Car Talk

The SacTownGuy has been rolling the Infiniti G35 coupe for almost 3 years now. It's a sweet ride, goes fast, my kids love it, and it's paid for! However, needs new tires (19" low low profile) which will cost some dough, gets bad gas mileage, and I really don't use all 298 ponies very often. In fact, it's almost silly as I rumble down the street with water splashing out of my cup due to the stiff suspension; it's just a commuter car and I am a commuter driver whether I like it or not.



A couple weeks ago I got the wild idea of selling the G and getting a Toyota Prius. Before you say, "NO SacTownGuy, don't do it" let's at least talk about it....

The G is a nice looking car, goes faster than anybody needs to drive, and is very reliable. However, it's NOT a Porsche Carrera which is what I will drive one day. It's not even a Boxster (poor man's Carrera). It's basically just a big Nissan 350Z. Not that it's a bad thing but that's what it is.

The idea of a Prius goes like this... obviously better gas mileage (44 mpg v. 20 mpg in the G), more economical when things need replacing (i.e. tires), leaves less of a mark on the environment (hey, as one of the only Democrats in Placer County I have to do my part), and has 4 doors and an automatic tranny as Kitty Kat would like. Though Kitty Kat can drive the stick shift in the G she really doesn't like it.

At this point the G is worth about $25k and a new Prius with most options costs about the same. Thus the out of pocket cost to go from a used car to a new car is almost nil. Of course, that could be said with lots of economy cars but how many economy cars would I be ok to drive? The SacTownGuy has a reputation to uphold! I can't be driving a Honda Civic but a Prius has a certain cache to it that makes it acceptable.

Sure I might need to drop some 17 or 18 inch rims on it... and maybe throw some woofers in the back end but nonetheless it would be much more practical than the G.

Thoughts?

peace out.