Oh yes, buy a Prius....and be gouged by the Dealers.

[www.consumeraffairs.com]

It's true. YOu know what I want, Detroit? A fun, RWD car with a stick shift that's not a BMW.

I want a new car but I don't need one, mine is paid off and I like not having monthly payments. Maybe some people are beginning to realize there IS a difference between need & want when money gets tighter. I would much rather by a hybrid than a "regular" car but most hybrids are disgustingly overpriced. I probably won't seriously start looking at cars for another 3-5 years.

@B:
Pontiac G6?

No big hurry. My '04 F-150 will last me quite a while... when it dies on me eventually, I may buy a smaller vehicle.

I don't see the point. I get 40 mpg on my non-hybrid car. Why would I spend $10000+ more than my $13000 mazda to save 10 mpg? Give me something that gets 100 mpg, and I am interested. Till then, forget it.

The auto industry hasn't made the car I want in 30 or 40 years. I want a convertible that I can sit 5 or 6 people comfortably and have a decent sized trunk. All the domestic car makers made them in the 60's & early 70's. Olds, Caddy, Ford, Buick, Chyrsler, etc. etc.

Now most convertibles are toy sizes with no storage, or if there is a back seat, it is child sized and trunks are purse sized. Sure the Pontiac Solstice is hot looking, but try taking home groceries in it, let along going for a weekend road trip.

The auto industry will make niche vehicles that appeal to a tiny demographic, yet not one offers this type of vehicle that would appeal to a broad range of consumers (i.e. those with families and / or friends and who use their vehicle to transport items larger than a box of tissues.

Chyrsler might have saved itself if they had come out with a convertible version of the 300 sedan. You can buy 'em custom made (google, they are great looking). The largest ragtop out there, the Sebring, has just been downsized and is now smaller. Nice work!

Too bad fuel economy is so poor in general on newer vehicles, damn safety and laws of physics :-)

@B: & that doesn't cost $35,000.

in fact, i'd like to see it ~$15,000 "nicely equipped"

@Sucko-T: That's G8, right? Hmmmm, you might be on to something, though.

@B: I was about to tell you to buy a BMW...

@ohiomensch: Soo you'd be driving a Mini Cooper then? I kid I kid. Lord knows if I was getting that I wouldnt trade either. But I have kids and a wife, carrying capacity was the name of the game when I bought (right before gas prices exploded). Now its - how long until I can pay it off and have no payment... lol.

I traded my Explorer for a TDI back in 2005. Even though I pay like 30% more for fuel than my girlfriend, it still costs less to dive my car (40MPG) than her Focus.

Diesel cars will return en masse next year (the 2009 Jetta TDI is the only one right now). The diesel trucks and Touregs don't count as they get like 20MPG.

Suck it up, wait a year and get a true low mileage car that actually has nice performance.

waiting for 100% electric b4 i buy again.

I was planning on buying a porsche cayman this summer..

Gas prices haven't really affected me much since I work at home, but now I think that by 2010 there will actually be nice cars on the road that are 100% electric and go 200+ miles per charge. Making gas obsolete.

So I have decided to wait. Hopefully we'll get a cheaper version of tesla's new car and not ones that "look" like electric cars

@ohiomensch: Exactly, which is why we're waiting for highway-capable EVs to become mass-market.

@SkokieGuy: bmw m3 convert is pretty roomy & has a nice trunk...

My vehicle gets 17 miles per gallon. I love her so.

[img.photobucket.com]

I know that when my Toyota Corolla's wheels fall off I'm just going to put 4 new ones on. I could care less about a new car, but in the future I'll get another gas sipper.

Auto makers always had an option of making cars more fuel efficient but they chose not to because of costs and because it would affect the share prices for their shareholders. American public you asked for it, you got it. Now you have to live with it.

@B: Hyundai Genesis Coupe? but really I'm with wormfather, BMW was the first name that came to mind.

@slim150: There is a 60,000 tesla coming out. Look out for it, but I always wait for the bugs to get out.

@GodzillaDad: Mini's parent company is... BMW. :)

@slim150: I'm in nearly the same boat: I was all set to buy an E46 BMW M3 (the outgoing model with the i6, not the new one with the hueg V8), but now we're waiting for highway-capable EVs. Hopefully Tesla's recent announcements of a $60k 'luxury' car and a sub-$30k car will prompt other makers to make EVs, thusly bringing the costs down for everyone. I'd love a 3-series EV, but it looks like BMW's current plans are to resurrect the Isetta and make it a city EV. Meh.

@buyer5:

That isn't the only reason.

People have been demanding more and more space, and bigger and bigger vehicles, independent of safety and performance.

And high-trim economy cars perform better than most sports cars of 30 years ago. Acceleration costs fuel.

If automakers wanted to make a car as small as the 40-50mpg economy cars of the 80s, with comparable power levels, they'd probably be up in the 70s for fuel economy. Hell, VW has done just that in markets other than the US.

Anyhow, I'll take a Miata coupe with a small back seat and a tall highway gear, thanks. What's that? No such thing? I'll stick with my 16 year old beater then, thanks.

