Home » Blogs » Quesi's blog

Another One Bites the Dust.

   As many of you already know I have terrible luck when it comes to cars.  Sadly, I was in another accident and my car -new- is totalled.  So, I'm once again out car shopping.  I really want something with rediculous gas mileage like a Prius.  But, I don't know if I really like them.  I haven't heard anything bad about them. Except , I found out the recommended max weight of passengers & cargo is 800 lb which means I need to meet 4 REALLY small people I could take places. Not to mention, I find them kind of pretentous with their look at me I love the enviroment cause it trendy blah, blah, blah. 

   Basiclly, I'm just bitching but if anyone has any suggestions on this whole car shopping situation I'm all ears. 

I am partial to subaru

I am partial to subaru because they last so long, but with your (un)luck that may not be a factor. The 4 wheel drive also makes sense to me given our climate (also something that may not be much of a factor soon). A smaller car with a turbocharged 4 cylinder is going to offer slightly better overall MPG and still has the turbo kick in when you need to pass on the interstate. Getting the most MPG out of such cars has much to do with how hard you accelerate. Light acceleration means less fuel is burned because the turbo is not spooling compressed air into the combustion chambers.

Because you have a tendency to get into fender-benders...you may want to look into the ease of repair for hybrid cars. One small crunch on the rear-quarter panel may constitute much much more than simply replacing a body panel and wheel assembly. Additionally, part may be harder to come by or must be installed by certified technicians at the dealer.

All the being said, if I had to get a fairly new car tomorrow it would go something like this:
Subaru Forester
Ford Escape
VW Jetta/Passat

Cars that I know less about but would still look into:
Mercury Milan (with All Wheel Drive)
Ford Fusion (AWD)
Honda Element 4WD
Chrysler Pacifica AWD

If Price/utility were no option
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
Subaru WRX STi

I love my Jetta, but if I

I love my Jetta, but if I had to do it over again, I'd get one with 4-Motion (VW's Brand of All Wheel Drive). Also, I'd probably look at a New Rabbit just because I loved my old one so much. Or I might consider a Subaru or Toyota.

A VW TDI can get almost as much distance out of a gallon of diesel as a Prius can out of a gallon of gas. But Diesel fuel is more expensive right now, and it's hard to say if that will change again soon. Also: TDIs don't have block heaters. It's a mystery of the universe. There are third-party plug-in coolant heaters available though. I'm thinking of installing one.

I'd love to get a Prius, but I'd need to do more research about the costs and pains of replacing all those batteries when they wear out. Plus, I keep seeing articles about new battery technology that will be coming out Real Soon Now(tm) that will make hybrids even more super-awesome. I'd hate to be stuck with the sucky batteries.

With regards to the stigma of Priuses, I imagine that will change as the price of gas gets higher. Then you'd be one of those smug Prius owners who doesn't have to choose between a tank of gas and a week's worth of groceries.

Nah, fuck all that. Get a Hummer.
billion