Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

katwalk said:
I think those may be excessively large for me :p
I never even put things in my trunk and never have passengers, a full sized car or suv is a lot more car than I need.

Though something like a wrangler that is a smallish SUV could be fun. :hmm: Still would kill me on gas money though..
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That Cherokee Sport is surprisingly easy to drive. While it looks big in photos the XJ's "footprint" is quite small, not much longer than some hatchbacks/midsize estates. The Cherokee Sport is surprisingly lightweight for being an SUV and it has a great turning radius, it turns tighter than any FWD car I've ever had.
 
Emarline said:
Yaris? They're quite cheap and small, and, since they're made by Toyota, presumably reliable.
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They're post-rot Toyotas and they're smaller than the Corolla, which is two strikes. In the US market, NEVER buy any Toyota smaller than the then-contemporary Corolla; historically they've all worked out poorly - the Tercel with the unrebuildable carburetors, the Paseo which just went extinct fast, the Echo and fire (among other things).
 
Spectre said:
That wasn't sold here as the Eurovan. This was.
ts
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That's a T4, I'm talking about my T3 (RIP :cry:), the predecessor to the T4, sold as the Vanagon over there.

The T4 was quite a bit longer.

https://pic.armedcats.net/n/na/narf/2011/04/06/Seite10.jpg
 
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Blind_Io said:
That Cherokee Sport is surprisingly easy to drive. While it looks big in photos the XJ's "footprint" is quite small, not much longer than some hatchbacks/midsize estates. The Cherokee Sport is surprisingly lightweight for being an SUV and it has a great turning radius, it turns tighter than any FWD car I've ever had.
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This is a better candidate for "what i should have told mom to buy instead of the outback". I don't think I would get much of a chance to offroad it so like the miata, it's kind of a waste for something I couldn't use to it's full potential.

Also I am stereotypically female at parking. I have already dented the outback I hate to think what I would do in a cherokee. I bet it is not made of ecothin whatever and I would dent OTHER cars >:

Spectre said:
They're post-rot Toyotas and they're smaller than the Corolla, which is two strikes. In the US market, NEVER buy any Toyota smaller than the then-contemporary Corolla; historically they've all worked out poorly - the Tercel with the unrebuildable carburetors, the Paseo which just went extinct fast, the Echo and fire (among other things).
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I was typing up something similar. Also it is an appliance, if I buy an appliance I will miss the bug and considering I already feel guilty getting rid of it I do not want to regret it. :(
 
That is probably a good suggestion but I need some time to condition myself to not hating them jealously for being the other retro tiny car only people actually like them....


Actually on that vein, when does the 500 abarth hit in america?
 
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I really am considering that but then in the back of my head the voices asking how separate fiat US and chrysler are because the bug DID outlast mom's PT cruiser by 2 years...
 
kat what is your price range?
 
The Fiat shares nothing with old Chryslers. The merger was recent.

As far as Wranglers, I find them absolutely miserable on paved roads. Bouncy, loud, wobbly, floaty, the lot. I'm sure they're great off road though.

Budget is an important consideration that hasn't been mentioned. If you're looking at new Fiat 500s then you actually have a lot of options among the lightly used.

Honestly though, the Fiat seems perfect besides being new and unproven in the US. Small, cute, fun, (relatively) cheap, it ticks all the boxes.
 
argatoga said:
kat what is your price range?
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This is a good question. TECHNICALLY I have 200k from my dad dying but then I live in a high insurance state and am currently 21 so I will get hit hard for insurance on a new car. I'm just going to say replace my car with one not significantly more in original value. My car was 22k new, so lets say I'll go up to 25 with options in crap if necessary and I really want it. If possible I would like to go lower since I am not adding on the soft top price addition.

thevictor390 said:
The Fiat shares nothing with old Chryslers. The merger was recent.

As far as Wranglers, I find them absolutely miserable on paved roads. Bouncy, loud, wobbly, floaty, the lot. I'm sure they're great off road though.

Budget is an important consideration that hasn't been mentioned. If you're looking at new Fiat 500s then you actually have a lot of options among the lightly used.

Honestly though, the Fiat seems perfect besides being new and unproven in the US. Small, cute, fun, (relatively) cheap, it ticks all the boxes.
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Yeah but what I am worried about is the parts being put together, even with the same parts you can get significant quality differences from half assed assembly.

I want an abarth one...
 
narf said:
That's a T4, I'm talking about my T3 (RIP :cry:), the predecessor to the T4, sold as the Vanagon over there.

The T4 was quite a bit longer.

https://pic.armedcats.net/n/na/narf/2011/04/06/Seite10.jpg
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And the original poster was talking about the T4 sold in the US as well. You came out of nowhere with the Vanagon. Go read the thread again.

rickhamilton620 said:
But the Multivan/Eurovan was huge, bigger than most minivans here. VWOA even played off that fact with it's slogan for it: "There's nothing mini about it!"
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Spectre said:
And the original poster was talking about the T4 sold in the US as well. You came out of nowhere with the Vanagon. Go read the thread again.
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If you want to play the "Go read the thread again" game, I recommend you read the thread again.

I introduce my T3 Multivan as an example. Rickhamilton replies to that, citing the American Multivan. If there was any implicit switch of generations it happened there.


First post with Multivan content:
narf said:
Yeah, I know. Not a great way to classify vehicles.
Based on that our old '90 VW T3 Multivan probably was an OMG IT'S HUGE. Basically it was a box with nothing in it but air luxurious interior space.
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Second post with Multivan content:
rickhamilton620 said:
But the Multivan/Eurovan was huge, bigger than most minivans here. VWOA even played off that fact with it's slogan for it: "There's nothing mini about it!"
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Did I come with the T3 out of nowhere after everyone was discussing the T4? :no:
I really recommend you read the thread again.
 
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I've lost count of how many of these I see everyday on the way to and back from work:

c63.jpg


0807_01z+2009_ford_focus_RS+front_three_quarters_view.jpg
 
narf said:
If you want to play the "Go read the thread again" game, I recommend you read the thread again.

I introduce my T3 Multivan as an example. Rickhamilton replies to that, citing the American Multivan. If there was any implicit switch of generations it happened there.


First post with Multivan content:


Second post with Multivan content:
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<shrugs>

Either way, they were both crapboxen. :p Grossly underpowered; if they weren't holding up traffic, they were most often found dead by the side of the road in the Grapevine or the Cajon Pass in CA with steam, smoke, fire or all three coming from the engine compartment, often with hippies or aging hippies standing beside it looking distraught. Fortunately, few bought them.

Also, yes, the T3 was larger than the minivans currently in service at the time. So, yeah, it was technically huge for the class and you've also shown how the 'small' car has creeped up in size over the years. :p
 
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katwalk said:
This is a good question. TECHNICALLY I have 200k from my dad dying but then I live in a high insurance state and am currently 21 so I will get hit hard for insurance on a new car. I'm just going to say replace my car with one not significantly more in original value. My car was 22k new, so lets say I'll go up to 25 with options in crap if necessary and I really want it. If possible I would like to go lower since I am not adding on the soft top price addition.
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What about the V6 version of the current Mustang?

800px-2010_Ford_Mustang_GT_2_--_07-01-2009.jpg


Not sure how rapetacular the insurance on that purchase would be. The T/C and other gizmos should help out when it snows.
 
A friend of mine has the new V6 Mustang and she says that it is terrible in the snow. She claims she can't even make it out of the parking lot. She had an 05 Mustang before that, and says it was the same.

With that said...she is not a particularly good driver.
 
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