Some time ago I posted a little write up about looking for another car to replace my 3.2 TL.

At the time I was considering several high performance near-lux cars ( CTS, G35, TL, G8) but with gas going out of sight I have done some re-thinking and am now looking at more economical transportation.

I went through the usual suspects:

Toyota Corolla... I, unlike its owners, actually like to drive, like its bigger brother the Camry this car is about as interesting as watching the grass grow...good car, well built, Boorrring.. zzzz

Hundyai Elantra, Decent value, but any goodies take that away and much like the Toyota a dullard to drive

Toyota Prius, my mom has one of these, great gas miliege, Jetsons shape, big interior, needlessly complex gadgets, handles like a clumsy minivan, not exactly uh fun, like most other Toyotas, well built, dull as dirt and even at with gas at 4 dollars a gallon would require 8 years of ownership to break even on the costs compared to other small cars

Honda Civic Hybrid, sharp looking, love the wheels, my wife has a 2003 and it has been very dependible. Great gas mileage also but with a smaller electric motor than the Prius 0-60 requires the patience of Jobe and Passing is an exercise in strategic planning,

Colbalt and G5: Not in the running, until GM can get these built with something other than UAW labor, these cars will always be red-headed step children next to the Japanese and Korean cars. Noisy engine, cheap grade plastics, subpar handling and ride comfort.

Ford Focus: It does not drive as well as the previous generation model and the coupe frankly reminds me too much of an 80's two door Tempo, Nothing stands out here other than the gimicky voice command system.

Nissan Sentra: not really a standout in any area, and the shrunken Altima styling just does not work. Its a box on wheels, Ditto the Versa

Honda Civic EX coupe: now we are talking, an econo car that drives well, gets 36mpg on the hwy, and looks great going down the road. I had a 94 EX and sold it with 125K on the odometer and zero Maintenance issues. The sedan adds some room on top of everything else.

Mazda 3, A killer in this class, the Hatchback has great cargo space, a strong for its class engine, with plenty of torque, fantastic chasis tuning, upscale seats and interior and a lot of cool features.

So it looks like either the Civic EX or the 3 Hatchback, I will keep y'all posted