Dear Honda

[Toyz]

You missed your chance, Doc; I believe all the Yugo's are gone. And the guys federalizing the old Beetle are gone since it is no longer in production in Mexico.
Other than the price range, sounds like you are in the market for an Ariel Atom, give or take a few horsepower!
Paul

[ICEMAN6166]

with all of the government motor recall issues on the news these days i have to laugh a bit at the uneducated drivers.

on my truck the only difference the ignition switch makes is that the engine is running or not.
turn it off while driving and it steers and stops the same

all beginning drivers should be required to log 100 miles in a non power steering and brake vehicle as well as a manual trans with a mechanical clutch before getting their license and parallel park the same vehicle between 2 cars at the end of the test.

as to all of the crap doc mentioned
its not needed
it only makes the driver feel like theres no worrys and they can drive oblivious to the rest of the world.

i could go on wasting space in the forum but im not going to.

btw
the only reason i have a cell phone is theres very few payphones anymore.
the only thing i care it does is send and recieve calls.

[charliemccraney]

So, what does the green button do?

[ICEMAN6166]

So, what does the green button do?

calls the banker
https://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic ... 43802.html

[grump]

Doc, I was at my local Ford dealer last week and they had several fiesta's for a little over 15 grand. I don't know how big a car you're looking for but these don't look too bad. If I remember right it got 39 highway miles, that's not as good as a civic but it's quite a bit cheaper.

[LM14]

I got a new F150, Super Crew, 4x4, Eco Boost. Talk about complicated!

Took me 5 minutes to find the dipstick, no, really honestly took me 5 minutes.

You can't check alternator output without another computer hooked to it. The computer controls the alternator so it charges no more than necessary for better mileage. You don't need to bother measuring voltage at the battery, it only keep it charged to the minimum and putting a volt meter on it won't tell you anything anymore.

Leave the key on and the whole system shuts down and throws a low voltage error code. You either need to take it to a dealer to get the code cleared or not touch the truck for a minimum of 8 hours so the system can reset.

Shift to "towing" on the shifter stalk and it totally changes the shift points and lockup points of the 6 speed automatic tranny. Changes the down hill way the converter reacts so you still get engine braking.

From what I see, they are $15,000 trucks with another $30,000 of wiring and hoses.

Good luck finding that cheap new car. It doesn't exist.
SPark

[Toyz]

Annnnd, if you like that, you will REALLY like the 2015's. Lighter vehicles SHOULD be good for economy and power; that is until you factor in the costs of repairing any fender-bender, and the increased costs the insurers are sure to add to cover such costs.
I can remember when the diesels were simply, well, diesel engines; got good fuel economy out of "bottom of the barrel" fuel, and were not fraught with problems. Now, it's 15 mpg, early battery failures, EGR and catalysts, plus "exhaust fluid"!, and fuel priced on the level of super premium.
To top that off, my diesel tractors are rapidly heading in the same direction!
Arrrgh!
Paul

[ThinLizzy13]

My father in law got a base Kia forte for I think around 12k a couple years ago....No AC no power windows no power locks no power steering and it's standard. Last time he won't to get it inspected the mechanic would pass it at first because there was no power steering lol. It's been a great car, dunno if those days of the basic car are behind us or not....

[ThinLizzy13]

Last under 15k TRUCK I remember getting was my dads Chevy silverado....2004 standard no ac no power windows or locks and only had an AM/FM radio. Good luck finding that today....

[Bill W]

Don't ask me why, but every time i see these on my FB feed i think of you Doc.

http://www.eliomotors.com/

[ezernut9mm]

2002 ford ranger. buy em all day for about 2k. get 27mpg all day long. roll up windows, manual seats.. the only "extras" are a/c and a cd player. doesn't even have cruise control. haul your home depot finds home as well.

[Toyz]

Just needs a 2.3 T and a T-5. Mini- Lightning with mpg!
Paul

[slick4x4]

With the exception of AC ....
I would prefer a new Slick over anything they build today

[Toyz]

Who'da thought that, Pat?
Paul

[ICEMAN6166]

With the exception of AC ....
I would prefer a new Slick over anything they build today

im 100% with that.
only i never liked ac. vents and vent windows are fine by me.

[slick4x4]

Doc pepper...
I wish I had your smarts when it came to building an electric car....
Always thought that being in the country , a guy could put up a wind
Generator.... Park his car next to it ....
Battery storage would be a great way to use wind energy

[The Big M]

So how much would you charge me for a stripped out Civic, no computer screen, no power windows, no power steering, no power brakes, no blue-tooth, no Pandora, no green button, (OK - you can leave in the A/C), no splash guard, no undercarriage dust bunny wiper, and a motor with 2 pistons missing. Oh yea, and can you put in a real tire spare.

