modern car woes. looking for suggestions

the new kia forte koup appears to be a good example, it will have 2 available engines (156hp 2.0 -34mpg hwy or 2.4 with 173hp, 32mpg hwy), nicely optioned but not overdone, and supposedly will start at around 15k...

trim levels might be a good way to prove the point, if you can find stats by manufactures on sales of each models trim levels. if there is a consistent spike of base model trim levels across the board, you could conclude that people want more basic cars..or you could counter with the pricing argument, but in the end people really want what they can afford, whether they like it or not ;)

I think my car is just what you are looking for Supercharged Ford Focus

I have ~$25k in the car but it could have been done by Ford for ~$20K easily since many of the parts are OEM for other Focus models and the company that made the supercharger setup was originally a part of Ford. I am 1-2 mpg short of your target but thats from my driving style.

I don't think you will find the demand for this type of vehicle documented in any news media. You will need to look at the various internet forums (like GRM, FocalJet, VWVortex, etc.) to document the desire for the type of car you are planning.

HiTempguy wrote:

nderwater wrote:

gamby wrote: All I need is A/C and power brakes. I don't mind rolling up my windows with a crank.

If you're selling in the south, you've got to have a/c. I also prefer abs for driving in the rain, although 2 out of my 5 most recent cars haven't had it.

See, theres the problem right there. YOU DON'T need that stuff, especially ABS. And since even a car guy like yourself isn't willing to buy a car without those things, it will never come to be.

Um, when it's 90 degrees with 80% humidity around here and I actually need my clothes not to be soaked, A/C is a good thing. I've gone without it before, I'd prefer not to again.

Sometimes one needs to look presentable and a lack of A/C can make that VERY difficult.

The only option I'd really want/need in a car is A/C, but thats not really an option if it gets oven hot like it does in the desert or sauna hot the way it does in the southeast.

The biggest problem is my ideal track donor or autocross car rarely meshes with my ideal street-only car. Hell, there's a great example of that in the Miata lineup. Building an autocross car, I'd look hard and long for a 94 R package or ES or a 99 Sport for CS. For a street car though, I'd be looking exclusively at M-Edition or Leather package cars. The compromise BS is why, in part, I ended up with first a kart and now a motorcycle.

man you guys sound like a bunch of old grandpas bitching about those newfangled "electrict starter motors" and "fuel injection"

Technology is great and when applied right can enhance your driving experience and life.

HiTempguy wrote: See, theres the problem right there. YOU DON'T need that stuff, especially ABS. And since even a car guy like yourself isn't willing to buy a car without those things, it will never come to be.

1. You're a communist.

2. you cannot sell a car in the south without A/C. Just won't happen. I tried to sell a ranger down here that was in otherwise good shape with busted A/C, and I took a major hit on value to get it moved.

Dudes.

You CANNOT sell a black car down here without A/C. Fugeddaboutit. Other colors MIGHT sell but still not bloody likely.

All it takes is one hour sitting in 95 degrees/95% humidity in stalled traffic to see why.

ignorant wrote: 1. You're a communist.

Well, being from Canada we'll go with socialist at best, conservative at my worst. In fact, I'm kinda confused how you pulled that out of my post

I also really, really don't want to say something about American's and their 10C air conditioned malls, stores, and houses... well look at that, I just did. You guys down south are CRAZY about your A/C. I was in Vegas last year, it hit over 40C. I turned on the A/C a couple of times in my car when I didn't want to be sucking gas fumes on the clogged roadway into town. Otherwise, I rolled the windows down. But when I was in the casino's, it was literally freezing in there. And its not like it doesn't get to be 35*C here in Alberta either during the summer, and I still don't use A/C. So, I am missing your point. If you are some sort of business type that has to look "well kept" before a meeting, you probably aren't going to show up in your Lotus Exige.

I don't want to say I can make a 40+mpg, 200whp car that you can daily drive, but if I had $15K I could. So why is it so hard for the oem's to?

Edit- Those kia's only get 34USMPG highway? Weak. The newest base model 5 speed focus gets 50imperial MPG (41US MPG) epa rating.