Is there such an animal as:
--American built
--Hatch back
--25 mpg on the Interstates
--safe
--dependable
--6 way power seats(my aching back)
--$4000

I'm thinking Ford Focus.

I had a 2001 Focus, automatic station wagon & I liked it fine. Gave me 25 mpg or better on the interstates & handled like a sports car. I was ready to buy another with a 4-speed so I could use it as a toad, but health problems caused us to sell the Barth, & my dearly beloved wanted something larger. We ended up with a Suzuki XL-7.

The Focus is easy to enter & exit for aging bones & joints, & has a comfortable upright seating position. I'd buy another in a New York minute.

You ought to be able to find an earlier model Focus hatchback for $4K, but be sure to get a manual transmission, you can't tow wheels down with an automatic.

With the exception of dependable,actually it was until 90K, 2005 Cattlerack deville,did all you are asking and the price should be about that now. Actually we got 28 mpg at 75 on generally level roads. It might not be a hatch back but you can always use duct tape. If you are looking for space with the hatch back, you can put many of your not too close friends in the trunk. With the rear seat lid open you can close the trunk with a 12' 2X8 inside. Yep, I did it, it wouldn't fit in the truck, I needed to paint it quickly and it was raining.

Also, the Dodge Caliber may be in range.

Or, if you meant $40000 not $4000, the Chevy Corvette will fit the bill nicely.

Has anyone had experience with the Chevy Malibu Max,built for about 5 years? It meets all my criteria but I don't know about the seats. Having hurt my back two years ago, the only cars I can sit it are the 2002 Yukon with power seats and our '73 Volvo with just nice seats. Problem is they are both a money pit. The Yukon only gets around 15 in town and the Volvo keeps breaking. Either way, my budget can't stand it anymore.

Not a hatchback. I've been driving a 2000 Lincoln Town car that gets 26 mpg, safe, quiet, reliable. Easy to get in and out of and rides very nice. They can be picked up fairly cheap.

You didn't say what size you want, but the Chrysler PT Cruiser is decent.

The Mazda 3 is also reliable and fuel-efficient.

My retired office manager had an Equinox and traded it on a Malibu Maxx, which she really likes. He father worked for GM so she got tremendous discounts.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
The Mazda 3 is also reliable and fuel-efficient.

The only problem with this is that it misses his first criteria.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim and Tere:
Is there such an animal as:
--American built

We love our Dodge Caliber.....gets a true 28 mpg no matter how you drive. Seats fold down in the back, and the front seat (passenger). We have hauled 2x4's, patio sets, cement, (not all at the same time). We do not have power seats - don't know if that is an option. I find the seats comfortable....Don't know about the 4k mark, ours is a 2007, at least check it out Jim and Tere.

Tina

I hate to be rude, but if you are buying a used car you are not supporting the manufacturer or its country of origin. 99% of the parts you will buy to maintain the car are made off shore and, most likely, will not be bought from the auto manufacturer.

I can understand buying a used Chevy because you like Chevy’s (fords, or whatever)…but if you want to vote with your dollar you need to make sure you are actually casting a vote!

BTW – the ‘foreign car’ (Porsche) that I race has more US made content than most American cars – almost all the modifications (roll cage, engine, engine computers, suspension parts) were custom made in US shops…and the reason I used the US parts is because they were the best available at a reasonable price….I voted with my dollars! The parts and modifications made to the car cost far more than the cost of the used car when I bought it – so cost wise the car is now made up of a majority of US made content.

One other note – be careful of the ‘American Made’ statement….”America” can (and is) also include any of the countries in North America and even South America….you would be surprised at how that term gets used/misused.

Chris, I understand what you're saying. I know that, for better or for worse, we're in a world economy. And I believe that there are plenty of 'American' companies whose execs don't give a damn about anything but filling their pockets. It's frustrating isn't it? You want to do something to help your friends and neighbors keep/get a job and how to do that in this day and age is something I don't have an answer for. Maybe a horse . Locally grown, locally fed, locally rode, locally buried.

So...What is really wrong with a global economy?

Certainly as the US has grown, our capitalism has proven to the world that this system really works. So now, instead of "local" meaning neighborhood, state, or region, it means the free world.

Money spent on supporting friendly foreign products may be money not spent fighting them over limited opportunity or resources. Think of it this way, Al Queda or the Taliban would agree wholeheartedly with doing everything at the absolute local level. Everyone would be issolated and think of just themselves.

Yes we must look out for our neighbors and countryman, but we all live on this planet too. I would much rather buy Chinese goods than fight them in a war. We should keep the aggressive rivalries in the Olympics. Let Free Trade be just that, FREE! In the end, it will settle itself out.

If you think my stance is unpatriotic - maybe you're right, but I guarantee you today's automobiles would be half as safe, twice as expensive and last half as long if we had protected the US auto industry throughout the years against "just" competition. And I did say "just".

I'm off to Walmart now to buy a Garmin Fishfinder for $30 less than I can find it anywhere else. Garmin sounds US, but I can't believe the units are made here. Really don't care anyway, just hope it finds me some fishies!!!

Yeah – I still remember when GM owned 1/3 of Toyota and Ford owned about the same amount of Mazda….

I have always been a fan of getting to the root of things. A lot of the ‘Buy American’ comments are really ‘Buy American Union Made’ comments – and if that is what the person is really trying to say then say it…I don’t have a problem with people supporting their own cause (PS – this is a general statement – not aimed at Jim or anybody else here!!). When they try to hide a buy US union made statement into a nationalistic issue it’s a bit disingenuous and that turns me off very quickly.

If you want to help get Americans jobs then help out anybody that wants to build things over here. Lets work on getting more plants here instead of importing the final products. I like the idea of getting work here…I don’t really like giving the corporate GM folks any more of my money to piss away. If a company from a foreign soil can build and operate an assembly plant here, pay local workers and make a couple of bucks I would rather support them than a US company that can’t make money, lays off workers and need a government bailout.
If our system was around millions of years ago the dinosaurs would still be around living on government bailouts….!

Last I looked there was more American made content in the US made Hondas than in most of the Ford/GM/Chrysler products.

quote:

If our system was around millions of years ago the dinosaurs would still be around living on government bailouts….!

That's too funny, er.....true!

I took our US made Sea Hunt boat with its Japanese Yamaha motor out in the Gulf O' Medico this weekend. I'd say 80% of the outboards down here are Yamahas, there's a reason for that!

We cruised by many massive mansions worth 10s of millions, they are endless along the coast. There just aren't that many movie stars and sports icons to account for the thousands and thousands of mansions. These are bankers, insurance execs, Wall Street traders, car dealers, drug execs, oil execs, crooks and con artists too. I struggle to think they give a damn about where they or we spend our money as long as they can add to their wealth.

My job as a citizen is to buy what is right for me. The job of American companies is to build what is right for me. If they can't accomplish that, I simply won't support them. Whether they can't or won't make what I want is always a wonderment to me. I own 4 American vehicles, 5 German vehicles, 1 Japanese, one Austrian. I guess that makes me an Agnostic!

I make my living selling Singapore made communications products for an English founded company that is owned by an American umbrella Corp., which is public (meaning any nationality might own it). I sell these products to the US military. My competitor is a US company (Bose) and we kick their butts based on price and quality. Does that make me a patriot or a Benedict Arnold? I don't make the buying decision, the US military does. They choose our stuff based on strict rules and guidelines that favor Buy American, small disadvantaged businesses, but we still have secured the majority of this business in the last five years.

Would I rather see us buy inferior quality at a higher price when I know my son (a US Marine) may risk his life on the quality of these items? I think not!!