Only new cars I’m pretty sure. And insurance is not really any more or less than a comparable traditional (non-hybrid) car.
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Ehhh, the American car culture is not nearly as homogeneous as foreigners think 
. While West Virginia and Montana hillbillies certainly have a boner for T R U C C Z, a lot of people also think about the same as you central Europeans.
Speaking of which…
Southea…
You’re aware Ann Arbor is a place right!?
God every other car here must be a Prius or a CMax. And that’s not as much of an exaggeration as y’all might think.
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I go to Ann Arbor at least once every week, there are Prii galore!! And yes a lot of CMaxes as well… apparently those things are real sleepers. (unrelated but two of my brothers are U of M students, one just graduated and the other just got accepted!)
There’s so many of them on Craigslist, the only thing that worries me is if they’re super slow whichever Zschmees says they aren’t and the price of replacing a battery.
I’ll quickly butt in here. A Prius is about the same speed 0-60 as a Toyota Corolla or similar. And in terms of battery replacement, they’re good for a minimum of 150,000 miles, but often last well over 200,000 miles. And you can refurbish the battery for as low as $1000 or so, and then be good for another 150,000 miles. It’s really not as much of an issue as people make it out to be.
Alright shoot me down for being petty. I’m really genuinely glad you love your car, but did you consider how that reads? Maybe I’m being overly picky but what basically what I’m trying to say is: was there any need to say that? A lot of us here have to work really hard just to own our rides.
I’m not asking to start a flame war here, I’m just trying to add a little perspective.
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Sorry to the Americans but in a way I’m actually a bit glad that Ford’s getting rid of passenger cars in the US as long as it means Ford can build Europeanized cars again. Judging by the new Europe/Asia exclusive Focus, it’s a good direction to go and we know from brands like Kia that designing cars with the European market in mind produces great results.
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I suppose the point of saying that was more of an excuse why to drive one of the most hated cars within the car community and not to mock anyone.
If it wasn‘t for my parents I would ride the bus aswell and I suppose that is the case for a lot of people. So I don‘t find anything wrong with admitting that the parents paid for the car 
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I’ve driven and helped service my friend’s 07 Prius. Not a bad car at all. Although not suited for me personally. But he’s not as into cars as I am, and just wanted a commuter. It works perfectly for that. He just hit 200k a few days ago and it’s running like a clock.
As for the battery issue, he got his changed shortly after he got it (192k about 6 months ago), and the replacement was only $800.
As for my guilty pleasures, although I’m unlikely to buy anything without a manual transmission, I finally bought a true shitbox (my old Tercel was in too good of shape aside from the rear suspension to truly be a shitbox). Got a 1999 Chevy Metro hatch in true poverty spec. 5 speed, 3 banger, no power steering, no A/C.
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Okay so to clarify this is not a guilty pleasure, I love these cars and have no shame.
Fullsize FWD Sedans.
You know, the segment that formed from the idea of a people’s luxury car? V6 engine, FWD American and Japanese cars. I love them! And I’ll be honest, if there’s a car that I’m going to buy, there’s a 92% chance it will be a Chrysler 300M. If not, Toyota Avalon.
Lots of these things (especially the ones with 250+ hp) will smoke just about every other mainstream car off the line and past 80 mph. Many new options have over 300 horsepower with FWD, and can do 0-60 in sub 6 seconds. Toyota Avalon, Nissan Maxima, Chevy Impala, LaCrosse, Taurus… something about flooring it and having traction cut in until 2nd gear is so addictive, and the feeling of the front 2 wheels yanking you along is intoxicating to me.
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If my Camry is any indication, I have no beef with them. Briefly had a 2000 Chevy Lumina (of course it was a former rental car). It was the most comfortable car I’ve ever driven. Better than the 2017 BMW X5 I briefly drove earlier this month. Better than a Lincoln Town Car or any of the RWD land yachts. No wonder old people love them so much.
As for the sporty FWD sedans, after watching the Motorweek Retro Review, I really want a J30 Nissan Maxima SE.
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I would do many things to own a Hyundai Pony one day. Or drive one.
Pure porn.
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My brother owns a 2013 Toyota Aurion. 270+HP is pretty healthy even for 1500kg. It has a certain appeal but I have to admit dynamically speaking compared to his previous MX-5 NB, the 2001 Clio RS he’s currently restoring and even my ecobox Civic it’s like trying to pilot a medieval battering ram 
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Compared to smaller cars, yeah they’re no sports cars… but that’s what I love about them! They’re so fast yet so comfortable!
Speaking of Toyotas, the last iteration of one of their better-known models deserves more attention from enthusiasts. That car is, of course, the ZZW30 MR2. For all its faults (slower than the turbocharged versions of the SW20, too impractical for anything longer than a short blast down a B-road, and odd-looking from some angles), the ZZW30 is actually an important car in my view (not just for the model, but also for automotive history as a whole) because it was literally the very last truly affordable mid-engined sports car ever built - and still is. Tragically, barring a highly unlikely change of mind by at least one volume manufacturer, it will also forever remain that way.
