narrowing the field

after 8 long years, it’s nearly time to replace my ’97 jetta. the car’s survived many things, including steve’s birthday and being broadsided by some old hag in a volvo. of course, ever since that slow-speed collision, things have been slowly falling apart, mostly on the electrical end of things: the cruise control stopped working 3 years ago, the left rear door won’t unlock, the right front window doesn’t work, and I think the clutch is starting to slip. the car itself is only at 67,000 miles, which makes me wonder how much longer it’ll last.

another volkswagen, of course, is not an option. the reliability just hasn’t improved enough for a repeat purchase, and the brand no longer has the appeal it once did. back when I first got the car in ’99, vee-dubs were on the verge of their massive comeback. typical compact cars were boring people out of their minds, so consumers were eager for something different. but now that everyone and their grandma has a jetta, there’s just no point in having the anti-corolla.

for a long time, I’d considered the mazda 3, but it’s almost impossible to find with a 5-speed used, and the dealers are still charging huge premiums. and then there’s the whole tennis ball thing, not to mention it’s quickly becoming a chick car.

I’d also been researching suzuki’s new lineup, but as great as the sx4 may be (all-wheel-drive for less than $17k?), it’s still a damn station wagon. sure, it doesn’t have wood paneling on the side, but it never fails to conjure up visions of road trips to wallyworld.

and so I’ve narrowed down my choices to the ’06-’07 honda civic ex coupe – now more of a mini-accord than ever. unlike the sedan, with its weird scooped-out back, the car looks like it wants to go places I’ve also got one eye towards the new ’08 lancer gts. mitsubishi could have a serious winner with this car, which they’d need after all the dumb credit problems they had in the past, but even though reliability is one of their strongest points, it’s still part-dodge caliber, which I’m not entirely cool with.

still, it remains to be seen how much longer my car will last. hopefully it’ll crap out just in time for the fall inventory clearance.