what's your daily driver??

[CB]

have a Suzuki Alto.
Bought it for my dog. Dog died a month and 1/2 ago. I still mourn over him. 
Looks like this:





Beforethe end of the year my boss will finance a new car.
Or I get his 5 yo Merc:

[RT/SE]

My daily is a 2002 Saab 9-3 4 door Hatchback.  With the hatchback and rear seat down its got plenty of cargo room.  Almost like a little SUV.  Great parts hauler.

[NYCMille]

Got another SAAB here as well... 1997 900 SE Turbo, 5-speed... great all around car, pretty peppy for a 4 cylinder turbo and I get about 32 mpg on the highway to boot! - bout' 400 Miles to a tank... not to shabby, and as TripleX9 said, loads of room so its a great parts hauler.

[ChgrSteve67]

I drive a 2001 PT Cruiser daily and my wife drives a 2002 Subaru WRX wagon. Mine helps me keep out of trouble because he will not get out of it's own way. No speeding tickets. Now, if I could only say the same for the Charger and Grand National.

You must have a automatic.

My 5 speed 2001 PT Cruiser gets me in all kinds of trouble.

[472 R/T SE]

No wonder Ford and GM are having layoffs, look at all those foreign rigs.

[8WHEELER]

91 Dodge Grand Caravan LE, I have had a Hemi in it and several 440's     Air bags lower the rear 5in.

Dan

[RTPTRON]

I drive a 2001 PT Cruiser daily and my wife drives a 2002 Subaru WRX wagon. Mine helps me keep out of trouble because he will not get out of it's own way. No speeding tickets. Now, if I could only say the same for the Charger and Grand National.

You must have a automatic.

My 5 speed 2001 PT Cruiser gets me in all kinds of trouble.

Yes it is an automatic.  I just meant that it is less likely to get me in trouble than the Charger RT, Subaru WRX or the Buick Grand National.

[greenpigs]

05 Ram 1500 4X4 with a HEMI, I'm getting a little over 15 mpg now.

[last426]

A 1979 Honda CBX -- just got another rear tire on it for the rain, if it ever comes. Kim

[ChargerSG]

I had a 67 Dodge Monaco but that one had to go, but now bought a 70 Cornet...

[charger01]

Why are all these american muscle car guys buying foreign car?    Sorry guys I just dont understand...

[Troy]

No wonder Ford and GM are having layoffs, look at all those foreign rigs.

Why are all these american muscle car guys buying foreign car? Sorry guys I just dont understand...

Personally, I feel that brand loyalty should be earned. If you make a crappy car (or at least one that's worse than all the others for the same price) then I won't be buying it. I buy what works best for me and most of the time I don't care whose name is on the side. I've already covered the whole "but the profits go to another country" argument. I only mentioned my "daily driver" cars since that's what the thread asked for. I also own three Dodge Chargers and a Chevy Suburban for towing but I don't drive them 30k miles per year like my "dailies". My Celica alone gets better gas mileage than all 4 of the cars I just mentioned combined so I'm helping everyone else when it comes to the demand for gas (and prices) and the environment (it qualifies as a low emissions vehicle). A daily driver is something reliable that I can beat into the ground and not worry about rock chips, door dings, and parking lot accidents. I used to drive a Geo Tracker for that but it tossed a rod out the side of the motor at 105k miles while I still owed money on it. Other than a house, a car (or cars) is probably the biggest expense most people have so reliability, gas mileage, an maintenance costs are a large part of the purchasing decision. There really aren't any secrets to making a car so why do some companies have it figured out and others don't? Honestly, if it weren't for some warped sense of brand loyalty I doubt if some of the American car companies would have lasted as long as they have. Of course that's just my own point of view and I'm sure other people don't feel the same.

