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Old 02-27-2010, 02:29 PM   #38 (permalink)
5speed5
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Los Alamos, NM
Posts: 134

TBSS - '08 Chevrolet Trailblazer SS 2WD
90 day: 19.36 mpg (US)

Wife's car - '09 Chevrolet Impala SS
90 day: 22.96 mpg (US)

Big Blue Hippo - '06 Chevrolet HHR 2LT
90 day: 45.99 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tjts1 View Post
But you still chose to buy USED. GM couldn't care less about used car sales. It doesn't do them any good. Any self respecting penny pincher would never buy new, especially a stripped out car. Its the fundamental flaw of small cheap new cars. Nobody wants to pay new car money for a 3 cylinder bucket that can barely get out of its own way, but they sell great on the used market once the price has dropped at least 50%.
I certainly understand your point, but it depends on the price. If GM were able to make a new bare-bones car that cost under $8000 with full warranty and gets 40+ mpg, you may not get all the penny pinchers, but you'll certainly get a few of them (penny pinchers would factor in maintenance costs), and you'd get lots of the greenies and the long-commuters. There are people who refuse to buy used cars...I'm not one of them.

I don't think they can do it with the safety and emissions regulations, though.
They came close with the Aveo5 Special Value ($9995 w/no-AC and no radio) back in 2007 and earlier, but I can't imagine how much more bare bones they can make it.
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