Still Hatin' on the Yaris

Maintenance/Repairs
41

Dag–You can count me as the other person who remembers the Vespa automobile. In an early exercise in rebadging, it was also sold under another name by a French manufacturer, but I cannot recall the name of that company.

Anyway, the Vespa automobile, while surely one of the most fuel-efficient cars ever made, would be a poor match for today’s massive SUVs driven by distracted women yacking on cell phones. I can just hear the alibi now–“Honest officer, I never even saw the car before I ran over it. But, now you will have to excuse me officer, I have to make another inane call on my cell phone.”

Edited to add:

My recollections on the provenance of the Vespa automobile were a bit “off”. According to Special Interest Autos (issue # 181, Jan/Feb 2001), the Vespa was actually never officially sold in Italy, the nation with which it is associated!

It seems that Signor Agnelli, the millionaire who controlled Fiat, was influential enough to have the Vespa kept out of the Italian market. The little car was actually made in France by ACMA, with engines and other parts made by Vespa, and bodies made by Facel (makers of the super-luxury Facel Vega), and was marketed in France, Venezuela, South Africa, Australia, and The US.

In total, over its 4 year production run, a total of…perhaps…35,000 were made, with only 1,652 of them making it to the US. As to why so few were sold, it is a bit puzzling, especially when you look at some of the specs:

2 cylinder, 2 cycle, air-cooled engine
4 wheel hydraulic brakes
3 speed transmission (synchro on 2nd & 3rd)
2 passenger capacity, with the spare tire mounted underneath the passenger seat due to the car having no trunk
Fuel economy estimated at 45-60 mpg
US list price, $1,100.

However, in France, buyers could opt for a Citroen 2CV or a Renault 4 for only a bit more money, making this micro-car…not such a good value.

And, most likely the chief reason for poor sales:
Zero to 50 mph–58 seconds!–in other words, this was not a car that could safely be taken onto a highway.

42

Honestly you should probably test drive dozens, the Fit, the Versa, the Focus, etc. Even if you hate the way they look you’ll at least get a good idea of how things feel and find something that appeals to you. You may find you like the ride so much that the looks of the car aren’t all that bad after all.

43

I will add that otterhere should take notes on each model. Once you look at more than a few, it is difficult to distinguish one model from another. Having a pen and a note pad to note the differences can help make the right choice.

44

VDCdriver–Thank you for the information on the Vespa. One person who taught in the same junior high school where my mother taught owned one of these cars. I never saw another Vespa. With only 1652 sold in this country back in the early 1960’s, I now know why I never saw another Vespa automobile. I guess the auto industry has made progress when one realizes that a Toyota Prius gets about the same mileage, is suitable for the highway, and can carry 4 or 5 passengers and luggage.

45

Perhaps one of the models shown here would be small enough for the OP.
http://microcarmuseum.com/info.html

46

She never complained that the car wasn’t small enough. She complained about everything else about the Yaris, from its polka-dot upholstery to the drink holders being on the wrong side. She even hates the coin holders!

47

I was just trying to add a bit of perhaps misplaced levity to the thread.

As so many have noted, it isn’t enough to zero in on a particular model based only on online research and/or one short test drive of a not same model but the OP needs to do a LOT of test driving of a variety of cars. I suspect that nothing currently available will totally suit her preferences but perhpas she’ll find something less disagreeable to her. One can only hope!

48

What about the Mini? It has everything you could want in an econobox, plus it’s roomy and fun to drive. Everyone that I know who has one (five people total) raves about it.

49

The Honda Fit is also fun to drive and cheap.

50

The Fit has been suggested before, everyone raves about how well it goes down the road, but the OP doesn’t like the way it looks. We can mention all things we cherish about Fit. But ultimately, it’s we are not paying for it.

51

I’m not sure whether a kayak will fit into the Fit, but even if it does, I would suggest looking carefully at it. My experience does not suggest that it is a car one would take into the wilderness to find a kayaking stream. It is very pretty, low slung, lots of fancy shaped fascia–and very delicate. And expensive to repair any surface damage. I would suggest either a CRV or an Element for kayaking purposes. They are much bigger and get worse mileage, but would be far more useful to a kayaker. If they are too expensive now–and the CRV is getting pretty fragile–there are used ones. The Fit is a car for highway usage, and not too intense. And there is something not quite right about the suspension–I get car sick when I am not driving.

52

she’d complain the Mini requires premium fuel to run

53

I think that the late Tom McCahill (auto tester and columnist for Mechanix Illustrated) put it well when he said, “There are some people who would complain if you gave them the painting of the Mona Lisa because there are checks in the paint”.

54

I think that the OP’s basic problem is that she got so used to her previous car–a Suzuki Swift/Geo Metro–that anything different will seem alien to her. Some people cannot adapt well to change, and I think that this is a major part of her problem in this situation.

Different is…different, not necessarily bad, just…different. If someone cannot readily adapt to changes in routine–or even to insignificant changes such as where the cup holders or light switches are located, that would indicate to me that the biggest problem facing that person in the purchase of a new car is simply the inherent difference in design from one make and model to another.

The OP has told us on more than one occasion that the Suzuki Swift/Geo Metro was essentially “perfection on wheels”–to use my own paraphrasing of her love for that discontinued model. However, the meager sales of both of those models would indicate that not very many consumers agreed with her. In the long run, nobody is right, and nobody is wrong when it comes to personal preferences in cars or in any other areas. These people are just different from each other, similarly to cars that are different from each other.

If the OP can learn how to better adapt to change in her life, she is likely to be happier with her next car, as well as with many other factors in her life that will change from time to time.

55

That is why I recommended at one point that she either get her old Swift back or buy another one and get it fixed up.

When fuel was $4 per gallon, there was a guy, I think he was in Washing (state) or Oregon, who was buying old 40 MPG Swifts that were made in the early 1990s, rebuilding them, and selling them. She should seek him out and buy one of his Swifts.

56

I started a thread a little while back about “what car you liked best of all the ones you’ve owned”. We got some interesting responses, since people always fondly remember their first car (no matter how bad it was), their car in college, and the car they drove when they were dating their current spouses, as well as some cars that were actually outstanding.

I loved my specially ordered 1965 Dodge Dart 2 door hardtop with V8 and all the goodies. By today’s standards is would not be all that great.

As they say, you can’t go home again! OP seems to have difficulty parting with an old lover.

57

Welcome back to:

The Topic that will not die!!

Our next contestant is:

58

My favorite was my 82 volvo, it just kept running and I liked driving it. Your post brought back the memories of my 68 dart GT - 2dr, hardtop with a 318. Lot’s of fun and after college I commuted with it an hr a day. It was terrible on gas and the gaudge didn’t work as the car was 30 years old at this point so there was a lot of mileage counting. Definitely fun and I wish I had it now when I have money to repair/maintain things.

59

Sport Trac or CX-7?

60

I would give this theory credence but for the fact that from the MOMENT I sat in the Swift, it fit me like a glove (unlike previous cars) and was love at first sight; there was no getting used to that change; does this defeat the diagnosis?

I will say that I’ve finally managed to find something to fit into the myriad compartments, and that’s made me somewhat happier, and my 'yak fits TO THE INCH.

But…

Eyes peeled for a used apple green Hyundai Accent hatch. Yaris for sale; cheap.