Caltrops - American McGee's Honda Civic





	[quote name="curst"][quote name="Senor Barborito"]Looking for safety, fuel efficiency, ease of upkeep, low cost (NO SHIT?) in roughly that order. Nothing else is important, though small tradeoffs like 2mpg for a much better look or a MUCH better tendency to not break down are highly welcome. We were thinking used Volkswagen Gulf/Jetta, but advice is welcome. If this sounds oddly like a request for the name of the OpenBSD of cars (amazing in every way except flashiness/features), I plead guilty. --SB Just this once I wish I was back in GA's IRC - some of those people just have disturbing amounts of car obsession. [/quote] The 2003 Pontiac Sunfire does all of those fairly decently, but none of them very well besides maybe safety. - I'm at around the 6000 mile mark, and the only thing I've needed to do was get an oil change every 3000 miles to maintain the warranty, otherwise, no technical problems. I'd say that's great, but really 6000 miles isn't an awfully long time. - It's got more airbags than I'll ever need, and the OnStar security system is pretty cool. - It cost $14,000 for a new car, but that was after a $4,000 rebate that I don't think is in effect anymore. - I believe I'm getting around 33-35MPG but I know I screwed up the calculation and am sort of guessing. On the non-necessity front... - It has no cruise control, which sucks. - It has a sunroof, the first car I've owned that has such a thing, and I don't know how I ever endured without one. - Finally, XM Satellite Radio is a fucking must-have in every car I own from this point on because YES. Just... YES. I have a hard time imagining that you wouldn't find at least one station that you really like. I don't even bother playing CDs in my car anymore. Oh yeah, and pretty much every woman who's seen it says it looks very cool (it is a very noticable improvement upon earlier year models). It'd probably get me laid if I wasn't already attached.[/quote]