I have to buy a new car soon

[wurm]

If you're going to check out the Escape/Mariner, you might as well look at a Mazda Tribute, as it's also one of the corporate triplets. My wife has a 2004 Tribute that she still loves. My daughter just bought a 2008 Hyundai Tucson (2 WD) that she loves, and I love my '06 Forester (although the new model does look a bit spiffier).

[RAMd®d]

A stick doesn't make a car more powerful, it just impacts HP less than an A/T.

A/Ts tend to be less efficient than manual boxes, so some HP is lost en route to the drive wheels.

The less powerful the engine, the more noticeable the impact.

[Undrpsi]

When we got my daughter her car we looked at lot's of small / mid size cross-overs. We wound up getting a Jeep Liberty. The Jeep guys are hurting since they are the 'b*stard" child of Chrylser. I have heard they are discounting heavily.

Compared to the CRV, RAV4, et al....the Jeep Liberty was a little 'beefier' feeling. It's about the same size as the others (I would call it a small SUV). Even with 4x4 and a V6 (and a lead foot daughter) it gets mid 20's gas milage. We wound up driving in the snow around Boone last year and I was very impressed with how it handled. The CRV and RAV4 we had driven the previous year seemed 'hinky' when it came to the 4x4 part. Great around town or as a kid hauler but didn't seem to do as well. Since my daughter is planning on college in Boone (and it's a snow town) we wanted something she drive around and make it home in. My daughter is also only 5 foot tall and weighs 105 pounds...she wanted something small....didn't like the midsize. She said it felt like she was driving a bus. Please note this info is a year old....newer models may have changed.

We got a great deal at Carmax (YMMV) 2006 with less than 19k miles with 3.7 litre V6, 4x4, sunroof, CD..blah..blah...only option we didn't get was leather. Ran right a 10 grand out the door.

Whatever your choice...Good Luck...and have a Merry Christmas!

Jay

[Don Kiyoti]

I'm late to the thread but here goes anyway: Look at a Honda Element! I bought an '04 AWD a year ago for about $16k and I am very, very happy with it. Utility is outstanding and it is actually a very comfortable car on road trips (I just finished driving mine 1800 miles from AZ to IL to my parents place). It's not perfectly suited for cruising at 85 though since it is so boxy (75 is fine). Very good seats. Handling is car-like, not truck-like, and surprisingly good. Very maneuverable which I love. Mileage is just OK: about 23 average, but like you, I don't drive much so it's not that big of an issue for me.

Also: built in Ohio. 200,000 mile life expectancy according to my independent Honda mechanic.

[Schpark]

DRR wrote:
It's not just American companies that are hurting, but I also did not see any foreign automakers crawl to Washington to beg for money from the American people.

Why would they? They would/do get support from their respective governments.