HEMI's rowing his own gears again!!!!

[GoCougs]

Must be nice saving that much every month.

[Panama_Chopster]

Just avoid crashing it Hemi, I know that from experience.

[giant_mtb]

...and this is in The Fast Lane because...?



Congrats, man...saving money is great, even if you hafta drive a not-so-great vehicle.

[the Teuton]

If I'm not mistaken, Sport Compact Car is doing/just did a J Body build.  You might want to check it out.

[SVT666]

It should be a) reliable, b) cheap as hell, c) economical, d) fun, e) quick for an economy car, but the interior build quality would scare the hell out of me.? It's an awesome choice because they depreciate so quickly.? Is it buzzy or actually fairly smooth and quiet?

Surprisingly the 2.2L in the base car is smoother then the 2.4L Twin Cam in the GT.  The 2.4L has 150hp and is actually quite quick.  The 2.2L only has 115 hp but is smoother.  This isn't to say that the 2.4L is buzzy or loud, but it's just not as quiet and smooth as the engine in the base model.  The interior build quality is fine.  There isn't a rattle to be heard.  If you don't look after your car and let the rattles get louder instead of tightening some screws, then any car's interior will eventually come apart.  I've seen Sunfire's where the interior rattles like hell driving down a smooth road becaus the owner didn't look after it.  Too much is made of the supposedly crappy build quality in the GM's cars.  It's not as good as the Japanese, but it's not shit either.  The only interior build quality that should scare you is Lada.

[SVT666]

...and this is in The Fast Lane because...?



Congrats, man...saving money is great, even if you hafta drive a not-so-great vehicle.

I honestly don't know why people look down on them so much.  The GT version is actualy a pretty decent little car.

[280Z Turbo]

In all seriousness, a Sunfire is not really so bad when you think about it.

Basic transportation is all it is...Point A to point B, just don't expect to be carving the corners on the way there.

[SVT666]

In all seriousness, a Sunfire is not really so bad when you think about it.

Basic transportation is all it is...Point A to point B, just don't expect to be carving the corners on the way there.

I took my old one through the Rockies and had a blast.  It handles fairly well when pushed.

[giant_mtb]

I honestly don't know why people look down on them so much.  The GT version is actualy a pretty decent little car.

They're not that bad, but from an "enthusiast" point of view, there's much better (read: faster, more fun) options for that kind of money.  That's all. 

[the Teuton]

[280Z Turbo]

On a related note, according to wikipedia GM sold RHD Cavaliers in Japan as Toyota Cavaliers. This sounds like bullshit, but...


The idea of some kid getting JDM parts for a J-body amuses me.

[ro51092]

[SVT666]

They're not that bad, but from an "enthusiast" point of view, there's much better (read: faster, more fun) options for that kind of money.? That's all.?

I wholeheartedly disagree.  I bought my first 2000 Sunfire GT brand new in 1999 for $19,000 CDN.  At the time, the closest competitor that was as fast or handled as well was a couple grand more.  This time I searched all over the entire province for a car under $5000 that was a sporty 2 door with a 5 speed that got at least 30 mpg.  Sunfires and Neons were pretty much it unless I wanted to buy a 1992 Civic with 250,000 kms on it.

[280Z Turbo]

The J-body would be good value for the money were it not for one little problem...

[the Teuton]

I wholeheartedly disagree.  I bought my first 2000 Sunfire GT brand new in 1999 for $19,000 CDN.  At the time, the closest competitor that was as fast or handled as well was a couple grand more.  This time I searched all over the entire province for a car under $5000 that was a sporty 2 door with a 5 speed that got at least 30 mpg.  Sunfires and Neons were pretty much it unless I wanted to buy a 1992 Civic with 250,000 kms on it.

Summit carries more performance parts for the Cav/Sunfire than they do the Impreza, if that tells you anything.

[280Z Turbo]

Summit carries more performance parts for the Cav/Sunfire than they do the Impreza, if that tells you anything.

More J-bodies around than Imprezas.

Plus Summit markets mostly to...


Rather than...

[SVT_Power]

The J-body would be good value for the money were it not for one little problem...

And the Focus would be great were it not for one little problem...

















reliability

[SVT_Power]

(at least with the earlier ones)

[280Z Turbo]

And the Focus would be great were it not for one little problem...


reliability

Mine has been 100% trouble free at 92,000 miles and one year of ownership.

[the Teuton]

Mine has been 100% trouble free at 92,000 miles and one year of ownership.

Yours is also a second year model and last I checked, probably still had a shit-ton of recalls before you even got it.  I hate to be defending the spawn of Cimmaron, but I kinda have to on this one.

[SVT_Power]

what does spawn of Cimmaron mean?

[Soup DeVille]

More J-bodies around than Imprezas.

Plus Summit markets mostly to...

"Stick your belly out Soup, it'll be funny."

God damned if the next thing I know its not all over the frikkin' interwebs.

[the Teuton]

what does spawn of Cimmaron mean?

Should I have said Pontiac J2000 instead?

[280Z Turbo]

Yours is also a second year model and last I checked, probably still had a shit-ton of recalls before you even got it. I hate to be defending the spawn of Cimmaron, but I kinda have to on this one.

Only 4 minor issues listed. I'm not even sure if they're recalls. Sounds more like a service campaign.
http://www.internetautoguide.com/auto-recalls/99-int/2002/ford/focus/zx3-hatchback/1816/index.html

[Soup DeVille]

what does spawn of Cimmaron mean?

It means that sometime in the early '80s, the shit really did hit the fan in new and horrific ways.

[the Teuton]

Looking at "Cadillac:  The Standard of the World" in the past few weeks, I'm pretty sure that the Cimmaron may never be included in concours events...ever.

[Rich]

Congrats!

I used to have a '98 Cavalier 4 door, and there are a lot of days of the year I wish I had that more than the MINI

I agree, they are fun and nimble cars, and they don't weigh much.  My Cavalier was dead reliable from 34,000 until 91,000 miles too, which I can't say for the MINI in the 50,000 miles I've had it.

[TBR]

I wholeheartedly disagree.  I bought my first 2000 Sunfire GT brand new in 1999 for $19,000 CDN.  At the time, the closest competitor that was as fast or handled as well was a couple grand more.  This time I searched all over the entire province for a car under $5000 that was a sporty 2 door with a 5 speed that got at least 30 mpg.  Sunfires and Neons were pretty much it unless I wanted to buy a 1992 Civic with 250,000 kms on it.

Did it have to be a 2-door? Just curious.

It does sound like you got a fabulous deal (though the Neon can also move pretty good and they get excellent gas mileage).

[Onslaught]

I had to do a double take on this one. Don't you ever...... EVER talk about me and a girls car again!
Hope it gives you years of dependable, stress free transportation.

And should this be in the "fast Lane?" 

[ifcar]

Yours is also a second year model and last I checked, probably still had a shit-ton of recalls before you even got it.  I hate to be defending the spawn of Cimmaron, but I kinda have to on this one.

Used vs. used, does it matter how many times it was recalled before you got it?