Damn it! I pulled the trigger. I ordered a Mustang. It will be a 2017 rag-top with the I4 EcoBoost. Automatic and red for my wife, although it will be my daily driver. I’m confident it should be delivered after the snowy season is over, and there’s a special “two-turn” thing at work that means I should probably be able to get rid of it before the next snowy season starts.
I will be a Toyota man until the day I die. 20 years ago I wrecked a Toyota truck with 200k miles on it. If I hadn’t wrecked it, I’d still be driving it today. My current ride is also a Toyota pushing 200k miles (2007 Yaris). I will drive it until the wheels fall off, and then buy another Toyota.
I like small, fuel-efficient, as-trouble-free-as-possible vehicles.
Top Gear’s Killing a Toyota, parts 1, 2 and 3:
2007 VW Rabbit (Mark V Golf) 2 door hatchback
2.5L 5 cylinder, 5 speed manual transmission
Why?
Hatchback versatility, fun to drive, handles amazingly well, acceptable acceleration, and five cylinder engines have a wonderfully growly exhaust note
This car’s been remarkably reliable, it has 135,000-ish miles on the odo and still feels solid
Downsides? Fuel mileage is less than I’d want, I average high 20’s, but most of my driving is on hilly back roads, not highways
Would I buy again? Probably, but I’d have to decide between the GTI or the TDI
that might have made for good TV, but it wasn’t really evidence of anything. and has little to no relevance to today’s Toyotas.
My mom was unable to drive anymore so she gave me her old 2006 Malibu. I hardly ever drive and this car works, so I drive it. No plans to get a different car, and I may not even keep this one. Thankfully I now live in a place where I don’t have to drive (I’m thankful because I strongly dislike driving.)
I try to bike/ take the metro as often as possible, but I have a 1998 Ford Explorer to drive if I have to. I absolutely despise the thing; I’m probably gonna get a good used SUV in the near future. I’ve been looking at the second generation Honda CR-V’s (2002-2004) or a VW Touareg from 2004 or so.
I drove Nissan King Cabs from 1976 - 2016. Loved the little trucks. Put over 200K on every one of them. During that timeframe I also drove inherited cars as alternates, most notably a 2003 Saturn Ion which was a total piece of crap. Last year we donated the Saturn to charity and traded in my 2000 King Cab on a 2016 Nissan Rogue. We don’t do that much off-road camping these days, and the ability to carry 4 adults comfortably is a nice change.
For all my bitching about Japanese culture and food, I wouldn’t buy another car from anybody but Nissan. Except that Bentley I’ve had my eye on…
The last car I owned when I could still drive was a '95 Toyota Previa. The perfect car for everything I needed it for. Seats removed for sleeping/cargo in the back, similar fuel economy to a mid-size sedan. Sized nicely between a minivan and a full size van, Bulletplroof Toyota reliability. Our home away from home, while stealth-camping on long road trips.
My new Oldsmobile was killed in a hurricane and I replaced it with a new Ford Taurus which was a great car but once it had 140K miles it was starting to cost too much in upkeep. I then got a new Toyota Corollo which I am very happy with. I drive about 15 K miles per year. Gas mileage is excellent and with 50K miles now I have only had to replace the battery and tires. The tires were probably still ok for another 20K miles but I did not want to take any chances.
I love Toyota and will buy another when the time comes.
I have a history of driving beaters and other basic transportation. My first new car was a 2008 Toyota Yaris (my seventeenth car), with the only options being electric windows and the split rear seat. No, it does not have an automatic transmission!
In late '13, on a whim, I bought a '13 Hyundai Elantra GT with every option except an automatic transmission. It has leather seats (driver’s side is electric 6-way), seat heaters, Bluetooth with voice commands, and a panoramic sunroof. The seats were the main reason I bought it, since I travel a lot. I still like it, but I have a hankering for a land yacht with more power and sound insulation. I’m thinking the big Buick (LaCrosse- I hates SUVs and “crossovers”) may be in store soon.
2015 Kia Sorrento, V6, AWD… because it’s what the boss handed me the keys to when I got here (company vehicle). I like it enough to consider one when my time at this job is done, and I go back to the States. Good power, excellent turning radius, comfortable. Fuel efficiency isn’t the greatest in stop-n-go traffic… but then again my right foot isn’t well-known for being lightweight, and the company pays for the gas.
