NEW! STA-BIL® Ethanol Treatment.

[jonathan180iq]

No doubt about it. It was hands down my favorite car.
We don't need all of the fancy accessories that we have now-a-days.
Just give us a cheap to operate and own 4 seater beater with a good warranty and watch it take off.

[Water Warrior 2]

If you T-bone a Smart car with it's short wheel base the wheels actually will take up a lot of the force upon impact. That said, I still wouldn't have one. They aren't cheap to buy and the wonderful little turbo-D is no longer imported here as few people wanted it.
As we lean towards Hybrids more and more everyday, what is the overall cost ? Environmentally they are expensive to build and use up large amounts of resources. There are a lot of smaller IC engines that equal or better their carbon footprint being put into new cars right now.
Shortly after the Civic Hybrid came out some one determined the average new owner would need to keep the car 7 years to reach the break even point of the guy next door with a regular Civic. I drive less than the average driver so there would be no savings and no advantage to me. A real Eco Car should start saving you money the day you buy it. Yeah, I do want instant gratification for my money.
With the advances being made with IC engines there is no point to a Hyrid and the overall cost. Take a good look at a 2012 Ford Focus, not overly expensive and well built. Gas mileage almost equal to my 650 Vstrom and I don't need ATGATT. Looked at them but won't test drive one. I just might like one too much. :lol:

[jonathan180iq]

Yeah, a lot new cars are coming out and they have far surpassed my expectation as far as fuel economy goes.
Several of the new Fords, A couple of Chevys, and not to mention what Honda has been offering for years and what Hyundai is catching up to... the IC cars will be overtaking them soon, if all they can offer is 45 mpg.

Speaking of Hyundai, that reminds me of the other Korea manufacturer, Kia.

I saw a 2011 Kia Optima SX today and... I gotta say... that thing is on top of my wish list.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by Water Warrior

Ford Focus, Gas mileage almost equal to my 650 Vstrom

Apparently it's something to do with the Zetec engine. Don't know what this is, but ford were bragging about this "revolutionary" engine when the Focus first came out.

When I was in England, I asked a friend of mine (who was a used car salesman) what, in his opinion, was the best small car with regard to build quality, running costs etc. He recommended the Renault Clio.

[alantf]

Originally Posted by jonathan180iq

that reminds me of the other Korea manufacturer, Kia.

My wife's sister & her husband (in England) won't drive anything but Kia these days. They reckon they're the best cars they've ever had, and they always used to drive top of the range Fords.

[5th_bike]

Originally Posted by alantf

we've got a 1400cc Citroen C3.

Aah... Citroen, I'd get one in a hartbeat. I had 2 2CVs, an Ami and a GS, successively... Wish you could get them in the US. Com-for (frenchish for comfort). :cool:

On the other hand, my little Saturn is now over 200,000 miles and still going strong. :rawk:

PS yes the ethanol addition is just a scam. Gasoline used to be composed of just carbon and hydrogen. Now they add oxygen to it, in other words, it's already partially burnt when you get it. "Watered down" would be another appropriate expression for it.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by 5th_bike

On the other hand, my little Saturn is now over 200,000 miles and still going strong. :rawk:

I also have a Saturn.It has 284,000 km on it.It works great,burns no oil,and gets great mileage.
:2tup:

[5th_bike]

Originally Posted by blaine

I also have a Saturn.It has 284,000 km on it.It works great,burns no oil,and gets great mileage.
:2tup:

Yes it's an excellent car. That's probably why GM bought it, stopped making the good little ones, and then cut their throat.

[jonathan180iq]

:poorbaby:

[Gz Rider]

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