As funny as I found your "Camry/Accord(4 cyl)" assessment, I have to disagree with it. I don't own one of these cars, and never have, but I can understand why they've remained wildly popular with a lot of people over the years. Unlike myself, there are just a whole lot of people that could care lesser than less what they drive as long as it is dependable, comfortable and economical. A lot of people view the total cost of ownership with these vehicles to be more manageable than other makes and models with better looks, driving dynamics, image, etc. And they're right. For the budget conscious driver, the CamCords are pretty hard to beat.
At the moment, I have a 4-door sports sedan and a 2-door sports coupe. But I am considering the purchase of a winter beater/econobox as a third car to keep the mileage down on my fun cars that are still in excellent condition. And save on gas too!
At any rate, I enjoyed your post. It was hilarious. Thanks for the laughs.
Yeah, I'm sure it was weaving in and out of traffic and swerved right in front of the truck.
Actually it basically did. The accident happened just before the line hit a viaduct. Since it had been raining the viaduct was flooding. Since the streetcars had their electric engine down low they couldn't go through water more than a foot or so deep.
The street car in front of the one involved in the accident was told to turn around. A switch was tripped to allow the street car to make a left turn to a turn around so it can go back in the opposite direct.
Details about what happened next is not clear but the switch remained open so streetcars could continue to turn around before the flooded viaduct. It is not sure if the motorman of the streetcar was aware of anything but it was reported that he hit the switch at a faster pace than it should of if they were making the turn. The street car made the left turn into the gasoline truck.
It is theorized that the motorman was unaware of the flood and that the switch was set to turn the streetcar left. Since the motorman died in the accident we will never know what happened.
Either way the streetcar made the left turn into the gasoline truck. It wasn't the truckers fault, it was the fault of the streetcar.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Guess that's a pretty good argument for the elimination of streetcars. Sounds like they found out the hard way that when around tracks, anytime is train time.
I've heard a few jabs, directed mainly directed at Toyota. These were from the Mopar Mailing List I belong to...mainly in member's signature blocks in their emails.
One guy's sig block read "I'd rather have a real 'Ota than one of them Toy ones!" And another read "The last thing I want is a car for 'everyday people'".
I know there's an acronym list for car names on the web somewhere. I don't remember what the acronym for "Toyota" was, but "Honda" was "Had One, Never Did Again"!
A few other gems... "Hope You Understand Nothing's Dependable And Inexpensive" "Can Hear Every Valve Rattle On Long Extended Trips" "Old Leisurely Driven Sedan Mostly Based On Buick's Illegitimate Leftover Excrement" "Killed In Action"
And one that tends not to get mentioned in Mopar forums... "Mostly Old Parts And Rust"!
I believe some vans are practical, I play in band, carry much equipment,and absoloutly need one. I really had my fun with cars and bikes when I was in my teens & twenties but now things get more practical as time rolls on. Also vintage vettes are mint, especially the sting rays, and I'm 38. I wouldn't be caught dead in a Hummer or a Aztec unless I was stuck in snow storm.My one beef is when I see women drive gargantuan 4x4 anything trucks. As if she is really going to go 4 wheelin, but then again it's their money!
Can we agree to keep the Aztek out of this conversation? It's just too easy a target.
Since it's winter, let me throw old VW buses onto this list. That air colled motor couldn't produce enough heat to warm up that metal box on 50 degree days and I can't drive when I'm huddling under a blanket.
you: My one beef is when I see women drive gargantuan 4x4 anything trucks.
me: My wife uses her Silverado to commute; and then to haul hay and drag her small horse pasture. The Silverado is also much better at hauling sand for the driveway than our cars If you live in an apartment in a city, I guess you don't need a truck, but how many people have that lifestyle?
I have a relative that drops off her kid at a private school in a really nice F250 4X4, but then heads back to the chicken/horse farms to give it a real workout. She really needs a vehicle that does it all.
That whole book and cover thing applies here.
Of course, the housewives in our planned community that cruise the neighborhood in their H2s are a whole different story.
I live in an area with no farms or real property within a reasonable distance, and see countless trophy wives in their bloated SUVs each and every day. No need for that H2 or Rover etc when you live in a Clyde Hill or Yarrow Point McMansion and spend your days on the offroad courses (ie. parking lot) of Bellevue Square.
