Service Vehicles, was: My Fisrt House!

[Susan Kline]

At 10:42 AM 3/4/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>I forget what the PT Cruiser mileage was, but I remember
>being shocked that it was so low.

This seems to be the story these days. I looked for a new
car for a year before I gave up and found a used '93 Toyota
wagon. I kept being shocked by low mileage and high price and poor
cargo capacity. To me, Toyota got it right with the Corolla
wagon -- overdrive, I often get 31 mpg on the highway, the
seats fold, feels stable (unlike SUV's which roll over)
corners and steers neatly, and is just the right size.

I'm trying to wait till we have good hybrids or fuel cell
vehicles before replacing the Toyota. I would enjoy a Prius,
I'm sure, though I'm not sure that one could fit a grand action
into it. (I haven't checked a real one out yet.) However,
I would want to be able to plug it in at night, and I'd
like better than 45 mpg. Given that my 1993 car gets over
30 a lot of the time, the price difference just doesn't
make sense yet.

Someplace along the line, I feel that the auto industry regressed
on value while getting all puffed up on hype.