Commuting

[pow]

Agreed on leasing..buying new only makes sense if you are going to keep a car for a decade, IMO. Do they have 6 month leases that would accomodate ocn, though?

Sell to CarMax. Voila.

[regfootball]

the smaller cars turn higher rpm on the highway. What i am finding is my Cobalt at 75 mph in winter I am struggling to hit 30 mpg per tank.

I would guess an automatic (insert new 2013 midsize car with 4 cylinder here) and a high mpg (just about any) will get about the same or more.

i.e. Fusion 1.6t or even a Malibu 2.5. And those types of cars lease well. The plain Jane...

Maybe those new Mazda6 with stick will be cheap, they do get 38 mpg highway.

[David]

All I can say is that as long as I keep my foot out of my custom built 402 in my suburban it gets good gas mileage while cruising at 70 with about 1500rpm. It is only when I open up the fun factor by smashing the pedal that my V8 takes gulps.

[ocnblu]

I know you love EVs, blu, so I thought I'd be helpful and suggest the awesome Ford Focus Electric, which I'd totally get if I were in your shoes and wanted something fun and economical.

Basically a $39,995 car, sale price of $27,245, residual of $17,998 after 3 years, 15K mi/year. Including interest (0.3% with Ford Credit Lease), it's $280/month with $0 down payment and bank fee rolled in.

Now here comes to fun part. Electricity is cheap in PA, what, 7 cents a kWh? Focus Electric uses 15 kWh per 48 miles, or $1.05 for your round trip commute. 23 working days a month, so $24/month on electricity.

How much are you paying for depreciation in the Patriot? For gasoline alone, at 23 MPG and $3.50/gal, that's $7.30/day or $168/month.

And it's fun. Weeeeee:

I hear the new Fusions lease pretty well, by the way.

I've seen the Focus EV sales figures and resultant giant incentives. They're really knocking it out of the park with that one... HAHAHA. Thanks fer the laugh.

Anyhoo, speaking of small Fords to spark one's interest... this has come back to the forefront... in Performance Blue or Green Envy, the 2014 Fiesta ST with 197-hp 1.6L Ecoboost engine and six speed manual... plus 34 MPG highway... Sonic RS who???

http://www.ford.com/cars/fiesta/2014/

[regfootball]

blu does the new beetle do anything for you?

[ocnblu]

Yes, I sawr a black-on-black Kafer TDI manual at the local dealer a few weeks ago, and it was spectacular. $24,525 with all-weather floormat kit.

Edited January 27, 2013 by ocnblu

[Drew Dowdell]

Yes, I sawr a black-on-black Kafer TDI manual at the local dealer a few weeks ago, and it was spectacular. $24,525 with all-weather floormat kit.

That'd be a long termer for you. The engines don't really get broken in until 50,000 miles.

[Camino LS6]

At least the bug would have an identity, the rest of the nominees are amorphous blobs.

And the "retro" wheels/caps look great on them.