OT: new car advice

[vodhner at cox.net]

I drive a little Tacoma, bought new in 2004.
I love it, and it only cost me about $13k.
When I was computing gas mileage, I think I was
getting 21 mpg around town.

BTW, this was built in Fremont CA, so I "bought
American".  Of course I could have bought something
built in Detroit with Japanese parts . . .  So if
you want to "buy American", you need to study the
whole "domestic content" issue.  I was a faithful
GM user for 35 years, and now I'm a Toyota user.
My wife drives a 2000 Camry, we wouldn't change a
thing about it.

One thing to note is the sheet metal on these
things is pretty flimsy.  Mine has a few tiny
creases in the body.  I doubt there's much
variation among brands.

My Tacoma is a really bare-bones fleet-grade
vehicle:  manual windows and door locks, no
cruise control, no CD, etc.  The AC works great.
It has a half ton load capacity.  Ground
clearance is fine, but I have not gone far off
the road with it yet.

Lesson about features:  I learned the hard way
that if you want a CD bundled in the deal, it
has to be done up front.  In the week after I
bought my truck, Right Toyota would not give me
any credit for my simple radio with a tape deck,
so I haven't upgraded to a CD yet.  Grrr.
We've bought two cars from them.  Next time we'll
go somewhere else.

Regrets:  Next time I would buy up to have a little
space behind the seats.  I can't even drape my right
arm across the other seat, it is flush back against
the rear window.  And if you stuff a jumper cable and
a sweater back there, the space behind the seat is
packed.

If weather's poor, I have to choose whether to take
my guitar or my wife!  If weather's nice she can ride
in the bed.  :-))  Just kidding, the guitar likes it
fine back there . . .   But seriously, you need at
least a little covered space besides the 2 seats.
But on the other hand, I make full use of the
full-length bed, so I wouldn't want a full sized
back seat.

I have a friend who has been driving the same old
Nissan pickup for many years, says it hasn't needed
any work.  So yes, I hear it's a great brand too.
But I personally prefer Toyota.

Good luck!

Vic