Okay we will go back to a month ago when I was new car shopping...I wanted a soprty two door...something youth oriented. I decided to buy from GM since they had rebates and all and had a few slections in my head...Grand Am GT, 2 Door Grand Prix..Camaro/Firebird if I could find one...and I would consider anything I liked in the showroom. Also I didnt wanna spend more than $25K..

Well I walk in the GM showroom...they have one Camaro in the whole lot..a loaded Z28 convertible..sticker $28K. The dealer claimed there wasn't a Z in the country under $27..so I need to look at V6's. I tell him the only way I will buy a 6 is with the sport appearence package and Y87 performance package....well he brings me back a few sheets V6 cars they may be able to get from other dealers and shows me the options and all...neither had T-tops or the Sport Appearence package...and they wanted $25K each. I start to realize my odd of getting the Camaro I want are slim and none so i look at the other cars in the Chevy dealer for cars I might like..here is what I see and my thoughts...

Down Syndrome Cavalier-Yeah right...I would rather drive a New Beetle than this thing...

Malibu/Impala- Good cars...but not exactly what a 22 year old male wants to be seen in. Malibu I could have afforded...they wanted $28K for the Impala on the showroom floor.

Monte Carlo- I know the Monte Carlo should appeal to me...but it just doesn't. It looks wierd in a boring way...kinda like the wierd girl in school that kinda intrigued you but you know once you had her the intrigue would be gone. To me the car screams "I drive one cuz lil' Dale does!" Ohh and I forgot they has some kind of limited Loony Tunes Edition model there with Tazz on it! Talk about getting the the juices of youth flowing! The Monte Carlo SS in the showroom stickered for $27K also making it too expensive. This makes me think price wise even if they were available I couldn't afford a Supercharged Monte Carlo or Impala SS...so it's kinda a mote point.

Corvette-Don't even wanna look because I can't afford...

So in shorth nothing else in Chevy's line up appealed to me but the Camaro and I had teh dealer fighting and misleading me over it. Next he brings over another sheet with specs on a car for me too look at. It didn't have ground FX and then he wen't on to tell me that thats what "body colored side moldings" are...I told him no..it's is called the "sport appearence package"...to which he claims...Oh they didn't make that on the V6. At that I was like "Guess i got my hopes up...i can't belive there is not one Y87 car out there...guess I will go to the Pontiac dealer and buy a Grand Am"..and start to walk out....then goes..."Oh Y87...is that an RPO...we haven't looked for that one...Give me 5 minutes...next thing I know he comes running back with the sheet for the car I have now...

Hard to believe the old Bow-Tie has not one other car I would have bought

 

I had the same situation... went with the Monte Carlo SS after not being able to find a Trans Am I liked.

As thin as things are right now at GM, there wasn't much that appealed to me elsewhere either...

The future, hopefully, will be brighter shortly...

 

When I bought my Tahoe last year I went in with the sticker for three Tahoes other local dealers had which were equipped the way I wanted. Of course he first tried to sell me the 4WD LT's he had on the lot. Sorry, the Mrs. doesn't want leather.

Needless to say he was open and honest with me, he said "Look its Sunday, I'm off tomorrow but come back on Tuesday evening and I'll get some computer printouts of what's available and we'll go from there."

It ends up one of the "other" dealers my dealer will never work with because they're a bunch of a-holes. But he did find me the Tahoe loaded exactly like the Mrs. wanted and I paid the price I wanted to pay.

I'd definitely go back again, however right now nothing in a bowtie in my price range appeals to me. Oh well.

 

Just thought I'd say your Y87 look badass Branden, congrats on the new car!
Is it a 5-speed or auto?

 

There's just a lack of cars that interest me across the board. If I had to buy a new car today I can only think of two Id look at, the RSX and the WRX. Unfortunally the RSX would probably be ruled out because its FWD, so that really leaves me with only the WRX as the car I'd buy given ~25k. Ford, DCX, and GM all offer nothing that appeals to me in this area.