The closest thing to that I've found to what you're looking for is the Nissan Micra, but it's not available in the US. 5-speed and a 1.6 inline 4, for just under $10,000 with no power mirrors, locks, or windows. Nearly impossible to find a 5-speed to test drive though, and it is a 4-door unfortunately. It's rated at 109 hp but it's not nearly as light as I thought it would (or should) be, and gas mileage should have been much higher in my opinion. They're rated at 35 miles per US gallon highway, so not a gas guzzler by any means but at that power level it should be much more economical.

As for Honda, the only product they currently make that bears any resemblance whatsoever to the stuff they produced in the early 90's is the Fit. 2013 model for you though, no 2014's in the U.S. Also a four-door and equipped with power mirrors, windows, locks, airbags, traction control, electronic brake force distribution, ABS, etc., etc. but 5-speed models still have a spare tire, and they start around $15,000 here. Bluetooth but no green button or touch screen. 117 hp 1.6L, 15" wheels, 2500 lb curb weight. Unfortunately the 2015 models are set to come with more extraneous crap, less cargo space, a higher curb weight, and more power to compensate.

I searched high and low for the modern equivalent to my '92 Acura Integra. 140 hp, 2500 lb, low-slung and tossable, and an honest 32 mpg. 2 door hatch that I could fit a rolled up 8-foot long area rug in. It doesn't exist. At least not for under $27,000 or so. So I now own a 2014 Fit.

[ICEMAN6166]

yesterday while in the docs office waiting for my wife i read thru the new car and driver magaine where they had reviews on a bunch of this years models.
none of which i would waste any money on, even if i won the powerball lottery.

our 64 rambler, yes its a 4 door and has a few options,auto trans, tilt steering,reclining front bucket seats and power steering and brakes made the almost 200 mile round trip without incident, paid $1K and i have bought 2 tires a battery and a starter in the almost 2 years since buying it. the 327 4v provides plenty of power, 80 mph is no problem and it does not sound like a vacuum cleaner. 4 adults can ride comfortably with room to move about.lots of room in the trunk and there are no electronics other than the am radio. insurance is a bit over $200 per year.

its not new and fancy yet we got 3 compliments yesterday on it.

personally i cannot see any bigger waste of money than a new vehicle of any kind.

[DJ Bill]

[quote="ezernut9mm"]2002 ford ranger. buy em all day for about 2k. get 27mpg all day long. roll up windows, manual seats.. the only "extras" are a/c and a cd player. doesn't even have cruise control. haul your home depot finds home as well.


/quote]


27 MPG with which motor??? The V6's were bad on fuel....but the Rangers were really popular escort pickups for the mobile home guys for quite a while...


Bring back the 1979 Civic........now there's a good Honda. While you're at it, how bout a late eighties early nineties Toyota Pickup, with the overseas turbo diesel??

Seems the automakers only know how to make things more complex and fatter/longer/wider.....

[luckystiff]

the Fits are nice for their price points. my wife has a 2007 Fit Sport she bought new in 2007. 115k on the clock and dead reliable. i think hers was right around 17k. i think the 2015 is going to be more loaded and the price point is going go up. i've heard in the 20k range. still not bad but an increase.

i know several people that have bought Kia's of various models and have all been happy.

i'm missing my currently wrecked waiting to be fixed '67 vw squareback. even with the big high compression 2021cc dual carb, big cam engine that runs with camaros/mustangs/etc still gets 25-30mpg(pre wreck) and is much more fun to drive than any econobox and gets 10000x the attention.

i personally usually keep whatever the best small(ish) car i can buy for the money on hand when i need a daily. right now it's a 94 vw cabrio that i've had for a year and am ready for it to leave. i overpaid because i HAD to have a car that week and not much time to shop around. it gets about 25mpg. i gave $2200 for it and hope to get $1500 out of it. before that it was a $500 '84 volvo 240 wagon that i drove for over 2 years. in that 2+ years i pump a waterpump on it $25 otherwise it was gas and oil for 2 years. when the engine died i sold it for scrap for $350. i've had several of these $500-1000 multi year driver. with that cost of ownership even with the fact that it only got 20mpg or it still makes sense. plus these cheapos let me spend more money on the cool old cars instead of a monthly car payment.