Those trophy wives probably have a message board somewhere talking about the silly men in their neighborhood who drive AMGs with way too much horsepower and way too little room for three kids and a load of groceries.
And if your neighborhood is anything like mine, the maids and nannys are driving around in Accords wondering why everyone is so wasteful in their H2s and C43s.
To each his own, I guess (but I would be hard pressed to drive an Hummer even if it was free).
I had to haul a bunch of stuff to the dump, and was in a long line of cars waiting to get in. Now most of the other vehicles were pickup trucks, but there was one a few cars ahead of me that really amused me. A trophy wife in a very lavishly equipped Yukon Denali. She had the thing stuffed full of dead tree limbs, which I'm sure marked up the leather seats and other ritzy interior appointments pretty nicely.
LOL at the trophy wives on their message board. Of course, they probably care the thoughts of some guy in a car he actually paid for as much as I care about the thoughts of a parasite.
That reminds me, last week I saw a Porsche Cayenne hauling a trailer! Not a travel trailer or anything, but a little bigger than a yard waste trailer...a junk hauler of some kind. I tried to get a pic, but it was cut off at the back of the vehicle.
a few years back I saw a guy in a ritzy neighborhood who had a Caddy Escalade EXT or whatever they call the Avalanche version, out in his yard, and actually loading up the bed with yard debris! Bravo to the guy for actually USING it like a truck!
I know a guy that tows his Porsche race car with his Cayenne. He traded in his X5 on the Cayenne after only five months - said the X5 was a lousy tow vehicle.
What does a Kia say to the neighbors then? "I can barely afford the house I'm in so I have to have this thing", or "I have lots of money but couldn't see parting with it for a car".
arrived financially. With the world's finest bodystyles and the world's finest Warranty and low up-front pricing Kia and Hyundai both are poised to continue their assault on all of the established leaders.
builds them to last. My '01 Sportage 4x4 has not yet burned out a light bulb. The SUV has 106,900 miles on it. I also reached 102,000 miles on my Sportage 4x4's OEM Hankook SUV tires. Incredible value and great bodystyles as well. The Sportage bodystyle is the finest small SUV bodystyle available.
The 4x4 works well in freeing me from eastern Idaho's snowy, Rocky Mountain winter assault, too. I like to receive value for my dollar and I have found that Kia delivers in that area.
Than I should say all Kia owners except iluvmysephia are cheap. C'mon man! Hard to argue otherwise. Who really wants to buy a Kia? Don't you just settle for one?
"I will be sure to tell that to the immigrant yard workers in my neighborhood."
I wouldn't assume that I'm better than anybody based on what they drive. Maybe somebody earns six figures is driving a Kia so that they can max out their 401k and retire at 50. If that's their decision, more power to em. Someone I know just retired and traded in his Cavalier on a Caddy STS in the same week.
A lot of these messages sound a little more condescending than they should in a "community".
Fact of the matter is that alot of people can't buy a brand new anything. If you've never been able to buy new, it probably would feel pretty damn good to slip into your brand new $15,000 car and nobody should look down on you for that. It doesn't mean that they're cheap or dumb or house poor.
I have a house, drive an Altima and have money in my pocket all the time and no debt besides my mortgage and modest car payment. If I traded up to the G35 that I long for, it would get tight someplace else.
DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO FIND ANY PAST HISTORY ON RECALLS OR BULLETINS ON THEIS CAR, :mad: AS I ONLY HAVE 42000 MILES AND IT IS ONE PROBLEM AFTER ANOTHER AND THIS PAST WEEK THE BALL JOINTS BROKE AND I AM LUCKY I AM ALIVE! THIS CAR IS A PIECE OF TRASH!!!WHY HASNT ANYONE SPOKEN UP ABOUT IT?IF THERE ARE ENOUGH PEOPLE WE CAN FILE A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST JAGUAR!!!ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE WITH PROBLEMS ON THIS MODEL>>>>>>.PLEASE WRITE ME....
So why didn't you post this over in the Jaguar Problems forum? This forum is really a combination of 2 factors: prestige and reliability. Your car really only falls into 1 category -reliability, and that in itself is a report on 1 car, not multiple vehicles. In answer to your question, the NHTSA lists ALL recalls.
Also, I say this half kiddingly to all of those here who can't afford a new car, and spend a lot of time here - do you think you might have a better use of time? Take a class? Readup on the financial markets?
