I was just doing a little research on Edmunds.com and couldn’t believe how expensive the cheapest cars out there are. Chevy Spark with a 1.2L 6-sp standard was almost $13K. Really?
I think I’d step up to a “leftover” 2013 Elantra or Corola.
That’s what I did, bought a slightly used Corolla. It feels like a much more solid car than the Versa I test drove.
Then the brand-new but crappy 2014 Nissan Versa Sedan served its purpose. Had you bought it, the dealer might have made a small profit. But if you bought the Toyota Corolla from the same dealer’s used car lot, he/she probably made a bigger profit.
Didn’t and I doubt it anyway.
Both TPM and ABS began being required the same year for certain classes of passenger vehicles, so your truck may have been exempted, and this was part of a phase-in process where Stability/Traction control became required on an ever-greater percentage of cars until it was 100% mandatory as of model year 2012. Since for ESC to work you need both of those, the makers were for practical purposes being told to start putting in the basic circuitry and assemblies first, and work out any bugs, in preparation for full implementation later.
So that part of the OP list is moot for anyone seeking to buy a new car in the USA. Oh, and remember you’ll also have ever more complex airbag systems.
That by now the cheapest of the cheap is in the $13K range? Well, yes, that’s really what the big shock is, isn’t it? That whiny-engined noisy little car with the cheap-feeling interior for that kind of money.
USA Today article on the cheapest-list-price cars in the US market, pointing out that the companies estimate as little as 2 to 5 % of sales are of the base “stripped” model, and instead how much is the actual average sale.
I scoped out a Kia Rio with crank windows. They are a very basic car.
I drive an older model Chevy Express supplied by the company right now. Crank windows, manual locks, no cruise, no AC. I have to undo my seat belt and more or less crawl over to reach the passenger side to unlock the passenger door. I don’t even bother with the passenger window. I have to do a walk around and lock everything every time I leave the vehicle. Even though its a panel van with no windows in the back its been 30+C inside since May and I am dripping in sweat driving anywhere.
My own Chevy Van had AC, power locks and power windows which was nice except that the drivers side window failed and I was the guy at the drive through opening my door (and after the second time remembering to not use the drive through). I did not really think about those features at the time but I sure think about them now.
I enjoy driving standard on a little sedan. Had my sons Accord for a couple months a few years ago and loved, loved, loved it; but a standard transmission in that Chevy van would be a drag. Same goes for power windows and locks, in a little car I can just reach over and deal with it. AC though is a must. I remember some cold blooded California woman in a previous thread saying she never needed AC there :eek:, but this thin air breathing Calgary dude is suffering heatstroke at temperatures you Americans would be wearing sweaters. Give me my AC.
New BMW 320i in the UK:
Basic auto = £ 24,735
Leather = £1295
Electric seats, upgraded radio etc etc - there is a long list, can add another £2,000 to £3,000 to the price.
There would also be around £1000 to cover delivery and preparation.
The Polaris Slingshot has everything you need and nothing you don’t.
I’m seeing a surprising number of these around LA. No roof? Cancer from sunburn! And how do you drive when it pours down rain (as it does here, sometimes, despite what you may think)?
It’s a big motorcycle. That’s why it has three wheels, to avoid regs on actual cars.
I’d also note that the headline is at odds with the article, which suggests that the Polaris is a pretty crap driving experience.
Addressing the zombieness of the thread, WRT power windows, I find that having the rear windows cracked slightly provides a nice flow of cool fresh air on days when the ambient temperature is low but the sun heats my Prius up. I prefer the rear windows because it’s less noisy and I can still hear the navi and the radio. I wouldn’t be able to do this with manual windows, which by this point may not exist at all in new cars.
YMM, especially with cars, V.
I grew up screwing with maps and diverting my attention to maps and road signs. Thankfully, modern GPS units will auto-correct for whatever happens and use voice prompts so I can keep my attention where it belongs, on the road itself.
IMO, if you find something like that, buy it used, unless you intend to run it into the ground. Your resale value will be terrible. One way or the other, you’ll pay for it.
Also, be aware that millions of cars were produced back in the day that didn’t have these features, and some of them were an absolute POS.
Lack of features =/= Reliability
On the first I agree. At this point you are looking at narrowing your choices among basic new cars on the market to exclude any of those things and some of things you just won’t find a 2018 model without. Even if you can find some remaining model with say hand crank windows, why exclude some similar model with power windows where the dealer/manufacturer might be offering a better deal? As you say especially in view of the minuscule cost to the manufacturer of power windows. Assuming the idea is to ‘dispense with nonsense’, not some eccentric idea of paying more to get less. Same would obviously go for any ‘kit car’ idea. It’s fun to build the kit if that’s your thing, but obviously not the way to be more economical v the huge scale efficiencies and quality standards of today’s factory built cars.
On the second, yes like lots of questions OP appears to assume the US without saying so specifically. However it’s not car makes insisting on anything. The great majority of US buyers want what is offered or else other things would be offered or not (within the limits of govt regulations) in that intensely competitive market. There’s just a minimum level of interest required for it to be worth the car makers’ while to satisfy unusual request, as for profit entities. And particularly if a few customers want those unusual things so they can pay less. If a very few customers want something and are willing to pay a premium, that’s a different story, as is obvious from all kinds of low volume, high price, high margin cars or features on the market.
That vehicle didn’t exist when the thread was opened, so clearly it isn’t a valid factual response to the original question.
delete
There are plenty of similar basic three-wheelers which have been around since before the thread was opened, though (e.g., Grinnall’s Scorpion). Of course, at ~$20K, the Slingshot isn’t priced like a “basic vehicle,” so it’s not a very useful response.
Every car with power windows I’ve driven was “crackable”. Normally what you do is start with the window fully closed and give the button a tap: it opens a little, without engaging the mechanism that moves it all the way. You can also tap up from a lower-than-desired position. And depending on the car, you can have all necessary buttons available for the driver, which makes cracking a different window much easier than if you need to access the corresponding door as you do with a manual.
I think you read her post backwards. She means with wind-up windows she couldn’t open the ones at the back because you can’t reach them from the driver’s seat.
The last transmission I had a problem with was in a 1993 Hyundai Excel.
It was a manual transmission. The last manual transmission I ever owned.
I sincerely doubt the veracity of this statement. Perhaps you catch them off the line with AWD, but in a quarter mile race? No way. And don’t try that with ANY of the current crop of musclecars…they’re all over 300 horsepower, even the turbo four cylinder Mustang.