Even so, you can still buy a new mid-engined sports car for a base price of under $100k, but they are few and far between, and all of them are from premium manufacturers, with pricing to match. On top of that, they either have the wrong engine (718 Boxster/Cayman), are too uncompromising for daily use (Elise, Exige) or will never be offered with a manual gearbox (4C and A110 - let’s not forget that the former is dynamically underdone).
We should, however, be thankful that the 718, Elise/Exige, 4C and A110 are all still being built; without them, the only mid-engined cars on sale anywhere (not counting hardcore trackday machines from low-volume specialists - I’m looking at you, Atom and X-Bow) would be outright supercars and hypercars such as those from Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini, etc. Such beasts are even more expensive (to the point that you’d need a lottery win and/or a huge annual salary to afford one), and are often far too fast for most public roads to boot - which means that the only time and place you will ever be able to fully exploit their potential is when you are at a racetrack.
As for that MR2, that front-end styling has actually grown on me; it looks like it wants to have fun all the time, every time - and that’s exactly what you’ll be doing when you’re driving it. Besides, it’s so light (a little less than a metric ton) that even with just 138 horsepower, it’s still fast enough in the real world, with pin-sharp handling to match. And you can still find many good examples for sale at rock-bottom prices.
If you really want to pull your finger out and bag a ZZW30 (and why shouldn’t you?), here’s how:
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I actually promised the Discord that if Toyota won the 2018 Le Mans I’d have to go and get a ZZW30 (ZZT30 is a Celica). And they did. But I don’t have any garage space so the plan is still on hold.
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I really agree on the MR2 being a lovely little car but if I had to get one of the family I’d get a 1984-1989 one for maximum synthwave 
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There has been an explosion of pure EV supercars and hypercars in recent years, and they promise to make ultra-high-performance motoring completely guilt-free due to the complete absence of tailpipe emissions. However, with a few exceptions, most of them leave me cold, and here’s why.
First of all, EVs by their very nature make little, if any, discernible noise. Given that it’s been a key component of the sensory experience associated with performance cars for decades, sacrificing it at the altar of outright pace (some super-EVs can reach 60 mph from a standstill in 2 seconds or fewer) just feels wrong to me. Masking the inherent silence of an EV with artificial sounds, even if they come from conventional cars, wouldn’t change anything; it would be a case of mutton dressed as lamb.
Moreover, compared to most high-performance gasoline engines (especially high-revving, naturally aspirated ones), electric drivetrains may well deliver a less satisfying driving experience - instead of saving their best for last, near the top of the rev range, they deliver all their thrust in one big hit right away only to run out of steam as you push them harder, without any meaningful aural accompaniment at all. And where’s the fun in that?
It’s not just the lack of sound that irks me - it’s what they sound like that puts me off. Every EV sounds very similar from the outside - there’s nothing but a soft, anodyne whine when the accelerator pedal is pressed. In contrast, the engine configuration of some gasoline-powered high-performance cars is often a key part of their USP. All of the variety in the world of internal combustion will be lost forever as soon as every vehicle on the road relies purely on electric propulsion.
Even so, there is a place for EVs, but it is at the lower end of the market, where the objective is to get people from point A to point B as painlessly as possible. Then again, what’s the point if the electricity used for charging EVs isn’t taken from renewable energy sources, or actually is but can only be afforded by the wealthy?
I hope carmakers see sense before it’s too late and reserve EV drivetrains primarily for everyday cars (small cars, mid-sized family cars, SUVs and crossovers), instead of sticking them in supercars and hypercars. Even so, it’s still possible for all non-EVs to be banned outright from public roads in at least some countries (or parts thereof) at some point in the future.
Until (or unless) that day comes, enthusiasts everywhere should enjoy gasoline-powered performance cars while they still can (especially those powered by high-revving naturally aspirated engines), as their makers intended - an option which will never be available to us after governments around the world pass legislation permanently relegating them to circuit use, or even worse, a lifetime of being used as static museum pieces and garden ornaments, to be repeatedly looked at by hordes of bemused onlookers, but never able to move again under their own power.
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As much as I enjoy the sensation of speed, there is just something about a large, comfortable coupe that makes them inherently appealing for a daily. I have a special appreciation for the first wave of aerodynamic american styling. Things like the late 80s Thunderbird and LeSabre T-Type are to me inherently clean, handsome and modern designs yet with that american charme that you don’t get anywhere else (max power below 4000rpm 
). Who cares if most of them are automatic and FWD.
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Ah, land yachts. There’s a certain joy in driving the nautical. I got to drive one of the cruise ships last month. A 1976 Lincoln Continental. 460ci V8, 3 speed slushbox. Wallowed into every turn and sounded like a muscle car due to a noticeable exhaust leak. Yet it put a massive smile on my face despite my personal favorite car out of my fleet being my 1st gen Dodge Neon, which is the opposite. Small, light, nimble, and somewhat stiff.
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