@rplantz
Speaking of that FRS/BRZ . . . one of my colleagues went to his local Toyota dealer, to buy a used car.
He wound up buying a certified pre owned Corolla. But on the showroom floor was a FRS/BRZ. He said he tried to avert his eyes, but they kept looking at it. In any case, he did not sit in the car or take it for a test drive. Because he knew if he did that, his emotions would have taken over
In any case, he’s happy with his Corolla
“on the showroom floor was a FRS/BRZ. He said he tried to avert his eyes, but they kept looking at it. In any case, he did not sit in the car or take it for a test drive.”
I succumbed to the temptation to sit in a BRZ, and–boy was I sorry!
Getting in was somewhat difficult, but getting out of that extremely low-slung car was…torturous.
Granted, I am 66 years old, and this car was primarily designed for folks in their 20s & 30s, but…be forewarned…if you are long in the tooth like me, getting out of a FRS/BRZ may require the use of a crane.
;-))
@VDCdriver How much of the difficulty was a motion issue, how much was an e-motion issue? 
I’m 75. Still fairly active (run or walk ~3 miles a day), but I’m not nearly as agile as 20 years ago. Another problem with low-slung cars for us old folks is vision in traffic. Reflexes just aren’t as fast. Accepting my physiological changes is a very important part of continuing to drive safely.
BTW, I like being called “old”. It was a hell of a lot of work getting here, and I deserve credit for that!
@rplantz–I’m not quite sure what to make of your comment.
I had a genuine physical problem getting out of the BRZ, due to its VERY low stance and also due to the structure of the seats.
Like you, I do power-walks as often as possible–typically 2 miles+ five or six time per week, and I am happy to report that I leave much younger folks in the dust as I pass them.
However, despite that record of fitness-walking I had difficulty extricating myself from the car.
This had nothing to do with vision, as I chose to NOT drive the car.
If I had difficulty extricating myself from the car in the showroom, why would I even want to do a test-drive?
@VDCdriver It was my bad attempt at a little joking. I do understand what you mean. I haven’t had occasion to get into such a low car in the past few years, let alone trying to get back out of it. But my everyday experiences of getting out of bed, getting up from a chair, etc., etc., convince me that I do not want such a vehicle. It’s a little humbling to experience the many things my father used to complain about.
At the same time, when I see an FRS/BRZ, I recall having a lot of fun owning such vehicles (1957 TR3, 1958 Porsche coupe, 1978 VW Scirocco) when I was young – a purely emotional response.
My remark about vision was an addition to your comments about moving the body around. My eyes don’t focus as quickly, and my peripheral vision has decreased. We also see many more high vehicles on the roads these days, which tend to hide other vehicles from view. I’m guessing that being in a low-slung vehicle would exacerbate any issues with vision.
I hope that I didn’t say anything to offend you. On the contrary, I was wholeheartedly agreeing with you. And thank you for warning me about succumbing to temptation if I visit a Toyota/Scion showroom.
BTW, on the other side of the height issue, I recall getting tired of climbing into my 1989 Toyota 4x4 pickup truck with (factory) large wheels. And that was when I was in my middle 50s. There’s a lot to be said for “chair height.”
yep, it s nice to have a car seat that is at chair height
I think ease of ingress and egress can be affected more by how a person is proportioned. I’m 6"-1" and have a rather tall upper body, and I have a rough time getting in and out of some cars. I’m fairly young and in good shape, but I appreciate my rather goofy looking Nissan Versa, as I can get in and out of it without hitting my head on the roof, and I can also sit up and drive comfortably in it. Mazda Miata? Not with the top up!
My 6’4" BIL just bought a Versa sedan, and he fits fine.
It’s interesting that different cars fit our different shapes. One would think that they are all designed for the average shape.
I’m only 5’5". One of the things I don’t like about the Mazda3 hatchback is the high door sills, especially in the back. Although I would rarely ride in the back, many of my family members are also short. When I sat in the back seat, it felt downright claustrophobic. The black interior didn’t help.
A friend had an 80s/90s vintage Honda Accord. (I forget the exact year.) It had a very low cowl. I loved riding in that car. I also liked the overall size of the car. About the size of today’s Civic.
I have a 2011 Cruze, with the 1.4T ECO and 6sp. Just clicked past 103,000, still love the car as much as the day I picked it up. Great handling, good seats, decent stereo, and quiet. It’s been extremely reliable. You owe it to yourself to test drive one.
A Cruze is one Chevy I would love to own-Kevin
My oldest daughter likes her Cruze LS, too.
Corolla 6 speed.
but they spelled the name wrong…
that would annoy me every time I looked at it
“but they spelled the name wrong…”
What? That’s how Penelope spells her last name…
but they spelled the name wrong…that would annoy me every time I looked at it
Not as much as it annoys me to see an adjective being used as an adverb. It should be “but they spelled the name wrongly…”
Alternately, you could say “they used the wrong spelling”.
Though I can see misspellings and improper grammar and wrongly used adjectives everywhere, I keep my mouth shut…much of the time. The reason is, I am as much a culprit as the next guy and often don’t know it. Don’t know it till my wife with a master’s in English peeks over my shoulder. That doesn’t annoy me in the least cause I know I do my share of annoying as well.
Toyota, IMHO, has always made serviceable manual transmissions and I would not hesitate to recommend them in any model, even the Scion tC.
there was this fellow from Crisfield, he was brilliant, but he talked like a crisfielder, if you know what I mean. well, when he went up to Harvard, the first thing he wanted to see was the library, so he asked another fellow. He said, “scuse me, can you tell me where the libary s at”?
the fellow replies, "“sir, at Harvard we don t end our sentences with prepositions”!
the crisfielder looked abashed and said, “oh, I m sorry, can you tell me where the libary s at, a$$hole”?
just kidding, you are right of course.
they spelled the name wrongly, as you rightly wrote.