Had I gone with a new car it would have been a WRX Wagon. The non-turbo
equivalent might be longer-lived, but less fun. Personally, I expect
everything to live to 150K+; even the disposbale Festiva is still humming
along at 160. I looked at the Protege5 and liked it.
Of you could do what I did and buy a beater and a family toy. Beaters can be
fun, it's liberating to be able to kick your door shut when your hands are
full.
Phil Vanner
Minneapolis
'61 Midget
'74 Mini
'92 Festiva
'98 Volvo V70R AWD
-----Original Message-----
From owner-spridgets at autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-spridgets@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of David Lieb
Sent: Wednesday, December 04, 2002 4:45 PM
To: Spridget List
Subject: New Cars (non-LBC?)
OK, Guys, it is quickly becoming time for a new car here. I thought I could
start an incendiary thread here by asking for advice on what I should look
at.
I like to buy a new car, run it for about 8 years or so and start over.
I did this with my 87 Duster (8 years=235,000 miles).
I am up to 180,000 miles on my 95 Escort wagon and my second daughter has
informed me that she wants a K'Nex set for Christmas and a car for her 16th
birthday next March (talk about a contrast!). So I am planning to fix a few
things on the Escort, give it to her (that's one way to motivate her to
learn to drive stick), and buy something new for me.
Requirements:
1. Clutch. I have sworn a mighty oath never to own another automatic
transmission.
2. Seating for 5 with the back seats adequate for my 3 kids all of whom are
over 5' 10".
3. Fun. I ain't getting any younger next year.
4. Less than $25k. And the lesser the better of course.
5. Good life expectancy. I intend to put over 150,000 miles on it, too.
6. Bun-warmers are a big plus.
7. Hatchbacks and station wagons are good to me; sedans are less desirable.
I looked at the new MINIs, despite the fact that I have a prejudice about
Bimmers (sorry, Chris), but they fail #2 miserably.
I looked at the Golf the other night. It is a strong front runner right now.
I looked at the Mazda Protege5. I hate the name; who wants a car that says
'I need something to protect me? I like the car. It feels a lot like my
Escort, but has a lot more pep. My Escort, after all, has a lot of Mazda in
it. I didn't care for the salesman, but I cannot blame the car for that. I
cannot get bun-warmers in it. Darn! I really would like them. It just
doesn't seem to be the value that I would like to see, however. The Golf
looks like a lot more bang for the buck.
I don't like the looks of the Focus.
I don't care for GM, they get everything backwards ;-)
Trish already has a PT Cruiser, no need to get a matched set.
Any ideas / opinions out there?
David Lieb
1972 RWA Midget
1973 RWA Project
1974 RWA Warrior
1995 Escort Wagon LX
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