I don't perceive the tone as intolerance. This is BTW a discussion about what car you wouldn't wanna be caught dead driving, not how can we all get along. Plus this is a car enthusiast's blog is it not? Don't we all have a bit of longing in our souls for a sweet ride? Why else post here then?
And yea, put me down for a no Kia in my garage. May be an OK car, but I'm drooling over a TL now and trying to justify it's place in my garage when I've got so many other demands on my wallet since I'm a family man. There's no way I'm buying a Kia and giving up on my auto desires. I'd close my business, collect UE, sell my house, move to the beach, go on welfare etc. before I'd buy one. Its like an admission of having lost in this race called life.....
Anything made by GM Any American truck (unless I start working in construction) Any American SUV Any American minivan Any Kia Miata Quest Phateon Eurovan Avalon LS430 Corvette BMW 7-series
....to pipe in on this one, considering, first, that I'm admittedly poor and second, that my last car was a not-too-pretty '87 Honda Accord sedan (DX, complete with crank windows and factory no A/C). My standards are quite low in this category. Beaters are just fine as long as they're not SCREAMING, meaning, the junkier the car, the more I'd prefer it not draw attention to itself or to me (the Honda was gray with gray interior, perfect). No chrome, spoilers, bright colors or otherwise strange paint jobs. I guess I'd draw the line with certain makes or models of certain years and in certain colors, though I can't name many off hand; I also wouldn't drive a car that was out and out dangerous--I'd rather take cabs and public transportation, which is what I do now. If I can't afford to maintain a car at least somewhat, I'd rather not have one.
Most all of us were poor at one time. I had some good "poor guy" cars back in the day.
1974 260Z - $1,050 drove for two years with only bandaid maintenance and sold for $1,050.
1977 MGB - $2,200 (sweetheart deal from a friend's Dad) drove for almost two years and traded it for a Jetta Diesel and $1,000 cash. I sold the Jetta a couple of weeks later for $1,700.
1978 VW Scirocco - $3,200 drove for 80,000 miles (with mucho regular repairs) and sold for $2,000.
The 260 was by far the best out of these. At the time (1992) the same money would have only bought a newer car that I wouldn't have been seen dead in - such as a Hyundai or one of the other Koreans (they were really bad then).
Someone like me...that makes a 6 figure salary and NOT cheap!, but doesn't believe in spending 25 grand + just to get me from point a to point b. Besides I cannot get the kind or warrenty as I do my Kia. I don't care what people think, they don't know me so why should I care? Not only that I trade my Kia with less money. I used to buy Bimmers and Mercedes. The last 7 years every year I have bought Kias and they were more reliable and cheaper to maintain! They have gotten better each model year. I also live in a modest home as compared to my salary. I just don't see the point in spending big money on simple things.
Glad to see that the "Love/Hate Korean Cars" unwritten topic is morphing into possibly the only more persistent one of "Cars: Transportation or Passion?"
Well, here's what I was driving back when I hit rock bottom, right after my divorce when I was around $26,000 in debt and had to move in with my Grandma and rent out my condo.
Still, I guess it doesn't look bad for a $250 junkyard car with 248,000 miles on it. I'm in much better shape financially now than I was back then, so naturally, I've adjusted my vehicle purchases accordingly. Hey, this one cost nearly 4x what that Newport did! :P
I thought this forum was a place for us to share our car dislikes, not a place for us to criticize one another for those car dislikes.......
If a guy says he hates Kia, then just let him be. Do we really have to debate this stuff? Some people don't like to post because other people will attack their post. Let's just let freedom ring, eh?
and you Kia people. If I don't like Kia, that is MY business. Please dcon't waste your time trying to convince me, at least not in this forum.
This forum is about what YOU would not be caught dead in, not about you convincing me that MY dislikes are ill-founded.
let's try to stick to the question: not "Would rather not drive" not "Wouldn't be caught dead BUYING one" not "What do you mean you don't like Kia?"
I heard somewhere that men driving Camcords are sometimes castrated spouses.
I don't know. I would be moderately embarassed to have a Camry as my sole mode of transportation, and slightly less embarassed to have an Accord just because of the "sensible shoes" personna these two project.
To me, a Kia says that the driver is a poor decision maker, and since people pay me for my advice, I can't have that.
