigger rear shocks and wider tires then normal model ) ... i like it around town and now & then to SF but for trips longer then an hour i find it ? well i avoid it ... i'm 6ft ... i do not find the seats that comfortable ( no lumbar , no height adjustment- and i could use a little more leg room in front) ... it gets better milage around town then on freeway ( gas engine usually kicks in around 25mph & higher) ... it does carry a good amount of baggage/equipment when you fold the rear seats down ... now my wife loves it ( 5'2") , she finds it very comfortable ...

[John Godden]

Well it's coming that time to buy a new car. I'm really itching for the Toyota Prius. I've thought about it and this seems like the car for me. It's a hatchback hybrid so I can fit my camera cases in it, and it gets around 46mpg!

My Subaru Impreza is dying slowly. It's coming around to 10 years since it's been made (I bought it used and I LOVE the car) but I don't want to put anymore money it to it.

I'll probably keep the RS as my project car and rally race it in the future.

You think the Prius is a good choice for vehicle? (I travel 50 miles round trip to and from work, plus it'd be great for going on location with RED stuff.)

If you're itchin for a Prius you best go check out the interior and especially the dash. IMHO, a total styling disaster.

Those Toyota engineers don't have a clue when it comes to ergo styling.

JohnG

[John Hunt]

I second Evin - go blu tech (or other brand's equivalent) clean diesel if you want a green vehicle and long, long life - they're quiet and extremely clean and get killer mileage. Plus they're not hauling around hundreds of pounds of batteries, so they're better drivers...and they don't look funny.

[CVB]

Aptera :)

[Tonaci Tran]

My friend's nephew, Aaron Feldman, did the website and shot the ad photography for Aptera. It's pretty wild.
Check out his work: http://www.aptera.com/takejourney.html

I also ran into this from popular science:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4237853.html?series=19

300 miles per gallon by the way.

[Mark Pedersen]

Excuse me, but is this post relevant in any way on this forum?


M

[Ethan Cooper]

Excuse me, but is this post relevant in any way on this forum?

Last time I checked, this section of the Forum is entitled, "Off Topic".
________
Honda cb500 twin history (http://www.honda-wiki.org/wiki/Honda_CB500_twin)

[Gavin Greenwalt]

I just leased an 08 Volvo C30 a couple of months ago and absolutely love it. You won't get 48mpg but you'll have a lot of fun while getting there. ;) And not to forget imho Volvo seats are easily the most comfortable mass production car seat in the world.

"Interior made from low emission plastics."

http://www.volvocars.us/models/c30/

[Curran Giddens]

"Interior made from low emission plastics."

http://www.volvocars.us/models/c30/

But do you still get the "new car smell?"

[donatello b]

i would NOT buy a VW or Audi ...
when you buy a auto you also look at service & warranty then decide ... but if VW & Audi then changes the service & warranty 3-6 months after you buy it ( you now get less ) ?? and then they show you the fine print that says they can change it anytime !! well you may have bought a different auto ...
but then maybe all the auto manufacturers have it in the very small fine print - they can change service & warranty anytime? ...

[Justin Kirchhoff]

I'm not a big fan of VW's our Audi's myself, even though that BluTech does look pretty cool.

The reason for the Prius was for the hatchback and fuel mileage. I'm not a big fan of the design either, trust me, I think it's hideous. I wanted a car where I didn't have to fill up the gas tank everytime I have to drive somewhere far. Plus, having the rear fold down seats is a HUGE plus. Anything bigger than a 2-door 2.5RS Impreza is good with me, as long as I get GOOD gas mileage.

[Justin Kirchhoff]

Oh, and Tonaci, I've seen the Aptera and it's AWESOME. Trouble is, it'll probably only be released in California at first, and even then, it won't be on the roads until late 2008 (atleast that's what I got from all the literature I read).

If I was going to drop 30,000 on a car for fuel efficiency and sleak looks, I'd definitely choose the Aptera.

[BASSAM MSSALATIE]

i think no one could recommend any one's car ? :nerd:
cause car reflect's her owner soul..:blush:
For that you can see that Jim always post's very powerfull race cars...:innocent:

[Gavin Greenwalt]

But do you still get the "new car smell?"

You do. Except it smelled more like a swedish dock worker than 'new car' for the first week or so. :sarcasm:

[Eugene]

I dropped 20Gs on a new 2007 Impreza last week. I got the special edition which has a sun roof, upgraded stereo, and automatic climate control system. Mine is a 2.5 (non-turbo), but it looks sporty with the spoiler ($400 extra.) It is urban grey, and I already put 17" rims on it that are painted the same color as the car.
I had a 1995 Legacy that I bought new. It was a total lemon. It was one of the first cars to roll out of the new factory in Indiana. They didn't train those workers for sH!t, because that car started falling apart the day I bought it. My new 2007 Impreza was made in Japan, so I think I will have better luck with it.

