So last night, me and some friends were walking around downtown at the cruise thing the city puts on, and we found a bunch of middle-aged men standing in a parking lot, all of which had new smarts. We went up to them and asked them what kind of mileage they get, and the consensus (pretty sure i spelled that wrong) was about 40 mpg. Then i asked what they payed, and the average was about 18 grand, depending on options and dealer inflation. 18 grand for a car that can barely carry anything and robs you of your masculinity?

The smart owners are the same as the prius people who spend over 20 grnad to get about 40 miles per gallon, when they could buy a new fit or corrolla instead and get about the same milage for up to 10 grand less. My friend gets 32 mpg from his 98 sentra (1.6, 5 speed), and he hauls ass everywhere he goes. These people just want to show off how eco-friendly they are, same as the people who buy a mustang with a v6 and automatic then say they "have a sports car". Id rather than spend 18 grand on a clown car that i cant put my ipod in, it would be more economical, safe, and practical (and probably a little faster too) to spend 6 grand on a used civic 5-speed.

and how emasculating is it if the car of your midlife crisis is a little orange bubble?  

People do that here in my town of about 3 thousand people, but others do come from other little towns that are near by, but they hang out by the Sonic restaurant and stand next to their cars without ordering things...Not a single performance part though all Autozone ones and chrome rims, but hey if it makes them happy.

     Well If the price of fuel didn't shot up I would've bought a Jetta TDI (diesel) those get about 54 mpg constant. But diesel here is about 5 bucks a gallon. Though I kinda think I should have because the Shell gas I use costs 4.42 (now) takes about 45 bucks to fill up my car if its completely empty and my Fit only gets about 34 mpg. The "cheapo" travel station gas is about 3.80 at the moment, but I rather use paint thiner than that crap.

     Well to kinda explain why people buy hybrids is because the comercials say its 80% cleaner than a regular car. Thats not bad, but when you only get 45 mpg and a diesel almost gets 55 thats 10 more miles per gallon meaning less burnt up emissions due to use, but diesel is more dirtier than gas and the price is kinda high because only 5% of cars in this country (not including semis) are diesel so there's no way the price would go down like in europe where diesel is cheaper than gas, because almost half the cars there are diesels. One solution would be Biodiesel but the methanol would eat up the rubber bushings and hoses, another would be that Shell Gas to Liquid Diesel, but I don't know how that works or if its already available...

   A used 01-04 Jetta TDI runs for about 8-14 grand and if propertly maintained it will last you about three times as long as a gasoline car.


Now a days for us simple folk    We need to have two cars. One to get us around town and saves a butt-load of gas and a old used 80's to low 90's sports car for the weekend.

You could get one of these for about 8 grand...




Thats about 170-something a month if you give $1500 down.... (condition unknown) Thanks to fuel prices its not good to be a lead footed individual and even driving to events costs you.


That or if you can't afford anything (like me) uhmmm.....ehhhhh.....



   

Oh and you meant to say Concensus. (I think....)  

I do like the idea of a jetta tdi. Im pretty sure someone makes performance parts for a diesel, and if they did, a diesel jetta wagon (or golf) would be a perfect all-around car. It can carry stuff, get reasonable mileage, and still be fun to drive. However, I live in san diego, wouldnt there be a smog issue? And yeah, diesel here is now over $5, i believe.  

Nah...Diesel is too expensive and that Gas to Liquid stuff from shell wont get here until the end of the decade. Just get something that saves a lot of gas. Like a Festiva or a Geo Metro and save money on costs like gas, maintenace, and use. Then with the money you got spend it on a nice used Porche. Don't believe me? I just saw a 1983 Porche 911-SC for 15K. Now I know its the basement priced 911 not the fabled turbo, but hey! You can tell your buddys what you drive on the Weekends!  Or a 944 its even cheaper because it has a Volkswagen engine (see avove) same thing as a 911 chasis wise, but the engine falls short so the price is bargain set...

I don't know why, but I'm starting to like Porches.....I don't know ........


That or some other car you would like from the late 80's to Mid 90's (approximation us regualr SCC folk think about when we think of sport scars....Admit it..... )