I went to the car show last night in Kansas City. There wasn't anything on the cheap end that I thought looked good, because I'm not a fan of 4 cyl. motors, nor a fan of standard transmissions. I think the highest gas mileage I saw in this mix was 47 mpg.

The car I liked the best, if I was to buy one, and had the money, would have been a Chevy Volt. If all the salesman was saying is true. It has an 8 year warranty on all electrical parts. It gets (I forget exactly) around 50 mpg at 55 mph, while running on gas alone. I never got a quote on 70 mph (maybe it won't do 70mph). Oh yeah, recharge rate was 10 hours at 110 and 4 hours at 220. Cost per recharge was $.70 to $1.20 depending on elec. rate. Calif would be $1.20 with KC rates about $1.00 per charge. The cost of the Volt on the showroom floor was $44k.

The reason I didn't like the other, normal cars, even the pricier ones, was because nothing got over 27 mpg. With gas prices going through the roof, these are dinosaurs. (I'm throwing out the 4 bangers because I don't like them, but that is probably the only sane way to go).

I only listened to a few of the car sound systems and I didn't like what I heard. I think a little over 50 grand was the most expensive car I listened to and it was miserable. I barely had it turned up and the bass was making the inside of the car shake. There wasn't all that much bass and you could hear the interior of the car make buzzing noises. Yetch.

So you want high mileage but don't like small, fuel efficient cars?

A quandary for sure.... !

You don't like 4 cylinders but you're fave car was the Volt?

My concern about these hybrids, as with most people, would be the initial cost plus the replacement cost of the batteries($$)....there goes all the money I saved on fuel. The other thing is, lets say I decide to trade my hybrid in for a newer model in say 5-6 yrs. You KNOW the salesman is going to say, "we can't give you much on your trade in, the batteries are almost done". Imo the return on the initial sticker price and future expense of hybrid/electric vehicles, does not offset the savings in fuel at the present time.

Honestly, any well designed 4 banger in a lighter vehicle should get decent mileage. I was impressed with the '11 Sonata myself, excellent fuel economy, roomy, nice handling with plenty of power at a reasonable price compared to other cars in it's class. There's some good 6's out there with good economy and power too.

My thoughts are a little inconsistent, but this is how the car show left me feeling. I don't remember seeing any 6's with good fuel economy.

Accord? Camry? Fusion? Malibu?

Here's a fuel economy comparison chart I just found. I don't like the Malibu at all. Just a cheep looking POS to me.

ummm I happen to like my LTZ, but we all have different taste I guess, 26 combined and 35 hwy works great for me.

What you need is a straight 5, then! Volvo FTW.

Oh wait, my Volvo gets 19/26.

Love my '09 Fit Sport M/T and its 34 mpg. I love it even more now that I just had a nice car audio setup installed.

I'd love it further still if it had about thirty more horses.

I just wish those concept cars they've been teasing us with since the 60's would actually go into production!

Having said that, I think I could stand driving around in one of those Audi R8's!

Or even better, this old rust bucket:


Of course, I've gotta work out maintenance costs, insurance etc.

Damn, I need some of that Justin Beiber money to live the pampered life that I deserve...

It looks a little beyond my budget... Hmmm, checking budget now. New car allotment is zero.

You can go with the monthly instalment plan....that'll be $1272.54 monthly....for the insurance. The monthly payment on the car is....

You shouldn't go into buy a Hybrid looking for fuel savings, you buy one for the 'green' effect, as you create much less green house gases than 'regular' vehicles. This really only holds true for high volume stop and go traffic and do not look further into the production changes/costs/variables etc.