Four dollar gas

[Tony_SS]

Gas prices mean nothing to me...

This is exactly the problem. Gas has jumped from $2 to $4 a gallon in the last couple of years and yet consumption stays at the same level. Economics 101 says the oil companies still don't charge enough. Of course, these are the same Americans who willingly pay $4 for a $1 cup of coffee. When consumption starts to drop off (for real, not the stupid "don't buy gas on Wednesday" BS), THEN the prices will stabilize and even start to come down.

That sad fact is demand wont go down. Not with the rapid industrialization of India and China. Supply simply cannot keep up and thus we are seeing higher prices. Our government taxing the fuel doesnt help our situation here either. Even worse, were starting to see the effects, not only at the pump, but at the grocery store, where food prices have soared. 3rd world countries are now increasingly unstable as your seeing riots in Haiti over poor folks not being able to afford the price of food. Big oil really has a domino effect on the whole structure. Stability in the middle east is key as well. And as we are on the brink with Iran, it only seems to be getting worse here and over there as we struggle get oil output levels up in Iraq to what they were before to the invasion/occupation.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

What is really sad about diesel cars is that Europe gets models that make a Prius look like a gas hog. The VW Lupo 3L TDI (Yeah, I have mentioned it before...), for example, gets 78mpg rated, and has topped 80mpg for some owners. Not to mention, but Fiat, Citroen, Renault, and Seat all offer small "Super-Mini's with very efficient diesels (I.E. the Fiat Panda, Citroen C2, Renault Modus,etc.) I tend to believe that diesel is a better technology than gas-electric hybrids. It is mechanically simpler, thus less to go wrong, the fuel has excellent lubricity which leads to longer engine life, and it is old technology-meaning it is well understood and scienced out. I would buy an inexpensive but reliable diesel over a gas car as a dd any day. I am sure I am not alone, and if it were actually offered here it would sell well. Heck, I drive upwards of 50,000 miles a year, if someone sells me a efficient car that does not break down a lot and require expensive parts, I am there!

 

[Coveted]

What is really sad about diesel cars is that Europe gets models that make a Prius look like a gas hog. The VW Lupo 3L TDI (Yeah, I have mentioned it before...), for example, gets 78mpg rated, and has topped 80mpg for some owners. Not to mention, but Fiat, Citroen, Renault, and Seat all offer small "Super-Mini's with very efficient diesels (I.E. the Fiat Panda, Citroen C2, Renault Modus,etc.) I tend to believe that diesel is a better technology than gas-electric hybrids. It is mechanically simpler, thus less to go wrong, the fuel has excellent lubricity which leads to longer engine life, and it is old technology-meaning it is well understood and scienced out. I would buy an inexpensive but reliable diesel over a gas car as a dd any day. I am sure I am not alone, and if it were actually offered here it would sell well. Heck, I drive upwards of 50,000 miles a year, if someone sells me a efficient car that does not break down a lot and require expensive parts, I am there!

Buy a honda.
pick up an EF honda, you can get 45 - 50mpg, and the entire car is cheap and easy to fix.

 

[srercrcr]

But don't call me when that lifted F350 4X4 is riding your rear end!!!

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I have been looking for an old EF CRX HF, but as you can imagine, they are either expensive (over $1,000) or beat to death. Unfortunately, my dream beater seems to be unavailable as well. That would be a 1991-94 (preferably 93-94) Nissan Sentra 2 door/5 speed. Those get over 30 mpg city ( hwy is irrelevant to me), are cheap to fix and rarely break down. I probably will just try to get another 100-200k out of my current Nissan Frontier instead. I also want a MB Type W123 with an OM 617 Turbo Diesel ( 1980-85 Mercedes 300D, CD or TD) and a swap to the European market only 5 speed manual, but it is not much better than the Nissan I drive now. I can run it on veggie oil, but it is almost impossible to get enough WVO to meet my needs. IF VW's in this country were not known to have a ton of small problems with their quality control, I would try to get a Jetta or Golf with the TDI engine and a 5 speed since they are very efficient.