On a side note, I buy cars that are not only reliable but I feel they have to at least look decent enough to be seen in. With the current design cues that Dodge is mangling all of their new cars with I won't be buying one for a long time. Three or four years ago I loved almost everything they made but I don't even like the trucks any more. Have you seen the new Caliber and Nitro or any of the Jeeps? GM doesn't have it much better with their trucks and SUVs. They haven't had a decent looking car in years (can you say Monte Carlo, Impala, Aztek, Avalanche, HHR, Vibe?). Ok, I almost can tolerate the Solstice. About the only Ford that I like is the Mustang but I could almost stomach one of their dually pickups - if they had a diesel I liked. To be fair, the foreign companies are dropping the ball on design as well but not nearly as badly or as often. I liked the previous editions of most BMW and Mercedes cars a lot more than the new ones.

Troy

[CB]

I liked the previous editions of most BMW and Mercedes cars a lot more than the new ones.

Troy

I sold my '95  Beemer '520' some time ago. 
Was a great car. And looked good too. 

[Runner]

68 plymouth satellite 383-727.   unless theres snow and ice on the ground its what im driving. if it snows then i drive my one token ford,   .a 93 f-250 extracab  460 powered.  my daughter drives a 93 dakota to school and when its nice she drives her 69 superbee clone to work and out for fun. my wife drives a 2002 pt.

[Charger_Fan]

have a Suzuki Alto.
Bought it for my dog.

Was your dog a good driver?

['CUDA360]

I have a beater Saturn that we bought brand new in 1993    No style, no performance it just keeps on ticking.

I also have the Doolie for towing (chebbi) and a late model Caravan for the wife.


and 'CUDAs,,,, lots of 'CUDAs 

[derailed]

I drive a 97 Camry for my everyday car. Before that it was a 94 with 250,000 on it and she ran great when i sold her. I cant ever see spending a bunch of money on an overpriced new car which they all are IMO. So i stick with my toyotas because they pretty much will run forever if you take care of them and dont end up owing you a dime when you get rid of them.

[TheGhost]

I had a 67 Dodge Monaco but that one had to go, but now bought a 70 Cornet...

I wouldn't mind having one of those, myself.

[rt green]

77 dodge van. 318 no windows. put headers on it and wheels and tires. paid 100. for it. 84 buick centrey. 2.5 had to rebuild it in the garage. great milage, and if you spill a beer, well you know

[69_500]

Well now its a roatating fleet of cars. I did have a company truck for the last 6 years, before I was let go. So now I alternate. One day its the 98 Avenger, one day the 95 Intrepid, and if my wife isn't using it the 04 Durango. Then again the only places I've been in the last 3 weeks is to job interviews.

[472 R/T SE]

No wonder Ford and GM are having layoffs, look at all those foreign rigs.

Why are all these american muscle car guys buying foreign car? Sorry guys I just dont understand...

Honestly, if it weren't for some warped sense of brand loyalty I doubt if some of the American car companies would have lasted as long as they have. Of course that's just my own point of view and I'm sure other people don't feel the same.


Troy

Warped?...I wouldn't call it that.  I always gave a used daily driver a good lookin' over and test drive before I bought one.  A little research on a rig never hurt before a person buys too.  It's not hard to pick out what to buy (American).

Most Toyota owners from work always gave me the excuse, "Reliability and such".  I always told them they were lazy!
I hope this economy doesn't end up in the toilet because of laziness.

Of course that's just my own point of view and I'm sure other people don't feel the same.

[Todd Wilson]

Why are all these american muscle car guys buying foreign car?     Sorry guys I just dont understand...

This is why I told a "Story" on the 2nd post of this thread. It just ended up this way for me. I take care of the Honda but I dont care if it rusts out,gets dirty,gets scratched or even wrecked. I plan to use it to get from Point A to Point B and back to Point A again. When it dies its heading to the junkyard.. It is the only oddball in my fleet at the house. The old lady drove a 2000 Dodge Neon until it got wrecked and now has a 2003 Dodge Stratus.  Theres also 3 Dodge trucks and 2 Chargers in the fleet as well.


Todd

[derailed]

Of course that's just my own point of view and I'm sure other people don't feel the same.