People might have said that about Hyundai 10 years ago, and Honda 25 years ago, and perceptions change, but crappy cars aren't an area in which I would like to be a trail-blazer/guinea pig.
if you were in the type of job where you had to put on a good impression and part of that impression was your car. But otherwise, I wouldn't be ashamed of a Kia. I wouldn't actively seek one out most likely, but if someone gave me one I wouldn't turn it down.
My real estate agent bought a Kia Amanti about a year ago. I wonder how that worked for her? Before that, she had a late 80's/early 90's Lincoln Continental that was kinda beat-up, and actually looked a bit like a ghetto cruiser because it had a really deep tint on it, and had wheels that stuck out too far. But hey, she sold my condo!
yeah, but I'd imagine that in some careers, like real estate, various types of high-end sales, and so on, you almost NEED to impress people with your car. Okay, so you might have to keep trading that car every couple years for the next "in" thing, but if that keeps up a good impression with the clients, it helps with your income.
Now in many positions, it just doesn't matter. For example, I could go buy (well, okay, probably lease) a new Benz S-class, but it wouldn't do a thing for my standing at my job. Heck, it would probably do just the opposite, and piss off a couple of my co-workers. Hey, that's a good idea...there's a few here that need a good pissing off. :P
As for friends, I don't care what you drive. Just as long as you're happy with it and aren't constantly feeling the need to defend it, or constantly build yourself up by belittling my ride. Cars don't make or break the friend.
To me, a Kia says that the driver is a poor decision maker, and since people pay me for my advice, I can't have that.
I guess it depends who is judging your decision making. The person who thinks the Kia is a poor decision might also think your new Bimmer is a poor decision, given the dependability rap they've gotten lately. One of my co-workers just bought a new 3 series. I don't plan to judge her based on that decision....unless she refuses my request to take it for a drive. :-)
I'm pretty sure she'll grant my request - she isn't the type to be overly protective of her "stuff." AND she is new to the company and I am one of the "experienced" guys, so she might think she can't say no. Hmm, I wonder if I am "harassing" her if I ask if I can drive her car......
If she offers to take the drive with me, I am saying "no."
I wouldn't buy a new Kia because I could get a much nicer older car for the same amount of money or less. But, then again, some people want a new car regardless of what it is.
Any big SUV 'cuz I don't need it. Any luxury SUV, esp. Cadillac & Lincoln. The worst: H2. I'd be embarrassed.
Also, anything with rust. I hate rust.
I'm OK with old & cheap cars... and my preference is for old cars in good shape... a '94 Avant would do the trick nicely, as would a '97 528i or a '91 300E.
My present pride and joy is a 15-year-old Civic with 210k that looks like it's been rode hard and put away wet... no rust, though.
Aint that the truth. I usually have much more respect for a well kept old car than a cheap new one.
I understand your point. But it gets to be TOO expensive to keep that old car going (if you can find parts). It gets to the point you can buy a new cheap one and trade it every year.
I sort of agree with this person!The spouse drives between 35,000-40,000 miles per year, so we do not go out looking for used, or over say 18K MSRP vehicles.
why waste the money, when it will have 200,000 in 5 years, pay off time?
I would maybe consider the new Rio sedan, but the thing is sort of small(for today's 8 ton SUV's around my area), and slow to 60(read around 10.5-11 seconds).
I test drove one, and it was slightly better than the Scion xA. At least it felt faster, even if it isn't.
That Versa sedan, form what literature I got, will be nearly 176 inches total length. That is about Corolla size. The 5 door hatch will be 169/1 inches, I believe the booklet said. That is about the size of our old 1990 Nissan Sentra. 120HP/125 torque... may be fast enough, and just large enough.... to be considered on our next tour of car buying.
What would I not drive? Said it once before, anything over say 19K(on sale), Truck or truck based suv... maybe a cross over. Also trying to get away from sedans. they are nice, but limited space use vs a hatch.
Also, as of today, no more thinking about Hyundai,unless they return -somewhat-to their original designs. I drove on a lot today and had to pass by a ton of Sonata's to find the new Azera! If not for the headlights, and bustle design in the rear, I would not have been able to tell it apart form the Sonata's! What gives? Why pay 24-28K for an Azera,when it looks like a 18-23K car, the Sonata?
