My first and only observation is...

If I only got 80K on a vehicle, I don't care what age... the next car
I bought would not be from the same manufacturer.

 I drive them hard, I drive them till they drop. And they better have
150K on them before I get tired of taking care of them. Minimum.

Git yerself a Toyota.

tim in san jose

On Fri, Jun 13, 2008 at 6:00 PM, Kim Brennan <kimbrennan@mac.com> wrote:
> So, I was cruising back from work in my Corrado (automatic) and
> realized that I probably really should start thinking about a
> different commuter car. My Corrado has been nicked several times (and
> repaired) and some of it's wiring chewed on by animals (and repaired).
> But...15 years and a few things are beginning to add up (vents spew
> out the remains of the foam rubber, cruise control doesn't work, and
> with 80K miles on it, I probably should be getting a timing belt.)
>
> So I decided to browse the new car market a bit. What I want is a
> sporty looking little car, preferably with 4 wheel drive, manual that
> gets decent gas mileage (my Corrado get about 22mpg, though I've
> gotten as much as 30 mpg on flat terrain (MD Eastern Shore). So
> something between 24-30+ mpg would be what I'm shooting for. Manual by
> preference, but auto tolerable. All for $30K. (Dream on....)
>
> Jag X-Type would have been nice, but they discontinued it.
>
> The VW Eos is intriguing, but the looks (inside and out) aren't quite
> right, plus I'm not sure you can get 4wd with it.
> The VW R32, I can't get over the revised looks (which I hate). I took
> me a while to like the Golf 4, but this new style is just plain ugly
> in my opinion.
>
> Volvo C70 is similar (hardtop convertible)
>
> Audi A4/S4/RS4. Pricey. and the fuel economy is pretty bad. The TT's
> styling leaves me wanting more.
>
> Lotus Elise/Exige. Snifty, but no 4wd (and even more pricey).
>
> Subaru WRX STI. Hmm, revised looks I like. 4 door with a fairly roomy
> rear seat. Subaru has improved their interiors a lot since I last
> looked. But the fuel economy isn't up to snuff (23 hwy on the
> 2.5turbo). Might have to consider one of the lesser WRX models, though
> I like the styling on the STI better.
>
> Mitsu Lancer Evolution. Even poorer fuel economy
>
> Looks like the Mazdaspeed isn't offered with 4wd in the U.S. of A.
>
> BMW 328xi BMW had lovely styling in the 90s. They must have hired a
> lot of ex-Japanese auto-stylers in recent years. Not pretty. They also
> get you on all the lovely add-on packages, otherwise the base models
> are fairly affordable ($35K). Unfortunately there is no 135 model with
> all wheel drive.
>
> Mercedes C300 4matic. Again, base model (black paint/black non-leather
> interior) is only $35K. Everything else starts upping the price tag,
> sigh.
>
> Porsche Carrera 4? Way too expensive.
>
> Mini? Isn't my idea of sporty
>

--
Where ever you are, there you be. Unless you're driving my van, in
which case, you ain't got there yet.