Domestic Cars

5 Ways to Save Money and Commute in Style

Last updated: Nov 11, 2019 at 3:21PM
Published on: Sep 23, 2011 by tgriffith

Once upon time, buying a commuter car meant sacrificing any hope of an enjoyable driving experience. If you wanted something fun and good looking, you’d have to buy a secondary sports car for the weekends. Weekday commuter cars, at least in the U.S., were inexpensive, fuel efficient and reliable, but about as plain and boring as ordering vanilla ice cream in a parlor of 46 million flavors.

Our economy might be in a sinkhole, but that doesn’t mean people have forgotten about a fun driving experience. We just want it to come in under 20 grand or so while getting good miles per gallon and looking at least somewhat exciting. Like paying the price for vanilla but getting a nice cup of Ben & Jerry’s Schweddy Balls instead.

Keep reading for some of the most fun and good looking commuters available today!

Best Used Alternatives to Popular New Cars

Last updated: Nov 8, 2019 at 1:20PM
Published on: Jul 20, 2010 by tgriffith

What if the perfect new car for you isn’t new at all?

As one of your resident CarGurus, people occasionally ask my advice on what new car they should consider. My answer always begins the same: How will you use it?

Whether the intended use is family hauling, boat towing, weekend getaways or street racing, I always have an opinion and a recommendation. From there the discussion filters down through price, reliability, resale and performance of the vehicle in question.

While I’ll never hesitate to recommend a new car, there are usually some perfectly acceptable (and often forgotten) used options available that could save a buyer boatloads of money without much sacrifice.

Since family sedans are always near the top of the best-sellers list, here are five examples of used models that are proving their worth as alternatives to the perennial top sellers, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

Oaxaca Cars: from Suburbans to Custom VWs

May 6, 2010 by jgoods

Cars in Mexico are usually colorful, and a lot of advertising gets done via automobile. This Suburban (I think it’s a Suburban!) is touting Huatulco, a resort community into which the government has put serious money. Most likely some of that ended up decorating this travel firm’s carro.

Oaxaca is experiencing big traffic problems, and you hear lots of horns sounding off, particularly on Friday afternoons as people try to get out of the city. City government is also tearing up and repairing many downtown streets, which creates clouds of dust (polvo) in this dry season and angry reactions from residents. The typical comment is that the repairs are only coming now, just before the elections.

Should GM Pull the Plug on Chevy Trucks?

Last updated: Dec 22, 2009 at 2:59PM
Published on: Dec 21, 2009 by tgriffith

I think General Motors should kill Chevy trucks.

I arrived at this conclusion after a weekend away from my computer (it’s amazing where one’s mind goes when not influenced by the Internet) and driving past a Buick/GMC/Pontiac dealer. I began to wonder how the dealer would cope with the loss of Pontiac.

On the other side of town, I happened across a Chevy/Cadillac dealer, and that’s when my mind’s wheels really started turning. Now that only four GM brands remain, it makes sense for the company to sell Chevy, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac under one roof.

Best of the 1970s: There Has to Be Something Good from the ’70s, Right?

Last updated: Nov 4, 2019 at 2:28PM
Published on: Nov 17, 2009 by tgriffith

In the 1970s, excess and ugliness competed with lame attempts at fuel efficiency. The result? Lots of underpowered, hideous-looking cars that looked back toward the glory of the ’60s and extended a great big middle finger at them.

Very little good came out of the ’70s, but there were a couple of gems among the morbid Mustang IIs and miserable Mercury Bobcats.

First, though, we have to give a little credit to the ’70s for at least trying to deal with a triple blow to the auto industry. First, the Clean Air Act of 1970 was passed, which by itself wasn’t that big of a deal to the automakers. But then the stock market crashed in January 1973, followed by an OPEC oil embargo that raised the price of a barrel of oil by 70 percent.

A sinking economy, government regulations, and high gas prices are just as much to blame for the Pinto as Ford is. Even in those hard times, though, some cars shined and still have a lasting influence today.

Take Toyota, for example. It’s $1,700 Corolla came to the States in 1968, perfectly timed to take advantage of Americans looking for fuel efficiency and low prices, rather than big block V8s. Some early quality and safety issues were addressed, and here we are now 40 years later with a Toyota that arguably owes its U.S. success to the problems of the 1970s. For that, we are thankful. (Anyone care to make a modern-day Hyundai comparison?)

We’re also thankful for the 1978 Pontiac Trans Am. This was one of the last great cars from Pontiac before the brand dropped its large displacement engines in the face of tighter emissions restrictions. Savor those T-Tops and that 400-cubic-inch engine, friends, because once the 1980s arrived, we had a whole new ballgame.

Are any of your favorite cars from the 1970s?

-tgriffith

Domestic Cars

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