Beware the Anti-Monte

[ocnblu]

A lot of us car enthusiasts remember the answer to that bit of trivia relating to the longest-ever production hood on an automobile... '70-'72 Monte Carlo, right? 6 feet long?

Today I went lot-cruising and noticed a Yaris hatch at the local 'yota dealer, so I swung in for a look.

The hood is like 2 feet long, no lie. I'm serious. Shorter than most minivans.

Odd thing is, I kinda like the little puppydog. In blue with tinted windows, rims and slightly lowered suspension, this little thing could actually be cool, while returning close to 40 mpg.

Driving a slow car fast is always fun. One of these with the mods I list above could save so much dough for a couple of years, while looking fairly spiffy in the process.

I know, if this is the direction I'm headed, perhaps a nice Aveo would be a better choice, but really, where's the 3 door Aveo? Right.

Like bobo said, maybe I'm just dreaming, it's part of that obsession with all things new and automotive... but, it could be a stepping stone to a new Camaro.

I also drooled over a red Sky at the local dealership... and they had a yellow one on their "launch pad", a separate glassed-in room at the front of the showroom used for new-car deliveries... the customer gets to drive their new Saturn right out of the showroom, kinda cool.

[Flybrian]

Driving a slow car fast is always fun.  One of these with the mods I list above could save so much dough for a couple of years, while looking fairly spiffy in the process.

Only if those 'mods' include adding two feet to the hood, two feet to the tail, redoing the front fascia, putting the gauge cluster in front of the driver where it belongs, and putting in a decent engine.

Sorry, I feel none of what you do. Its in no way a performance or sports car like a MINI, just slow and to me driving a slow car fast is like being the smartest retard. I have aboslutely no love for subcompacts and never, ever want anything to do with them. I don't ever see myself owning a car smaller than an Alero/Contour/Jetta in size and preferrably not even renting one either.

I figure I live in a huge country with big skies, tall mountains, wide beaches, and long roads, so a large car is the only appropriate choice. As for fuel economy concerns, if I can squeeze 26-30mpg city/hwy out of a 3.1l Impala base rental, that's good enough for me.

[ocnblu]

NOS 150 shot, baby. Who needs cubic inches? :AH-HA_wink:

You're looking at a guy who owned an ION for 9 months, it wouldn't be too hard for me to crook my neck like that again.

The Yaris will never have the cache of a Mini, but it is close to half the price, and I'm sure I couldn't hurt it, no matter how hard I wring it out.

I love the ride height of my truck, and the practicality of being able to load nearly anything I want from Lowe's and drag it home. but I can't remember the last time I had my tailgate down. A high riding hatch might be a good compromise and it would take some pressure off my budget in gasoline and installment payments each month.

Edited March 26, 2006 by ocnblu

[pow]

There's this sense of purity to driving a good, cheap, simple, small car. You can have tons of fun while not going very quickly.

[ocnblu]

Good lord, you can get a lowering kit, a "sport muffler" (not a stoopid coffee can, just a nice looking muffler with an oval, polished stainless tip), and 18" rims through Toyota. Bangin'!

[ShadowDog]

Sorry, but the Yaris scores higher than the Yugo on my list of fugly and rediculous hipster vehicles.

Why not a Mini or a VW bug? Heck, a new GTI?

[Camino LS6]

Ick.

[bobo]

Cheap, small cars can be a lot of fun. I even found the Aveo to be a decent drive. I'm guessing a stock Yaris would have a lot of characteristic Toyota numbness, but a few mods probably could do it wonders.

[PurdueGuy]

I see no point in buying a NEW economy car to SAVE MONEY. If you want to save money, buy used. Now if you have other motive to buy a small economy car, then that's another thing.

[tmp]

Why not a Mini or a VW bug?  Heck, a new GTI?

Well, I have friends who have these, and the VW's are crap: interiors are disintegrating, clutches needing replacement at 40k miles, etc. The Mini is cute, but I think $300 to replace the runflat tires can get old, along with the rest of those BMW parts.

What the car magazines don't tell you when they are rating the German compact soooo very far above the Americans is that the cost of owning (tune-ups and replacement parts, etc.) is vastly different, at least in my experience.

[pow]

Well, I have friends who have these, and the VW's are crap: interiors are disintegrating, clutches needing replacement at 40k miles, etc.  The Mini is cute, but I think $300 to replace the runflat tires can get old, along with the rest of those BMW parts.

What the car magazines don't tell you when they are rating the German compact soooo very far above the Americans is that the cost of owning (tune-ups and replacement parts, etc.) is vastly different, at least in my experience.

Well for, say, a 3-series, the first 50,000 miles are free, and you can extend it to 100K for $945. Apart from tires, everything is included.. even brake pads/rotors, wipers, filter changes, clutch, and drive belts.

[Sixty8panther]

I know I bought an Infiniti & a Datsun after years of GM cars but a econo-$h!-box Toyota? Ocnblu.... say it sin't so!

[ocnblu]

I seem to be all over the map these days with my "list". I have no clue right now what I'm going to do. On one hand, a simple zipper of a car like the Yaris is appealing to me. On the other, waiting to see the GMT900 Silverado is wearing on my patience.

The kind of driving I do now is around town, mostly. My work commute is into the city and it takes me 15 minutes, tops. I'll be taking some trips to the beach and the campground this summer, and that's about it, I suppose. So a small, practical, yet still moderately fun car would be smart.

Growing up on the farm, a pickup truck was the thing to have, and I guess that stuck with me, but now I'm starting to wonder if "want" or "need" is more important.

I wish it were as simple as looking in the Matchbox catalog, picking a few out, and going to the toy store.