 

I'm just going to buy a used 2002 Z28 or SS this May. I'd like to get one with under 15K miles. I have seen some for in the low $20K's online near me. As far a new Chevy cars go, I only want a coupe. I love the Vette but can't afford it, The new Monte Carlo SS looks good, but no manual trans. or even the auto with the paddle shifters. Ford doesn't have crap for cars either other than the mustang. So if I had to get a Brand New car today in the mid $20K's I'd go with a GTP Mustang GT or Eclipes V6. Dakota R/T would be high on my list, but since we are sticking to cars.....

 

It's not just Chevrolet, pretty much all the US makers are in a dry spell.

Besides the Mustang, there isn't a single current new US car I could see myself driving. The CTS is interesting, but a car that size needs a V8. The V8 LS is nice, but Ford jacked the price into the stratosphere.

About the only thing I could see myself going into a showroom today & buying new besides the Mach1 Mustang is the Infinity G35 coupe. Not exactly a feast of choices.

 

I feel similar. A CTS will probably be my next car, but if I were to seriously consider owning a different marque again, it would be a WRX.

 

Thanks...it's an A4..I communte between DC and B-more...no clutch punching for me!

 

All this talk about WRX... Did you guys go sit in one? I went. The only thing I found was that it had less room in the back than f-body. If I positioned driver's seat comfortably and tried to sit in the back - my foot got stuck between the pillar and the seat.

Also, while sitting by myself - everything was fine. As soon as a passenger sat beside me I could find no room to rest my elbow. I can't believe how cramped the car is, and on the outside it's not that small.

Then go and sit in a Corolla. It has plenty more room, and it's actually bigger and roomier inside than Jetta. Not that I advocate Corollas - only for the sake of comparison.

And I'm not that big - 6'0

 

Perhaps you need to find the nearest SVT dealer. Chevy doesn't offer the type of car we want anymore. That left with the Camaro/Firebird.

At least Ford is offering a lot of choices right now. Mustang Cobra, Bullit, Mach 1, etc.

 

I fully agree about the WRX not being all it's cracked up to be. The interior is cheap, the back seat is a lot like a Mustang -- my head pressed on rear glass. It's just another cheap, fast car with no interior room. (Sounds familiar...)

 

Sounds like some of you should wait for the GTO....quality interior, rear seat leg and headroom, v8 rwd...and low $30s(I hope) Save the extra money for the car while you wait till Nov.

 

OK...There's one thing I know for sure. As unfortunate as it is:

DEALERS ARE STUPID!!

It's as simple as that. I know there are a few exceptions. But you must assume this when you go to buy a car. It literaly took a dealer 3-4 hours to find my 98 that I bought. I wanted Bright Green with Tan interior, T-tops, Defroster, and Auto. That's all. Not a tall order I think.

You'd at least think they'd know the options available. I mean they're the dealer. They have the info, right? It's their job, right?

If I knew that little about what I'd do I'd be booted!! Seriously!!

If it was my job...I'd know my Sh**. Geez!!

Ok...deep breaths....calming....better now. Sorry!

 

I guess it all depends on your seating position. I'm 5'9" and feel with my driver's seat position leaves a respectable amount of room in the back for average size passengers. By no means "roomy," but certainly adequate and handily surpasses the roominess and comfort of a Camaro backseat/buttglove. The interior pieces, while not the car's selling point, also surpass the Camaro and its large, overly plastic dash. Inside, there's less separation between the front passengers (i.e. the center console isn't as wide), but I feel more comfortable driving it than I did the Camaros and Firebirds I've owned or been related to. The front seats are very supportive. It's certainly more comfortable as a front passenger--I hate the flat seat and compromised floor space in the 4th gen.

But most reviews highlight those points, speaking that the interior isn't the best, but the car accels where it's designed to, and I agree. As noted, such was the mission of another popular brand of cars.