A Horse With No Name

This is pretty much my thinking also for what it is worth. Clinton has the brains, Obama has the public speaking ability, and McCain has the experience but none of them thrill me. I will pretty much be voting for Obama in the hopes that exactly that will happen, a 4 year time out. Chris

I've always respected you, but my admiration grew by an order of magnatude when you said this... Chris

A thousand dollars can buy a reliable car. I work construction (I am an electrical foreman) so I buy cheap cars because parking cars on construction sites is hard on them. Once I came out to find my Chrysler Concorde had gone from Teal to Black because the painting crew had forgotten to ask me to move my car before they painted the building. Other "fun" things have happened. My current beater is a 91 Mazda MX-6 (Basically a rebadged Ford Probe) that I justify on about three counts... About a grand to buy it, get it safe, and get it registered. American Made by Ford on a American Assembly line. Manual shift and it gets 33-35 if I don't drive like I'm retarded. A friend has a really decent Fort Contour you might like, it's one owner, needs a fender and a little bit of (minor) body work. It has about 110k on it and the interior is spotless. Contour was a decent driving car and this thing has been taken care of. A grand can go far if your careful. But enjoy prom also. I drove my 70 Chevelle to mine (back in 83!). Nothing like driving a classic Chevy to a prom. At least do that with your Nova. ...or if you decide to get rid of the Nova I have a nice warm garage in Ohio where it can come live under a warm car cover. Sixty 8 is right, you should be proud of that ride. Chris

Actually when it comes to bimmers the E-36 cars are cool, the E-30 (late 80's-early 90's gen) cars are much cooler, and the current cars are only so-so in my book. I much prefer the current CTS to the current BMW. IMHO the current BMW 3 series is kinda bland... Chris

Maybe where your at, around here a $1000 Accord or Civic is ready for the crusher. Chris

Come on Sixty 8, tell us how you really feel! Chris

He will. Thanks for letting me rant about it guys. Chris

Yeah, good to see you Bob! And that car looks good in black...as far as the drive through thing goesdon't feel too bad. Someone beat on a co-workers 4 day old HHR with a baseball bat, so it must be something in the water here or something. Chris

Cars rust out around you in Cali? Chris

The people that did this are from Toronto, which explains a lot... Chris

Actually Ravenfreak I feel bad that I never really liked your Sebring...but I gotta admit these Avengers are really, really growing on me. Neighbors mother has one and I've had a chance to look it over. Her car has the appearance package like yours does and it does make a difference. Silver and white are both perfect colors for this car. Good luck and take car of her, I am a little jealous of this one... Chris

He's going alphabetical. Maybe he's hoping the last vehicle he ever buys is a Zamboni.... Seriously, nice car, nice color, and a MANUAL! Praise the God of internal combustion! Chris

Small cars don't have to be ugly tim boxes though. Look at the Astra, which is really a cool little car. Personally I think people start driving a particular type of car as teenagers when they learn to drive, and then stay with that for life. I learned to drive on a manual Dodge Omni and have never really made peace with big cars or automatics FWIW. As far as the ethnic thing goes...and you'd really hate the asian father of one of my high school friends. He bought an Oldsmobile new in 1967, drove it trouble free until 1994 and then traded it on a Camry because he wanted something "reliable." Chris

...one more thing and I hate to say it. Look for a really clean 87-92 4 cyl mustang notchback. They can be bought for about a grand, 35 mpg, a monkey can fix one, parts are cheap...and huge V8 swap/power upgrades are just a visa card and a phone call away when you get bored. Chris

While Accords and Civics are good cars, under 5k he will get tons more with tons more choices if he goes GM. Chris

Rather than auctions listen around for someone who wants to get rid of a car. If you can find a one owner car that someone is tired of or no longer wants to/is able to drive you could get 3-5 years worth of driving. The little old lady with the Buick Century who always has had the dealer service her car and can no longer drive is your dear, dear friend in a situation like this. Chris

Both of these would be great choices. The Camaro would be a great companion to the Nova, and the Cierra will probably outlive cockroaches on this planet. It's an old man's car that you can still be driving when your an old man. They run 4-ever. Chris

My son Joel has a really cool friend Paul who is 16 and learning how to drive. Paul's dad has a nice older Cadillac (similar to Sixty-Eights bannana boat). Paul was pulling into his parent's attached garage, being coached by his father. His father said "now hit the brakes gently." Instead of hitting the brakes Paul hit the gas by mistake. While people may debate the fuel economy and such of old caddies, one thing is for sure...they are just the cat's ass when it comes to destroying drywall and 2x4 studs. The car lurched forward, through the garage wall and into the living room. About six grand worth of damage to the house and a similar amount to the car. While it is really kind of funny, I feel bad for Paul who is about the nicest teenage boy you'd ever want to meet. Thankfully the insurance company is fixing both the car and the house and no one was hurt. Pauls dad was understanding, although rather upset. Hopefully Paul won't be scared to get back behind the wheel. Chris

+1 on the HHR, one of the nicest cars that GM has come out with in a long time. Joel and I looked at a nice black one with alloys a little while back. Wouldn't mind one of those in the driveway at all. Chris

I think it had undercar Neon also... Chris

...but I do really feel for the guys at my son Joel's school who are retarded enough to pay $4500 for an Ohio rustbucket 95 Civic with a wing, and it does happen all the time. ...and despite the line in my sig I do like Civics somewhat also. Really nice Red 2000 civic Si was next to me at the pumps last night when I was gassing up. Wouldn't mind owning one someday. Chris

No April fools intended. As far as small cars go, were I to pay 17k for a small car I would buy a Civic because it is the better car. But were I to want to buy a cheap reliable used car I can buy a Cobalt with Alloys and options with 5-10k miles, maybe 15k miles at the most for about 10 to 11 grand. Actually, the Cavalier is easy to make fun of but I owned one when my mother owned an Accord. (Accord was an 85, Cavalier was an 86.) Both the Accord and Cavalier passed 100,000 miles utterly trouble free. With cars it is pretty much the luck of the draw. I'm drawn to Miatas the way most guys are drawn to porn, and I've had several friends have problems with Miatas they bought new and babied. It's like Vegas, baby. You pay your money, take your chances and hope things work out allright. Chris

Happpy Birthday! Chris

Interesting that they are getting where they are selling the CX-9 SUV...which isn't a bad product. 3 is down over last year, but it is near the end of its product cycle. Miata is right there with Solstice in sales. Chris