That's the problem I have with replacing my Nissan truck. It is just so good in every way except for acceleration (and mediocre 20mpg fuel economy) that it is hard to find something with lower operating costs. One day missed from work for me costs me $100-150, so it is just cheaper to run this thing for eternity as it has only left me stranded once in 10 years and 287k miles ( snapped a torsion bar!). Compared to my friend's diesel Chevy 1 ton with less than 100k on it, my Nissan has been much more reliable, and cost far less in repairs despite having 3x as many miles on it. Even the hinge pins on the driver's door that is opened 40x a day, every day, are still tight. It does now need tires and lower ball joints, plus a $100 motor mount, but really, that's not too bad. It could also use a new steering box because it leaks and has input shaft play (steering is tight as new, though), but again, I will just buy a used one when it needs to be refilled more than once a month. It's boring to drive, but it could be unreliable which is far worse.

 

[jatguit]

I had a Plymouth 2dr 5-speed 1.5, same as Dodge Colt which is a little Mitsubishi mirage, also the same as Eagle Summit. And that thing got over 30 MPG city. I highly reccomend them they are cheap to find. Allthough it is a tiny cheap car, it was very reliable and EASY to work on. finally the transmission bearing let go and I lost 1st and then 2nd gear at 134,000 miles. Of course i beat on it, but overall it could take the punishment.
The model I had was from 1993 -96 style and the 1.5 was the best for gas milage. And i couldn't believe how easy it was to work on and the bodies last a long time suprisingly (here in the N.E. winters). Unfortunately if you are tall they are kinda tiny.

My girlfriend had a gas 96 2.0 VW golf 5-speed and I WOULD NOT buy one again. It had more problems than I have ever experienced with a vehicle before. Every month there seemed to be something new to fix. HORRIBLE electrical problems and this car supposedly had low miles.

 

[Tony_SS]

I had an 89 Suzuki Swift GT, it would get 35 city all day long. Plus it had some pep - think geo metro with 110hp. 8) Too bad they are next to impossible to find, but I'd drive one of those all day long.

My buddy had a Dodge Colt too.. was a 79 or 80.. that thing took some abuse!

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The other thing for me is that I don't want to get rid of my truck or G body for another vehicle, and the extra insurance puts me at break even if I add a third car to the insurance. It's about $100 a month for liability insurance, and I would save $100 a month on gas with a 32mpg car. That's why I continue to drive the Frontier. Everything is a bit complicated as I have special insurance for delivery use that costs more, as well as more than minimum liability coverages because I won a house, and additional medical payments because $10k is just not enough in a bad accident. I carry no coverages for any of my vehicles because they are pretty much worthless as far as the book goes. Plus, adding another vehicle is not just a wash with gas saved vs insurance. We all know that maintenance and repairs add up quickly with even the best car. The last pure beater I had was my 1995 Nissan Sentra ( may it rest in peace), and it was a good but fugly car. Unfortunately, insurance has gone up quite a bit in Florida since then, and a poor FICO score also means I pay more. It's a no win situation. Plus, with the roof over my back porch starting to collapse, and my Cutlass sitting outside with no weatherstripping to seal the windows, I have to do those two things first before I spend the cash anywhere else. Sorry about the rant, but it's been a bad week!

 

[megaladon6]

yeah, as a vw owner i hate them the ones with diesels seem to be ok, but with a gas engine everything breaks after 3 years. what the windows have to do with the engine, i have not a clue.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I don't understand it either. VW's and MINI's are premium priced small cars, but from what I have read, they are the worst for reliability and dealer service. Both have the best style-wise as far as it goes, but poor build quality and expensive parts are enough to make someone wish they bought a Hyundai instead! If VW were to clean up their act, they would probably sell a lot more cars here. It's not like they pay the Mexicans a lot of money to put them together ( under $1 an hour from what I understand), so why don't they invest in good engineering?