I was looking to see the new Accent Sedan, which there were none. I was underwhelmed by the Azera. Only thing I read is the 263HP engine can hit 60 in 6.5 seconds, and get 28mpg hwy. That may be it's saving grace?
Plus, I never had a radiator give out on me, ever...until i had a 99 sonata gls v6. flushed the fluid every 2 years, 60K...and the thing failed(hole in it, burned a hole in the tranny fluid line, too) at 113,000. Now, they say to flush the radiator every 30K. (used to be every 60K, recommended).
Comments
Yeah, I'm sure it was weaving in and out of traffic and swerved right in front of the truck.
At the moment, I have a 4-door sports sedan and a 2-door sports coupe. But I am considering the purchase of a winter beater/econobox as a third car to keep the mileage down on my fun cars that are still in excellent condition. And save on gas too!
At any rate, I enjoyed your post. It was hilarious. Thanks for the laughs.
Ron M.
Actually it basically did. The accident happened just before the line hit a viaduct. Since it had been raining the viaduct was flooding. Since the streetcars had their electric engine down low they couldn't go through water more than a foot or so deep.
The street car in front of the one involved in the accident was told to turn around. A switch was tripped to allow the street car to make a left turn to a turn around so it can go back in the opposite direct.
Details about what happened next is not clear but the switch remained open so streetcars could continue to turn around before the flooded viaduct. It is not sure if the motorman of the streetcar was aware of anything but it was reported that he hit the switch at a faster pace than it should of if they were making the turn. The street car made the left turn into the gasoline truck.
It is theorized that the motorman was unaware of the flood and that the switch was set to turn the streetcar left. Since the motorman died in the accident we will never know what happened.
Either way the streetcar made the left turn into the gasoline truck. It wasn't the truckers fault, it was the fault of the streetcar.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Gee - do ya think?
I'm pretty sure these very successful multibillion dollar enterprises have a handle on how to succeed in the automobile business.
GM and Ford used to be successful enterprises, but look at 'em now
I've heard a few jabs, directed mainly directed at Toyota. These were from the Mopar Mailing List I belong to...mainly in member's signature blocks in their emails.
One guy's sig block read "I'd rather have a real 'Ota than one of them Toy ones!" And another read "The last thing I want is a car for 'everyday people'".
I know there's an acronym list for car names on the web somewhere. I don't remember what the acronym for "Toyota" was, but "Honda" was "Had One, Never Did Again"!
A few other gems...
"Hope You Understand Nothing's Dependable And Inexpensive"
"Can Hear Every Valve Rattle On Long Extended Trips"
"Old Leisurely Driven Sedan Mostly Based On Buick's Illegitimate Leftover Excrement"
"Killed In Action"
And one that tends not to get mentioned in Mopar forums... "Mostly Old Parts And Rust"!
Since it's winter, let me throw old VW buses onto this list. That air colled motor couldn't produce enough heat to warm up that metal box on 50 degree days and I can't drive when I'm huddling under a blanket.
me: My wife uses her Silverado to commute; and then to haul hay and drag her small horse pasture. The Silverado is also much better at hauling sand for the driveway than our cars
That whole book and cover thing applies here.
Of course, the housewives in our planned community that cruise the neighborhood in their H2s are a whole different story.
And if your neighborhood is anything like mine, the maids and nannys are driving around in Accords wondering why everyone is so wasteful in their H2s and C43s.
To each his own, I guess (but I would be hard pressed to drive an Hummer even if it was free).
That reminds me, last week I saw a Porsche Cayenne hauling a trailer! Not a travel trailer or anything, but a little bigger than a yard waste trailer...a junk hauler of some kind. I tried to get a pic, but it was cut off at the back of the vehicle.
Or "I'm just cheap"
Driving a Kia means you are lacking nothing.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Maybe Hyundai is starting to build up a little steam, but Kia is where Hyundai was in 1988.
Which is more than many people are able to say (including myself). And if it's a recent Kia, then it's not even a sub-par car.
The 4x4 works well in freeing me from eastern Idaho's snowy, Rocky Mountain winter assault, too. I like to receive value for my dollar and I have found that Kia delivers in that area.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Than I should say all Kia owners except iluvmysephia are cheap. C'mon man! Hard to argue otherwise. Who really wants to buy a Kia? Don't you just settle for one?
