Small / economy car deathwatch: we've passed "peak econobox" again

[Stubby79]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I've always thought of cabin air filters as another kind of razor blade refill for cars.


Needless to say, I've never had a car that came with one either.

I love them...not having to dust off my dash every couple of weeks is wonderful!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I've already seen some cars which had the cabin air intake simply blocked with a piece of cardboard or sealed shut with something more durable.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Not really sure how they were ever a thing in the first place.

I can get a much better used car that gets as good or better fuel economy then these stripped down econoboxes. Why would I buy a brand new econobox for $15k when I can get a 2 year old Prius plug-in for $2k less, that has more features, safety, fuel economy, and utility?

Never understood why someone would buy a new Aveo, which is an awful car, when for the same money they could buy a few year old Lexus, Acura, etc, etc.

I get that some people like tiny cars because they live in crowded urban environments. Perhaps then it makes sense to consider something like the Fit. The Yaris offended me first by the stupid name, then by seeing the speedo in the center of the dash rather than in front of the driver. I declined to test drive one after that.

I overheard a phone conversation at a trophy shop in Denton many years ago,where the fella was explaining to the voice on the other end,that fathers would spend this kind of money, to get their college coed into a new,trouble-free car, rather than risk a breakdown in a lower-cost,used car,which could ultimately lead to an assault,or worse for their daughter,on the side of the road.
The industry trade journals as AUTO WEEK and Ward's Automotive said these cars were only produced for CAFE purposes,to enable the sale of up-market,heavily optioned and more profitable gas guzzlers.Every entry-level Chevy Chevette and Ford Escort were sold at a loss.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Is it noticeable?

I've chosen activated charcoal underwear!

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by Stubby79

I love them...not having to dust off my dash every couple of weeks is wonderful!

You can tell how long I've owned a car by the dust on the dash.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

really sure how they were ever a thing in the first place.

I can get a much better used car that gets as good or better fuel economy then these stripped down econoboxes. Why would I buy a brand new econobox for $15k when I can get a 2 year old Prius plug-in for $2k less, that has more features, safety, fuel economy, and utility?

Never understood why someone would buy a new Aveo, which is an awful car, when for the same money they could buy a few year old Lexus, Acura, etc, etc.

I get that some people like tiny cars because they live in crowded urban environments. Perhaps then it makes sense to consider something like the Fit. The Yaris offended me first by the stupid name, then by seeing the speedo in the center of the dash rather than in front of the driver. I declined to test drive one after that.s.

I actually bought a “baseish” 2010 Cobalt XFE brand new for $9999 because it had a much lower price and better MPG potential than any of the other used cars in the price range

Most used cars under $10,000 had over 100,000 miles and were automatic or were pickups, new Fords with under 50,000 miles were $8000 prospects but I had no use for another pickup.

At the time cash for junkers had just ended and an aged Honda Insight was almost always around $10,000 back then.

So rather slim pickings if you wanted a car with better fuel economy in the Midwest, was simply not much worth owning in the market then.

Had I known what would happen 2 years later I would have waited on getting the Cobalt and drove the old beat up Lesaber a few more years

[Hersbird]

I actually shop for newer used cars with higher mileage. I think the value deduction per mile is overly high for a car under 10 years old. In some ways running a car 30,000 miles a year is better that one ran 5000 miles a year if every one of those low mile car trips was only 2 miles done 2 different times on the day meaning 2 heat cycles, where the 30,000 mile car was done with just one heat cycle a day.
Sure the normal wear parts may have had to have been done more times but at the point I buy them even the low mile car probably needs all that stuff replaced as well. So why not buy the 150,000 mile 5 year old car at 1/3 the price of the 25,000 mile 5 year old car otherwise identical.

[Bicycle Bob]

I've heard some real horror stories about new-car reliability. In a decade, my '93, bought for $1k, has had one roadside serpentine belt change (known issue, no significant delay) and once had to come home early for a wheel bearing, which had been passed by a good mechanic the previous year.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by aerohead

I overheard a phone conversation at a trophy shop in Denton many years ago,where the fella was explaining to the voice on the other end,that fathers would spend this kind of money, to get their college coed into a new,trouble-free car, rather than risk a breakdown in a lower-cost,used car,which could ultimately lead to an assault,or worse for their daughter,on the side of the road.
The industry trade journals as AUTO WEEK and Ward's Automotive said these cars were only produced for CAFE purposes,to enable the sale of up-market,heavily optioned and more profitable gas guzzlers.Every entry-level Chevy Chevette and Ford Escort were sold at a loss.

A thoroughly valid line of reasoning.

Daughters and wives are lifetime expenses. As a group they are LIFELONG net tax consumers. No surplus applies; they aren’t self-supporting. Fathers hand off this permanent expense to husbands.

With “a fine little car has she” the modern shotgun wedding monologue begins.

.

[Frank Lee]

I was always suspicious of that phenomenon. I noticed back in my college days that if a car was newer and nice a woman was driving it while when a car was a crappy old beater a man was driving it with few to no exceptions! Made me almost consider pretending to be a dolt re: mechanics just to scam my way into better wheels, poor helpless me...