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Here's a sad predicament for me: We'll be looking to buy a new mid-size sporty car in the summer. Historically we'd have looked at Pontiac but having been there today I can say they have nothing I want in this size. I did look at the G8 but it doesn't fit my needs as I don't need a large sedan, I have the Enclave for family hauling. This is more a second car and one for around town, plus one the kids can take on road trips if need be.
So I went around and looked at a few cars with my kids, all of whom drive or will drive soon. Sad sad sad, is all I can say.
Here's what we saw:
We also thought about going to Infiniti and Acura dealerships, but we don't think either will have anything nice in our price range. Lexus is out as the kids think it's "uncool" and, in their words, "definitely old fart material".
Though we could wait until 2010 I'm really not interested in waiting. We have an 8 year old Alero. The kids have all used it to learn how to drive and it shows. It's been a great car but the mileage is really adding up so we're thinking a new car in 2009 is a good idea, especially now that they drive much better. With a new vehicle I wouldn't worrying about it being "softened" anymore . Plus, with the way the economy is going we should get a GREAT deal in the spring!!
I'm open to suggestions, btw. Hence this thread.
So I went around and looked at a few cars with my kids, all of whom drive or will drive soon. Sad sad sad, is all I can say.
Here's what we saw:
- Pontiac G8. Great looking but simply too much car for what we need. We'd like to keep this in and around $25k and the G8 is more than this (>$40k with the v8!). Remember, I'm in Canada so we get "special" pricing .
- Pontiac G6. Looks not too bad from the outside but is generally disappointing. Looks old and tired overall, though. The entire Pontiac-Buick dealership was brand new but only the Solstice, G8, and Enclave stood out as "gotta have". The rest, sigh, let's not go there.
- Pontiac G5. Can't believe this costs $23k reasonably equipped! Especially after we visited the Mazda dealer...
- Mazda 6. Very very nice vehicle. Base comes in at $23k. Might go well over the $25k boundary with options, but it's simply so appealing I might be willing to go over by a couple of K.
- Toyota. Nothing there. As my kids said: "Old people cars." I still can't believe anyone willingly buys a Toyota. Walking the lot I didn't find a single vehicle I'd want to own. Totally amazing. They must lobotomize any passion out of you prior to you buying their vehicles.
- Chevrolet Malibu. I like it but my kids say it's for middle-aged old people (which I am, ironically). Not sexy enough for them to want to drive it around all the time. The wife says since it's the same price as the 6 she'd rather have the Mazda.
- Chevrolet Cobalt. Inexpensive and looks it. My wife and kids have seen shots of the Cruze and they won't buy a Cobalt if they know the Cruze will be out a year after we buy next year. Ironically, everyone is willing to opt for a Cruze instead of a 6 even though it's smaller. They think it looks "awesome", especially the interior. GM CANNOT get this into the NA market fast enough in my opinion.
- Cadillac CTS. We owned a 2004. My kids loved that car and simply went gaga over the 2009. $40k gets me a reasonably equipped CTS, incl. AWD, but man is that over my $25k desired budget. If money wasn't an object this would be the no brainer! Of course, I doubt the kids would ever get to drive it.
- Lincoln MKS. Very nice vehicle. But the price is more than the CTS! I'd rather have the CTS, thank you very much. Don't get me wrong, I think this is the first really nice Lincoln in ages. And my kids said they'd happily have one in the family. They'd rather have this Lincoln than a Mercedes or BMW -- which are "too common". The price we saw was about $46k. We're getting hosed up here.
- Honda. Nothing to see here, either. Civic is too small and too ugly. The Accord is too ugly, inside and out in our opinion. But I can at least see why people buy the Accord. It has that Uma Thurman look about it: attractive and then not depending on the light.
- Chrysler. We didn't even consider anything from Dodge as the only cars we'd even consider are the 300C and the Challenger. The former is simply too big and the latter, well, I'd rather have a Camaro.
- Chevrolet Camaro. After all the above we had a pow-wow and the family is thinking: "Maybe a Camaro as the second car would be a great idea." Since this will primarily be driven by late teens/early twenties I'd opt for the v6, it also keeps the price down and the insurance down. Unfortunately the dealer doesn't have pricing yet for Canada. Sigh.
- Nissan. Didn't get there. Only the Altima would fit out needs. But I just find Nissans feel cheap every time I've tested one. Maybe it's just an old bias.
We also thought about going to Infiniti and Acura dealerships, but we don't think either will have anything nice in our price range. Lexus is out as the kids think it's "uncool" and, in their words, "definitely old fart material".
Though we could wait until 2010 I'm really not interested in waiting. We have an 8 year old Alero. The kids have all used it to learn how to drive and it shows. It's been a great car but the mileage is really adding up so we're thinking a new car in 2009 is a good idea, especially now that they drive much better
. With a new vehicle I wouldn't worrying about it being "softened" anymore . Plus, with the way the economy is going we should get a GREAT deal in the spring!!I'm open to suggestions, btw. Hence this thread.
