Bought the Wife a new set of Wheels!!
My wife has been wanting a new car and we have been checking out various different brands. I really wanted to decide that a mopar was the right choice but she wanted something small like her current PT Cruiser and we were both luke warm about the Caliber. So this is her new ride.
A 2012 Ford Focus. This little buggy blows all the other compacts out of the water in regards to performance, mileage, ride and technology. How's a 12:1 compression, direct injected 2.0l 4cyl with variable valve timing and a 6 speed electronically shifted manual transmission? The car has louvers on the front grill that will close at hiway speeds to maximize mileage. Its rated for 40mpg hiway and 28 mpg city compared to the Caliber, Mazda3, Impreza Outback all around 28/23. The color in the pictures is what we ordered with a dark charcoal interior. Got the Ford Sync system that gives you hands free cell phone and voice activated radio, cell and navigation.
Through work I was able to get it for 1% below invoice, a rebate and low financing which saved us about $3k over the Mazda3 and Outback that were also in the hunt. I kind of like the looks of the Caliber and it would have cost less with the same bells and whistles but the interior was very bland compared to the Focus which turned my wife off and I just found the CVT transmission to be unsettling. We would have liked the Focus ST (turbo version), Mazadaspeed3 or WRX but those only come with manual trannies and the wife didn't want that even if it meant sacrificing some power. As much as she likes the turbo PT, I was the only one that made use of the power it has.
We are keeping the 03 PT Cruiser GT turbo which will become my daily driver and the Dakota will be a part time vehicle. Now I will get to do a little performance upgrading on that 2.4 turbo! :)
My wife has been wanting a new car and we have been checking out various different brands. I really wanted to decide that a mopar was the right choice but she wanted something small like her current PT Cruiser and we were both luke warm about the Caliber. So this is her new ride.
A 2012 Ford Focus. This little buggy blows all the other compacts out of the water in regards to performance, mileage, ride and technology. How's a 12:1 compression, direct injected 2.0l 4cyl with variable valve timing and a 6 speed electronically shifted manual transmission? The car has louvers on the front grill that will close at hiway speeds to maximize mileage. Its rated for 40mpg hiway and 28 mpg city compared to the Caliber, Mazda3, Impreza Outback all around 28/23. The color in the pictures is what we ordered with a dark charcoal interior. Got the Ford Sync system that gives you hands free cell phone and voice activated radio, cell and navigation.
Through work I was able to get it for 1% below invoice, a rebate and low financing which saved us about $3k over the Mazda3 and Outback that were also in the hunt. I kind of like the looks of the Caliber and it would have cost less with the same bells and whistles but the interior was very bland compared to the Focus which turned my wife off and I just found the CVT transmission to be unsettling. We would have liked the Focus ST (turbo version), Mazadaspeed3 or WRX but those only come with manual trannies and the wife didn't want that even if it meant sacrificing some power. As much as she likes the turbo PT, I was the only one that made use of the power it has.
We are keeping the 03 PT Cruiser GT turbo which will become my daily driver and the Dakota will be a part time vehicle. Now I will get to do a little performance upgrading on that 2.4 turbo! :)
