Originally Posted By vbdad55 <Thanks for the advice thus far guys! Any thoughts on the Mazda 3? Mark's parents just bought his sister one. His dad's a "car guy" so I figure he must trust it. They look OK and it seems like I could get some decent features and remain around my budget. Has anyone had any experience with Mazdas? < main concern is pricey...comparatively for a very small car...other than that I can see why a 'car guy' ( which I consider myself) would like...
Originally Posted By LacyBelle DH had a Mazda 626 for 12-13 years (it was an '88). It was very reliable with low maintenance. Unfortunately as oc_dean pointed out, Japanese cars still tend to have the edge. (Although DH & I both drive American now).
Originally Posted By iceknyght If you want to make a trip up north a bit, I can get you a deal on a new Toyota... Or even one of our used vehicles... I had a 2001 Corolla, which was pretty nice, but was a bit small for me... Other than the fitting in the car issue, it was a pretty solid car... The new Toyota Yaris is actually a decent looking little car... Unfortunately, I don't know too much about the Nissan or Mazda models...
Originally Posted By officerminnie I LOVE my 2003 Nissan Altima! I bought it new and have never had any trouble with it. It has 32,000 miles on it now, gets 20 mpg in the city and 30 on the freeway (I have the 4 cylinder). Very roomy front seats, and two 6' tall, 200 lb boys have plenty of head and leg room in my back seat.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <I had a 2001 Corolla, which was pretty nice, but was a bit small for me... Other than the fitting in the car issue, it was a pretty solid car... The new Toyota Yaris is actually a decent looking little car...< the Corolla's got bigger in 2003 ( my daughter hass a 2004 -- I am 6'3 '+ and 230 pounds and very comfortable when I have driven it... the Yaris is more the size of the old Corolla - smaller than the new one
Originally Posted By Tiggirl Thanks for the info guys! And thanks for the offer Icey! If I decide to go the Toyota route you can be sure to hear from me, at least for advice! I'm still looking at all my options. I've also started looking at the new VW Rabbit (which I guess it the Golf that they renamed to the old Rabbit.. confusing) and the Hyundai Accent which has a LOT of safety features that come standard that don't come standard in the other cars I've been looking at. ~Beth
Originally Posted By fkurucz I wouldn't recommend the VW for reliability reasons. Its usually near the bottom of consumer reports ranking.
Originally Posted By iceknyght I have heard the same on the VW's... I would stay away from them for reliabilty reasons... We also have a Kia store up here (Kia and Hyundai are owned by the same company), so if any of the Kia's strike your fancy, I can help there too... Basically, we have Ford, Mercury, Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Kia, Toyota and Scion... And then used vehicles as well...
Originally Posted By Kevin Duck Regarding what constitutes an "American" car-- take a look at this article from Motor Trend (<a href="http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2006/112_news16/" target="_blank">http://www.motortrend.com/feat ures/auto_news/2006/112_news16/</a>) Regarding parts content (the article also speaks of the American jobs per company, but I thought this was particularly interesting): "Yet, by a crucial measure, the Sienna is far more American than the Mustang. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that were publicized in "Auto Industry Update: 2006," a presentation by at Farmington Hills, Mich., research company CSM Worldwide, show only 65 percent of the content of a Ford Mustang comes from the U.S. or Canada. Ford Motor Co. buys the rest of the Mustang's parts abroad. By contrast, the Sienna, sold by Japan's Toyota Motor Corp., is assembled in Indiana with 90 percent local components."
