wkp@lanl.ARPA (05/25/85)
My wife is getting tired of her '73 Olds, and wants to buy something similar to the Toyota Camry or Mazda 626. Since I myself prefer old '68 mustangs, I would like some advice and help in finding her a car similar to the Camry, but with more power (note: it needs to have 4-doors, an automatic transmission, and an air conditioner). In addition, I have an upper price limit of about $12 K. I have heard some good things about the new Volkswagens. Do they compare favorably with these cars? The Saab? Volvos? I am mainly interested in getting something with good handling and good power (to enable her to outrun all the intoxicated drivers on the New Mexico highways). Any help would be deeply appreciated. -- bill peter ihnp4!lanl!wkp seismo!cmcl2!lanl!wkp *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR ADVICE ***
klein@ucbcad.UUCP (Mike Klein) (05/29/85)
> I have heard some good things about the new Volkswagens. Do they compare > favorably with these cars? The Saab? Volvos? I am mainly interested > in getting something with good handling and good power (to enable her to > outrun all the intoxicated drivers on the New Mexico highways). My wife and I went through almost the same thing a while back. We liked the Camry until we drove it. Then we popped into a VW dealer and drove a Jetta GLI. That's the one we are about to get. It has good speed (0-60 in 10.5 or so), about equal to Saab Turbo, faster than Volvo, and much cheaper than either. Handling is the best of all of them. Interior and trunk room are substantially larger than the older (pre-85) models. Air conditioning is superb. I would really encourage you to learn how to shift well with a 5-speed, and not get the automatic. -- -Mike Klein ...!ucbvax!ucbmerlin:klein (UUCP) klein%ucbmerlin@berkeley (ARPA)