So I test drove some cars today...

[Nick R]

And now I'm very sad. I love my car but... There wasn't a single car I test drove I didn't like as much or more. My top in order. They all made the interior of my cavalier look like a 5 year old designed it... Sigh.

1. Mazda3
2. Fusion Sport
3. Chevy Malibu
4. Nissan Altima
5. Ford Focus

I am ashamed to admit that I absolutely LOVE the Mazda3. It was simply incredible. The interior was excellent, the engine had gobs of power (2.5L), the transmission was smooth, the ride was perfect, the handling excellent.... I was extremely sad to hand the keys back to the sales guy. The only downside for me... The fact that it says Made in Japan on the door sticker. Sigh... My tune is changing slightly you'll be happy to know. I'm still pro buy-american, but I love the 3 so much that I would probably throw that personal rule out the window for it.

The Fusion was another high point. The 3.5L was powerful, the ride was smooth, the interior very nice. Downside for me was that the turn signal felt akwardly high to use.

Malibu was also nice, though the inside was a bit smaller. The 2.4L felt a little anemic compared to the first two, but the transmission was I feel, better than the Fusions.

Nissan Altima was nice, it was the 4 cylinder with CVT (they only had the 4 cyl critic) and it was very impressive. The interior had a little bit of an odd layout, to me anyway. Other than that, the big downside for me was the CVT, it drove me nuts.

Ford Focus: Compared to all the others, the interior was the weakest. Nice layout, but the materials felt harder, and it was a little on the slow side, the 4 speed auto felt a bit outdated. Still a nice car, but definitely ready for the update. If it will be like the Mazda3 when the refresh hits in 2012, I will absolutely pick one up.

 

[KA426]

I respect your choices but why didn't you include the Challenger R/T, Camaro, Mustang GT. I would think you would really have enjoyed those. I loved the R/T I drove.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: KA426
I respect your choices but why didn't you include the Challenger R/T, Camaro, Mustang GT. I would think you would really have enjoyed those. I loved the R/T I drove.



I won't be buying anything anytime soon, I cannot afford ANYTHING. I test drove because I wanted to see these cars for myself. I only had time for these, they were all at one dealearship. One of these day's I'll probably make my way to a Chrysler dealer, and Chevy/Buick dealership

 

[javacontour]

I think you are beginning to see why folks didn't care for the Cavalier.

I drove my mom's from Dallas to Denver for her. It was brutal.

Hers was a 2000 or so vintage with about 30K miles on the ticker and more tiring to drive than my 1994 Geo Prizm with almost 250K on the clock.

The Mazda 3 is a pretty incredible car.

I was a long time GM guy. I loved my Chevy Beretta GTZ, but I wonder if that's because I hadn't looked at much else before then?

 

[dsmith41]

It seems to me, that the best way to get an American-made car these days is to buy a "foreign" car. Think Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, etc. They all have cars built in the USA whereas a lot of your "American" cars are built in Canada or Mexico.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: dsmith41
It seems to me, that the best way to get an American-made car these days is to buy a "foreign" car. Think Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, etc. They all have cars built in the USA whereas a lot of your "American" cars are built in Canada or Mexico.


To be honest, I don't mind cars built Canada, and cars built in mexico only bother me hardly much more than that.

 

[cousincletus]

I have a 2002 Cavalier (son's car now) and added some padding to the seat back to make it more comfortable. The seat backs are awful, but the upholstery shop did a really nice job for 75 bucks per seat. Now there's more support. Cavalier still has been almost flawless. No repairs at all except maintenance. Only issue is the plastic piece in front of the dash is cracked and needs replaced.

 

[willix]

+1 Mazda 3

 

[cousincletus]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
Originally Posted By: dsmith41
It seems to me, that the best way to get an American-made car these days is to buy a "foreign" car. Think Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, etc. They all have cars built in the USA whereas a lot of your "American" cars are built in Canada or Mexico.


To be honest, I don't mind cars built Canada, and cars built in mexico only bother me hardly much more than that.


The problem with the imports is the profits go overseas and they bring a lot of their own suppliers over here, so even more profits go overseas. My opinion is that there should be at least 90% domestic parts mandatory for any car sold here in the USA.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

Quote:
The only downside for me... The fact that it says Made in Japan on the door sticker.


And the Mexican Fusion doesn't bother you?

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: asiancivicmaniac
Quote:
The only downside for me... The fact that it says Made in Japan on the door sticker.


And the Mexican Fusion doesn't bother you?


Not nearly as much.

 

[SWSportsman]

Couldn't find a Crown Vic to drive?

 

[shrooms]

I'm out of the loop. Does Ford have a say or they're out of Mazda.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: shrooms
I'm out of the loop. Does Ford have a say or they're out of Mazda.


Ford still has a stake in mazda, but it is no longer controlling (I think) they share alot of components. The 2.5L that Ford uses in the Fusion, escape, is a Mazda Designed engine, as is the 2.0L DOHC in the Focus. The Ford fusion is built on the Mazda6 platform, and so on.

 

[Scienceman]

Originally Posted By: SWSportsman
Couldn't find a Crown Vic to drive?


+1

 

[Nick R]

Not interested in a crown vic, to be totally honest. I want a NEW car, a NICE car (not saying the vic isn't nice, but....). A smallish, but sporty car. My new dream car at the moment has become the Mazda3. =/

 

[Scienceman]

My dream cars seem to change every week. Im thankful for what I have.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
My tune is changing slightly you'll be happy to know. I'm still pro buy-american, but I love the 3 so much that I would probably throw that personal rule out the window for it.

I'm glad you finally broke down and decided to make an effort in order to widen your horizon a little. Your "only buy American" spiel was beginning to get on my nerves

, not because it's a wrong thing to believe, but because it seemed like you didn't have enough experience with various other cars to form this opinion.

Anyway, Mazda3 is a pretty sweet car. MazdaSpeed3 is even sweeter. I was actually considering getting one last time I was looking for a car. It was more fun and more nicely put together than a comparable Civic or Corolla. But in the end, I decided I had enough of FWD cars...

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
Originally Posted By: dsmith41
It seems to me, that the best way to get an American-made car these days is to buy a "foreign" car. Think Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, etc. They all have cars built in the USA whereas a lot of your "American" cars are built in Canada or Mexico.


To be honest, I don't mind cars built Canada, and cars built in mexico only bother me hardly much more than that.


I am marginally OK with Canadian-made cars, but mexican made? No Way! The reason why is because I see no indication that the cost of living or the prevailing wage is anything similar to USA or Canada. Since it is not, they pay third world workers pennies (which I do not have a problem with per se), but do not pass the cost savings along to me.

Case-in-point, wife's VW rabbit was made in Germany. An equivalent Jetta was made in Mexico. The delta in price was within a few hundred - the real cost, likely thousands of dollars different. Now, one may say that the Mexican sales are subsidizing the price of the German-made car, but show me proof to such a concept. i have yet to see it.

To me there is a huge difference. Mexico is essentially third-world (Im sure folks will gripe at me for saying that), whereas Canada is essentially the US.

 

[LS2JSTS]

If you like the Mazda 3 you'll love the new Focus as well.

As you know, I'm sure, we've been straddled with the last generation Focus here in the States. While the rest of the globe got the newer 3 platform. That all ends next year, finally.

The Focus was a great car when it first came out, but the 3 and the Euro Focus eclipsed it years ago.