A Horse With No Name

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

Rabbit is one major reason they are up, it is perhaps the best of the small cars for fit, finish, and interior materials. Chris

Still, the Fit and Civic are doing great. Brother in law of a friend works at Buckeye Honda. During a recent conversation he said that as fas as dicounts go they gave one repeat customer a discount on a Fit of exactly $50 and all of the rest have been at list. I don't know of many other cars that can make that claim. Also, while it has taken people time to get used to the new Civic it clearly is a very, very popular car. Acura will find its way, Honda didn't get to be where it is by being stupid. Chris

Compass and patriot sales are way up, probably due to high gas prices and the fact that people love SUV's. While these are the vehicles I just love to hate they really aren't that bad. I stopped into a Chrysler dealer to llok at a Patriot and was actually mildly impressed. Chris

Interesting, xB sales are up...seems like the second gen xB is starting to find its market niche. tC sales aren't bad for a 4 year old design. Overall though I see stiff competition for Toyota ahead. Chris

There's not enough Beer in a Budweiser truck t9o get me to sign on the line for a Corolla. Chris

Cobalt is a great car but GM needs a Malibu quality refresh to stay strong in the small car market. Chris

That is a really cool feature. We need more salespeople that can actually sell cars and tell people about the features. Gm still has a way to go fixing its dealer network. But a really cool feature. Chris

We need small diesel cars here in the states NOW. Chris

The only small car built here by an American MFG co. is the Cobalt as far as I know. Civic is Japanese company but built here, Corolla is built at NUMMI in Cali but Japanese company, Hyundai is built in Alabama by Korean Company, Avenger and Sebring are built in Mexico, Focus, HHR, PT, Et all are built in Mexico, Astra is built in Belgium IIRC, GTI/Rabbit is built in Wolfsburg Germany, Scion/Mazda 3/Miata etc. built in Japan... Suziki, Mitsubishi, Nissan built by evil lords of darkness in the remote rainforests of the Amazon.... Chris

Exactly what I feel. Chris

I'll shoot down a minivan, the last generations of minivans were horrible and the minivan market is shrinking. Ditto though to killing Hummer and spending the cash in Cadillac instead. Ditto also to a fuel efficient car, although I think the volt will have that covered. Maybe a small diesel to compete with the Jetta/Rabbit diesels comming? Chris

Nirvana is hot! Chris

So your not beholden to Holden? Chris

Exactly. Looked at a Mustang from Craigslist (92 ragtop) that was supposed to be in great shape. Hell, there are Katrina cars washed out into the gulf and submerged that are in better shape than that thing. Good luck selling whatever you wanted to sell. Chris

It is a nice looking car, my second Chevelle (the 71) was about the same color as that MC. Good luck with whatever you guys decide. Chris

I may be able to attend, sounds like fun. Chris

Gm cars are great used car buys, usually, and usually Hondas suck as a used car idea. New, however a Honda has some merrit. Chris