Adventures in Capitalism Since I've upgraded careers, it is only a matter of time before I decide to upgrade the rest of my life. Now that I'll be making real money, and with my looming graduation, I'm months away from having the apron strings cut, resulting in a repossession of my truck by my parents. Consequently, it's time to start car shopping. So, in a Clinton-esque manner, I'm going to conduct a quick survey to see what kind of vehicle is favored by the public at large. However, in a very un-Clinton-esque manner, it probably won't factor into my final decision. Ready? Let's roll...
I've narrowed the field down to a few choice selections- I'll let you know how they stack up after I get some input. Please don't hesitate to suggest cars that aren't currently in the top five, but for every hybrid suggested, I'll club at least two, but no more than five, baby seals.
1) Honda Civic- Economical, Efficient, Generic
2) Audi A4- Tasteful, Appealing, Cost-Prohibitive
3) Nissan 350z- Exciting, Sexy, Not Practical
4) Nissan Murano- Rugged, Modern, Exotic
5) Volkswagen Passat- German, Reliable, Cliche
Lastly, I'm not buying a Kia, Hyundai, Daewoo, Suzuki, Ford, GM, or Chevy- so don't even think about it.
I've narrowed the field down to a few choice selections- I'll let you know how they stack up after I get some input. Please don't hesitate to suggest cars that aren't currently in the top five, but for every hybrid suggested, I'll club at least two, but no more than five, baby seals.
1) Honda Civic- Economical, Efficient, Generic
2) Audi A4- Tasteful, Appealing, Cost-Prohibitive3) Nissan 350z- Exciting, Sexy, Not Practical4) Nissan Murano- Rugged, Modern, Exotic5) Volkswagen Passat- German, Reliable, ClicheLastly, I'm not buying a Kia, Hyundai, Daewoo, Suzuki, Ford, GM, or Chevy- so don't even think about it.
posted by Justin at 11:34 PM 
9 Comments:
I have a Mazda, I really like it. From what I've heard you have to be careful about Volkswagons because half of them are manufacured in Mexico now. If you get one from Germany it will be totally sweet and you'll love it. If you get one from Mexico then it'll break constantly. And as far as I know there's no way to tell which you get until it starts breaking.
Believe it or not, VW's totally suck. The Jetta and the Golf are both absolutely terrible cars, and I don't think they're even made in Germany any more. You're not paying for quality - you're paying for the name, and a car that won't last any longer than a Ford, probably.
You might not think Hyundai is cool enough for you, but the quality of their cars has improved a ton in recent years, and they're still offerring amazing warranties. Car and Driver ranks them quite high.
The most recent Car and Driver ranking small sedans actually has this ordering:
Honda Fit Sport - 1
Nissan Versa - 2
Kia Rio5 - 3
Toyota Yaris - 4
Hyundai Accent - 5
I won't list the rest because they aren't good, and none of these cars were on your list anyway. The cars were ranked based on cost, features, interior, and the strength of the power train.
I know you want something glamorous, but when you can get a car that does the job quite well for $12k, why spend the extra money? You could invest it instead. Our elantra has been absolutely marvellous.
I love my Volkswagen.
Are these all really cars you're considering? 350zs, Audi A4s, and Muranos all start (new) around $28k (not that you said you'd definitely be buying new.) Passats aren't much cheaper--$24k for one with some basic options on it.
We love wife_of_charlespeirce's Audi when we're driving it, and we hate wife_of_charlespeirce's Audi when we're fixing it.
Total money spent on my civic after 25,000 miles excluding gas and oil changes: $10, to patch a tire.
Civics don't handle all that well, but they're durable and get great gas mileage. For just a little more money you can get more style: check out the Acura RSX. I don't think Toyota makes Celicas anymore, but those were great cars too.
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As Charles said, no more celicas but they pretty much replaced it with the scion Tc, which is kind of ugly but darn reliable. German cars are expensive and they break. Nissan 350Zs arent that fast but six speeds are nice. If you want a six speed though I would get a Honda S2000. Acura RSXs are nice and relatively cheap. Your choices vary so much that I have no idea what you're buying a car for. Status = German Reliability = Japanese Performance = Expensive
With regards to previous comments I also would not want a VW made in Mexico, my company has plenty of problems with its Nuevo Laredo plant. You should get a sweet Buick instead.
Well, I don't think the Japanese or Koreans know anything about making cars. I think they do everything wrong including thinking about what it is they are making.
So, I suggest German. You can still get German VWs, so don't worry.
J. morgan, I think the Japanese thought they were making a car that lasts twice as long as a German one and costs half as much. And they did.
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