had it not been for the Chevy Vega, the 1970s Volvo 140 would have been the worst cars ever sold in America.
Owned a '76 Fiat 124. It was severely under powered (1.3 liter engine) and a pain to work on (replacing spark plugs always meant cut knuckles off the radiator). You knew when the air conditioner was turned on as did everyone around you (the compressor sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard). The clutch cable kept breaking, so I always kept a spare in the trunk with the repair tools. Took 20 minutes to replace if you knew what you were doing.
That being said, I put 175,000+ miles on it (the odometer broke, but could estimate the milelage with the gas fillups). The most important reason the car lasted that long I was very careful to follow the maintenance schedule and drove it like a grandma (I never replaced the clutch, e. g.). Only got rid of it because I couldn’t get parts for it anymore.
The 124 had a short wheelbase and the high ground clearance. This allowed the vehicle access to back wood areas that were recommended only for 4WD vehicles. As long as you drove slow and carefully over rough spots, you could worm your way through rugged terrain. More than once, I’d pass by a 4WD party and watch them stare in disbelief.
Another adventure awaited when the tires were getting down to the wear marks–under-steerage and a large steering wheel made for cheap thrills as you slide around the hairpin corners. I’ve tried it with other cars, but none every matched the feeling…
The “car guys” being the staff at Consumer Reports, the most respected and unbiased source in the biz. :rolleyes: Like I said, they independently reviewed the car, and they gave it their lowest rating. Not only does it have the lowest road test score it also has the lowest ranking for dependability. So, not only is it a crappy car- it’s a undependable crappy car.
Sure, it’s a 'city car" but for a third of the price and about 4x the milage, you can get one of those 30mph electric super-golf carts.
The 10% or so extra gas milage is about half wiped out by the idiotic requirement for Premium gas. Hell, I drive a very sporty car with a turbo engine, and premium isn’t required for mine.
You last argument is almost completely specious. If parking is tight and controled, a space is a space. Either it’s a legal spot or it’s not a legal spot. And, rarely could you legally park two cars in one space- and in any case any family that owned TWO “Smartcars” would be dumb beyond belief.
(The Critic)"It stinks!"
This made me LOOOOL.
And for the record I have to go with whoever nominated the Hyundai Excell. My mom and I had that as a rental car approx 1991/2 or so and I swear to GOD you had to turn off the air-conditioning and radio and pray to Jebus to be able to halfway make it onto the freeway.
BTW, Former Civic owner - currently drive a Honda Fit now and loving it. Get 36 MPG street and nearly 40MPG highway. Co-worker is still driving a '92 Accord with 440,000 miles on it (!!!) but has recently bought a Nissan Leaf and said “Once you go electric you will NEVER GO BACK.”
I’d have to agree. Maybe India, but most likely China. But there are enough of us here now to teach them how to build cars that they’ll catch up soon enough.
[QUOTE=anonymous]
Given the cost of Chicago parking spaces, it could potentially pay for it’s self.
[/QUOTE]
(emphasis mine) I usually don’t worry about others’ misuse of “it’s” vs “its,” but this just made me shudder! :eek: