[Pc_Support] Wife's new car ...

[Bryan J. Smith]

With the Prius out of consideration due to top-package/mark-up,
my wife looked at a number of sedans and smaller/economy SUVs.
We put Toyota on the back-burner in general, but my wife tried, and _hated_, the Rav4.

Honda has been going down in quality since '95 on sedans,
they are not the quality of their late '80s models - especially '0x models now match Ford. 
Don't get me wrong, Honda _still_ has very reliable cars, top 3, definitely.
But they are no longer #1, but too many Americans still want Civics and Accords as a result, artificially inflating the cost as well as resale.
Sad because Toyota's equivalent models are better, but their resale is still lower because Americans think otherwise.
I'm sure outsourcing to China 
is making things worse, and I don't see those models improving as a result.

But some of the non-sedan models are Japan parts, US assembled and are still _outstanding_.
The Honda CRV is unbelievable in this regard, and was easily my wife's favorite.
The 2.4L gets good gas mileage, and should be enough to haul 800lbs. Of cargo according to the reviews.
And she didn't like the Rav4, which doesn't have the maintenance of even some US SUVs
(seems like quality between Honda-Toyota is 180 degrees for sedens v. SUVs).

Even though her brother-in-law works for GM, we tried every GM model (just to say we did).
We did it at Holler Chevy, who was also good to us because they sponsor the Florida Corvette Club
(which my father basically runs**)

[ **NOTE:  People might assume I'm wealthy or was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.
As my wife says, I grew up "upper poor" and it wasn't until we moved here in the mid'80s that my parents became middle class,
and they struggled until my brother and I were out of college.
Now my parents can enjoy themselves.
My wife's family is poor, and was this is her first car that cost over $3K,
she bought her first one herself when she headed off to college,
and my mother handed down her Grand Am. ]

The Cobalt is even worse than the Cavilier at gas, safety, etc...
The Impala, the only GM that hasn't been redesigned in years
(and has a decent maintainence rating)
was too big and inefficient.
The Equinox is top-heavy and flips over.

We looked at the Mazda Tribute / Ford Freestyle,
as well as the Mazda 3.
Cory Fairbanks is where I bought my B2300 and they are still really nice.
My wife didn't really go for the Tribute, although I liked the 3.0L it shares with the B3000 truck,
at gas mileage not much from the CRV.
My wife still liked the CRV better though.
Consumer Reports (CR) yanked their "top pick" on the Mazda 3 after the IIHS side crash test.
No dealer seems to have the Mazda 3 with the curtain airbags for under $19K (only 2.3L models).

Ford was our last interest, and my family has been Don Reid Ford buyers for pick-ups and Mustangs.
2005 is a good year to buy a Mustang, just like 1994, because of the redesign, but not why you'd think.
We previously bought a 1993 in 1994 from Don Reid for a great price.
And Don Reid had a 2004	Mustang Convertible, _loaded_ (leather, spoiler, power everything, etc...) that we got them down to under $20K.
Consumer Reports recommended the 2004 Mustang, and the maintenance is still favorable.
My brother has a 2000 - same design/parts as the 2004 - from Don Reid that is near 100,000 miles and has no major issues yet.

In the end, my wife admitted she liked it a bit more than getting the CRV.
We had little success getting Honda to give us anything on the CRV - any year.
If we had kids or were already expecting, I might have pushed her towards the CRV.
But we don't, and would only plan to have the 'Stang Convertable for 5 years / 75,000 miles (the warranty we have on it, bumper to bumper), to get a good resale on it.

So we bought it and spent yesterday enjoying a rain free central/coastal Florida.

I'll probably by a CRV or Tribute myself when I go to replace my B2300 in 3-5 years as it hits 200,000-220,000 miles (I'm at 150,000 and the sucker is great).
Honda's Hybrids have been a half-ass disappointment.
Ford-Mazda licensed Toyota's, but they have done little with it.
But they are really leading on hydrogen in R&D, both electric (fuel-cell, possibly with some regen from Toyota) and ICE (hydrogen).

In 5 years, if Ford-Mazda has a solid hydrogen solution for a small Tribute/Freestyle, I might look towards it.
Especially if I'm in Florida which is now building the first hydrogen fueling stations,
pretty much leading the nation with their alternative fuels in state  vehicles short of maybe Cali.
It all depends, and it might be farther off if R&D doesn't make ir feasible.

In any case, in 3-5 years, after seeing the Prius in double-production,
you can be certain that _everyone_ will be taking Hybrids seriously.
The big 3 offers nothing, and Honda's are half-ass from everything I've read.

Until then, the Mustang's 3.9L gets about the same gas mileage as my wife's previous 2.4L Grand Am, 30mpg highway,
within 5mpg of almost every hybrid short of the Prius or a really ultra-compact.
Just wasn't the best year to buy the only good hybrid,
and we don't need a family SUV yet.

-- 
Sent from my Treo