So I think my car is going to die...
because it's a 17 year old car with 220,000 miles. It's a Lexus LS400 that my dad bought back when Lexus first hit the market. The other thing is, it's a freakin' Lexus. My blingy-days are long behind me, and the personalized license plate that reads, "BARISTA" looks really silly on such a hoompty-mobile.
So I'm thinking a small, four-door econobox. Here are the choices (pictures are clickable):
Capitol Hill barista Mandy says, "You can't get the xB; you can't spend 15 thousand dollars on irony."
Your thoughts?
So I'm thinking a small, four-door econobox. Here are the choices (pictures are clickable):
Capitol Hill barista Mandy says, "You can't get the xB; you can't spend 15 thousand dollars on irony."
Your thoughts?
7 Comments:
I don't know anything about any of those cars which makes me ripe to share my opinion. I would go for the Honda. Bulletproof reliability. There's also that new Toyota Yaris they're shilling now. You could be an early adopter.
I would not get the xB. Looks too much like a toy.
hmm, I've never been to this site or had 'murky coffee' (although I plan to fix that shortly-which is why i'm here), but.. I've seen your license plate -briefly and thought, what?, what did that say? I didn’t see it long enough to really process it and don't remember the car at all. but I find it mildly amusing (and when I say that I mean greatly amusing- but I figure the rest of the world might find it mildly amusing if I'm lucky) to see it written now and put it all together. ha
I agree with Mandy. Why buy the ironic xB when you can drive the iconic Element?
I own an xB and for the price, simplicity, and interior space (but not exterior bloat), I couldn't find a better buy (we wanted a used wagon). Not sure what is ironic about it, so maybe I'm a bit out of the loop.
Mandy's got good wit. Unfortunately, the only really ironic thing about her xB statement is that, while most women claim that men are more superficial and appearance-oriented than women, I have found from experience that women are far less open to the xB than men - solely based on its appearance.
I sold Toyotas and Scions for six months and, in 8 out of 10 cases involving a young couple looking for a car, it was the female partner who loathed the thing and wouldn't even let me SHOW it to them (nevermind that it perfectly suited the couple's needs). These women were invariably uptight and controlling to boot. Cool chicks "get" the xB.
Meanwhile, to be fair, I now have great passion for the xB due to MY initial hatred of it. When it first hit the streets I would go into apoplectic fits every time I saw one ("Didn't they even TRY to style it?!?" "That's uglier than a bucketfull of buttholes!" etc, etc.). Then, courtesy of Zipcar, I started driving one and immediately came to realize how brilliant - and fun - it is. Later, while selling Toyota products, it quickly established itself as my favorite of the entire line.
Should you require more persuasion, check out Car & Driver's February comparison test (available at caranddriver.com: "Rebellious Boxes: A foursquare examination of four square four-doors.") wherein the xB came in FIRST place, while the "iconic" Element finished fourth (i.e. LAST).
That being said, the "new" Honda Fit is garnering rave reviews (and may be even more fun to drive than the xB - although I've yet to try it) and, due to its ingenious rear seats, features an even more stunning usage of interior space. It also has standard side airbags (which you PAY for, of course), unavailable in the xB. The xB will beat it in visibility (outward, I mean), price, and sound system (a Pioneer unit which kicks butt and can be equipped to interface with your iPod). I'd say compare the xB and Fit and forget the rest.
Then, if you go with the xB, take Mandy for a spin and make her eat some crow.
I'm not a car person so I don't know the names of them, but the first one looks nice. I drive an old '94 pontiac sunbird, my friends hate it but it makes me laugh. Its just now beginning to rust a bit but runs fine enough to take me where I need to go.
Anyway, first car == nice.
Well I heard Toyota is planning to open another plant in America. Keep in mind the benefits to our brothers and sisters when buying union-made!
The U.S. Needs Manufacturing Jobs—So Does the Middle Class
http://www.aflcio.org/issues/jobseconomy/manufacturing/
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