I wouldn't assume that I'm better than anybody based on what they drive. Maybe somebody earns six figures is driving a Kia so that they can max out their 401k and retire at 50. If that's their decision, more power to em. Someone I know just retired and traded in his Cavalier on a Caddy STS in the same week.
A lot of these messages sound a little more condescending than they should in a "community".
Fact of the matter is that alot of people can't buy a brand new anything. If you've never been able to buy new, it probably would feel pretty damn good to slip into your brand new $15,000 car and nobody should look down on you for that. It doesn't mean that they're cheap or dumb or house poor.
I have a house, drive an Altima and have money in my pocket all the time and no debt besides my mortgage and modest car payment. If I traded up to the G35 that I long for, it would get tight someplace else.
In answer to your question, the NHTSA lists ALL recalls.
Also, I say this half kiddingly to all of those here who can't afford a new car, and spend a lot of time here - do you think you might have a better use of time? Take a class? Readup on the financial markets?
I don't perceive the tone as intolerance. This is BTW a discussion about what car you wouldn't wanna be caught dead driving, not how can we all get along. Plus this is a car enthusiast's blog is it not? Don't we all have a bit of longing in our souls for a sweet ride? Why else post here then?
And yea, put me down for a no Kia in my garage. May be an OK car, but I'm drooling over a TL now and trying to justify it's place in my garage when I've got so many other demands on my wallet since I'm a family man. There's no way I'm buying a Kia and giving up on my auto desires. I'd close my business, collect UE, sell my house, move to the beach, go on welfare etc. before I'd buy one. Its like an admission of having lost in this race called life.....
Any American truck (unless I start working in construction)
Any American SUV
Any American minivan
Any Kia
Miata
Quest
Phateon
Eurovan
Avalon
LS430
Corvette
BMW 7-series
1974 260Z - $1,050 drove for two years with only bandaid maintenance and sold for $1,050.
1977 MGB - $2,200 (sweetheart deal from a friend's Dad) drove for almost two years and traded it for a Jetta Diesel and $1,000 cash. I sold the Jetta a couple of weeks later for $1,700.
1978 VW Scirocco - $3,200 drove for 80,000 miles (with mucho regular repairs) and sold for $2,000.
The 260 was by far the best out of these. At the time (1992) the same money would have only bought a newer car that I wouldn't have been seen dead in - such as a Hyundai or one of the other Koreans (they were really bad then).
Someone like me...that makes a 6 figure salary and NOT cheap!, but doesn't believe in spending 25 grand + just to get me from point a to point b. Besides I cannot get the kind or warrenty as I do my Kia. I don't care what people think, they don't know me so why should I care? Not only that I trade my Kia with less money. I used to buy Bimmers and Mercedes. The last 7 years every year I have bought Kias and they were more reliable and cheaper to maintain! They have gotten better each model year. I also live in a modest home as compared to my salary. I just don't see the point in spending big money on simple things.
:P
Still, I guess it doesn't look bad for a $250 junkyard car with 248,000 miles on it. I'm in much better shape financially now than I was back then, so naturally, I've adjusted my vehicle purchases accordingly. Hey, this one cost nearly 4x what that Newport did! :P
If a guy says he hates Kia, then just let him be. Do we really have to debate this stuff? Some people don't like to post because other people will attack their post. Let's just let freedom ring, eh?
and you Kia people. If I don't like Kia, that is MY business. Please dcon't waste your time trying to convince me, at least not in this forum.
This forum is about what YOU would not be caught dead in, not about you convincing me that MY dislikes are ill-founded.
let's try to stick to the question:
not "Would rather not drive"
not "Wouldn't be caught dead BUYING one"
not "What do you mean you don't like Kia?"
I don't know. I would be moderately embarassed to have a Camry as my sole mode of transportation, and slightly less embarassed to have an Accord just because of the "sensible shoes" personna these two project.
To me, a Kia says that the driver is a poor decision maker, and since people pay me for my advice, I can't have that.
People might have said that about Hyundai 10 years ago, and Honda 25 years ago, and perceptions change, but crappy cars aren't an area in which I would like to be a trail-blazer/guinea pig.
My real estate agent bought a Kia Amanti about a year ago. I wonder how that worked for her? Before that, she had a late 80's/early 90's Lincoln Continental that was kinda beat-up, and actually looked a bit like a ghetto cruiser because it had a really deep tint on it, and had wheels that stuck out too far. But hey, she sold my condo!