Im not sure what laziness has to do with owning a foreign car, guess i missed that part. You can get just as burnt buying a used toyota if you dont look it over to. But IMO and im sure many will disagree, I dont think any of the big 3 put a descent AOD transmission in there cars capable of 200,000 miles and if they do its rare. As far as engines go the GM 3.8 liter wasnt bad except for the harmonic balancer issues the earlier ones had wearing out prematurely. I wouldnt give you 2cents for anything with a Chrysler 2.7 in it.

[Troy]

No wonder Ford and GM are having layoffs, look at all those foreign rigs.

Why are all these american muscle car guys buying foreign car? Sorry guys I just dont understand...

Honestly, if it weren't for some warped sense of brand loyalty I doubt if some of the American car companies would have lasted as long as they have. Of course that's just my own point of view and I'm sure other people don't feel the same.


Troy

Warped?...I wouldn't call it that.  I always gave a used daily driver a good lookin' over and test drive before I bought one.  A little research on a rig never hurt before a person buys too.  It's not hard to pick out what to buy (American).

Most Toyota owners from work always gave me the excuse, "Reliability and such".  I always told them they were lazy!
I hope this economy doesn't end up in the toilet because of laziness.

Of course that's just my own point of view and I'm sure other people don't feel the same.

Oh well, I was just offering an explanation. When I said "warped" I basically was referring to people who only buy a single brand because that's what their dad owned or because that's what they've always had. They usually put very little thought into what else is available. When I said "brand loyal" I didn't mean "American" - I meant a single brand (ie. Dodge, Chevy, Ford, etc.). The saying "I'd rather push a <insert brand> than drive a <insert other brand>" is true in many cases... but I'd rather not push anything. There are people with a warped sense of brand loyalty to foreign cars as well but that's a different topic.

My point is that just because I do like some American cars it doesn't mean that should be all I'm allowed to own or all I'm ever going to own. Last time I checked people had the freedom to choose whatever they preferred in a car (which generates competition and the best one wins). Until recently, Chrysler owned a large chunk of Mitsubishi and Ford owned a bunch of Mazda so do those qualify as American of foreign? Who makes the starters and alternators for Dodge?

I think people who buy a new car solely based on what the salesman tells them about it are the lazy ones. (Seriously, I know a girl who bought a $50k+ BMW because the saleman told her the inlne six was the most reliable engine available because it was used in WWII planes. No, I didn't ask for a further explanation.) I know a guy who only owns Toyota trucks, another who only has International Scouts, and another who only owns S-10s. All do it because they are intimately familiar with the vehicles but that doesn't mean any of them are the right vehicles for every other person OR that most other people would find them as simple or reliable as claimed.

Honestly, some people don't even know how to open the hood on their car so how would they be expected to evaluate a used car? They go by recommendations and/or past experiences. When the Japanese cars are consistently ranked at the top of every single quality, reliability, and resale value report it's hard for non-car people to look past that data. For the most part, I think people just don't want to be hassled by their vehicles because most people only see a car as basic transportation. When we're talking daily drivers that's what I think about.

I might also mention that buying a used car based on brand alone really doesn't help the original American manufacturer much. However, buying any used car in this country (regardless of brand) directly benefits the economy in terms of sales tax, publications/ad costs, financing fees and interest, repair/refurbishing facility charges, salesman's commission, and a whole bunch of other small ways. The manufacturers only make money on original parts and sales of new cars (used to pay their foreign labor and their executives which everyone complains about). Many people buy rebuilt parts so that money doesn't go to the manufacturer either. All labor/service charges to work on any car goes directly back to the economy as well. In reality, we should hope that all cars become less reliable so America can make more money on fixing them.

Troy

[472 R/T SE]

Too lazy, don't want to take them in for regular maintenance and such.  Drive them and then complain cause something broke but yet they can't remember the last time it was in for service. I never asked anyone to agree with me.


I did drift a little with the used rig part Troy but it's the same thing for new tho...