I used to drive 500 a week when gas was $1.50/gallon. My Cavalier got 35mpg. That would cost me $120 a week now. It cost $21/week with the Cavalier. doh!

 

375 miles @ 15 mpg = $90
375 miles @ 25 mpg = $54 and change.

 

Yeah I hear ya...

FWIW - my truck is getting 16mpg city and about 18.5 on the highway (empty). I'm sure pulling Frankie would lower those stats a few points; but not that much, the truck does really well with a load.

I'm spending approx. $420/month +/- on gas, so I guess I was pretty close to the 375 miles mark... Looks like it may be just a smidgen different:

17mpg
24 gallon tank
$3.60/gallon (average cost)
$86.40 to "fill up" - never actually costs me that much; usually about $78 ish...
Filling up once every week, topping off usually around Thursday...

 

Wonder what the fiance would do if I brought this home to her:

https://www.tamparacing.com/forums/f...sale-pics.html

 

Cry!

Bring this home and she will marry you..

eBay Motors: Ford : Focus (item 250246595680 end time May-19-08 20:40:50 PDT)

Salvage title for this one.. but might be in the budget..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-...m300223883391&

 

Josh, i haven't heard great things about the SVT focus.. reliability seemed to be an issue.. check out the edmunds consumer reviews..

Unfortunately Amanda, i'm not seeing that type of movement up here.. and this place is loaded with trucks.. which I think is the problem...
People are asking what i'm getting for the truck via trade in.. if it were a diesel, i think i'd have better luck.

Went to Ford, found a nicely equiped (leather, etc) 08 Fusion with Sport pacakge (although I WISh they offered a manu-matic in the thing.. it's got a 6spd auto). Car drives really nice and you can toss it around quite a bit and it's very solid and tight in the turns, would have to say that I'm impressed.

so it comes down to
08 - Mazda 3 5 door sport 5spd 156hp, peppy little motor, good tight handling, but smallish feel inside (to me at least, coming from an F250.. )
21/29mph

08 - Ford Fusion SE v6 (4 cyl would be too small for this car) 221 hp 6spd auto, sport package (susp, wheels, etc) smooth ride/power..
solid car, roomy-er. 18/26mpg

both dealers are offering 6k for the F250, which is right about where kelly BB and edmunds put it.
we're torn between the two, as the dealers are about $400-$500 apart right now.. and we both like both cars, they each have their own items we like, but not enough to say.. "ok, that's it"

however, if I can get the Fusion for the Mazda price, i'm all over it.. much more car for the money..

 

Fusion > Mazda3.

SVT-F did have some issues; but I've owned one in the past and am very familiar with the car and its problems. I loved the car, and would gladly tackle those hurdles again

Side note: I started monitoring the mileage for the week today!!!

 

Don't rule out "ze germans". Our Rabbit is a blast to drive and has been 100% problem free (15-months old with over 20k on the clock). The new Rabbit comes with power EVERYTHING and TONS of options usually found in cars over $20k...a comparably priced Focus or Fusion has power NOTHING and very sparce options. A new VW built before '09 has a 4yr/50k warranty. The new '09 models will start with a 3yr/36k with free maintenance during that time.

Not sure if this has been brough up just yet, but the new Saturn Astra is also getting pretty good reviews. Essentially it is a rebadged Opel Astra from Europe. It is a pretty sexy looking Euro hatch in my opinion.

 

we just had a focus rental car, and it was very shitty to drive thru the rain. Every puddle that car hits it would hydroplane around, it was almost like driving a boat.

 

I don't care for VW's for myself. The wife likes the Jetta/Passat - but doesn't really *want* one.

While I agree most Focii suck for options - I'm not talking about a shitty run of the mill rental car - I'm talking about the SVT-F which includes ALL the options, as well as 170hp 2.0L motor and a 6-speed Getrag. Again, I've owned several Focii before and know them in and out and wouldn't mind owning one again.

I've not seen this Saturn/Opel gimmick yet, I don't think?! Hafta gooooooogle it