2000 Mitsubishi Pajero IO. (soled elsewhere as a Pinin) It’s a small SUV that is not sold in the States.
I live on a tropical island with direct saltly sea breeze blowing on my home all the time. I follow the buy cheap and drive it until it falls apart from the rust strategy.
Rocinante (Jeep Wrangler) turned 250,000 km on Friday. Where’s the birthday party smilie? 
2005 Pontiac Vibe GT
I drove by it on the side of the road one day, while I was getting fed up with the shitbox that I was driving. I ended up calling the seller and taking it for a test drive. I liked the way it handled. I liked the styling. It is comfortable to ride in. It had good reliability reviews (the car is basically a Toyota Matrix with a Pontiac badge on the hood). And my older mother could get in and out of it with ease (she has trouble with sedans, because they’re often too low to the ground).
It also had the three things I insist on in any car I buy: four doors, a manual transmission, and air conditioning.
Several years later, and I still enjoy driving the thing.
My Honda Accord got totaled, so I’m driving a Honda Civic. I’m a big fan of Honda’s automobiles.
I drive a 2008 Jeep Patriot, little brother to the Liberty, its a POS and I hate it. The interior geometry is weird (people are NOT cartoons with extra long gorilla arms), it has a teen tiny motor that is barely adequate, a continuous velocity transmission that when you lock it into “gear” for a speed control assist going down a steep grade, shifts up anyway and the center console is designed for rubber arms that can bend backwards because it has a flip out phone holder that doesn’t fit any phone I’ve ever seen and it sticks out over the cup holders even when not extended. It gets decent gas mileage. I only drive it because of a series of unfortunate events that led to us having two cars being paid for and my much loved Chevy S10 which went to my son who needed something affordable and reliable. I’m getting rid of the damn thing as soon as I can.
2013 Toyota Tacoma … seems the last lil’ pick-up with a regular cab … it’s good on gas mileage (ave. 25 mpg) and will easily carry sheets of plywood … yeah, I use plywood often enough to need that in a rig …
I bought a Mini Cooper in 2003 when they were just starting to sell the new versions in the US. My previous car, a 1983 Chevy Cavalier (which I got new) had not been rebuilt properly after a smash up, and over the years had developed more and more problems with its electrics and damp seeping in through leaks (from poor seals from the equally poor repair job). So when it got to be undriveable, I decided to get the Mini. Good fuel economy, good handling, a small car that was easy to manuever.
I wanted to bring it with me when I moved, but it would have required some changes (Minis sold in the US have slightly different specs than their UK counterparts), and a left-hooker is expensive to insure, especially when insurance companies here decided to change me as a new (ie as if I were 18 years old and inexperienced) driver, instead of a driver with a clean record going back to 1984.
My brother sold my US Mini (which was bought by a guy for his university-aged daughter who promptly wrecked it.)
Bought a second hand 2001 Mini once I got here, and it turned out to be an absolute piece of shit* – I wanted one because I figured being familiar with the make and model of my previous 10 years or so daily driver would make the change to right-hand driving a bit easier. Theory was not reality, as the POS I bought threw its transmission during morning rush hour on the M3.
Now I drive a new-to-me 2009 Mini, no problems. I’m happy with it for all of the same reasons I was happy with my original Mini. It’s almost paid for, and the company have been putting pressure on me to trade it in and start the payments parade over again with a new model. Fuck off – I’m paying this one off and keeping it in good nick, as it’s only got 43K or so miles on it.
*Bought off a garage instead of going to a dealership, pressured into buying it by my spouse despite me pointing out that its maintenance and repair history had huge gaps in it, &c. Turns out the car had not only been wrecked, but submerged, so had a lot of electrical problems. It had also had seven previous owners, and not two, as the seller claimed. The cherry on the bun was finding out that its steering column had been replaced twice, as it had a tendency to break free whilst the car was in motion. I sold it for scrap – only regret is that just before it blew its transmission, I’d just put four new Continentals on it. The tyres were worth more than the car at the end of the day. The Mini I currently drive was acquired from a licensed dealership by me on my own, ffs.
Ouch! :eek: