Comments on: NPF: ED DRIVES TINY CAR, HILARITY ENSUES

By: Palmer Draffen

Palmer Draffen — Thu, 20 May 2010 23:12:32 +0000

Thank you for your post. Great.

By: The Athenian Arts

The Athenian Arts — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:47:24 +0000

The Athenian Arts…

…an interesting post over at . …..

By: Danny

Danny — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:13:30 +0000

Pictures?

Chicken, Ed. Bawk!!

By: Patti

Patti — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:24:50 +0000

I enjoy my Detroit cars, but I did not even think to consider the Aveo when I last needed to buy one… Remember the Geo Metro? Or the whole line of Geos? They used to shake horribly at 50mph, but after GM gave up on Geo, they slapped the Chevy name on all of their cars, so suddenly you had a Chevy Tracker with all the safety features of a stripped down Suzuki.

I actually considered a Geo Metro when in high school (to replace my Death Trap Nissan), but I could not get over the fear that the engine would fall out while attempting 60mph. Seriously never had a problem with the Chevy Cavalier I bought instead (well, until someone ran into the side of my car).

I don't know why GM keeps finding Truly Crappy Cars to market as their entry level subcompact car. They seem to be universally horrible.

By: flathead

flathead — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:12:56 +0000

Hey– don't lump all American cars with the Aveo. I have a Focus hatchback. No shakes. Steering is great. My husband is 6'3" and fits in it fine (although of course we take the Accord on long trips). The gas mileage is mediocre, though. In fact, I test drove a Fit because I thought I might want something with better MPG and antilock brakes. Honestly, I could not imagine driving that thing on a regular basis. It revved so high –there was a constant whine. The ride was punishing too. It made me appreciate my car more, that is for sure.
I stick with manual transmissions, though. I don't really want to merge on the freeway in a car with a small engine and an AT. Bad combination.
Actually, I am waiting for the Ford Fiesta to be introduced over here before I look at cars again.
The Aveo is just a piece of crap that was hastily introduced when GM realized it had nothing to attract the growing segment shoppers looking for smaller, more fuel efficient cars. Of course, the joke is the Aveo is not fuel efficient.

By: Danny

Danny — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:32:53 +0000

PICTURES, ED, PICTURES !!!!

By: baldheadeddork

baldheadeddork — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:53:45 +0000

@ creature

The Aveo isn't a US car, so I don't know what it says about US auto manufacturing. It is an existing Korean market model from Daewoo, which is owned by GM. They shoved the Aveo into their lineup when gas prices exploded a couple of years ago.

You drive S and 7-class German cars? Not disposable cars, but since the early 90's their reputation for reliability has been a lot higher than the reality of actually owning one with a lot of miles on it. The fuel economy is decent (low 30's) on the highway thanks to tall gearing (the same trick GM uses to get its Corvette and Camaro over 25mpg) but in town you're doing no better than a SUV.

I'd love to have a Mercedes W124 or a BMW E24 but anything after that is going to be a black hole of expensive electrical repairs.

By: baldheadeddork

baldheadeddork — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:42:49 +0000

Excellent car review, Ed. I had to ride in one of those crap heaps last weekend when friends visited and offered to drive to dinner. I'm only 5'11" and I hit my knees on the door frame getting out.

Has anyone actually ever bought one of these off a dealer's lot?

Good to have you back in Bloomington for a couple of days.

By: Nate

Nate — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:01:43 +0000

Ah yes, the GM shakes. My first car, a '91 Pontiac Grand Am, had this affliction, even hinting at getting close to 65 mph you could feel mini-tremors. Also, when you turned on the heater, it smelled like waffles covered in maple syrup. My brother called it the Wafflemobile.