[04monteintimidator]

oh wow... ive never seen a yaris b4... and beware is definitely a good thing to say about it... it looks like someone decided that the xA wasnt quite ugly enough... so they fixed the problem... i cant imagine how it would be fun to drive... but then again im used to alot of torque and thats wut i consider fun so i guess my opinion on that matter is kina irrelevant... but if your lookin for a small reliable fun car... um... why not the tC? my friend has one and its got alot more room in the trunk than i thought it would... plus... as much as i dislike toyota's designs... i cant argue that the tC isnt attractive... bcuz it really is a nice looking car

[z28luvr01]

'blu, go take a 2.4L Cobalt SS for a spin again, then get back to us about that Yaris :AH-HA_wink:

[ocnblu]

We just got an all-black SS/SC with Performance Package, sunroof and satellite, one bad-ass little mofo for sure. I wonder what my cost would be for a decklid. It would be soooo sweet without that dumb basket handle.

[Variance]

We just got an all-black SS/SC with Performance Package, sunroof and satellite, one bad-ass little mofo for sure.  I wonder what my cost would be for a decklid.  It would be soooo sweet without that dumb basket handle.

I like the "basket handle". I think they look ok as long as they were designed for the car and not the result of a fevered Pep Boys dream.

[ocnblu]

I think it makes the car look too high. The ground effects pull it down, visually, but that wing ruins it. I prefer my sporty cars to be as long and low, at least visually, as possible. If someone could photchop that wing off the red car above, I'd be much appreciative. Edited March 27, 2006 by ocnblu

[z28luvr01]

Meh, I could do without it. I'd much rather have the low-profile wing like my car has. If I were buying the SS/SC I'd do what I could to twist their arm to get them to swap either the wing or the trunklid with one from a normal Cobalt. I don't know for sure if both wings use the same mounting holes.

[ocnblu]

I've been studying that as well. The bigger wing covers more ground on the lid, but I'd think the holes should be drilled the same. Not certain about it though.

[z28luvr01]

Here's a silver SS/SC with no wing at all. He paid something like $320 to have the holes welded shut and the trunk repainted to match the car.

and an Arrival Blue one with the low-profile wing.

Not a big fan of the debadged look, though. I love the big bowtie, it's a nice reminder as to who just whipped your ass.

Man, all these pictures of SS/SCs, and I'm gonna have to learn a stick and possibly do something that could cost me a lot of money.

[ocnblu]

Damn that silver car is what I call scalding hot. See what I mean? It looks 100x better! Edited March 27, 2006 by ocnblu

[Variance]

Well, I spent fifteen good minutes working on a crappy wing-delete chop and by God, I'm going to post it.

[ocnblu]

Aww... thanks Variance. I appreciate the effort.

That black car we just got in would look killer wingless with tinted windows. I love the finish on the SS/SC rims.

See, the Cobalt already has a nice little lip coming up from the quarters and across the lid. It doesn't need no stinking wing.

Edited March 27, 2006 by ocnblu

[Cory Wolfe]

The blue one is hot... really hot... smoking hot... burning hot... even hellishly hot.

Anyways, Ocn, whatever happened to you wanting a new GTI? I saw one over the weekend... Wow. That is one hot hatch. If you get anything, it should be that one... Then drive it up to Brookville and let me test it on the wonderful winding roads around here. I'll even fill 'er up with gas after I'm done. Ain't I nice?

[ocnblu]

I still love the new GTI, Vipes. It is priced a little high, although even with no options, it's very well equipped. And I know the driving pleasure would be hard to beat with a VW.

[mute]

my advice to you is to buy a car that is 2 or 3 yrs old.... its still under warranty and its also lost most of the value its gonna lose thru its lifetime and also you know what the probs are its a low cost car that is relatively new and also wont lose you a lot of money a new car is an expensive and also wasteful investment and there are a lot of good models from 2 or 3 yrs ago

but again the yaris tho not very widely accepted here is among my fav of the new cars and one of the reasons your one of the most respectable people here in my opinion is cuz your not afraid to say it. it does look nice but i prefer the sedan to the hatch tho thats just me id say go for the compact cuz it sounds like youd never use the truck

[Camino LS6]

I'm with you on the wing thing,Ocn. I hate the one on my GTO.

Note To GM: Always offer a wing delete option!

[Sixty8panther]

I'm with you on the wing thing,Ocn. I hate the one on my GTO.

Note To GM:  Always offer a wing delete option!

Lost a sale once on an Impala LS because of this. :anrgy:

OCNBLU:

If you get a yellow Cobalt I'll order up mine wihtout a wing and I'll drive down there and we can swap decklids. Wait that sounds weird.

Seriously Though.

[ocnblu]

Hehe... well, at least you didn't say "swap spit". Thanks Sixty8. If all this crazy talk boils down to that, I'll let you know, sir.

I don't see a reason in the world why a spoiler delete option isn't available on every car made. It would be perfect for people who want to purchase an aftermarket wing that they like, or for people like me who just don't want one atall.

Edited March 27, 2006 by ocnblu

[the_yellow_dart]

Sixty8 and OCN... sorry to ruin the swap party, but...

If you get the cars in different colours, it would probably cost more money to swap the decklids and paint 'em rather than just convince GM to give you what you want.

[Turbojett]

Actually, I thought that the cobalt looks best with the low-pro regular wing. It actually looks a little awkward to me without one. And its so fun to towel underneath it when drying the car after you've washed it.

But anyway, I was told that you could order an SC/SS with the regular wing and even that the basket handle was a deletable option. If you wanted to order an SC/SS with as little possible on it, it would come just as that silver one at no extra charge.

--which means that dude got ripped.

Edited March 28, 2006 by Turbojett

[ocnblu]

That's certainly something worth looking in to. Thanks for the tip.