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1) Mazda 6 / Subaru - Can't decide, both are great cars with different pros and cons.
2) Nisaan - Solid, reliable, great car.
3) Honda - Still a very good car, but a little overpriced.
4) Hyundai - Fun, nice car.
5) Toyota - Overpriced, ugly, and boring. Reliable, but you might die in fiery crash after you fall asleep from boredom while driving it.
Maybe the OP is like a lot of people (me included) who'd rather push anything than drive a Ford.
Didn't you post earlier about how strongly you would consider a new Mazda do to their reliability? Kind of funny that you hate Ford, but would consider Mazda when most of their cars are clone jobs of each other.
I respect your position because it's your personal opinion, but when the entire automotive press says this is a great car and it should be on your list, it's kind of senseless to dismiss it because "I had a Ford once and it was crap". To each their own.
However, I would be remiss to not tell you that even in light of your reasons, both GM and Ford, especially Ford have come a long way in the past few years. What I say probably won't matter, but the Fusion is currently considered the best car in the class of cars you are looking at and is the reason so many people are plugging it.
I consider myself open-minded when it comes to considering different brands. I'm not one of those people who has one bad experience and says I'll never buy that brand ever again. I'm also not someone who operates on out-of-date information. Whenever I hear people slamming Hyundai as cheap junk, I immediately want to ask if they've looked at them recently or are they just remembering what Hyundai was like 10 years ago. I used to be one of those people who thought Hyundai was cheap. But I still tried to stay current with what they have and how they've improved. I do the same with the domestic brands. I readily admit that they've improved a great deal, especially Ford. But despite their improvements, I still don't agree that they're quality is on par with the Asian and European makes. This is not based on any one factor or one particular car. It's based on a lot of things including test drives, friends' and coworkers' experiences, professional reviews, etc. On an individual basis, there are definitely cars from The Big Three that I think are good. The Buick LaCrosse immediately comes to mind. But in segment I'm looking at with the constraints I've offered, I haven't seen one car that I like, not even the Ford Fusion. This thread was simply about helping me narrow my choices down further, which I believe I have.
The lease on my car expires this October. I've begun shopping for a new car and have very specific requirements.
New
Not a domestic make
Sedan
30K or less
FWD
Automatic Transmission
250+ HP
Uses regular unleaded gas
Leather seats
Moonroof
Navigation System
All the safety features (ABS, front, rear, and side airbags, traction control, etc.)
Power features (windows, locks, steering, etc.)
Bluetooth
USB/iPod integration
I'm not interested in getting into a debate about these requirements. I simply want people's opinions on what car to get based on these restrictions.
Have you looked at a Nissan Maxima?
I wholeheartedly believe the 2010 model is one of the best Japanese cars to ever come to the US. Much more well-appointed than the Camry or Accord. It might be a tad bit more than $30K for leather and nav but I bet you can talk them down.
I wholeheartedly believe the 2010 model is one of the best Japanese cars to ever come to the US. Much more well-appointed than the Camry or Accord. It might be a tad bit more than $30K for leather and nav but I bet you can talk them down.
I have looked at it, but to get it equipped the way I'd want, it would take me over 30K by a considerable amount. Plus, I'm not wild about the interior. If were going to go over 30K, I'd just get a TSX with the V6. Not as big as the Maxima, but I like the way it looks both inside and out more than I do the Maxima.
Although I'm a liberal, my refusal to buy a domestic brand isn't politically motivated. And as someone who knows lots of liberals, I have yet to meet any who fit the profile NSX described earlier. The ones I associate with oppose the war, but don't let it decide what car to buy nor do they have a desire to see America be more like Europe or Japan. They're also NOT afraid of looking too patriotic. Given how strongly they support the American worker and unions, I'm sure many would take great pride in knowing their purchase of an American car was helping their fellow Americans stay employed.
Here's a novel thought as to why someone might not want a domestic brand. Maybe he and his family have had bad experiences will all three brands in the past. Maybe he's had friends and relatives who've worked at those companies and heard firsthand why not to buy their cars. Maybe he's just not that impressed with the quality of the products they put out. Maybe he doesn't think the quality has caught up with the foreign brands. Maybe he thinks there's more to a car than just its list of features, even if that list meets all his requirements.
I really don't understand why people can't accept a person's preference at face value without having to dig deeper to learn where it comes from. If someone said they didn't want a Japanese car, I may wonder if they have a problem with Asians, but I won't bother asking. I'll simply answer their question and just accept that they have their reasons for that restriction, even if I may not agree with it.
While I may not understand your decision not to buy a domestic, I respect it. I shouldn't have automatically lumped you into the category that I described earlier. I live in a liberal college town, and unfortunately driving a domestic is frowned upon by many of the elitists here for no good reason. Didn't mean to say that you're like that.
But again, everyone has their reasons for buying / not buying certain brands and that's fine with me. The most recent car I bought is a small British sports car that is probably one of the most impractical cars on the road. But it makes me happy to drive it, so that's all that matters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gimme3steps
Maybe the OP is like a lot of people (me included) who'd rather push anything than drive a Ford.
Rather push anything than drive a Ford? That's a pretty bold statement. What do you drive that is so much better than Ford's current offerings?
Maybe the OP is like a lot of people (me included) who'd rather push anything than drive a Ford.
if you had that on a bumper sticker and were broken down on the side of the road I would assume you were too good to ride in my 91 F250 and I would not not pull over and help you out or give you a ride I would tell you to walk
Didn't you post earlier about how strongly you would consider a new Mazda do to their reliability? Kind of funny that you hate Ford, but would consider Mazda when most of their cars are clone jobs of each other.
I respect your position because it's your personal opinion, but when the entire automotive press says this is a great car and it should be on your list, it's kind of senseless to dismiss it because "I had a Ford once and it was crap". To each their own.
If you go back and read my post again you'll see that I owned a 1989 B2200 pickup, well before Ford became involved with Mazda.
As far as " I had a Ford once and it was crap", I've actually owned three Fords over the years. The first was a '62 Fairlane 6cyl that I bought for $35.00. The others were a couple of trucks, a '65 and then a '70 model with a 360 that got about 9 mpg.
My opinion is based on making a living working on just about every kind of American and most import car for the last 35 years, not just reading about what the automotive press wants you to hear. I get a real kick out of some on here quoting magazine articles and TV shows but have no real experience with anything they're pushing. That was the reason for this question "Do any of you guys own or drive these cars you're recommending?"
Last edited by Gimme3steps; 06-11-2010 at 05:08 PM..
if you had that on a bumper sticker and were broken down on the side of the road I would assume you were too good to ride in my 91 F250 and I would not not pull over and help you out or give you a ride I would tell you to walk
Well I had pretty much narrowed it down to the Accord and Sonata. But now that I've seen what the Accord refresh looks like, it looks like the Sonata is emerging as the best option. I just read that the Turbo version will be priced under 30K even when fully loaded, will get 274 hp and a possible 34 mpg.
One thing I've been considering recently is getting an SUV. In my original post, I said no SUVs. I must be getting old cause now sitting so low to the ground isn't very comfortable on the back. So now the issue is finding an SUV that meets all the other requirements I laid out and doesn't look hideous.
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