O/T Chevy Cobalt

I've learned in the last few years that it is much more cost effective to buy a vehicle that is at least 3 to 5 years old with 50k miles on it. Why? Let someone else drive the big depreciation out of it! Instead of buying a new van for $25k, we took a few months to search and found a '97 Caravan with 56k on it for less than a third the price of the new one. It still has 90% of the features of a new one at much less cost (buying, insuring, and licensing are all cheaper!).

For me, the mid-90's Civic is an awesome car for economy. Get the low-end model (coupe or hatchback for light weight) with the lower-power engine and manual tranny and make the mid to upper 30's for gas mileage.

I have a 94 del Sol S myself with the 104 horsepower 1.5 and a 5-speed and average 42 miles per gallon! That includes in town, freeway, and interstate driving. In the mountains on interstate it lowers to the mid-30's. I really like my del Sol because it makes econo-box mileage and has some style instead of being ugly like a Metro, etc.

• Pics of my del Sol - Economy with style!

HTH

Aaron

As far as a small American car goes, they are probably as good as it gets.....Japan and Korea make better ones but if you feel you must buy American it's a good choice.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

We have a Civic right now, but our next car will likely be a Durango or Tahoe. Why? Have you ever seen a compact car in an accident? When you are driving one of those cars down the interstate amongst a bunch of semi's boy do you feel small. My wife's life is worth more than saving a few hundred dollars in gas a year.

A few years ago a Silverado got in a wreck with a Kia going ~55 mph near the parents. I was one of the first on the scene. The guy in the Silverado got out of the truck and walked to the nearest house to use the phone. The lady in the Kia was cut out with the jaws of life and med-flighted to the hospital. Seeing that made up my mind that I will pay extra for gas knowing I will have a better chance of walking away from an accident in one piece. There are lots of vehicles on the road bigger than that cute little cobalt.