@SkokieGuy:

1961 SERIES 62 CADDY ALL THE WAY.

I would buy a diesel if they had a diesel version of like every freaking car like in Europe. Sadly the new TDI's from VW are the only thing in the near future and I dont take the 30% new car hit. Let someone else have that little present I'll pick one up in 2-3 years off lease and save even more.

@B: I tell you though, my Bimmer gets more and more fun to drive. My next care will be a boxster. Yes, that's right.

what nerd took a picture of the hybrid logo on their car

When a more fuel efficient vehicle that I can carry 1,100 lbs of cardboard in hits the market, I'll probably buy it.

In the meantime, hands offa my Tahoe.

Oh yeah...has Pontiac finally managed to make some G6s that don't chew up complete sets of brakes every 8,000 miles?

@fostina1: Same here.

My wife-to-be already has a diesel Jetta that gets great mileage on road trips. So I want to replace my commuter car with a plug-in electric. I'm also hoping the whole "super-capacitor" thing works out soon, so I don't have to worry about battery maintenance/replacement.

I'm still trying to find a decent condition mid-90's compact sedan to buy outright... like the grand am, or the chevy corsica. You know, simple 4 cylinder, standard tranny... I had both, got 40+ MPG highway, as long as I didn't have the hammer down. Loved those god damn cars. DETROIT, BRING BACK THE BASIC CAR.

@kaptainkk: how so? cars still went up in price & the automakers are still in the tank.

seems to me they chose their own fate, not us. one only needs to look at a parking lot to see the shrinking market share of american automakers.

& can you blame us? no. this isn't the first time they've screwed the pooch. in fact, that's quickly becoming their mantra.

@Wormfather is Wormfather: I have a Lexus SC, and it's so fun. Gas would have to be 10$ a gallon before I thought about trading it in. I live so close to work though, even then, it wouldn't be an issue.

No car payment for me. I will buy new when there are more electric models on the market and not just the over-priced Prius.

My car gets 17mpg or so and I'll keep because I just finally paid it off and I really like not having a car payment.

I like the prius but I would like something a but faster and with more room I think.

My car has two wheels and weighs 45 pounds!

I don't understand why it's so hard to make a fuel efficient vehicle these days. The car dealers are pissing themselves over 33mpg. Hello? My crappy 97 Nissan Sentra that hasn't had an oil change in over a year gets better than that.

@SkokieGuy: A massive convertible with a big trunk sounds pretty much as "niche" as it gets. Not that I blame you, I think everyone believes that what they want will appeal quite broadly. The big convertibles didn't even sell well in the 70s, and are even less likely to now.

@mac-phisto: You're right, they chose their own fate. That part is clear. What I meant as far as the American public is that they bought into it. I see no reason anyone needs to drive a Hummer or a Ford Excursion even if gas were a $1/gal. Just very egotistical imo.

I'm definitely holding out for an all electric car. 2010 is not that far off and my current car is paid for, fuel efficient and has low mileage.

Here is the type of car I want. A Vehicle capable of four-wheel drive, has one or two seats & doesnt eat gas like its going out of style.

Problem is .... automakers make boring jellybean-shaped cars for boring families.

@Carl3000: You like what is on the back of my truck better?

I bought a scion xb 5 years ago and my worst tank is probably 30 mpg. I love it as prices get up to over 4 dollars... just love it. Love the faces the SUV and pickup drivers make as it costs them 150 dollars to fill up that trophy truck. Upside down on their loans, nobody wants to buy them... so screwed. The hilarity can only increase as the months go by.

@S3CT: I have one of those trophy trucks... no loan though, so i share your love of laughing at those who are upside down and can't afford their gas.

Dear Auto Industry,

Call me when you can sell me a car that gets at least 1.5 times the mileage that a Geo Metro did 15 years ago for a similar inflation-adjusted price.

Willing to purchase a sub-$20,000, 80+ MPG car today if you have one,

Chucklebuck.

Got a 96 Accord that gets about 25mpg. Wife has a 06 Toyota Sienna van. We don't have any plans to buy a new car for at least 2-4 years and the car being replaced will be the Honda.

There are lots of cars I *want* but can't afford...

American car companies are slow to change, greedy and lazy. Ford and GM turn big cars like an Escape or Yukon into a more fuel efficient SUV (30MPG) because americans love their big cars. Chrysler doesn't even make one at the moment. None of them thought to make a 4 door sedan/ family car / commuter car hybrid to get 50+ MPG. That's why they're getting their asses handed to them. They didn't predict the economic downturn and cost of oil raising. And they're not forward thinking enough to proactively reduce American dependence on foreign oil, reduce carbon emissions or anything that might be beneficial to Americans in the long term.

Waiting for an affordable EV, with good performance. Series "plug in" hybrid OK (like the Volt) but only if it has a diesel (which it won't), so I'm still waiting.

Even at $5 a gallon, getting rid of my perfectly working Camry for a hybrid would be a bad deal. I'm sitting this out till the Camry is no longer maintainable - and hopefully we'll have fuel cell or decent electric cars by then.