My beloved 1993 Mercury Capri, which I bought in 1998, has now failed two smog tests. I really love this obsolete car. Comfortable for me, manual clutch responds well, everything but the smog and power windows works well for me.
If I’m going to get a new car, I want it to be either an electric or hybrid, since it may very well be the last car I own. I liked the 2018 Nissan Leaf that I test drove, but someone was telling me that they had a family member who only got 12 miles per charge on an earlier version.
Over the next two years, I am looking at going once a week over the 2,500 foot “hill” to check out a new home and business opportunity. The supposedly 125 mile range of the Leaf makes me a bit nervous, but a two-three year wait for a Tesla takes them out of the picture.
I sat in both a Chevy Volt and Bolt, and the seats were hugely uncomfortable for me. The Honda Clarity felt too large, like a boat.
What I really need is a two-seater with a trunk, since the majority of the driving I am going to do is by myself. I also do not need something that seats four or more people, and I certainly do not need an SUV.
Because of family history, I am unwilling to buy a German car of any sort.
Is there anything out there as wonderful as my Capri but in a hybrid or electric model? Or do I give up for now and pay the probable big bucks to fix the Capri?
Not in a hybrid or electric . I don’t normally recommend a vehicle as I think it is a waste of time. People should do their own research and decision making. This time I will make suggestion. As someone who had a Capri like yours the only replacement for me would be a Mazda MX-5 Miata .
I don’t know what your particular reasons are, but I have something to say . . .
You’d better do a LOT more research
Because even if the car isn’t made by a German manufacturer, there are lots of car manufacturers which use plenty of german-built components, or pay to license german technology, and so forth
For example, there are several non-german vehicles which use German engines and/or transmissions, abs control modules, engine control modules, etc.
Not sure about the family history issues, but my aunt was imprisoned in a Japanese concentration camp suffering terribly in WW II. Just the same I have two Japanese cameras and two Japanese cars. My motto is “forgive and forget”.
As other say, you don’t really know where exactly something is made. On my last trip to England I rented a Vauxhall, a fine “British” make. Nowhere could I find a label as to where exactly the car was made, since Vauxhall stopped making cars in the UK.
A local garage owner pointed out that this was a well disguised Opel made by Ford in Germany (Cologne). The glass maker’s logo (Sikurit) was etched in to windows revealing the only clue as to where the car came from.
The owner’s manual, of course, was in proper English and printed in England!! It was the only thing British about the vehicle.
+1
Right after I bought my 2011 Outback, I noticed that the ABS unit was manufactured in Germany. The good news is that this unit has never malfunctioned, but…
Yesterday, at a mall, I was looking at a Maserati Ghibli sedan, and the Monroney sticker on its window specifies that this Italian-made car’s transmission was made in Germany. (Full disclosure: No, I would not consider buying a very unreliable $85k car like this.)
That garage owner don’t know what he is talking about. Vauxhall models are the exact same as Opel models, but they are right hand drive, produced in Luton and Ellesmere, England and only sold in England and has absolutely nothing to do with Ford. Vauxhall - as well as Opel - is now owned by the PSA Group. Sekurit makes windows for pretty much all european car manufacturers and maybe then some. It’s part of Saint-Gobain Group.
[quote=“CaroleParker, post:1, topic:122366”]
Over the next two years, I am looking at going once a week over the 2,500 foot “hill” to check out a new home and business opportunity.
This may be another of those one post and done threads . But I am taking advantage of the internet practice of offering unrequested advice.
Carole , Looking to buy a house and starting a business the last thing you need is a large expense for a vehicle . I would suggest a small affordable hatchback for now and the dream vehicle after the new business is stable.
I recently tested the all-new 2018 Nissan Leaf. I think you should discount silly stories like people getting 12 miles from a charge, but range limitation is a real issue. In my testing, the Leaf did not match its rated range and the range that would disappear from the range counter was noticably greater than the miles I actually drove. The Toyota Prius Prime is the top-selling affordable vehicle in America with a plug. After incentives, most owners end up paying about $22K for a fully loaded Prime. It is not a performance vehicle, but it can travel 25 miles on its electrical charge and over 600 before stopping for gas. When using gas, it gets over 50 MPG in all situations. It is also a Top Safety Pick and has a bullet-proof reliability record. One advantage of the Prime is that it is very quick and easy to charge. You won’t need a special setup in your home like you would with a long-range EV. Most owners use it almost entirely as an EV, but when they need to go on a long road trip there is zero range anxiety. Might be worth considering.
Have to disagree, the savings of a Mazda 3 Hatchback over the Miata vs the enjoyment and the Miata being more like what she wants, the happiness factor has to have some value.
But I think you are right about the one and done post. This might be the same Carole that was high jacking other posts with thinly disguised lease information.
As much as I love hybrids, we had the option and bought a regular old gas vehicle. The hybrid was available, but for the 7k miles we put on a year I said wy throw another question into the mix, If gas was $10 a gallon I would put gas in as needed and call it a day. I sympathize with the people that cannot afford a $400 repair, much less an extra weekly payment for gas but one really needs to calculate gas and electricity cost, and the price of the car before making that decision.