I think you should get a 2007 Legacy GT wagon. (There are no 2008 wagons except for Outbacks.) Or go with a 2008 Forester Sports.

Get a Subaru before they are Toyotafied. Toyota has taken over and is making the new Subarus bland and boring to appeal to a broader customer base. The base models now come with rear drum brakes. How cheap!

[Rob Lohman]

If I'm not mistaken there's a couple of cars that already have better mpg than the Prius (which just looks awful). Don't remember which though.... aren't there also like five other hybrid cars these days?

Me I just want a cool looking roadster that goes fast :)

[Benjamin Rowland]

I bought a 2001 BMW 525it (5-series wagon) for my wife recently. I can get over 30 mpg on the highway in it (cruising at 80mph). Fold the back seats down and you have a pickup truck bed behind the front seats, and you can move the dog guard net behind them to protect from stray gear. Is the car perfect? No. But I got it for under $18k. And it's fairly quick and handles, well, like a BMW. And you can put a trailer hitch on it. I test drove the Prius, let's just say it doesn't handle like a BMW.

[Justin Kirchhoff]

I love my Subaru, don't get me wrong. I have the GM6 model which only 10% of the 1999 Imprezas that were made were GM6s! It's a keeper for a collectors item.

I guess I'll look into more hybrids, but the Prius has the best MPG rating that I know of.

[Eugene]

http://www.biodieselnow.com/photos/cars/images/132573/original.aspx

Subaru is going to make a diesel engine, but it will be linked to a CVT.

http://www.subdriven.com/news/publish/Subaru_News/article_449.shtml
The link above has an articel about the Subaru hybrid concept.

I don't want to turn this into a Subaru car forum. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums

[redrum]

Talkin' bout new cars it has to be the Ban Two (http://www.yearone.com/yodnn/bandit/Home/tabid/54/Default.aspx). $130,000.

If you can't afford that then it's gotta be a Tesla (http://www.teslamotors.com/). That's only about a hundred grand.

If all you can scratch together is $30 g's the Aptera looks like a good wild ride, looks like a Piper Cub that someone stole the wings off of.

That $30G price tag still too high? Want some extreme mpg but the Prius is too ugly to stomach? Get an air car (http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/27/indian-air-powered-city-cat-car-prepares-for-production-run/), runs on compressed air.

[Clint Johnson]

Or you could buy yourself a nicely appointed Toyota Corolla for $5000 less. It would cost about $300 a year more for fuel so the break even point would be around 16 years... except that you would have had to replace the battery pack in the Prius at about the 10 year mark for $2000 (it is twice that right now but the price will probably come down) which added another six years to the break even point to push it out to 22 years... or 2 years after you replaced the Prius battery at the 20 year mark. Let's go with the battery only costing $1000 at that time so it adds 3 years to the break even point which would push it to 25 years or so for you to make this about saving money. And this is without factoring in that the Corolla is a fair bit more reliable... let's just say that this offsets the inevitable rise in fuel prices.

You could say that you are reducing your carbon emissions... by trading it for some hazardous materials in the disposed of battery packs.

I can't help but see the hybrid economy cars as fashion and political statements based on emotion rather than rational decisions. If it was about economy and environmental impact then the environmentalists and conservationists would be insisting that the hybrid technology be implemented first in the locomotives, then the big rigs on the highway, then the pickups and SUVs... and only when the big impact vehicles have been converted would they want the car companies to move on to the vanishingly small difference that hybrid economy cars make.

Economy cars are already extremely economical so nudging an economy car from 41 to 46 mpg isn't going to make anywhere near as big a difference as pushing a pickup from 14 to 22 mpg... let alone an eighteen wheeler going from 5 to 12 mpg. And unless you don't want your plumbing fixed or your food hauled there ain't no way to get those big fuel pigs off the road... just some ways to make them less thirsty.

That is just my long winded way of saying that you can look a little wider than the hubrids without being a bad person or incurring a large ongoing cost.

Although, if lusting after the new Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro makes me a bad person... then that is a burden I am willing to shoulder (cue Homer Simpson drooling sound).

[Gavin Greenwalt]

If you're talking fuel economy... not purchasing the three car garage 1 acre home 40 miles from where you work will make an ENORMOUS impact on your gas mileage. Moving 32 miles closer to work cuts off 2 gallons a day at 32mpg. If you only drive to work and back and 4 miles of errands on the way then moving 32 miles closer to work can slash your fuel consumption by 80%. Way better than moving from 30mpg to 40mpg. (33%)