Honda Civic #1 Selling US Vehicle

[Antares]

I was thinking about getting a new Dodge Challenger as my next car. However, it gets poor fuel economy. Though, I was thinking about having one converted into a hybrid and/or a multi-fuel vehicle. Might get a used one 2 years down the road, though, as any modifaction instantly voids the warranty.

I've never liked Toyotas or Hondas. I always thought they were too fugly for my tastes. The new Accord coupe is better looking than Hondas of the past. However, I wouldn't call it "pretty" by any means. The Civic is too bland. I'm more inclined to go after a distinctive car like the Eclipse.... I don't know why fuel efficient cars can't look "cool" like the gas guzzlers....

The Volt has me salivating, though....

 

[macflurry]

I don't mean it as any kind of insult. What I mean is that whenever you select some fairly cohesive brand element within the automotive industry, you select to some extent a subset of driving styles. Mustang GT drivers on average drive differently than Ford Taurus drivers, even though the same brand makes both cars. S2000 and Accord drivers drive differently also. With respect to Saab, their cars in general are tilted towards the driver/performance end of the segment, but in the US, both Saab and Volvo have safety reputations and tend to draw safety conscious drivers. When you draw safety conscious drivers to your safe car, you can create an artificial effect -- a self-fulfilling prophecy. There's nothing wrong with that, I'm just fairly sure it plays into the real-world safety statistics of that or any other car.

No worries, you definitely didn't insult me, but I just wanted an explanation behind the statement, really out of curiousity. To be honest, I always associated Saab with being nice for a couple years and then a blackhole that focuses its attention towards your wallet after...

 

[ChrisA]

although in some cases people are stupid and just keep the car they have and take the hit on the gas rather than buying an entirely new car

I don't care about the cost of gas. What I care about is the total cost of ownership over a period of say, six years.

What I do is figure the cost of fuel for six years and add that to the cost of the car. Which car to buy then depends on how much you drive. With my short commute I'm best off with a lower priced car.

Should I sell my 16 mpg Ford Rager pickup? No. If I traded it in for a 30 mpg car the car woud not pay for itself even in 6 or 7 years. It is cheaper to drive my 16 mpg truck that was paid for years ago. Fuel even at $5 per galon is still not that expensive.

If I spend $15,000 on a new car it would have to save me that much money in gas over it's life. That would mean it would have to save 3,000 galons.

So what I'll do is wait until I need a new car. My 93 truck is still runing fine after 180,000 miles. I figure it will last until about 250,000. Then I will buy a plug-in hybred.