Looking for a car for my 17 y.o. daughter, just saw a pic of the new Saturn Roadster, avail 07. Hubby & I saw a Solstice & it's cute too. Right now we've put her in a BIG SUV for safety, but are looking at buying her a lil sports car maybe for graduation. Being a girl...looking good in it is more important than how fast it will go, what's under the hood, etc. We wont buy an expensive sportscar, she'll have to afford that on her own AND hubby will not buy what he considers to be a foreign vehicle, so all those other lil sports cars are out of the question. He's a Chevy man. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Oh yeah & even tho it's a sportscar, safety will be considered too.

 

Sorry but working for Toyota the recommendation your going to get from me is a Scion tC. It is an excellent value when you look at the list of standard features (power windows, door locks, mirrors, 17" alloy wheels, 4 wheel disc brakes, 4-wheel anti-lock brakes, dual moonroofs, pioneer sound system, tire pressure monitoring system, drivers knee airbag, etc...) vs. price (under $18K for an automatic) and it has the Camry engine which is one of the most reliable in the industry. Don't think it is the answer you are looking for but I can tell you that your going to get a better made product with a better reliability rating if you choose the Toyota/Scion or Honda products...

...and if you don't believe me just pick-up an issue of Consumer Reports and see who is the king of reliability (I'll give you a hint, it starts with a "T").

Good Luck

 

I kno that may be the case, but hubby is stuck in his ways & at not a very old age either! He will not buy anything other than what would be considered your american vehicles...chev, ford, etc. We have approx. 40 fleet trucks and ALL are Chevs so he wont change. DD likes one vehicle that has a TL on the end cuz that's her initials, it's foreign tho (yeah I kno a lot of what we consider foreign are made in the US, etc. but that doesn't matter). Regarding Saturn...I do hear they are safe, don't kno bout this new one tho. Regardless, thanks for your opinion.

 

With all due respect, a small, lightweight convertible is not the car for an inexperienced driver. I would be worried about the size: no doubt a Solstice/Sky (they're the same car except for the styling) is very safe for a light car, but nothing helps like having weight on your side in a wreck. many SUVs and pickups out on the street weigh twice what it does, and very few cars weigh less. Wrecks are like Sumo wrestling matches: the heavier one nearly always wins.

If you want to get her an American convertible, a Sebring or a T-bird would be a lot safer, and I understand the Pontiac G6 will be available as a convertible soon, too.

 

Well...ummm...if your forcing me to pick an American brand against my will, I'm going to have to suggest either a Mazda 3 or 6. They both have a sporty look and should also be fun to drive for your daughter. Only thing about those 2 is they are not offered in a convertible (not sure how important that is). Once again, good luck with your search/purchase and let us know what you pick.

 

true, guy did a u turn into me at approx 25, his lil old car was totaled whereas my 6,000 lb suburban was barely dented, didn't look like the autos were in the same wreck, cost me $2,900 in repairs tho...he was uninsured, jobless, homeless so we had to eat the repairs. I had all 3 of my kids with me, it was then we realized how safe a large vehicle is. As far as the 17 y.o. she'll be driving for 2 yrs by the time she gets her a lil sports car so she'll have more experience, if it was left up to me I'd keep her in a "tank" as she calls it, but she wants a cute lil car...what do ya do!!

 

AND he would consider Mazda foreign too hehehe!

 

But Mazda is owned by Ford...I'm out of suggestions. I guess at this point its a matter of picking up a Consumer Report and just doing a lot of reading on all the vehicles on the market.