Thr problem with buying a vehicle to impress people is that once you get the thing paid off, it is no longer the "in" car.
It is a lot easier to find friends/colleagues who value who you are and what you do more than the sled you drive.
Of course, you don't live on the west coast.(g)
Now in many positions, it just doesn't matter. For example, I could go buy (well, okay, probably lease) a new Benz S-class, but it wouldn't do a thing for my standing at my job. Heck, it would probably do just the opposite, and piss off a couple of my co-workers. Hey, that's a good idea...there's a few here that need a good pissing off. :P
As for friends, I don't care what you drive. Just as long as you're happy with it and aren't constantly feeling the need to defend it, or constantly build yourself up by belittling my ride. Cars don't make or break the friend.
I guess it depends who is judging your decision making. The person who thinks the Kia is a poor decision might also think your new Bimmer is a poor decision, given the dependability rap they've gotten lately. One of my co-workers just bought a new 3 series. I don't plan to judge her based on that decision....unless she refuses my request to take it for a drive. :-)
I'm pretty sure she'll grant my request - she isn't the type to be overly protective of her "stuff." AND she is new to the company and I am one of the "experienced" guys, so she might think she can't say no. Hmm, I wonder if I am "harassing" her if I ask if I can drive her car......
If she offers to take the drive with me, I am saying "no."
I could care less that you don't like Kia's!! My post NEVER tried to convince to like Kia. My post simply stated I like Kias and why.
let's try to stick to the question:
not "Would rather not drive"
not "Wouldn't be caught dead BUYING one"
not "What do you mean you don't like Kia?"
DON'T tell what I should POST. This ia an open forum!!
Any big SUV 'cuz I don't need it.
Any luxury SUV, esp. Cadillac & Lincoln.
The worst: H2. I'd be embarrassed.
Also, anything with rust. I hate rust.
I'm OK with old & cheap cars... and my preference is for old cars in good shape... a '94 Avant would do the trick nicely, as would a '97 528i or a '91 300E.
My present pride and joy is a 15-year-old Civic with 210k that looks like it's been rode hard and put away wet... no rust, though.
To each his own.
-Mathias
Aint that the truth. I usually have much more respect for a well kept old car than a cheap new one.
I understand your point. But it gets to be TOO expensive to keep that old car going (if you can find parts). It gets to the point you can buy a new cheap one and trade it every year.
why waste the money, when it will have 200,000 in 5 years, pay off time?
I would maybe consider the new Rio sedan, but the thing is sort of small(for today's 8 ton SUV's around my area), and slow to 60(read around 10.5-11 seconds).
I test drove one, and it was slightly better than the Scion xA.
At least it felt faster, even if it isn't.
That Versa sedan, form what literature I got, will be nearly 176 inches total length. That is about Corolla size. The 5 door hatch will be 169/1 inches, I believe the booklet said. That is about the size of our old 1990 Nissan Sentra.
120HP/125 torque... may be fast enough, and just large enough.... to be considered on our next tour of car buying.
What would I not drive? Said it once before, anything over say 19K(on sale), Truck or truck based suv... maybe a cross over.
Also trying to get away from sedans. they are nice, but limited space use vs a hatch.
Also, as of today, no more thinking about Hyundai,unless they return -somewhat-to their original designs.
I drove on a lot today and had to pass by a ton of Sonata's to find the new Azera! If not for the headlights, and bustle design in the rear, I would not have been able to tell it apart form the Sonata's!
What gives?
Why pay 24-28K for an Azera,when it looks like a 18-23K car, the Sonata?
I was looking to see the new Accent Sedan, which there were none.
I was underwhelmed by the Azera. Only thing I read is the 263HP engine can hit 60 in 6.5 seconds, and get 28mpg hwy.
That may be it's saving grace?
Maybe if they made cars like this.....
http://www.machinedesign.com/ASP/strArticleID/56732/strSite/MDSite/viewSelectedA- rticle.asp
Plus, I never had a radiator give out on me, ever...until i had a 99 sonata gls v6. flushed the fluid every 2 years, 60K...and the thing failed(hole in it, burned a hole in the tranny fluid line, too) at 113,000.
Now, they say to flush the radiator every 30K.
(used to be every 60K, recommended).