Girlfriend wants SUV ( it " looks nice " )

[texanidiot25]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

Full disclosure: I work at a Dodge dealer. But I'm not endorsing this car in any way except that it's a mid sized car that gets +10 MPG over the FJ on the highway and "looks masculine" with all those fender flares and whatnot.

I love that you, a dealer employee, won't even recommend the piss-poor Avenger.

A rather small midsize, with a 4 banger that gets worse gas mileage than GM's 3.8L powered W-Bodies?

[cfg83]

Frank

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

...or let someone else pay all that depreciation and get a used one.

Yeah, we saw a nice used 2nd-gen Vibe the other day. 30K miles + manual tranny for $8k, which is $1K less than blue-book. But we don't have the doe-ray-me or space for it, so we did not pursue it.

CarloSW2

[larrybuck]

In all seriousness, a late model Firebird, w a bio-diesel 6.5 conversion. Safety in size, good highway mpg. because of aero, a fun project for YOU to do for her, car can be had cheaply, many great suspension mods are available, no depreciation issues, and you might have enough $$ left for a complete custom paint job in her favorite colors.

I hope most driving for your area would not have to be urban.

[texanidiot25]

Originally Posted by larrybuck

In all seriousness, a late model Firebird, w a bio-diesel 6.5 conversion. Safety in size, good highway mpg. because of aero, a fun project for YOU to do for her, car can be had cheaply, many great suspension mods are available, no depreciation issues, and you might have enough $$ left for a complete custom paint job in her favorite colors.

I hope most driving for your area would not have to be urban.

The Third-Gen Trans/Am was the most aerodynamic F-Body ever made, even better than the 4th gens. If you could have the 3300 lbs coupe powered by a small turbo diesel, it'd be a pretty good car. Also, they had the coolest looking dash out of the 80s that doesn't look like it came out of a bad video game.

[cfg83]

texanidiot25 -

Originally Posted by texanidiot25

The Third-Gen Trans/Am was the most aerodynamic F-Body ever made, even better than the 4th gens. If you could have the 3300 lbs coupe powered by a small turbo diesel, it'd be a pretty good car. Also, they had the coolest looking dash out of the 80s that doesn't look like it came out of a bad video game.

Oh yeah, I loved those machine screws! The 3rd-gen Firebird did have a 2.5L 4-banger option, but I can't remember it's MPG ... dig dig dig ... 24/34 MPG OLD EPA MPG with the 5 speed manual. Not bad!

CarloSW2

[Cd]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

...or let someone else pay all that depreciation and get a used one.

Reviving a dead thread here, but my girlfriend did indeed go with a used 2005 Pontiac Vibe ( auto ) after i convinced her to shop used.

We saved thousands.

She loves the " car ", but i honestly cringe at the sight of it, and see a mini SUV.
It has wheel flares and roof racks with an aftermarket strut right in the airstream.
The previous owner had the roof rack struts installed and lost the keys to remove them.

She loves me enough to put up with my OCD and has agreed to allow me to hacksaw them off the car ( awwww )

[Old Tele man]

...with a little driver "tweeking" I know you can get 40-45 mpg out of that 1.8L engine and 4-speed automatic transmission.

[Cd]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...with a little driver "tweeking" I know you can get 40-45 mpg out of that 1.8L engine and 4-speed automatic transmission.

Ha ! Not the way she drives !
Whenever I drive with her, I have to constantly remind her that she does not have to slam on the brakes right as we get to the light.

Coasting is not something she understands or has the patience for.

[cfg83]

Cd -

I liked the original Vibe from the moment I saw it. There was one behind a fence in a parking lot before they went on sale. I stared at it trying to recognize it and was able to read the name from a distance.

It was basically a proto-crossover, a Mini-SUV without the cost of owning one, aka a mini-wagon made to look "tough". Give the people what they want while tricking them into getting something good for them.

CarloSW2

[Cd]

Yes ! It's a great compromise eh ?
Much better than the FJ Cruiser she originally wanted ( not to mention thousands and thousands cheaper to buy and own ! )

She likes the " tough" look of the wheel flares.
I just have an OCD hangup over the additional frontal area that they create :-) .