A Horse With No Name

....Riiight...and then the nuns wanted to know who the funny looking guy with the clitoris was... Chris

...I agree, and I've driven a Prius and "hated" it for just that reason. Chris

Exactly...this is one of the smartest things you've said in a whole string of smart things you've said... Chris

Agreed...better to use the $ for jobs here than a war for oil "over there... Chris

Cool on the cash purchase thing... Chris

I'd gladly pay Euro gas prices and Euro gas taxes if I could have a good, subsidzed rail system, better police, better highways, better environmental controls, better schools, and all of the other "betters" that the europeans have. Government can't give away services...and I'd rather pay $7.80 for gas, drive less in a smaller car, and have the services. Chris

...off topic but the 1.8 Integra was one of the sweetest cars Honda ever came out with. Hard to find here in Ohio not beaten to death...but I saw a really nice white 2 door V-tec Integra the other day (not a type R) on a car lot that was clean as a pin. A type R integra would be on my short list of cool cars. Also glad to see you don't drive an autotrajic... Chris

Personally, I'd rather have a 3 wagon than a Mazda 5... Chris

I can trump ya'll...my first car was a 70 Chevelle.... Chris

Thanks for keeping us posted on this stuff, Oldsmoboi... Excellent Ammo for my use against republican friends who say that Biofuels can never work. Chris

Scary thing is how many Prius they are selling. I checked the Carmax website the other day...and there was just ONE Prius available nationwide via Carmax. The price of gas has done miracles for Toyota and the Prius. Chris

You should buy that for yourself, BV. That and the Cutty would make a great pair! Chris

Happy Birthday! Chris

You can have Nick, I'll take the chicks... That blonde is smokin hot. Chris

Glad to see someone else here rides a bike for fun also... Chris

Ethanol or a product like ti IS the wave of the future. Bazil gets a huge portion of there energy from ethanol, there is no reason we can't do the same. Chris

I can see your point, for some buyers it would really matter and others it wouldn't. Here in Ohio we have the Nazi Freeway patrol, otherwise known as the Ohio State Highway Patrol. We have some of the highest speeding fines in the nation so the Astra would do just fine here in nice flat Ohio. In the hills of the bay area where you live O.C., methinks it would be entirely different. BTW, I've also driven the Rabbit. Biggest difference between the two cars IMHO is that the Rabbit has a nicer dashboard and the manual in the Rabbit shifts more smoothly. The Astra on the other hand has On-Star. Biggest downside to astra IMHO is that the cabin is a little dark and only available in Charcoal as a color...the car can feel a little cavelike, which is what my daughters (ages 7, 12, and 17) didn't like about the Astra. We just really need to be happy that there are so many cool small cars in the market right now. Oh, and when she drove them back to back my wife liked the Astra better than the Rabbit. Chris

...exactly...the winding backroads of eastern Ohio would be a PERFECT place to drive an Astra. Besides, what's the point of this whole thing? I've driven an Astra on the interstate and it had plenty of power to pass and a great ride to boot. GM needs to promote this little beauty and get some of them out the door and into peoples hands. This car is so good that it should sell by word of mouth. Chris

Sad thing is that they have so much cash/profit on hand they probably won't even care. Chris

I'll enjoy both of the tacos you provided while cruising around in my Toyota, thank you... Seriously, I don't think it is the rank and file of Unions that I am so pissed at. It is the whole combative attitude of the car industry. My former neighbor was a labor negotiator for GM/Chevrolet for many years, served out the rest of his time at the Tonawanda Plant after he left Indiana. He had all kinds of tales of the crazy stuff that went on between the Union and GM. My Wife's grandfather's brother was a very good guy and a UAW memeber...who just passed away at the age of 75 after putting in 33 years on the line at Ford. I don't begrude an Honest days pay for an Honest days work...it's just the stupidity and the combativeness that bother me. That needs to stop. Until then, it'll be an Astra, a Mexican built HHR, or an austrailian built G8 for me please. Chris

Camry isn't a bad car, but there are better midsized cars. Chris

Your starting to make me see the light and the error of my ways, Reverend DF, and I am starting to think the Avenger really is a decent product. Chris

Some cars do hold very good resale value, esp. small cars with the price of Gas. Try to buy a MINI, Mazda 3, a Cobalt or G5 for ten grand less than list...you'll be buying a 5 year old car with 80k. You can pay cash for a new car...but gap insurance at $500-$1000 isn't always a good deal. Chris

Get some books from the Library on budgeting, go out to eat at a cheap resteraunt where the two of you can be alone for 2-3 hours at a booth and agree to hammer out a budget. Set up everything on auto-withdrawl so you have no late fees. Use cash for all budget items (groc, clothes, etc.) so you don't overspend. Buy everything you can used (thrift stores are great) and limit going out to eat. Get in the habbit of living simply. This has worked for the Mrs. and I, and we have $1000 on the credit card I'm paying off this month, a small car loan, and a mortagae and that's it...with 5 kids. You can do it, the important part is to hammer things out together and agree to things. Also, give yourselves some spending money because if you have no spending $ your going to cheat on your budget. Chris

Look at how well MINI, Mazda, Toyota, Honda, and even GM and Ford are doing selling small cars here. yes, economic conditions are part of it, but there are a lot of us who would buy small cars even if Gas was 79 cents a gallon. Look at how well the Corvair, (before Nader) Falcon, and others did in America back in the 1960's. IIRC, Volkswagen sold more Beetles in 1968 than Chevy did Camaros or Ford did Mustangs, and in 1968 gas was what, 29 cents a gallon? The Astra has plenty of power for most people, and the suspension on the car is great. Reg, I admire your posts/agree with you on a lot of things but I think your bias towards fullsize and midsize cars and moderate sized SUV's is blinding you to some of the Astra's atributes. Chris